"They Killed the Man, But They Could Not Kill the Dream” By PRINCEWILL ODIDI

They Killed the Man, But They Could Not Kill the Dream”

My brothers and sisters, history has given us lessons written in the blood of our heroes.

Let us start with Patrice Lumumba a son of the soil, a voice for the voiceless , he stood against the chains of colonialism. He spoke for Congo. He spoke for Africa. Yet, the same hands he fought to free became the hands that bound him. Betrayed, beaten, humiliated, and finally killed, his body was destroyed, but his spirit still marches across the African conscience.

Next is Kwame Nkrumah, the visionary who saw a United Africa when others saw only tribes and borders, built Ghana not only for Ghanaians, but for all Africans. He spoke of one currency, one army, one destiny. But while he was abroad on a mission of peace, his own people tore down his government. They celebrated his fall, but they could not bury his dream. His voice still whispers through time: “Africa must unite.”

Thomas Sankara , the Upright Man of Burkina Faso , he planted trees in the desert, fed the hungry, built schools, and freed his people from the chains of debt. He stood as a living example that African dignity was possible without begging from the West. Yet, he was betrayed by his closest friend and gunned down. His killers silenced his voice, but his words still ignite the hearts of Africa’s youth: “While revolutionaries can be killed, you cannot kill ideas.”

Remember Steve Biko , the Conscience of a Nation, he taught black people in apartheid South Africa that liberation begins in the mind. He told them that black was beautiful, that they were not inferior, that they had the right to stand tall. For this, the regime feared him. They beat him until his body could hold no life. But his mind lives on, still warning us: “The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.”

And so, I say to you , if you choose to walk the road of a cause, never betray that cause. Do not dilute it for comfort, do not compromise it for power, do not sell it for applause from your oppressors. For when you betray the cause, you betray the future.

They can kill the man, but they cannot kill the idea. They can silence the tongue, but they cannot silence the truth. They can break the body, but they cannot break the destiny of a people who refuse to forget.

Stand, therefore, like Lumumba stood. Dream, therefore, like Nkrumah dreamed. Serve, therefore, like Sankara served. Resist, therefore, like Biko resisted. Fight, therefore, like Machel fought. And if the day comes when they strike you down, let it be said of you: “They killed the flesh, but the cause lived on.”

 Back home we can compare Patrice Lumumba to our own Murtala Muhammed. 

Like Lumumba, Murtala Muhammed came to power with a bold vision and a fearless stance against corruption and external manipulation. In just over six months as Head of State (1975–1976), he pursued radical reforms, cut government waste, and took a strong Pan-African stance, especially in supporting Angola’s liberation. His assassination in 1976 mirrored Lumumba’s fate , killed while still in service, with his reform agenda unfinished.

Kwame Nkrumah can be compared to our own Nnamdi Azikiwe (Zik)

Zik, Nigeria’s first president, like Nkrumah, was a Pan-Africanist who used his influence not only to advocate for Nigerian independence but also for African unity. He believed in political cooperation among African states and often aligned with Nkrumah’s vision for a continental voice. While he wasn’t overthrown like Nkrumah, the political system sidelined him, and his dream of a united African front was never fully realized.

Thomas Sankara can be compared to our own Gani Fawehinmi. 

Fawehinmi, the fearless lawyer and activist, mirrored Sankara’s uprightness and commitment to justice for ordinary people. He rejected personal enrichment, defended the oppressed in court, and refused to bow to the political elite. Though not a head of state, his moral courage and refusal to compromise were Sankara-like in spirit.

Steve Biko can be compared to our own Ken Saro Wiwa. 

Ken Saro-Wiwa, the writer and environmental activist, fought for the rights of the Ogoni people against environmental destruction by oil companies and the Nigerian government. Like Biko, his weapon was truth and the empowerment of marginalized people. The state arrested him, tried him in a military tribunal, and hanged him in 1995, but his cause lives on in global environmental justice movements.

The history of Africa's struggles will not be complete without mentioning Nelson Mandela, Obafemi Awolowo, Julius Nyerere, Jomo Kenyatta and many more. 

These men believed in a cause fought for it and never wavered. 

The labor of our heroes past shall never be in vain. Africa shall rise again. 

Good morning Africa!

~Princewill Odidi