IS OUR LACK OF INTELLIGENCE KEEPING US BACKWARD?

James Watson is a Nobel Prize winner who helped unravel the mystery of DNA and now runs an American research institute. He recently stated that he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really". He said there was a natural desire that all human beings should be equal but "people who have to deal with black employees find this not true".

Watson has now retracted his statement and even apologized for suggesting that Africans are inferior. His research institute, The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, has put him on suspension with the possibility of further action.
I am stupefied that in this day and age we are still having discussions about the science behind the intelligence of 'black folks'. No, not really. People have been making such arguments for decades and will not stop anytime soon.

I do not support Watson's sentiments, but I want to pose a question here. Have we, the Black race, allowed for such insults to be hurled our way? Many African countries lack the semblance of normality. Zimbabweans are hungry and suffering, Nigerians are living in filth and poverty, the people of Darfur are fighting to survive under violent conditions, children around the continent are being forced to become soldiers. There is very little positive news coming out of the continent. Yes, I know there are people doing positive things, but our governments hamper their efforts at every turn, their peers sabotage their dreams, and those that should act as role models, have no vision.

I am not trying to justify Watson's statements. I am too proud of my ancestry and origins to ever subjugate my pride and strength to the opinions of any bigot and racist, no matter how many Nobel Prizes he/she has been awarded. I only want to suggest that Africans, in fact all black peoples, take this as an additional wake up call. WE HAVE TO GET OUR ACT TOGETHER!!! We cannot afford to sit back and not take a stance on the future of our various nations. Inaction on our part will strangle the breath out of any possible legacy we could leave for our children. Many Nigerians already hang their heads in shame whenever our country is mentioned in the Western media because the news is never good. Some Nigerians will not even go where other Nigerians are congregated due to a lack of trust and faith in our fellow country-people.

BLACK PEOPLE GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER. Nobody is going to fix Africa's problems if you do not have an opinion on the future of your homeland. Yes, I am talking to you. If you do not have a vision for your country's future, and if you do not find ways to apply that vision, even in the smallest way, well, there will be no Nigeria, no Cote D'Ivoire, no Kenya, no Malawi, no Tanzania, no Egypt, no Chad to someday show your children. There will remain nothing of your ancestors to leave for future generations. By then, our failures as individuals would have confirmed Watson and other's beliefs that as a race our lack of intelligence kept us backward and resulted in our demise!


You can read Jeremy's take on this at Naija Blog.