By Mical Imbukwa
“No one is going to give you the education you need to overthrow them. Nobody is going to teach you your true heroes, if they know that, that knowledge will help set you free.” Assata Shakur
Knowledge is power. Those who possess it, gain control. Control over their lives, careers, relationships and even salaries. No one will take advantage over anyone who has the right skills, knowledge and knows their worth.
Colonization would never have happened in Africa if Africans had just a slight glimpse or idea of the gold Africa carries in its material resources and the people. The white man fully aware of the ignorance in the black man, colonized his mind, and to date, the black man feels incapacitated.
The black man still believes that the best ideas come from the west and that is why in most crucial projects the white man is involved. The black man’s mind sleeps and dreams aid, yet the African soil is so rich that it can sustain its people without aid. The late Dr. John Joseph Pombe Magufuli tried to point our minds to our lustrous ends and never lived to see his ideology blossom. Were his efforts in vain?
When Magufuli declared that cotton from Tanzania will no longer be exported to the West; that in a few years’ tables will turn and secondhand clothes will be exported to the west, it is a matter of conjecture that many are likely to have seen that as the joke of the century, but why not? If Africa can produce the best cotton, why can’t she produce top brands?
Today Africans are under their own colony. Look at how politicians have colonized the minds of the masses. As Karl Marx says, “the safety of political leaders demands that the masses be kept in the most profound ignorance.” The electorate has been manipulated to believe that only particular voting patterns work. That a person from a certain tribe holding the high seat of political power is detrimental to the collective good of another ethnic group. How do you root out such hogwash?
The local mwananchi keeps voting in the same leader of the last five years because the voter is too ignorant to see the facts for what they are. The unfortunate belief in “something for nothing” creates tunes such as “He brought us a wheelbarrow. He really cares for our well-being.” How far can you go with a non-motorized contraption in this time and age of instant gratification? If far enough, then great! He indeed has your best interest at heart. If not, you need to rethink your thinking.
We all are looking forward to a time when the electorate will be empowered economically. That way, decisions will not be informed by who has the handouts but those who give a hand up. Manifestos will not just be ladders to high seats, but real covenants between the electors and the elected.
Africa must rise, and for this to happen, there has to be real leadership. It is a wakeup call to the mwananchi to gain awareness – get a purpose and discard that “serikali saidia” song. Learn the patterns and any time you feel the temptation to rely on the political class for empowerment, remember Assata Shakur’s words, “No one is going to give you the education you need to overthrow them. Nobody is going to teach you your true heroes, if they know that that knowledge will help set you free.”
The freedom is in your hands. You have got the power and that power resides in knowledge. You do not need to enroll into a logic class to know it. Remember, the learned are not always the educated!
