May 20, 2016
BBC News Africa

Everyday we pick an African proverb sent in by a reader to start off our
day. But some days it isn't entirely clear what the lesson of the words are.

Take today's proverb:

"Birds agree when flying down but they do not agree when flying up." A
Kikuyu proverb sent by Kamau Wachira, Kiambu, Kenya.

In this instance, we turn to our readers on Facebook to explain.

Diko Alinaitwe from Uganda’s capital, Kampala, says:

"Thieves plan together to steel but they can’t help each other to escape.”

Joseph Otieno from Nairobi in Kenya has one suggestion:

“It means you may strike a deal and when it matures the other partner is
allowed to run away with it."

Sipho Mudenda from Livingstone in Zambia suggests a slightly less dramatic
interpretation:

"When people want to be in partnership they sit down and agree with each
other, when they want to stop communication breaks down little-by-little."

And finally Patrick Nwokolo from Port Harcourt in Nigeria just says:

"That's corruption."


Click here and scroll to the bottom of the page to send in your proverb.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18930368>




-- 
Ann Marie

"The art of living consists of knowing what to pay attention to and what to
ignore."  -- Mardy Grothe

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