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 ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------