Seun Kuti’s Revolution of Ignorance: He’s an Embarrassment to Africa -By Nneka Okumazie

The problem of Africa is evident in Seun Kuti, do nothing within your power about the problem, but blame others and face people in the wrong direction.

Seun Kuti has name recognition. Any professor of political science in any African university will likely accept to work with him to develop innovative political theories for Africa, for different levels of governments, in different places.

Any professor of economics too, in any university, even outside of Africa, but working on the continent, maybe willing to collaborate with him on potent economic theories for Africa. Their theories would be published with recommendations that within his power can be implemented in some places for validation, before scaling elsewhere.

Africa’s tech startup scene is growing. Seun Kuti could power pitches in different sectors, for development with tech, starting with a small budget, but raising capital if necessary.

Even if he would not work with any professor, he can have his own publications on pivotal theories for Africa’s development. Even if he does not want to raise capital, there are several things African startups are not solving that he could work with a team to do.

He only talks. He does not talk because he cannot do anything. He talks because that is the only thing he has to offer to Africa he claims to care about.

He believes the path is a political party. He throws around vague suggestions like change the system. He says he wants his people to be class conscious. He blames colonizers. He calls everyone oppressors.

Yes, the devices he uses to talk were invented by people that told others that those that invented the telegraph were oppressors. Or those that invented the planes he boards did so by telling others to be class conscious. Or, colonizers are so destructive, there is no way to break out and make progress for a people that know what they are doing.

The question is how does Africa develop? What are the workable ways forward? You have someone who insults others, behaves almost as out of touch with reality in the public, with no one in this world who knows him who can advise him to stay on message and adjust.

Anyone can read. Deductions often vary. But progress is not a talk affair. Someone that is critical of everything who is hardly self-critical, or whose own incompetence is not obvious to him, offers nothing to development, other than self-deception and hoodwinking the gullible. He’s never wrong.

Cheap shots are possible. Narratives are subject to choice or understanding, but the reality is the reality. There are substantial amounts of Africans with traditional religions. It has not made the difference for them, globally. Indians don’t have the dominance of so-called foreign religions that Africa has, but they are at the top in places that matter. African traditionalists are also everywhere in the world, the question is, what is stopping their ascent?

The example of Seun Kuti as a traditionalist with little to no intelligence or admirable coordination damages what the religion offers. He calls the names of African deities to cast spells, inspiring shame.

Whenever he insults people, rambles or acts out, it should be obvious that he’s deeply dim, insecure, starved for attention, possessed by control, wishing of power, repulsive and abandoned.

There are several Africans who identify with foreign religions like people are clothed in public, but keep in touch with traditional religions as much.

It is not a problem what religion it is, in this physical world where how it works is apparent and those that can offer something rise, atheist or not.

Seun Kuti, whose continuous assessments of Africa’s problems are colonizers, religion, oppressors, capitalism, is not just clueless but he is an embarrassment to literacy.

Someone that travels around the world has been unable to come up with anything new, not even musical instruments or a model of development that is practicable. He can stoke hate against the westerners even where he feels it is justified. Hate will never make Africa progress.

People that are serious about solving problems should at least learn to identify problems, find ways towards solutions, starting from where it is possible. Petroleum maybe heavily corrupt, but why can’t these people find something else, agriculture, education, environment or others to supercharge ideas, to show examples of what can be done.

Taiwan has semiconductors, thanks to the efforts of one of theirs, decades ago, when it was not a global big deal. There are several people who took things on, as they could, not talking, trying hard, for the good of their people. Some say their effort is political party and saying the answer must be government.

Africa has ideas problem, talent problem and character problem. What part does some delusional political party solve?

It is possible to argue that Africa has had some so-so leaders at some levels of governments in recent years across countries. Those leaders, assuming there were paths that seemed realistic for some sectors, they may have tried.

Africa has a vacuum. Many are not trying to plug it, only to change the doors.

PerhapsSeunKuti is a barely talented artist, but how indispensable is whatever he has to offer the world is? What is the survival or advancement value of his talent to Africa or to the world?

He keeps prodding regular people to revolt. Revolt into what? A Mugabe-styled nothingness or a Mobutu hellscape? Mobutu promoted African religions. He defenestrated foreigners. Zaire became decedent. Mugabe’s economic answer was arbitrary like Seun Kutis’,Zimbabwe died.

Sankara tried, but ingredients of development are cold hard, knowledge-backed policies. He made attempts, but could not use the flanks beyond himself and his time that would have scaled and escaped pointed capture by saboteurs. His enemies, almost as he should have expected, chopped off the head.

Pol Pot had his murderous revolution, which some Africans may be envisioning. Yet, many countries in Africa are better than Cambodia. Pinochet was horrible, yet Chile surpassed Uganda.

Soviets drove their ideology with deaths. The progress they made in technology and machinery were by talents, not just communism. The Chinese too had their cultural revolution, but the wing was talent. Their labor policy led them to process knowledge.

Africans are not driven for development. The little progress Africa makes, with projects, gets abused. There are no ideas. The talents for progress are not there.

What is Seun Kuti doing about it, verbose deception? He would use stupid examples to make foolish points. He has some exposure. Assuming he has said anything robust, from which something great could be constructed, some people may have sought partnership with his team.

Germany, though they had a phase of evil, was a country of towering talents that drove them to progress. There are countries in the world that have never been as talented as Germany but they at least have the character to ensure that whatever progress they made, they never went back, or damaged it. That is not the case in Africa.

How does Africa grow talents, ideas or even have characters like fairness, sincerity, selflessness, honor, etc.

If Seun Kuti can make any difference to advance Africa, he should prove himself. That day may never arrive.