Guinea-Bissau has trained more specialists in 50 years than in 500 years of colonialism.

Guinean lawyer and politician Ernesto Dabo told Lusa that the country has produced more personnel in 50 years of independence than in 500 years of Portuguese colonial presence, which he considers a “great achievement” in what is now Guinea-Bissau.

Looking toward 50 years since Guinea-Bissau unilaterally declared its independence from colonial Portugal, Ernesto Dabo, the country’s former ruler suspended from politics this Saturday, pointed to falling illiteracy rates as “proof of the progress being made.” .

Considered one of the pioneers of modern Guinean music, Dabo observed that with the independence of Guinea-Bissau, the rate of illiteracy left behind by the colonists among the 99% of the indigenous population had dropped to around 40% today.

“This is a victory achieved in 50 years, while in 500 we have not gained more than 1%,” emphasized the man who, at the age of 74, is considered one of the “senators of the republic” of Guinea-Bissau.

Progress, he continued, is being felt in all areas of the new country to such an extent that today there is not a single sector that does not have top leadership in the country, not counting those who chose to emigrate or stay in the countries where they went to study, he said He.

“Incredible cases happen. For example, in Portugal, if a few Guinea-Bissau-born doctors trained after independence left immediately, I was under the impression that there would be a collapse of the system. [Nacional de Saúde de Portugal]”, he noted.

The lawyer admitted that Guinea-Bissau “could be better”, but taking into account the “starting point”, there will always be some delays to be understood, namely the lack of a culture of political leadership.

Ernesto Dabo observed that during the colonial period it was rare to find a Guinean leader in government, and that the territory began to rely on indigenous Guinea-Bissau cadres only after the armed struggle to liberate the territory from colonial rule.

Dabo emphasized that even in this process, which he calls “an instantaneous and extremely high leap,” several leaders came to govern the new state without any preparation for the positions they began to occupy.

“One person becomes a minister without ever heading a department, another becomes the president of the republic without ever holding the post of minister anywhere, therefore, this is another “flaw”,” he said.

After the unilateral proclamation of the new state on September 24, 1973 and the de facto recognition by Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau, even despite the technical unpreparedness of its leaders, had in its government people with ethical and moral qualities, said Ernesto Dabo. .

The problem the country faces today dates back to the 1990s, when, according to the lawyer, the West began to condition support for development on the acceptance of its democratic model, without taking into account the cultural identity of Guineans.

Ernesto Dabo is of the opinion that Guineans cannot govern their country well due to low levels of political literacy, an economy that is not structured in a modern way, and the way in which the transition of government was handled from colonial times to the new state.

“The transition from colony to modern state involves a reformulated, renewed and sustainable formation for the project of an independent nation, a society that wants to resume control of its destiny according to its cultural parameters,” he concluded.

The date of the unilateral declaration of independence of Portugal is September 24, marked at the time by a ceremony organized in Boe by the National People’s Assembly and criticized by Guinean President Humaro Sissoko Embalo, who considered it a “manifestation of the party.” Official celebrations were scheduled for November 16, Armed Forces Day.

Leaders invited to the official ceremonies include Portuguese President and Prime Minister Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and António Costa, but the official program has not yet been published.