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Subject:
From:
saul khan <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
The Gambia and related-issues mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 9 Nov 1999 11:20:22 GMT
Content-Type:
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Madi,

I agree with much of what you said about Nyerere and Nkrumah. Irrespective
of one's opinion regarding his political philosophy, Nyerere's honesty and
basic decency is beyond reproach. To date, he's the only African leader who
truly understood the poverty of his people. And he always "put his money
where his mouth is:" he lived like ordinary Tanzanians! (Thomas Sankara
might have been like him if he had the chance. But that's beside the point.)

However, even a decent and sincere leader like Nyerere made mistakes. Some
quite serious. In his zeal to uplift his people (who were way behind him
intellectually,) Nyerere tried several ideas that totally bombed, not
because of any outside sabotage, but because his people were not ready. I
can go on and on. And Nyerere being the honest man he was, did admit some of
  these mistakes many times after leaving office.

Therefore, my advice to you would be to be very objective when appraising
our leaders' past performance. Why? Because, this "blame the outsider"
mentality only reinforces our collective complex that we  cannot take charge
of our destiny because Europeans are always plotting against us. These
people have done us terrible wrongs in the colonial era, but our so-called
leaders have done us more damage in the last forty years than the colonists
have done in 300! At least, they (the Europeans) never pretended to care! If
you will try and read some of prof. Aittey's writings, you might be
surprised at what you find. He's far from being the man you're painting.
Aittey is not an apologist for the West in any way. He's looking at
Nyerere's record, and he's telling it like it is. Nyerere was a great man. I
adored him personally. But this great man made serious mistakes during his
rule. It's a measure of his greatness that he could stand up and own up to
his mistakes. For you to deny what the man himself admitted is doing him a
dis-service. It's forty years since we've been independent. Look what we've
done to ourself! Just a thought.

Saul





>From: madi jobarteh <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: AFRIKAN TRUTH 3: Nyerere-a knave or a saint
>Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 12:27:44 GMT
>
>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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