Strong partisanship started in Ghana when Kwame Nkrumah divided the nation into patriots and traitors. Patriots were those who accepted that he should be president for life, practice communism and one party state, and indulge ... read full comment
Strong partisanship started in Ghana when Kwame Nkrumah divided the nation into patriots and traitors. Patriots were those who accepted that he should be president for life, practice communism and one party state, and indulge in Leftist anti-Western propaganda using the small country's meager resources to challenge centuries' old, well-established countries. They even accepted that he should act as a savior of the Blackman around the world, while tyrannizing his own Black people at home because they have alternative views for the development of their country.
Those who wanted him to concentrate on the needs of the young nation and tone down his rhetoric against the powerful were called traitors, reactionaries, and agents of imperialism that should be liquidated and imprisoned dead or alive. Could you believe that the opposition members he was tyrannizing were the very people who started the struggle for our independence? They employed Nkrumah and paid for his ticket from the UK to come and work as General Secretary of the group, saving him from the tyranny of his joblessness in London. The independence struggle Vanguards were senior civil servants in the Gold Coast. And as the struggle was gaining momentum and the scope of their activities were widening, they needed someone to work full time for the group; free from official work constrains to further spread message of the struggle.
Under their responsibility and protection, Nkrumah used the platform to become the public face of the group and his popularity soared. In those days, many perceive him as the person or the only person fighting for our independence and not a spokesperson of the group. Subsequently, when he heard from the Governor General's female secretary, who was later sacked, that the British were preparing to grant us independence, and he increasingly used needless militant tactics to provoke the Whiteman in order to embarrass leadership of the struggle and outsmart them. He then used the opportunity to break away from them, forming his own party and slapping them from behind to take power.
This explains the strong partisanship in the country and why Nkrumah didn't want the Liberation Vanguards to ever come to power in his life time. Maybe, he was afraid of his own ghost. And despite all these facts, his supporters still want us to believe that he initiated, spearheaded and single handedly fought for our independence, and therefore name every national project after him as if we were in a kingdom.
Bonsu 9 years ago
Your name is Justice Sarpong the man with thousand aliases and monikers.You probably dines with the devil hence your pungent smell which identifies you easily.
Your name is Justice Sarpong the man with thousand aliases and monikers.You probably dines with the devil hence your pungent smell which identifies you easily.
Kofi Sarpong, Peckham, London 9 years ago
Bonsu, you only need to check he style, language and train of thought to distinguish between this writer and Justice Sarpong.
Bonsu, you only need to check he style, language and train of thought to distinguish between this writer and Justice Sarpong.
Bonsu 9 years ago
The narration started with the French assimilation policy which fooled a lot of the Africans in the French territories to think that once they move up the social ladder in those territories they become white in black skin.
... read full comment
The narration started with the French assimilation policy which fooled a lot of the Africans in the French territories to think that once they move up the social ladder in those territories they become white in black skin.
They use this policy of assimilation to divide an otherwise cohesive tribal societies under their chiefs and traditional elders is what our problems are today.The only reason for this French policy is self interest just to use the assimilated to influence the tribal plebeians to do whatever they want including the domination of their resources.
The tribal cohesion in present day Ghana was taking place before the arrival of the white men to the Gold coast.The Fante settlers to some parts of Ga state like La were assimilated and absorbed into Ga culture by giving them a role in their culture.The title of the Chief fisherman or wolaa tse is given to these Fante settlers who have a vital role in traditional arrangements when it comes to homowo for example.
The boycott hene of osu Nii Kwabena Bonie is said to hail from the Wineba area and the Queen mother of the Ga state Dede Akai is also said to come from there. So we have our arrangements and social policies which bind us and so possibly there is no true blooded native of any tribe any more.We are a society that had evolved but yet to take advantage of it in a positive way.
francis kwarteng 9 years ago
Prof. Sakyi,
You have given us a very thoughtful and insightful piece to ponder.
I do no have any criticism for you here.
My only hope is that those ethnocentric readers parading on Ghanaweb, men and women who have ... read full comment
Prof. Sakyi,
You have given us a very thoughtful and insightful piece to ponder.
I do no have any criticism for you here.
My only hope is that those ethnocentric readers parading on Ghanaweb, men and women who have no knowledge of human geography, human genomics, genetic drift, statistical genetics, miscegenation, anthropometry, comparative linguistics, migration studies, ethnology, DNA technology, and the ethnic history of Africa, will find "tribalism" a useless practice and belief system and your article insightful!
Since we all share similar ethnic history as you give of your family background, I still wonder why some think "tribalism," ethnic nationalism, or ethnocentrism is such a healthy thing.
Great scholars like Cheikh Anta Diop and several others have wriiten extensively about the issues you raise here, except that we do not study them weel, if at all, in our schools.
I wish I had time to add more to what you have written. I shall wait for Parts 2/3. You have wriiten a good piece, I must confess. I am happy it buttresses many of the issues I have discussed on Ghanaweb against ethnocentrism, etc.
Let's wait for Parts 2/3. Good work.
Thanks.
francis kwarteng 9 years ago
Prof. Sakyi,
I forgot to mention a peculiar circumstance with regard to France's hypocritical "Equality, Fraternity, and Liberty": This "Equality, Fraternity, and Liberty" symbol was actually not for everyone in France.
... read full comment
Prof. Sakyi,
I forgot to mention a peculiar circumstance with regard to France's hypocritical "Equality, Fraternity, and Liberty": This "Equality, Fraternity, and Liberty" symbol was actually not for everyone in France.
Enslaved Africans under athority of France's political province were not viewed as the equals of white French males.
White French women fared less better under that hypocritical symbol. The brutality of French colonialsm and role in enslaving Africans (and Native Americans) is proverbial.
I have always recommended C.L.R. James' "The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution," arguably the most authoritative text on France's colonialism in Haiti. Readers become dumbfounded and shocked after reading this text.
The French used to put "dynamites" in the anus of stobborn slaves and blew them up. Other times the French brought in trained bloodthirsty dogs into Haiti.
And what they did with these breeds of dogs was to tie stubborn slaves to trees, cut parts of their bodies and poured samples of the blood on paths between these dogs and the tied slaves. The dogs trailed the "blood" scent to these tied dogs. The dogs then tore their flesh in pieces.
The brutality meted out against the Girondists by the Jacobins (Robespierre and others) during the so-called Reign of Terror is not an interesting story. This era gave us the "coup d'etat" and "firing squad" among others.
France continies to be the bane of Francophone African countries. Some Francophone African politicians and scholars have began asking France to return all the money they have in France's Central Bank belonging to Francophone African countries.
France (and the US) still owe HaitI tens of billions of dollars whic she does not want to pay.
Readers may want to read the following articles:
1) "Why the US Owes Haiti Billions--The Briefest History by Bill Quigley on the website of the Center for Constitutional Rights (Link: ccrjustice.org/why-us-owes-haiti-billions-briefest-history-bill-quigley)
Readers can also listen to an interview invloving the same question. The interview is titled "France Urged to Pay $40 Billion to Haiti in Reparations for 'Independent Debt'". (Link:www.democracynow.org/2010/8/17/france_urged_to_pay_40_billion
2)
I should stop here and continue another day. There is so much to say about France!
Kwesi Atta Sakyi 9 years ago
Thanks Francis for always being there to share your knowledge with us.
Thanks Francis for always being there to share your knowledge with us.
francis kwarteng 9 years ago
Prof. Sakyi,
This is an excellent piece. It's one of the best essays I have read on Ghanaweb.
I can't wait to read 2/3.
Thanks.
Prof. Sakyi,
This is an excellent piece. It's one of the best essays I have read on Ghanaweb.
I can't wait to read 2/3.
Thanks.
francis kwarteng 9 years ago
Prof. Sakyi,
Good day.
This is an excellent piece. It's one of the best essays I have read on Ghanaweb.
I can't wait to read 2/3.
Thanks.
Prof. Sakyi,
Good day.
This is an excellent piece. It's one of the best essays I have read on Ghanaweb.
I can't wait to read 2/3.
Thanks.
francis kwarteng 9 years ago
Prof. Sakyi,
A few more points:
Please I will like you take a look at this Reuters piece ("Africans Still Seething Over Sarkozy Speech")(Link: uk.reuters.com/article/2007/09/05/uk-africa-sarkozy-idUKL0513034620070905)
... read full comment
Prof. Sakyi,
A few more points:
Please I will like you take a look at this Reuters piece ("Africans Still Seething Over Sarkozy Speech")(Link: uk.reuters.com/article/2007/09/05/uk-africa-sarkozy-idUKL0513034620070905)
Please I will hope you find time someday to listen to this NPR interview:
"French Minorities Push for Equality Post-Obama (Link:www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99298290).
I also forgot to mention that the problems Jean Bertrand-Aristide had with the West, primarily with American and France, had to do with his insistence that France (and the US) pay the billions of dollars France owes Haiti.
In fact, his forced overthrow and his forcibly expulsion on America's airforce plane is partly because of this. Please watch this TV interview titled:
EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS:
PRESIDENT ARISTIDE SAYS 'I WAS KIDNAPPED'
'TELL THE WORLD IT IS A COUP'(Link://www.democracynow.org/2004/3/1/exclusive_breaking_news_br_president_aristide)
Randall Robinson, founder of TransAfrica, the largest and oldest social organization in the US, will tell you all about Aristide, his overthrow, etc. The African-American lawyer and university professor Robinson witnessed how the the coup took place. He was there in Haiti and on the US airforce that took Aristede and his family to Central Africa (I hope all my facts are correct as this is a long time ago).
Aristide is also a Fellow on Molefi Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentric Studies. Asante and Molefi are like twins!
I wish I have time to say more the French!
Asiwome 9 years ago
This is timely considering the season of Yuletide is here. The book of Mark traces the genealogy of Jesus to prove that he belongs to all of mankind. Jesus however diverts from this genealogy and line of descent to create a n ... read full comment
This is timely considering the season of Yuletide is here. The book of Mark traces the genealogy of Jesus to prove that he belongs to all of mankind. Jesus however diverts from this genealogy and line of descent to create a new line through himself. Jesus is the first born in a new kingdom that is spiritual. While we are still alive we have parents and grandparents and languages that are different. The more people try to integrate society the more subcultures are created. It is said God himself has scrambled our languages. If we shifted our focus to our relationship with God, who knows whether or not that will bring us together. Children from large families only have to focus on their parents and heritage to remain together.
Agyeman 9 years ago
Nice article but my experience tells me that any tribal war in Ghana is most likely to come from the Ewe menace tribe.Their men like Awoonor ,Rawlings and other Ewes need to be stopped from incitements.
Nice article but my experience tells me that any tribal war in Ghana is most likely to come from the Ewe menace tribe.Their men like Awoonor ,Rawlings and other Ewes need to be stopped from incitements.
Kweku Ananse 9 years ago
Tribalism caused some of the wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Somalia is dismembered by tribal autochthons.
Tribalism caused some of the wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Somalia is dismembered by tribal autochthons.
Admirer 9 years ago
I enjoyed your lovely piece.However,I would like to draw your attention to the fact that,Napoleon changed the rules of fairness and justice when he usurped power.He brought in "overtly racist" Laws that culminated to France"s ... read full comment
I enjoyed your lovely piece.However,I would like to draw your attention to the fact that,Napoleon changed the rules of fairness and justice when he usurped power.He brought in "overtly racist" Laws that culminated to France"s dreadful policy of "Assimilation"His hatred for the famous "Black" army General.Thomas Alex Dumas was visceral.Tom Reiss has written an excellent book on this issue.I recommend it."The Black Count". Bye the way,Magna Carta was dated.1215.You have always been a great teacher.
Kwesi Atta Sakyi 9 years ago
Thanks Admirer for your wonderful rejoinder. I have taken note of the correction of the date. What I wrote on fairness refers to modern day France after going through their sordid ordeal in the past. The past informs the pres ... read full comment
Thanks Admirer for your wonderful rejoinder. I have taken note of the correction of the date. What I wrote on fairness refers to modern day France after going through their sordid ordeal in the past. The past informs the present, which mirrors the future in a continuum.
Son of Man 9 years ago
Keep it coming
Keep it coming
K. Mensah 9 years ago
"The French are famous throughout the world for creating an egalitarian society where all men and women, irrespective of their colour, stations in life, and social statuses or cleavages, are treated equally before the law."
... read full comment
"The French are famous throughout the world for creating an egalitarian society where all men and women, irrespective of their colour, stations in life, and social statuses or cleavages, are treated equally before the law."
Enlighten us since when France achieved this miracle of miracles?!?!?! Are you the only one who hasn't heard of the urban riots that shook France a couple of years ago? The revolt of the so-called "banlieues" where most people of African immigrant descent live in poverty and unemployment? Triggered by the same police brutality against people of colour and minorities as occurs in Ferguson, MO and other US locales?
Since when has France supported Liberty for people of colour? Napoleon tried to reverse the Haitian Revolution and succeeded through treachery in capturing Toussaint L'Ouverture, the brilliant leader of the Africans of Haiti that successfully overthrew French slavery tyranny, imprisoning him and starving him to death in a cold Fort! And regarding French colonialism, have we in Ghana forgotten so soon what happened in Algeria - where over 1 million Algerian were killed in their struggle against French colonialism? The fraud De Gaulle of the "Free French", who "fought" against the Nazis from the comfort and luxury of Britain and was even disdained by the Americans, on assuming leadership after France was liberated by the Allies could not bring himself to grant the same freedom to our North African brethren! Freedom for France, slavery for Algeria! Have we in Ghana forgotten so soon what happened to Guinee-Conakry when it said NO to French neo-colonialism? Have we forgotten the subversive French policy of "France-Afrique" which helped to overthrow our own Kwame Nkrumah, Thomas Sankara and many other progressive African leaders?
I have no respect for Western philosopy of any kind beyond studying it. The so-called "Enlightenment" gave birth to brutal SLAVERY for us Africans. Spare me! The only "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" that exist is between France and other imperialist powers! Whatever favours the author is seeking from the French to butter them up so, may he get it soon so that the rest of us will be spared further robotic, neo-colonialist propaganda!
Kwesi Atta Sakyi 9 years ago
Mensah, all that you wrote about Algeria and Haiti is known to me. Franz Fanon, Walter Rodney, and others have written copiously books and accounts such as 'The Wretched of the Earth' and 'How Europe Underdeveloped Africa' et ... read full comment
Mensah, all that you wrote about Algeria and Haiti is known to me. Franz Fanon, Walter Rodney, and others have written copiously books and accounts such as 'The Wretched of the Earth' and 'How Europe Underdeveloped Africa' etc . My observations are based on currency and not dug-up history. You are entitled to your opinions.
Strong partisanship started in Ghana when Kwame Nkrumah divided the nation into patriots and traitors. Patriots were those who accepted that he should be president for life, practice communism and one party state, and indulge ...
read full comment
Your name is Justice Sarpong the man with thousand aliases and monikers.You probably dines with the devil hence your pungent smell which identifies you easily.
Bonsu, you only need to check he style, language and train of thought to distinguish between this writer and Justice Sarpong.
The narration started with the French assimilation policy which fooled a lot of the Africans in the French territories to think that once they move up the social ladder in those territories they become white in black skin.
...
read full comment
Prof. Sakyi,
You have given us a very thoughtful and insightful piece to ponder.
I do no have any criticism for you here.
My only hope is that those ethnocentric readers parading on Ghanaweb, men and women who have ...
read full comment
Prof. Sakyi,
I forgot to mention a peculiar circumstance with regard to France's hypocritical "Equality, Fraternity, and Liberty": This "Equality, Fraternity, and Liberty" symbol was actually not for everyone in France.
...
read full comment
Thanks Francis for always being there to share your knowledge with us.
Prof. Sakyi,
This is an excellent piece. It's one of the best essays I have read on Ghanaweb.
I can't wait to read 2/3.
Thanks.
Prof. Sakyi,
Good day.
This is an excellent piece. It's one of the best essays I have read on Ghanaweb.
I can't wait to read 2/3.
Thanks.
Prof. Sakyi,
A few more points:
Please I will like you take a look at this Reuters piece ("Africans Still Seething Over Sarkozy Speech")(Link: uk.reuters.com/article/2007/09/05/uk-africa-sarkozy-idUKL0513034620070905)
...
read full comment
This is timely considering the season of Yuletide is here. The book of Mark traces the genealogy of Jesus to prove that he belongs to all of mankind. Jesus however diverts from this genealogy and line of descent to create a n ...
read full comment
Nice article but my experience tells me that any tribal war in Ghana is most likely to come from the Ewe menace tribe.Their men like Awoonor ,Rawlings and other Ewes need to be stopped from incitements.
Tribalism caused some of the wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Somalia is dismembered by tribal autochthons.
I enjoyed your lovely piece.However,I would like to draw your attention to the fact that,Napoleon changed the rules of fairness and justice when he usurped power.He brought in "overtly racist" Laws that culminated to France"s ...
read full comment
Thanks Admirer for your wonderful rejoinder. I have taken note of the correction of the date. What I wrote on fairness refers to modern day France after going through their sordid ordeal in the past. The past informs the pres ...
read full comment
Keep it coming
"The French are famous throughout the world for creating an egalitarian society where all men and women, irrespective of their colour, stations in life, and social statuses or cleavages, are treated equally before the law."
...
read full comment
Mensah, all that you wrote about Algeria and Haiti is known to me. Franz Fanon, Walter Rodney, and others have written copiously books and accounts such as 'The Wretched of the Earth' and 'How Europe Underdeveloped Africa' et ...
read full comment