My Fellow Ghanaians,
For some time now, I have noticed that many of us have allowed themselves to be misled by the clever way in which the word "Free" has been added to the word "market" by Free Market Private Think-Tanks, Foundations, Trusts, and Transnationals among others.
Fellow Ghanaians, I have said elsewhere, "You see, the careful use of language is part of the tools of imperialism and its handmaidens colonialism and neo-colonialism. When you can, please read, if you have not already, page 23 of “The Willie Lynch Letter And The Making of a Slave” published by Lushena Books – you can order a copy on amazon.co.uk"
Look! How else can Transnationals rob us in broad daylight unless they destroy our inner resistance to defend our national interest?
And how can they enjoy our complicity without their use of overt force such as an armed force, a police service and imprisonment when we are now a free and independent nation state?
You do it through mental control.
How do you mentally control a person or a whole nation? Many methods can be used one of which is the careful use of language.
So, if a transnational wants to take over or destroy your market for say rice or poultry or telecommunications or whatever you care to name, how best than to tell you that it is all part of a "free"market necessary for “own common” interests, “our” growth and “our” prosperity.
Surely when you see the word "free" with the word "market" are you not immediately disarmed? Who in their right sense will fight against a free market or fight for anything that is already free or not fight for something that needs freeing with all their strength?
How do you, how dare you, why would you, fight against "freemarket" when your national motto in your Black Star Square that even Maya Angelou mentions in her tribute to Michael Jackson, has the inscription "Freedom and Justice"?
And thus have the instruments of our national poverty and disgrace as a highly indebted and poor country led by Transnationals such as IMF, World Bank, USAID, DFID etc all conspired to gain our complicity, especially we the EDUCATED, while they rob us in broad daylight. Today Ghana Telecom is no more. Every conversation we now make is now in the direct hands of people with loaded interests in our national resources.
The political policy of Ghana has been subjected, with our complicity, to foreign interests.
The careful use of the word "free" has destroyed our resistance and we seem not to know what to do and thus have some wished it away by convincing themselves that our national plight is only because we do not have Freemarkets.
If only we have freemarkets. And so Ghanaians fight for freemarket and thus for foreign private sector firms; and so have we come to the situation in which Ghanaians have joined transnationals with neo-colonial intent to help perpetuate our national poverty and global humiliation as a people.
Asians, Europeans and Americans still dominate the global stage; Africans and Africa is still drugged with freemarket delusions of a new world order brought in by global freemarkets as if it will ever happen.
Brothers and Sisters! Markets have always existed in some form just as capitalist markets came along with capitalism. Even the slave trade was also a market, maybe free for those who bought and sold Africans. Just because the word "free" has been added to market, the citizens of Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana which he founded with the help of all including God is so confused to think that if the Ghanaian is against freemarket then he is against MARKETS. Do we still not have MARKET DAYS all over Ghana? Why can you not see that when Transnationals talk of freemarket they are not referring to MARKETS as you understand it? Why do you not get it?
The time has come to wake up. Let us stop sleeping and become conscious of whom we are and walk in the light of understanding, the love of unity and the power of our will to establish a just and equal Ghana based not on “FREEMARKET” but on JUST MARKETS.
In this centenary of Kwame Nkrumah's birthday, let us all resolve to get understanding and the basic concepts of economics to fight for our economic freedom to make Africa with an integrated Ghana an industrial nation.
When Africa is a united industrial nation it will make us strong and when we are united and strong, Africans will respect themselves and others will respect us.
The Pan African vision to build a new nation is yet to be achieved.
Fraternal Centenary Greetings of Peace and Goodwill!
Your Fellow Ghanaian, Kwami Agbodza of Aloyi-Kpando
Note Kwami Agbodza is the Regional Secretary for Education for CPP UK & Ireland. He writes in a personal capacity.
He can be found on http://www.facebook.com/kwami.agbodza; his email address is Kwami_agbodza@yahoo.co.uk. He is also a director of The Great Trust, http://www.thegreattrust.org/
