The Sandcastles and Dams of African Dictators All dictators on the African continent have sought immortality by leaving a legacy that will outlive them and endure for the ages. But all have inherited the wind. Kwame Nkrumah led the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence from colonialism in 1957. Nkrumaism sought to transform Ghana into…
Alemayehu G Mariam Cry Me a River, Cry Me a Lake Three years ago to the week, I wrote a weekly commentary entitled, “Cry Me a Lake: Crime Against Nature”. That commentary focused on the plight of tens of thousands of Ethiopians who are sick and dying from drinking the polluted waters of Lake Koka,…
Alemayehu G. Mariam The Chinese Dragon is dancing the Watusi shuffle with African Hyenas. Things could not be better for the Dragon in Africa. In the middle of what once used to be the African Pride Land now stands a brand-spanking new hyenas’ den called the African Union Hall (AU). Every penny of the USD$200…
Alemayehu G Mariam The International Criminal Court (ICC) is on the chase; and over the past few months, things have taken a slow turn for the worse for African dictators and human rights violators. They are finding out that they can’t run and they can’t hide. Laurent “Cling-to-power-at-any-cost” Gbagbo of Cote d’Ivoire was snatched from his…
Alemayehu G. Mariam In February 2011, at the onset of the Libyan Revolution, Moamar Gadhaffi trumpeted to the world, “They love me. All my people with me, they love me. They will die to protect me, my people.” He called the rebels fighting to oust him from power “rats and…
Alemayehu G. Mariam (This is the second installment in a series of commentaries I pledged to offer on U.S. policy in Africa under the heading “The Moral Hazard of U.S. Policy in Africa”. In Part I, I argued that democracy and human rights in Africa cannot be subordinated to the expediency of “engaging” incorrigible African…
Alemayehu G. Mariam The Triumphalism of African Dictators There is nothing that is both amusing and annoying than the chest-beating triumphalism of Africa’s tin pot dictators. This past February, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda lectured a press conference: “There will be no Egyptian-like revolution here. … We would just lock them up. In the most humane…
Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on 1/31/2011 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/after-the-fall-of-african_b_816140.html After the Fall from the Wall What happens to Africa after the mud walls of dictatorship come tumbling down and the palaces of illusion behind those walls vanish? Will Africa be like Humpty Dumpty who “had a great fall” and could not be put back together…
Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on 1/24/2011 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/as-african-tyrants-fall_b_812880.html The Invincible Dictators Mohandas Karmachand Gandhi (The Mahatma or Great Soul) is today revered as a historical figure who fought against colonialism, racism and injustice. But he was also one of the greatest modern revolutionary political thinkers and moral theorists. While Nicolo Machiavelli taught tyrants how…
Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on 5/25/2011 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/looking-for-bob-marley-an_b_806568.html 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…
