History has a way of repeating itself. But what is also very important to know is; who writes history, and indeed who seeks to rewrite it? Some people have an insatiable appetite to rewrite history to suit their own whims and caprices. One such figure was undoubtedly King James-the British monarch, who re-wrote certain portions of the Holy Scripture to justify the actions of his empire. Also, in the course of human history, many influential biologists have sought to discredit the commonalities within the human family in attempt to promote racism. Indeed, many lies have been told by the re-writers of history. This said, one of the many lies, which has definitely stood the test of time is the lie of how Africans participated in the slave-trade. We have been told that Africans sold their own to the Europeans in exchange for vanity. Of course, many people, including we Africans ourselves, have bought into this lie without ever disputing it.
Then again, how could we? Our ancestors wrote nothing down. They memorized everything, and passed their knowledge to the next generation by means of verbalization. Nothing was documented on paper. Everybody was forced to remember what the other one said. People die and with it the information, which they carry in their memory. Hence, our inability to get our ancestor's documented account/s on what exactly happened during the slave-trade. One thing that we all could be sure of is that the Europeans didn't come to Africa on an invitation card from our ancestors. No, it was an invasion, which evolved into a full-blown war. The African continent had and has all the wealth, which the Europeans wanted, needed and desired to build their economies. And they were determined to take Africa's wealth by all means necessary-not even excluding the possibility of war to achieve this.
The Europeans arrived on our shores heavily armed with their sophisticated weaponry. Sadly enough, our ancestors couldn't match them with their spears and arrows. In the case of Ghana, brave warriors and warrioresses like Yaa Asantewaa fought these foreign invaders with all their might, but not without a price. Many warriors, warrioresses and ordinary people lost their lives during this assault. Regrettably, most of Ghana's coastal regions fell into the hands of these foreign invaders. The unrelenting attacks from their war ships on the main lands caused these coastal regions to surrender. The warriors-together with most of the coastal occupants were hereby taken as prisoners of war, ready to be shipped as slaves to the Americas and elsewhere. Thus, the beginning of what has now come to be known as the African holocaust. Also, the move to colonize these overpowered territories by these foreign invaders quickly ensued.
In a futile attempt to wash their hands clean of this human atrocity, the re-writers of history have successfully managed to convince themselves, and the rest of the world that Africans sold their own, when the opposite is true. Indeed, a lie when told repeatedly gets accepted as truth. Africans have fallen prey to the lie that has been told about their supposed involvement in the slave-trade. Hence, the lack of trust amongst Africans, and their inability to unite as one. Now, nobody could downplay the negative psychological impact of the slave-trade, and its lingering effect on the Black race. The slave-trade has displaced Black people. It has created animosity and hatred amongst Blacks. It has stripped Black people of their identities, self esteem, names, education systems and cultures. It has spiritually, mentally and financially bankrupt the continent of Africa and its people. Instead of the former slave traders owning up to their hideous crimes against Africans, they are rather seeking to re-write history in order to look saintly in the eyes of the world by making Africans look treacherously wicked.
