AFRICA & THE TRAGEDY OF SELF-IMMOLATION

AFRICA, GEOPOLITICS & THE REFLEXIVE BLAME GAME:

NEWSFLASH- IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE WHITEMAN'S FAULT!

ALL LIVES HAVE VALUE! SO, YES, ALL LIVES MATTER!! WHICH MEANS, BLACK LIVES (wherever they may reside anywhere in the world) MATTER TOO!!!

So, ultimately, as homo-sapiens, we should care about each other’s essential humanity, regardless of race, economic circumstances, physical location on the globe, or other ultimately irrelevant considerations.

Further, without diminishing the care and concern for other groups of people, at a minimum, anyone possessed, even of the tiniest drop of African blood should, as a matter of long-term self-esteem, be (morally) well-invested in the socioeconomic, political and cultural change in the fortunes of the African continent. Because, quite frankly, each of the 50 plus countries on the continent, to varying degrees and time periods, has been grossly under-achieving (some for the past seven decades, or so after mostly unshackling themselves from DIRECT COLONIAL RULE. America was someone else’s colony before. But it didn’t stop it from ultimately growing and massively flourishing.

Evidently, my special fondness for the majesty, and my fervent hopes for the still unfulfilled promise of the African Continent and its people is undeniable.

That special fondness endures. Unfortunately, so does the pain from the heartbreak, and the deep-seated disappointment (especially in the trajectory of the West African nation I currently refer to as NAIRALAND -the most populous African Nation by far, and also the country with the largest (so-called) Black People on the face of the earth, but historically without the right leaders (at all levels, at the right time) focused on fully, selflessly, and intentionally embracing and living up to the cultural and geopolitical responsibilities associated with that rare opportunity and privilege!).

Most of these leaders (including many of their smooth-talking competitors and aspiring acolytes) have, by circumstances, including their various actions, omissions and general antecedents "BEEN THOROUGHLY WEIGHED AND MEASURED. AND SADLY, THEY'VE MOSTLY BEEN FOUND WANTING!"

While SOME of the challenges and obstacles to Africa's great leap forward may have been imposed from outside. Much of those are not in debate and are already well-documented.

I mention it to point out that this reflective conversation is NOT about the vicissitudes of international geo-politics, whether resulting from hundreds of years of slave trade-inspired human, arts, culture, and raw materials stealing and trafficking; genocide, local rivalries, betrayals, treachery, and community devastation, or consequential abandonment of previously thriving villages and other communities.

Or even more recently, whether from the audacity of (mostly western) colonial conquests, as the unmistakable smoke emitted by western gunpowder clouded the landscape, creating a foreboding pall, overwhelming comparatively ineffectual local charms and some dubious superstitions, as Christianity (and later Islam) was unleashed as THE SOFT POWER TO FURTHER PACIFY THE CONQUERED BY TEMPERING THEIR RESISTANCE WITH THE PROMISE OF A SPIRITUAL HEAVEN WHERE THE MEEK HAS THE BEST SHOT. Still, to the VICTORS OF THE MATERIAL WORLD, go the bounty and all the material spoils of conquest in the name of THE ONE TRUE GOD! PERFECT!!!

Every country (or continent) needs international friendships predicated on mutual benefits and respect, defined clearly by informed self-interest. No shame in that. Even countries and societies that were predatory, or hostile in the past (after making genuine amends), may become very good friends and TRUSTED allies of today and tomorrow.

Still, SINCE ALL LIVES MATTER, "the question begs itself’- With all the tremendous human capital and the various natural resources available on the rich African Continent making it somehow MIRACULOUSLY possible for MOST CIVILIAN AND MILITARY LEADERS ON THE CONTINENT TO SOMEHOW BECOME OBSCENELY WEALTHY WITHOUT PRODUCING ANYTHING, then why do far too many of the countries continue to fall short and massively underperform in the care of their own people and in the elevation of their LEGITIMATE ASPIRATIONS FOR LIFE, LIBERTY & THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS? -

So, let’s briefly look inwards for a moment without the (sometimes legitimate but now) increasingly TIRESOME EXCUSE of pointing the finger at THE WHITE MAN (and more recently, perhaps also at the CHINESE), and HIS PREDATORY CORRUPTION (of a country’s willing elites and its political leadership) or a CIVIL WAR-INDUCING (take over and the installation of) CRONY-CAPITALISM to meet its resource needs!!!

While the context is a little nuanced in different circumstances, generally speaking, extreme poverty notwithstanding, THE WHITE MAN in the west didn’t magically send an invisible laser to make people stay at home rather than join others on their home turf, in protest and advocacy for the constitutional recognition and lawful enshrinement of their rights, including massively registering and turning out in unmistakable numbers to vote their will, and to stay engaged, ready to fight like hell for their votes to be recorded and accurately reported! LIKE THE GREAT JIMMY CLIFF ONCE SANG, "YOU CAN GET IT IF YOU REALLY WANT"

Apart from some instigated notable instances in the past (including the orchestrated move against Patrice Lumumba, Thomas Sankara, and some others), generally speaking, no foreign power has enduringly deprived a people of its will over the long-term, if the people are sufficiently determined and united in their resolve to sacrifice for the common good, and for a well-run society managed by accountable public servants (and not by some SELF-SELECTED GUN-TOTTING IDIOTS, or A FEW RECYCLED DIFFIDENT LOCAL VASSALS OF SOME FOREIGN MASTERS)!

Far too many of these African leaders failed to look out for their wretched and poverty-trapped communities and their increasingly restive unemployed youths (A clear example is the EXPLOSION of sectarian AND non-sectarian RANSOME-MOTIVATED KIDNAPPINGS in NAIRALAND!).

So, no. THE WHITE MAN didn’t force or magically compel some local nobles, chiefs, or other so-called leaders of thought to use their esteemed office or positions to collude with cynical (well-paying MILITARY DICTATORS OR) POLITICIANS to line their pockets in order to have them provide cover, confer unmerited legitimacy, or to look the other way while a dictator entrenches his power, or the cynical politicians employ artifice and flimflam to rig elections, and over time, to entrench the illusion of democracy while they promiscuously bleed their country dry of its precious resources, even as their hard-working citizens sink further and further into abject poverty, hopelessness, and squalor!

While the divide and conquer strategy was a useful tool by foreign invaders of the past, this savage tool has since been escalated and assumed rigorous tribal dimensions. Sadly, in many quarters, ETHNIC IDENTITY, NEPOTISM, AND BLIND LOYALTY HAVE SURPASSED COMPETENCE, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND INTEGRITY IN THE AFFAIRS OF STATE!

This is a choice otherwise intelligent people are making in real time. THE WHITE MAN IS NOT MAKING THOSE PEOPLE VACATE THEIR INTELLIGENCE AND CONSCIENCE, NOR FORCING THEM TO ELEVATE NARROW ETHNIC CLEAVAGES ABOVE WHAT WOULD BE BETTER FOR THE NATION OR THE PARTICULAR COMMUNITY.

Let me quickly share A COUPLE OF ILLUMINATING STORIES:

I recall an incident roughly between forty (40) and fifty (50) years ago when a couple of my friends respectively decided to compete for a particular prestigious position at the school. Notable that one of them was from a different background, while I share the same general background with the other. The friend with a different background ran into me first and alerted me to his ambition and requested my vote and my enthusiastic vocal support. I readily agreed.

So, it came as a shock when the other friend sought me out a few days later to lobby for my support and my vote for the same position. Notable that at that stage of their respective social and intellectual developments, I was confident that either would do a creditable job if elected. And had the second friend asked me first, I would have similarly agreed to support his cause without hesitation.

Predictable, things became a little awkward. However, having given my word to the other friend who made the first ask, notwithstanding that I shared the same background with the other friend who later asked for my support, I felt morally obliged to keep my word, notwithstanding the natural instinct that SOMETIMES inappropriately moves us toward racial/ethnic/familial or other contextually irrelevant loyalty considerations.

His disappointment was understandable, even as he grudgingly acknowledged the DILEMMA, PLUS THE MORAL COURAGE AND INTEGRITY, IT TOOK FOR ME TO THEN OPENLY AND ACTIVELY KEEP MY WORD, SOMETIMES CAMPAIGNING FOR THE OTHER GUY -EVEN IN HIS PRESENCE!

Incidentally, the “spurned friend” narrowly won the election regardless of my support for the other fella. And I heartily congratulated him while nevertheless still assuring him that I would have made the same decision again (going with whichever of the two asked me first) under similar facts and circumstances. And I was proud of him for doing a good job in the position.

Besides, life has a way of working itself out if you take the long view. Because, interestingly, losing that election incidentally freed up the other friend. It allowed him to then single-mindedly hunker down on his studies so that a year or so after, he secured, by far, the best overall result in the entire class (from his former middling position in the past). In fact, if my recollection is correct, it was one of the best results ever achieved in that context.

MAKE OF THAT WHAT YOU WILL.

THE SECOND STORY I’m sharing occurred roughly about the same period (give or take a year or two). I was the Editor-in-Chief of a popular student publication when some of our team members brought the information to my attention about a politician elected to a FULL-TIME PAYING POSITION in a different state, hundreds of miles away from where he was simultaneously registered and attending classes as a FULL-TIME STUDENT. A clear hustle of the voters in his state!

Further investigation was done. The allegations were confirmed in all material respects by me and my team. So, I went ahead and published a very critical story about his outrageous self-dealing. Now, prior to publication, I had no idea who he was, nor was I deterred by his reputed “reach” which I later found out was considerable (both physically and figuratively).

Turns out he was very physically imposing - A giant of a man. It's also noteworthy that, at the time, I was still your typical frail-looking, sometimes sickly, possibly pimple-faced and sometimes morose but still very driven youngster. Not surprisingly, the well-received issue of our publication caused a major stir, and real-world political discomfort for him and his otherwise locally popular political party.

I had almost moved on to getting ready for our next edition when he surprised me one day at a most inopportune time with three of his goons in tow.

To be sure, this giant of a man didn’t need the help of any goon to make short work of me if he and his goons were so inclined. But the show of force had the expected disquieting effect on me as I swallowed hard, with eyes darting back and forth for a quick escape route should it become necessary. Of course there wasn’t any room to vamoose.

I was clearly cornered. Fortunately, he only came to deliver his preliminary warning shot and perhaps to take a measure of me. He told me I had to immediately release a new edition to specifically retract all the allegations against him (the underlying fact of which he wasn’t denying, mind you). And that if I didn’t do his bidding, he would immediately place me in financial hell by SUING ME, MY ENTIRE SUPPORTING CAST AND ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH THE PUBLICATION FOR DEFAMATION & CHARACTER ASSASSINATION for, (factoring it was about 45 years or so ago, and allowing for inflation, the requested verdict would have been worth at least) about $350,000.00 plus in today’s dollars!

I doubt if I knew anybody alive at the time who had that kind of money laying around to spare. In any event, I have no idea how I was able to keep my composure long enough to POLITELY DEMUR. Yeah, you suddenly get very polite and measured when surrounded by a giant and his muscle-bound bodyguard/thugs waiting to be unleashed (and no help in sight).

I told him that our motive was not malicious. That we were only reporting FACTS AS VERIFIED BY OUR UNASSAILABLE METHODS AND SOURCES.

Then he stepped closer to me with an icy look and delivered THE MOST CHILLING MESSAGE I EVER HEARD (directed at me before) THEN, AND SINCE.

IN BARELY A WHISPER, HE THREATENED: “Akin…Austin... whatever, you’re just an amateur swimmer who accidentally ventured into an Olympic sized swimming” SIGHED CONDESCENDINGLY AS HE SHOOK HIS HEAD, AND GLARED AT ME IN UTTER DISDAIN. He moved in closer, leaned in, towering over me and hissed out his unmistakable promise… “this boy, you will break your neck!”

Many decades later, I can still conjure the almost perceptible chill running up and down my spine as he muttered those words!

Given my evident reluctance to do a retraction, he kept his word and sued us with fanfare within a few days of our encounter. As rumored, his reach was very considerable. Even some of those we typically looked up to as respected school officials got too nervous to get involved, even though they agreed with us. A few of our former heroes/role models and some we previously admired, allowed themselves to be conscripted to lean on us to do a false retraction! Outraged and disappointed, I defiantly declined (even as some of our team members who were understandably nervous enough to capitulate, tried to lean on me as well).

Ultimately, I leaned into the cultural loophole offered by a discreet savvy elder in our corner. In response to his written retraction, instead, I wrote a letter saying that while we respectfully stand behind the FACTS in our publication, if, beyond those revealed facts as stated we used any (culturally) disrespectful language against him in any way (an ironic cultural genuflection if ever there was one), then we apologize for any such disrespect, but not for the factual allegations themselves.

He bristled. Irritated by my written caveats and remained unsatisfied. My team new I was curious and excited enough to willingly to let the lawsuit play out if the rejected nuanced letter was not satisfactory. The stalemate appeared to linger for a short while, which fortuitously worked in our favor.

We were just youngsters who went to the court-building by ourselves to fumble through and ultimately submit our preliminary reply to the legal filing without the aid of legal counsel. If the case had gone forward, I have no idea how we would have navigated it without legal help. But filled with the sometimes-misguided hubris of the young, and having received assurances from a couple of knowledgeable folks that we had the truth on our side, and that (typically) it should suffice as a defense, nervously, I stood ready to plow on (if necessary).

Too young to understand at the time that, given the then prevailing level of judicial corruption, that it was also very possible that he could be acting in collusion if the case were to be assigned to the right corrupt judge willing to play ball. In which case, factual accuracy or not, he may have eaten our lunch in court without batting an eyelash. BLINDLY WADDING IN WITH SUCH YOUTHFUL HUBRIS!!!

In any event, with the story now making the rounds, it was rather fortunate that some of his political opponents saw an opportunity. They tried to use me to do him in by offering me money and other resources to retain legal counsel, including potential access to the national media in order to cause him maximum political damage (while concealing their fingerprints in the enterprise).

Of course, I declined, not wanting to be used as a political tool by either of the rival political parties. But suddenly with him no longer certain whether I might take the opportunity and allow myself to be used to politically ruin him, he suddenly became more "reasonable."

He tracked me down at a soccer field (a predictable location to find me during my prime), pretended that my “non-apology apology-letter” was sufficient and that he no longer had any quarrel with me over the matter. He said he would and did promptly withdraw the defamation case. Again, subsequently tracked me down weeks later and tried to make nice as if he never threatened to break my (amateur swimmer) neck inside his figurative Olympic sized swimming pool. Incidentally, I have since learnt to swim. Who knows. It might come in handy yet.

I accepted the faux olive branch with a handshake, while using the other hand to lightly touch the back of my neck, ensuring it’s still firmly in place and unbroken. Better that (with a victorious outcome of not backing down on the essential facts of our publication) than outright spurning his face-saving compromise and needlessly permanently keeping myself in the shadow of his vengeful wrath.

Incidentally, HE COMPLETED HIS TERM OF OFFICE WHILE REMAINING A FULL-TIME STUDENT WHILE SUFFERING ZERO REPERCUSSIONS! Goes to the point I’ve made multiple times since then.

Far too many African politicians (still) live in a zone of impunity and utter lack of real accountability. They created the “fake-news” push-back long before it became a thing elsewhere. And when able, they routinely lock up political opponents and media types who displease them for whatever reason (even by revealing only the truth)!

If there isn’t any reliable and legally protected mechanism for the people to truly hold their leaders accountable (including the mostly sham intermittent elections that often devolve into nothing more than staged “announcements of some pre-selections (usually after a bidding war for the electoral body to hand particular positions to their various paymasters, with a few surprise results deliberately sprinkled in just to make things look good and not appear too one-sided). The they quickly backed it up of course, by the presence of unmistakable muscle of political thugs and / or the state-controlled police force. And should the opponent be a "sore loser: the result is then later given the aura of legitimacy by sometimes ambitious or other dubious and ready-for-purchase judicial actors.

Even though I was practicing law as an attorney in the United States, I nevertheless developed and maintained some inspiring and hopeful correspondence about a number of topics, including the future of the legal system in Africa with one of my Mentors, the esteemed Justice Olatawura, former Nairaland Supreme Court Justice. So, on balance, I remain hopeful for the future of a society that could produce someone like him, Gani Fawehinmi, and others of their caliber, integrity and sense of public duty.

Although, in the meantime, given what has transpired in many of these African countries, it is no wonder far too many things have gotten progressively worse over time to the degree that some outsiders actually feel comfortable (agreeing or openly) referring to many of the countries on the continent as SHIT-HOLE COUNTRIES!

For example, folks like that would have been hard-pressed calling the (barely satisfactory) mid-1970s NAIRALAND (with the largest population in Africa) a shit-hole country when the local currency then was almost twice the value of the dollar, the oil boom was flourishing, and systemic corruption had not become as brazen and fully taken root as it is today, with statistically little to no kidnappings!

But the regression that has ultimately led to NAIRALAND of 2026 where ($1.00) one dollar that used to be about half the value of the equivalent unit of currency, today that same dollar ($1.00) is equivalent to more than A THOUSAND in the equivalent local currency in NAIRALAND (the exact exchange rate today according to GOOGLE, is- $1 to #1,382.00)!!!

No doubt, shithole is a foul and overly condescending word. But when arguably the largest (or second largest) and most dynamic economy on the African continent is that poor and poorly managed, you can see how a country, nay an entire continent, can begin to lose its international regard, prestige, and presumed esteem, giving already inclined critics a field day, especially when it begins to fall flat on its face this far, and so quickly over the course of a few decades PRIMARILY THROUGH UTTER MISMANAGEMENT, INCOMPETENCE, AND CORRUPTION!!!

It becomes even more astounding when you recall that a United Nations Report in the late 1960s / early 1970s had projected China, India and NAIRALAND as the next rising socioeconomic powers to watch.

WELL, BOTH CHINA AND INDIA ARE MAJOR ECONOMIC, TECHNOLOGICAL, AND NUCLEAR ENERGY PLAYERS ON THE WORLD STAGE TODAY.

WHERE ART THOU, NAIRALAND (and other African) LEADERS AT ALL LEVELS (from 1966 -2026)? STILL BUSY LOOTING, PARTYING, RIGGING YOURSELVES TO ASSUME OR STAY IN POWER? After 60 plus years, you have forfeited the alibi of claiming that your nations were limited by the horizon of youth. Your failure has caused double shame to many African Americans who, in response to racial prejudice and other racist tropes, would have wanted to proudly and defiantly proclaim their African heritage as a source of pride.

Think about it. Many descendants of previously enslaved people who came mostly from West Africa, only find a little solace by pointing to the North Africa country of Egypt because of its well documented and enduring accomplishments of the pharaohs. Most don't even want to identify with Africa at all. Can't blame them. It is perfectly understandable human nature to want to associate with winners. At the present time, no one can call what's happening in terms of quality of life for the general populace in many Africa countries, INCLUDING NAIRALAND, as WINNING!!! - NOT WITH A STRAIGHT FACE. For the well-paid politicians and a few millionaires and billionaires perhaps. BUT NOT YOUR AVERAGE HARD-WORKING, EDUCATED AND ENTERPRISING CITIZEN PLAYING FAIRLY BY THE RULES IMPOSED.

LIFE, LIBERTY & THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS? .... FORGET ABOUT IT!

IN THE MEANTIME, WITH ITS RETINUE OF SOME INCOMPETENT, WASTEFUL, UNIMAGINATIVE AND SOMETIMES CORRUPT MILITARY AND CIVILIAN LEADERS, THE CONTINENT (AND PARTICULARLY NAIRALAND) REMAINS MOSTLY AN EMBARRASSING UNDER-ACHIEVER GIVEN ITS IMMENSE RESOURCES, ITS SECOND-TO-NONE-HUMAN CAPITAL, ITS PEOPLE’S COMMENDABLE ENTERPRISE AND WORK ETHIC, PLUS ITS HUGE MARKET FOR GOODS AND SERVICES.

Harkens back to the key issue I identified in my 1993 Book, THE MILITARY FRANCHISE. The most debilitating factor in AFRICA (and specifically NAIRALAND)’S REGRESSION FROM THE EDGE OF POTENTIAL GREATNESS IS A COMBINATION OF BAD, CORRUPT, UNHEALTHY, OVERLY SELF-SERVING, INCOMPETENT, DIFFIDENT, OVER-PAID, UNPATRIOTIC, AND/ OR SHORT-SIGHTED LEADERSHIP AT ALL LEVELS.

Open corruption will most assuredly continue apace, unabated, until there is demonstrable accountability (without exception, for the corruption of the past and the present), or (AT LEAST) a comprehensive and mandatory Truth, Rehabilitation and Forgiveness Committee / Mechanism (with subpoena powers) in each African Country for genuine “Institutional, Socioeconomic & Cultural Reparations and Rehabilitation.” Within those respective borders.

Who knows, one may yet live long enough to witness the beginnings of passable UTOPIA as the continent (starting with NAIRALAND because of its size and the potential domino effect), hopefully survives the current EUPHORIC ORGY OF CORRUPTION brought on by the uncorrected and lingering MYOPIA of its UNIMAGINATIVE, SELFISH, AND (INTELLECTUALLY) SMALL LEADERS...

***(DEDICATED to the Memories and SOME of the INSPIRATIONAL EXAMPLES OF THE FOLLOWING GREATS: Mother Teresa; Mohammad Alli; Sam Cooke; Gani Fawehinmi SAN/SAM; Mallam Balarabe Musa; Mallam Aminu Kano; Emeka Nzeogwu; Jimmy Cliff; Thomas Sankara; Nelson Mandela; Mahatma Ghandi; Kwame Nkrumah; Dr. Wittenberg; Justice Thurgood Marshall AND A FEW OTHERS) ***

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