If it goes on like this, I will have to change the name of my blog. It is not the world according to me; it’s the world according to all these people around me. The picture you see above shows Dudley Thompson, a Jamaican I met in Accra. The little girl above just happened to find my camera interesting and I couldn't resist but publish the picture. I instantly fell in love with her. I mean it is a stereotype par excellence, but kids in Ghana are just too sweet.
Back to Dudley. I met him during a conference on how to ‘Re-brand Africa’. Basically, what the organizers wanted is finding ways of how to brush up Africa's image. The old man was there, because they wanted to have someone who could speak about politics and culture among all the marketing talk.
Dudley served the purpose. He is a former ambassador and proud holder of the Order of Jamaica, a seemingly prestigious award in the West Indies. He hadn't been to Ghana for a long time, not since they had buried Kwame Nkrumah, the father figure of Ghana, and his former friend. 'My dear friend Kwame Nkrumah', is actually what he used to call him. It was just brilliant seeing the old bloke sitting there in his sofa, playing with his walking stick and bringing up glorious moments from the past. He turns 90 next year. I would have given him at the utmost 70 years when I first met him. I mean, he has problems walking and all, but once you start to talk to him there is this vibrant booming voice, intellectual wit and humor. True, he likes to talk and enjoys the attention. But apart from a normal dose of vanity, there is a message. An urge to share his thoughts and ideas, to spread the word before his time ends.
He seemed pleased to have this young white journalist sitting there in front of him, listening and growing visibly impressed. In the 40s he had worked and lived with people like Nkrumah and George Padmore. I mean, not that these people meant much to me before coming to Ghana. But this is not because they were of no importance. It is rather a sign of my ignorance. But I'm learning. I'm trying. In short, Padmore was an Afro-American journalist, an intellectual and an activist for Pan-Africanism. He gathered all these people around him while staying in London. At least for once, a lot of the first African leaders spent some time with him. Nyerere was there, who later became president of Tanzania. It was with Padmore that Thompson met Jomo Kenyatta, the founding father of Kenya, whom he defended when the British imprisoned him for being the alleged leader of the bloody Mau-Mau movement.
Whatever, this is not meant as an alternative to Wikipedia, so look it up if you like. It is just that in the course of the interview, I decided to write a story about Nkrumah and maybe try to get enough material for a radio piece. I want to understand these men. He was both one of the first to free Africa and one of the first to lead his country slip into some sort of tyrannical rule. When people started to criticize him, he went for a one-party state with a draconic police force. Finally, he was disposed of by a CIA-backed coup and it took more then 25 years until Ghana reemerged. Now, I often hear people lament about the fact that in the 50's Ghana was ahead of countries like Malaysia or even South Korea, but nothing ever changed.
What I think is that maybe understanding Nkrumah and why he failed helps to understand other countries in Africa and their problems. Sometimes, I think that these men like Nyerere or Kenyatta, these visionary freedom fighters, where just not meant to be pragmatic managers of day-to-day business. Add all the external pressure and what else can you expect. But there are many aspects to the story and pinning down one reason for failure is bound to fail as well. But one thing still rings in my mind. Thompson kept on saying that there is an original sin of the white men, the sin of having damaged the black men's self-esteem. That white men have stained themselves with racism and, no matter how long ago, still carry this stain on their soul.
# posted by Thilo @ 9:24 PM
