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Surrounding us, political spirits and demons
Spitting false teachings and sermons
Trying to make us lose our sense of purpose
But it’s time that we rise high above conflicts that
divide you from I
Kwame Nkrumah’s dream must live, not die
Unity and love be our cry
Knii Lante
Knii Lante is one of those medics who has, to borrow a popular
refrain, lost his path!
Finally found by soothing music, he has clearly yielded to
his undisputed creative talent buoyed by conscious lyrics. Perhaps nowhere is his
musicianship better demonstrated than on his latest album themed “Love and
Revolution.” At best, the 16 track album is a vivid demonstration of eclectic
musical talent and at worst a denial of his true core competence; conscious
roots reggae.
His fifth track “Rocky Road” featuring the Osagyefo himself
bears ample testimony to the latter. Making no pretense at hiding his antipathy
for the root cause of Africa’s under development, the Osagyefo pulls no punches
as he opens the track with the question, “Who is the enemy?” And then as is if
to prove that this is no question with a rhetorical bend, answers, “ladies and
gentlemen, the enemy is imperialism!”
Knii Lante featuring Kwame Nkrumah!
With the Osagyefo’s speech serving as a gentle catalyst in
the background, Knii Lante goes to town as he explores the African solution.
Africans must move beyond the stereotype that seeks to restrict them to being
hewers of wood and drawers of water, beyond the crippling conflict ridden imagery,
and beyond the despair that the undue focus on its real challenges are wont to
engender. In its stead, we are called upon to welcome and be filled with a
renewed sense of hope, resilience, unity, love and a spiritual reawakening that
the much talked about African renaissance is within grasp.
Is it possible really for the African to be filled with hope
and resilience and “not to lose your confidence, though the road be so foggy?” I
believe it is. And in more ways than one, we all need to be shorn of the spirit
of lamentation about Africa’s woes. What Africa needs are not lamenters but
individual and collective acts of leadership to bring about positive change.
Too often, one meets too many people who appear far more skilled at identifying
what is not working in their communities, countries and the mother continent
than at focusing on the significant difference that their own leadership can
make within their spheres of influence.
Further, while a lot of us appear adept at pointing out the
encircling leadership malaise that plagues the continent, never do we consider
this a reflection of our own individual leadership malaise within our homes,
offices and communities. Now is the time to rally to Gandhi’s call to be the
change you want to see in the world. Be the change you want to see in Africa.
Be the change you want to see in your office. Be the change you want to see in
terms of integrity, efficiency and effectiveness. And this, even as we continue
to hold our national political leaders accountable. What it would take would
certainly be our collective resolve to synergize our individual acts of leadership
and then we can all have the Africa that we yearn for. By no means will folding
our arms only waiting for the next politician to falter before lamenting about leadership
failure in Africa be a solution. And neither will blaming the politician while
you yourself never meet your deadlines at work or at best always laying claim
to shoddy jobs, be a solution.
And this I believe is
where Knii Lante’s call for us to be solution- oriented and to work hard comes
in handy. In each of us doing something to strengthen our performance and
leadership, Africa’s leadership problem will be solved! Indeed if it has not
worked well from the top down, perhaps, it is time to ignite a grass roots
leadership revolution. In time, the grassroots would have become so discerning
that no one needs to tell the big man to lift his game!
Knii’s message
reflects profound spiritual ethos when he sings about “Princes shall come out
of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.” (Psalm
68:31KJV). And although this prophetic message is often taken to denote gentiles
coming to a true knowledge and worship of God, it has often also served as the
rallying cry for the spiritual underpinnings of Africa’s renaissance. In other
words, the prophecy on Africa’s rebirth is set; it is only time to secure it!
I spent a week in Boston last week deliberating on matters
pertaining to quality healthcare improvement. And as the conversation swung to
patient and family centered care and Ghana began to share impressive models in
Community-health planning services (CHPS), improving access to health care
through home visits and other innovations all backed by data showing impressive
reductions in under five mortality in some Catholic hospitals, it suddenly
dawned on everyone just how one sided the knowledge transfer appears to have
been. Indeed, as others contemplate innovative ways of reaching out to
underserved black communities in the United Sates, what has Africa got to share
from its own learning? And what opportunities do we miss by assuming the
begging bowl posture?
“Rocky Road” is the
track that best harmonizes and depicts Knii Lante’s creativity, consciousness
and spirituality which is why I think the sooner he rebranded himself as a
conscious roots reggae artist, the better for the genre. My reasons for this
proposition are not wholly altruistic however. Since we painfully lost Lucky
Dube and Culture’s Joseph Hill, true roots reggae musicians with global appeal
and an uplifting message that readily connects with the masses – the taxi
drivers, masons, doctors, freedom fighters – have been in short supply. And
though the order be tall, perhaps, Knii Lante could remedy it, free us and gift
the world with sweet conscious roots reggae music again!
And though the road feels so rocky
Children of Zion hold up your head,
Never lose your confidence
Though the road is so foggy
Africa is not afraid
Jah is with us
Every step of the way
PS: My gratitude to my good friend Ernest Ankomah for
securing me this album! God bless.