The Emperor in a feature article of Monday, 8 August 2011 decided not only to moan about the lack of creativity of Ghanaians but to rain insults on us with the title “The Majority of Ghanaians Are Brain Dead!” Our capacity to denigrate ourselves, demonstrate public disrespect for our persons and even harm our own reputation was in full display in The Emperor’s article. For someone who announces he is attempting to bring consciousness to us, the level of disrespect for the majority of Ghanaians who he or she described as “brain-dead” was breathless in its arrogance and sheer unacceptability.

This is why I have taken time out of my busy schedule to respond, to his misguided moaning and incorrect perspective, asserting among other things that even God is Black.

The Emperor’s view on creation is fair enough. Many will agree when he says that “Education is science, the art of understanding! But, understanding what? Understanding how the physical world operates, of course. Knowledge! Without knowledge, ignorance would surely prevail. One wouldn’t know either what or what not to do. Knowledge isn’t only about how-to-know; it’s also about how-to-do!”

Africans will also not quarrel when The Emperor says “The essence of education is to make one knowledgeable so that creation could ensue. One who is truly knowledgeable must be able to create! To create based on what you know, of course.”

However, when The Emperor begins to heap praise on the Architects of Apartheid – the Dutch and their descendants, whose capacity to humiliate Africans is only matched by the capacity of Africans to wrest self-determination from them and their supporters, he or she is on shaky ground.

The Emperor is wrong to state categorically that “In Ghana, little do we emphasize on creation, whenever we talk about education. Yes, we are quick to talk about development, alright. But the question is; how could there be development without creation? Creation precedes development!” Ghanaians must recall that Ghana our beloved country did embark on creativity to reconstruct the social and economic foundations of Africa because Ghanaians and the Government they elected understood that the independence and subsequent development of Ghana was meaningless unless it was linked up with the total liberation, unity and development of Africa. Unless Africa is united and strong, Africans will not respect themselves and others will not respect Africans.

In its original sense of course development also means creativity. The capacity to develop is linked with the capacity to be creative; it is men and women or create; this is what the human capital revolution in economics fueled by developments in the 1950s/60s on the continent of Africa, especially the newly independent Ghana, attempted to capture; namely, that economic growth is the result of human capital, defined as knowledge, skills and experience of ordinary people as workers. It is captured in inventions and new products including new nation-building which some of us have drawn the attention of Ghanaians towards that it is not the sole monopoly of the private sector.

There is a case to be made for the end to blaming slavery and colonialism and imperialism for our present predicament. But there is also a case to be made that the instruments of foreign greed that continue to subject the policy of African states to those of foreign elites are also real; in acting out their purposes they bribe and corrupt our leaders in the executive, judiciary and legislature in their interests. This is real. But it means that it is not just the majority of Ghanaians that must be saved but our leaders too require salvation. These leaders must include our religious leaders who have not yet woken up to their national duty. Their preoccupation till date largely is about how they can better their own standard of life through the building of Ministries and not how they can lead the renaissance of The African Revolution through prayer, fasting and the popular mobilisation of the flock they shepherd.

So what The Emperor is doing by invoking Dutch examples of creativity is the pervasive characteristic of Africans to continue to praise others but their own. The Emperor cites examples including this one: “In the Netherlands, where I happen to reside, you would be amazed to see what the Dutch are capable of. Here, the Dutch import less to none. Here, almost everything is self-made. Here, science and technology rule supreme! For years, the Dutch have been turning aluminum sheets into cooking pots, cars and planes. They have been turning wind energy into electricity. They have been constructing their own transportation roads and bridges. When it comes to water affiliated projects, the Dutch are the people to see. Indeed, this isn’t bad for a country, which her infrastructure and schools destroyed by the Nazis during the Second World War. The Dutch also happen to be very creative. I have keenly observed! For instance, they would import cacao beans from Ghana for less. They would then transform the cocoa beans into all kinds of finished products. Afterwards, they would sell these commodities back to us for more.”

Clearly, this writer and others with the African Progressive Mindset are not impressed by such out of perspective invocations. Look! Africans such as Carl Eric Fonville, Jones W.D., Lonnie Johnson, Philip Emeagwali, Patricia Bath, Jackson J.N., Dr Armattoe, Alfred Bishop, Lester Lee, Floyd Allen, Ammons V.M., Phil Brooks, Nuclear Physicist Henry Sampson, Winser Edward Alexander, Dewey Sanderson, Scientist George Carruthers, Berger E., Engineer Meredith Gourdine, Otis Boykin, Jones F.M., Fred Jones, R.B. Spikes, Scientist Lloyd Hall, Alice Parker, Granville T. Woods and Cargill B.F. and countless others come to mind. Creators of nations have also spring forth from the womb of the African mother. Names that spring to mind are Pan Africanists such as Marcus Garvey, Kwame Nkrumah and Robert Mugabe – yes Robert Mugabe!

Instead of heaping praise on foreigners and foreign nations, let us begin to respect, treasure and praise our own. Self-love is necessary for love of others. Let us begin to respect ourselves and cease the insults that are pervading the African scene – especially Ghana. Afterall, even God is Black and long before He made light He lived in a world that was formless and void over which darkness hovered. As Black people we must understand we have built civilizations and empires in the past and can do it again; long before the first black woman gave birth to the first white child. Let us not be overwhelmed by the seeming success of our white children in foreign nations. White supremacy is but a “brief candle” with a certain end in a walking shadow.

The way forward thus requires that however frustrated we are with the African Situation, the solution is not to moan and begin to insult the very people who are suffering the results of our lack of development and creativity. Many of our mothers were not educated and many are still not educated but they have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice that we their children are educated to build new African nation in which our resources shall be used by ourselves to make all the things that pertain to life and human happiness. The least we can do is to come up with a PLAN. What we need is to forge our creativity in our own ORGANISED INTEREST in a united and strong Africa. That requires men and women who are committed to the cause. No Dutch or English or German or French or American will come to save Africa for Africans; history shows they will prefer to come to steal our resources, kill us for resources and to destroy any successful nation we shall attempt to build through their secret services and indigenous collaborators. Africans only can and must save Africans with the help of their friends and all the forces for good.

So The Emperors must flesh a Plan to arrest the current and continuing deterioration of Africa (Ghana) to reconstruct the social and economic foundations of Africa our homeland. The moaning must cease. We need doers. It is not enough to shout that “As a people, we are not thinking. Our hearts are frozen. We have no love or sense of responsibility! Yes, we call ourselves Christians, but we aren’t Christ-like in any form or fashion. The truth has to be told! We spend millions and millions of cedis on elections. However, when it comes to the poor, there’s none to be shared with them whatsoever. Now, what about that?” Apart from the fact that Ghana has Muslims and Traditionalists too and not just Christians, the question is what do those who know these things intend to do about it. So the question is “What does The Emperor intend to do, short of sitting among the Dutch and moaning about conditions back home in Ghana and Africa?” Africa requires A New Progressive Leadership with a bullet-proof Plan to unite, develop and secure the Africa Homeland.

WRITER:

This rebuttal is written by Christian Agbodza; Chief Executive Officer, World Governance International; Mobile: 0044-759-102-4436;Email: christianagbodza@worldgovernanceinternational.com;

Website: www.worldgovernanceinternational.com.

We are the leading international charitable company campaigning for progressive alternatives to the dominant conservative and liberal policies on the African continent. World Governance International (WGI) is a non-governmental charitable company limited by guarantee no. 6464760 based in the United Kingdom and The Republic of Ghana operating internationally promoting democracy, good governance and sustainable development in the developing world and internationally. WGI focuses on helping Africans take control of their oil and natural resource wealth to assert their right to life and human happiness.