On December 22nd, 2008 the president of Guinea in West Africa died of apparent poor health. He was a heavy smoker and diabetic according to the AFP. When I heard the news, the first thing that came to my mind was a coup or push...whatever you want to call it. Sure enough, 24 hours after the confirmation of the president death, some unknown army captain proclaimed himself leader of Guinea. Why is it that African leaders are incapable to bring prosperity to their respective country? Why is it that after all these years of independence from colonization African leaders have been unable to develop a model of success tailored to their country? My theory: Greed, power and the total disdain of the value of an African life. There I said it.
Set aside greed and power which exist everywhere (Europe, Asia, America, white, blacks asian, etc.) the value of one's life is not equal across the board. If you ask an African what it is to be African, they would say poor and neglected, not even mentioning being Black because a Black American has a better self esteem and a better life than an Black African.
Black Americans had their revolution and their leaders to proclaim the value of a Black person in America. In Africa, I cannot think of a single known leader who cares for his fellow Africans. Patrice Lumumba of the Congo could have brought the African pride if the Belgium plot to kill him was not carried out by his own people.
Today, if you read international news you would be outraged on how African immigrants are treated, they are like diseases arriving on European shores. I am not saying that illegal immigration should be allowed, I am just saying a better human treatment should be carried. How many times we have seen in the news that a young African woman was killed by asphyxie while being deported to her home country? A young man was beaten up and lost sight of one eye because he was caught at a European airport? Not a SINGLE African head of state voiced his outrage to these treatments. On the other hand, when a French NGO was arrested last year in Mauritania on suspicion of child trading, the French President personally got involved to ensure a fair treatment of his people.
The death of the president of guinea is very representative of what I mentioned above. If he cared about his own people, there would have been social, politcal and wealth improvements in Guinea for the last 24 years he was governing the country. He would have worked hard on a successor and ensure a safe passage of power. But you see, greed, power and the disdain for the people will leave Guineans once more in deeper poverty and no clear hope for the future. And that is representative of many, many African countries.
About Me
- YoGo
- I cannot think of any other way to say anything about myself without mentioning Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. I read this book in college and it literally changed my life. I was looking for a direction in my life and I adopted Siddhartha approach to discovering his self by never backing down from a challenge or a new venture while applying everything he learned along the way. This is the definition of Yolande Gordon. Never back down from a challenge and always welcome a new path in life, nothing is static. I am taking on this new path by quitting my mediocre job as an Insurance Broker, writing on a blog, founding a Non Profit organization and a consulting company.
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1 comment:
Thought it was an interesting. Thank you all for your comments! Don't hesitate to share on the directly comment on the blog.
FROM: Yann W.
In true democracy, one should not even have to worry about his/her succession. It should take care of itself. look at the US for example, Bush did what he had to do for 8 years but in the end, the system took care of itself: someone else, the most qualified in the eyes of the people, took over as president. Anyone who stays in power over 10 years cannot do any good for his/her country. In the end it becomes counter-productive.
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