Features
Focus on Africa
The bottom line to my submission today is that Sub-Saharan Africa has been fundamental for global prosperity and the West will ensure Africans remain impoverished so that their economies can prosper.
When the Europeans set their colonial and imperial eyes on Africa, only one objective was on their mind; to plunder our natural resources even if it meant annihilating the ‘natives’.
To achieve this goal they had to draw long-term strategies to take care of their economies for eternity. Their strategies were to be unfurled over time, changing and being realigned with the changing times. First was to find what was on the continent that could benefit them.
The question was how to go about it. They thought we were savages that could be tamed by either a direct confrontation or by religious chicanery. So the Crown and the Church commissioned ships to sail to discover what they thought was the Dark Continent. They came with the Holy Bible in their armpits and told our people of an omnipotent God whose son died to save mankind who subscribed to their faith, not by idol worship.
While their missionaries got the people’s attention to their God, their explorers were busy looking for economic opportunities. Aside from natural resources they surmised that the fastest was the human resource for their plantations in the Americas and Caribbean. The Slave Trade was thus kick-started. And the Crown and the Church took commission on each slave delivered to those lands alive.
Meanwhile, the missionaries established schools to ‘educate’ the ‘natives’. They built forts and castles on our coastlines, armed with cannons, to ward off rival European adventurers. Many of these forts served as dungeons to keep slaves captive till the arrival of ships to cart them away. Some of the castles served as their schools.
Those ‘natives’ who opposed the Europeans were subjected to brutal attacks and raids on their lands. Asante resisted and fought the British, Ethiopia resisted and fought the Italians as did Libya. Hundreds of thousands of Zulus under King Chaka in Azania were slaughtered. Indeed, because they had superior firepower, the Europeans were able to subdue some of the people, except Ethiopia.
It must be stated quickly that while the Europeans were arriving by sea to sub-Sahara, Arabs were also making inroads by land through the northeast of the continent with their Quran in tow. This focus on Africa was from many directions.
The colonialists started to establish systems of governance in the areas they had taken roots in. Having indoctrinated our forebears into their religions, the next strategy was numeracy, not education, to make our people behave to suit their taste. The missionaries established mission schools on strict doctrinal principles.
I say numeracy because our forebears were already educated on the norms and nuances of our culture and appreciation in the fields of farming, fishing, governance and religion. The colonialists could be credited with bringing numeracy and formality though.
Having established their governance they then set to plundering our minerals and other natural resources like gold, timber, cocoa, coffee, iron, among others to enrich their economies back home.
They pretended to trade with us, but ended up dividing our ranks by pitting one ethnic group against the other.
Things began to change after our men went to fight their war in Burma, a war that had nothing to do with us in Africa, and realised that even the Europeans could die in battle. It became apparent that the Africans could manage their own affairs. This was the catalyst for independence agitation. Prior to this, the impression was that the Europeans were invincible against any adversary.
In effect, the colonialists have so far brought us religion, democracy of their type and lately LGBTQ+. We have embraced their religion and we are resisting and rejecting their LGBTQ+. Their democracy is not working on the continent the way they want it to.
Taking a step into the past, it was not easy for them to grant us independence. It was a struggle. The Mau Mau uprising saw hundreds of the people of Kenya murdered in cold blood by the British. Their women were raped and maimed. Is it not a paradox or irony that in spite of their disdain for the Black Race, these Europeans found attraction in our women’s genitalia?
The Germans also unleashed terror on the people of Namibia, killing the people for sport just as the Belgians and French did in the Congo Basin where millions of our people were killed. It is estimated that more than twenty million people of the Congo were murdered. Now, when only six million Jews were gassed by Hitler’s Third Reich the whole world has been brainwashed to call that a Holocaust.
What name would they give to the millions of Africans killed? I charge African leaders to find a nomenclature for the genocide against Africans. Then we can harp on this every minute of the day so it registers on their minds.
Having granted us independence, their strategy of keeping us in perpetual penury was kick-started. Neo Colonialism was triggered. They set up the Breton Woods institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to pretend to lend us money when we are unable to balance our books. They give us conditions like cutting public jobs, infrastructure development, and devaluation of our currencies so they can buy our raw materials cheaply.
It becomes a never-ending cycle of dependence on these financial institutions to the detriment of our own progress as a people. Sadly, for the African continent the West finds it more convenient to deal with our corrupt leaders. They keep these leaders on a leash of blackmail to dance to their music. These leaders abound on the continent. When a country’s leaders are criticized by the West, that government is doing the right things for their people.
How many of us have noticed that all the Patriots who led our countries to independence were educated in the West? Having lived among their colonizers, these Africans saw the strengths and weaknesses in their systems and their people. This spurred them on to come home and fight to take their countries’ destinies into their own hands.
These were selfless, nationalistic and patriotic individuals whose vision was the political and economic emancipation of their people. The Francophone had the likes of Sekou Toure of Guinea, Leopold Sedar Senghor of Senegal, Modibo Keita of Mali, Francois Tombalbaye of Chad and Maurice Yameogo of Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso). We had Ahounmadegbe in Benin, Grunitzky in Togo, Patrice Lumumba in Congo and many others.
The Anglophones were Siaka Stephens of Sierra Leone, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, Milton Obote of Uganda, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Tafawa Balewa of Nigeria, Kamuzu Banda of Malawi, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and our own Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah. The list is endless. The Lusophones did not have things easy. Augustino Neto and Louis Cabral will tell you.
These were people who never amassed personal wealth for themselves. There are virtually little policy landmarks in their various countries that were not in the master plans of these visionary leaders. Everything they initiated was in the interest of their people. Their former colonialists realised they were losing out and had to revise their strategy.
First, the British came up with the Commonwealth of Nations. The French also had their Assimilation and France-Afrique. In spite of this they began to fund the opposition in these young countries to undermine their governments. Where there was no credible opposition, the military was courted to overthrow the regimes. The result was the spate of coups d’etat from the mid-sixties into the seventies.
I will soon do a five-part series on France and its atrocities in Africa, but let me state quickly that Dr Kwame Nkrumah gave Guinea under Sekou Toure ten million British pounds to get that country started after France took even the minutest of items as office pins when they were packing out of Conakry.
Any progressive leader in Africa must be taken out. In many cases, those who removed them did not fare any better with their paymasters. Once they found out they had been used by the West and the cloudiness cleared out of their eyes, the West was ready to take them out too. It has never been a win-win situation for Africa.
Today, the weak leaderships on the continent have allowed Western military bases on their soil. To me, this is colonisation all over again. Who is Ghana fighting to want an American military detachment in the country? France has military bases all over the continent under the guise of protecting their former colonies from Islamic Jihadist attacks. This falsehood flies in the face of our knowledge that these soldiers are on the continent to protect the loot of our natural resources by their surrogate companies.
And we have leaders who pander to the whims of these colonialist economic vultures who rather have the effrontery to tell us what to do with our lives. The least they can do is to back off and get their soldiers off our soil and territories. Left alone, we have the capacity to manage our own affairs.
Writer’s email address:
akofa45@yahoo.com
By Dr. Akofa K. Segbefia
It is still the contention of my uncle, Kofi Jogolo, that the moment God created woman, He created a big problem for man. If not, why would man always have to trim his moustache in such a way as to please woman and not himself? And why would a man’s holy organ keep nodding like an agama lizard just because there is a creation called woman?
Sir Kofi Jogolo whose moustache deserves both a national award and mention in the Guinness Book of Records for its stylish variations, told me recently that when you marry, you have palaver; if you don’t marry, you have wahala. All because of woman. I think the bloke is a reincarnation of Paul. Only he looks like Peter.
For those who do not marry, they may be free of marital problems, but might be in sexual bondage, because at dawn, a certain part of the body might nod in distress. It is a wonderful part of the human body that smiles with joy when a woman is lying within arm’s length.
The unmarried may not have to wait until dawn, though. After all, who says you can satisfy a sexual need only at dawn? If there is no girlfriend, there is still a way out. FEMALE BODIES FOR SALE! You only have to ask, “How much?” Sometimes it is worth the price of only two balls of kenkey.
It is for this reason that some people do not discourage women from practising prostitution because they claim the women play a vital role in national development. According to them, first, the nation cannot develop when the citizens are sex-starved. Second, they claim prostitution keeps down figures of rape cases since it is due to the scarcity of female bodies that the incidence of rape is rising.
Well, some people really adore prostitutes. With them you don’t have to worry about pregnancy. Moreover, you can skip foreplay which many people don’t have the patience for because of their high sexual temperature, or because they consider it a waste of time. And when you pay well, you can enjoy the style you want.
In actual fact, some married men also go in for prostitutes once in a while. They claim that prostitutes do not complain in bed like their wives. When you ask them to raise a leg, they comply without argument.
They also say prostitutes who are experienced can really work on certain parts of your body enough to make you blaspheme. Holy Jesus! The difference is clear then that with prostitutes you pay for the service but with wives it is for free, meaning that the quality of service must differ accordingly.
Many men also say they prefer prostitutes to girlfriends because of “back-pocket palaver”. It is their contention that with girlfriends you have to specialise in telling lies about your credit worthiness especially when you’re not only a human being but also a church mouse.
Sometimes you have to buy beer and gin because some girlfriends would not like to have sex unless they are properly soaked in booze. You also have to sing them lullabies and recite poetry to turn them on. Ask Devine Ankamah. That’s not all. When all is finished, you have to dish transport money, and if you’re not lucky she’d ask you to settle a “carry forward” you had planned to dodge.
So for just two probably lousy rounds of enjoyment, you’d spend some ¢15,000 if hotel services are included, unless you choose a hotel room where cockroaches and rats don’t practise family planning.
There are those who believe that with prostitutes, you don’t have to tell lies. It is purely business. No credit, no debit. Money na hand back na ground. When you are through and refuse to pay, she’ll cause a scene, scratch your face red and drag your butt onto the street. Next time you don’t have money, you stick to your wife or girlfriend or to your sorrows.
Prostitution in Sikaman is widespread. News reaching Palava have it that in the Obuasi area, it is the major occupation of females. They are in lucrative business. They come from all over the country -Bolga, Tamale, Kumasi, Sunyani, Accra, Odumase, wherever. A few are said to have come from Lagos in full gear.
When they all come, they sometimes don’t do so with only their bodies and luggage. They also carry with them something small in the form of a disease called AIDS which they distribute free of charge.
So why Obuasi? Gold! The great successes of Ashanti Goldfields combined with the notoriety and boom of galamsey activities have acted as a magnet, drawing in those who peddle their bodies for cash. No cheques!
Sometime back, it was reported that AIDS cases in the Obuasi area had soared. The reason, prostitution. Obuasi prostitutes are, however, of class. They dress to kill. Some speak even more languages, so if you’re a client and you speak even in tongues, they understand. And they drink beer exactly like Germans.
So what really are we doing about these prostitutes who, some say are contributing to national development and others say are enhancing national obituary?
Sikaman Palava has said it once that the law enforcement agencies have tried time and again to rid them off the streets. They have always failed in doing so. The problem is that they are as slippery as the cockroach. When harassed, they disappear and practise all the same. If caught, they are fined and the next day they are firmly at post.
Some people say because we can’t get rid of them, we must neither encourage nor discourage them. We must find a way of organising them into co-operatives under the name of “SPECIAL HUMAN SERVICES.”
They’d undergo medical screening and those with AIDS banned from practising. The rest would undergo a course in the cause, prevention and cure of sexually-transmitted diseases, personal hygiene, condom use and the healthful ways of practising prostitution.
Then they can be let loose to practise under laid-down rules and regulations and their income taxed.
That way, the prostitutes would be more beneficial to society and would not be the problem we see them to be.
This article was first published on Saturday June 29, 1996
This year June and part of July, is an enjoyable season for football lovers due to the World Cup which is held every four years. The World Cup is such a huge event and also very prestigious so it is highly competitive.
Countries registered with the Federation of International Football Association, (FIFA) become automatic members. FIFA organises tournaments on the five continents of the world, to enable countries to be selected to play in the World Cup competition.
Governments support their national teams to ensure qualification to the World Cup due to the prestigious nature of the tournament. Certain countries even go to the extent of renting a place of their choice, instead of the accommodation provided by FIFA, to ensure that they win the ultimate crown, as Germany did in the 2014 tournament in Brazil.
Mental strength a requisite for emerging victorious in football matches at such high professional level and everything must be done to endure that players are focused on the matches ahead of them.
There is however, a peculiar situation in this year’s World Cup, where it is being hosted by three countries namely the United States of America, Mexico and Canada and where one of the host countries, is at war with one of the competing countries.
The United States of America, is waging a war against Iran. The US has prevented Iran from staying in the US where they were originally scheduled by FIFA to play their matches. The US using its power as the host country, has refused to let Iran to stay and FIFA has provided a place in Mexico for the Iranian team to stay. They have to spend about five hours to fly to the US and prepare to get ready for their matches, each match day.
They are also forced to leave the US as soon as they finish playing their matches, without resting. Despite this inhumane treatment being forced on them by the USA, the Iranian team is mentally strong and have managed to draw their two matches played.
This is a clear manifestation of mental toughness, resulting from having the right mindset.
Life has a way of often dealing bad cards to a lot of people but it is important that when it happens like that, you look at what you can do with what you have, to still achieve the goals you have set for yourself.
There is a saying that when life throws you a lemon you make lemonade out of it. The barriers confronting you might be great, but it is the attitude you display that makes the difference.
The Iranians have really shown that the right mindset is indeed everything you need to be successful. They looked at their situation and assessed what was not going in their favour and found appropriate steps to address it.
Given the teams Iran was to play, the challenge was indeed huge, given the circumstances they found themselves in, but the right mindset to never give up, did the trick for them.
As human beings, we are always confronted with challenges, right from the day we start to crawl, the day we take our first steps and as we continue to grow into adulthood. Challenges are part of our daily lives and we must therefore condition our minds, that we shall encounter them and so must constantly be innovative in overcoming them, when we encounter them.
We need as a country, to develop a critical thinking skill capabilities in our youth, as an investment in the future fortunes of this country. Developing the right mindset, will enable us overcome every challenge. God bless.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
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