Quayson Writes : What else for Africa? A Black King?

“The day of deliverance of the black race would dawn when a black king was crowned in Africa.” -Marcus Garvey.

I saw a friend on Facebook post this prophesy by Marcus Garvey and infact it got me thinking throughout all the day. This prophesy as it may seem appears to be a false prophesy which does not look as though it will ever be fulfilled.

Why am I saying this? Come to think of it, the two most powerful institutions in the world has been headed by blacks yet there is no change in our African continent and the black race – The United States of America (USA) and United Nations (UN) are the two most powerful institutions in the world which have all been headed by blacks yet there is virtually no change in Africa or the black race. I speak of Barack Obama and Kofi Annan. What else is there for Africa? Is there any hope for our dear continent ever?

From what Marcus Garvey is saying, the black race would experience total deliverance only when a “black king” “was” crowned in Africa. This statement means that without a black king in Africa, Africa would never experience true deliverance – I find this to be a fallacy. How is deliverance of a race connected to the coronation of a King in Africa? What kind of King is Marcus Garvey talking about here? Is it a black president that would head the whole of the African continent? Clearly Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was influenced by this statement and sort to achieve the unification of the whole Africa yet it took his own people – Ghanaians to over throw him in the end and virtually almost all his dreams died with him.

“The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent” – Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

Emperor Haile Selassie believed to be a direct descendant of King Solomon has also together with Dr. Kwame Nkrumah had a fair share in trying to unite Africa which led to Organisation of African Unity (OAU). OAU is yet to see the light of day. Different Chairmen have come and gone yet the organization is not able to achieve basic requirements like a common currency, a common passport, a common transport system etc. All you see OAU doing is intervening in various war that occur in the continent of Africa yet they are not able to quench it without any Western assistance. If anything at all Emperor Haile Selassie is known for his massive educational transformation in Ethiopia but his impact on the continent of Africa is nothing really to write home about. I mean you would think that the many beliefs that hails him to be the expected Messiah he would do much for Africa but the continent’s economic impact has been zero. No offense to the Rastafarian movement that still see him as their only true King and Messiah.

Gadafi also came with his “King of Kings” slogan and tried to influence many African leaders to liberate the continent from Western control yet also met his untimely demise by a rovolt of his own people in Libya to discredit him as an autocratic leader. Gadafi wanted to introduce the gold dinnar for trade with Western countries to the abolishment of all foreign currency in Africa. I guess that did not go down well with the westeners and they found ways and means to overthrow and kill him in the end. Gadafi however left a very great legacy in his own country as the country was well developed under him with massive infrastructures, education, healthcare, largest man made irrigation system etc but honestly could not achieve anything significant for the continent of Africa. He also very much enriched himself with the Libyan oil reserves procured under his family name and many natural resources in Libya. Gadafi made his people quite comfortable. It is believed that Gadafi died the world’s richest man with wealth estimated around $260 billion way above that of Bill Gates which was around $150 billion by then. Gadafi ended up dying a very miserable death with most of his family members extinguished along with his legacy. Now Libya is a struggling country in Africa.

Aside that we have quite some Kingdoms in Africa which includes our own Ashanti Kingdom here in Ghana but their economic significance is really nothing to write home about. So who will be the black king that will come and secure the deliverance of our dear continent?

Personally I don’t agree with Marcus Garvey in his assertion that Africa needs a black King to experience total deliverance. This is because Barack Obama and Kofi Annan from Africa were more powerful than any king in Africa will ever be in terms of influence and pedegree yet they did not do much for Africa. So my question again is what King again from where and how that will affect Africa significantly?

My friend argued that unless the King is crowned in Africa with all the coronation, Africa will not have true deliverance. I disagreed with him totally on that point in that location of coronation is not a factor to develop a continent or for it to win its freedom. I made him aware that Whites on African continent have helped to develop South Africa to what it is now so that argument is neither here nor there.

Every where whites find themselves they are able to develop the place even here in Africa but why can’t Africans develop themselves in their own continent but waiting for the liberation by a black king? My take is that it will never happen in a trillion years unless we take up our own responsibilities individually as a nation in Africa and collectively as a continent.

It’s time we accept responsibility for ourselves that we have failed and tow the path of countries like China who sent human resources to all the big nations to learn. They then came back to develop their nation with the knowledge they acquired.

Nkrumah sent so many students to Cuba to learn medicine in order to attend to our medical needs. It has to be an effort on the path of the government to invest in Africans not just free education. Send Africans out there in numbers, let’s have foreign partnerships to train our people with whatever skill is needful to develop our continent.

Most African countries do not have budget that covers training of human resources outside but that is what China did. At a point they resorted to learning and now we can all see the results for ourselves.

A friend called Amah Ghana responded to the statement by Marcus Garvey with this response I also find interesting. He said :

“The dark race looked up to everything light for deliverance, sustainability and protection. So Marcus Garvey trying to rally the dark race to self realization made this statement. In a few years would arrive the Coronation of H.I.M Haile Selasie I, supposed descendant of Emperor Menelik II. Attempts have been made at creating a lineage between Menelik and King Solomon in the the set of scripture known as the Kebra Nagast. But as you know, you can’t link a real person to a fictional figure.
Marcus Garvey’s insight of the world would give him the status of prophet in modern times. Rastafarians inclined to the Bible, undoubtedly having the notion of the second coming of Christ to rule will hence start to view Haile Selasie as the second coming of Christ, being descended from Solomon. But they got it so wrong. “Holy Immanuel I Selasie I Jah Rastafar I”. The Coronation of H.I.M. Haile Selasie I as Emperor of Ethiopia was the dawn of Pan Africanism. He is on record as the last Emperor the world ever saw. Even the Kings and Queens of Europe bowed to him.
THAT STATEMENT HAS BEEN FULFILLED in H.I.M Haile Selasie I. SELAH!”

Does it mean Africans are only interested in a spiritual liberation than a physical and an economic success and liberation? It beats my mind actually. I think this whole theory of a black King that would bring deliverance to Africa is nothing but fiction and a comic relief to the lazy African mind. We will not make frantic efforts for development but want to believe in the unbelievable. We create some measure of hope for ourselves with unfounded theories and philosophies which will never come to pass, unless we change our approach to almost everything as a people.