Roger Milla: The African of the Decade into the 21st Century -- Part 2

By Louis Egbe Mbua

Poor Julius Nyerere! He chose the Socialist path and instituted a kind of system of "Villagisation" which nobody understood or had heard of. Poetically, his country languished in poverty and want: although the Chinese managed to help him build the excellent Tanzaam Railway Line. However, he prospered politically and we all respected the Late Leader's intellect.

And Nkrumah? He did not actually take sides in the end. Having spent extravagantly for eight years, one morning the Governor of the Central Bank of Ghana asked for an audience with the great man. Nkrumah was quickly informed that his country was bankrupt. Needless to say that he at first refused to accept this grim news; and now it was time for the West to move for the kill. Western financial Institutions pulled the rug from under him. Being a fighter, he turned to the socialist Camp for financial help. It was while he was visiting China, begging, that he was overthrown in 1966. He died in Bucharest in 1972, surely a broken man.

Nkrumah's legacy to Africa is incalculable. The Cambridge Encyclopaedia eulogised that "he was a significant leader of both the movement against White Domination and of Pan African Feeling. He was the moving spirit behind the Charter of African States (1961)." This document gave rise to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963. It is a mark of respect for Nkrumah that W.E.B. Dubois chose Ghana as the African country of his choice to return more than 400 years after slavery. I do not believe Dubois could have chosen any other African country were he could safely consider himself as a free African man.

Nkrumah's only flaw which most certainly disqualified him as African of the century was his practice of personality cult and his institution of a one-party state that eroded the democratic gains of the 1950s and1960s. Since Nkrumah was the living spirit in Africa at the time, whatever he did was quickly emulated everywhere in the Continent. His undemocratic and autocratic propensities gave rise to one-party States all over Africa: Ahidjo's Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania, Guinea, Zambia etc. His personality cult obsession was re-incarnated in ruffians, butchers, cannibals, megalomaniacs and kleptomaniacs such as Idi Amin, Macias Nguema, Joseph-Desire Mobutu (of the Sese Seko), Afrifa, Acheampong, "Emperor" Jean-Bedel Bokassa, General Abacha, and Master Sergeant Doe. These were the mad men who nearly took Africa back to the Stone Age; causing untold suffering, death, poverty, ignorance, and want to millions of Africans.

The brain drain as a result of the actions of these men is so drastic that, the West Africa magazine stated that there are 24,000 (Twenty-four-Thousand) Igbo Medical Doctors in America alone. Where does that leave us in the twenty-first century? Bryan Appleyard of The Sunday Times in London effectively captured the global mood at the end of the twentieth century. In a prophetic headline article titled "The Party to end all Parties", he wrote: "The 20th century, the bloodiest in human history, has gone, not with a bang but with a whimper. With one last ironic master-stroke, the age of Mao and Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot, of My Lai and Auschwitz, bowed its head and said an amazingly peaceful good night. The global party passed almost without incident." After reading his extract, one wondered why he did not include some African tyrants and why he said "almost without incident” when it to the author that he was writing from a global perspective while excluding Africa. Why? How can that be? Surely, this is unfair, I mused. Then I quickly cast my mind on the Coup in Ivory Coast on Christmas Eve. So the twentieth century did not end in Africa with a "whimper” but Bang! Bang! You are dead! God help Africa!

The general impression, therefore, is there are no plausible reasons to choose any African politician as The African of the twentieth Century. One is so disappointed with their performance; and the catalogue of failures, and woes that it is inconceivable to vote them to the coveted title. One would have been inclined to vote for Nelson Mandela, but he did little to change black people's poverty in South Africa while President. Mohammad Ali? Well, it depends on whether he can be nominated as a full African. Cheikh Anta Diop? An intellectual giant; and a pure Pan-Africanist: but intellect alone cannot save us. Moreover, he did most of his archaeological research in Europe: which leaves us with one choice: Roger Milla! A true African with the humblest of spirits; and a dedicated professional who played for his country at the age of 42: becoming the oldest man to score in a World Cup Final. What Milla did to African Pride in Italia'90, is equivalent to all the work of all African politicians put together. Because of Milla, Africa became recognisable again in the world stage. Africa had been forgotten by the World. Nobody gave a thought about the people. We were seen as pariahs, beggars and weakling, a useless continent. Certain Westerners were even proposing re-colonisation. Milla's four goals changed all that. I was watching the Cameroon-Columbia match, together with some Cameroonians and an English friend in my small one-bed flat in Muswell Hill, North London. One can hardly forget the joy and pride that filled our hearts as Africans when Milla beat Rene Aguitato score the second and winning goal. Few people used to respect Africans. But since that incident, wherever, we go we are respected, being offered free drinks to this day. I recently met a Rwandan Doctor who also said the same thing happened to him in Romania.

There are things money cannot buy - self-worth. Cameroon's performance in that tournament caused the Independent in London to feature an African Nation in their headline for the first time for something good. Cameroonian Mr. Tah Ndifornyen of the Tandy fame, owner of the Victoria pub in London, was in the front page News dancing in his pub. When Roger Milla and his Lions marginally lost to England, the England Manager, Bobby Robson, said "We pulled it out of the fire", and that it was "the hand of God" that helped England. If all our African leaders do their jobs as effectively, humbly, patriotically and selflessly as Milla, then "the hand of God" will save us and our poverty will disappear for good. Roger Milla! The African of the 20th Century.

Roger Milla: The African of the 21st Century Decade - Part 1

By Louis Egbe Mbua

This article first appeared in camnetwork on 7 January 2000, at the very dawn of the 21st century. It was written as a response to the debate as to who would covet the title of The African of the 20th century. At the time of writing, we were thinking of the future by retrospecting the past; and believing that we would now face a brighter future in Africa. Today, with the conduct of political African leaders in a manner that leaves the world gasping for breath, the writing is as true in 2000 as it is today. The same problems that plagued Africa in the 2oth century remain -- if not getting worse. Tyranny, poverty, disease, constitutional and electoral fraud; and political fiat continue with all the ferocity of a whirlwind and a storm combination. In 2000 Roger Milla won the day in the debates; and it still holds today.

Who is the African of the 20th Century?

There were some aspects of Nkrumah's achievements, which the author believes should warrant his nomination as “An African of the Century”: although I do not believe he will win the coveted title. If I could go by historical accounts, Kwame Nkrumah was only thirty-six years old (born in 1909) when he attended the Pan-Africanist Conference in 1945 in Manchester.Before then, he had already taught at Lincoln University in America;and being voted the best lecturer of the year. Although W.E.B Dubois wasvery instrumental in that particular conference, it was Nkrumah who read the signs of the times. On his return to Ghana in 1947, he quickly capitalised upon the injustices of World War II, and African domination by the Allied powers to demand "self-government now". Realising that the party which he was affiliated was dragging its feet, hequickly resigned his position as Secretary General. He then went on to form his ownparty, the Convention People's Party in 1949 that quickly captured the people's imagination. He worked closely with trade union leaders toorganise civil disobedience reminiscent of Gandhi in India. In fact, he is called in some well-informed quarters as "The Gandhi ofAfrica." A tireless and dynamic worker with a flair for showmanship; andunparalleled intellect, he was imprisoned several times. It is said thathe continued to smuggle messages written in bathroom tissues while inprison!

Only ten years after returning to Ghana from the UK, Nkrumah was PrimeMinister of Ghana with his country becoming the first Black Africanstate to achieve independence having completely out-manoeuvred theBritish on intellectual grounds. This achievement alone totallychanged the African political landscape since this provided otherAfrican leaders with the inspiration to challenge colonialism head-on – genuinely or pretentiously. As a result, some African Nationalists lost their lives - Um Nyobe was killed in 1958 and Patrice Lumumba who was brutally murdered in 1964 duringthe Congo crises – allegedly with connivances by the CIA: for these are the very sad episodes what resulted from Nkrumah’s historic political achievement. However, Cameroon and Congo Kinshasa both managed to gain independence in the early 1960's. Others followed in quick succession- Algeria under Ben Bella, Kenya under Jomo Kenyata, Nigeria etc. all in the early 1960s.

It may also be recalled that it was perhaps as a consequence of Nkrumah's achievement --in this respect -- that the great man, Nelson Mandela, decided tochallenge the then racist bastion or clique in Pretoria by force ofarms in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Well, we all know whathappened to him. Spending Twenty-seven years in jail under atrocious conditionsis not something pleasurable at all. With all due respect for Mandela, what Nkrumah achieved in ten years, Mandela took Thirty-one years toachieve in 1994 when he became the first black President in a democraticSouth-Africa. So, we can say, without any foe to utter a contrary position, that what Nkrumah achieved in 1957, in the twentieth century, caused the total liberation of the entire continent. What he gained in the late 1950s is still felt in Africa in the Twenty-firstcentury in the person of Nelson Mandela who has since honourably stooddown for the younger generation living in retirement in SouthAfrica.Nkrumah did not stop there. It is a known fact – or open secret dependent on what side you belong -- the British left Ghana a very rich country indeed.

Living up to its former name, the GoldCoast, the government coffers were panelled with gold; and Nkrumah went aboutbuilding a nation. He built excellent schools, Universities (CapeCoast, Kumasi Institute of Technology) which attracted first class minds from all over the world. With education being free at the time; It is not acoincidence that the first sub-Saharan African Secretary-General ofthe United Nations, Koffi Annan, is partly a product of Ghanaianeducational system. In fact, one of my Economics Lecturer, anEnglishman, in my Undergraduate days commented that Ghanaian farmersspoke very good English - better than Welch farmers (people fromWales). How amazing!Nkrumah also promoted cultural activities by wearing his "nationaldress when attending Commonwealth Heads of Government conferences (CHGM). A friend of the author working for an NGO; and who visits severalAfrican countries, once commented that Ghanaians are the most culturally conscious; and that their civil service, the most efficient.

Nkrumah also built roads, Airports, improved the country'stelecommunication system and embarked on the Volta Project that led tothe gigantic Akosombo Dam for the smelting of Aluminium from Bauxiteand for electricity. Millions of Ghanaians found employment in theseprojects. He promoted hard work, confidence and self-reliance. It is afact that Ghanaians in Diaspora are one of the most hard-working ofall Africans.His foreign policy was very aggressive towards the westbecause he foresaw neo-colonialism. In this respect, Nkrumah tried hisold tactics of direct confrontation, brinksmanship, flamboyance andNationalism. Surely, this was a mistake that was to become his undoing.He tried to play a double game by his non-aligned stance: at one pointhe was a Socialist aligned to the Soviet Union; In another momenthe needed Loans from the West for his grandiose projects. He could notwin because the Cold War was raging meaning he had to choose which side he belonged. Nobody was allowed to have his cake and eat it: for Ideology was thegame. You had to be a sheep in wolf's clothing.

Fidel Castro cleverly, on the other hand, chose and exploited the Soviet Union and prospered politically and economically. Our own very Ahidjo, cunningly sided with the West: healso prospered politically and economically. Cameroonians then went onto party, drinking, eating, dancing and enjoying unimaginable salaryhikes until they woke up one morning to find out that there is nomoney in the bank – It had been stolen by kleptocratic politicians while they were busy dancing: the party was over. Sekou Toure mistakenly sided with the Socialists. Well, the French came in and uprooted their lamp posts in Conakry as the entire country was plunged into darkness ofhardship and poverty. One-Party state became fashionable to put downdissent with the pretext of encouraging unity. Whatever the case, he remained in power until his death.