CDC’s Acarous Gray Arrested; Party Talks up Plan to Seize Power in Liberia
It seems that history is repeating itself in Liberia.The only republic created and conceived by and for persons of African heritage.The story of Liberia is the collective story of the Black man of the modern era.The fight of enlightenment vs darkness progress vs backwardness tradition vs the future.The fight for recognition among the family of man is the core of the struggle of all Black peoples in the world.It cannot be simplified with misdirected conundrums about who and what is right or wrong.The whole existence of African humanity is in peril.Given that there has always been attempts by all groups to carve out a place,a basic existence to live in a world that they have no control over but to make the best of it.Africans collectively cannot be responsible for the mess they find themselves in the White world shares in that blame.Another conundrum asked in intellectual circles is just how much blame for Africa and how much responsibility goes to each player in the exploitation,pillage of Africa for its human and natural resources.Who benefited the most from Africa over the last 400 years?Who still benefits from Africa?Does its children benefit or do outsiders?Africa's failure to industrialize and develop with the rest of the world is the major cause for its instability.Because most people in Africa do not know just how wealth is created and just what their cash strapped governments can do and what are their limits.Education and purpose are at the core of this apathy.As long as people are uneducated they are easily manipulated into believing the state is their enemy and that some elite is to blame for their misery.As long as you have this someone will exploit the desperation for political gain.The vicious cycle of political partisans rabble rousing discontent will never end.The tragic part is it will take shared patience and sacrifice of the people to move any nation forward.In Africa it seems no one will do this so the endless coups and civil unrest continues.
The Rise Riots of 1978
The Republic of Liberia was founded in 1847 by African American settlers from the United States.Among the settlers were some of the most educated Black people in the world at the time.This was done deliberately to denied those still enslaved leadership.So the many educated free Africans in the United States were asked to leave.Many for generations went to school,owned property,businesses,and some even had political experience.Their African humanity was rejected by America.The settlers who were continuing the journey of the Western Renaissance,the Magna Carta,Treaty of Worms,The Age of Enlightenment,The American Revolution on the shores of the coast of West Africa.This attempt to carve out a place of refuge for persons of African heritage is the genesis of Liberia.Now to reconcile a Western life which commanded freedom and respect in a world where those who did not were colonized, is remarkable.The early settlers knew that in order to maintain their independence education and enlightenment was the key.This came at the expense of the local people who did not practice the settlers idea of civilization.So over the years two societies emerge in Liberia.One was a Black Westernized civilization in which the idea of nationalism and Pan Africanism was born from the progressive there,and one that was traditional and tribal the indigenous lived.The failure to merge the two was Liberia's downfall.And it was not only the settlers to blame.Indigenous Africa has always had tribal leaders in control of the masses.The power of the tribal leaders in Africa is a result of the introduction of two things,the slave trade and the gun.Before the introduction of the two Africa had a sort of democratic communal system.The gun and constant warfare empowered warlord who no longer need a meisi or village council.Power now came from force and intimidation.It was this system settlers both fought against and used to their advantage.For instance like the rest of Africa under colonial occupation the colonial governments used kings and chiefs to extract labor and control the masses.South Africa and Britain mastered this technique.In Liberia the Rice Riots was not about the concern for the price of rice.It was simply a power play by a new crop of elites who felt it was their turn to rule.In South Africa it can now be said the same thing occurred.The ANC were Black elite who under the guise of liberation wanted power and to rule a country they did not conceive or create.The average Black in South Africa has yet to benefit from the election of 1994.But former ANC officials like Cyril Ramaphosa left the struggle and is now a billionaire.All of the Mandela family are filthy rich.In Liberia history is repeating itself once again.Instead of people giving real solutions they want undeserved power.The coup of 1980 was a treasonous act and Liberia for failing to denounce the coup of 1980 may suffer similar tragedies in the future.Lets pray not.
