Shaleqa Dawit Woldegiorgis, the author of Red Tears and former high-level Ethiopian government official, has released a new novel based on true stories. The book is written in Amharic and it is currently being distributed in Ethiopia through underground networks. Artist Debebe Eshetu has written the following book review:
እስከዳር:- ከዳዊት ወ/ጊዮርጊስ
እስከዳርን አነበብኩት፡፡ዳዊት ወ/ጊዮርጊስን እንደገና አወቅሁት፡፡እንደ ደራሲ፤አስተማሪ፤ታሪክ አሰታዋሽቱ፡በቅድሚያ አንዲት ገጸ ባሕሪን ከሃዲስ ዓለማየሁ ‹‹ትዝታ›› ወስዶ የበለጠ ነፍስ፤ጀግንነት፤ሰብአዊነት አላብሶ በግሏ ጠንክራ እንድትወጣና የራሷን አካሄድ በማጉላት ሲያቀርብልን አዲስ ምዕራፍ ከፍቶ ሰጠን፡
እስከዳር ከላይ እንዳልኩት የአንዲት የትዝታ ባሕሪ ታሪክ ብቻ እንዳልሆነም ሊጤን የሚገባው ጉዳይ ነው፡፡ ለልጆቻችን ለልጅ ልጆቻችን ስለ ቀድሞው ኢትዮጵያዊነት፤ አባቶቻችን ስለአሳለፉት የሃገር ፍቅር ወኔያቸውና የቆራጥ ትግል ውሳኔያቸው የት እንዳደረሳቸውና ሃገርን ሲሉ ከነሙሉ ክብሩና ማዕረጉ እንጂ፤ ሃገርን ሲሉ ከነክፉ አጋጣሚና ስለሚያስከፍለውም መስዋእትነት እንጂ፤ ሃገርን ሲሉ ኢትዮጵያን ከፍ አድርገው እራሳቸውን አውርደው እንጂ ጥቅምን በዚያ ውስጥ በማየትና ክብርና ዝናን ለመጎናጸፍ እንዳልሆነ አሳምሮ አሳየኝ፡፡አሳወቀኝ አስታማረኝ ለማለት እደፍራለሁ፡፡
ዳዊት በአጻጻፉ ልራቀቅ ብሎ አበባዊ ቃላቶች ድርደራ ጊዜ አላባከነም፡፡ ሁሉም ሰው እለት በእለት በሚጠቀምበት ቋንቋ ተጠቅሞ ግን ሊረሳ የተቃረበውን፤ ልጆቻችን ጭርሱን ሰምተውት የማያውቁትን ባህላችንን አመላከተን፡፡እዚህ ላይ አንድ ማስረጃ ላቅርብ፡፡ በገጽ 252 ላይ ‹‹እንማን ናቸው›› ብሎ ያስቀመጣቸው ኢትዮጵያዊያን የኢትዮጵያ ዳር ድንብር አስከባሪ ሃይሎች አቀናጆች የነበሩትን በስማቸው ብቻ ጠቅሶ አላለፈም፡፡ ማዕረጋቸውንም ደርቦላቸው አልተዋቸውም፡፡ ይልቁንስ ምን አደረጉ፤ ከየት ተወለዱ፤የሚለውን በአናሳ በአናሳው ቦታ ሰጥቶ ለማወቅ የሚፈልግ ትንሽ አፈላልጎ እንዲያነብና እንዲያውቅ መንገዱን አሳይቶናል፡፡ ከዚህ በመነሳትም ጸሃፍት ስለነዚህ ሀገር ጠባቂዎች፤ ከምንም በላይ ከምንም በፊት ሃገሬ ያሉትን አባቶች አያቶቻችንን በማንሳት ተመራምሮ መጻፍ የሚገባው መሆኑን ጠቁሞናል፡፡
ደራሲ ዳዊት ከመነሻው ጀምሮ ስለ ሃገር ፍቅር በተለይ ለወጣቱ ትውልድ በሚገባና በሚነበብ መልኩ ነው ሊያስታውሰው የጀመረውና እስከ መጨረሻውም የሄደበት፡፡ ሃገር ምን ማለት ነው? ለሃገር መሰዋትስ? የሚለውን ከነሙሉ ግንዛቤው ሰጥቶናል፡፡
ሌላው የ‹‹እስከዳር›› አጻጻፍ ነው፡፡ መጽሐፉን ለልጆቻችን እንደተረት መጽሃፍ ብናነብላቸው በቀለለ አማርኛ የቀረበ በመሆኑ ይገባቸዋል ይወዱታል፡፡ ከሕጻኗ እስከዳር ጀምሮ ስለሚተርክ ልጆቹ እራሳቸውን ያገኙታል ወይም ጓደኛ አድርገው ያውቋታልና ልጆቻችንን ስለ ሃገራቸው፤ ስለ ሃገራቸው ጀግኖች፤ ሊኖራቸው ስለሚገባው የሃገር ፍቅር ሁሉ እየገባቸው እንዲያድጉየማድረግ ሃይ ስላለው በዚህም አቀራረቡ ሊመሰገን ሊደነቅ ይገባዋል እላለሁ፡፡
የጅግና ስሜት እንዴት የጀግናን ልብ እንደሚሰርቅና እንደሚያስቀና ሲያሳየንም ገጽ 47 ላይ‹‹…….ይህንን ሁሉ ትምለከት የነበረችው እስከዳር ልቧ ቅልጥ አለ፤በደስታ በኩራት ታፈነች፡፡ ያ የምትንቀው አጎናፍር ለካስ የወጣለት ወንድ ኖሯል፡፡ ጀግና ትወዳለች እስከዳር፡፡ የአጎናፍር ጀግንነት ሰውነቷን ወረረው፡፡ በዚያ ቅጽበትና ስፍራ ልቧ ውሃ ሆነ፤ፈሰሰ፡፡ሰውነቷን ነዘራት፡፡ ተሰምቷት የማታውቀው የሴትነት ስሜት ከውስጧ ገንፍሎ ሲወጣ በገሃድ ይታይ ነበር፡፡ፊቷ አበራ፡፡ የአልታያት የአጎናፍር ወንድነት፤ መልክና ቁመና፤ አሁን በድንገት ግልጥ ብሎ ታያት፡፡አራት ዓመት ሙሉ ስትሸሸው፤ ስትንቀው የነበረው አጎናፍርን ወደደችው፡፡ የማይነቀል የፍቅርና የአድናቆት ጦር በልቧ ተተከለ፡፡ ዓይነ ጥላዋ ተገፈፈ፡፡›› ሲል ጀግንነት ያለውን የመያዝ የመማረክ ስሜት ውብ አድርጎ አሳየን፡
ዳዊት በዚህ ‹‹እስከዳር›› ባለው ድርሰቱ ውስጥ ኢትዮጵያ ጥንታዊትነት ብቻ ሳይሆን ለሃገራቸው ቀናኢ የሆኑ ሕዝቦችም እንዳሏትና ዘወትር ተከባብረውና ተፋቅረው መኖርን ባህላቸው ያደረጉ አዋቂዎች እንደሆኑ በማስረጃ አቅርቦልናል፡፡
ከዚህ በተረፈ ደግሞ አንብቡትና ለልጆቻችሁም አስነብቡት አለያም ማታ ማታ ሲተኙ አንብቡላቸው፡፡ እኔ በበኩሌ የተሰማኝና ለደራሲ ዳዊት ወንድሜ ላሳስብ የምፈልገው በሲዲ አለያም በካሴት ተነቦ ቢቀርብስ የሚለውን ጉዳይ ነው፡፡
ደበበ እሸቱ
By Elias Kifle
In getting ready to defend Ethiopian Review against Woyanne money man Al Amoudi’s malicious lawsuit, we are encouraged by the outpouring of support from Ethiopians around the world, including those with whom some times we disagree. (see the lawsuit here)
I am particularly touched by the show of solidarity that is being shown by EMF (ethioforum.org), ECADF (ecadforum.com) and AbbayMedia (abbaymedia.com). I am grateful to both Ato Kinfu Assefa and Ato Girum Zegeye.
I have had bitter disagreements with Girum Zegeye of AbbayMedia and some of the ECADF admins in the past, so far as calling each other names. But when Ethiopian Review is threatened by the Woyanne junta, they are among the first to come to our defense.
Qale Ethiopian Forum has interviewed me today and called on its members to stand with Ethiopian Review.
Ato Kifle Mulat from the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists Association has sent a message of support and solidarity today.
Other developments
Netsanet LeEthiopia Radio in Washington DC will have a program on the Al Amoudi lawsuit next Sunday.
Ethiopians in London are getting organized to assist with the legal battle.
There will be a teleconference next Saturday at 3 PM Washington DC time (8 PM London time) to discuss strategies. The conference is open to every one who wishes to help out. To participate, please send email to [email protected]
An Ethiopian Review Legal Fund has been set up. Click here for more info.
Some time next week, I will announce our response to the U.K. High Court where Al Amoudi’s lawsuit has been filed.
(Name withheld)
South Sudan has drawn an international attention because of the week-long referendum now underway in that part of the country. The struggle of the people of South Sudan under the leadership of The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the political wing, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), the military wing, began three decades ago. It resulted, however, in the death and displacement of millions southern Sudanese. The war had been dubbed by the international media as as a war between the Muslim North and the Christian South.
Indeed it was. However, besides its tinged color of religion, the people of South Sudan had remained one of the most oppressed peoples on our planet. They had been called slaves by the Northerners. They had no share in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the country. Their representation in the government was nominal. In the 1990s, there was a nominal vice president, a state minister in the foreign ministry, and a few diplomats.
During my stay in Sudan for four years, I had never seen a South Sudanese who had a small enterprise, even a shop in the capital city Khartoum. What I saw instead were house maids, guards, and gardeners in the affluent residencies of Northern Sudanese. Observing such a reality, a senior from South Sudan once remarked: “Every Northerner has a dog and a maid or servant from South Sudan.” He equated his people with dogs. Indeed the people of South Sudan were the wretched of the Earth, the miserable.
In my visit to 10 countries, I had never seen people oppressed to such a low degree as the people of South Sudan and North Korea. It needs no telling that the kind of oppression that the people of North Korea are subjected to. Besides the grinding poverty they wallow in, they are under complete control of the Communist regime. They are deprived of any form of right. They live under gun point discipline. The only difference between the two people is that the Koreans live in a developed infrastructure, the South Sudanese in agrarian country at its lowest level of development.
John Garang and Salva Kirr
I saw the late SPLM leader Colonel John Garang in an international airport in the 1990s. He sat alone in a comfortable sofa in the VIP lounge escorted by long and burly body guards. Fully equipped with sophisticated arms, the body guards watchfully scan the people in the lounge. Garang was sober, quiet and seemed to contemplate on his future plan — the guerrilla warfare in South Sudan. The bearded guerrilla leader had a furious look. As soon as a civilian passenger aircraft had arrived and dropped off the passengers, Garang with his guards boarded the plane to Nairobi where he resided.
Dr. Garang was a senior officer in the Sudanese army. He defected from the military and began to head the tortuous struggle to its logical conclusion — the referendum that enables Southerners to decide on their destiny. Unfortunately Dr. Garang has not lived to see it. He died in a mysterious helicopter crash on the common border of Uganda and Sudan upon his return from working visit to Uganda. He was vice president of Sudan for a very short period of time.
I saw Salva Kiir, presently Vice President of Sudan, in Nairobi two times. He was then called “Commander.” He was delegated by Garang to lead the delegation of the SPLM in the negotiation with the delegation of the government. Salva Kiir logically argued his position, the position of the SPLM during the negotiation. Right from the outset he hammered out referendum. The two negotiations held in Nairobi were unsuccessful. Salva Kiir and Co. went straight ahead to the bushes of South Sudan to continue their armed struggle. It was later on that they reached a conclusive agreement — vote on Referendum. Now after 17 years their dream has come true. Southern Sudanese are exhilarated and are casting their ballots. They are eagerly waiting for the result to be revealed at the end of the ballots.
South Sudan has a size equal to France. It has a fine weather, fertile land and oil. Its population is 4 million with three main ethnic groups, Dinka being the main one. Garang was from Dinka ethnic group. Provided that they have good governance, the people of South Sudan can develop and prosper.
What about Federation?
To sum up, I don’t in principle, support secession or separation of a part of a country. At the same time, I strongly oppose oppression from within or outside. The net result will be equality in all walks of life. In the absence of equality, there is the presence of oppression — then struggle not for few years but even decades like Southern Sudanese. Here I would like to present my humble proposal that the Horn of Africa countries should, sooner than later, embark on loose FEDERATION. This mechanism will help them to avoid war, to muster and accelerate economic, social and cultural development. Al Bashir’s dictatorial regime should stop instigating a new war in South Sudan. He is already an indicted war criminal because of his barbaric actions in South Sudan and the Darfur state.
The Woyanne ethnic apartheid junta in Ethiopia has sent thousands of troops to Sudan in a convoy of over 100 military trucks and equipment late last week, according to eyewitnesses at the Ethiopia-Sudan border.
Ethiopian Review sources have reported that the military convoy was heading to the Sudanese city of Al Qadarif.
Yesterday and today South Sudan is holding a referendum on independence and it is feared that the outcome of the vote could lead to violence, although Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has said he will let the oil-rich south secede peacefully.
AP has reported that at least 30 people were killed today in Abyei region along Sudan’s north-south border.
United Nations spokesman Martin Nesirky said Monday the organization is “extremely concerned” about the reports of clashes and casualties in Abyei.
“The mission is in the process of confirming the numbers (of casualties), and containing the situation with enhanced patrols and engaging with the top leadership,” Nesirky said at a regular news briefing at U.N. headquarters.
The Woyanne junta is expected to take Khartoum’s side in any dispute, creating a possible favorable environment for Ethiopian opposition groups to establish relations with South Sudan.
AP reports that jubilant voters in South Sudan flooded polling stations for a second day on Monday. The seven days of balloting are likely to produce an overwhelming vote for independence.
U.S. President Barack Obama praised the timely start of the referendum on self-determination for southern Sudan and urged all sides to refrain from intimidation, coercion or violence and to allow voters to freely and peaceably express their will.
“The world will be watching in the coming days,” Obama said in a January 9 statement. He said the United States is fully committed to helping all Sudanese solve post-referendum issues such as borders, refugees and the sharing of oil revenues “regardless of the outcome of the vote.”
Obama warned that some Sudanese may try to disrupt the process, and said voters “must be allowed access to polling stations, and must be able to cast their ballots free from intimidation and coercion.”
“All sides should refrain from inflammatory rhetoric or provocative actions that could raise tensions or prevent voters from expressing their will,” he said, adding that violence in the Abyei region, where 36 people reportedly have been killed since the start of the vote, “should cease.”
U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration and Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry are in Sudan to witness the referendum.
Speaking to reporters January 9, Senator Kerry said the voting “sends an important message about the ability to solve problems in ways other than in choosing violence.”
The Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA) is falling apart in the face of leadership crisis and an impending boycott. The 28-year-old organization has been confronted with numerous problems during the past five years after it was hijacked by the ruling party in Ethiopia through its money man Al Amoudi. The problems include corruption, declining attendance at the annual events, lack of discipline, and poor management.
ESFNA’s problems surfaced in the media when the executive committee arbitrarily reversed the 27-member board’s decision last October to invite Judge Birtukan Mideksa as a guest of honor at the July 2011 event in Atlanta and refused to have an independent CPA audit the organization’s finances.
Recently, the finance head of ESFNA, Ato Abework Abay, resigned after pointing out financial mishandling and lack of transparency on the part of the chairman and other members of the executive committee. The new finance head, Ato Million Gebreyesus, and other members of the board have also questioned the competence of the chairman and the secretary in a recent confidential memo. Some have called on the resignation of the chairman, arguing that it would be impossible to hold the scheduled July 2011 event in Atlanta unless solutions are found urgently.
Meanwhile, Ethiopians in Atlanta are preparing to boycott the July 2011 event. Community leaders have warned the executive committee that unless the board’s decisions are implemented, they will advise members of the Ethiopian community to stay away from the event.
To make matters worse for the ESFNA, the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel has canceled its $250,000 contract citing security problems that have occurred at last year’s event in San Jose where rooms had been vandalized and guests were harassed.
During the past five years, the ESFNA has become a source of embarrassment for the Ethiopian community in North America and a political tool for the Woyanne ruling junta. If there is any chance of salvaging ESFNA, the entire executive committee must resign and be replaced with competent individuals who are free of corruption and Woyanne connection.
By Alemayehu G. Mariam
Music as a Weapon of Protest
It is said that “music is a universal language.” Using a few notes and inspiring lyrics, musicians and song writers have waged relentless battles against the perpetrators of tyranny, oppression, inequality and injustice. Music is a divine language that can pierce through the stony walls of hatred in the heart, the irrationality and fallacies of the mind and the darkness of the spirit. Musicians and songwriters have used their lyrics and melodies to defend and uplift the downtrodden, the exploited, the oppressed, the needy, the persecuted and subjugated. They have pumped up the volume against colonialism, racism, tribalism, imperialism, capitalism, communism, socialism, fascism, totalitarianism, individualism, militarism, sexism, adventurism, fatalism, hedonism, materialism, nihilism, pessimism, statism, corporatism and whatever else is left out. Where have Bob Marely, Fela Kuti,…. gone?
Protest songs have served as potent weapons of political dissent and nonviolent resistance in American history. There were “protest” and “freedom” songs that championed civil rights, women’s rights, labor rights, and human rights and challenged slavery, injustice, inequality, war and brutality. The ultimate American freedom and protest songs were disguised in the Negro spirituals, consisting of religious songs created by enslaved African people in America to protest their oppression, degradation and exploitation on the plantation. They sang about escape from slavery: “Wade in the water./Wade in the water children./Wade in the water./God’s gonna trouble the water./”, was the coded message for fugitive slaves to elude their captors and make it safely to freedom. They sang about slipping the slave master’s grip by hopping on the “underground railroad”: “Swing low, sweet chariot/Coming for to carry me home,/…/ If I get there before you do,/ I’ll cut a hole and pull you through.” They even described the map of the escape route in song: “When the sun comes back,/and the first Quail calls,/Follow the drinking gourd,/For the old man is waiting/for to carry you to freedom/…/ The river ends between two hills,/Follow the drinking gourd,/…/”
In the 1960s, freedom and protest songs provided the spiritual force for the civil rights and nonviolence movement. “We Shall Overcome” became the signature protest song of the U.S. civil rights movement: “Oh, deep in my heart/I do believe/We shall overcome some day/We’ll walk hand in hand some day/We shall all be free some day.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said the protest songs of the day “invigorated and gave unity to the movement in a most significant way”.
Political protest and social activism were promoted in American pop music. The Soul music of James Brown electrified African American youth in the 1960s and 70s. “Say It Loud– I’m Black and I’m Proud” was Brown’s signature song. The “Godfather of Soul” used his lyrics and fame to speak out not only against prejudice and bigotry towards blacks in America, but also to inspire pride, self-reliance and empowerment among black people everywhere. Proudly defiant, Brown declared: “One thing more I got to say right here/ Now, we’re people/ Just like the birds and the bees/ We rather die on our feet, Than keep living on our knees.” The “Hardest Working Man in Show Business” followed up with “I Don’t Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I’ll Get It Myself)”, emphasizing self-reliance and self-confidence among African Americans: “Don’t give me sorrow/I want equal opportunity/To live tomorrow.” Marvin Gaye asked, “What’s Going on?” in Vietnam. “Brother, brother, brother/There’s far too many of you dying/You know we’ve got to find a way/To bring some lovin’ here today.”
There were countless other musicians and songwriters who delivered their political messages of protest, peace, racial harmony, tolerance and reconciliation. The long list of the great ones includes Paul Robeson (“No more auction block for me”), Pete Seeger/Lee Hays (If I had a hammer), Bob Dylan (“Blowin’ in the Wind”), John Lennon (“Give Peace a Chance”), Nina Simone (“Hound dogs on my trail/School children sitting in jail”) and Buffy Sainte-Marie (“Now That the Buffalo is Gone”) who wrote songs about the plight and suffering of Native American peoples. Even Elvis Presley, the apolitical “King of Rock and Roll”, told the gut-wrenching story of American poverty and crime “In the Ghetto”: “On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’/ A poor little baby child is born/In the ghetto/And his mama cries…/it’s another hungry mouth to feed/…/ People, don’t you understand/the child needs a helping hand/or he’ll grow to be an angry young man some day/…/
Bob Marley, Fela Kuti and Pan-African Protest Music
Jamaican Bob Marley used reggae music not just for entertainment, but to teach, preach and reach people’s minds, hearts and spirits the world over. He used his music and lyrics to promote love, understanding and tolerance while confronting racism, inequality and injustice with a defiant message. Marley sang about the struggles of black people in Babylon (The West) and the need for Pan-African unity to overcome oppression. As a member of the Rastafari movement, he deified H.I. M. Haile Selassie and saw Africa as “Zion”, the place of unity, peace and freedom. His message for Africans was unmistakable: “Africa, Unite/’Cause we’re moving right out of Babylon/And we’re going to our father’s land/…/ So, Africa, Unite, Africa, Unite/Unite for the benefit of your people/…/. He urged those suffering oppression to “Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!/…/Get up, stand up: don’t give up the fight!/…/Most people think,/Great god will come from the skies,/Take away everything/And make everybody feel high./But if you know what life is worth,/You will look for yours on earth:/And now you see the light,/You stand up for your rights. jah!” African liberation from colonialism and Western exploitation was Marley’s foremost concern: “Zimbabwe./Every man gotta right/To decide his own destiny/…/So arm in arms, with arms/We will fight this little struggle/’Cause that’s the only way/We can overcome our little trouble/ Brother you’re right, you’re right/You’re right, you’re right, you’re so right/We gonna fight, we’ll have to fight/We gonna fight, fight for our rights/Natty dread it ina Zimbabwe/Set it up… Mash it up ina Zimbabwe/Africans a liberate Zimbabwe.” (If Bob Marley knew what Bob Mugabe had done to Zimbabwe today, he’d spin in his grave.)
Marley took part of a 1963 speech by H.I.M. Haile Selassie and made it a powerful song against war: “Until the philosophy which hold one race/Superior and another inferior/Is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned/Everywhere is war, me say war/That until there are no longer first class/And second class citizens of any nation/Until the colour of a man’s skin/Is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes/Me say war/That until the basic human rights are equally/Guaranteed to all, without regard to race/Dis a war/That until that day/The dream of lasting peace, world citizenship/Rule of international morality/Will remain in but a fleeting illusion/To be pursued, but never attained/Now everywhere is war, war/…/ Marley understood the daily struggle of the poor to find enough food to eat: “Them belly full but we hungry./A hungry mob is a angry mob./A rain a-fall but the dirt it tough;/A pot a-cook but the food no ‘nough./You’re gonna dance to JAH music, dance./…/ Cost of living get so high,/Rich and poor, they start a cry./Now the weak must get strong./They say, “Oh, what a tribulation.” In “Who the Cap Fit”, Marley warned against hypocrisy and duplicity in everyday relations: “Man to man is so unjust, children/You don’t know who to trust/Your worst enemy could be your best friend/And your best friend your worst enemy/Some will eat and drink with you/Then behind them su-su ‘pon you/Only your friend know your secrets/So only he could reveal it/And who the cap fit, let them wear it/…/Some will hate you,/Pretend they love you now/Then behind they try to eliminate you/But who Jah bless,/No one curse/Thank God we’re past the worse.”
Nigerian songwriter, singer and musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti was an equally talented and inspiring musical innovator and political advocate. He was inspired by the protest songs and political upheavals in the U.S. in the 1960s. For three decades, Fela became the musical voice of Nigeria’s poor, downtrodden, unemployed and marginalized. He sang about the abject conditions of existence in one of the richest African countries. His “Afrobeat” music was a combination of blues, funk, jazz and African rhythms. His lyrics are in pidgin English (“broken English”) and local languages. He relentlessly criticized government corruption, multi-national corporations, and police brutality in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa. He used music as a weapon to promote human rights, good governance, accountability and transparency in Nigeria and the rest of Africa.
In “Zombie”, Fela criticized Nigeria’s military as a bunch of mindless brutes who follow orders to shoot, kill and plunder: “Zombie no go go, unless you tell am to go/Zombie no go stop, unless you tell am to stop/…unless you tell am to turn/… unless you tell am to think/… Go and kill!/Go and die!../Joro, jaro, joro../ (Zombie)”. In “Authority Stealing”, Fela compared the Nigerian kleptocrats to armed robbers for stealing the nation’s resources to enrich themselves using their “magic pens”. “Authority people them go dey steal/Public contribute plenty money/…/Authority man no dey pickpocket/…/Armed robber him need gun/Authority man him need pen/Authority man in charge of money/Him no need gun, him need pen/Pen got power gun no get/If gun steal eighty thousand naira/Pen go steal two billion naira/Thief, thief, thief!”
In “I.T.T.”, Fela satirized the multinational corporation International Telephone and Telegraph and condemned foreign companies for sucking dry the Nigerian economy and spreading confusion, corruption and inflation: “Many foreign companies dey Africa carry all our money go/…/ Them call him name na I.T.T./ Them go dey cause confusion (Confusion!)/Cause corruption (Corruption!)/Cause oppression (Oppression!)/Cause inflation (Inflation!)/Oppression, corruption, inflation/…/Them go pick one African man/A man with low mentality/Them go give am million naira breads/To become of high position here/Him go bribe some thousand naira bread/To become one useless chief…/ Like Obasanjo and Abiola.”
After travelling the world, in “Upside Down”, Fela sang that things are organized and planned well everywhere except in Africa where there are villages, but no roads, land, but no food or housing. Africans don’t even have knowledge of African culture: “Open that book dem call dictionary/…/Upside down na there dey proper/Dem recognize the word for sure, yes/…/People no know their African name/People no dey think African style/People no know Africa way/For Africa man house, I don’t see/…/Communication Disorganize /…/Agriculture Disorganize/Electric Disorganize/ Everything Upside Down” in Africa. In “Beasts of No Nation”, Fela criticizes corrupt leaders in Africa and elsewhere and focuses on how certain governments have helped apartheid thrive in South Africa for so long: “Many leaders as you see dem/…/Animals in human skin/Animal-I put-U tie-oh/ Animal-I wear agbada (traditional Nigerian robe)/Animal-I put-U suit-u.” In the must-see documentary “Fela: Music Is the Weapon,” Fela said “the situation here [Nigeria] is worse than in South Africa.”
In retaliation for his songs, in 1977 one thousand of General Obasanjo’s “zombie” soldiers attacked Fela’s compound (“Kalakuta Republic” established to protest military rule), beat him to a pulp, and burned his house and everything in it. The soldiers literally threw out his 82-year-old mother, one of the notable anti-colonial figures in Nigeria, from a second-story window. She died from her injuries a few months later. Fela launched his own political party (Movement of the People) and ran twice for the presidency. His confrontational messages always got him on the wrong side of the military dictators who tried to find reasons to put him in jail. Fela also had his eccentric side including marrying over two dozen women at one time.
Music as a Weapon Against Dictatorship and for Human Rights
Fela titled his 1998 album “Music is the Weapon of the Future”. I believe African musicians could play a pivotal frontline role in the struggle for human rights, the rule of law, accountability and transparency in the continent with their lyrics and music. Africans today need new sounds against home grown dictators and tyrants who cling to power like barnacles to a sunken ship. In the mid-1980s, Fela sang about leaders who are “animals in human skin”. In the second decade of the Twenty First Century we know the actual physical form of the “animals” Fela was talking about. They are hyenas that sip on the blood of Africans like wine and dine on their flesh and bones everyday. Shakespeare wrote, “If music be the food of life, play on”. If music be the weapon of the future, I say sing on until we chase the greedy and corrupt scavengers out of the continent. Africa needs a new generation of Marleys, Felas, Makebas… to give them a new message hope, faith and charity; and Africa’s youth need new battle songs and hymns to fight the hyenas in designer suits and uniforms.
