Congo:1968 rectification coup d’état

And since the 1968 coup d’état, led by Commandant Marien Ngouabi, northerners have taken their revenge over the southerners. But the northern revenge over southern Congolese is ephemeral. It last because northerners have guns and they are backed by France. In short northern domination of Congo is not solid one, because most northerners don’t go to school and those who go, don’t succeed or past   based on merit. They control power through corruption, the buying of loyalty and through the use of brutal force. The 1968 Coup d’état was not a counter revolutionary coup against the scientific Socialism or the excesses of the Bantu Communism of Alphonse Massamba-Debat as claimed by supporters of Marien Ngouabi.  The 1968 coup d’état was in reality, a “rectification coup d’état”. It was stage, more to correct or right, the “wrongs” of the dominations of southerners over the northerners, which began since the advent of colonialism and continued immediately after independence from France on the 15^th of August 1960.

This was how Alain Akouala told me, was the yardstick behind the 1968 coup d’état orchestrated by Marien Ngouabi, who is paradoxically, the most popular Congolese leaders.  Marien Ngouabi was an exceptional northerner. He was not arrogant. He had an ideal as opposed to the lustful ones now governing the country. The truth is that, southern Congolese are different culturally from northern Congolese. Southerners are more enterprising and enjoy going to school and as such are more westernized. Whereas, the northern Congolese is lazy, enjoys easy life and are mostly traditionalists and cherry picks Judeo-Christian values to practice. They are fickle. They are brutal and have an insatiable love for women, power and money. Hence, they are more pruned to corruption, than others.  The death of Marien Ngouabi in March 1977 and also those of Alphonse Massamba-Debat and Monsignor Emile Biayenda are the three unresolved deaths in the country.  I noted two fundamental paradoxes in Congo. The first is that, it was the northern Marien Ngouabi who seized power in 1968 for reasons abovementioned.

But Marien Ngouabi was killed by the same northerners who do not even care today to think about him. In other words, most northerners are an ungrateful lot, Denis Sassou Nguesso being a prime example. And the second major paradox with Congo is that, it was a Marxist country and Marxism was a system that encouraged egalitarian culture.  Strangely, it is hard to see women at the top echelon of anything. If they are, it is almost impossible to find those lucky ones, who can speak and be capable to defend independently her responsibility. The reason is simple, most Congolese women, can’t succeed without tracing her success to have slept with a man or was propelled to a position because of family or tribal ties or affinity. But, the good thing is that, there some hardworking, independent and modern Congolese women. They are few and mostly trained out of the country or may have stayed with foreigners.  And it was refreshing for me to have met the few independent, modern, hardworking and intelligent Congolese women and I am profiling them in this book.