within a considerable period. I was motivated to type about this topic when I heard about the death of the Ghanaian President,the late Professor John Atta Mills. It appeared to me as though the worship of political figures in Africa,my dear motherland could never be curtailed by death. After all, our ancestors thought us that death was only a transition to the Unknown realms and that the dead had the power to either curse or bless.Witnessing the funeral of the late leader of the West African state was overwhelming.Pictures of the man were found everywhere in the country.
Let me not be diverted from what I intend to write about by the grand-funeral.I have a question which I
hope my readers can answer because I have never had an answer to that mind-boggling issue of "Why Do Africans Worship Their Leaders". I mean 'worship' in both the figurative and literal terms.Can I honestly walk in the streets of a major African city and not see a picture of a statesman?! What about a statue?Lets not forget street names. I did myself a favour by being present at the recent launch of political campaigning by the ruling party in Ghana, The National Democratic Congress(NDC). Though I may not be an economist but I kept wondering the amount of output those sweaty young men and women in T-shirts with images of their
political heroes could have added to the GDP of their struggling economy. I could not wait to see the President,John Mahama.I think it was either because I was not accustomed to larger crowds other than the ones i easily mixed in during sporting events or probably because I was not interested in worshiping personalities.
In case you thought I was against political rallies,then you are wrong.I am only advocating that african leaders should show some kind of respect to their 'subjects' by getting to the rally grounds on time and save these souls from the ever-scorching sun.When African leaders go to these same villages that do not have access to basic amenities like electricity and clean water,they still find unwavering supporters. Impoverished women lay their wrappers(cloths) on the bare ground which has not seen any intervention
of the government in the form of asphalt or concrete and our wicked leaders feel proud to use that as 'red
carpets' The young men in our villages get on motorbikes with no registration and ride about carelessly with our Police looking sheepishly as if the arrest of law-breakers in the presence of a leader is a taboo.In short the humble police officer does not want to be seen as against the celebrations.
If you had the chance to go into the rooms of poor folks,you may be astonished by the presence of images of our leaders when they may not even have the means to get a copy of their own photographs.
Is it because we actually do not know how to honour our politicians of is it done out of extreme love? I do not find extreme love as the answer. I just threw a rhetorical question at myself:"Myself,if you were in the shoes of these extremely celebrated leaders,would you not have loved it?! I think that I may try
to show love back to these people by openly accepting their 'worship' in order not to hurt their feelings.Yes,do not be surprise! The cult of personality is so much rooted in the African people that I do not see a radical change as a solution.Imagine a president who refuses to walk on the cloth of an old woman or a president who refuses to be given titles which promote him to the level of a living deity.The opposition
would be so pleased at this and call him a snub.
There is also one very interesting thing about out folks who are so much involved in worshiping our leaders.Though some of them may claim some level of education,most of them are uneducated.These people are easily manipulated by big promises,grammar and figures. An educated man or woman with access
to an ordinary newspaper may draw sound conclusions and not rely on political talk which only leads a man to follow these politicians and eventually become a mental slave to them.Thank -You.
Source: Kennedy Israel Appiah/iNewsGh
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