Features
Freeing ourselves from colonial mentality – brownman or blackman
On several occasions I have stood in front of the mirror to observe my looks, I have wondered why I should call myself a Blackman? Unless I am colour blind, the colour of my skin is more brown than black. When I am putting on my trousers, I clearly see a very marked difference between my black trouser and the skin colour of my legs and I begin to wonder why I should accept the erroneous idea that the colour of my skin is black, and therefore I should call myself a Blackman.
It is true that the skin colour of some of our family members and friends can be termed as black. There are people in some communities in the western part of Ghana whom one can say are black. In fact one is assumed to be from a particular part of Ghana if his or her skin colour is black.
However, the majority of the people are more brownish than blackish and so on the average it would be wrong to call Ghanaians black people. There are people in southern Nigeria, in the Calabar area that look like Caucasians but are very African. How can you refer to these people as Black?
There is a very funny situation that makes for interesting analysis. There was a film about apartheid and the murder of Steve Biko. In that movie, the man playing the role of Steve Biko was asked by the judge that “Why do you call yourself Black because you are more Brown than Black” and in response Steve Biko said “Why do you also call yourself White, you are more Pink than White”. That statement brought home to me a profound truth and set me wondering why Caucasians call themselves white when it is evidently and abundantly clear that there is a marked difference between the colour of their skin and the colour white.
It brings to mind a people with either a confused state of mind or a people willing to pursue a deliberate agenda, at all cost. There is a definite racist white supremacist agenda that wants to implant an idea of inferiority complex in the mind of the African and people of African Descent. The objective is to make the African lose his or her sense of dignity, self-confidence and identity so that as a group, they can be easily controlled.
At the religious level, deliberate effort has been made by colonial powers to depict the African both on the continent and in the Diaspora as evil. Have you ever seen a picture of the Devil as a Caucasian? The answer is a definite no; he is always depicted as a Black person. It carries a certain subtle message which suggests to people that Africans and people of African Descent are of the devil and therefore evil. When this narrative is perpetuated according to the theory of propaganda, it has the potential to reinforce the perception that Africans and people of African Descent are evil.
People should, therefore, not be surprised at the rate of police brutality towards people of African Descent because there is a stereotype which brings to mind a person of potential criminal intent whenever a policeman sees a so-called black person.
Take a look at some words and phrases in the English language: Blackmail, Black sheep of the family, Blacklist, Black eye, Black market, Black out etc. are all geared towards ensuring an agenda to project so-called “Black people” in a bad light. All along there is a campaign to destabilise the wealthiest African nations and their systems by Western countries to project Africa as a poor continent that cannot survive without the benevolence of western countries according to Mallence Bart-Williams, a world-class Social Entrepreneur.
She further stated that this is achieved through Multi-million dollar PR advertisement campaigns waged by organisations like Oxfam, Unicef, Life Aid, Red Cross etc. The rationale behind this, is to prevent the threat of exposure to the world of how weak the Western World is without depending on the resources from Africa.
Therefore, let us continually create conditions that would project Africa and the people of African Descent as people who cannot survive on their own without so-called Western help. How best to achieve that is by creating an environment that would result in self-destruction by undermining the Unification of Africa agenda which was first initiated by Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana. His overthrow through a coup d’état has now been established as having been orchestrated by the Western World, through the CIA to be specific.
There is the need, therefore, by Africans and people of Africa Descent to start rejecting the idea that they are Black People and start calling themselves Brown People if they want to use colour to define their identity as a people. This initiative must start from my own country Ghana where we pride ourselves as the Black Star of Africa.
It should rather be the Brown Star of Africa. There must be a deliberate effort to start an indoctrination process for people of Africa and Africa Descent to start believing that they are not black, that they are not evil like the devil and must start drawing the devil as a Caucasian since the actions of Caucasians like slave trade, colonisation of Africa etc. is a clear demonstration of the attributes of the devil. Talks must be organised in junior and senior high schools and tertiary institutions to reinforce this deliberate indoctrination with the objective of renewing the mind of the African that he or she is not inferior to any person of a different colour to his or her own.
The responsibility of freeing ourselves from colonial mentality, also to a large extent, depends on our leaders who must show the way. The citizens of the various countries also have a responsibility of holding our leaders accountable. A combination of these two things is the surest way of freeing ourselves from colonial mentality and raising the dignity of the African. The greed and the selfish interest of a lot of our leaders like the Mobutus, the Sanni Abachas etc. must be curtailed.
Jacques Chirac, the former French President, is on record as saying that “We have to be honest and acknowledge that a big part of the money in our banks comes precisely from the exploitation of the African continent”. A strong collaboration of people on the continent and those in the diaspora is the way to go in establishing our claim to recognition on the international stage.
An intensive renewal of the mind approach has to be adopted and practicalised by starting to love our neighbour as ourselves as the Bible declares in Mathew 22:39. The attitude of pull him down must be replaced with lift him up and push him up as Africans. This is what the Jews have established among themselves and no wonder they have the financial power and therefore wield such great influence in the world.
It is a well-known fact that a Jew would rather buy from another Jew even if the price of the Jewish shop is higher than that of a non-Jewish shop of a product, of the same quality. In fact it is claimed that money circulates 20 times among Jews before it goes out of their circles. This is a great lesson Africa and Africans in the diaspora must learn and practise and as we renew our mind, in other words become restless, we shall break free of the bondage of the tag of Third World just as Isaac declared upon Esau in Genesis 27:40.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah, Social Commentator
Features
The Cop, press and lost fingers
The job of a policeman, whether he is short or tall, is not a cheap one. He is supposed to keep the peace, protect society and monitor the activities of local magicians and money doublers who are specialists in making civil servants lose their pay within seconds.
By far the most difficult job of the policeman is when he is expected to arrest a murderer who is not only armed but also has a record of appearing and disappearing at will. Even if the tough cop is in the company of other policemen all armed to the teeth, his stomach will turn to water when the criminal suddenly appears.
He is terrified not because the criminal is a better marksman, but because nobody dies twice. The problem also is that a criminal might be prepared to die in a bid to shoot his way to freedom. But is the police-man prepared to risk death in the course of duty when he has a family to rear.
If he had just acquired a new girlfriend with whom he is enjoying life, should he not run away with his tail between his legs and tell his boss that the criminal is uncatchable?
Before some policemen go on patrol duties, they actually pray solemnly. “God send me into the wilderness and bring me back safely with my nose intact because I’m worth more than a common rat. I also do not want to die like a stray dog. If a bullet is targeted at my forehead, Holy Spirit please let it go over the bar, because six children is not a small palaver. If I die, who will look after them? Lord keep me safe day by day. Amen!”
The Sikaman policeman’s job is a risky one because he is not properly equipped with even a trained dog to help track down criminals easily. So he has to use his own nose judiciously in sniffing out suspects while making sure a bullet doesn’t catch him square on the jaw.
My friend Sir Kofi Owuo, a.k.a. Death-By-Poverty was telling me journalists are in an even riskier profession. Apparently, he had been reading about the palaver of journalists in places like Algeria and Columbia. Algeria, even women journalists are not spared assassin’s bullet. You’d see them lying in front of their homes with their heads full of bullet holes.
In Columbia, no journalist is safe. When a journalist is leaving home, he has to tell his wife. “Darling, when I don’t come back by 7 p.m. check the mortuary
The drug trade in Columbia has made journalism a profession not worth practising. If you write on cocaine and the harm it is inflicting on society, you’ll certainly receive a phone call.
“Hello, Mr Journalist, your article yesterday was great. Congratulations! We never knew you were such brilliant writer, championing the cause of society. Again we say congrats! But you know something, by your article, you want to take the bread out of my and that of my family. You don’t want us to beak. We are aggrieved beyond measure”
“Oh, I was just… “You’d try to say something
“You don’t have to explain. The harm has already been done by your award-winning masterpiece. We have an appointment with you. You’ll hear from us.
Rest In Peace!” After such a phone call, you just have to pray to your soul, sing a hymn or two and get prepared fort appointment with death. For, death will surely come
I think pressmen in Sikaman would also have start informing their families appropriately before leaving for work now. “If I don’t come back early, I’m probably at the Ear, Nose and Throat Department of Korle- Bu checking a leakage in my left ear due to a gendarme slap from an AMA official. If you don’t see me there, track me down to the emergency ward. If you see a newly-made cripple, I’m the one”
What about referees? These days they are guarded during football matches so that the risk they bear in terms of lost teeth is minimal. Formerly, it used to be a job full of woes and tribulations.
You were expected to oversee a match in such way that would favour a particular team. If that is not done, you’ll get back home and your wife will not recognise you. She’ll mistake you for Frank Bruno who had just lost a bout. When she finally recognises you, she’ll fix some hot water to massage your poor face.
I hear that these days, apart from the protection referees receive, some are well-armed with Damfo Dzai, a kind of jack-knife that can carve a rowdy supporters face in several designs.
My Press Secretary and part-time bodyguard Devine Ankamah, was telling me if he happens to be a referee, he’d surely carry a Kalashnikov AK 47 rifle with him, complete with loaded magazine, before officiating matches. According to him, that is the only way to do the job without fear or favour. Anyone dares will lose his jaw.
Anyway, risky jobs require good remuneration. As Kwame Korkorti once said, risky jobs require risky salary. A policeman would require a good pay so that when a criminal targets his left ear it would be worth the ‘amputation’. Same for journalists and cameramen.
But go round private workplaces and factories and you’d see really risky occupations where workers are receiving salaries they can’t see with the naked eye.
In fact, in some private workplaces, environmental safety is completely absent. Workers breathe in fumes, poisonous gases and risk lung and respiratory problems. Their employers do nothing about protecting them against these hazards. Check out their payer.
In other places, workers have their fingers chopped off on the job, some losing as many as four fingers in stretch. The compensation they get can best be described as “wicked”. Their employers live big, chop big, ride big but are not willing to pay more than ¢120,000 for lost fingers.
Actually the more fingers you lose, the more money you get. So if you intend losing your fingers on the job, it is advisable to lose as many as possible so that you can get more cash. Those who have lost one finger have not benefited much and are encouraged to lose more next time around.
Sikaman Palava is undertaking to investigate some of these cases of very risky jobs in private setups and companies where workers are being exploited to unnecessarily but not offered protection against health hazards, and not properly compensated when they sustain injuries.
This article was first published on Saturday, September 28, 1996
Features
Position yourself for God’s blessings
Motivated by the impending 40-day fasting and needless to add prayer programme, preceding the Greater Works Conference scheduled for August in Accra, I would like to draw attention to how believers can receive blessings from God.
There is a scripture in Hebrews 11:5 that “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: and before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God”.
This clearly shows that in order to receive blessings from God, you must please God. How can one please God? You can only please God by obeying him and walking in line with God’s word. Just like how children who obey their parents, enjoy special treatment, so does God deal with his children who obey his word.
There are ways by which people receive blessings from God and holiness is an important criteria in the whole equation. Holiness is a process and not a one day event.
It is a mindset borne out of walking in obedience to God’s instructions i.e. his word. In order to have a mindset of living to please God, requires studying God’s word coupled with praying and fasting.
This helps us to develop trust in God by knowing his nature, what he likes and dislikes. This is what will enable us to live to please him and for our faith in him also to increase.
The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 that “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”
Fasting is one of the required criteria for blessings to be released and it goes with prayer because fasting without prayer is just a physical exercise. Fasting enables a person’s inner man to be in tune with the spirit of God and also becomes spiritually empowered to hear from God and also obey God.
Fasting enables a person’s spirit to feed on God’s word in a much more focused manner as compared to studying God’s word in normal times. As a result our spirit gains the upper hand to dominate the body and the soul, so that we are more conscious of the presence of God in our lives which causes us willingly the desire to live to obey God.
Holiness which is a prerequisite for pleasing God, can only manifest in our lives if we are able to overcome the desires of the flesh and this only happens when the flesh is subject to the spirit.
Apostle Paul said that “But l keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should not be castaway”, according to 1 Corinthians 9:27.
In order to bring the body or flesh into subjection so that believers will be able to live to please God, we have to study, God’s word in a certain state of mind which fasting and prayer appropriately provides.
Our minds are the battle grounds for decisions that either please God or the Devil. In order to please God so his blessings can be released upon our lives, we must continuously engage our minds with thoughts that is in line with God’s word.
Philippians 4:8 says that “Finally Brethren whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things”. May God help us to live to please him by meditating on things that please the Lord, so we shall be blessed in all aspects of our lives. God bless.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
