A Dearth of Ideology US Secretary-General came in to lecture our Presidential candidates gunning for the presidency of a 54-year old nation and we see nothing wrong with it. In fact, we are arguing on who the US will support between the two. We need help. Simple! There is a dearth of ideology in this country. On what grounds is the US Secretary-General visiting to lecture our candidates? When the US held its elections, did any Nigerian leader go there to lecture their candidates on what and what not to do? When are we going to start respecting ourselves? When are we going to sever the apron strings that still connects us to the West? In a time when organisations that ought to know better are silent, I salute the prompt response of Amilcar Cabral Ideological School (ACIS) to that insult. I really am proud to belong to the ideological group. When Margaret Thatcher visited Nigeria back then, she was met with resistance from a visibly agitated populace who understood world politics, where Africa was, and what Africa needed to do to get out of the fix. Today, we no longer concern ourselves with what goes on out there; all we do is admire our Buharis and Jonathans. Its in times like these that you miss the ideological clarity of Late Murtala Muhammed as head of state. His Africa has come of age speech delivered in Addis Ababa rings true even today. Here is the speech: “Africa has come of age. It is no longer under the orbit of any extra continental power. It should no longer take orders from any country, however powerful. The fortunes of Africa are in our hands to make or to mar. For too long have we been kicked around: for too long have we been treated like adolescents who cannot discern their interests and act accordingly. For too long has it been presumed that the African needs outside ‘experts’ to tell him who are his friends and who are his enemies. The time has come when we should make it clear that we can decide for ourselves; that we know our own interests and how to protect those interests; that we are capable of resolving African problems without presumptuous lessons in ideological dangers which, more often than not, have no relevance for us, nor for the problem at hand.” We should get up, dust ourselves and start respecting ourselves. James Ogunjimi January 2015
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 21:32:56 +0000
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