African Guyanese youths are being told to ignore government or ruling party organised or supported musical concerts in the run-up to the 2011 general and regional elections and instead concentrate on political action.
The call comes from the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) in its latest public meeting held at the weekend at Golden Grove Village, East Coast Demerara.
Addressing the meeting, ACDA executive member, Tacuma Ogunseye alleged that outgoing President, Bharrat Jagdeo and Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) presidential candidate, Donald Ramotar are planning to “buy out the African vote” through economic dependency and musical artistes.
Ogunseye urged the small gathering at the junction of Golden Grove Public and Main Roads not to allow themselves to be fall prey to their weaknesses of music and dance.
“Our young people have been cultured over the last nineteen years to be more concerned with the bubble-sessions, to be more concerned with the foreign artistes coming on the land than in engaging in a political struggle to free themselves and to create a new reality for themselves,” he reasoned.
The government has been granting tax-waivers in recent months to make it easier for certain local entertainment companies to bring popular Caribbean musical artistes, several of them based in the United States.
“They are planning to bring in artistes from many parts of the Caribbean to play on the weakness of Africans- we like to dance, we like to sing- and they are they are using music and the big bubble shows as way to depoliticize particularly the African youth,” argued Ogunseye, who is also an executive member of the Working Peoples Alliance (WPA).
He also called on African Guyanese to prepare themselves for a two-pronged approach to the next general election-- turn out in their numbers to vote for the opposition coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and engage in a rebellion for a constitutional struggle if the coalition loses at the polls.
“We have to go there and cast all our votes but if at the end of the day, we fall short, we have to move to stage two and stage two must be a massive rebellion of African people throughout the length and breadth of this country,” he said.
He said there would be a role for those who have not registered and would be unable to vote to join those who cast ballots to “join in a massive thrust to build a new Guyana.”
Ogunseye assured that, in keeping with a non-domination pact, Africans would not dominate East Indians and Amerindians but at the same time they do not want to be dominated.
“A people who have suffered centuries of domination as we suffer, we cannot support a philosophy that supports domination under no score and in the same breath, we are not prepared to be dominated by no one,” he said.
He told the predominantly African Guyanese village that they needed to extend a hand of friendship to East Indians and Amerindians in having them join in a patriotic campaign to introduce a new form of governance.
While unsure of cross-racial unity, he said the struggle must be for a militant, progressive and fair system in managing the country rather than what he termed a new form of economic slavery by the PPP.
The ACDA official expressed confidence that the PPP could not defy a united African people like police, soldiers, public servant, housewives, farmers, unemployed persons, registered and un-registered.
The call comes from the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) in its latest public meeting held at the weekend at Golden Grove Village, East Coast Demerara.
Addressing the meeting, ACDA executive member, Tacuma Ogunseye alleged that outgoing President, Bharrat Jagdeo and Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) presidential candidate, Donald Ramotar are planning to “buy out the African vote” through economic dependency and musical artistes.
Ogunseye urged the small gathering at the junction of Golden Grove Public and Main Roads not to allow themselves to be fall prey to their weaknesses of music and dance.
“Our young people have been cultured over the last nineteen years to be more concerned with the bubble-sessions, to be more concerned with the foreign artistes coming on the land than in engaging in a political struggle to free themselves and to create a new reality for themselves,” he reasoned.
The government has been granting tax-waivers in recent months to make it easier for certain local entertainment companies to bring popular Caribbean musical artistes, several of them based in the United States.
“They are planning to bring in artistes from many parts of the Caribbean to play on the weakness of Africans- we like to dance, we like to sing- and they are they are using music and the big bubble shows as way to depoliticize particularly the African youth,” argued Ogunseye, who is also an executive member of the Working Peoples Alliance (WPA).
He also called on African Guyanese to prepare themselves for a two-pronged approach to the next general election-- turn out in their numbers to vote for the opposition coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and engage in a rebellion for a constitutional struggle if the coalition loses at the polls.
“We have to go there and cast all our votes but if at the end of the day, we fall short, we have to move to stage two and stage two must be a massive rebellion of African people throughout the length and breadth of this country,” he said.
He said there would be a role for those who have not registered and would be unable to vote to join those who cast ballots to “join in a massive thrust to build a new Guyana.”
Ogunseye assured that, in keeping with a non-domination pact, Africans would not dominate East Indians and Amerindians but at the same time they do not want to be dominated.
“A people who have suffered centuries of domination as we suffer, we cannot support a philosophy that supports domination under no score and in the same breath, we are not prepared to be dominated by no one,” he said.
He told the predominantly African Guyanese village that they needed to extend a hand of friendship to East Indians and Amerindians in having them join in a patriotic campaign to introduce a new form of governance.
While unsure of cross-racial unity, he said the struggle must be for a militant, progressive and fair system in managing the country rather than what he termed a new form of economic slavery by the PPP.
The ACDA official expressed confidence that the PPP could not defy a united African people like police, soldiers, public servant, housewives, farmers, unemployed persons, registered and un-registered.