Deyda,

Well said. A good historical reminder. I agree with you, Senghore was
misunderstood by many. He is a TRUE SON OF AFRICA.


PEACE

Tombong


>From: Deyda Hydara <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Is Senghor a true son of Africa or not?
>Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 14:49:33 +0000
>
>From Deyda Hydara
>To Malick Kah
>
>Dear Malick,
>
>I do not subscribe to your claim that Seignior was opposed to Senegal's
>independence as oppose to the aspirations of the people at the time. Where
>does democracy stands in the face of such an accusation? Don't forget that
>Senghor's party had the majority given to it by the people of Senegal. He
>defeated Lamin Gueye's SFIO as well as his former friends of the PAI, thus
>securing a mandate to run the affairs of the colony.
>It is also on record that Senghor used his connection with former classmate
>George Pompidou to get De Gaulle to accept to facilitate the independence
>of
>not only Senegal but the whole former French West Africa as he was known to
>have battle against the "Balkanisation" of former French West Africa.
>He criss- crossed the region spearheading talks to get his colleagues to
>accept a federation in lieu of balkanisation but most of them feared a
>Senegalese hegemony and withdrew gradually from the scheme leaving Sudan,
>Benin and former Upper Volta. As we know only Sudan remained paving the way
>for the Mali Federation for which he gracefully gave the hot seat to late
>Modibo Keita who later mingled in the internal affairs of the PS leading to
>his Exit.
>I would like to say some few words about his relations with France, but
>before that let me quote him: " I wear European clothing, and the Americans
>dance to Jazz which derives from our African Rhythms: civilisation in the
>29th century is universal. No PEOPLE can get along without OTHERS."
>(Emphasis mine)
>The above depicts Senghor's obsession for Black people to be "Recognised"
>and given the due regard they deserve. The concept of Negritude stems from
>this obsession. When Senghor and Cesaire came to France, Africans were
>considered as "second class citizens of the world", something that pained
>them so much that they vowed to change such a negative and inhumane
>posture.
>They were faced with classmates parading a "superiority complex" demarche.
>Therefore they decided to prove them by "beating" them in all subjects
>until
>they gave them their due recognition as equals. This led to their excellent
>performances as students bagging degrees while their white colleagues were
>"recalles" repeating exams.
>Following their studies, they also addressed a bleak picture of the black
>race being peddled in France through a derogatory advert depicting a
>laughing black man amazed by the wonders of the world. Senghor in
>particular
>swore to tear the "banana laughter from all the walls of France.
>He beat the racists in their game by excelling in his studies, securing the
>respects of his German jailers.
>On the charge that he was a French henchman. Malick you got it wrong, the
>Senegalese TV is airing interviews he gave to French journalists during his
>tenure. Everyone heard him completely disagreeing with some of France's
>African policies as well as of some of their global options. France
>campaigned against the holding of the Olympics in USSR but he disagreed
>with
>that as well as the Russian intervention in Afghanistan. The above depicts
>Senghor's pragmatism. When the Sekou Toures and others were subjecting
>their
>people to dictatorial rule, he not only delivered but also opened his
>country to democracy and a free press.
>He established the first African schools for rural cadres, the first for
>agricultural technicians as well as the first school of administrators.
>I must however concede that as a human being he made mistakes but overall,
>he left a successful country with hundreds of thousands of cadres and
>structures not readily available to countries without gold, diamond, cocoa
>and oil. With their peanut, he contributed to what Senegal is today. Wade
>confessed in an interview some days ago, that he was an admirer of Senghor
>although he opposed him for 27 years. Do not forget that most of Africa's
>liberation movements such as the ANC had offices in Dakar with Senghor's
>blessings.
>Hope we have now agreed?
>Happy New Year to all
>Deyda
>
>
>
>
>>From: malik kah <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
>><[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Re: Is Senghor a true son of Africa or not?
>>Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2001 20:27:38 +0000
>>
>>As we ponder about the demise of Leopold Senghore, it is right that we
>>subject him to a discour for Zeng belong to a breed of politicians that
>>will
>>always intrests us Africans. After all these were the protagonists that
>>fashioned the foreign as well as the socio-economic policies whose effect
>>we
>>still live with, hence what they stood for and what things they said is as
>>much relivant now as it was then.
>>
>>It is apparent that Senghore was opposed to Senegals indepence as oppose
>>to
>>the aspirations of the people at the time. He was one of those success
>>samples of the french policy of assimilados, he was what was termed then
>>as
>>coconut, black from the outside but white in the inside. His whole
>>comportment was white hence he earned the admiration and support of the
>>French establishment.
>>
>>This was Senghores oulook and at this point in time the wind of change was
>>fast blowing in Africa, the people were demanding the right to self rule
>>and
>>a genuine independce, hence it was very important for the colonial masters
>>to have loyal servants to whom they can entrust their administration
>>without
>>hinderance, where they failed to cultivate such proteges they engaged in
>>bloody battles to subjugate the people into submission. A lot of people
>>confronted the colonial masters, hence they preffered to  die as matyrs
>>and
>>patriots than be subjugated. A lot of genuine Sons and  Daugthers were
>>executed, those obstinate ones that survived and led their people to
>>Independence were sanctioned and turned into pariah states.  Infact many
>>of
>>them through dirty plots hatched by the colonialists  were either murdered
>>or overthrown.  It was in such a climate that Senghore was the darling of
>>the colonial masters hence he was a suspect collaborator and this was
>>important because the colonial masters needed alliances to continue their
>>presence so as to justify their involvement in the internal affairs of our
>>countries, with  the likes of Senghore they were using Senegal as a
>>launching pad.
>>
>>This is why Senghore's acts needs to be put in  a historical context, yes
>>he
>>was highly educated, well respected academic but that does not exonerate
>>his
>>policies for it was people like him that has mortgaged the future the
>>consequence of which we now live with .
>>
>>The arrangements and self intrests that manifested at this embryonic stage
>>of nation building has left us poorer and weaker and being one of those
>>principal architects he must be remembered differently by the radical
>>African, the ones that had called for a programme of independence and not
>>dependence. The road championed by Gamal Abdel Nasser, Nkurumah, Saikou
>>Touray, Modibo Keita as well as Patrick Lumumba is well documented it
>>testifies to the intrests that were being defended by their
>>contemporaries.
>>In fact the blue print of their calling is what EUROPE is now implementing
>>in full, from monetary union to military as well as trade and economics.
>>These people were ahead of their time at a time when Senghore was being
>>celebrated as a poet laureate these people were carving and strategising
>>the
>>future of the continent. No wonder they were feared by the colonial
>>masters,
>>the respect they commanded was evident, wherever, they appeared in Europe
>>the media would follow every utterance they made. These people can never
>>be
>>forgotten, after all Senghore before he passed out was nearly forgotten.
>>History has absolved Nkrumah, so whatever critics may say, on balance he
>>contributed more to the African conciousness than any of us or Senghore
>>may
>>ever do. Their roles were different one was loved by the African people,
>>the
>>other by the Europeans, take you position and define yourself.
>>
>>He went for dependency and got all the support and now all that support
>>turned out to be the debt that is slowly strangling. With such an approach
>>Senghore must be ranked amongst those that failed us.
>>
>>>From: Jungle Sunrise <[log in to unmask]>
>>>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
>>><[log in to unmask]>
>>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>>Subject: Re: Is Senghor a true son of Africa or not?
>>>Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2001 15:49:05 +0000
>>>
>>>You see, you do use your head sometimes. It sometimes seems that we are
>>>programmed in such a way that any view that is unconventional is to be
>>>dismissed as lacking merit or irrelevant. For example, people would
>>>rather
>>>remember Kwami Nkrumah for his speeches and vision rather than the way he
>>>tried to implement that vision. Nobody, in his right mind, would deny the
>>>fact that Dr. Kwami Nkrumah was both an intellectual and a visionary. But
>>>try to talk about his short-comings and you are labelled "Anti-Nkrumah".
>>>The
>>>fact remains that Dr. Kwami Nkrumah was one of the first dictators that
>>>Post
>>>colonial Africa
>>>produced. It is also a fact that one of the most repressive legislations
>>>ever passed in any country in Africa was the Preventative Detension Act
>>>(PDA). This piece of thrash was used by Nkrumah and those close to him or
>>>in
>>>uniform to jail inocent people for indefinite periods just because they
>>>dared ask where the country was heading. Instead of explaining his vision
>>>of
>>>Ghana to those who were better placed/equiped to implement them, he
>>>treated
>>>them as insurbodinate anarchists. This is were President Jammeh differs
>>>from
>>>the rest of those Pan-Africanists. You people may not believe it now, but
>>>time will tell.
>>>
>>>Have a good day, Gassa.
>>>
>>>
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