Because the farm-owner is slow to catch the thief, the thief calls the farm-owner thief.Youruba, Nigeria
The proverb as appears in Ola Rotimi's 'The god's are not to blame'. Odewale having bought the land at issue, one day finds an old man and others occupying the land and digging up crop. As they challenge one another Odewale cites the proverb as handed down by their elders.
The irony here is that the proverb could apply in both ways to both men. Odewale asserts a prior claim to the land on grounds of a purchase while the old man cherishes most the notion that is founded on the mingling of his sweat, of himself and the land. In digging up Odewale's sweat, they are planting their own... claiming the land belongs to 'mother of our masters' Queen Elizabeth(colonial masters)?
Tragically this end by Odewale, unable to use his hoe to till his land, using it as a weapon to kill the old man. They had began getting the better of Odewale, most probably because of his brash way of articulating his grievances.
If I was to interpret it Biblically, God 'owns' everything. We have been put here for His glory. But on earth is the devil and his witchdoctors. They know their fate, but claim that in the meantime 'its their time to eat' and are hell bent to destroy lives, causing mayhem in their wake. If you take a passive stance(are slow to catch the thief), he and his witchdoctors will turn on you, when you finally decide do so, and call you the thief. And they might win because of oratory skills. Question asked is, Will you relent?