If you have made it your business to observe human behavior and have paid attention to Africans, especially Nigerians, you would have noticed that most of them have low self-esteem. I will go out on the limb and say that I have not seen a Nigerian with positive self-esteem; what I see are emotionally crippled persons who, unfortunately, do not know it. They take evidence of low self-esteem as sign of high self-esteem! For example, if you are among them all you hear is them putting each other down, saying derogatory things about each other. By destroying each other’s already low self-esteem they seem to derive sadistic pleasure from so doing. It never occurs to them that their people already have damaged self-esteem from Europeans rule of them and that they are struggling to prove to themselves that they are men and therefore do not need other people to strike blows to their already low self-opinion.One sign that one has good self-esteem is a tendency to notice low self-esteem in other persons and nurture good self-esteem in them by encouraging them to do their best and praising their efforts rather than desecrating them. I would go as far as to say that Africans legendary low performance on very easy intelligence tests (on the average they tend to score at the level considered mentally retarded in whites, around 70) is not due to inherited low intelligence but because of their low self-evaluation, a low self-appraisal that has convinced them that they cannot do anything right and to expect other persons, especially white folks, to come to their rescue. I believe that when these people improve their opinion of themselves they would score on IQ tests as well as Asians and white folk.
Many factors contribute to Africans low self-esteem. In the here and now world the fact that white folks are, at least, five hundred years ahead of Africans in scientific, technological and material development certainly plays a role in Africans low self-image. Who can go to Africa and see people running around naked, their bodies’ disease ridden and then go to Britain, France, Germany and the USA and see people living in the world of science and technology and not feel inadequate. If an African is intelligent at all the first question he asks upon coming to Europe or North America is: why are whites so much ahead of us, what explains these people going to the moon while some Africans still see the moon as god? The individual tries to explain the apparent difference between his world and the world of the white man.
There are many possible explanations for the disparity between whites and blacks but for our present purpose what I want to focus on is the fact that white folks conquered and ruled Africans. The fact that white folks, who as persons are not different from Africans, conquered and ruled Africans is an embarrassing thing. It makes me ashamed that my folks were ruled by Europeans. My pride is humiliated that other folks ruled my people, a people that to the present still look down on us.
Facts are facts so the real question is what are we going to do about them? In his several books, especially the Wretched of the Earth and other materials on colonialism, Franz Fanon observed that colonized people have low self-opinion of themselves (as Albert Memi documented in his seminal work, The colonizer and the colonized) and that the only way to get rid of their low self-estimation is to engage in wars for independence and defeat their former masters. As Fanon sees it, colonized persons ought to fight as a means of reestablishing their self- appreciation in their eyes. Unless they fight and defeat those who defeated them they are unlikely to feel their equal. They may seek other ways to secure prestige in their eyes but only defeat of those who defeated them would heal their psyches injury.
In Nigeria, for example, we witness folks infantile efforts to seem valuable in their eyes; we see Nigerians masquerading as very important persons; they want to be called Professor, Dr. Chief this or that; they are title crazy; clearly, this title craziness is a childish attempt to mask their underlying sense of deficit. Look beneath the Nigerian bemusing you with how important he is and what you see is a person who feels like he is literally feces. The Various compensatory behaviors we see in Nigerians and defeated folks in general (black Americans are also title crazy, they, too, like to be called doctor and such white folks conferred titles and feel offended at you if you do not so call them…Franklyn Frazier, in his book, the Negro Middle Class, made this point) do not rehabilitate damaged egos.
What rehabilitates damaged minds is jostling with those who did the damage and like men defeating them in a battle field. Notice what has happened to the Asian ego. During the Second World War, the Japanese almost defeated Americans but for nuclear weapons; the Japanese defeated Russians in 1905; the Koreans defeated America in the early 1950s; the Vietnamese defeated America in a ten year fight (and prior to that in 1954 defeated the French). America tried to take the Korean War to the border of China and Chinese army poured into Korea and drove Americans back into South Korea. These wars and defeats have taught the white man that the Asian is his equal and he dares not take Asians up in a cavalier manner. America knows that her vaunted army cannot take any Asian army heads on and defeat her (without resorting to nuclear weapons; Asians are not Arabs, Iraqi army that is defeated in a matter of days…what Arabs seem to do best is immolate themselves in suicide bombings but in man to man fights, such as with little Israel chicken and run away).
Men have contempt for those they defeat at war and substitute war, sports and other competitions. Men have contempt for those who are easily intimidated by threat of force and coercion. Africans, so far in their shameful history (they allowed other folks to enslave them and colonize them), have shown the world one trait and one trait only: cowardice. Say boohoo and Africans run away. Point guns at them and threaten to kill them and they pee in their pants and beg for mercy.
Men do not respect those who beg for mercy; they have contempt for them. Very few African countries actually fought for their independence. Nigerian nationalists merely called the British names but did not actually take up guns and fought the British. Because they did not fight for their liberty they do not value it; they do not know that the price of liberty is blood hence they allow thieves to hijack their government and essentially loot their wealth while they live in poverty and merely complain about the loot instead of organizing and fighting and killing the thieves of Abuja. I believe that one of the reasons Nigeria is misgoverned is because the people had not fought and died for their freedom; they must now fight and die for their freedom if they are to value liberty and good governance. As Thomas Payne observed (in his book, Common Sense) the tree of liberty is watered with brave patriots’ blood. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance against tyrants (who are always hovering around the corner).
You actually see Africans, especially the loathsome Nigerians, who believe that they are taken seriously by the rest of the world. President Olusagun Obasanjo actually applied to be taken into the Security Council of the United Nation! Why? Because he exists and because he exists he is to be taken seriously and accounted a human being. Nobody told the clown the purpose of the Security Council. Upon the end of the First World War, guided by US President Woodrow Wilson’s sentimentalism, his famous fourteen points for remaking the world, creating democracy and bringing about world peace, the League of Nations was established and all members were given equal votes. Well, in matters of war and peace some countries have more clout than others. In the League’s voting weak countries had the same vote with powerful ones and the powerful ones ignored such votes and nothing was accomplished. Thus, the League was not able to prevent any wars. At the end of the second world war a more realistic appraisal of human nature led folks to structure the successor to the League with two bodies, one where folks big and small come to make noise, the General Assembly, and another where the big boys with military clout come to decide important matters of war and peace.
Imagine Goodluck Jonathan, a nothing militarily speaking, participating in deciding matters of war and peace at the international level. As Joseph Stalin would ask: how many panzer (tank) divisions can he marshal into the battle field? Zero. Mr. Jonathan is as good as a ghetto gang leader when international politics is discussed; he is a powerless nothing; in fact, he and his pathetic country of thieves do not even exist!
In international politics Nigeria is nothing and nobody takes her seriously. Why should you take Nigerians seriously? Is it because of their collapsed schools, their lack of military prowess, their lack of contribution to science and technology, their dilapidated economic infrastructure? Is it because of their reliance on one resource for most of their revenue, putting all their eggs in one basket until the West discovers an alternative to oil and they become a failed state? Is it because their leaders are thugs and steal their country’s money and do not work to develop their country? Do you respect criminals? I certainly would not hesitate lining all the rulers of Nigeria against a wall and shooting them to death. I would not show any feeling of sympathy from killing the criminals; they are best dead, they are wasting our natural resources by merely being alive, consuming food that they did not produce; get rid of garbage. Kill all the thieves of Abuja the other members of the empire of thieves and appropriate all their ill-gotten wealth and devote it to the development of Nigeria.
The salient point here is that men do not take seriously those they are not afraid to fight; no one takes Nigerians and Africans seriously for nobody is afraid to fight with them. I submit that Africans must, if necessary, deliberately provoke a war with Europe and defeat her before they can be taken seriously.
And do not go thinking that this task is impossible or merely idealistic. I am a student of real politics and know that if a real leader, the like of Napoleon, a determined war dog who is not afraid of leading millions to their death, emerges in Nigeria and conscripts all able bodied Nigerians (between the age of eighteen and thirty eight) into the army, at least, ten million can be so mobilized, given rigorous training and equipped with the best weapons money can buy (manufacture them locally) it is easy to unite all of Africa within five years. Subsequently, Africa would be reorganized with each large tribe a state for a total of about five hundred tribe based states in the anticipated Africa federation…see my writings on ideal constitution for Nigeria and African states. Subsequent to the reorganization of Africa, such a leader would embark on economic development. Within twenty years Africa would be developed; at least, she would be at the level of the Asian tigers. Thereafter, Africa would be able to launch war against Europe. It is possible to mobilize an army of twenty million Africans and use them to smash into Western Europe and defeat it.
Never mind about nuclear weapons. No one is going to use them on Africans. Moreover, nuclear weapons should be manufactured in Africa soon after all the basic physics is now known to most college educated persons (in nuclear fission the nucleus of atoms, protons and neutrons, is bombarded with neutrons and split and energy is released; that energy could be controlled and used for electricity or to destroy cities). No one should be intimidated by the terrorists possessing nuclear weapons, not when all of us have the capability to manufacture them if we have the will and resource to do so.
DISCUSSION
I have always been amazed by Africans lack of political realism, their inability to grasp the simple and obvious. The simple fact is that white men screwed our fathers and in the present discriminate against us. They do so because they have no respect for us. They have no respect for us because they defeated and colonized us; and in the past they enslaved us. The only way we can regain respect in our eyes and the eyes of the rest of the world is to screw those who screwed us.
If it were possible Africans ought to enslave Europeans and Arabs, to give them a dose of their own medicine. Why not; they enslaved us, didn’t they? So why should we not reciprocate their favor? Fear, sympathy, guilt feeling? Give me a break; in the real world folks do to others as was done to them.
I understand the need for love and forgiveness, but that is when we talk metaphysical matters; in the world of politics power and guile rules. If someone sticks it to you stick it back to him and that way he learns not to stick it to you again. As long as you are easily attacked and defeated and you cry for mercy no one is going to have mercy for you; other folks would always try to enslave you (as camel humping, god damned Arabs still do in Sudan and Mauritania).
Those enslaved and colonized must fight their enslavers and colonizers and defeat them in the battle field for their manhood to be rehabilitated in their eyes. Romans enslaved Germans, whom they called barbarians. Germans fought, defeated and destroyed the Roman Empire and took it over (unfortunately, their material culture in the fifth century was too low hence European civilization went into dark ages…the Catholic Church also played a role in the making of this darkness by insisting that men replace reason with religious superstition).
Asians were messed around with by white folks and they fought white folks and are today on the verge of taking over the world economy. And make no mistake about it, when Asians take over the world they would stick it into the eyes of Europeans; the Chinese have not forgotten how Europeans divided up their country and looted her resources so when they feel up to it they would no doubt fight to defeat white men and do unto them as was done to them. What is history but how groups of human beings attacked and defeated other groups and then other groups attack and defeat them. Human living is characterized by offense and defense and defense and offense. Human beings are predatory animals; as long as they live in bodies and have egos they must have war and conflict; they must attack others who defend themselves by counter attacking them. Peace, love and happiness exist only in the non-material world of spirit, not earth.
Africans have been screwed by all comers, by Arabs and by Europeans. Africans must fight with Arabs and use force to chase them out of North Africa and reclaim it as African territory and eventually fight with Europe and if necessary colonize it so that it learns not to go colonizing other people and stealing their resources and impoverishing them. Until Africans fuck those who fucked them they are not ever going to hold their heads high and walk like human beings. Masquerading around as fat bellied important men would not make them important for all that an African head of state needs to do is come to America and white men would treat him as a nigger (and arrest him if he walks the streets of rich white neighborhoods, such as Beverly Hills and Bell Air) at night. Simply stated in our extant world Africans are perceived as nothing and the only way they are going to acquire importance is to fight for it. Pretending to be important does not make one important, it is action that does so.
Africans should read up on real politics, read folks like Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Pareto, Metternich, Napoleon, and, oh, yes, Adolf Hitler(Mein Kampf, Table Talks) and even the white ass kissing Henry Kissinger, and begin to behave like realistic adults instead of the childish clowns they currently seem like.
Let me say a few words on fear, for fear holds Africans down. Fear is a biological and psychological phenomenon; it alerts the individual to potential dangers that could harm or even kill him and urges him to take measures to protect his life (fight or flight response…this response is mediated by complex biochemical reactions in the body, reactions that we cannot get into in this non- technical essay). Fear is a mechanism for safeguarding the individual’s biological life. Without fear it is doubtful that people and animals would do what they have to do to protect themselves from the myriad threats to their lives. Useful as fear is to human survival, however, it is a double edged sword. Fear enables people to anticipate danger and to survive avoid that danger. For example, if one anticipates that the political leaders of ones society could harm or kill one if one opposes them one feels fear and out of desire to live one desists from doing what one wanted to do, oppose their injustices. Thus, one survives but in the process tolerates oppression.
Africans have tolerated the oppressive rules of their criminal leaders because they are afraid of being harmed, jailed or killed by them. Most of the leaders of Africa are thugs and would not hesitate killing anyone who opposes them so to live Africans tolerate the criminals ruling them. Contemporary African leaders are actually like their ancestors who roamed around capturing and selling their people to Arab and European slave buyers; these people have no goodwill towards their people. Fear, in this case, has served to make Africans slaves.
Talking about slavery, Africans sold their people to Arabs and white folks for thousands of years (they sold their people to Romans, remember) and those sold tolerated slavery out of fear of what the slave masters could do to them, kill them; they tolerated slavery out of fear of death.
At some point human beings must prefer what is right to merely surviving as biological organisms. If one believes that a course of action is right, such as freedom, one must be willing to risk death fighting for it. Those in power seldom concede power to the ruled without the ruled demanding it and fighting and dying for it. (As I write, Hosni Mubarak the thief of Cairo who looted 70 billion dollars from his people, while they lived in poverty, has been chased out of office by the peoples determined insistence that he must go). If black Americans had not fought for the end of slavery white Americans would today still be enslaving them. Human beings can achieve goodness but they are not automatically good; they are automatically evil.
Africans must realize that the tree of liberty is watered with patriot’s blood and therefore fight for their freedom and die for it. As long as they tolerate their criminal rulers they would have criminal rulers. A people have a government they deserve; cowards deserve criminals ruling them; valorous men are ruled by honest men.
A word on America. Americans did not directly colonize Africa so it is not really a case where Africans have to fight America in order to rehabilitate their injured pride. America has her issues. Illiterate and uncut Mexican peasants below her border, like the barbarians above the borders of Rome, are pouring into her and are currently being used as cheap labor to do menial jobs in America. At some point in the future these unwashed “barbarians” would exceed the Americans in population and take over the country and transform it to third world status (as is their country of origin, Mexico) and eventually work their way to becoming a new civilization. The barbarians who took over Rome initially reduced Rome to a primitive civilization but eventually worked out their own brand of civilization, what we now know as Europe. Africans do not have to worry about America, it is sufficient for them to worry about Europe, their former colonial masters.
It is Europe that Africans have rendezvous with destiny. Africans must eventually fight and defeat Europeans in battle fields, not talkfests to have the shame of been ruled by Europeans washed away from their psyches. And before we hear from cowardly nay Sayers let me remind us the amazing degeneration of Europeans. These people are increasingly becoming beasts, engaging in unnatural sexual behaviors and other bestial behaviors that sap people of marshal spirit. Moreover, Europeans and white folks in general seem to have group narcissistic personality disorder; these people are in love with their egos and bodies and admire themselves no end. Narcissists so value life in body that they are afraid to die to their bodies; they do everything to live in bodies (taking care of their bodies via medical treatment, good eating and exercising habits etc.). Whereas some of those activities are good, in excess they have some drawback: fear of death hence of sacrificing their bodies in battles; kill a few Europeans and you cause the rest of them to panic and surrender in defeat just so they live to take care of their overvalued bodies.
A people who firmly believe in God, in life after death and, as such, are not afraid to die fighting for a just course will easily defeat a people who so worship their bodies that they are afraid to lose them in battle fields. Contemporary science has given white folks the erroneous belief that all they are are bodies so they take care of their bodies and are afraid to lose them; this is their Achilles heel.
CONCLUSION
A determined African military can easily defeat the men of Europe and must do so to rehabilitate Africans damaged self-esteem; there seem no other ways for improving Africans injured pride. The assault on Africans vanity and narcissism requires for us to fight and die assuaging it.
Ozodi Thomas Osuji
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