Most Certainly, Onuapa Kwabena, your points are well taken, except that we sometimes need to contextualize some internal political-cum-economic dynamics when it comes to African leadership. In fact, your brief but radical premise (or position) reminded me of Rene Dumont's thematic thesis in his book, False Start in Africa (1966; 1988), (L'Afrique noire est mal partie, 1962) in which he concluded whimsically that African nationalist politicians, with no exception, basically cozied into their leadership positions, moved into departing colonialists' bungalows and big offices but did nothing either (1) to change the status quo, or (2) the abysmal/appalling economic circumstances of the citizenry. However, some of Africa's foremost civil servants/diplomats like Chief Simeon Adebo (Nigeria); A. L. Adu (Ghana); Angie Brooks-Randolph (Liberia); Davidson Nicole (Sierra Leone); Alex Quaison-Sackey (Ghana) and others did later indicate, invariably, that post-colonial leaders of Africa (and elsewhere) had so much to contend with that sometimes certain urgent matters, including the plight of the people, were either scarcely modified or left very much unmodified. President Nelson Mandela, our famous Madiba, was no exception. Yet, we should also remember the neo-colonialist syndrome that emerged in most circumstances, whereby newly-independent African nations and the new leaders (as "first Black leaders") faced new internal or indigenous political opposition.
An interesting lesson I personally learned, Onuapa Kwabena, was that as a graduate History student at NYU, I once had the opportunity of talking, at length, with our then NYU President John Brademas, a former Rhodes Scholar from Indiana and a Democratic Party Majority House Whip (1977-1981). As an Oxford-educated member of the U.S. Congress, he said that he very often had the dubious honor of introducing his fellow Oxford alumnus, then exiled Professor Kofi Abrefa (K.A.) Busia of Ghana to his fellow Congressmen; he lamented bitterly that Dr. Busia was often visiting the U.S. Congress to lobby very hard against American economic assistance for the C.P.P. regime of the late President Kwame Nkrumah; he remembered that the Johnson administration was so receptive to Dr. Busia's persuasive pleadings that American aid to Ghana was to be cancelled by all means in 1965, but then President Johnson used, as a pretext, the publication of the Osagyefo's highly anti-Capitalist book, Neo-Colonialism, The Last Stage of Imperialism (Thomas Nelson, 1965). "Professor Busia wanted the Nkrumah regime choked economically in order to bring its downfall," former Congressman Brademas said sadly. In that instance, did you see the forces at work against the Nkrumah regime in Ghana and, indeed, why possibly there were limited resources to import so-called essential commodities, etc., hence the 1966 coup? Well, Mr. Mandela, as South Africa's President, possibly had his own opposing internal dynamics! Not ibi so?
A.B. Assensoh.
Sent: Monday, September 24, 2018 5:38 PM
To: Assensoh, Akwasi B.; usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com; Toyin Falola
Cc: Ford, T Michael; Dawn; Godwin Ohiwerei; George Kieh; doyinck@gmail.com; dejigiri@yahoo.com; afaugustine@yahoo.com; cj4su@yahoo.com; kesedo@yahoo.com; Onyumbe Lukongo; Nana Amoah; Kanko, Cynthia
Subject: Re: Nelson Mandela's legacy lives on at the UN in New York
Sent: September 24, 2018 8:54 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com; Toyin Falola
Cc: Ford, T Michael; Dawn; Godwin Ohiwerei; George Kieh; doyinck@gmail.com; dejigiri@yahoo.com; afaugustine@yahoo.com; cj4su@yahoo.com; kesedo@yahoo.com; Onyumbe Lukongo; Nana Amoah; Kanko, Cynthia
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Fw: Nelson Mandela's legacy lives on at the UN in New York
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