"Oh, Gaddafi! Mixed feelings! Misty eyes!!!!"
That was my immediate reaction, on my Facebook wall, to the news of Col. Muammar Gaddafi's capture
before I learnt some minutes later that he might have been killed. Of course, not too long, he was confirmed dead.
Trust the global news media, especially the Western lots which have visceral revulsion for the man they have variously described as a dictator, a narcissistic totalitarian and a megalomaniac! As expected, they all went into a frenzy of some sort, treating us to the disturbing video of Muammar Gaddafi's bloodied, mangled body being dragged on the street of Sirte, his home town, and a scene of frenetic jubilation of NTC (National transition Council) soldiers and excited Libyans who were happy about their new found freedom.
Since I know that human memory could be treacherous even verging on mutiny a lot of times, I write this piece to jog the memories of all my friends ( who have been at the mercy of Western media, which daily force-feed them with falsehood, half-truths and propaganda) about the positive side of Col Muammar Gaddafi who has been portrayed as a heavy-handed eccentric leader. For the good of the world, I think a bigger slice of humanity should know that Gaddafi was just not all about brutality and draconian rule and Libya under him was not a living hell and high water as the West and its prudish media frantically want us to believe. Let me state upfront, that I detest human right abuses in whatever form or shape and I condemn in strong terms, barbaric and extra judicial killings of fellow citizens (under any guise) of which Gaddafi was accused and summarily executed. And then, for good measure, I hate it when somebody under the guise of being a leader seeks to control every neuron in their people's heads and every aspect of their lives. That said, let me go straight to other side of Gaddafi that are not making headlines at the moment and that might never make any headline in any tabloid in the future given the deep-seated hatred the West and its allies have for Gaddafi (he didn't open up his country for another rounds of colonisation!!). Just a Google of "the positive side of Gaddafi" and you would be thunderstruck to discover that:
1. There is no electricity bill in Libya; electricity is free for all
its citizens.
2. There is no interest on loans, banks in Libya are state-owned
and loans are given
to all its citizens at 0% interest by law.
3. Home considered a human right in Libya – Gaddafi vowed
that his parents would not get a house until everyone in Libya
had a home. Gaddafi’s father has died while him, his wife and
his mother are still living in a tent.
4. All newlyweds in Libya receive $60,000 Dinar (US$ 50,000 )
by the government to buy their first apartment so to help
start up the family.
5. Education and medical treatments are free in Libya. Before
Gaddafi only 25% of Libyans are literate. Today the figure is
83%.
6. Should Libyans want to take up farming career, they would
receive farming land, a farming house, equipments, seeds and Livestock to kick- start their farms – all for free.
7. If Libyans cannot find the education or medical facilities
they need in Libya, the government funds them to go abroad
for it – onnot only free but they get US $2, 300/month
accommodation and car allowance.
8. In Libyan, if a Libyan buys a car, the government subsidized
50% of the price.
9. The price of petrol in Libya is $0. 14 per liter.
10. Libya has no external debt and its reserves amount to $150
billion – now frozen globally.
11. If a Libyan is unable to get employment after graduation the
state would pay the average salary of the profession as if he
or she is employed until employment is found.
12. A portion of Libyan oil sale is, credited directly to the bank
accounts of all Libyan citizens.
13. A mother who gave birth to a child receive US $5 ,000
14. 40 loaves of bread in Libya costs $ 0.15
15. 25% of Libyans have a university degree
16. Gaddafi carried out the world’s largest irrigation project,
known as the Great Man-Made River project, to make water
readily available throughout the desert country.
Furthermore, Gaddafi contributed greatly to the liberation movements in Sub-Saharan Africa when the West would not be bothered. If according to Mo Ibrahim "governance is a basket of political goods that governments are responsible for delivering to their citizens", why do we vilify and try to make a villain out of Gaddafi who had delivered political goods to his citizens, why do we sprint to conclusion when we know little or nothing about him, except what we are being daily fed with by the Media?
But what I still find hardest to understand is why subjecting the man (Gaddafi) and his son to jungle justice after they were captured live in the joint operation of NATO and NTC forces. According to a respected Lagos lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, "they should have been handed over to the special prosecutor of the International Criminal Court who had declared them wanted for crimes against humanity. By killing them in a barbaric extra-judicial manner the NATO and NTC violated the Geneva constitution and other relevant human rights instruments in the treatment of war prisoners". Falana went on to say "The shameful endorsement of the brutal killing of Gaddafi by heads of Western government is capable of promoting reckless assassination of political opponents".
No doubt, Gaddafi ruffled a lot of feathers while he was alive and held the reign of power: he called for Jihad (or arm struggle) against Switzerland; he blamed J.F.K assassination on Israel, he once asked Nigeria to divide along religious lines and many more. But, despite his bare-knuckle confrontation with his perceived enemies ( most times the West), his rough-and-tumble style of government, his oddball notions and banal assertions on global issues, Gaddafi, still remain one of the best leaders Africa has ever produced in its checkered history. Therefore, any attempt, by the Western Media to railroad or bait us into a rash verbal attack of Gaddafi and his 42 years rule should be resisted by all, for the man was not as evil as they have maliciously painted him.
ADEDAYO GABRIEL FATOKI
That was my immediate reaction, on my Facebook wall, to the news of Col. Muammar Gaddafi's capture
before I learnt some minutes later that he might have been killed. Of course, not too long, he was confirmed dead.Trust the global news media, especially the Western lots which have visceral revulsion for the man they have variously described as a dictator, a narcissistic totalitarian and a megalomaniac! As expected, they all went into a frenzy of some sort, treating us to the disturbing video of Muammar Gaddafi's bloodied, mangled body being dragged on the street of Sirte, his home town, and a scene of frenetic jubilation of NTC (National transition Council) soldiers and excited Libyans who were happy about their new found freedom.
Since I know that human memory could be treacherous even verging on mutiny a lot of times, I write this piece to jog the memories of all my friends ( who have been at the mercy of Western media, which daily force-feed them with falsehood, half-truths and propaganda) about the positive side of Col Muammar Gaddafi who has been portrayed as a heavy-handed eccentric leader. For the good of the world, I think a bigger slice of humanity should know that Gaddafi was just not all about brutality and draconian rule and Libya under him was not a living hell and high water as the West and its prudish media frantically want us to believe. Let me state upfront, that I detest human right abuses in whatever form or shape and I condemn in strong terms, barbaric and extra judicial killings of fellow citizens (under any guise) of which Gaddafi was accused and summarily executed. And then, for good measure, I hate it when somebody under the guise of being a leader seeks to control every neuron in their people's heads and every aspect of their lives. That said, let me go straight to other side of Gaddafi that are not making headlines at the moment and that might never make any headline in any tabloid in the future given the deep-seated hatred the West and its allies have for Gaddafi (he didn't open up his country for another rounds of colonisation!!). Just a Google of "the positive side of Gaddafi" and you would be thunderstruck to discover that:1. There is no electricity bill in Libya; electricity is free for all
its citizens.
2. There is no interest on loans, banks in Libya are state-owned
and loans are given
to all its citizens at 0% interest by law.
3. Home considered a human right in Libya – Gaddafi vowed
that his parents would not get a house until everyone in Libya
had a home. Gaddafi’s father has died while him, his wife and
his mother are still living in a tent.
4. All newlyweds in Libya receive $60,000 Dinar (US$ 50,000 )
by the government to buy their first apartment so to help
start up the family.
5. Education and medical treatments are free in Libya. Before
Gaddafi only 25% of Libyans are literate. Today the figure is
83%.
6. Should Libyans want to take up farming career, they would
receive farming land, a farming house, equipments, seeds and Livestock to kick- start their farms – all for free.
7. If Libyans cannot find the education or medical facilities
they need in Libya, the government funds them to go abroad
for it – onnot only free but they get US $2, 300/month
accommodation and car allowance.
8. In Libyan, if a Libyan buys a car, the government subsidized
50% of the price.
9. The price of petrol in Libya is $0. 14 per liter.
10. Libya has no external debt and its reserves amount to $150
billion – now frozen globally.
11. If a Libyan is unable to get employment after graduation the
state would pay the average salary of the profession as if he
or she is employed until employment is found.
12. A portion of Libyan oil sale is, credited directly to the bank
accounts of all Libyan citizens.
13. A mother who gave birth to a child receive US $5 ,000
14. 40 loaves of bread in Libya costs $ 0.15
15. 25% of Libyans have a university degree
16. Gaddafi carried out the world’s largest irrigation project,
known as the Great Man-Made River project, to make water
readily available throughout the desert country.
But what I still find hardest to understand is why subjecting the man (Gaddafi) and his son to jungle justice after they were captured live in the joint operation of NATO and NTC forces. According to a respected Lagos lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, "they should have been handed over to the special prosecutor of the International Criminal Court who had declared them wanted for crimes against humanity. By killing them in a barbaric extra-judicial manner the NATO and NTC violated the Geneva constitution and other relevant human rights instruments in the treatment of war prisoners". Falana went on to say "The shameful endorsement of the brutal killing of Gaddafi by heads of Western government is capable of promoting reckless assassination of political opponents".
...there are always two sides of a coin!One must always lay on the other for us to have a view of the other side...in like manner, the benefits of Gaddafi's regime outweighs the detriments...Nevertheless, we must always strive to reduce the ills of leadership to the bearest minimum to say...nil!
ReplyDelete