Celebrating unbreakable Castro at 90

Ex-Cuban Leader and a revolutionary, Fidel Castro turned 90 on Saturday, August 13, 2016. The life of Castro had been a life of struggle against imperialism which determined the relationship between the North and the South in his youthful days. As a law student in Havana University in Cuba, he joined revolutionary movement and was […]

Ex-Cuban Leader and a revolutionary, Fidel Castro turned 90 on Saturday, August 13, 2016. The life of Castro had been a life of struggle against imperialism which determined the relationship between the North and the South in his youthful days. As a law student in Havana University in Cuba, he joined revolutionary movement and was jailed in 1953 for attacking a military post. After his release from prison, he went to the US and came back to Cuba in 1956 to organize a successful revolution which overthrew President Baptista in 1959. He thereafter became president of Cuba and spent forty nine years in power before old age forced him to relinquish power to his blood brother and a co revolutionary, Raul Castro, who is in power till date.
As the president, Castro jettisoned capitalist economy of his predecessor and restructured Cuban economy along socialist line. His reform centered on central planning on economy, healthcare and education. His anti western policies drew the Ire of the West, particularly the United States against his government. This led to economic blockade by the US, instigation of counter revolution against his regime and there was report of alleged assassination plots against him. Consequent upon the economic blockade, he entered into friendly relation with the defunct USSR and even allowed Moscow to install her nuclear armed missile in Cuba, just go miles to US. This exasperates the cold war and nearly led to the third world war until the missile system was dismantled. He was later to support anti colonialist movements in the Caribbean and especially, Africa. He sent Cuban mercenaries to aid Angola, Namibia and South Africa in their war of independence. He was also a brain behind the Non Align movement- comprising mainly of the nations which neither belonged to neither of the two ideological groupings that the World was divided during the cold war. Remarkably, he led he movement as President from 1979 to 1983.
It was an act of God that Castro survived the plots by the US to get rid of him. Even when USSR collapsed in the late 80s, Cuba weathered the storm. Contributory factors to Castro’s success are tenacity of purpose, uncommon courage and selfless leadership and most importantly, he did not betray the confidence reposed on him by the hapless Cubans. These are factors or virtues lacking in many African and indeed Third World Leaders which have deepened our underdevelopment and dependency on the capitalist west.
We should bear in mind that the mainstay of Cuban economy when Castro came to power was sugarcane. With proper planning and focused leadership, Cuba under Castro became the largest producer of sugarcane in the world, through which she earned foreign exchange with which Cuban economy was transformed to the level it is today. Castro would be remembered for leading Cuba from a 3rd world and appendage of the US to a nation self sufficient in her needs, with highest level of literacy in the world, and exporter of medical doctors. It is therefore heartwarming that President Obama had seen the futility of continuing economic embargo on Cuba and after about half a century lifted economic blockade and renewing friendly ties with Havana. No wonder, in spite of his opprobrium against US and President Obama, in the speech to mark his birthday, Obama has led other world leaders to congratulate the nonagenarian revolutionary at 90. Castro is a leader that African leaders including Nigeria’s should understudy and emulate if we want to get out of the wood.

Adewuyi Adegbite, [email protected]