INTERVIEW

As a victim of political violence, Emmanuel Cisco was invited on the Next Generation TV Show to share some of his thoughts and experiences about the critical issue of Political Violence in Africa to preserve the next generation of Ghanaians from being ‘volunteered victims’ of the disease of violence. Since the message can benefit all Africans everywhere, we’ve decided to share it with you here.

The HOST:  Can you give us an overview of the concept of Political Violence?

EMMANUEL CISCO:  Well, in my opinion, Political violence is basically a situation that arises as a result of a conflict between the felt needs of citizens of a country and the real greed of their politicians… Most people, especially in Africa, always put all their trust in politicians for their survival and success in life; and that can be extremely dangerous. See, if you put all your trust in politicians for your survival and success, you will always be frustrated in life because chances are most politicians, especially in Africa, are only thinking about the next election, not about the next generation. 

As a victim of political violence, let me give you a classic example. Few years ago, in my country, when some politicians felt they could not win the next election through the means of the BALLOTS, they decided to destroy the next generation of Liberians with their BULLETS.

THE HOST:  So how did the civil war affect you personally?

EMMANUEL CISCO:  Hmmm… The war actually stole so much from me, including my childhood. In fact, the first picture of the world that was introduced to me as a child was a picture of absolute violence and anarchy. While some parents in other parts of the world were helping their children to get through basic school peacefully, somewhere in Liberia in the early 90’s, my mother was helping me to jump over dead bodies and dodge bullets so that I could at least stay alive. So, I spent my entire childhood running away from bombs and bullets in a country that cared less about my future. I lost many of my relatives during the war, including my father. I narrowly escaped and found my way to Ghana alone when the civil conflicts were still aborting lives and threatening dreams… That is how dangerous the struggle for political power can be!

THE HOST: So sad! So sorry about that terrible experience…And the painful lesson here for all of us now is…

EMMANUEL CISCO :  Part of the painful lessons for all of us alive today is: when those greedy politicians decided to replace the Liberian children’s toy guns with real AK47’s and RPGs, they refused to tell them the truth… They never told those ignorant and innocent kids that the future they desired and deserved could never be created through violence. The truth is: the kind of future we desire can only be created through Personal Development.

THE HOST: What do you consider as the key factor responsible for youths being engaged in political violence? Can we say it’s because of the high rate of unemployment?

EMMANUEL CISCO :  Yea, high unemployment is an important factor but it definitely cannot be the main cause of political violence. The main cause of political violence is the fact that young people don’t really know their YOUTH POWER.  And this is one reason why Africa as the youngest continent (with more than 60% of its population being below the age of 35) will continue to be ruled by old people above 60 years. The typical African youth don’t care to know that young people are the largest and most influential group in any society. They don’t even know that no president can ever get elected without the youth; no political violence can ever happen without the involvement of the youth. They don’t seem to care about the fact that young people are actually the movers and shakers of any society and that’s why virtually every activity of any nature in any country is either directly at the influence of or targeted to influence the youth in one way or the other. This is the power we have as youth and this is the power we’re taking for granted. 

The fact that the proportion of youth in Africa is significantly higher than in most developed western countries should even make any serious African government to make the Youth its priority. Imagine if this significantly teeming African youth are well-educated, protected and empowered in various capacities, what would happen to the world economy! But how can you be made a priority when you don’t even know your own value? So the problem is not that our governments are not providing us with jobs, the real problem is that we *have failed to recognize our own value (power) in our society*; and that’s why some greedy politicians will just choose to use us to cause chaos (violence) rather than using us to create opportunities (value).

The HOST:  You’ve already said a lot…What other advices do you have for the youth watching you today?

EMMANUEL CISCO :  Alright… I have thousands of advices for young people and most of them can be found in my books. But for today, based on our subject of discussion, I wanna share three (3) pieces of advice with every young person watching me right now: 

1. Don’t ever choose to be a “volunteered victim” of political violence in your country. Listen. If politicians cannot use you to create VALUE to benefit your society; don’t let them abuse you to create VIOLENCE that will affect the next generation. 
2. Be strong and courageous to defend your future.  Remember, “your future is not ahead of you; your real future is actually trapped on the inside of you”, as Dr. Myles Munroe would say. And the main reason I’m asking you to be strong is because more harm is done by weak people than by wicked people. Most of the problems we face today in our society are caused by the weakness of our good than the strength of evil. The truth is, more harm could be done in your country by weak citizens than by wicked politicians.
3. Don’t CRY for a better economy, TRY to create a better version of yourself.  See, if you allow the RATE of inflation in your country to exceed the RATE of your Personal Development, you will always be frustrated in life.  Never depend absolutely on your country’s natural resources, learn to develop your own natural talents and abilities to live your dream.