REVOLUTIONARY GREETINGS, FELLOW AFRIKANS
The response that Hallifa Sallah gave to that unenlightened and misleading
article by 'Dr.' Ayitteh and his Tanzania friend with an Eastern European
name, is very timely, appropriate and conclusive. But I would like to also
add to what Mr. Sallah said, for I believe, as I indicated in my response to
another similarly malicious article by the ex-editor of the New Afrikan
magazine Alan Rake some time ago in which he attempted to destroy our
leaders, that today's Afrikan youths are alert and ready at any time to
crush any neo-colonialist/imperialist unAfrikan maneuvres by any means
necessary! We are alert and we are going to take a pro-active stand now, for
as we see it, it's either us the youths to defend the motherland and her
people or we perish. We prefer to take the first choice, and we will execute
it effectively and successfully! Yes!
I am not going to repeat what Hallifa said, but I would like to ask the
so-called intellectuals some simple questions and observations.
When Nyerere died who asked millions of Tanzanians to weep and moan, and
spend their whole time glued to their tv and radio sets in the most
sorrowful manner? Remember Ayitteh and his friend told us that these same
people were forced out of their homes in the name of villagization
programmes, in which many lost their lives and property!
Who told the president Benjamin Mkappa to declare a 30-day mourning, and to
give the Mwalimu a state funeral?
Who put all those words of praise and admiration in the mouths of all the
presidents and world leaders in tribute to the Mwalimu?
Do you think that 'Dr.' Ayitteh and Ludovich are the wisest and the most
educated people than the people of Tanzania?
Do you think that these two pseudo-intellectuals know Nyerere and his time
of rule more than the common people of Tanzania?
This is the problem of our 'intellectuals'. They always feel they know more
than the rest, and so they alone can say it best. No one can fool the
people. I know that a people can make a wrong decision or choice but it does
not mean you have fooled them. When Mobutu was in power, despite his
recklessness the people did sing for him and danced for him. And am sure he
felt that he was fooling the people, but when Laurent Kabila attacked where
were the dancers and the singers? Why did they not die for him this time?
When he died who wept and mourned? So you can see that while he thought he
was fooling the people, the people know fully well that in fact Mobutu is
the biggest fool, and sometimes as they say do not argue with a fool, for
people might not see the difference; and so what prevails under such
leadership is for everyone to be busy about one's survival by any means,
which unfortunately most of the time breeds corruption, nepotism, and even
war as seen in the Congo. In my little Gambia, we did dance for Sir Dawda
Jawara , but nobody shook when the army overthrew him in 1994. So, in
passing, this is a clear warning to all leaders who may think that because
people sing and dance for you, you are loved and revered. No. The people
know what they want, even tho' sometimes the choice is misguided because of
ignorance and fear and greed. These are the main reasons why we make
mistakes.
So back to Nyerere...I think if he was what the false intellectuals wanted
us to believe then we would not have seen the people of Tanzania and their
government getting so busy, especially if you know that Nyerere was not an
admirer of the system in his country. Now can Ludovich tell us for whom was
he speaking, and why he is writing such a base thing? Are you pushed by some
dollars or promised a professorship by a department of the US governemnt or
a university in America?
And now to Ghana...I was in Ghana, at the University of Ghana, Legon where I
graduated in June 1999. During my stay in Ghana I undertook a special study
of Nkrumah and his government and the Ghanaian society, especially the
intellectual community. I have spent my own funds, which got me so stranded
at one point, to buy materials about Nkrumah and Ghana, to travel AROUND
Accra and Ghana, and pay for services even from market women to study the
impact of Nkrumah on his compatriots, and how come he was so disliked by the
people. I had held discussions for whole nights; I had abandoned my classes,
and had even co-founded the first Pan-Afrikan movement at legon since
Nkrumah was overthrown in 1966, all in the attempt to know Nkrumah and the
people of Ghana. I had discussions with students and lecturers alike, and am
proud to say that I had single-handedly changed the syllabus of a whole
course in the philosophy department from Western Social and Political
Philosophy to Pan-Afrikanism and Nkrumaism! This is no mere talking or
boastfulness, you can contact Legon Philosophy Department, or any philosophy
student who graduated this year. In fact I had recommended to the Department
that we should have a whole course on the Philosophy of Kwame Nkrumah, who I
consider the leading philosopher this century, amd the leading statesman in
the world this century. I am ready to defend my claims if anybody so wishes
to challenge me. I am saying all this because as Nkrumah himself used to
say, it is time for plain talk!!! After having said all of this, I would
like to tell you that what 'Dr.' Ayitteh wrote is not a surprise to me for I
know it is a typical attitude of many a Ghaanaian intellectual. I do not
want to name names at this time, but in my discussions with some of the
professors at legon I heard some of the most sickening ideas about Nkrumah,
Pan-Afrikanism and Afrika. One Professor told me that Legon is suffering
because when Nkrumah was in power he brought communism, and drove away all
investors, and the country is still suffering from that. This is why, he
said , that they could not equip the school adequately. This professor, I
know, does not even know how he was educated!!!YES. He went to college FREE
OF CHARGE WITH THREE SQUARE MEALS!!!!!!!!He clearly does not know anything
about Nkrumah. He does not know that Legon was made a full university by
Nkrumah, and all the structures at Legon today were built by Nkrumah, and
the facilities there then were the best any one can have.And at that time it
was Nkrumah who was in power, not Jesus or God, and the period was not made
specially for him. I have also found out that over 99 percent, and I repeat
OVER 99 PERCENT of the students have never, and I repeat NEVER read a book
written by Nkrumah, but they spend their valuable time castigating Nkrumah,
whose government laid the foundation on which Ghana survives today. I have
found out that almost anything that makes Ghana move today was set up by
Nkrumah, and you take all the subsequent governments of Ghana and you put
them together, they do not come even an inch near the achievements of the
Osagyefo. I also talked to people about ethnicity and Nkrumah, and one of
the leading sociology professors at Legon, Dr. Nukunya, did rightly indicate
that one of the things that Nkrumah should be best remembered for is his
fight against tribalism, which Nkrumah himself did realise, and in one of
his meetings with Afrikan freedom fighters he highlighted tribalism as one
thing that they need to take note of, otherwise which he said could
jeopardise all our efforts. I have found out that, for example the Ewes do
not seem to like him because he strategically removed the Akomsombo Dam from
their region. This was in response to the conflict between Togo and Ghana
over its border and the fate of that part of their countries. You have Ewes
in both countries on both sides of their border, and because of the fear
that British Togoland may go to Togo, Nkrumah then redrew the regions of
Ghana to make sure even if that part did go to Togo the already built dam
will remain in Ghana, thus the Volta region of the Ewes was denied the dam,
but not the ELECTRICITY. But again I found out that the reason why you have
the Ewes with the highest number of intellectuals is because Nkrumah created
a programme which gives them scholarships from the wealth of the other rich
regions such as the Ashanti. And for that matter I discovered that the
Ashantis could not see the wisdom for regions to share and help each other,
and so they disliked the man. Secondly I also discovered that the federal
constitution the colonialist imposed on Ghana was going to make Ashanti the
biggest region in terms of people, resources and land size. Furthermore,
that constitution puts the Ashantehene above the laws that govern
chieftaincy matters, and consequently making him almost a parallel
president. Nkrumah sensed that such a constitution was going to create
conflict in Ghana one day and thus rejected it until a better one was made
by Ghanaians themselves, but which made the Ashantehene as equal to any
other king in Ghana under the laws. The Ashanti never liked this. But
Nkrumah said the colonial imposed constitution is almost like selling Ghana
to the Ashantis! He made such warnings to the leaders of Nigeria who were
also forced to accept a colonial federal constitution, but they refused, and
today the regions of Nigeria are the biggest obstacle to their unity asnd
progress. I found out too that Ashantis have a problem with Nkrumah
concerning JB Danquah, who was jailed and later died in prison. They
consider him as the doyen of Ghanaian politics, and he was a big time
lawyer. But he was nothing other than a neo-colonialsit agent and a
brain-washed intellectual. During the independence struggle before he broke
away with Nkrumah, he was very furious for being detained by the
colonialist, and blamed Nkrumah for that. He was not ready to suffer such
for his people! He can be said to be the Ayitteh of today, or Ayitteh to be
the Danquah of yesterday. Also I noticed that the Gas and the northerners
were not fully comfortable with Nkrumah because of the confusion some chiefs
in Accra and intellectuals created, all in the sefish interest of
themselves. Nkrumah exposed them all, and he had constanly beaten them in
elections, even when he was in jail.So out of frustration and jealousy these
chiefs and intellectuals embarked on a campaign of smear and lies to destroy
Nkrumah. When he was overthrown by the USA, Britain and Israel with the aid
of some unpatriotic Ghanaian soldiers, it was these same intellectuals used
to discredit Nkrumah. His books were burned and his statues and projects
destroyed and abandoned. I have found several incomplete buildings for
schools, hospitals, farms etc etc scattered all over Ghana. One which really
touched my heart was the mental hospital called Pantam, just after Adenta in
the outskirts of Accra. I visited the place and when you enter that
compound, you would at once realise that this cannot be the work of a
dictator or a sterile leader. However I must say also that I really did meet
very conscious and patriotic intellectuals in Ghana, whom am really proud
of. I have also found very conscious students and common people in the
markets, taxi drivers, farmers and business people, who speak of Nkrumah
with so much emotion and nostalgia and love.
I am forced to approach this issue in this manner, because sometimes we need
to know the kind of people who speak and from where they are speaking. If
the Ayittehs and his friends want us to believe what they said then we need
to ask lot of questions which really contradict their argument. And for
those who condemn Hallifa Sallah for speaking the truth about Nyerere and
Nkrumah should seriously tackle the issue than to pester us with all the big
words they can find in a dictionary. Mr. Sallah is doing a good job in
Afrika, for he is raising the consciousness of the people. If you people
over there think that the west is great and exceptional, then it means you
do ot know the history of the west, neither the history of Afrika. This is
really sad. Hallifa does not only speak, he acts. He is consistent,a patriot
and a teacher, who prefers to be poor with his people, than to run away from
his people and contribute to the advancement of other people. If Ayitteh
thinks he is an intellectual and has written so much, and loves his people
then let him go back to Ghana and help the people with his knowledge, than
to hide in America, teaching their people, contributing to their economy and
defending them, while his own people are languishing in poverty and
ignorance. For me a person like Hallifa is the intellectual...a man of the
mind, and not of heart and desires. If you are a man of intellect, then your
heart should be filled with love for your people, the love to serve
regardless of wealth, the love for truth and enlightenment. Can Ayitteh and
his friend claim to have such an intellect and heart? For those Gambians who
sit in the USA and condemn Hallifa, you do not even deserve to be replied
to. I am making this comment only to allow other people who might not
understand the issue not to fall victim to your emptiness. Hallifa is the
bravest and the most righteous Gambia leader since Edward Francis Small.
While most of us ran away from Sir Dawda and Yaya Jammeh, Hallifa stood and
spoke for the people with courage, without a gun, a pen nor a paper in his
hand. He stood with the arsenal of truth in his heart and spoke it with his
mouth, and he is still speaking the same language. He went to school in
America, and he could have stayed there like all of you, but he decided to
come home, because he understood that the development and freedom of the
Gambia and Afrika is the responsibility of Afrikans, and the fight has to be
done at home, not from abroad. The Ayittehs and his likes would do Afrika a
great service if they come home amnd together we work for our people, than
to sit down there and promoting the interest of the west against us. Whether
you know it or not your every second stay in the west is a contribution to
their development, and a contirbution to our backwardness. If you have
gained your knowledge and finished your schooling why are you staying there?
If you have all come home and together we struggle it out, do you think we
would be like this, with bad leaders. Come home and stop bragging out there,
what you have not realised is that the westerners are even laughinhg at you,
saying look at these fools. The struggle is in Afrika and it can only be
fought in Afrika. America is like this today because their people fought for
their liberation, not in Europe but in America itself!! Some of you
intellectuals who claim to have a PHD sometimes make me think that going to
school sometimes is a waste of time, for one would expect correct thinking
should come from the PHD holders, but what Ayitteh and his friend are
showing us is that the dullest thinking most of the time comes from PHD
holders. Think about it.
madi
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