By: Nfansu Camara, Political Science Student, UTG
The expedition for political emancipation has flamed many brouhahas within the geographical continent of Africa that has catapulted to the pantheon of neutralizing the stalwarts who were courageous and cleared as to what direction the continent of Africa ought to have taken in her quest for social and political sanity.
Amilcar Cabral is an international figure whose achievements and struggles for liberation shall continue to be immortalized in contemporary African history.
In drawing reference from the historical baggage of such a gigantic and influential personality, Amilcar Cabral had the leverage of western education. He left Guinea-Bissau for Portugal for better, productive, and result-driven knowledge.
While he struggled with knowledge production, Amilcar Cabral started getting involved with his acolytes who were also in Portugal for the same ulterior motive in the person of Agostinho Neto of Angola and Samora Moses Machel of Mozambique, among other pioneering African leaders.
Upon accomplishment of his academic journey in the colonial land of his erstwhile colonial influencer, the spirit of Pan-Africanism imprisoned him and he subsequently returned to Guinea-Bissau to liberate her and her offspring in chains to become independent and sovereign people without any interference from the colonial administrators or infringement upon the lives of the people of Bissau.
At the preliminary stage of regaining their independence, he subscribed to the discipline of diplomacy in negotiating with the erstwhile Portuguese colonial administrator to have their liberation via peaceful means, but the desire of Amilcar Cabral was not seen as diplomacy got paralyzed and despoiled.
As a result, the Bissau Liberation Movement was installed when the Seaport workers established a very radical revolutionary movement to rebel against the draconian administration of the Portuguese but they were all massacred by the colonial administrators.
Amilcar Cabral was as passionate and discouraged in his utterance that you must fight first before the channel of negotiation comes into effect. Moreover, unstructured and uninformed guerrilla combat was launched against them, spearheaded by Amilcar Cabral, and ultimately they were defeated by the barrel of guns.
Through the employment of radicalism, Guinea-Bissau regained her sovereignty under the tutelage of the great Amilcar Cabral.
In the soonest duration, the neo-colonization project started getting its deepest root when Amilcar Cabral’s obituary was documented by his pretended acolytes, who were under the influence and dictations of the manipulators and despicable violators. As Afro-pessimists will say with total belittlement, “seizure of power in Africa was as frequent as breakfast.”
The conspiracies against Amilcar Cabral and his comrades-in-arms were engineered by the Portuguese who utilized “Innocent de kani” who was a native of Guinea-Bissau, and two other conspirators in the person of Muhammad Njie and Muhammad Touray.
Since then, Bissau is kept in the slow pace of development and numerous military interventions to uproot democratically elected government from the zenith of political leadership.
It has become a common saying in Africa that “Africans’ appetite for wealth is completely insatiable.” The conspiracy by Africans to kill their latter day’s political revolutionaries was reserved in Guinea-Bissau and extended to other African countries, such as in Burkinabé when Thomas Sankara, a young man with high intellect, was liquidated by his closest protector Blaise Compaore.
In wrapping up, this should serve as an admonition to all Africans not to kill our brothers and sisters at the behest of the westerners. On the same wavelength, leaders should comprehend that leadership is an honor and privilege. It should not be employed as political machinery that massages the egos of egotistical and megalomaniacal leaders to the detriment of the people. May God continues to smile upon Mama Africa.
