what Rudolf Okonkwo states , pretty much exonerates some of us...in what we have been saying about Ayittey and his Imperalist masters!!!..I will say no more at this point..read okonkwo's article below.!!!
MK
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This is a comment by Rudolf Okonkwo. Over to you.
Africa: Yucky, Yucky!
By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo
Feb. 9, 2005
Africa is a continent of many stories. Over the years, Africa's
stories have resisted attempts by historians to bring them all
together to make sense. They are like tissues that refused to be
stitched together. Because Africa's stories do not yet make sense,
African plight is always difficult to dissect and diagnose. One of
those Africans in the forefront of marshalling out solutions to
African numerous maladies is George B. N. Ayittey. Ayittey, a
Ghanaian economic professor at American University in Washington who
uses his columns in The Wall Street Journals to propound solution to
Africa's problems. Some of his solutions are far from being
palatable.
One of Ayittey's most controversial recommendations is that some
African countries should establish what he called "free economic
zone" where big businesses would be enticed with tax breaks and
waivers on duties. Such countries would in return, give up
sovereignty over such territories. For those countries that would
not be interested in giving up territory, Ayittey suggested that
they should lease out parts of their territories for some years in
return for debt forgiveness. What Ayittey wants to see are lots of
Hong Kongs in Africa. Nigeria for instance can give up the Sharia
States to Microsoft and Coca-Cola. International business interest
will then descend on those lands and turn them into an economic
miracle. Apparently, it appears that to people like Ayittey, there
really is no hope that Africa, left on its own can crawl out of its
predicaments.
Ayittey and his likes are only giving intellectual backing to those
who are more and more concluding that Africa is once again lost and
as such needs another dose of colonization as the only way to bring
about 'civilization' to our once again darkening continent. This
trend of portraying Africa in a bad light is exploding every other
day. The Economist of London recently put Africa on its cover and
declared Africa "A Hopeless Continent". And in America, policy
makers picture Africa as a case of "wall-to-wall incompetence,
disorder and danger." Despite the protest of a few that understands
the complexity of the forces acting in Africa, these labels are
sticking.
Many Africans are beginning to think that probably we chased the
Europeans out too early. Some Africans are so disillusioned that
they are nostalgic about those days when the Europeans were in
absolute control. Africans have joined the rest of the outside world
to refer to their homeland as a lost cause. An African man after a
recent visit called his homeland "bush" and swore never to step in
there again. He had thrown in the towel and turned his back
permanently. Other Africans, who still care, do so reluctantly. Some
are just waiting for their parents to die off before they finally
slam the door on Africa. For the rest, it is a constant prayer that
the immigration office will one day let them bring out their loved
ones. Once that is accomplished, it is goodbye Africa.
Over three decades after most of Africa achieved their political
independence, the trials and tribulations of the African has
worsened. Why? Why? Why? Who failed Africa? Who lost Africa? Who
will save Africa? Who will rescue her? Why is Africa, the
motherland, the cradle of civilization, and the home of all of
humanity in such a huge despair? We know the usual suspects:
Colonization, slavery, IMF, the West, AIDS, corruption, 'the Wasted
generation', illiteracy, ignorance, ethnicity, religion, drought,
flood, famine, Mobutu, Moi, Mugabue, malaria, mad cow disease,
Ebola, Eyadema, soldiers, Obasanjo, Gaddafi, Abacha, warlords,
witches, water-babies, mermaids, Ogboni and what have you. But what
about you and me? Are these impediments insurmountable? Have we
tried with all our might? Have we exhausted all our options?
It has been suggested that international donors and western nations
and their financial institutions should tie aid to African nations
to human rights observations and improvements in democratic
institutions. Currently, that suggestion is being implemented.
Ayittey has taken it a step further. He wants American aid to be
tied to the existence of a strong central bank, independent media,
courts and security forces. He wants war-torn countries like Sierra
Leone taken over by the United Nations. To pay for the cost of
running the country, clearing up the mess brought about by warlords
and International Diamond businesses backing them, Sierra Leone's
diamond deposits would be sold off.
Obviously, to the likes of Ayittey, the struggle to save Africa is
an emergency situation that requires emergency measures. It is more
or less a case of 'by any means necessary'. When one listens to the
reports about AIDS and the devastation it causes; one is shaken up.
The common phrase is that a generation of Africans is being wiped
off the face of the earth. If nothing is done, by the time AIDS
finished with Africa, there will not be anyone standing. The
warlords will call for war and nobody will come out to carry their
AK47. Drought will come and there is nobody to force into
relocation. Leaders who are used to driving to the Central Banks and
loading millions of dollars into trucks will not have children to
give the money for safe keeping. The shadow of death will be all
over Africa.
What is to be done? Mortgage Africa? For the second time? Are the
results out? Did the colonial masters do better than African
leaders?
The implications of Africa's failure are so unimaginable. The
survival of the black race is tied up with the survival of Africa.
If Africa shines, the black race shines. But if Africa remains on
its knees, so shall all blacks all over the world. No black man will
be able to stand tall and raise his head high with all boldness
until Africa is on the path to progress. Nothing is as pathetic as
seeing that there is no glimmer of hope anywhere in Africa. South
Africa, with its comparative advantages is devastated by violence
and AIDS. It also has the misfortune of having a president that TIME
magazine recently tagged "a dissident."
The search for answers is proceeding unabatedly in every direction.
One time Nigeria's Senate President, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, once
suggested that Nigeria should abandon the written constitution and
adopt the unwritten code of conduct - a kind of indigenous
democracy. Which means that we may not have heard the last from
medicine men and juju priests. In a different suggestion, the
Eastern Mandate Union (EMU) abroad once called on Bill Clinton to
use the opportunity of their meeting with President Obasanjo of
Nigeria to compel him to call a National Conference. As more African
nations fight their first civil wars, and some prepare for their
second, it is becoming clear that National Conferences may be the
only way to go. Such a conference is needed in other to set up
structures of nationhood and administration to be agreed upon by all
nationalities and socio-political forces in these African countries.
The exploitation of structural flaws in Africa's present nation-
state by the ruling elite has been the bedrock of Africa's problems.
The needs of ordinary Kikuyu man eating Ugali in Nairobi or the
ordinary Igbo man eating akpu in Sokoto are all the same. They all
want a safe continent where there is hope and an opportunity for
them to maximize their potentials. In their desperation, they may
not care how that is achieved. But they have never forgotten how we
got into this mess in the first place. It is therefore the duty of
African intellectuals, especially the drive-by types who live
outside Africa, to make responsible choices for Africans. In their
anger and despair, they should not prescribe a remedy that in the
long run will short change Africa and be worse than illness whose
cure was being sought. Africa should not be short-changed and
undersold. The greatest help will always be the self-help. The
danger in assuming that Africa's survival can only be found in the
laps of foreigners amount to an acceptance of Africans' inferiority.
If the Indians, the Malaysians, the Brazilians, the Mexicans, the
Hungarians, the Iranians are digging out rather than selling out,
the Africans should have the courage and the decency to hang in
there and dig out.
Does the likes of Ayittey consider the fact that exchange of flags
did not end colonization? As they chunk out solutions the West
should implement, did they consider the fact that the West has
always been involved and often indicted in African tragedies? They
plan the coups, bring up governments and bring down governments.
They start wars and end wars. Have the West changed? Where did they
find the milk of human kindness to come to Africa just to do good?
What did they do with their self-interest that have always
overridden their sense of what is right and what is wrong? What
makes the likes of Ayittey develop so much trust for the same people
who killed Patrick Lumumba?
An African-American kid was reported to have been asked by his
teacher what he thought about Africa and he responded, "yucky,
yucky". The same _expression_ he uses when his mother asks him to
taste broccoli or uncooked tomatoes. If Africans like Ayittey and I,
do nothing to rescue Africa ourselves, tomorrow, this African-
American kid that will call Africa yucky, yucky may be yours or
mine. As for his children and his children's children, they will
read our stories of today and declare our days, the dark ages.
Doesn't that possibility make you feel yucky?
About the author: Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo is a freelance writer based in
New York. Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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