Mugabe voted third-greatest African of all time

London, United Kingdom

25 August 2004 17:24

Zimbabwe's controversial President Robert Mugabe was voted the third-greatest African of all time, topped only by South Africa's Nelson Mandela and former Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah, in a survey for New African magazine, it was announced on Wednesday.

Mugabe, widely criticised outside Zimbabwe for stifling dissent and crippling the economy of his once-prosperous Southern African nation, is an "interesting" choice because "a high-profile campaign in the media has painted him in [a] bad light", the New African wrote.

The London-based magazine said responses flooded in after the survey was launched last December to nominate the top 100 most influential Africans or people of African descent.

Heroes of independence movements in Africa and African-American figures in the United States figure prominently on the list.

Patrice Lumumba, Congo's first post-colonial prime minister, ranks sixth, followed by US civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

Pele, the legendary Brazilian soccer star, comes in 17th, followed by Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley, numbering among those called "Diasporans" by New African.

Radical civil rights leader Malcolm X, at ninth, is a rank above United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, from Ghana, who comes just ahead of US boxer Muhammad Ali.

Few women made the cut. The highest-ranked female, at 12th, is Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, former wife of the South African president. Others include the dynamic duo of tennis, American sisters Venus and Serena Williams (together ranked 73rd), and ancient Egyptian queen Nefertiti at number 81.

The magazine noted that most of the top 100 are from Africa's post-colonial period.

"Have people forgotten Africa's history? Must this worry us, as a people?" it asked.

The list appears in the August-September issue of New African, which has a circulation of roughly 30 000 across dozens of countries. It said this is the first such survey it has carried out in a decade. -- Sapa-AFP

To be rather cynical, it seems that often greatness is measured in Africa terms by the number of people killed under one's regime, I wonder why Idi Amin did not make the top three !!!

Regards, Peter

Isnt that the same guy who won his countries lottery 7 times???

As in the "Great" as per the great *#^* up he has made of Zimbabwe. I guess that is why most of Africa is destitute because of their idea of "greatness".

I guess in the back of their minds is the knowledge they can always trot of with begging bowls in hand to America,Europe, Australia, the IMF etc and appeal for help from the bleeding hearts.

I would have selected Idi Amin or Mommar Khadaffi.

Not just every two bit sociopath can turn the "jewel of Africa" into the dark side of the moon in two short decades.
JCN

Unbelieveable, it just goes to show the power of propaganda and what lies you can get away with when you suppress freedom of speech and the independance of the media.

In contrast, I recently saw a book entitled "The 100 worst tyrants in History" (or words to that effect). There were all the usual candidates; Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, etc, but there was also a chapter for Robert Gabriel Mugabe. I wish I could airdrop a couple of thousand copies of that book into every corner of Africa. It makes me angry that that bastard can get away with mass murder and oppresion, on a scale not unlike Saddam Hussein. And, at the same time, turn a fabulous country (and my favourite place on the whole planet) into a basket case.

When is the free world going to do something about him? If you like, I'll volunteer to take the shot if someone can just get me the hell out of Dodge after the deed!

BwanaBob

You along with 250 000 ex Rhodesians!!!

it sounds like this was just a popularity contest. He probably found a way to stuff the ballot box for this "contest"

I think it is more indicative of the mentality of the voters. It is also why every southern African country is destined to resort to the social structure of tribal warfare.

And there is no room for wildlife sanctuaries, taking the high road, intellectual decisions, or an semblence of "English" law. Hope springs eternal, but show me the proof that any such country has done anything but run toward ruination.

And it is not only confined to southern Africa.

My vote goes to Hannibal.

George

Certainly not politically correct to say the following, but indeed I'm surprised no one else has--Did you all not notice that all the "people" listed are colored, the voters were almost totally colored, and the magazine is a left wing African colored magazine, meaning?????? Meaning squawt!

George, As admirable, perhaps, as Hannibal was, he was the son of Hamilcar (Barca/Barcas) "The Phoenician", of a semitic people on the eastern shores of the Mediteranean, situated in the area of modern day Lebanon. Carthage was initially a colony of the sea-faring Phoenicians. Hannibal has been popularized as an "African" in many of the Afro-American revisionary history books but in fact he was not.

Hannibal was as much an African as any modern day Zimbabwean, Namibian, South African, etc., of European descent. But, of course, I am being argumentative.

Put more succinctly, when it comes right down to it, the Leakeys and others have amply proved we are all Africans.

That would put Bobby Lootgobbler at about 65,000,000,000th on the list of great Africans (going back a few generations, of course).

Not within the parameters of the survey, which quite obviously solicits the offering of a black candidate. But, yes, you're right ... you are being intentionally argumentative.

Mt vote goes to Ian Smith who obviously didn't rate too well.

Being argumentative can be a good thing--but only when it's done intentionally.

If it weren't for we argumentative types, no one would challenge any rules, including the ridiculous rules of this survey, not to mention its even more ridiculous results.

All "real" Africans are black-skinned people who "come from" Africa, whatever that means? Where is that carved in stone? Who accepts a rule just because someone claims it's a rule? What does it mean to be "from" somewhere?

More to the point, don't tell a fifth, sixth, seventh, etc., generation white South African or Namibian farmer or rancher that he's not a "real" African, unless you want a little intentional argument for your trouble.

But we also shouldn't forget that stupid and unjust rules--i.e., the institutionalized legal system of apartheid--were responsible for bringing Mugabe to power in the first place.

The irony is that Robber Bob has played the "freedom fighter" role to the point where he's now a bigger oppressor than anyone he replaced, and he's able to get away with it Scot-free.

Because of his "savior" status, he can blame every one of Zimbabwe's self-inflicted problems on the "white man"--whoever he is--with complete and utter impunity. His countrymen, who were victims of white oppression for decades, all too readily believe his lies--and now he's become the third greatest African of all time.

Ahead of Ramses the Great, Shaka Zulu, Cecil Rhodes, and, yes, even Hannibal. What a myopic and asinine joke.

The whole idea of conducting a survey to pronounce the "greatest" anything is grounded on excluding those who aren't "qualified"--which generally means anyone the surveyor doesn't like.

All granted, of course. I think it telling that "New African" itself noted that most of the top 100 are from Africa's post-colonial period and to its' credit, goes on to pose the question:

"Have people forgotten Africa's history? Must this worry us, as a people?"

Despite a 35 year glut of revisionist African &/or Afro-American history, participants in the survey failed to offer up a particular Nubian Pharaoh, Kushite King or Queen or some early member of Sudanic royalty? They should be worried.

Ian Smith

What does RLI stand for? Rhodesian Light Inf ?

There should be a new Shaka that rises up from South Africa to 'stabilize' or 'liberate' south africans at the same scale the original Shaka did. There will definitively be more space for the elephants.

What's pissing me off is that it's a lost cause