African Big Men

And we have one raising hell now in the Ivory Coast. His name is Gbagbo. Drop the first g and that's the pronunciation. You know he's the guy who lost the recent election but will not give up power. Pauline lives in Abidjan and posts on this and also writes for Bloomberg. Her latest article is here.

I just don't quite understand what it is with powerful African men that they feel the need to rape their own country. This situation is not good at all and I feel for the ordinary people caught up in all this. How human beings can treat their fellow countrymen so horrendously is beyond me. I do have ideas that probably have some merit but we're not going there. I can tell you this though and it's all true.

Ghana borders the Ivory Coast to the east. Like cocoa and chocolate? This is where most of it comes from. I was to leave Ghana in March of 79. Just before that new currency was issued and the borders were closed. It was a pisser as they say but I was white and it was a bigger pisser for the Ghanaian's who had endured so much from their recent "big men".  Briefly-

I left when things stabilized just about three months later. Very shortly after that a successful coup by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings changed the country dramatically once again politically.

Three former heads of state and five other military men were taken down to a beach just outside Accra where they were strapped to posts stuck in the sand blindfolded if they wanted and then blown away by firing squad to the big stool in the sky. The world was a better place and the little guy got a bit of satisfaction for a change. I did not think Akuffo deserved it but shit happens. 

This is all about accountability something we don't have here. These big men got the message loud and clear and I really do not have a problem with this. Nigeria has done the very same.

 Get this - the coup by Rawlings was instigated by him while he was in prison. I admire this man I really do and know the country is much better for it. Rawlings took charge and said they would have elections and they did. He had put a caveat on the elections telling all if they started pulling the same old shit he was coming back. Well folks he came back for just that reason. Ran the country again until elections were held and he's never been back.