Hakluyt
01-26-2006, 07:07 AM
http://observer.gm/enews/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3251&Itemid=42&pop=1&page=0
Pan-Africanism - The Ideology of Racial Nationalism and Socialism
Written by Alieu B S Taal,
Tuesday, 24 January 2006
B.A (Hons) M.A (Hons), Ph.D
Senior Lecturer at the University of The Gambia
Pan-Africanism - An Ideology in Retreat
The founding of the OAU in 1963, was herald as a significant step towards the attainment of the goals of Pan-Africanism. This historic occasion, however, represented a compromise among the various schools of thoughts in the Pan-African Movement. The OAU, now AU embraces the entire continent, but it is still not yet a political or economic community with legislative authority. It has not yet succeeded in achieving its main objective, namely, the elimination of the divisions in Africa and to ensure that the continent is not divided into hostile camps.
Today Africa is faced with many hostile divisions and intractable intra state wars ethno-political wars and rebel wars in which the OAU found itself impotent to solve because of disunity, the lack of mandate and resources to intervene in these wars and violent conflicts in Africa. At best, the OAU/AU has remained a forum for discussing disputes and to find or recommend solutions, which mainly consist of appeals of support or direct intervention from the UN or former colonial powers, including the US. It is as a result of the poor record of the OAU as a Pan-African organisation that has led to its re-labelling to the AU, with the hope of eventually achieving political unification in the near future. The AU is being established when the ideology of Pan- Africanism is on the decline, and at a time of acute political instability in Africa.
The wars in Africa are a reflection of the failures of nation building, through the single state system. They also indicate deep and hostile divisions in Africa both within the states and amongst states. Ethnoplitical conflicts, religious conflicts, and inter-state wars all run counter to the spirit and ideology of Pan-Africanism and the goals of African unity. In the struggle between state, ethnic nationalism and Pan- Africanism in post-colonial Africa, the momentum of Pan-African declined. The attainment of national independence was accompanied by serious problems of nation building. Many of countries that attained independence found that they inherited territories with little or no infrastructure for socio-economic and political development. Health and educational facilities were inadequate and remain so till now. The human resources were poor and remain so still now and the bureaucratic structures were in adequate and remain so till now. At the eve of independence, many countries were virtually in a state of emergency to develop their people. The focus was therefore placed on state and nation building.
Nation building through the single state approach at the expense of the Pan-African approach for a continental unity has proven disastrous and devastating to the peoples of Africa. The collapse of the single state system is manifested in the preponderance of violent conflicts that characterise the African landscape today.
Most of these violent conflicts, which severely threatens the peace and stability of Africa arise from increased discord between major political entities and within states, along ethnic and religious lines, and indeed between economic groups of the “haves” and the “have-nots”.
There are over nine million refugees in Africa and over one million people have been killed or maimed because of these wars and violent conflicts. The wars in the Great Lakes regions of Central Africa, in the horn of Africa-Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, Ivory Coast, and Congo, is all manifestations of states’ failure to achieve national unity.
Nonetheless, these wars have contributed to the demise of Pan-Africanism and have pushed the ideology of Pan-Africanism further back into obscurity. If Africans are now refugees in their own countries or in other African countries, and if Africans are now involved in fratricidal wars, then where is the spirit of Pan-Africanism? The unavoidable answer to this question is that Pan-Africanism is in a state of suspended reality.
The demise of Pan-Africanism can also be attributed to the new leadership in Africa, characterised by the marked absence of the intelligentsia unlike the founding fathers of the independence movements and the first generation of leaders of post-colonial Africa. The current leadership in Africa with its heritage of military involvement and leadership in political change are more inclined to national patriotism rather than Pan-African unity. There are hardly any records of the military leadership in Africa being pre-occupied with the ideology of Pan-Africanism and African unity since its involvement in political leadership.
The current leadership in Africa is equally mute on Pan-Africanism except for President Yahya Jammeh, the President of the Republic of The Gambia, who often celebrates the founding of the OAU in the form of a Pan-African Cultural Festival attended by cultural groups from the sub-region every year which coincidentally falls on his birth day.
Today the ideology of Pan-Africanism is no longer in vague. This is probably a manifestation of the global decline of old ideologies and the decline in ideological conflicts, such as threat between Capitalism and Communism. The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, plus the transformation of the socialist economies of Russia and China into capitalist economies are key factors that influenced the decline of ideological conflicts and ideological movements, including Pan-Africanism.
Conclusion
Today many African intellectuals and leaders are shying away from any form of ideological commitment, in particular to radical ideologies like Pan-Africanism. There is now the fear of being labelled a radical, a revolutionary, a fundamentalist, or even a terrorist in this era of Global War on Terror. The USA and its European allies are waging this war and Africa is one of the main theatres of this war.
The intellectual heritage of Pan- Africanism is perhaps the most important legacy left by the founding fathers of the ideology of Pan-Africanism. This is manifested in the contribution of the ideology to the humanistic philosophies, including the arts, culture and literature. The works of the funding fathers have been left for posterity. The responsibility they placed on the African intelligentsia to be the standard bearer of the ideology remains valid as they regarded education as the means to attain liberation. Padmore, James, Nkrumah and Du Bois, all placed their faith on education. According to Padmore, the educated progressive African “alone can contribute that dynamic drive and sustained enthusiasm without which no substantial economic development can be accomplished”. To Du Bois education was the key and ignorance the enemy. Both black ignorance and white ignorance are responsible for racial prejudice. He saw evil as the ultimate stupidity and knowledge based on scientific enquiry as the remedy to stupidity. Du Bois claimed that “men of culture are the true apostles of equality. The great men of culture are those who have a proven passion for diffusing, for making it prevail, for carrying from one end of society to the other, the best knowledge, the best ideas of their time, who have laboured to divest knowledge of all that was harsh, uncouth, difficult, abstract, professional, exclusive, to humanise it, to make it efficient outside the clique of the cultivated and learned, yet remaining the best knowledge and thought of the time, and a true source, therefore of sweetness and light”.
These are the expected leaders of the ideology of Pan Africanism, the aristocracy of knowledge and character.
One many however conclude that Pan Africanism has been a victim of its diverse origins. Among these are its radical, intellectual, and socialist orientation, the continuous assaults on it, the failure of the African States to promote the ideology, lack of genuine Pan African leadership in contemporary Africa, political instability in Africa, external interests and interventions in Africa and the global decline on old movement ideologies.
Already a lot of damage has been done to the ideology and the movement for Pan-African unity. Yet the ideology still remain relevant in the search for the political unification of Africa into a single continental government at the moment, however the ideology of Pan-Africanism appears to be in a state of suspended reality. To bring it back into the dynamics of African continental politics it would be necessary to re-visit the canonical works of the founding fathers of the ideology and Pan-Africanism and situate their relevance to contemporary drive towards African Unity. In this regards, the contributions of Padmore, James, Nkrumah and Dubious remain unique and central among the canonical works of Pan -Africanists.
Pan-Africanism - The Ideology of Racial Nationalism and Socialism
Written by Alieu B S Taal,
Tuesday, 24 January 2006
B.A (Hons) M.A (Hons), Ph.D
Senior Lecturer at the University of The Gambia
Pan-Africanism - An Ideology in Retreat
The founding of the OAU in 1963, was herald as a significant step towards the attainment of the goals of Pan-Africanism. This historic occasion, however, represented a compromise among the various schools of thoughts in the Pan-African Movement. The OAU, now AU embraces the entire continent, but it is still not yet a political or economic community with legislative authority. It has not yet succeeded in achieving its main objective, namely, the elimination of the divisions in Africa and to ensure that the continent is not divided into hostile camps.
Today Africa is faced with many hostile divisions and intractable intra state wars ethno-political wars and rebel wars in which the OAU found itself impotent to solve because of disunity, the lack of mandate and resources to intervene in these wars and violent conflicts in Africa. At best, the OAU/AU has remained a forum for discussing disputes and to find or recommend solutions, which mainly consist of appeals of support or direct intervention from the UN or former colonial powers, including the US. It is as a result of the poor record of the OAU as a Pan-African organisation that has led to its re-labelling to the AU, with the hope of eventually achieving political unification in the near future. The AU is being established when the ideology of Pan- Africanism is on the decline, and at a time of acute political instability in Africa.
The wars in Africa are a reflection of the failures of nation building, through the single state system. They also indicate deep and hostile divisions in Africa both within the states and amongst states. Ethnoplitical conflicts, religious conflicts, and inter-state wars all run counter to the spirit and ideology of Pan-Africanism and the goals of African unity. In the struggle between state, ethnic nationalism and Pan- Africanism in post-colonial Africa, the momentum of Pan-African declined. The attainment of national independence was accompanied by serious problems of nation building. Many of countries that attained independence found that they inherited territories with little or no infrastructure for socio-economic and political development. Health and educational facilities were inadequate and remain so till now. The human resources were poor and remain so still now and the bureaucratic structures were in adequate and remain so till now. At the eve of independence, many countries were virtually in a state of emergency to develop their people. The focus was therefore placed on state and nation building.
Nation building through the single state approach at the expense of the Pan-African approach for a continental unity has proven disastrous and devastating to the peoples of Africa. The collapse of the single state system is manifested in the preponderance of violent conflicts that characterise the African landscape today.
Most of these violent conflicts, which severely threatens the peace and stability of Africa arise from increased discord between major political entities and within states, along ethnic and religious lines, and indeed between economic groups of the “haves” and the “have-nots”.
There are over nine million refugees in Africa and over one million people have been killed or maimed because of these wars and violent conflicts. The wars in the Great Lakes regions of Central Africa, in the horn of Africa-Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, Ivory Coast, and Congo, is all manifestations of states’ failure to achieve national unity.
Nonetheless, these wars have contributed to the demise of Pan-Africanism and have pushed the ideology of Pan-Africanism further back into obscurity. If Africans are now refugees in their own countries or in other African countries, and if Africans are now involved in fratricidal wars, then where is the spirit of Pan-Africanism? The unavoidable answer to this question is that Pan-Africanism is in a state of suspended reality.
The demise of Pan-Africanism can also be attributed to the new leadership in Africa, characterised by the marked absence of the intelligentsia unlike the founding fathers of the independence movements and the first generation of leaders of post-colonial Africa. The current leadership in Africa with its heritage of military involvement and leadership in political change are more inclined to national patriotism rather than Pan-African unity. There are hardly any records of the military leadership in Africa being pre-occupied with the ideology of Pan-Africanism and African unity since its involvement in political leadership.
The current leadership in Africa is equally mute on Pan-Africanism except for President Yahya Jammeh, the President of the Republic of The Gambia, who often celebrates the founding of the OAU in the form of a Pan-African Cultural Festival attended by cultural groups from the sub-region every year which coincidentally falls on his birth day.
Today the ideology of Pan-Africanism is no longer in vague. This is probably a manifestation of the global decline of old ideologies and the decline in ideological conflicts, such as threat between Capitalism and Communism. The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, plus the transformation of the socialist economies of Russia and China into capitalist economies are key factors that influenced the decline of ideological conflicts and ideological movements, including Pan-Africanism.
Conclusion
Today many African intellectuals and leaders are shying away from any form of ideological commitment, in particular to radical ideologies like Pan-Africanism. There is now the fear of being labelled a radical, a revolutionary, a fundamentalist, or even a terrorist in this era of Global War on Terror. The USA and its European allies are waging this war and Africa is one of the main theatres of this war.
The intellectual heritage of Pan- Africanism is perhaps the most important legacy left by the founding fathers of the ideology of Pan-Africanism. This is manifested in the contribution of the ideology to the humanistic philosophies, including the arts, culture and literature. The works of the funding fathers have been left for posterity. The responsibility they placed on the African intelligentsia to be the standard bearer of the ideology remains valid as they regarded education as the means to attain liberation. Padmore, James, Nkrumah and Du Bois, all placed their faith on education. According to Padmore, the educated progressive African “alone can contribute that dynamic drive and sustained enthusiasm without which no substantial economic development can be accomplished”. To Du Bois education was the key and ignorance the enemy. Both black ignorance and white ignorance are responsible for racial prejudice. He saw evil as the ultimate stupidity and knowledge based on scientific enquiry as the remedy to stupidity. Du Bois claimed that “men of culture are the true apostles of equality. The great men of culture are those who have a proven passion for diffusing, for making it prevail, for carrying from one end of society to the other, the best knowledge, the best ideas of their time, who have laboured to divest knowledge of all that was harsh, uncouth, difficult, abstract, professional, exclusive, to humanise it, to make it efficient outside the clique of the cultivated and learned, yet remaining the best knowledge and thought of the time, and a true source, therefore of sweetness and light”.
These are the expected leaders of the ideology of Pan Africanism, the aristocracy of knowledge and character.
One many however conclude that Pan Africanism has been a victim of its diverse origins. Among these are its radical, intellectual, and socialist orientation, the continuous assaults on it, the failure of the African States to promote the ideology, lack of genuine Pan African leadership in contemporary Africa, political instability in Africa, external interests and interventions in Africa and the global decline on old movement ideologies.
Already a lot of damage has been done to the ideology and the movement for Pan-African unity. Yet the ideology still remain relevant in the search for the political unification of Africa into a single continental government at the moment, however the ideology of Pan-Africanism appears to be in a state of suspended reality. To bring it back into the dynamics of African continental politics it would be necessary to re-visit the canonical works of the founding fathers of the ideology and Pan-Africanism and situate their relevance to contemporary drive towards African Unity. In this regards, the contributions of Padmore, James, Nkrumah and Dubious remain unique and central among the canonical works of Pan -Africanists.