Juha, three wise men … and government formation

This news has been read 31791 times!

JUHA lived in the territory of a very strict ruler. One day, three wise men arrived at the city and were hosted by the governor’s palace. Their mission was to test the notables of the town to see if there was a smart person who could solve difficult puzzles. The governor thought of who could be up for such a test; and the first person that crossed his mind was Juha, so he summoned him immediately.

Juha arrived at the palace, where he saw a large crowd who came to witness his ability to solve difficult puzzles and if he would meet the governor’s expectation.

Juha entered the court with his donkey, so the first wise man asked him: Where is the center of the globe?

Juha replied: The center of the globe is here, pointing to the left hoof of his donkey.

The answer baffled the wise man who asked: How could this be?

He replied: If you do not believe me, I ask you to dig under the hoof in order to verify the correctness of my answer. If I am wrong, I will allow you to punish me as you wish.

Then the second wise man surprised him by asking: How many stars are in the sky?

He replied immediately: The number of stars in the sky is the number of the hair of my donkey.

The wise man got angry and said: Can anyone count the hair of a donkey? Juha retorted: Can anyone count the stars in the sky?

The wise men and all those present were astonished by Juha’s answers, but no one was able to react to his answer.

The third wise man’s turn came and asked him: If you are not able to count the stars in the sky, then how many hairs are on my head?

Juha said: It is the same as the number of hairs in the donkey’s tail. I will remove the first hair from your head with the first hair of the donkey’s tail, and I will continue until you believe me. If the number of hair on your head is the same as the hair in the donkey’s tail, then I am right.

He outsmarted the three wise men, and the governor wanted to further emphasize the smartness of Juha, so he asked him: When will my death come?

Juha answered with the Qur’anic verse: “All people can only live for an appointed time. When their term ends, they will not remain (alive) even for a single hour, nor will they die before the appointed time.”

Then, the three wise men laughed at Juha’s trick and cunning way saying: Indeed you are clever and wise as well, but from where did you get these answers?.

Juha responded: “Whoever asks illogical questions, it is natural that he will hear illogical answers too.” Juha triumphed over the three wise men.

Without a doubt, rulers seek the assistance of knowledgeable advisors in order to provide solutions to the challenges that the State is facing. They must be among the clever who put the nation’s interest above everything else.

However, it seems that advisors close to the decision-maker have misjudged the public’s reaction to the historic Amiri speech delivered by His Highness the Crown Prince on June 22, and the support that the people gave through the election results.

They referred a ministerial formation that did not meet the expectation to His Highness the Prime Minister who was on a foreign mission.  The government was aborted hours after the issuance of the decree, following the withdrawal of Minister Ammar Al-Ajmi.

Considering 47 MPs are against this ministerial formation, it means that it is a government of defiance, which neither the political leadership nor members of the legislative authority will accept.

This step is intended to put spikes in the wheels of cooperation between the two authorities; while the country is in dire need of every step to get rid of the consequences of the past stage, not to return to the crisis.

We said over and over again: It is not important to quickly form the Council of Ministers, as what matters is a good selection of competent individuals to take up sensitive executive positions. This can be done only by a center specialized in nominating the right man to perform the appropriate task; as the practice in a number of countries where the secretaries in the center scrutinize the file of each candidate for a security, executive or ministerial position. They look into his certificates, biography and even his social behavior, that is, they know every tiny detail about him.

Undoubtedly, there is plenty of time to crystallize the correct image of who can assume these positions to help the ruler implement his vision and realize the aspirations of his people; instead of having a team of advisors who are easily outsmarted by Juha. This is due to the fact that they offer illogical solutions to the country’s problems. A popular adage describes them: “They prescribe medicines before diagnosing the disease.”

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah

Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

This news has been read 31791 times!