The essential reader for a Danquah-Busia Confederate sympathizers on the question of who led rhe so-called 1-Party African State. Also for other objective, rational people who want to understand the role of religion in the m ... read full comment
The essential reader for a Danquah-Busia Confederate sympathizers on the question of who led rhe so-called 1-Party African State. Also for other objective, rational people who want to understand the role of religion in the minds for African intellectual imprisoned by foreign religions!
READ: "... how could Nkrumah have imposed the one-party political system on Houphouet-Boigny, when Ivory Coast already had it in place by 1960, bearing in mind that the one-party ideology received official imprimatur in Ghana only in 1964?...//...Liberia had a one-party system in place by 1878, the Central African Republic by 1962, Togo by 1962, Burkina Faso by 1960, Tanganyika by 1961, Chad by 1962, Guinea by 1958, Mali by 1960, Mauritania by 1961, Niger by 1960!..."
WE MST ASK: What says the Danquah-Busia Confederate cohorts and sympathizers?
ITEM: While militant Islam will now take up arms, it is relatively a new phenomenon sourced to western policy gone dangerously awry. The conservative Christian modus however, takes over the minds of the entire populace, peacefully, many time by shaming the opposed culture. That approach defers the power of agency in important matters of self determination and progress by the person now holding the Bible, in their own sentient/contemporary life, as they live it!
There is hope, but paradise is after you die!
In that sense, Christianity, as well as Islam have been, and are threats to the "actualities of Africa’s contemporary civilization on the continent", as well.
THEN THIS: "...And if enlightened, cosmopolitan, and widely-read scholars like Mazrui and Soyinka could not have found common ground on practical strategies conducive to Africa’s internal coherence and sustained development, what then should be expected of lay persons?..."
WE SAY: By his statement at the top of the essay, Friedrich Hegel himself probably makes the argument for the African-centered person.
Western enlightenment was never value free, nor always objective, nor always totally democratic. There was always a political factor in the "cosmopolitan" fronts of all the "renowned" thinkers.
Then economic!
Then the cultural!
Etc.
And...
Patrice Lumumba!
Amilcar Cabral!
Steve Biko!
Ideas, agency, history, and context truly matter!
Another important paper to the larger Kwame Nkrumah and Pan-African question!
ADJOA WANGARA 8 years ago
Kwarteng and his bootlicker Pro Lungu have made themselves senseless nonentities who cannot be taken serious.
Kwarteng and his bootlicker Pro Lungu have made themselves senseless nonentities who cannot be taken serious.
cojo opoku 8 years ago
You still don't get it. What a waste of precious time.
You still don't get it. What a waste of precious time.
MARCUS AMPADU 8 years ago
Knowing what we know from Hume, Jefferson, Hegel, Soyinka, Mazrui & others, from intellectual Gigantomachy to intellectual Titanomachy, how does the Nkrumah model & Pan-Africanism transition from rhetorical historicity to ... read full comment
Knowing what we know from Hume, Jefferson, Hegel, Soyinka, Mazrui & others, from intellectual Gigantomachy to intellectual Titanomachy, how does the Nkrumah model & Pan-Africanism transition from rhetorical historicity to what I will call rhetorical futuristics.
Where alternative African futures would be crafted - writing scenarios of possible African futures, examining probable African futures, and zeroing in on selecting preferable African future. African think tanks using computer models and future-oriented narratives would assist in this direction.
We have to design our own futures period.
OKOE 8 years ago
IT IS EASIER SAID THAN DONE. YOUR SUGGESTION WOULD WORK IF THE CHASE FOR WEALTH AQUISITION CAN BE TAKEN OUT OF THE EQUATION. INFLUENCE BY WEALTH HINDERS THE DESIGN OR ANY DESIGN TO WORK FOR THE AVERAGE AFRICAN. HOW WAS IT POS ... read full comment
IT IS EASIER SAID THAN DONE. YOUR SUGGESTION WOULD WORK IF THE CHASE FOR WEALTH AQUISITION CAN BE TAKEN OUT OF THE EQUATION. INFLUENCE BY WEALTH HINDERS THE DESIGN OR ANY DESIGN TO WORK FOR THE AVERAGE AFRICAN. HOW WAS IT POSSIBLE THAT OUR LARGEST NATION IN AFRICA ENDOWED WITH OIL MONEY AND LARGE ARMY COULD NOT UP TO TODAY COULD NOT DEFEAT A RAG TAG ARMY SUCH AS BOKO HARAM. COMPUTERS CAN MODEL ANYTHING BUT AS THE SAYING GOES, GABBAGE IN GABBAGE OUT. OUR HEADACHE IN AFRICA IS POVERTY AND PURSUIT OF MONEY BY OUR LEADERS THROUGH FOUL OR FAIR MEANS. WE HAVE EXTERNAL FORCES READY TO CONFUSE US IRRESPECTIVE OF ANY MODEL THAT MAY BE COMING OUT FROM YOUR COMPUTERS. UNLESS AFRICA CAN COME TOGETHER AND PUT ASIDE SELFISHNESS BY OUR LEADERS, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE OUR OBJECTIVES IN AFRICA SOONER. HOW COME AMERICA OWES CHINA TRILIONS OF DOLLARS? THERE MUST BE SOMETHING WORKING FOR CHINA AND MUST BE GOOD. IF YOU HAVE THE CAPITAL, THEN CAPITALISM WORKS BUT DR. NKRUMAH KNEW JUST AFTER INDEPENDENCE THAT GHANA WAS POOR AND USED STATE RESOURCES FOR MANY GOOD THINGS. THEN WE WERE CONFUSED BY EXTERNAL FORCES, AND THE REST IS HISTORY.
MARCUS AMPADU 8 years ago
Thanks OKOE for your input. Surely, it would be easier said than done if we focus on our futures rather than dwelling solely on the past.
We have to talk about our futures OKOE without blaming any external forces.
Thanks OKOE for your input. Surely, it would be easier said than done if we focus on our futures rather than dwelling solely on the past.
We have to talk about our futures OKOE without blaming any external forces.
francis kwarteng 8 years ago
Dear Brother Marcus,
Thanks for your question.
My only worry is that you may have rushed through the article.
Your concerns tell me you missed out on so many things.
You may have to go back and read the article a ... read full comment
Dear Brother Marcus,
Thanks for your question.
My only worry is that you may have rushed through the article.
Your concerns tell me you missed out on so many things.
You may have to go back and read the article again if you want to answer yourself. This time read it closely.
Now computer models do not tell us everything (it is a good way to start though).
Dr. Jonathan Farley, one of the world's and America's youngest and profoundest mathematicians, has developed software for the US State Department, the FBI/CIA, and some state securities to track down terrorists, yet the state of Massachusetts could not prevent the so-called Boston Bombing.
The irony of it all is that Dr. Farley has been living in Massachusetts since the KKK chased him out of Tennessee where he taught mathematics.
Mathematical modeling, simulation, and industrial engineering/operations research/management science tools do not tell us everything. Certainly, they are a good place to start but they do not tell us everything.
For if they were, we would not have problems in the areas of meteorology, Wall Street, economic recessions , and what have you. Again that is not to say they are not important.
But your suggestion is not the proper way to look at a problem (and its solutions) from a scientific standpoint. The scientific way is to look at a problems (and its solutions) from every conceivable angle, internal and external.
For instance, neither America nor Japan/China, say, can model the internal problems its industries are facing without factoring in instances of industrial espionage (theft of intellectual property, etc)from Japanese or Chinese companies.
Do you have any idea how much in dollars (billions) that industrial espionage (theft) cost American, Japanese, or Chinese companies a year?
For instance, do you have any idea how much it cost Sony (Hollywood) when South Korean hackers' forced Hollywood to cancel a showing of the said movies ("The Interview") across America? (www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/top-movie-theater-chains-cancel-premiere-showings-of-the-interview/2014/12/17/dd1bdb2a-8608-11e4-9534-f79a23c40e6c_story.html).
If you want a fuller picture of what I am talking about, then read "THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CYBERCRIME AND CYBER ESPIONAGE (Center for Strategic and International Studies) (Link:www.mcafee.com/us/resources/reports/rp-economic-impact-cybercrime.pdf).
Yours is a simplistic approach to very complex questions. I try as much as possible to avoid simplistic analysis of issues. And if there is one thing I have some "expertise" in then it is mathematical modelling, not African literature, say! Besides, your saying we should blame external forces does not mean they don't exist.
That approach will also give you faulty results if you don't model a problem well by exhausting its possible range of causative elements. Please make time to read more about "Analytics."
Visit the websites of all the major American think tanks/research institutions and read their publications.
You might be shocked how externalities influence America's internal politics and political economy. I mentioned only one, industrial espionage.
But do you have any idea how terrorism outside American shores affects American strategist interests and hence, its economy? Do you have any idea how much the terrorism of Boko Haram or Al-Shabab affects or costs Ghana's economy?
Look at how much environmental destruction and environmental pollution, mostly contributed by industrialized economies and other rising ones like China, Brazil, and India, is costing African economies, though Africa's contributions to envriromental pollution, for instance, is marginal.
Therefore, are you going to model the problem of environmental pollution on Africa's economies by ignoring how much American industries contribute to environmental pollution? Do you have any idea what the business-cost implications are if you don't properly model problems!
As a scienctist, mathemtician, or scientists you do not want to incur unnecessary additional costs by leaving out important variables that may contribute to optimal solutions! This is why modelers don't leave anything to chance! You include every conveivable variable in your models!
Finally, mathematical modeling and simulation do not entail only NUMBERS. Psychology, law, politics, sociology, history, economic theory, etc., all go into mathematical modeling, mathematical optimizaion, statistical analysis. Analytics in short! Linear programming, for instance, has several components that do not directly have anything to do with numbers!
And please, if you want to know more about external contributions to many of Africa's problems then you may have to read all the reports that Kofi Annan and others have written on Africa:
1) The Kofi Annan Foundation
2) Global Commission On Elections, Democracy and Security
3) The Elders
4)Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa
5)Global Center for Pluralism
6) The African Panel (Reat the annual "African Progress Report)
7) The United Nations Foundation
8) Global Humanitarian Forum
......................................
You should understand the complexity of the issues once you read some of the reports these organizations have prepared. In fact, Wole Soyinka though not a mathematician, scientist, or engineer understand the qualitative aspect of the question's complexity.
Did you closely read the quotation I attributed to him in this essay, Soyinka? He looks at both sides of the equation though that may not be too clear in the quotation. I provided the background (in legal terms) to help readers appreciiate the political and moral subtext of his legal arguments!
That is not to say every single African problem is a function of external causation. That is not what this article is saying!
So Brother Marcus, the issue of modeling as not as easy and straightfoward as you make it out to be. I will find time to recommend some very excellent texts for you to take a look at!
We may have to explore this topic some more in the future.
Thanks!
MARCUS AMPADU 8 years ago
Thanks for responding to what I'm suggesting, Onuah Francis. You totally missed the import of what I said: that in trying to solve Ghana's & Africa's problems, we must deliberately dwell on our futures, without necessarily fo ... read full comment
Thanks for responding to what I'm suggesting, Onuah Francis. You totally missed the import of what I said: that in trying to solve Ghana's & Africa's problems, we must deliberately dwell on our futures, without necessarily forgetting the the past. Of course, the sustainable inputs and the high points of our history could be extrapolated as guides in designing our futures, in addition to using computer modeling.
It is rather unhealthy to talk about our challenges by focusing solely on the past without engaging in narratives about where we headed. For starters, it wouldn't hurt teaching our youngsters about futurology.
francis kwarteng 8 years ago
Dear Brother Marcus,
Thanks for your response.
Once again you miss the point because this is exactly what this series is about: FUTUROLOGY.
Futurology is embedded in each of the series. It is all over the article b ... read full comment
Dear Brother Marcus,
Thanks for your response.
Once again you miss the point because this is exactly what this series is about: FUTUROLOGY.
Futurology is embedded in each of the series. It is all over the article but you don't seem to get it.
If you care to know, this article and others like it are more about futurology than about the past.
Go back and the re-read the article again, then find time to read Drs. Jeffrey Sacks and Dambisa Moyo's works. They should also add what I have been saying.
I understand you are an educator. But may be I you will understand what I am doing if I empploy the tenets of parenting, social psychology, developmental psychology, peer pressure, and so on to explain the impact of "history" on the intellectual development or "furulogy" of adults.
Please make a connection between what I mean by "history" and "futulogy" in the case of the intellectual development of adults. I shall try to explain them further if you should come back complaing you don't see the connection.
In any case the rest of my articles are not going to be different from this, so brace yourself. My only reservation is that your comments do not indicate the depth that this article and others like it deserve.
You may recall how Andy-K brought out the depth I am talking about in one of my more recent articles. Please go back to Part 1 of this series.
You will realize you comments narrowed the larger scope of the article while Andy-K brought our a more expanded version of the same. I had to come and say "I REST MY CASE." Remember?
You were essentially talking about history while Andy-K was talking about history and futulogy. This is what I am my depth. Please take your time and read the piece again. It is about futulogy!
This.
Prof Lungu 8 years ago
We were just talking to a historian, today.
We agreed that Ghanaian student, even those in tertiary institutions do not know the history of Ghana: Where groups/clans/ethics migrated to, from where!
Where all that is r ... read full comment
We were just talking to a historian, today.
We agreed that Ghanaian student, even those in tertiary institutions do not know the history of Ghana: Where groups/clans/ethics migrated to, from where!
Where all that is related to the future we all may want for Ghana.
How can one teach "futurology" effectively if the students do not have a clue where their societies have truly being, and why?
So to close, this about "Political Will" of mostly a single individual:
Katherine Keating
Contributing Editor The WorldPost, Executive Producer
ONE ON ONE SERIES
"President Kagame on Political Will"
Posted: 05/23/2015 2:00 pm EDT Updated: 5 hours ago
"When I sat down to talk to President Kagame about why Rwanda has been so successful in reforming his country and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), his answer was chiefly political will: "Political will is the one thing that holds the rest together." And while this answer may seem oversimplified, Kagame insists that's because it is.
Today is Rwanda Day and President Kagame is attending the Rwanda Youth Forum in Dallas, Texas where he will meet with hundreds of Rwanda's diaspora to report on their country's progress, as well as discuss the challenges ahead.
Rwanda is in an almost unimaginable state compared to where it was 20 years ago. In the wake of a genocide, where the country lost one million people and displaced 800,000 within a three month period, Rwanda has become one of the frontrunners in achieving the MDGs. The genocide radically changed the country's demographic structure; women today account for 54 percent of the country's population, altering the entire social and economic fabric of its society. During our conversation, Kagame presented the challenge at hand; "How do we bring the country back together? How do we bring normal life to the country?"
With rapid economic development, a reduction in poverty and mortality rates, access to health care, equal opportunity for education and policies that empower women, Rwanda has seemingly found the answer to these questions. Despite being one of the poorest countries in the world, Rwanda is expected to achieve the majority of MDGs. Compared to many of its neighboring nations, Rwanda has been an example of radical change pushed through by the determination of its leader.
Kagame previously commanded the rebel forces that ended the 1994 Genocide and became President in 2000. Under his leadership, Rwanda has transformed from a broken nation into one of the safest, most productive and stable economies in Africa. Described as the Singapore of Africa, Rwanda is the 10th fastest growing economy in the world, and in the past decade has lifted more than a million people out of poverty.
Kagame's tight grip on power has helped create much of Rwanda's stability. But he has also faced criticism for his government's ruthless determination to maintain order. It has stirred the debate about good governance and what it takes to be an effective leader, to maintain order and create change. But his popularity and the success of his government's reforms mean that Kagame is likely to serve a third term in 2017. Continuing on as President will require a constitutional amendment.
While Kagame has critics, even they must acknowledge the progress he has made, simply put the results are there. In his 2013 New York Times article Jeffrey Gettleman said: "No country in Africa, if not the world has so thoroughly turned itself around in so short a time." The Rwanda model has proven that foreign aid, coupled with political will, can turn the fate of even the poorest of nations.
While Rwanda is at the forefront of achieving the MDGs, there is of course more to be done. According to a UN MDG report, released this March, the country is still challenged by high levels of poverty and inequality, low skills and productivity and suitable infrastructure. However, according to the same report, these hurdles are not insurmountable and given trends to date, in regard to the MDG targets, the country is likely to achieve all of its development aspirations. "The MDGs are not a ceiling but a floor," said Kagame, giving the impression that the MDGs will be achieved.
It was clear during our conversation that Kagame is hopeful for the future of Rwanda, hopeful for what is to come. It is under Kagame's leadership that Rwanda recovered from its tragic history and is well on it's way to becoming a middle-income nation. Rwanda now serves as a model for neighboring nations, proving that even the poorest and most broken countries can be reformed. As Kagame put it, "If Rwanda can do it, anyone can do it."
WE SAY: It is as simply as it gets, sometime! Otherwise, we may get side-tracked to diminish, possibly, the work and significance of Nkrumah of Ghana who had exceptional "political will"!
Greetings!
francis kwarteng 8 years ago
Dear Prof. Lungu,
Thanks for this powerful piece.
This piece reinforces some of my major arguments.
Thanks for sharing it with us.
Thanks.
Dear Prof. Lungu,
Thanks for this powerful piece.
This piece reinforces some of my major arguments.
Thanks for sharing it with us.
Thanks.
MARCUS AMPADU 8 years ago
The study of the future, known as futuristics or futurology is made up of distinct body of works, including the extrapolation of history.
Please go and read Edward Cornish's Study of the Future.
The study of the future, known as futuristics or futurology is made up of distinct body of works, including the extrapolation of history.
Please go and read Edward Cornish's Study of the Future.
francis kwarteng 8 years ago
Dear Brother Marcus,
There is nothing Cornish says in his text that is new to most people. Not even one!
For instance, some of his students for students were things some of us used to do in high school/secondary schools ... read full comment
Dear Brother Marcus,
There is nothing Cornish says in his text that is new to most people. Not even one!
For instance, some of his students for students were things some of us used to do in high school/secondary schools.
As for his ideas on business, forecasting, etc., there is nothing new there. 99.99% of his ideas are nothing new to me. I won't go further!
If you think you know some people on Ghanaweb who are not familiar with Cornish's work why don't you summarize his work for them?
Like I said before, I won't go further because there is nothing new I found in Cornish's which I am not already doing or have not come across even in my teens!
Go to www.Ghanahero.com/vision and you should find more useful information there. For now allow me to continue with my futulogy essays on Nkrumah!
Thanks.
francis kwarteng 8 years ago
Dear Brother Marcus,
I forgot to mention explicitly that there is probably nothing Cornish says in his text that Ghanaians, including Ghanaian leaders and politicians, bank and industry leaders, professors, think tanks res ... read full comment
Dear Brother Marcus,
I forgot to mention explicitly that there is probably nothing Cornish says in his text that Ghanaians, including Ghanaian leaders and politicians, bank and industry leaders, professors, think tanks researchers, policy analysts, economists and sociologists, policy analysts, etc., are not aware of.
Visit the websites of think tanks, major universities, etc., across Africa and you will realize that Cornish is not new on the block. Read the publications of the aforementioned organizations, etc., as well.
Thanks.
MARCUS AMPADU 8 years ago
It looks like you are getting upset with me.
All that I am saying is that we need to pay attention to the future. Familiarize your self with the publications put out by the World Future Assdciation. And by the way, the word ... read full comment
It looks like you are getting upset with me.
All that I am saying is that we need to pay attention to the future. Familiarize your self with the publications put out by the World Future Assdciation. And by the way, the word is futurology. Pinpoint in your extensive reading on Kwame Nkrumah where the Osagyefo dealt with the subject matter of futuristics.
Thanks.
Osu Klottey 8 years ago
Why are you now trying to defend Nkrumah intentions,thank God his intentions and plans did not malterialised
Why are you now trying to defend Nkrumah intentions,thank God his intentions and plans did not malterialised
Prof Lungu 8 years ago
Osu Klottey,
Nice try on your part!
Imagine, the entire "OSU" conclave is lit by Akosombo power, that Nkrumah ensured was funded and commissioned, by him!
So, enjoy the little water and power, left!
Osu Klottey,
Nice try on your part!
Imagine, the entire "OSU" conclave is lit by Akosombo power, that Nkrumah ensured was funded and commissioned, by him!
So, enjoy the little water and power, left!
francis kwarteng 8 years ago
Dear Brother Marcus,
I am not getting upset with you.
The point is that there is nothing Cornish and the World Future Association have said that is new to some of us.
Most of my readers whom I privately communicate ... read full comment
Dear Brother Marcus,
I am not getting upset with you.
The point is that there is nothing Cornish and the World Future Association have said that is new to some of us.
Most of my readers whom I privately communicate with are familiar with these ideas.
This is why I suggested to you to do a piece for those Ghanaweb readers you think might not be in the know.
For now the series on Nkrumah is what I have chosen to do. I don't even have any clue when I am going to end the piece.
Please do that for Ghanaweb if you have the time. On my part I have to do what I am doing. Even if I finish this series, what follows will look the series in substance.
Please visit www.Ghanahero.com and read the 7-Year Development Plan.
The essential reader for a Danquah-Busia Confederate sympathizers on the question of who led rhe so-called 1-Party African State. Also for other objective, rational people who want to understand the role of religion in the m ...
read full comment
Kwarteng and his bootlicker Pro Lungu have made themselves senseless nonentities who cannot be taken serious.
You still don't get it. What a waste of precious time.
Knowing what we know from Hume, Jefferson, Hegel, Soyinka, Mazrui & others, from intellectual Gigantomachy to intellectual Titanomachy, how does the Nkrumah model & Pan-Africanism transition from rhetorical historicity to ...
read full comment
IT IS EASIER SAID THAN DONE. YOUR SUGGESTION WOULD WORK IF THE CHASE FOR WEALTH AQUISITION CAN BE TAKEN OUT OF THE EQUATION. INFLUENCE BY WEALTH HINDERS THE DESIGN OR ANY DESIGN TO WORK FOR THE AVERAGE AFRICAN. HOW WAS IT POS ...
read full comment
Thanks OKOE for your input. Surely, it would be easier said than done if we focus on our futures rather than dwelling solely on the past.
We have to talk about our futures OKOE without blaming any external forces.
Dear Brother Marcus,
Thanks for your question.
My only worry is that you may have rushed through the article.
Your concerns tell me you missed out on so many things.
You may have to go back and read the article a ...
read full comment
Thanks for responding to what I'm suggesting, Onuah Francis. You totally missed the import of what I said: that in trying to solve Ghana's & Africa's problems, we must deliberately dwell on our futures, without necessarily fo ...
read full comment
Dear Brother Marcus,
Thanks for your response.
Once again you miss the point because this is exactly what this series is about: FUTUROLOGY.
Futurology is embedded in each of the series. It is all over the article b ...
read full comment
We were just talking to a historian, today.
We agreed that Ghanaian student, even those in tertiary institutions do not know the history of Ghana: Where groups/clans/ethics migrated to, from where!
Where all that is r ...
read full comment
Dear Prof. Lungu,
Thanks for this powerful piece.
This piece reinforces some of my major arguments.
Thanks for sharing it with us.
Thanks.
The study of the future, known as futuristics or futurology is made up of distinct body of works, including the extrapolation of history.
Please go and read Edward Cornish's Study of the Future.
Dear Brother Marcus,
There is nothing Cornish says in his text that is new to most people. Not even one!
For instance, some of his students for students were things some of us used to do in high school/secondary schools ...
read full comment
Dear Brother Marcus,
I forgot to mention explicitly that there is probably nothing Cornish says in his text that Ghanaians, including Ghanaian leaders and politicians, bank and industry leaders, professors, think tanks res ...
read full comment
It looks like you are getting upset with me.
All that I am saying is that we need to pay attention to the future. Familiarize your self with the publications put out by the World Future Assdciation. And by the way, the word ...
read full comment
Why are you now trying to defend Nkrumah intentions,thank God his intentions and plans did not malterialised
Osu Klottey,
Nice try on your part!
Imagine, the entire "OSU" conclave is lit by Akosombo power, that Nkrumah ensured was funded and commissioned, by him!
So, enjoy the little water and power, left!
Dear Brother Marcus,
I am not getting upset with you.
The point is that there is nothing Cornish and the World Future Association have said that is new to some of us.
Most of my readers whom I privately communicate ...
read full comment