OF HEROES AND STATUES – SABAH – NKRUMAH AND THE PEASANT FARMERS.

We went to akuafo hall the next day. A short witty maxim one of my friends use to say crept into my mind. Who would graduate from Legon, a staunch advocate of agriculture from Akuafo hall and engage in farming? When we reached the entrance to the hall, my friend beheld the statues erected in front of akuafo hall of farmers harvesting cocoa and he burst out deliriously. What a magnificent statue of unparalleled grandeur. it is not only representation of cocoa as our major foreign exchange earner, but Ghana itself and the selfless peasantry. A classic piece of art depicting agriculture. I was impressed by my friend’s insightful recognition of the symbolic statues and what they really stood for. I corroborated what he said. Akuafo hall means farmers hall. They are playfully called farmers but they take it to heart. But how can we live without fufu, ken key and gari. The shortage of these palatable Ghanaian dishes alone can cause a revolution in the country. But surprisingly, the most common maxim of akuafo hall is man shall not live by bread alone. Most of them claim to be religious persons, the Christians dominating. And we know that true Christians, though very few are suppose to follow the examples of Christ i.e. they should be seen as iconographic examples in the society but in recent times they are far from harmless creatures. Because there is an offer of consolation to a lost soul awaiting eternal damnation by the hellish fires of Gehenna within their doctrinaire brand, they are apt with a vicious justification. if you cry out loud and clear and repent from your sins you would be saved. They are as meek as a lamb because they are pretentious and gullible and they cover their weakness with the inimitable meekness of Christ. They make a public show of their almost unrecognizable presence on campus by chanting their daily mantras. We are farmers, we don’t want trouble, we are devout Christians. They seem to be Soft spoken and very serious in their studies. But who knows it may be one of their wolves in a sheep clothing tactics. I asked my friend whether he is a Christian. He was apt to admit his hypocrisy. I do go to church but I am not a very strong Christian. He admitted frankly. I was furious. I said. So are you telling me that you cannot join the prayer warriors of Legon to pray to the prince of peace, the stiller of the storm for the betterment of Legon? it is something that I have being doing since time immemorial but nothing happens. I have come to realized that it is a sheer nonsense and fallacious to chant in a detached place, away from the problem. How can you solve the problem gnawing at your heart? The church bells are ringing and the children are singing but nothing happens. Well, I said. I am not in to destroy your faith. Let us go.

When we reached Sabah hall, my friend was intrigued, overwhelmed when he saw the bust of john mensah Sabah. What Sabah did, his astonishing and commending accomplishment in the legal field was a bit vague in his mind even though he did history in secondary school. Sabah to him is synonymous to a mythical figure or a legendary hero whose achievements and exploits is neither a reality nor unreality. Fiction or fact he is indifferent, not bordered in the least. All that he is aware of is that there is a hall in Legon called Sabah hall and it will forever remain Sabah hall. I tried to bear with him. Now, I said to him. Let me tell you something. You are not the only one who is guilty of inability to see the value and appreciate things of esthetic value and historical significance. Most of the students fall into the same morass. Now look at the bust again. Why would someone decide to erect such a thing? A bust of a person. The purpose is to instill nationalism, chauvinism in us. It was erected for us to know our heroes, our forbears who fought and contributed in diverse ways to liberate us from the shackles of imperialism. It was not erected to serve just as a memorial, but a pointer, a reminder that we also have a duty to perform. It is something that is supposes to gnaw at our conscience. To make us remember that shirking our responsibilities is not noble. The one who stands in times of crisis, defends his country, and is even ready to be a martyr to annihilate anything evil, vicious, cataclysmic that will threaten his country or nation. Such a person is naturally ennobled. His desire to remain selfless and to strive not for personal aggrandizement but the elevation of his mother land, such a person like Sabah never dies. But is always embedded in the psyche of the people. I wish, nay it is my duty to sensitize them to come to the realization that it is not only walking in campus and uttering the name Sabah just for the mere sake that it is a name of a hall. We must learn his example. He is an iconographic and inspirational figure. My friend was exasperated by my long sojourn on the bust of Sabah. He saw it as a kind of uninspiring drudgery. Invocation of dross. Let us go then I said.


When we reached institute of African studies, the fresher burst out, again demonstrating his awe for the symbolic nature of African art and culture. This is real Africanism. Perfect Africanism. I was enthused by my friend’s passion for African values and ideals. But I was baffled as to the kind of Africanism he was referring to. Whether the fashionable one whereby people put African images in their offices for decorative purposes but themselves purely and thoroughly Europeanized. Or the Africanism which the individual asserts his cultural identity sees himself as a being that had been colonized both physically and mentally, manipulated in time and space, relegated to the abysm of time and his pride trampled upon by forces who claim to work and operate in his interest.

My friend heaved a sigh and said that all that I have said he has no knowledge about but he sees the whole thing a dogmatic nonsense to claim to be a pure African and living in this modern world like a primitive person. He says all that is going that the African has done this or that, that civilization started here has nothing to do with him. He believes that without the white man the black man is nothing. I was not surprised by his stance. As the very African is rejecting his very color to be come a Whiteman. His very accent is offensive to him that he has to resort to the music of the white which results in a repulsive nasal twang. Nature has endowed every human being with special innate qualities that can never be altered. but the black man has succeeded in altering his identity, his culture, his soul and his very color. Humans do borrow cultural values that are relevant to their needs. But everything that the black man possesses is not good. Could it be possible? People have reiterated this claim for centuries that the African has nothing worthwhile to offer. That he has neither culture nor civilization. This is a serious claim. Africanism is saying that it is not possible for a human being to be devoid of culture and in the midst of the craze after alien culture it is showing what is good in his culture to regain his integrity. His pride value and worth as a human being, his interiority and conscience, my friend nodded in affirmation. Now we cannot talk of Africanism and leave an iconographic figure like Nkrumah. Kwame Nkrumah and institute of African studies are inseparable. My friend went round the bust of Nkrumah trying to grasp its complex nature. Nkrumah’s statue, bust, or portraiture anywhere has a message for Africans. His statue or bust represents African culture, African personality, and liberation from imperialism and neo colonialism. I asked my friend if he has read Africa must unite. He said no. neo colonialism, the last stage of imperialism, he said no. What about conscienscism his philosophical treatise he answered in the negative. What a pity. I said. Honestly, I have not read any of his books but I have seen dark days at Balme library and I intend borrowing it.
I urge you to go for it tomorrow and start reading for in deed we are in the dark days.
When it comes to rejecting, denouncing and destroying visionaries and heroes, we are in the forefront. When the person is alive, no matter what he would do we will never realize his vision? His prophetic message will hypnotize us. We only come to realize his value and worth when he is no more. This is unfortunate. We tend to revere the dead and so don’t see the value of the living. As soon as a person dies - he is automatically transformed in to a saint. Even if the devil is to die today, we would shed copious tears and accord him respect. We deify the dead. I am not saying that we should treat the dead with dishonor. But when he is alive and we despise him, ostracize him, treat him like venom, a social canker, he may die with his visions which will not augur well for the society. We walked silent. The fresher did not talk. He only broke the silence when he saw some campus girls passing by.