By Linda Kasonde
I recently read a Facebook post by an otherwise enlightened individual, whom I will call Upendo, condemning a press briefing by Archbishop Desmond Tutu denouncing President Jacob Zuma’s abandonment of the ideals for which South Africans sought liberation from the apartheid regime and warning of Zuma’s downfall if he continues along this path. Upendo expressed the view that any differences that citizens may have with the leaders of African countries should be resolved quietly and privately to avoid exposing your country and our race to public and international ridicule.
My response was that often politicians only respond to criticism, positive or otherwise, when there is an audience that may affect their popularity – after all politics is about numbers. Quiet diplomacy or appeasement is often ineffective unless that person has some actual influence over the erring individual.
In supporting my response to Upendo, a friend of mine added that it is actually dangerous to let our leaders live in ivory towers while they mismanage public resources as the impact on the ordinary African citizen who is poor, uneducated and unemployed is too costly.
Upendo’s outrage at the Archbishop’s “transgression” of the “African code” shocked me. Here was a well-educated and exposed individual who seemed to believe that elders, persons in authority and the “big man” should not be publicly challenged. That is “disrespectful”. It got me to thinking about how much African culture actually constrains individuals from not only expressing themselves but also from self-actualising.
African culture is celebrated because of its “Ubuntu” ethos: we are people through other people. We do things together, for each other, for the common good. We are also taught not to question elders or those in authority because “that is our culture” and “that is how it has always been”. It is what Sir Ken Robinson calls “the tyranny of common sense”. But what if the same thing that binds us together is keeping us from reaching our full potential? This ethos promotes sameness; people that do not conform to the norm are often considered “unacceptable”. Jamaican political leader and Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey wrote:
“Most of the trouble I have had in advancing the cause of the race has come from Negroes. Booker Washington aptly described the race in one of his lectures by stating that we were like crabs in a barrel, that none would allow the other to climb over, but on any such attempt all would continue to pull back into the barrel the one crab that would make the effort to climb out”
I believe that, almost a century later, this still holds true. Most unfortunate is the fact that this cultural thinking has equally affected descendants of Africans in the diaspora. Entrepreneurs with “harebrained” ideas are encouraged to get a real job, education and careers for many African women are seen as a waste of time and adventure is seen as the preserve of “crazy white people”.
There is a stigma attached to things that are seen to be “unblack” or “unAfrican”. Garvey also wrote that a race dependent on another for its survival risks extinction. The fact that we as a race do not manufacture and produce most of the things that we consume is a problem. It makes us vulnerable.
In comparison to African cultures, Asian cultures are also very rich with strong traditions. Even the fact that they have high regard for authority and respect for elders has not deterred countries like the “Asian Tigers” from developing rapidly economically. Most of the Asian Tigers developed under autocratic regimes that put the greater good of the collective above that of the individual.
Contrast this with many African leaders, even under democracies, whose “greater good” mainly serves immediate family relations and cronies above the general collective. Servant leadership appears to be an alien concept in many African countries. I believe that this is because historically in Africa your clan was your community. Nationhood and subsequently patriotism are very new concepts to us. Also, unlike most other cultures, so many African cultures rely on oral history and subsequently the pride of our ancestry has been lost or diminished post-colonialism.
Like most African countries, Asian countries may not necessarily be great innovators but they have perfected the art of imitating and improving on existing innovations and technology. One of the main differences between African and Asian cultures appears to be that Asians support each other in their endeavours.
By contrast to both African and Asian cultures, European cultures are much more dynamic; old ways that don’t work are much more easily disregarded for new ways of doing things that do work. They appear to be less restricted by convention to culture and tradition and as a result they dominate global discourse on everything from politics and economics to football.
I am not at all suggesting that African culture is bad. There are many things that humanity can learn from us Africans, including Ubuntu to a great extent. However, if we fail to compete on the global playing field and adapt to our current circumstances to address issues of poverty, disease and unemployment, we will literally die.
Africans need to wake up to the realisation that they too can be great as a race and change the world without having to leave the continent. It starts with the freedom to express our ideas, to challenge authority and to find the courage to climb out of the barrel. It starts with ensuring that we educate our people. As Garvey said: “emancipate yourselves from mentally slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds”.
The author of this article is a legal practitioner and the Vice-President of the Law Association of Zambia. Linda is a Tutu Fellow and is a Legal Practitioner and the Vice President of the Law Association of Zambia.
What an article to start the week with. It is a known fact that most civilization revolved around agriculture and its amazing why we as Africans have not invested much in this sector it being the base of so many industries. We are our own impediment.
It’s because white corporations already have the rights to our land (Ever since colonialism). The problem is African countries (except for Islamic States) legislation and laws are all founded on European and Christian values and these laws do not work for African people.
I concur Linda! A very well written article!
“Where there is no vision, people perish”
On the surface it seems a good article but it is full of generalisations and inconsistences which is very surprising for the author is a legal practitioner. Just what is African culture? What is Asian or European culture? These are cultures as diverse and complex as a nation. It seems to me that the author has a loathing for her own culture and an unquestioning admiration for Asian and European cultures. Perhaps a dose of Franz Fanon’s Black skin, White mask would do the author some good.
“All over Africa there are pictures of a white Jesus which is an automatic flaw in my book. This was the very image that was used by European mercenaries to brain wash the minds of Africans, and they use the military to conquor those that resisted”.?
Yes I got the same impression
Africa should abandon all religions and start with education about self.
Tradition of pulling and elongating the parts of the v a g i n a known as labia minora, is a useless practice.
Why?
Nigger is defined as IGNORANT -so even Whites and every race has its niggers, and it’s ignorant of you to be ignorant of that fact. It does not mean BLACK just cause whites affixed the word to the African victims -ignorant of you not to know that fact too! The word NIGGER meaning IGNORANT existed before it was affixed to a single race to facilitate and justify the slave trade.
We need to stop indoctrinating children into religion and teach them to be more skeptical. But they never gon let that happen because they know religion cannot survive unless people are indoctrinated (especially at a young age) and increasing people’s skepticism will decrease the likeliness of them being indoctrinated ?
@Nomolos, though I agree with you somehow it wont be possible in the short run. Its gonna take a long time. Religion is the opium of the masses especially the poor. What can replace it? This question needs an answer bwana Nomolos.
Common sense thinking.?
“The infantile human version of “God” is an embarrassment to anyone with a brain, or a degree of intelligence. Religion was developed initially to explain us – our origins and ‘purpose’. It became a sophisticated form of manipulation, instilling fear into the dumb – and power is money, and safety. God has never, ever interfered in our problems, in our cruelties – or helped anyone in need. Think about our load shedding and water problems- any help from Mr God? Not on your nelly. “H”e does not exist. A void of awareness or compassion. A myth of depraved and stupid ideology. We must scrap the whole manic waste of time, money and hope, and get to grips with enjoying life on the most honourable terms.”
“Africa knowledge of the world is very limited. I’d agree that most of my fellow Africans have very little idea of the world they are living in, specially the forces and trends that are shaping it.
intelligence-wisdom-and-education
This lack of intelligence is bad, because it leaves the continent unaware of events and shifts that could affect it.”
Bwana Off topic, its amazing you say that religion is for the dumb minds but great minds whose theories we still explore todate believed in the Master. I wonder who maybe dumb between you and Sir. Isaac Newton for instance.
@ma, Sir Isaac Newton used the hypothesis of “the master” to fill gaps in his theory. At the present moment those gaps were filled by scientific explanations, so sir ” we have no need for such hypothesis”. Thank you very much.
Most of this is content is borrowed from the Capitalist Nigger by Chika Onyeani. A must read book to all of us.
Most of this content is borrowed from the Capitalist Nigger by Chika Onyeani. A must read book to all of us.
Any Individual caught wanting, or embezzling should be publicly shamed & humiliated, as whenever these crooks come to the masses looking for power, they sell us all sorts of promises & lies i.e, more money in your pockets, then go on to embezzle in cahoots with usually the western business / political fraternity.
They should therefore be exposed for the Vampires they are.
Does this Man believe Mobutu Sese Seko did Congo/ Zaire, & Africa in general favours.
Would you condone “an African Man” r@ping your Daughter, & say it’s okay let’s not expose this coz white people will laugh at us??
These are the attitudes that have sunk Africa, & hence we are now worse off, than when the Colonists left us, half a Century ago. SHA!!!
If only we could start to question the very notion of religion… We Africans can start to possibly glean for insights into how this notion has been used to lessen us as a people/race. Religion/European education was used to assign to us what is known or that which describes us as a people. We were all taught for example, that God, Jesus and all other important peoples in Christianity/bible were white. So why do we/blacks have to worship someone who is not of our own kind… didn’t we have our own Gods, civilisations before our forefathers where coerced into worshiping some white people…
Surely, someone has answers out there, help please!!
All the pictures they have should us of Adam, Abraham, Moses, David the Prophets and Jesus are lies. When you read Genesis 2:7 the Bible says God created man from the dust of the earth. The question is what colour is the dust of the earth? is it blue or green either white? Even Jesus the Bible describes him to be woolly haired, not horse like hair. Read Revelation 1:14-15 and Daniel 7:9, 10:5-6. The only race of people that can produce woolly or curly hair are the very people so called niggers or bantus.
I meant they have “showed us” not should.
Religion is outdated, harmful to the individual, harmful to society, an impediment to the progress of science, a source of immoral acts or customs, and a political tool for social control.
What is a harebrained idea?
We need to re-right the constitutions that will benefit African lives without the white man in mind. Asia has the biggest benefit of having their own alphabets and languages. White people don’t want the stress that. As Africa, we are to accommodating to the West. Only way we will take back Africa as a is if we stopped receiving Foreign Aid and close off our exports and distribution channels of natural resources for a month. I’m telling you now, we’ll start calling the shots. Only problem is the West start a war.
Linda some observations on your article from deep dark Africa: You say Africans need to wake up to the realisation that they too can be great as a race and change the world without having to leave the continent. Africa doesn’t have one race. There is no race called African. Africa has Blacks or negroes, Arabs, Nilotes, Nubians etc
Yes “It starts with the freedom to express our ideas, to challenge authority and to find the courage to climb out of the barrel.” The freedom to express our ideas has been restrained by European mind control. This stops Africans from using their culture and cultural experiences to express themselves. Via so-called Western Education, and mass media propaganda, Africans have been brought up to believe that they can only express themselves using European…
Africans have been brought up to believe that they can only express themselves using European tools never in the African style.
“EMANCIPATE YOURSELVES FROM MENTAL SLAVERY, NONE BUT OURSELVES CAN FREE OUR MINDS”. Do you realise what Marcus Garvey’s statement refers to? Garvey is saying political freedom can be fought collectively but you, the individual, has to deal with the kind of enslavement that controls your mind; This is the enslavement that makes you think “Its not possible for me to go around with African names because everyone else who is civilised uses a European name. I cant be seen eating African dishes because everyone else who is civilised eats European food. I can’t be seen wearing African styled clothing because every ‘civilised’ person wears European-styled clothing…
I cant be seen eating African dishes because everyone else who is civilised eats European food. I can’t be seen wearing African styled clothing because every ‘civilised’ person wears European-styled clothing. I can’t be seen listening to African music because every ‘modern’ African listens to hip hop, rock, R and B” The list is long.
Like most African countries, Asian countries may not necessarily be great innovators but they have perfected the art of imitating and improving on existing innovations and technology.The Asian countries
The difference is that Asian countries copy and tweak other people’s technologies. The Africans just try to carbon copy everything
NATIONHOOD AND SUBSEQUENTLY PATRIOTISM ARE VERY NEW CONCEPTS TO US. This is not true. Nationhood was prevalent in many…
As long as Africans dont innovate their race will be extinct
Linda some observations on your article from deep dark Africa: You say Africans need to wake up to the realisation that they too can be great as a race and change the world without having to leave the continent. Africa doesn’t have one race. There is no race called African. Africa has Blacks or negroes, Arabs, Nilotes, Nubians etc
Yes “It starts with the freedom to express our ideas, to challenge authority and to find the courage to climb out of the barrel.” The freedom to express our ideas has been restrained by European mind control. This stops Africans from using their culture and cultural experiences to express themselves. Via so-called Western Education, and mass media propaganda, Africans have been brought up to believe that they can only express themselves using European…
I tend to agree I am one proud African woman who has been in the Diaspora. I still believe in Africa and the African, the more of us who do so the better for our continent
Excellent article. I love this part: “It got me to thinking about how much African culture actually constrains individuals from not only expressing themselves but also from self-actualising.”
I can’t say it’s excellent. It’s hot so many flaws
It’s got so many flaws
Imwe ba Lusaka times why do my posts appear one day after I have posted? At times I even repost them thinking they haven’t reached you only to see all of them posted next day
Linda, you should read “Who Killed Democracy in Africa” by Ali Mazrui! You can google this paper. Great stuff!!