Madiba, thank you for forwarding the rejoinder by Halifa Sallah to our piece on Julius Nyerere. Could you please post this response on the Gambian net? Thank you. George Ayittey, Washington, DC ********************** RESPONSE TO HALIFA SALLAH ON "THE BURIAL OF JULIUS NYERERE" I was saddened to read Mr. Sallah's article on Nyerere, which was a response to a piece I wrote with a Tanzanian, Ludovick Shirima, that was published in The Wall Street Journal (Europe) on October 20. Mr. Sallah's article reflects a peculiar type of mentality that afflicts many African intellectuals. I have called this "intellectual astigmatism." And it is this disease which has aided and abetted the ruination of Africa. The despots and dictators of Africa certainly could not have reduced Africa to a mess WITHOUT the help, collaboration and servile prostitution of African INTELLECTUALS. Some of these intellectuals, like Mr. Sallah, are still wedded to OBSOLETE, colonial-era paradigms and models. To them, virtually ALL of Africa's problems have been caused by Western colonialism, imperialism, the World Bank, IMF and other EXTERNAL factors. Therefore, African leaders can do NO wrong -- especially those who won independence for their respective countries. No African would deny that the first generation of leaders strove gallantly and endured personal hardships to win independence from colonial rule. They were hailed as heroes by their people and the international community. We made this point in our piece. BUT in country after country, these leaders proceeded to establish brutal regime, violated the civil rights of their own people and looted their economies. Nyerere was an exception, which we also said in our article. To continue to make excuses for the failures of these leaders is the epitome of intellectual astigmatism. Black African leaders can do no wrong; only white colonialists and imperialists. This kind of intellectualism is a disgrace to Africa. Even children no longer buy this. Please read below the letter which was found on the bodies of two teenage Guinean boys Yaguine Koita, 14, and Fode Tourakara, 15, who sneaked into the landing gear of a Sabina airliner, on a flight from Conakry, (Guinea) to Brussels. They died on August 2, 1999, unable to survive temperatures of 55 degrees below zero in an unpressurized compartment at 30,000 feet of altitude. A PLEA FOR AFRICA Exellencies, gentlemen, and responsible citizens of Europe: It is our great hope and privilege to write to you about our trip and the suffering of the children and youth in Africa. We offer you our most affectionate and respectful salutations. In return, be our support and our help. We beseech you on behalf of your love for your continent, your people, your families, and above all your children, who you cherish more than life itself. And for the love of God, who has granted you all the experience, wealth, and power to ably construct and organize your continent. We call upon your graciousness and solidarity to help us in Africa. Our problems are many: war, sickness, hunger, lack of education, and children’s rights. We lack rights as children. We have schools, but we lack education. . . . We want to study, and we ask that you help us to become like you. We beseech you to excuse us for daring to write this letter to you, important people whom we truly respect. It is to you, and to you only, that we can plead our case. And if you find that we have sacrificed our lives, it is because we suffer enormously in Africa. We need your help in our struggle against poverty and war. Be mindful of us in Africa. There is no one else for us to turn to. Printed in Harper’s Magazine, Nov 1999; p.22). It was also printed by most newspapers in Belgium, France, Britain and elsewhere in Europe. ************* I hope Mr. Sallah would learn a thing or two from their letter. May they rest in peace. George Ayittey, Washington, DC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------