In a message dated 11/3/99 6:07:15 PM Central Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: << OB, I will have to apologise for that. I was re-emphasising the question you raised "Why is Africa the way it is despite, all the "nominal" intellectuals we have both within and outside the continent?> All what I was saying was, there is a crisis among the intellectuals, a crisis of nationhood, identity, due to the lack of the understanding of the concept of nation, Nationalism and Pan Africanism. ANd until that is understood the problems will continue. For that to happen they need to liberate their minds which I believe applies to all of us. We always assumes that intellectuals are liberated for the fact that they are interllectuals.That is not always the case. Maybe we need to revisit their roles in the development of our continent through the positive and negative contributions they have made. Some of them seems to be lost or not clear as to their responsibilities and roles in our societies. Or shall I say they are simple dishonest but that will still leaves me with the question as to why? The Struggle Continues!! Ndey Jobarteh *************************** You know Ndey, l don't really believe that it is so much a question of dishonesty, as it is a question of just having the wrong focal point. Our so-called intellectuals are trained elsewhere other than in Africa most of the time, and the emphasis of their training is not shall we say "Africa centered"? The point of reference is not Africa and her needs and values. They were not trianed to focus on this, and l personaly believe that this has a lot to do with it.We have to learn to apply our training that was obtained using some else's pof reference to address our issues, and this is like fitting a large square into a small triangle. We have to arrive at a point where in learning to do research, and all problem solving tools, it has to be learned using our own points of reference. Only then can our "intellectual's thinking naturally focus on our concerns. Jabou Joh ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------