Moses:
I think Nkrumah clearly understood economic freedom and political independence and made great efforts to sustain both as an integral part of nation-building. His economic policies in Ghana and his writings clearly illustrate this.
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] on behalf of Moses Ebe Ochonu [meochonu@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, December 06, 2013 12:38 PM
To: USAAfricaDialogue
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Reuters on Nelson Msndela
Sent: Friday, December 06, 2013 12:38 PM
To: USAAfricaDialogue
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Reuters on Nelson Msndela
Fair, if hackneyed, critique of Mandela's settlement with the white establishment. But how is Mandela different in this respect from the overwhelming majority of African nationalist actors who led their various colonial territories to independence? Was Mandela not simply following in the footsteps of previous African nationalists who, in decolonization negotiations, were forced to choose between a delayed or denied independence and a compromised settlement that kept economic power and influence in the hands of "departing" colonial countries or gave them privileged economic access while preserving the dependences that imperiled the economic futures of Africans/blacks? Even in colonial territories where decolonization negotiations occurred because of armed struggle (the Portuguese colonies, Zimbabwe), the nationalist figures faced a variant of this tough choice. Even radical Mugabe reluctantly embraced a settlement at Lancaster House that effectively preserved while economic privileges and dominant land ownership, belatedly and unilaterally embarking on the so-called Fast Track land redistribution scheme when he found himself in political trouble, his power threatened.
Mandela did exactly what other African nationalist figures, facing a tough choice imposed by the white oppressors, did; he pragmatically chose political freedom, trading economic freedom for it. In other words, like Nkrumah and other nationalist predecessors across Africa, Mandela embraced the mantra of "seek ye first the political kingdom and all other things shall be added onto you." The failure of the latter part of this mantra to materialize in South Africa cannot be blamed on Mandela alone.
On Fri, Dec 6, 2013 at 10:38 AM, Ikhide <xokigbo@yahoo.com> wrote:
--"Mandela kept on saying: 'I am here for the people, I am the servant of the nation.' What did he do? He signed papers that allowed white people to keep the mines and the farms," said 49-year-old Majozi Pilane, who runs a roadside stall selling sweets and cigarettes.
"He did absolutely nothing for all the poor people of this country."
- Ikhide
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