NKRUMAH'S SPARKLE AFFECTED OTHER GREATS

                   NKRUMAH'S SPARKLE AFFECTED OTHER GREATS

The story is told of a poet who released an oft-repeated line in Arabic prophesying the impossibility of his name, actions and valor been forgotten by his people. The poet as reported was summoned by his people to lead them into war which he gladly accepted. As the war grew intense, his lieutenants began to flee from the battlefield. A flight faster than one from a menacing lion. He plunged into the battle alone and killed as many enemies as he could. He therefore released these poetic lines to signify how influential his singular act of bravery has been to his people:
            
              My people will mention my name when things harden up
             It is in the time of severe darkness, that a sparkle is sought after.

It is unusual for me to quote this Arab poet in relation to the subject matter of discussion. . However, I want to stress home a point into our skulls about how the machinations, covert and overt connivance and conspiracy can and will never extinguish the fire that Nkrumah lit  which sees his name mentioned whenever this noble country of ours is pummeled into the sinking sands of underdevelopment. No wonder he stated that the fire he lit “will be borne aloft, giving light and guidance to the people. Within and without Ghana or better still Africa, we find glowing, beaming and glittering light of Nkrumah’s unflinching influence. It is an undeniable fact that Africa today is still mirred in the myriad of problems more than it were a century ago as the continent continuous to wallow in the doldrums of absolute despondency  and jumps from one frying pan of problem to a fire of another. The continent has been submerged in natural as well as human-fuelled disasters. Civil wars taken over the warp and woof of the continent and hunger and destitution plunging the continent into the muck and mire of absolute penury.
The serious problem affecting Africans is the fragmented and disjointed state in which we find ourselves. And this is where Kwame Nkrumah is sought after like the sparkle in the poet’s darkness.
At the Baden Powell memorial Hall in Accra on July 18th, 1960. Nkrumah told a bevy of African ladies
“I think the solution is not difficult to find if African leaders have the will and the courage to face facts. The fact which faces us must be obvious to us all.  It is unity- a real political unity of African states. Any solution proffered other than unity can only serve to shelve the issue and can never solve this vital problem. We have the choice of three things: to unite, to stand separately and disintegrate, or sell ourselves to foreign powers. “He further stated, “ If Russia can unite sixteen states in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and America fifty states in the United States of America, no power on earth can prevent a similar Union of African States, provided the African leaders realize that this is their only salvation. If this is not done, I can see nothing that can save Africa.”  Such were the thoughts of a man who was much more concerned with the advancement of his people. Nkrumah is indeed a solitaire. And what is a solitaire? It is a jewel set by itself. Nkrumah is indeed a solitaire!
Lets put our observation caps on and critically observe this, the Pan-African congresses started from 1900 in London, 1919 in Paris, 1921 in London, 1923 in London, 1927 in New York and 1945 in Manchester. The fifth Pan-African congress which was held in Charlton Town Hall, Manchester, England from 15-21 October, 1945 was distinct and a complete departure from the other congresses held. This was so because a unique organizer was involved. Kwame Nkrumah organized that congress together with George Padmore, T.R Makonen and Peter Abrahams (a South African writer). The main reason this congress achieved a lot and stood unique in many ways was “because for the first time the delegates who attended it were practical men and men of action and not, as was the case of the four previous conferences, merely idealists contenting themselves with writing theses but quite unable to or unwilling to take part in dealing with the African problem” as Nkrumah stated in his autobiography. It is therefore not surprising that almost all the foremost Africans who partook in it made significant strides in their respective countries. Talking about Jomo Kenyatta, the Kenyan Independence leader, Hastings Kamuzu Banda who was the trailblazer of the fight against colonialism in Nyasaland (present day Malawi), one of Nigerians founding fathers Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo (The sage). Jaja Anucha Wachuku (First speaker of the Nigerian House of representatives as well as first Nigerian Ambassador and Permanent representative to United Nations, Dudley Joseph Thompson (a Jamaican Pan-African who contributed to Jurisprudence and Politics in Caribbean Africa were part of the men that benefited from the radiance  of  Nkrumah which made them luminaries in their various  countries. This is truly the man we will eulogize every microsecond. No wonder C.L.R James described Nkrumah as the “Lenin of Africa” and Amilcar Cabral labeled him as “the strategist of genius in the struggle against classical colonialism.”
The light of Nkrumah did not only end there. Much is said about the extensive and panoramic view of how Nkrumah helped pulverized colonialism and imperialism to the extent of making Ghana the Mecca of international struggle to ensure dignity.  Nelson Mandela, (according to the West, the world’s most respected statesman) outlined how he also came to Ghana to seek support against the much dreaded Apartheid system from Kwame Nkrumah. Ahmed Sekou Toure, Patrice Lumumba, Robert Mugabe, Julius Kambarage Nyerere, Samora Machel and other great African personalities sought and gained support here from Nkrumah. The radiation did not end there. It crossed the Mediterranean to affect others who today are hailed as among greatest of men.
Martin Luther King Jnr was so inspired by the spectacle of independence he witnessed such that he delivered the famous “The     birth of a new nation” speech when he went back home.  During a radio interview he granted while in Ghana at the time of independence, he stated “It renews my conviction in the ultimate triumph of justice. And it seems to me that this is fit testimony to the fact that eventually the forces of justice triumph in the universe, and somehow the universe itself is on the side of freedom and justice. So this gives new hope to me in the struggle for freedom.”
In 2012, specifically October 12, 2012, a book was published titled “A Lie of Reinvention: Correcting Manning Marable’s Malcolm X.” It is a collection of essays in response to a book written by Manning Marable also titled, “Malcolm X, a life of Reinvention”, a book that won the 2012 Pulitzer Price for History describing it as “ an exploration  of the legendary life and provocative views of one of the most significant African-Americans in U.S. history”.  This particular book written by Marable concluded that Malcolm X has been economical with the truth in his autobiography, another book that was named by Time magazine as “one of the ten required reading non-fiction books.”   All these literary controversies surrounded one man in question, Malcolm X, a man who stands tall in the struggle of Black America.  And this man described Ghana as the true representation of Africa and its culture. This made him come back to Ghana later again to gain massive inspiration, seek some goodies and African nuggets of wisdom from the unsinkable Nkrumah.
The man with the most popular photograph in the world, Ernesto Che Guevara, the Cuban Castro brothers and other great men gained massive inspiration from the African Man of the millennium.
The youth of today should learn from Nkrumah and make positive impact in the world. “We should not only teach our children the exploits of their forefathers, we should also teach them how they can make massive exploits.” A point hinted by Ahmed Sekou Toure. I therefore leave us with a gem of wisdom on how to do that from our first ever and real president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah:
“What are your standards? What do you believe in? Countrymen, the task ahead is great indeed, and heavy is the responsibility; and yet it a noble and glorious challenge- a challenge which calls for the courage to dream, the courage to believe, the courage to dare, the courage to do, the courage to envision, the courage to fight, the courage to work, the courage to achieve, to achieve the highest excellences and the fullest greatness of man. Dare we ask for more in life?”

NB: The writer is a student of Tafsiliyya School for Training and Education.

HAPPY PERSISTENCE EARTHDAY TO MUBARAK IDDRISU

Until we met that fateful Friday on the serene campus of the University of Professional Studies, Accra, I held the perception that he was one of the guys who never saw the value of schooling and by tether, education. Though our elders say “an inquisitive monkey always has a bullet on his face”, I decided to be inquisitive.

 “What are you doing here”? I asked

“I am here to pray and go back to class.” He responded confidently.

“Which class”? I added more inquisitively.

“Remedial class at Ideal College.” He responded again.

After that interlocution, I found out that he had moved from Nima to Madina estate so that he could escape the enticements from friends in order to fully concentrate on his academic studies. I then revised my notes on him since then. And he has moved on stealthily.

Mubarak Iddrisu is the subject matter of discussion today. He completed Mrs. Adu Sam’s New Nation School in Nima in 2007 and moved to O’ Reilly Senior High School that same year to study General Science. After a year of rigorous studies, he did not fare well in the science course and decided to move to Business. He therefore joined the new entrants thus repeating a year. Like many Nima guys presently, he lost his soul to worldly pursuits and started as Mr.Kwabla Kuwornu will say “showing himself randomly’” in school. In his own words, he had this to say “Maazi, there is no club in Accra that I have not frequented. Roxbury, Vienna, Glens, Aponkye, Container etc.” and other clubs that are not discoverable to my puritan mind. “Maazi, if even I went to school those days, it was due to the unwavering cajolements from my parents. My dad who is shy of me usually begs me to go to school. My weekends begin on Thursdays when together with friends, I go for rendezvous in one of the boiling points in Accra. I sometimes go to school red-eyed and full of sleep and wish a teacher will just query me on anything. That query alone gives me a ‘carte blanche’ to move away from school usually with friends to endless parties in my house, restaurants etc.” In the end, Mubarak failed terribly and miserably in his WASSSCE examinations. HE PERFORMED DISMALLY AND ABYSMALLY. 

That did not raise any hackle on his skin because after all he was rich and could afford anything he wanted. He therefore continued his Parisian life with untold impunity.

There is a particular Stamping ground in Nima called Los Angeles. That is where we usually sit together into the wee hours of the night ‘analyzing’ topics ranging from archaeology to zoology. These analyses usually end up in noisy, charged arguments with each party screaming his lungs out to have his point stated.  However, we had sane and most often intellectually-stimulating discussions.  The discussions sometimes required thorough research before we came to a conclusion. Through these numerous discussions, Mubarak popularly called Shushu, who is one of the strong discussants realized he has a natural predilection for learning that he dropped. He decided to go pick it up. That was the beginning of the volte face!

Mubarak enrolled at the Ideal College, hid his face from friends and in his own words “married his books profoundly.”  Days before the results came out; he told me he will never go back to school again if he fails this time around again. Never! He was never to fail again! Allah stated emphatically in the Holy book of Islam, specifically in Chapter 18:30 “…… Indeed, We will not allow to be lost, the reward of any who did well in deeds.”  Mubarak stamped his authority in the examinations by coming out with straight A’s with two B’s. As I put pen to paper, Mubarak is a student of the University of Cape Coast studying BSc. Mathematics with Business.  

Archbishop Desmond Tutu painted this picture well for us “There is no situation that is not transformable. There is no person who is hopeless. There is no set of circumstances that cannot be turned about by human beings and their natural capacity for the love of the deepest sort.”

To all Nima boys and girls, no one owes us a living. We make our own destinies. You make your own life. You can choose to waste it and you can choose to make the most out of it. I see great potentialities in us that we waste on frivolities, banalities and unproductive ventures. We must persevere. We must persist in the face of turbulences and pestilences. We must persist to put our heads above the troubling waters.  Persistence indeed conquers.

Calvin Coolidge should perhaps advise us:

“Nothing in this world will take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

NB: The writer is a student of Tafsiliyya School for Training and Education.

Mubarak celebrated his birthday on 16th September, 2014. A birthday is just the beginning of another 365-days journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip!

GHANA MUSLIM ACADEMY AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KNOWLEDGE

GHANA MUSLIM ACADEMY AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KNOWLEDGE

The significance of knowledge can never be overstated or underestimated. That is why I join any bandwagon that is blazing the trail for the acquisition of this important factory that can change a wild beast into a near perfect human being.

Throughout history, it has been the men who challenged the thinking of their people, questioned tradition based on the availability of knowledge that they had acquired, fought  gallantly  against the ignominy of ignorance and left indelible footprints that has served as a memento of  their existence on earth,   that have shone brightly in the world. Some had to go through untold hardships, severe persecutions, venomous vituperations and others had to suffer with the ultimate price of their lives.

One person that stands out in such regards is the man who is credited to have invented the telescope and known as “the father of modern observational astronomy”, Galileo Galilei.  Galileo was an Italian Physicist and astronomer who was sent to the University of Pisa by his father to study and become a medical doctor. However he opted out when he found out that he had a strong inclination towards mathematics. He began to tutor until he became a Professor in Mathematics.  Galileo invented the first telescope and used it in making his first astronomy observation; “the moon was not smooth but mountainous and pitted.” Galileo’s study further entrenched his belief in Copernicus’s Heliocentric theory that the sun was the center of the earth and all other bodies revolved around it. This was much to the chagrin of the Catholic Church by then that held the belief that the world was earth-centered and all other bodies revolved around the earth. The Roman Inquisition banned Galileo in the end and placed him under house arrest. The Inquisition’s injunction against Galileo in 1616 stated inter alia, that he has   “to abstain completely from teaching or defending this doctrine and opinion or from discussing it... to abandon completely... the opinion that the sun stands still at the center of the world and the earth moves, and henceforth not to hold, teach, or defend it in any way whatever, either orally or in writing.”

Galileo died on January 8^th, 1642 whilst under arrest after publishing more of his conviction after the inquisition.

Another of such men who had to die painfully for his ideas based on empirical knowledge was Parnili. Parnili postulated that blood runs through the veins. This ruffled the thinking nest of his people. In the end he was pilloried and pelted to death.

These two stories amidst a myriad of them go a long way to confirm how knowledge outlives eternity. Long after these two men died, the world has come to establish that blood runs through the veins and the sun is the center of earth and all other bodies evolve around it.

It is in lieu of this fervid efficacy of knowledge that I profoundly give unconditional gratitude to the Ghana Muslim Academy for the tour de force they chalked. The Ghana Muslim Academy on Thursday, 4^th September ended its five week long intensive lessons with sessions of guidance and counseling aimed at supporting students at the Junior High School and Senior High school level to reach their educational goals in Nima, a suburb of Accra.

“This year’s free vacation school is very significant in that, it has recorded the highest enrolment since 2011. We have enrolled 300 students for both Junior High School and Senior High School this year. 55 students for the JHS and 245 students for the SHS.  On gender distribution, girls outnumbered the boys. The girls are 30 and the boys are 25 at the JHS level. At the SHS level, the girls are 153 and the boys are 92. This has been the trend for the past 10 years and it is indicative that parents in our deprived communities take the education of their girl-child seriously”, a revelation made by the Headmaster, Mr. Sulemana Moru.

Ghana Muslim Academy started this Free Vacation School since 1995 and a lot of students are beneficiaries of this free tuition. 

These are the positive strides that the inhabitants of Nima, a seemingly accursed community should be supporting. A community that is at the brink of collapsing can only be saved by a conscious effort on the part of the ‘sane’ ones to reshape and reframe the thinking minds of its young ones  so that they save the  community from sinking into the abyss. 

The message of the Minister of Education, Prof.Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang who graced the occasion to climax the vacation school was poignant to say the least. In simple plain English, she told the young children “You must believe you can make a difference. Having believed it you need to go beyond. It is not enough to believe you can make it and then after you have believed you can make it you go to sleep. That will not make it. You also need to plan, how am I going to realize the ideal, how am I going to make the thoughts I have into reality……… as students, a chunk of the time must be channeled into your studies. Everything else can wait.” A much needed advice to our youth.

Just like the works of Galileo and other great men proved how powerful and monumental knowledge is with their deaths. Just as they proved that a death for a noble cause is the greatest way to leave this earth. And just as the productions of their mind outlived them, so will the efforts of the Ghana Muslim Academy outlive eternity.

May Allah fortify your organization and further help spread the tentacles of your impact.

Knowledge is a tool we can use to develop ourselves. Knowledge is needed to replace an empty head with a filled head. Knowledge is needed for better thinking. Knowledge is the tool we need to lift ourselves from the depths of obscurity to heights of development. It is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity. It also a sword against the enemy.

The Prophet of Islam, the exemplar beyond compare, drew home the point of how preponderantly important knowledge is to a people. In one of the six canonical books on the sayings of his, specifically Sunan Abu Dawud, he is credited to have said;

“If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, God will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise. The angels will lower their wings in their great pleasure with one who seeks knowledge. The inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth and (even) the fish in the deep waters will ask forgiveness for the learned man. The superiority of the learned over the devout is like that of the moon, on the night when it is full, over the rest of the stars. The learned are the heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets leave (no monetary inheritance), they leave only knowledge, and he who takes it takes an abundant portion.” May Allah grant us abundant knowledge! NB:  The writer is a student of Tafsiliyya School for training and education.