Madiba, thank you for forwarding the rejoinder by Halifa Sallah to
our piece on Julius Nyerere. Could you please post this response on the
Gambian net?

Thank you.

George Ayittey,
Washington, DC

**********************

RESPONSE TO HALIFA SALLAH ON "THE BURIAL OF JULIUS NYERERE"

I was saddened to read Mr. Sallah's article on Nyerere, which was a response
to a piece I wrote with a Tanzanian, Ludovick Shirima, that was published in
The Wall Street Journal (Europe) on October 20.

Mr. Sallah's article reflects a peculiar type of mentality that afflicts many
African intellectuals. I have called this "intellectual astigmatism." And it
is this disease which has aided and abetted the ruination of Africa. The
despots and dictators of Africa certainly could not have reduced Africa to a
mess WITHOUT the help, collaboration and servile prostitution of African
INTELLECTUALS.

Some of these intellectuals, like Mr. Sallah, are still wedded to OBSOLETE,
colonial-era paradigms and models. To them, virtually ALL of Africa's problems
have been caused by Western colonialism, imperialism, the World Bank, IMF and
other EXTERNAL factors. Therefore, African leaders can do NO wrong --
especially those who won independence for their respective countries.

No African would deny that the first generation of leaders strove gallantly
and endured personal hardships to win independence from colonial rule. They
were hailed as heroes by their people and the international community. We made
this point in our piece. BUT in country after country, these leaders proceeded
to establish brutal regime, violated the civil rights of their own people and
looted their economies. Nyerere was an exception, which we also said in our
article. To continue to make excuses for the failures of these leaders is the
epitome of intellectual astigmatism. Black African leaders can do no wrong;
only white colonialists and imperialists. This kind of intellectualism is a
disgrace to Africa. Even children no longer buy this.

Please read below the letter which was found on the bodies of two teenage
Guinean boys Yaguine Koita, 14, and Fode Tourakara, 15, who sneaked into
the landing gear of a Sabina airliner, on a flight from Conakry, (Guinea)
to Brussels. They died on August 2, 1999, unable to survive  temperatures
of 55 degrees below zero in an unpressurized compartment at 30,000 feet of
altitude.

A PLEA FOR AFRICA

Exellencies, gentlemen, and responsible citizens of Europe:

It is our great hope and privilege to write to you about our trip and the
suffering of the children and youth in Africa. We offer you our most
affectionate and respectful salutations. In return, be our support and our
help.

We beseech you on behalf of your love for your continent, your people, your
families, and above all your children, who you cherish more than life itself.
And for the love of God, who has granted you all the experience, wealth, and
power to ably construct and organize your continent. We call upon your
graciousness and solidarity to help us in Africa. Our problems are many: war,
sickness, hunger, lack of education, and children’s rights. We lack rights as
children. We have schools, but we lack education. . . . We want to study, and
we ask that you help us to become like you.

We beseech you to excuse us for daring to write this letter to you, important
people whom we truly respect. It is to you, and to you only, that we can plead
our case.

And if you find that we have sacrificed our lives, it is because we suffer
enormously in Africa. We need your help in our struggle against poverty and
war.

Be mindful of us in Africa. There is no one else for us to turn to.

Printed in Harper’s Magazine, Nov 1999; p.22). It was also printed by most
newspapers in Belgium, France, Britain and elsewhere in Europe.

*************

I hope Mr. Sallah would learn a thing or two from their letter. May they rest
in peace.

George Ayittey,
Washington, DC

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