Malawi, EAC, Nigeria

Hi,
Today we want to discuss Malawi, the new EAC trade agreement and the Nigerian oil dilemma. Here goes...

MALAWI FEEDING ITS NEIGHBOURS
Malawi recorded a bumper harvest this year, because of a decision by the government to subsidize its farmers. They did this despite opposition from the World Bank and other development partners, who for long have been pushing policies that have been detrimental to the African nations food security.

Should other African states follow suite and move away from policies pushed by the IMF and World Bank that are harmful to their economies? What reaction can this produce from the Bretton Woods organizations, and should threats of a possible backlash deter developing nations from adopting other development models?

Read the story here: Malawi

Post your comments below

NEW EAC TRADE PACT
The East African Community-EAC (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi) has just signed a new controversial trade agreement with the EU. This agreement will allow European produce to move freely into the region. Critics argue that the deal could damage developing economies by cutting their customs revenue and making it harder for local businesses to compete with larger foreign rivals. What are your thoughts on this new deal?

Read the story here: EAC Trade Pact

Post your comments below

NIGERIAN DILEMMA
With the largest oil reserves in Africa, the biggest and arguably the most educated population, why is Nigeria so poor and underdeveloped? Can anything be done to remedy the situation? Is Nigeria like Ashif Hanan calls it, ‘a basket case’?

Read the story here: Nigeria burning

Post your comments below

Have an intellectual day.

Mark Gaya

I send out regular emails on the issues we're discussing. If you would like to be included on the mailing list, please send me a note on markgaya@villagevolunteers.org. Your email address will only be held by Village Volunteers and will be used for the purpose of administering this blog site.

Lefties Are Still lefties

Hey Kagenza...I also miss our ideologies class! Just one thing, it's OYOO, not OLOO! My name is a major part of my identity since it was my great-great-grandfather's, so I tend to be rather fascist about people getting it right:-)!

I stand by my opinion that extreme leftist thought has a ring of class structure to it, the idea that a better-placed individual-in terms of education perhaps? Enlighten me- has the duty of showing the lost sheep-I think I might be included by some in that category no doubt-the right path to socialism, an ideology that has definitely outlived its usefulness.

Your response brought out a lot of factors that really need to be explored and it has taken me much time and effort to reflect on.The gloves are off, yeah, just like old times buddy, we are allowed to get personal because this is healthy and I really take no offense. I am sure that when when I 'sit around my European/American (white) girlfriends and boyfriends, I bathe in their reassurances that 'you are one of us'. Most of my friends (brown, black, white, yellow, pink, blue, whatever) are Baha'is, and that is a comforting reassurance. Out in the world there are people who share the same aspirations for the human family as I do and are heavily committed to demonstrating in in the totality of their lives. That is a very comfortable situation for me, don't you think? The fact that we all feel thoroughly connected, not because of race, nor class, nor taste in music and other ephemeral objects, we identify a silver thread that runs through all of us: a principally spiritual identity. There is absolutely no harm in talking 'about western fashion, western music, western concepts of life, western cuisine, and all other things that excite white Europeans/Americans.' I know several other brown, yellow and black people combined who have an interest in a plethora of similar ideas and things. Since when was one's taste dictated by one's race? I find that idea completely unacceptable and to be quite honest, extremely bizarre. Aren't you a socialist who delves into the works of Chomsky and neo-Marxist critical thinkers? I find it very paradoxical then that you'd highlight my interests in a way that makes them seem so frivolous! Sackcloth has never appealed to me and never will! Are you proposing that I run to USIU from the ends of the earth each day and then run back home? That I walk to a river thousands of miles away to get washed? That I wear skins or leaves? I don't know about you but my skin is prone to bursts of allergic reactions when it comes into contact with wild plants. Maybe you should put that to the test and tell us how it goes. Western technology makes our lives easier, doesn't it, otherwise we wouldn't be blogging (and doing so in English, a language that has clearly demonstrated man's ability to unite).The 'real' Africans out there will think of us as being very stupid and privileged young men with lots of free time to talk about life and identity when they are thinking about where their next meal is coming from. Kagenza read your submissions: the reality you complain and castigate is your reality. You are a product of 'factories' as much as I am!

We are so good at faulty generalisation. I have to admit that I'm guilty of that cardinal sin given that 'lefties are blahblahblah'. I actually do find it hysterically funny that my friends have 'accepted me because I don't talk about racism'. I have to admit I hardly dwell on issues that just seem to hit a brick wall. And no, I am not so ignorant about 400 years of slavery! I spend too much time with my nose down history books to be that ignorant. Maybe I'm too unsentimental, a tad bit cynical and certainly cold (that's just life), I just think that revisiting the sins of the past purely as an exercise in pointing fingers is retarded and futile. What do we hope to achieve by talking about this day in, day out? Slavery was horrendous and we all know that, but somehow I don't seem to know anyone who has people picking cotton on their fields. We can't keep blaming people fore the sins of their forefathers! What about the future? What do we intend to do about that? Complaining about the past with no concrete plans of action to improve the situation is quite worrying!

My reaction when Morales came to power was 'hmmmmmmmm....unacceptable'. This is just my opinion. The so-called socialist revolution in South America is purely a reaction to the political realities north of the border, which will certainly change after liberals take the White House next year. There is also the fact that the Revolution's great leader Castro (am man I detest along with his poodle Chavez who just needs to be shot-yes Pat Robertson and I finally have something to agree on) is ailing (probably a corpse for all we know). I have to agree with Margaret Thatcher that 'Capitalism has finally triumphed over Communism'. Nationalisation of industries is an extremely stupid move that will cost Bolivia and the rest of South America dearly. It makes no economic sense to block liberalism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I believe in equality, but you can't have a properly functioning society if everyone exists on the same plane and earns the same! Basics have to be met but we STILL NEED ORDER! I can just see you wincing at my "elitist sentiments" but I assure you that isn't really the case. What we need to be working towards is finding a solution to extremes of poverty.Maybe I am too preoccupied with the future to commiserate on sad events that happened centuries ago.

I set down the rules when it comes to my identity, and that identify is multifaceted. I am different things to different people and there is not phony about that! I am a Baha'i, African, Kenyan, Luo, Nairobian, a photographer, a blogger, a writer, a student at one of those 'factories'(where I often sit not too far from the well poised, eloquent and strikingly handsome Afro-Centrist typing away on his laptop), an environmentalist, a civil liberties activist, an art lover, a liberal when it comes to social matters, a fiscal conservative. The list goes on and it tells me that I have a multitude of identities, not a confused personality. I am more than my race or cultural background and I tend to think that everyone else is pretty much the same. I don;t limit myself to lesser identities! Being a minority within a minority is not very easy, and I have learned to straddle all my worlds carefully without offending anyone, not because I am afraid of what they would think, but because I don't particularly enjoy making people uncomfortable due to the fact that I don't take too kindly to being made uncomfortable.

Because of you my very dear friend, I have been going on shopping sprees buying everything I can get my hands on by Noam Chomsky. Isn't that the same Western philosophical thought that you are eloquently denigrating?Well, my 'so called Liberals are merely a bouquet of pussyfooters who would never loudly go against the status quo because they don't want to step on anybody's toes'. Well I tend to think that I really do fight the status quo, particularly in my personal life. I have surrounded myself with people I accept and people who accept me, not for any of the reasons you have so beautifully elaborated on. Many of my friends, lovers and I are on opposite sides of the political or philosophical (or even artistic) spectrum and I definitely see you as being a friend who pushes me to think beyond my preferences and ideologies, getting me out of my comfort zone which is healthy for growth. It makes life interesting because one finds that one is constantly pushing oneself to learn.

I've probably been going on and on about nothing but I will answer your question. My centre is my identity as a Baha'i, my centre is 6 billion souls, my centre is the tiny contribution I can make towards the betterment of the entire human race. 'Let no man glory in this: that he loveth his country, let him rather glory in this: that he loveth his kind.' I do love my kind and the fact that all of us human beings are so different.

Patrick Oyoo

Nov 14

Hi there,

The Village Volunteers get together came to a sad end this past weekend. Thanks’ to all who attended, especially those who flew to Seattle from all around the US, Africa and Canada. It was a real thrill to see you all. We look forward to continuing the good work and discussions on development.

Welcome to our forum Dr. Wally Adesina from Charlottesville, Virginia and my former USIU professor, Jason Giersch from North Carolina. We are happy that you are able to join us, and are delighted to learn that you’re using our blog as a resource for your American students studying discourses on African Identity. I trust that our blog authors will enjoy having their articles and ideas shared with a wider population (all pieces will be attributed).

Today we have articles from Dr. Wally Adesina 'AFRICA IS BETTER OFF WITH WESTERN EDUCATION', Kagenza Rumongi's "RESTORING THE AFRICAN CENTER" and Elaye Moses' "IDENTITY- MULTI-DIMENSIONAL AND COMPLEX". Please click on the side links to read more from these scholars. You can comment on their articles at the bottom of each page.
Cheers
Mark Gaya

I send out regular emails on the issues we're discussing. If you would like to be included on the mailing list, please send me a note on markgaya@villagevolunteers.org. Your email address will only be held by Village Volunteers and will be used for the purpose of administering this blog site.

Africa is better off with Western Education

Hello all,
I decided to check out this blog site after my friend Mark Gaya told me about it.

I read most of the postings/comments by individuals. I enjoyed reading them. However, as most posting is all about African identity, intelligent, language confusion, lack of development etc. I would like to tell you all that (I respect your opinions), but there is a new face of Africa!

Africa has improved a lot from what you guys are talking about. Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Nnamdi Azikwe of Nigeria, Nelson Mandela of South Africa are the frontline leaders who stood and fought for liberation and freedom in Africa. Today, we are reaping the benefits.

European education has done more good than harm.It enables us to contribute meaningfully to world issues such as peace, economy, religion etc. People like Wole Soyinka of Nigeria (A nobel prize winner) and the former United Nation Secretary (I can't remember his name now) have made African proud as a continent.

A tour of most African big cities such as Tripoli, Lagos and Abuja, Accra, Johanessburg, Cairo etc is a testimony that there is a big growth/development in Africa.However, most foreigners do not like to visit cities in Africa, they prefer taking pictures in the countryside.And those that stayed in the cities never ever saw any lion crossing the road.

Talking about slave trade and loss of indentity is not what occupied most educated African minds right now. Our priorities is how to develop our youths leadership skills, organize our communities, develop rural areas, train our people how to use technology so that we can quickly move forward.Talking about race, identity, reparation, western education and the other negative thoughts will not move us forward.

There is a new face for Africans everywhere and that is to distinguished yourself, compete by mastering western education, travel and learn other people cultures, skills and use the knowledge gained to develop your own community/country.

Thank you all,
Wally Adesina, Ph.D.
Charlottesville, Virginia

IDENTITY- MULTI-DIMENSIONAL AND COMPLEX

Firstly i would like to declare that I am African, I am Nigerian and I am also British. This to some might seem like an ambiguous comment but i am making a statement that identity is multi-dimensional and complex. I do not stop being African because I have lived in England for 20 years and I (like the British immigration system has made abundantly clear) does not automatically become British because I have lived in England for 20 years. I refuse to accept that my identity can be defined along these terms. Is this opinion a product of the western education i have received? No because my story or stories from the proverbial "black" experience does not feature within the British education system, i have not been indoctrinated with this view by the Brit system. This particular position stems from my recent experience, having travelled to Africa recently the people I met perceived me as an outsider, a foreigner and I was offended. The experience however made me realise that no one can define me but me. I think you should take offense when anyone regardless of their racial or cultural background tries to define you. For instance I often get frustrated when African American theorists, writers, speakers etc. especially, talk about 'black identity and history' as though it is a generic experience. Often these theorists without naming names emalgamate the "African" experience with the "African American" experience (notice I have intentionally placed those speech marks because I acknowledge that to use these terms without them would be doing the same things that past theorists have done and reinforce the idea that the African experience can be defined), particularly making reference to slavery. I find this damaging to my identity as an African woman, I am not negating the importance of discussing slavery and dealing with the repercussions of the slave trade but I am merely asserting that slavery should not be our focus particularly when it comes to reshaping African identities post independence. I don't think it is good for African individuals to play the blame game and say it is the past colonisers who have taken away our culture, our language our expressions, and have made us lose sight of who we truly are but i think when we make slavery our focus we also become perpetrators of creating narrowed perceptions of African identities and experiences, and by doing so it makes African experiences unimportant, uninteresting and not worth documenting. Subsequently we lose sight of who we are and where we come from. African history or histories goes beyond slavery, although it is a part of some African identities but it isn't a part of all, it certainly isn't a part of my history. We should focus on sharing our individual experiences whether it is through this blog or through another medium, to help reshape perceptions of African identities post colonization.

Elaye Augusta Moses

Restoring the African Centre-

An Essay on the moral, political and historic imperative of the African youth today.


Introduction
The leading assumption here is that Africa is in need of an urgent regeneration of ideas and alternative models of development. If you do not subscribe to this imperative, then you will not find much relevance in this reflective essay. I do not engage in cold-scholasticism-where people juggle ideas about human lives yet the closest interaction with ‘humanity’ is in form of percentages and ratios. Neither would I subscribe to the notion that action is the only form of expressing an urge for change- in this case, positive change. Amilcar Cabral, revolutionary leader of the PAIGC (African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde) placed my contravening assertion in perspective when he noted in one of his numerous revolutionary speeches, ‘The Weapon of Theory’ (Address delivered to the first Tricontinental Conference of the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America held in Havana in January, 1966) that:

To those who see in it a theoretical character, we would recall that every practice produces a theory, and that if it is true that a revolution can fail even though it is based on perfectly conceived theories, nobody has yet made a successful revolution without a revolutionary theory
(Cabral, p.2)

Therefore we must begin by asserting that sustainable action must be guided by a logical, relevant, and contextual theory. Without this theory, then we put ourselves at risk of being reactionary individuals who only react- thus placing us at the mercy of the elements that determine the action thus having power over our reactions- because they can now predict our behavior. The theory of this sustainable action does not encage us in a perpetual repetition of action- which is similar to action without theoretical backbone, but it free’s us from this pitiful situation because at once the action and the theory dwell together and in the same place. That is to say that the theory is dynamic only to the limits that the action determines, so each influences the other. Why are we mentioning the importance of theory in an essay discussing a moral, political and historic imperative? There are two fundamental reasons that must be noted:
1. The African youth, shortly after the liberation struggle for freedom from colonialism, and determined to achieve national Independence, has remained in the aforementioned pitiful state of a repetition of action. The colonialist projects of all the different European Imperialist powers-while they vary in approach and execution, rest on a common objective that is to create a slave out of the native black African. The objective of creating a slave is to serve the European master for as long as is necessary. We should note the words of the one-time Portuguese Prime Minister Marcello Caetano:

‘The blacks in Africa must be directed and moulded by Europeans but they are indispensable as assistants to the latter. I do not affirm this out of prejudice- I merely formulate an observation… The Africans by themselves did not know how to develop the territories they have inhabited for millennia, they did not account for a single technical discovery, no conquest that counts in the evolution of Humanity, nothing that can compare to the accomplishments in the areas of culture and technology by Europeans or even by Asians’
Gerald J. Bender, Angola under the Portuguese: The Myth and the Reality, 1978)

This repetition of action has taken varying forms and in varying levels in different countries of Africa. However it may be argued that the worst form of repetition of action is the continuation of a search for identity and meaning in different historic contexts while remaining within the Eurocentric scope. That is to say that the African youth, while having good intentions in their search, have failed miserably because their trajectory has been launched within the path of either European written history of Africa- and thus a distorted view of their past, or by employing tools of inspiration that are far removed from the true African historical context. These tools include Religions (which provides spiritual inspiration), music and literature (which motivates the African soul, and the latter provides necessary imagination to conceive and thus allowing one to achieve the constructed dreams or aspirations), role models (for mentorship and guidance in ones life choices), concepts of life/ Ideologies (these are heavily theoretical, and guide ones actions); the employment of these tools that are Eurocentric or Westernized cannot allow for an African youth to find true relevance of their life within the right African historic context. That is why for a long time we have had an exodus of African youth to the metropolis cities of the Imperialist powers in Europe and America. The central reason for this repetition has been a lack of adequate and relevant theoretical grounding; in other words, the lack of an African ideology that offers the African youth to make sense of his/her meaning and purpose in the world. It is fairly obvious that if you grow up being fed images of white people as being the best at everything, romanticizing over love stories in Soap Operas, feeding your sympathetic emotions for American soldiers being killed in Vietnam or European explorers being terrorized in the African jungles, or imagine the impact of years and years of watching television advertisements where subtle messages that uphold white supremacy are entrenched in your psyche, or being taken to church- the supposed ‘house of God’, and bowing to a White Jesus in the name of the son of God-yet we read that he was made in our image! This constant bombardment, although it varies in its effectiveness because the youth in the villages may not be as exposed to such mediums that carry these messages, has a far-reaching effect on the actions of the African youth. For those in the village, the mentality instilled by colonialism that advanced the notion of ‘centre and periphery’- where the colonial administrative centre was called the ‘Capital city’ and the other peripheral towns were known as the ‘villages’ or ‘village-towns’; this mentality compels those living in the ‘periphery’ to always look to the ‘centre’ for lessons and guidance on what is ‘moral’ or ‘civilized’. So the outcome is a total enslavement of the Africans no matter where they live.

2. The second reason of the importance of a discussion on theory in regard to the African youth today has a lot in common with the first point. Since we have unraveled and without any doubt accept the fact that there was a process to create a slave- to enslave the black African, then it is logical to extend the analysis and posit that there must be another process of freeing a slave- to liberate the black African. This is where we begin our search for a theoretical/ideological basis for our actions- which is an act of liberation. We must unravel how the enslavement began and start to create an ‘action-plan’ that will tackle all the methods employed for our enslavement. If we have ascertained that the trajectory used so far by the African youth has proved to be futile and working against our interests, then we must determine a new trajectory. From my analysis, to dismantle one ideology necessitates a replacement by another and different one. That is to say, if we are to effectively dismantle our Eurocentric/Westernized premise of life, we must restore an African centered prism of which we view our selves and our place in the world. This African centered trajectory is the Afrocentric trajectory. This would require us not to merely ‘blacken’ all that has been fed to us as ‘white’- no, there is no need for that. What we have to do is go deep into our history- the correct history of the African experience, and unravel the best of what kept our communities strong and creative, the best of our value-system that kept our families together and gave meaning to the Ubuntu philosophy of African life. Along the path of restoring our African centre through a re-reading of our proper history, we will then see the importance of a political project of our Afrocentric trajectory. This is what inspired the early proponents of the Afrocentric political philosophy- that is, pan africanism. While it is true that pan africanism has been associated with Marxist-Leninist ideas, it is not correct that we yet again place ourselves under the intellectual, cultural and political heritage of European thought which gave birth to Marx’s analysis of man in society and subsequent ‘Leftist’ thinkers. We must centre our political ideology on Africa- and call it an Afrocentric ideology; because that is also part of liberating ourselves from the Eurocentric paradigm. So as we note the initial lack of appropriate and sufficient ideology for the African youth, we now see the relevance of discussing theory with regard to eventually inspiring action for the new liberated African youth.



The sooner we realize that as the new generation of Africans now going through the ‘democratization’ spell of our historic experience, and being thrown into the whirlwind of ‘Globalization’ with the expectation to ‘contribute to the rest of the world’, that we have our own historical duty to answer to that will determine if the degradation of Africa and all people African shall continue, the more chances we have of achieving greater levels of emancipation. We have been led to believe that indeed there has occurred an ‘end of history’ and that capitalism and western-style democracy has triumphed. This is mainly because, as Harold Macmillan, in ‘The Middle Way’ 1938 noted:

‘We have lived so long at the mercy of uncontrolled economic forces that we have become skeptical about any plan for human emancipation.’


So we do not continue with our everyday lives because we are sure that humanity has exhausted all models of development or human existence. We do so because the system that profits from our ignorance has aggressively perpetuated our ‘mental enslavement’ and thus almost totally sucked out our creativity and humane motivation to search for a better world. Despite this, and if we are to stare boldly at our dear continent and indeed the world in general, we realize that the locking of the chains on a slave does not symbolize the death of his/her freedom. It is with enthusiasm and revolutionary fervor that we shall shatter the shackles off and create our own path towards freedom.

By, Kagenza Sakufi-Rumongi: written in the capacity as a concerned pan africanist.

TO BE CONTINUED (ON THE MORAL, POLITICAL AND HISTORIC IMPERATIVES)

Please post your comments on this article below

Uncolonized

A picture of Lydia Gaya at an Obama function. To find out more about the Obama meet click on my friend Obama

Hi There

Last weekend I received a very interesting submission from Aileen Mallya, who believes that Africa can be developed in three weeks by using a three-pronged approach. Changing our perception on Knowledge, Skill and Attitude. Click on the comments links to read her article.

UNCOLONIZED?
Also pushing a three pronged approach is Pan-African scholar Kagenza Rumongi. In his proposal for African liberalization, the scholar is promoting a physical, mental and spiritual struggle through strategies of ‘Decolonization, Intellectual Disobedience, Ma’at (African righteousness), Re –Africanization (African cultural knowledge), and Sankofa (learning from the past to build the future)’.

Kagenza’s memoir highlights an identity struggle that many African youth are going through today.

I, like Kagenza, went through a foreign education system in Kenya that refused to teach me the history of Marcus Mosiah Garvey (Black Moses), Haile Selassie I (the Conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah), Lalibela and Timbuktu. Instead it indoctrinated me with stories on the ‘great’ kings and queens of the West, the same people who I later came to learn, had classified the African as an animal, sold him like a loaf of bread and named the greatest genocide in the history of humanity as a mere trade, a Slave Trade.

All good students were required to speak a minimum of three languages. I spoke four. Luo (my native language), Swahili (the national language), Spanish (a school requirement) and English (the official language of instruction). Today, I speak all these languages, but I am a master of none. I know about the cultures behind the languages but I am an expert in none. I have all these identities but I feel I belong to none. I’m African by birth and European by education. Was this done intentionally? Is this mode of education beneficial or detrimental to the
African cause? Is there such a thing as an African Education and if so what is it? Did old colonial and neo-colonial powers seek to mis-educate me and my African brothers and sisters? What do they gain from indoctrinating a wholecontinent? Can we break down these walls and re-educate ourselves, re-write our history, un-colonize our minds?

I look forward to hearing from you
Best
Mark Gaya