Fellow Afrikans, The biggest problem the continent of Afrikan and all Black people face today is miseducation. That is when we thought we know, and attempt to think and decide for ourselves, and still think that we are making the right thinking, when in fact we are confusing ourselves more and more. Miseducation is dangerous. More dangerous in fact than ignorance. An ingorant person does not bother to explore, and he may refrain from venturing into that he knows nothing about. Yet still an ignorant person faces the possibility of destruction, because he lacks the consciousness about time and space, and the need to adjust oneself to the changing times and circumstances of one's environment and nature. However, the dangerous thing about the miseducated person is that he thinks he knows, that he is armed with truth, facts and figures, and thus he is secure, while the actual fact is that he will lead himself quicker to his own destruction than the ignorant. This is because he attempts to venture into areas he definitely has no knowledge about, and yet out of blind arrogance and self-imposed supremacy in knowledge, dares to tread on. A miseducated person is so well educated that he easily disposed to manipulation. So if one analyses the Afrikan world today, one would see that our main problem stems from those who lead us in all spheres of our life. But instead of leading us , they mislead us simply because of miseducation. They are in our political leadership, religious leadership, economic, academic, social and professional leaderships. Such one miseducated leader is Dr. Ayittey. In his article "why Afrika is poor" he made some serious comments that I thought for a minute, whether he was really thinking when he wrote those things, or was it just another consequence of miseducation. He said, "and today, Africans are worse off economically than they were at independence. This is not a justification for colonialism but a statement of fact." He is right that it is a statement of fact, but the wrong is that it is a justification of colonialism, and he is not even aware of it. Now Dr. Ayittey is from Ghana, and I am from the Gambia. In 1957 Ghana became independent, and the Gambia in 1965, though more accurately it was 1970. Dr. Ayittey knows that ten years before these dates, both countries were not independent, so therefore one cannot attribute any development or backwardness in those periods to the present managers of these countries today. So whatever economic development Ghana or Gambia scored in 1950 and in 1964 respectively, is not to the benefit of the people of Ghana and the Gambia, but to the British, who controlled the economy at the time. Afrikan people were no more than commodities that could be exploited for the benefit of the colonialists. Obviously they exploited our resources and our people to get that wealth anyway. And in pre-independence days, i am sure there is no doubt in the mind of Dr. Ayittey and all of us that an overwhelming majority of Afrikan people live in abject poverty, disease, illiteracy, oppression, despite the claim of Ayittey that Afrikan was doing better then than today. And on the other side, today literacy level in all Afrikan countries has increased tremendously compared to pre-independence days. Today there are more hospitals to cater for our people. Today there are alot more Afrikan entrepreneurs. Today there are a lot more Afrikan people living a decent conditions than before independence, etc etc etc. And Dr. Ayittey still says we are worse of today than at independence. Personally I am not proud of any Afrikan leader today, and I do not approve of the economic policies of almost all Afrikan countries, but the fact of the matter is we should make a distinction between pre-independence days and now. Western scholarship, the IMF and World Bank would want us to believe that theory that we were doing better at independence so that they could defend colonialism, but the little progress that we have today, even though unsatisfactory and a mockery considering the wealth of Afrika, is far more than what colonialism provided for our people. And the credit of this modicum of success, for it is really a success, is for Afrikan people and their largely misguided leadership. Period. In my country they teach me in school that colonialism brought education to our people, and a similar thing has been taught to Ghanaians, including Dr. Ayittey. But the fact is why do we still have only 20-30% literacy level when colonialsim has been in the Gambia from 1902 to 1965? If it was really true that colonialism had such a mission, why cannot we still have the required number of doctors, engineers, administrators, lawyers, scientists etc etc. Dr. Ayittey knows that Ghana is far in education because of DR. Kwame Nkrumah's enlightened leadership to see all of Ghana literate within ten years from independence! And yet Dr. Ayittey tells us that we are worse off today. Nkrumah especially gave education a tremendous push and priority since he became prime minister in 1951. In another part of his misguided article, Dr. Ayittey said, after giving figures of GNP for various world regions, that "for all of black Africa, real income per capita dropped by 14.6 percent from its level in 1965, making most black Africans worse off than they were at independence". This really makes me laugh. Did Dr. Ayittey try to find out how many Afrikans were being employed at that time in the first place. And did he know that Afrikans were not enjoying equal pay as their European counterparts. And does he also know that the only jobs available to Afrikans then were cleaners, watchmen, police guards, messengers, plantation workers, clerks, fitters etc etc. And after independence did Dr. Ayittey realise that our work force had to expand because we have to take charge of things on our own, and pays have to be levelled and rationalised? In any case these figures that Dr. Ayittey quotes do not include the majority of Afrikan people. Colonial figures mostly centre around the centres of colonial interests and the Afrikans they directly exploit. But there are a lot more Afrikans in the forests and deserts who have been trapped there of forced to hide there because of the harsh conditions of colonialism. So how accurate are such figures? But what this means is that Dr. Ayittey is just been fed and fed and fed to the extent that he became easily disposed to manipulation, and he things he knows and has the facts. Who created the facts, and for whom? In another part of this unlightened article, he said "four out of 10 Africans live in absolute poverty and recent evidence suggests the poverty is on the increase..." Now Dr. Ayittey needs to find out how many Afrikans out of 10 live in absolute poverty in 1940, at the height of colonialism. Since independence Afrika has reduced poverty more than it was before independence, and we do not have to run a survey or go to university to know that. And Dr. Ayittey has the nerves to advice that we should attain a growth rate of 7% annually if Afrika can reduce poverty by half. Did Dr. Ayittey try to figure out why Afrika is still poor, and how many of our resources are still in the hands of foreigners, not because out leaders gave them the access, though that is a part of it, but more correctly most of the mining companies and individuals grabbed Afrikan lands by force, and they still occupy it. What is happening in Zimbabwe is a clear testimony of that. If we are to describe colonialism and give it its correct due, it is that colonialisdm institutionalised poverty, illiteracy, irresponsibility in Afrika. Colonialism denied Afrikans to grow what they want, to learn and acquire skills, to organise and fight for their rights. These are the roots of the poverty, illiteracy and irresponsibility in Afrika. In another part of the article, our own Dr. Ayittey said, note this: "Zaire, now the DRC, EXPORTED FOOD WHEN IT WAS THE BELGIAN CONGO. TODAY, IT CANNOT FEED ITSELF, NOR CAN POSTCOLONIAL zAMBIA, SIEERA LEONE, TANZANIA, AND EVEN NIGERIA". This is really unbelievable!!!!!! Does Ayittey know that King Leopold of Belgium killed TEN MILLION AFRIKANS at that time so that they could work the plantations and then export the food? And that is what Dr. Ayittey is so proud of that he is disgusted with today's Congo. Would you have also celebrated the same feat had that abominable Mobutu set up farms and butcher Afrikans to work on those farms so that he could export food? If Dr. Ayittey knows the history of his people he would have known that never in our history had Afrikan people left their shores to search for food in other lands. We have always been self-sufficient and self-reliant. As a matter of fact, all throughout history it was other people - Asians, and Europeans- who left their lands in search of food in Afrika. So today we are not exporting, and that has nothing to do with our leaders per se, but with the system that has engulfed Afrika and her people for the past centuries. And this is what I think should be the pre-occupation of people like Ayittey. That is to destroy that system, so that Afrika can be free and stand on its own feet. But not to support that system, and use it to show the hopelessness of Afrika and her people. In another part he states, "increasuingly, Afrika has become unattractive to foreign investors and even to the donor community which suffers "donor fatigue" after so many failures". Well, we need to ask when has foreign investment started in Afrika and has it ever been beneficial to Afrikan people. For me, without a PHD - a combination of intellectual Povety, Hunger and Disease - forieign investment includes slavery and colonialism. These were foreign investments, and since then Europe has been heavily investing in Afrika, even today with the war in Sierra leone, and the "corruption" in Zimbabwe. And when you say they are running away, I do not see any foreign investor leaving Afrika. I have never heard it over BBC, CNN, DW or RFI. Instead what I hear is that they are still coming. In my country, Gambia, we have so many donor conferences, almost every week, and they have never said they will leave, but interestingly we have never lived a better life since the White man stepped their feet on our shores. We have scores of NGOs in the Gambia, but what I see is wretched mothers and children, and still most of them say they are for children and mothers. So my Dr. Ayittey, do not sit in the US and accept State Deopartment and UN reports, or World Bank and IMF analysis, or experts papers on Afrika. If you also want you can unearth one million nasty things about America and if you control the media you can easily convince the world that, yes, America is hopeless. But that is cheap and dishonest. Afrika is really in a big problem, which for me is mainly aggravated today by our leaders in all areas, including you and me the "educated Afrikans". We are the problem. And what I expected from you and all of us is to see how to salvage Afrika, and not to torment her. However, I will tell you that now a new Afrikan youth is awakening, and we will not hesitate to attack any blood sucker who wants to lick Afrika. We will not apologise or excuse anyone for that. Afrikan is poor. Not entirely because of its leadership. In fact when you consider the leadership, we have also played a part. Why didn't Dr.Ayittey go back to Ghana and put up a political party, a school, or teach at Legon or Kumasi, or run a radio station, and enlighten the people about their reality and what needs to be done. Western statistics are more valuable and indispensable to those who wish to see Afrika torn apart and humiliated and exploited. And I am not proud of any person, organisation etc etc which makes such a venture its pre-occupation. But I will tell you I have hope in Afrika, that Afrika shall rise and Afrika shall be free and stand on its own, and unite all her sons and daughters. Those who do not believe this are not reading histories of the world. Afrika is moving towards that achievment, it might be moving slow, but it is moving. Victory is ours. madi jobarteh ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------