A topic for discussion
Neocolonialism and dialectical materialism is blamed for the continued prevalence of autocrats and tyrants in Africa even after more than half a century of independence.
The African elite is excused for the fundamental fault lines in not being able to uplift the masses from abject poverty, maladministration, selfishness, illiteracy, fatalistic beliefs and corruption.
The blame is placed squarely at the doors of former colonial master. The Pan-Africanist will still make us accept that tyranny, dictatorship and oppression take their roots from the colonial experience.
Kairo News and Radio will ignite this debate, putting Gambian scholars and intellectuals at the forefront of confronting this idealism. We ask whether it is about time we took ownership of our destiny and stop blaming the neocolonialist mindset and press ahead with needed dialogue centered at our doors? Can the African intellectual fill the gap of becoming the vanguards of progressive thinking and inclusive political dialogue, foster friendship and the love for knowledge and its benefit rather than the ambitions to glamour for position around autocrats and tyrants?
We will invite several scholars to express their opinion on this issues. Your thoughts on this very vital and essential topic is crucial.
A selected Gambian scholars are approached to express their thoughts on the topic at hand. It is our hope that whether they have time to appear on radio or not, they will write something for esteemed readers.
Where does our blame lies in the current problems of Africa/Gambia? Some African countries have started moving on whilst others are still trapped in the game of blaming the Imperialist. For how long we have to embark on this blame game?
Ends
My thought on the article: We were able to defend ourselves against the Colonialist – until Sir Hiram Maxim invented the machine gun in 1884. Then the heroic African Resistance was defeated. Any country, to be FREE must have the weapons to beat the Imperialist. Russia, China, North Korea, even Pakistan. We Africans still only make Bows and Arrows. Intellectuals have only described the world. To change the world we need formidable war-machines of our own. The Sparta V. Athens scenario still holds 2000 years later.
Happy New Year,
Luntango Suun Gann Gi
Dida halake I think am the only one who think like you. Some somebody who knows the history of World War ll 100% agrees with you. Sometime I just think we African have big problems that are too big, I just think some 3rd world should happen so we all can start from 0%.
“To change the world we need formidable war-machines of our own.”
Comment….I’m not sure about “changing the world”, but we certainly will need a formidable defensive and offensive military capability that can match anyone, if we want to assume our rightful place in this world and ensure the protection of our interest and people….
Unfortunately, our leaders are not alive to the current realities of the world and the dangers that the trajectory of world/global politics poses to our people..?
And to make matters worse, we are now opening up to the most imperialist hegemony of all, the US Military, through its Africa Command, AFRICOM.. Utter and absolute madness, in my view…
This is a timely topic. The ones guilty of over utilization of neocolonialism and imperialism among our writers is Ous Mbenga, Halifa and ilks. Over all, we need to stand up and face our problems head on. Thank you.
Kora, you made an excellent point, “we need to stand up and face our problems head on “. This is where personal responsibility comes in to play. For long time, African leaderships and Africans themselves failed to take personal responsibility for their lives and as always blamed the colonial powers for our backwardness, economic underdevelopment, poverty, disease and all the negative things affecting Africans . Most countries in the world have gone through the same colonization that Africans passed through. Some of these countries are today competing with former colonial masters in terms of economic developments, so why are we still behind and continue to blame colonial powers. I believe our problem as Africans is inability to utilize our brains, minds or intellect on issues that would benefit common people or for common good . This resulted from lack of visionary ideas which will transform our lives. Majority of founding fathers of independence and subsequent leaders failed in this efforts . Utilization of useful ideas envision by strong and visionary leadership would have inspire and motivate transformational change gear toward development of best economic model, democracy, industrial revolution, technological advancements, scientific and medical breakthrough and military advancement. Majority of African leaderships and Africans utilize their time, ideas and energy on issues that have no significant to improve the lives of ordinary people. This is why we have corrupt, dictatorial and lack of visionary leaderships. Africans must blame themselves for their backwardness and takes personal responsibility.
@Max….”Some of these countries are today competing with former colonial masters in terms of economic developments, so why are we still behind and continue to blame colonial powers.”
Question….Which countries have you got in mind.? Perhaps, you can share their secret formula that made this development possible…
Also Max, we (Africans) are not zombies that don’t “utilize” our brains, you know…We have great thinkers that can match anyone, anywhere in the world, if the environment for ideas to flourish is allowed to exist…
Our human resource potential, as a continent, is also second to none…So too is the natural resources beneath our feet, and with the right leadership, the continent can surpass any in development and advancement, within a relatively very short period…
Your approach to diagnosing our problem is too simple and far too unsophisticated…Of course, we (the people ) cannot be completely absolved from all responsibility for the state of affairs our continent (countries) and people are in today, after years of “independence”, but there are reasons why what is happening, is happening…
Indeed, poor governance and it’s attendant consequences, which has ravaged the continent since “independence”, is a huge part of the problem we face today, but (believe it or not), this disastrous phenomenon (poor governance) is a direct consequence of the Neocolonial and Neoliberal Economic and Political systems and structures that have been inherited at “independence”, and never been significantly changed in any country, except Libya, under Colonel Ghadaffi…
Contrary to widely circulated views about Ghadaffi in Neocolonial circles of influence, his ascension to power and introduction of an independent system of production and distribution, heralded tremendous transformation of the Libyan state and people to an unprecedented level, not only in Africa but even in many Western nations…This is a fact that is incontestable and need no elaboration..
Unfortunately, his inability to transfer ownership of his successful military coup/revolution to the people; his erroneous conviction that he can micro-manage the people by providing their needs, and the constant agitation of neocolonial/neoliberal agents against his rule, as well as, his love for power, all conspired against him, leading him to a reign of terror and ultimately, his own downfall at the hands of the neocolonialists and their agents..
Kaironews, as usual, has taken the initiative to identify and interrogate intellectuals and scholars, in order to find answers to the tragic political and economic realities of the African People today…vis-a`-vis Neocolonialism…I am neither a scholar, nor an intellectual and thus, not fit to wade into these scholarly debates and expositions…
Nevertheless, I will spice up this debate by quoting non other than the great philosopher and thinker, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who.warned us about the dangers of Neocolonialism.as the last and most dangerous stage of colonialism….
“The essence of neo-colonialism is that the State which is subject to it is, in theory, independent and has all the outward trappings of international sovereignty. In reality its economic system and thus its political policy is directed from outside.”
Hello Bax, you cannot cow us into believing that you are not a scholar or intellectual, no way brother, you are great one for sure. I depicted three points in your write up.
1- You ask Marx which country is he referring to? Well China is one them.
2- You painted Khadafi as a good leader on the one hand only to brush him on the other hand as a crazy dictator hungry with eternal power. Confusing isn’t it?
3- As a student of Nkrumah I totally agree with his philosophy.
I would like to thank Kaironews for sparking another “theme” of deep significance to our survival.
Let brainstorm! Indeed Luuntango and Marx made good points going forward..
Ghadaffi was not an entirely bad guy…His reign brought much good to Libya and Libyans:
-Free education to any level (including overseas if you can’t get your course of choice in Libya).. Libyan nationals studying abroad were even given car allowance to buy cars, if they so decide…
-Free housing, electricity and medical treatment….
-A share of Libyan oil revenue paid directly into every citizens bank account…
-Farmers are.provided land, animals,tractor, houses and farm tools free…
-He nearly completed the construction of a man made river for.the.regeneration of.the desert (bombed and destroyed by NATO for God knows what reasons)…
-Libya transformed into a creditor nation that has loaned billions to.Western monetary institutions, including Goldman Sach, and invested billions in various sectors across the Financial world..What will happen to those billions now is anyone’s guess..
But he made serious mistakes, which has been exploited by his adversaries, to engineer his downfall, but I don’t want to go too deep into those because he is no longer here with us…
By the way, just watch Libya from now on…A country that had no external debt and whose foreign reserves stood at well over $100 billion at the fall of Gadaffi, will very soon be straddled with unpayable debts, and entrapped in perpetual indebtedness, like the rest of the continent…
You may also add China amongst states that benefitted from cold war era geopolitics of the East and West…
You may discover that China’s domination of US and Western markets is.not a coincidnece but rather, quite deliberate… And China has got uncle Sam where she (China) could hurt him (US), if she so desires…
Bax , take simple answers , take look at Singapore and Gambia , Ghana and South Korea then you will understand what I am talking about. Singapore and The Gambia gained their independence at the same time but today Singapore is a developed country.
I did not mentioned that Africans are zombies , what I indicated was African leaderships or Africans inability to utilize our brains, minds and intellects on issues that would benefit the common people or common good . I think you will agree with me that everything we do has to do with the brain or thinking process . In our daily functions we Proritize our needs by using our brains , mind or thinking process so that we do things which are most important to us . In other words , Africans and their leaderships failed to sit down to prioritize our needs which can be classified as misplacement of priorities. Right leadership you talked about resulted from visionary leadership with great ideas which resulted from effective utilization of brains or minds. Great ideas comes from the mind and the brain . When the brain or mind is not focus on useful things, there cannot be any important things to be achieved . It is our failure to use our brain to change our condition despite the fact we are bless with plenty natural resources . If Singapore can sit and used their brains to achieve economic development then why can’t we do the same ? If South Korea is able to achieve economic development , then why can’t we use our brain to achieve even better economic development ? The difference between societies or communities is the ability to effectively utilize brain, minds or thinking process to achieve economic development , progress and better society .
You have erroneously mentioned Libya as unprecedented economic developed country during the time of former dictator while you early on in your presentation mentioned poor governance as one of the culprits of African’s problem . Can you please see the contradiction in your view or can you reconcile the two positions ? You went further to highlight bad governance of former dictator Gaddafie resulted to his downfall but you have attributed his downfall to west and their agents . Did you see that you have blamed the west for this problem while you failed to put the blame squarely on the dictator even though you mentioned his bad governance ? This is why I said Africans and their leadership failed to take personal responsibility for their failure .you are doing the same thing here . Let’s take a look at The Gambia , did you ever see any leader past or present who is bold enough to take personal responsibility for their failures ? Even majority Gambian people , they do not take personal responsibility for the wrongs or failures they did .
Bax , any developed country you have seen , they have visionary leadership with great ideas which transform the society . Why are we fighting to remove the dictator ? The simple answer is dictator jammeh refused to accept other people’s ideas because he failed to use his brain well to understand that others might have better ideas to move the country forward . His reasoning is wrong which has caused big problem for the country and her people . Therefore brains , minds and intellects matters very much in our daily lives .
Max….I am not surprised that you have chosen Singapore and South Korea to prove your case, because when I encounter people with your line of arguments, often it is those so called South East Asian tiger economies that are cited as examples..
These countries (mainly Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong,Taiwan) and others like Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, etc, also incidentally, happen to be what were called, the “Front line” states and when we glance into the history of their fast track economic development, we discover that this was due to the geopolitics of the time, rather than their inguinity and economic prowess…
And we don’t have to look too far back into history to locate the real reasons behind the “miraculous” economic development of these countries, as well as, the reasons for their economic crisis soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which is still being felt by them…
Soon after WWII, a divide emerged between the Soviet Union and its Communist allies and the US and its Western allies, which led to intense rivalry between the two blocks of countries.. In order to contain the spread and expansion of communism and the Soviet influence, the US/Western alliance identified and decided to subject those “Front Line” states to special treatment…
They (the front line states) benefitted from years of preferential treatment by the U.S. government: special access to U.S. technology, markets, and, most importantly, capital and this resulted to the massive pouring of hard currencies into their economies…..Firms in these countries benefitted from the investment of billions of dollars, inmilitary and other spendings, especially during the Vietnam war, and unfettered access to US markets..
Thus, an important factor in the success of these so-called miracle economies was the international geopolitical relations generated by the cold war…
Europe, after the divastation of WWII, also benefitted from a similar but much more broader and concessionary programme of re-building the shattered economies,through the Marshal Plan…
Africa, however, despite centuries of domination and exploitation, has NEVER enjoyed similar programmes…Instead, we are entrapped with debt, forced into painful structural adjustments, entrapped into more debt and most likely, to be forced into an endless cycle of restructuring again and again, whilst being made addicted to, and almost dependent on, foreign “aid”…
I agree that our political leadership has failed us, but I don’t think poor governance is the biggest problem that we face…Almost all of.our political leaders and heads of governments, as well as, every strata of the government machinery, have become either the witting or unwitting agents of neocolonialism and this is the biggest challenge we face…
Again, who better to quote than Dr Kwame Nkrumah….In exposing the forms that neocolonial control will be exercised over national governments,, Nkrumah wrote….:
“Control over government policy in the neo-colonial State may be secured by payments towards the cost of running the State, by the provision of civil servants in positions where they can dictate policy, and by monetary control over foreign exchange through the imposition of a banking system controlled by the imperial power…”
This is very clear but here is a short “commentary”..
-Payments towards running government today comes in the form of grants and foreign aid..
-Civil Servants and.policy makers are trained in the prestigious institutions of the neocolonial states, to the highest standards, and come back home, ready to implement neocolonial policies, often developed in.partnership with neocolonial institutions/organisations…
-The dependence on the foreign Exchange and Banking Systems of the neocolonial institutions need no further elaboration, does it..?
Bax, the summary of your argument is that without USA and its western allies, those south east Asian countries will not have economic development and I think that argument simply didn’t recognize the visionary leaderships of those countries. Not recognizing the effective and visionary leaderships of these countries and your praise of the Efforts of USA and its western allies in helping these countries is totally against imperialistic attitude you always claimed to be responsible for the problem of colonized or underdeveloped countries. Even if your argument is true, don’t you think it is smart and visionary leadership of those countries to achieve economic development taking into consideration their relationship with USA and its allies. I do not think geopolitical factor was responsible for their economic development because in the same region there are countries which do not have the same economic development as the ones you mentioned. Your argument also indicated that economic development of any country solely depend on the USA and its allies which totally contradict your early position about the economic development of Libya and Venezuela. These two countries did not have good relationship with USA and its allies. This tell me that at some points you see USA and its allies as catalyst to economic development while in most cases you consider USA and its allies as imperialist who are destructive forces of these countries economy. The last part of your argument in which you talked about agents of neocolonialism tell me you didn’t fully understand globalization and transfer of knowledge and technological innovations as a means to spurt development in those countries. Going by your argument, we should simply have our own language, system of education, banking and financial system etc etc, then the question become, “why we didn’t do that to achieve economic development ?”. I think the answer to this question is, Africans and African leaderships lack the ability to utilize our brains or intellects to develop such institutions because of our misplaced priorities, therefore we should blame ourselves for our underdevelopment, and backwardness. Where did Dr Nkrumah get his education from? He was educated at the very neo-colonial countries you blamed for our underdevelopment. So what was Africans and their leadership doing when these neocolonialists and imperialists were building their educational institutions? They are busy organizing celebrations of FGM across Africa or spreading obsessive Islamic and Christian syndromes which our people believes will bring economic development. This has resulted to misplaced priorities because our minds and intellects become too preoccupied with these phenomena.
Max…
(1)…The attitudes of the imperialist powers themselves, are always mired in contradictions because their actions are defined and dictated by their geopolitical interests, which shift constantly ….
In the case of South East Asian nations,these powers departed from the “principles” of conventional neoliberalism (which is anchored in free competition for capital and markets) by selecting these for preferential treatment and guarantee of capital and technology transfer as well.as protected access to US (and allies ) markets..
I am not discounting efforts of those leaders but all I am pointing out is that without that concession to access capital, technology and protected markets, the economic “miracles” would not have happened, regardless of how much brain power the leaders had then..
Africa, having emerged from centuries of slavery and colonialism, badly needed that sort of preferential treatment, to build a solid foundation, but instead, was straddled with debt from the word go and left completely exposed to the forces of neoliberalism…
Thus, unable to raise capital from within, unable to exploit its own resources for lack of technology, and having nothing manufactured to compete with on the world market, is reduced to exporting raw materials at minimum value or even below minimum value, whilst forced to import almost everything else at exorbitant prices…The natural consequence of such a relationship is what we see throughout most of the continent today…
I agree with your modified view on lack of utilising “our” brains, which you have now clarified to referring only to the leaders and not the entirety of the African People, which was my initial understanding… I have no problem agreeing with you that the leadership has absolutely failed the people….
Dida , how do you invent formidable weapons to beat the imperialists if we don’t utilize our brains well . Please use your brain to connect the dots . Imperialists were able to use their brains , minds or intellects to achieve what they got . We shouldn’t blame them when we failed to use our brains to achieve the same or better things . We should blame ourselves . We are using bow and arrow because we fail to use our brains to develop better weapons and the only way we change our bow and arrow is to buy weapons from those who used their brains effectively and strategically to empower themselves .
Bax, you did mention our human resources potential as well as natural resources potential as second to none, so what is the benefit of huge human resources if that human resources cannot feed themselves and cannot make a simple machine to improve their lives because of their inability to use their brains or minds ..I would say such human resources become its own liability and problems . Example when you have 20 children as a parent but cannot feed them all adequately and provide their needs, what is the point of having such a large family. Are you going to put your hopes on a special miracle or God to help you feed or take care of children? Those 20 children become huge problem for you just like our huge human resources and natural resources becomes our problem because of inability to utilize our brains or minds (human resources) effectively on issues that would improves our lives.
Hydara, I think my good friend Bax is in love with dictators, he seems to be sympathetic to some of the dictators I know, starting with our own very dictator jammeh, Syrian dictator Assad, former Libyan dictator Gadddafie, and late former dictator Chavez, yet he said he believes in PDOIS doctrine and policy as well as human rights and rule of law. His position is always confusing and contradictory to me. Though, he is always against American foreign policy and question USA democracy but I didn’t hear much from him about UK’s foreign Policy which is the same as USA.
UK is.part and parcel of the Western allies of the US…Sometimes, I use the term, “the West” to include even US….The whole of Western Europe is allied to US…
Max….America’s best friend and ally, Israel, has now made it a state policy to destroy the family homes of anyone who is killed as a “terrorist”…
The bulldozers arrive in.the dead of the night and pull the house down, regardless of who is sleeping under the roof….
Their other best friend, Saudi Arabia, has just announced the execution of 47 people, including a prominent Shia cleric, for.just openly criticising the regime…
In the past year, they broke their own record of beheadings….Who loves dictators more…?
(2)….@Max….”I do not think geopolitical factor was responsible for their economic development because in the same region there are countries which do not have the same economic development as the ones you mentioned…”
It is not a matter of opinion, but an established and well discussed historical fact…..Other countries did not benefit because they were not identified as “Front line states” in the fight against Communism….
(3)…@Max…”Your argument also indicated that economic development of any country solely depend on the USA and its allies….”
Really Max…! How did you arrive at this conclusion…? I can’t remember saying any such thing..
(4)…@Max…”which totally contradict your early position about the economic development of Libya and Venezuela…”
I cannot remember ever citing the economic development of Venezuela….My reference to that country, if I remember right, was to debunk Lafia’s claims that there was nowhere in the world where inter-party primaries are held to choose candidates…
With regards to Gadaffi’s achievements in Libya, if you had read my comments carefully, you would have seen how I have used the terms, “independent system of production and distribution”….
Libya ‘s oil wealth, unlike Nigeria for instance, was owned by the Libyan people (nationalised) and its revenue, was distributed amongst the people or invested on their behalf…Nigeria ‘s oil is “owned” by multinationals like Shell and Chevron, who pay agreed fees into Nigerian coffers…
Of course, corruption is more rampant in Nigeria than Libya under Gaddafi, but the system of production and distribution is significantly different in the two countries, hence the difference in living standards…
@Max….”Where did Dr Nkrumah get his education from? He was educated at the very neo-colonial countries you blamed for our underdevelopment….”
You have raised so many supplementary issues that need to be responded to, but I will leave these till another day, least this forum is reduced to Max vs Bax…Your above question, though, is very important and needs a brief response…
Education is nothing but the training of the human mind to develop, so that the human being can fulfill his/her potential to the fullest, utilising the total sum of acquired knowledge, skilss and awareness that education exposes the mind to…
The mind’s absorbent and retention qualities is what makes it possible to educate by imparting the knowledge, skills and awareness, but how that education is utilised and manifested in day to day living and interactions, varies from individual to individual…
Whilst many merely absorb and regurgitate the knowledge (especially) that they have acquired throughout their education and tow the lines, others use this awareness that education created in them, to critically examine the world they live in, analyse and study the events that affect us and draw conclusions ..
Dr Nkrumah falls into this category…Indeed, he was educated in those same institutions but he displayed an understanding of our economic and political relationship with the colonial masters that many did not…That is why he was different..
It will be better to have a continental language, economic and financial systems and structures and a continental currency that can rival and relate, on equal footing, with other systems and currencies…
And you know what….! That incidentally, was Gadaffi’s major crime : Daring not only to champion such a cause, but actually taking concrete steps to facilitate its realisation, at least, the economic part…
According to some sources, Gaddafi had actually earmarked up to $30 billion for the purpose and coincidentally, President Obama issued an Executive Order, to freeze exactly that same value of Libyan assets, before Gadaffi’s overthrow…
Hang on a minute…!!! “Executive orders”…! Does that ring any bells Max..? Is that not the mark of dictators….Issuing executive orders to bypass the courts…Apparently, Obama has a penchant for “executive orders”….Another one has just ordered the freezing of all Iranian assets under the jurisdiction of the United States….
I don’t know about you, but I know what that makes him and it starts with a “D”..
By the way, are you aware of the siege of a Federal building in Oregon, by armed white men, including the Burgundy brothers,.who are also calling for US patriots in other states to rise up against the Federal government…They are calling for an armed insurrection..!!
I will be surprised if you do because I was strolling on American news sites (CNN,Fox News, Blomberg) to see what is being reported about it, but nothing…Incredible…Here is agroup of well armed men, calling for an armed insurrecrion against the Federal government and it is not even news worthy.. .Just a brief written (below the screen) line on Fox, which went by so quickly you would hardly notice it…
The Federal Government is still setting up a task force to resolve the siege. ..Imagine, if that were bearded Muslims with toy guns..
or Black youths..The media would have been camped outside and National Guards and the FBI, would have stormed the place with deadly force by now…That’s America, where some are more equal than others…
Have a nice day, my friend..
If I may sway in …Gadaffi, Mugabe or Janke Wali etc may all have noble aspirations for their countries, but that alone is barely any help in uplifting a country to heights as “set out’ by bax above.
The ascend of the west, in contemporary historical reading, took off first when they instituted -for perpetuity – power sharing among several competing institutions instead of one absolute monarch.
The French revolution, US independence, Britain with Cromwell’s Republic and subsequent restoration in 1660 of a ceremonial monarchy.
I don’t also share Dida’s assertion of the firearm story as the sole reason for failing behind. It is a factor among many.
Bax, I know very well you will shift the discussion to USA domestic issues which you didn’t fully understand. first , USA presidents has issued executive orders since the founding and every president has used executive orders in relation to domestic policy directed at government departments . President’s executive order are executive privilege which MUST be in line with the constitution . This is why congress has the legislative power to override it with super majority votes . Executive orders are also challenge in supreme courts when it violate the constitution . Congress has the power also to defund executive orders , making its implementation nearly impossible As we currently have regarding president Obama executive order on immigration and healthcare provisions., The constitutionality of this immigration executive order is currently being challenged in the courts throughout the country . The executive orders are mere presidential directives which when it violates the constitution , it cannot be enforced and therefore becomes useless statement released by the president . There are some executive orders such as emancipation proclamation which helps to end slavery in USA. I hope you don’t confuse yourself with the executive orders released by jammeh which has no constitutional basis and no one in the National Assembly challenge its constitutionality and implications .
Your second point regarding media coverage in USA regarding black and white issues , I agree with you about the double standards about black and white coverage . These are done by media outlets which favors certain race , religion or sector . You will also needs to understand that in USA , there are armed protesters even in president Obama meetings . Example I have seen protesters with their AK-47 during political campaign as a show of their second amendment rights which is right to bear arms . These individuals were present in the political campaign to counter the belief that the president will ban weapons, so they had to show up with weapons as a form of protest or right to bear arms . Is that not a nice thing to have your AK-47 in politically meeting while listening carefully to the policies and programs being presented lol? It is nice because it tell the leader that citizens have the rights to self defense and it will also send the message that citizens will not accept tyrannical government as we currently have in The Gambia . Do you think if UDP youths are fully armed with their AK 47 , jammeh and his thugs will be brandishing their old weapons as a form of intimidation , the answer is no . The Oregon protesters are right wing militia who are protesting against the sentencing of their members ( ranchers ) . Bear in mind that , they have constitutional rights to bear arms and to protest in public property and in this case federal building . However , when they pose threat to public safety by threatening to kill people , that is where the federal government will respond with its agencies such as FBI , national guards or police . There is no injury , threat to kill from these protesters as long as police don’t use force . Of course the respond to white right wing militia will be different from black armed protesters because of continue double standards. Remember , we also have black armed militias who also did similar protest in the past . All this may sound scary to you because you don’t have that in UK or in The Gambia . USA is gun cultured nation which is supported by the constitution. Most people in USA complain about the respond to each group and how they are treated but the constitutionality of armed protesters as long as they are not threaten to kill people is not question . I hope you understand that ., federal government has learned from the past siege involving armed protesters/ militia such as Waco incident , that is why they try to resolve the issue peacefully . Let take an example , if these protesters were not armed , the government will send its military to kill them but now they know these protesters are fully armed and are ready to die ,they will carefully work harder to resolve it . If our kartong youths are fully armed , do you think jammeh will send his military to go and attack the villagers who are protesting about their environment . These Oregon protesters and kartong youths are all protesters , the only difference is kartong youths are not armed while Oregon protesters are fully armed . In terms of freedom and rights to express their grievances , I think Oregon ranchers protesters have more rights and freedom . This is what every Gambian should be advocating so that our governments will know that citizens have power . I believe , rights to bear Arms should be encourage In The Gambia as a form of self defense from tyrannical government .
Anyway , we have deviated from the topic .
Their policies even today are out to sink the continent and I have no intention to apologise for saying so.If you live in the U.K or the U.S, it may take the longest while to understand such a general truth about colonialists/West.
You cannot blame an outsider for always sticking his nose in and meddling with your domestic affairs. You and your family must be wise enough to understsand that situation and take the right preventive measures by yourselves against outside activities in your house.
Ghaddafi, Mugabe and Janke Wally should all be brought forward to an African court of justice.
Right Ggapm, yes because if you persistently shift blame to the west or to immediate neighbour, then so to speak, you abdicate your responsibility to foresee and anticipate events à la force majeure.
Brother Kinteh & others….Exposing the unhealthy relationship between the continent and the West could be viewed from the perspective of “playing the blame game”, which many definitely do, no doubt…
However, I think a better perspective would be viewing such expositions as the pre-requisite first step.towards a scientific problem solving approach : UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM THROUGH A PROPER DIAGNOSIS..
The continent has gone through different remedies, prescribed by top experts, for a long time without cure, because the real problem, even if understood, has not been addressed…
This is because these experts are conformists, trained and employed by the architects of the very problem that needs solving, and are not independent from their control and influence..
But the blame lies with us, and I.partly agree with Max about the lack of ideas from the political leaders and the resolve to tackle the problem, through genuine leadership…
I heard a wise saying many a time from wise people that, ‘ remember where you were and where you are helps you find the way to where you go. You know @Bax, a blame game simply mean knowing the true and looking the other way round desperately from your problems which is not a fact here. It is all about telling a counterpart, deals must be laid straight. We are far behind time when it comes to science and technology, thats true but, how about natural resource rich Africa, would not even get enough tar to build good roads in Africa. A bi-product of petrol comes back to africa as valuable as gold. There is no technical language to understanding or explaining this situation as simple as it is right before all African eyes.
Bax , Gambia government has confiscated illegally thousands of lands from many Gambians for president jammeh’s use or should I say jammeh has confiscated thousands of lands from Gambians , no one protest , in the case of Oregon armed protesters they are demanding their lands from federal government . Do you see the difference between the two . If Gunjurians were fully armed like Oregon protesters , they would have confronted or protested about illegal seized of their ancestral land . The founding fathers of USA have early on recognized the power of the government , that is why James Madison and others advocated and formulated second amendment rights as a means for self defense , to prevent corruption and political oppression as well as prevent tyrannical government . The difference between Oregon protesters and Muslim terrorists is that the terrorists will kill people and blow themselves up rather than express their demands .
Max….You’ve done well to put the Oregon crisis into perspective, but I’m not convinced…You know why..? It’s because I cannot imagine that the 2nd Amendment would entitle “self defense” against the state, whether at Federal Government or Local Government Levels….That would be madness…
My assumption, and it is just an assumption, is that such a right is restricted for exercise against individuals or criminal organisations that may threaten lives due to criminal behaviour… But I may be wrong because America has become a really mad and dangerous place, where all sorts of people hold public office…
Yaya Jammeh is mad but his madness is no excuse to even consider gun legitimisation laws, never mind introduce one…So if that decision is to be by vote, you can be assured that mine will be a “NO”…And I hope who ever comes after him will lock all those guns away in a safe place…
Our national security is best served, in my view, by having a Mutual Defense Agreement with Senegal, in particular and our neighbours and maintaining very strong and cordial relations with Senegal..
There is no shame in asking or depending on a stronger neighbour for protection and assurance… Erdogan of Turkey is provoking Putin of Russia because he has the assurance of NATO and ultimately, the USA…Otherwise, he wouldn’t dare in a million years…
In this topic, I would like to speak the layman’s language thus I believe Africa’s biggest problems can be summed up as follows: Greed, dishonesty, shamelessness, impunity, lawlessness, disrespect, barbarism, mystification, connivance, brutality, arrogance,usurpation of power and stealing.
These are the bad attitudes that other developed nations have been able to reduce to its minimum in their societies. The day africans start espousing the opposite ideals of the above bad attitudes Africa will begin to see the end of the tunnel.
Someone I cannot remember the name wrote a book titled” If Africa refused development”
We all know what is good or bad, the choice is ours.
Bax ,, To put your security in the hands of someone else is most dangerous thing to do . It also means you are not independent or empower .
If jammeh bring gun legislation in The Gambia for citizens to bear arms or advocate for the citizens to bear arms I would support him 100 percent because that is going to empower the citizens so that his madness will be stopped immediately . The reason why people are scare of him is because he is the only bad guy with the guns , if we have good guys with guns they will stop him .
Absolutely, opinion with quite a good reasoning. Thereby people don’t just go aroung stepping on others heads. It brings about some respect among a respectful citizenry.
Bax , I think Americans second amendment rights was one of the wisest thing done by their founding fathers . In USA , I have never seen a military check but in The Gambia , there are military checkpoints every three kilometers especially at night greater Banjul area . The coward is sitting at statehouse night without a sleep . The soliders carry heavy weapons against defenseless population who continuously to live in fear . Here in USA when I am driving my car , the police have to careful if I am armed or not when they pulled me over but in The Gambia , the military will start daunting their guns as soon as they know I am a civilian . The greatest country (USA ) with the best weapons and military has no military checkpoints , why did poorest country ( The Gambia ) with poor weapons continue to have military checkpoints throughout the country ? USA government fears its citizens while in The Gambia citizens fears Gambia government . Unless African leaders empowers their citizens to bear arms together civic education , tyrannical governments will continue to dominate Africa .