An African will cook a mobile phone one day!

It is surprising how life changes thanks to technological changes. They say change is as good as rest. Although some changes are good, a coin always has two sides to it. Today let us discuss the flip side of the mobile phone.

This hand-held gadget, a product of modern telecommunication technology, revolutionized the way we communicate. Its arrival in the early 2000s spelt doom for at least two major sectors; the landline and the Posta. However as the mobile technology continues to improve, another sector is almost becoming redundant and this is the Cyber Café industry.

Nowadays, we are able to communicate instantly at the press of a few buttons on the mobile phone. We are able to send and receive messages instantly through conventional short text messages or via social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Twitter etc. We are equally able to make video calls on WhatsApp, do mobile teleconference, send and receive multimedia messages and even read books in soft copy on mobile phones. In short, the Cyber Café has been brought right into our own hands!

However, there are a number of mobile phone-related bad manners that as Africans we must confront particularly with regards to courtesy. Here are just a few of them:

Riot over a missed call – There are Africans who like rioting and protesting over missed calls. Kenyans will ask you: Kwa nini nakupigia simu na haushiki? Sometimes I equally become rude and answer back: Sasa kama singeshika tungekuwa tunaongea saa hii? Yes, you called me but I did not pick; why should you protest? Why should you riot? It is my phone right? Don’t have the right of admission of phone calls? Perhaps you called when I was in the middle of something important that I could not pick your call, hellooo…Please do not jump over the roof for nothing. If do not pick your call after several missed calls, please spare me your rants; do not question why I was not picking your calls but instead go straight to the point why you are calling!

Incessant phone calls – This is quite another serious case of bad manners on phone! If you call me once or twice without my picking, please stop it right there. I will definitely see your missed call and call you back. There is no point in you calling me a million times per minute as if the world is coming to an end! If you “have gone to school,” please write me a message if you feel the subject matter of the call is urgent. There are numerous reasons why sometimes people do not pick calls immediately.

Surprise when I pick your call promptly – Sometimes a call comes through and because I have my phone in my hand, I take the call immediately even before it makes a complete ring. Then my good caller on the other hand even before salutations starts complaining: Boss, can’t you wait for the phone to ring even twice?! Really??

Please pick my call – This is another very irritating behavior among Africans; particularly my fellow Kenyans. A Kenyan will call you and because you are not in a position to pick the call, he sends you a very rude message: Why don’t you want to pick my call? Similarly, a total stranger will call you and if you do not pick, they call again and again and again several times per minute. Then they send you a message: I am Okechukwu please pick my call, it is important. Then you are left wondering why he could not text that most important point. Funny enough when you finally find time to call him back he will tell you: I have sent you the documents that Yandimosi instructed me to send you!

Please call me – There is this category of Africans who have specialized in this kind of bad behavior. They call you and immediately you pick they ask you to call them! How now? Why should I call you when I have no message to pass to you? It is you who have a message for me. I did not send you anywhere that you are giving me feedback. Please, fellow Africans, when next you someone, even if you run out of airtime, just talk and if the message remains incomplete, they may call you back if the message is meaningful to them.

You never call me – Very annoying. My good African will give a call and when you pick up, they start lamenting and complaining why you never call them. But why should I call when I do not have a message for you? They want me to call just to “say hi to me.” I appreciate the need for people to keep in touch but honestly I have come to hate unnecessary phone calls. They are so disruptive, so incommodious. But if you wish to talk to me, if you wish to hear my voice, take the initiative and call me. Please do not accuse others of not calling you!

Where are you? – I have never understood why people ask this question on mobile phones. Why would you call someone and the first thing you ask them is their whereabouts? Just go straight to the point and tell me whatever you want to tell me instead of investigating my location. In some instances, a person will see a friend when the friend has not seen them. Then quickly they take out their phones and call the friend to ask “where are you?” I find this behavior very irritating.

Looooooong calls – these ones are also annoying. Why would you spend an hour talking on a mobile phone? What are you talking about? Personally I switch off my concentration and attention immediately I hit the fifth minute on a telephone conversation. But some of my fellow Africans want to spend an eternity on a single phone call!

Switch off your mobile phone – We have been told this so many times. Whether in class, in church or even during serious meetings. This is because mobile phones can be very disruptive. However, there are situations where it may not be possible to switch off your gadget because maybe you could be expecting a crucial call. In such circumstances, people are always advised to put them on vibration. Annoyingly there some Africans who deliberately choose to ignore such simple directives. You find in the middle of a very serious meeting, lecture or church service a person’s mobile phone very loud, irritating and boring ringtone drawing the entire attention of those in attendance to the offending person. To make it worse, the person may not even mind the gadget immediately letting it ring a few more times. Sometimes the phone is so hidden deep down the bottom of the handbag such that it takes a whole 3 minutes before the hand lands on it! Instead of the person switching it off, they choose to leave it and the caller calls again and again until people in the congregation take offense… very bad manners.

Multitasking – This is another bad behavior worth condemnation. You are talking to someone but they are busy browsing their phones. You are at some counter to be served but the servant is busy on phone engaging on personal/social calls and at the same time trying to serve you! You are eating and then when I call comes through you pick it chewing food and talking at the same time. You are cooking but with your phone on your ear held by the shoulder; you will cook your phone one day!

These phones are only but recent developments. Let us not behave as if all our life depends on them!