Can I disappoint you that I will not start my first post in 2010 with the health-or-death status of President Yaradua?
Nor will I start with the soft looking brat who wanted to blow the world through his balls and the fact that secure pornography a la body scans will now be available at Nigerian Airports, simply because Nigeria is desperate to prove her innocence before ‘Almighty America’.
For all I know, the Nation has been sick longer than the President and no one has ever really bothered.
My mind is more pre-occupied with that beautiful 11-year old whose foot was trapped under the rubble in Haiti. I am thinking more of Pat Robertson of Christian Broadcasting Network who said:
"And you know, Kristi, something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French, you know, Napoleon the Third and whatever, and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you'll get us free from the French.' True story. And so the devil said, 'O.K., it's a deal. And they kicked the French out, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free, and ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other, desperately poor. That Island of Hispaniola is one island cut down the middle. On the one side is Haiti, on the other side is the Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etc. Haiti is in desperate poverty, same islands…. "
In other words, according to him, Haiti is paying for a pact made with the devil! I would only want to know if the earthquake was selective, if churches or mosques or even the voodoo shrines were spared.
Haiti is actually paying for a pact, not made with the devil, but devils like the King of France who recognized the independence of the country in exchange for a payment of 150 million francs (an indemnity for profits lost from slave trade!). Devils that sponsored the 32 coups in Haiti’s 200 year history, devils that claimed large sums of money from the vaults of the National Bank of Haiti.
Let’s have some Chronicles:
In 1888 U.S. Marines supported a military revolt against the government.
In 1892 the German government supported suppression of the movement of Anténor Firmin (I need to read On the Equality of Human Races).
In 1912 Syrians residing in Haiti participated in a plot in which the presidential palace was destroyed.
In January 1914, British, German and United States forces entered Haiti to ‘protect’ their citizens.
The United States occupied the island from 1915 to 1934.
When the Duvaliers, Dr. François Duvalier, known as "Papa Doc" President of Haiti , 1957 –1971; Jean-Claude Duvalier ("Baby Doc"), 1971-1986were robbing the Country silly, they were largely supported by those ‘devils’ and the high interest loans that left the Country in the state it is in today were ‘generously’ provided!
When Jean Bertrand Aristide began asking France for reparation, that was when ‘corruption’ accusations came in, a rebellion ensued, and the US Marines, yes US Marines helped him on exile (Aristide himself said he was kidnapped).
So, really, I agree with Pat Robertson to an extent.
This Reparation thingie reminds me so much of the late Chief MKO Abiola; Nigerians! You are not likely to know the true story behind the annulment of the June 12 1993 Presidential Elections in this life, probably in the life to come, you stand a chance.
That was a digression.
Haitians were the first ‘Free’ Blacks, then Ethiopia, then Liberia. What do they have to show for it?
Ethiopia had Emperor Haile Selassie I, the man who played a vital role in the formation of the disbanded Organization of African Unity (OAU), which was replaced in 2002 by the African Union (AU).I don’t want to bring the Rastafarian part to this, but this man was kicked out and replaced by a wonderful tyrant: Mengistu Haile Mariam.
Liberia had William Tolbert Jr., I won’t call him a saint, and neither will I call him a sinner, but a US Army Special Force trained Samuel Kanyon Doe, had Tolbert murdered in his sleep and became the President of Liberia, which began the dark journey of Liberia through a brutal civil war, and the unleashing of Charles Taylor upon the people of Liberia. Charles Taylor would later allege he was raised by the CIA.
Thomas Sankara! The man who sold most of the government fleet of Mercedes cars and made the Renault 5 (the cheapest car sold in Burkina Faso at that time) the official service car of the ministers, converted the army's provisioning store in Ouagadougou into a state-owned supermarket open to everyone (the first supermarket in the country), was killed by Blaise Compaoré . This man still rules Burkina Faso till today! It is interesting that it was Thomas Sankara that changed the name of the Country from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso (the land of upright people).
Today, Burkina Faso occupies the sixth to last place on the Human Development Index.
If Patrice Lumumba had not been taken down by the CIA, would Mobutu have risen to rob that Zaire (name given by Mobutu)/ Democratic Republic of Congo silly?
For Nigeria, I will only say that someday, the ‘Classified Information’ will become declassified.
My heart goes out to Haiti; my heartfelt appreciation goes out to those who have raised funds, regardless of Race or Religion, for that Country, whose heroic efforts began the process for the end of Slavery and Paleo-Colonization.
Embattled Tiger Woods still got a $ 3 million donation out, Hollywood actors/actresses, Artists like Wyclef are reaching out, while Messrs‘I-just-emerged-from-closed-door-meetings-with-God’ tell them that it is God’s punishment for them; Job sure has Miserable Comforters!
