Reviews of Femi Akomolafe’s 2 Books
Posted by By Akogun Akomolafe at 23 June, at 08 : 34 AM Print
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By Ben Ephson
REVIEWS OF 2 BOOKS BY FEMI AKOMOLAFE
By Ben Ephson
REVIEWS OF 2 BOOKS BY FEMI AKOMOLAFE
By Ben Ephson
Since 1996, Femi has been writing a column for our paper, the Daily Dispatch.
His theme has consistently been Pan-Africanism.
To describe Femi as a controversial writer is to be guilty of inadequacy of language.
He is an iconoclast who pull no punches, and leaves no one in doubt about where he stands on the issues (Pan-African) he passionately articulates and advocates.
Most of the Femi’s writings are not concerned with every day, mundane issues.
Whether in his angry polemics or withering satires, Femi tackles issues that are germane to the contemporary African world.
There is no doubt whatever that Femi is among the Africans who appeared to be pained by the continent’s state of under-development, and believes that Africa should have done a lot better.
In his writings, Femi rails in equal measure against the European slavers/colonisers who despoiled the continent with their rapacious enterprises, and also against the African elite who, he believes are selling the continent down the drain.
However one may disagree with his views, no one can accuse Femi of not being on top of the subjects he writes about.
His views are unconventional, often controversial; his language brash and harsh, but no one will ever doubt the honesty and the sincerity of the arguments he posits.
He is meticulous in his presentation.
In numerous arguments and discussions in my office, I have challenged some of his views, especially on his take on Europeans and colonialism. He defended his views with the argument that if he was harsh on Europeans, it is because slavery and colonialism can never be taken out of any equation that discusses Africa. He also countered that he is harsher on his own African people, especially the leadership and the elite.
I was not surprised that Femi decided to publish his writings in books. I am delighted that he asked that I review the books.
1. AFRICA – IT SHALL BE WELL
This is a collection (25 chapters) of what the author chose from the best of the articles he has written over the years, and published in Daily Dispatch, the New African magazine and other medium.
As Femi himself said in his introduction: “It is said that it is the sad duty of a writer to chronicle the ills of his society.
In the following pages, I set out to write about some of the things I see as wrong in Africa and, where possible, I try to offer suggestions about the things I believe we could do to correct these apparent ills.
The book is a collection of my published literary output spanning almost three decades.
As I try to show on the following pages, Africa’s tragedy, in my opinion, stems largely from the fact that we [Africans] continue to look for solutions to our challenges\ problems from the same people who, in large measure, created the problems in the first place.
As amply demonstrated in many of the articles, I did not set out to excuse or absolve African leaders from the unfortunate situation that our dear continent today finds itself.
These leaders have chosen to align themselves with external foes to sentence Africans to a life of war and misery amidst the vast mineral resources the gods bestowed on our dear continent.
The rapacious domination of Africa’s natural resources by Western multi-nationals; the gross and very blatant interference in Africa’s domestic affairs; the launching of proxy wars; the inhuman trade regime imposed on the continent from outside; the cultural, financial, economic, political and military (examples: Somali, Nigeria, DR Congo, CAR, Mali etc) assaults that the West continue to launch against Africa, cannot and should not be taken out of the equation in analyzing the problems of Africa.
I claim no oracular knowledge about Africa. I also do not pretend to have the solutions to all of Africa’s problems.
However, my firm belief, as an African patriot, is that Africa does not have a problem that Africans cannot solve.
That explains the optimistic title I chose for the book.
I hope that you enjoy reading this collections of my articles; I thoroughly enjoy writing them.”
Africa: It shall be well is, without doubt, a great contribution to the debate on what Africa and Africans should do to help the situation on the continent.
The author addresses many of the challenges the continent faces, and, in many instances, suggested what he believe could be done to improve things.
Chapter 11, for example, passionately argued that it is time for Africa to abandon all the orthodoxies and chart a new course.
Femi believes that what Africa needs today are not constitutional-tinkering but major and very radical surgery.
In his words: “It is sad that our rulers in Africa refused to be guided by lessons of history. They continue to apply the same tried and tired ideas to age-old problems.
Rather than continue to apply textbook solutions to economic problems, a better approach would be for us to study and use unorthodox methods that other people used when confronted with similar problem in the past.
This means a total over-haul of our thinking department. It requires comprehensive adjustments of our mindsets, and the preparedness to do away with every orthodoxy.
Nothing short of radical thinking will solve the huge problem that beset our continent.”
2. AFRICA: DESTROYED BY THE GODS (How religiosity destroyed Africa)
In “Africa: Destroyed by the gods,” the author laments the destruction he believes religions have wrought on his beloved continent of Africa.
This is without a doubt one of the most controversial book to be written in Ghana, if not the whole of Africa.
Religion is dear to many people on the continent, but Femi sees it as great impediment that has contributed to what he calls the “Zombieization of the people.”
In the nineteen chapters of the book, Femi takes issue with almost every facet of the Christian religion which, to him, was merely an ideological tool Europeans used to pacify Africa and, which he believes is being use today by Priests to make people accept conditions, like shocking poverty, that should be unacceptable.
As he explains in the introduction: “My motivations for writing this book came from the pain I feel when I see the havoc foreign religions have wrought on Africa, especially in the last three decades.
On all the indices known to statisticians, Africa continues to perform abysmally. This is despite all the religious pyrotechnics one sees on the continent, especially by the new so-called Charismatic Christian sects.
Traditionally, Africans are a deeply spiritual people. It is sad and painful to see how our deep spirituality was used to turn us into unthinking zombies. It appears like the African elite, by which we mean the political as well as the spiritual elite, are in cahoots to keep the people in perpetual ignorance.
Ignorant people are easy to manipulate and to convince to look for a paradise in the afterlife, while the elite steal the nation’s resources to build their own paradise here on earth.
Although we did not set out to write a comprehensive critique of the Christian religion, we show enough evidence to demonstrate that it was a religion deliberately founded on fraud.
There are abundant historical records to show that the central figure of Christianity, Jeshua or Jesus, was a Roman invention; he never exist as a historical person.
There is abundant evidence to show that the book the Christians called the Holy Bible were collections of ancient fables gathered by wandering habirus (Hebrews), and that they are not accurate historical narratives. Many of them were consciously forged stories.
My sadness at the havoc the Christian religion wrought compelled me to start writing about it.
I hope that my struggle will propel other honest Africans to begin to challenge the false preaching of the Christians and, hopefully, regain some of our African patrimony, before they are totally destroyed by the lies the Christians peddle.
On these pages, I set forth my views on the Christian religion. I urge that they be read in the same honest spirit they were written.”
Femi has written a book that will undoubtedly contribute greatly to discussion on the role of religions in a modern state.
Students of history know that almost every society had their own periods of religious controversies; Femi appears to have blazed the trail in Ghana with this book.
There is no doubt that Africa: Destroyed by the gods will stir great controversies, especially in Ghana, but it could be a necessary controversy that could help settle, once and for all, the role religion should play in a modern, secular state.
These are books written not to make anyone comfortable or happy, they are harsh indictment of the under-development of the African continent, written by a writer who is genuinely concerned.
They are not books to put one in blissful Comfort Zone; they are books that challenge one, especially Africans, to THINK.
Plug for Femi Akomolafe books
Femi Akomolafe is a passionate Pan-Africanist. A columnist for the Accra-based Daily Dispatch newspaper and Correspondent for the New African magazine. Femi lives in both Europe and Africa, and writes regularly on Africa-related issues for various newspapers and magazines.
Femi was the producer of the FOCUS ON AFRICANS TV Interview programme for the MultiTV Station.
He is also the CEO of Alaye Dot Biz Limited Dot Biz, a Kasoa-based Multimedia organisation that specialises in Audio and Video Production. He loves to shoot and edit video documentaries.
His highly-acclaimed books (“Africa: Destroyed by the gods,” “Africa: It shall be well,” “18 African Fables & Moonlight Stories” and “Ghana: Basic Facts + More”) are now available for sales at the following bookshops/offices:
- Freedom Bookshop, near Apollo Theatre, Accra.
- The Daily Dispatch Office, Labone – Accra
- WEB Dubois Pan-African Centre, Accra
- Ghana Writers Association office, PAWA House, Roman Ridge, Accra.
- African Kitchen in Amsterdam Bijlmer
Where to buy them online:
On Lulu Books:
18 African Fables & Moonlight Stories https://goo.gl/Skohtn
Ghana: Basic Facts + More: https://goo.gl/73ni99
Africa: Destroyed by the gods: https://goo.gl/HHmFfr
Africa: It shall be well: https://goo.gl/KIMcIm
Africa: it shall be well
on Kindle books: https://www.createspace.com/4820404
on Amazon books: http://goo.gl/QeFxbl
on Lulu Books: https://goo.gl/SQeoKD
Africa: Destroyed by the gods
on Kindle books: https://www.createspace.com/4811974
on Amazon books: http://goo.gl/1z97ND
on Lulu Books: http://goo.gl/KIMcIm
My Lulu Books page: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/FemiAkomolafe
Get free promotional materials here:
- Africa: it shall be well: http://alaye.biz/africa-it-shall-be-well-introduction-in-pdf/
A FREE Chapter of ‘Africa: It shall be well’ could be downloaded here: http://alaye.biz/africa-it-shall-be-well-a-free-chapter/
- Africa: Destroyed by the gods (How religiosity destroyed Africa) http://alaye.biz/africa-destroyed-by-the-gods-introduction/
A FREE Chapter of ‘Africa: Destroyed by the gods’ could be downloaded here: http://alaye.biz/africa-destroyed-by-the-gods-free-chapter/
Contact Femi:
Femi’s Blog: www.alaye.biz/category/blog
Website: www.alaye.biz
Femi on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/author/femiakomolafe
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ekitiparapo
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/alayeclearsound;
Gmail+: https://plus.google.com/112798710915807967908;
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/femiakomolafe
Email: fakomolafe@gmail.com
Kindly help me share the books’ links with your friends and, grin, please purchase your copies.
Comradely,
Femi Akomolafe
by Alayedotbiz, Blog, Book Review, Miscs, News, Polemics, Random Musings, Satire, Uncategorized
