"What If Lumumba?"

“What If Lumumba?”
Lumumba would have been good president, a president for the people. Remember it was Lumumba who tried to unite the people of the Congo. Yes, he used the Belgian influence by selling beer, but his intent was sincere. He only wanted to put himself in a position for his voice to be heard, and it was. However, Lumumba had too many against him, people who were only interested in their personal rise to power.
I do think that Lumumba would have succeeded in keeping the people together. He spoke continuously of how the people of the Congo should be the ones benefitting from the copper, diamonds, and other resources of the Congo. I think Lumumba would have tapped into the powers of other nations, even if those nations included Russia.
Lumumba would have created a democratic government because he believed in the people. This was evident in the film when he said that the president could not denounce him as Prime Minister because it was the people who elected him. This suggests that he was highly in favor of the people’s voice. It’s unfortunate that there was an organized coup against Lumumba that eventually led to his death. It is my feeling that he would have worked with all nations if it benefited the Congo’s people.