Friday 16 September 2016

Revised Excerpt from the Book "Africa's Lost Generations

Introduction

"You cannot carry out fundamental change without a high level of madness. In this case it emerges from non-conformity, the courage to ignore the old formulas, the courage to invent the future. Besides, it took the mad men of yesterday for us to act with extreme clarity today. I want to be one of those mad Africans"

Thomas Sankara.

The essays in this book constitute an approach to the tackling of much of the issues holding Africa in the past in terms of vital development that is a departure from the conformism promoted today that, as time has shown, cannot offer the coping strategy the continent needs.

This book may as such not be for those expecting the polished, impressive, sometimes convoluted, other times subtle rationalizations in favor of one ism or another.

It is with knowledge they are but self serving or convenient titles that I make but passing mention of them in my writings, without attempt to engage what I consider misguided notions.

One shared rationale that proves this truth is the fact there is no country on this planet that is wealthy because they chose capitalism instead of communism, or that they held the republican form of government over the democratic.

The fact inhabitants of western countries, from America right down to Australia, enjoy similar standards of living even though these nations have very different productive capacities, or that both Russia and China seldom follow the rules in, respectively, the Leninist or Maoist book, but more or less utilize communism as an instrument of nationalism, is a statement on what these isms are.

The denunciation can be extended to free market economics, multiparty democracy, and anything else being peddled as a solution to the issue of marginalisation and the ensuing supernumerary status, that has not given any country that which can make a difference to their prospects.

There is a plethora of evidence that makes an incontestable truth of the opinion that holds the cause for current international economic arrangements to be political.

It is essential to take the trouble to recognize what some realities in this world are serving as we go about finding solutions to our African problem, and not take everything at face value, because then, we will get everything wrong . This is the reason why in this book, I sidestep issues that are effects, engaging only root causes of the disagreeable situation in which the motherland has been in for some time.

I recognize that, on the African continent, the ubiquitous corruption, extreme ineptitude in high places, tribalism, dictatorship, and much that is blamed for the state the continent is in, are but effects of a root cause, the checking of which will ameliorate, in some cases put an end to the destruction that some of these vices cause to our nations.

The technique I employ represents a discreet scientific and philosophical treatment of issues with a bearing on our (the third world's) protracted conundrum that is hopefully a valuable contribution to like methods that set out to invent the future.

The valid points made will hopefully enlighten, and add to the existing store of knowledge on this issue.

In these essays, the reader is presented with our situation as it is…the simplicity of it coupled with accessible terminology, making the matters discussed accessible to as many as is possible.

This is how we want issues that deal with the situation of Africa's grassroots to be presented if there ever is going to be change for the better. Those of us communicating with the masses of our people have to strive to be as free from all the negative mindsets that have been identified, including the enslaved and colonised, and to the point, in all simplicity. We have to make their eradication in our community a priority.

It is vital to comprehend and keep constantly in mind the truth our continent still remains colonised, otherwise what I write in this book will make little sense, or sound far fetched.

If the neo-colonized state of sub-Saharan Africa is acknowledged, then it must equally be acknowledged, taken as a given, that in order to oppress a group of people in the exact manner Africans are being oppressed, it is essential to create a culture that distances the grassroots from control of matters relating to their immediate well-being.

In the case of Africa's conquest by the west, the process' central strategy is cultural suffocation. It destroys the mental well-being of the group in a process also known as mentacide. As they are distanced from making proper sense of their social worlds, they accept to be governed by men and women who do not necessarily have to be puppets, but are as disadvantaged as everyone else in their capacities to understand the system, and respond appropriately to it.

The reason this system is arranged as it is lies in the fact the motivation for conquest are the spoils of war that can only be reaped by exploitation. Without the safeguards referred to before, if we remember the inevitable consequence of exploitation is an increase in the amount of suffering the conquered go through, then imagine they are left fully equipped to understand and define their state, there will remain that constant reminder of a colonized status to stumble upon as the cause of the bad state of things that creates a volatile atmosphere in the land that can easily turn into revolt, the very last thing those profiting from the situation want.

In other words, African backwardness is the result of neo-colonialism whereby a system of indirect rule is effective, in which control that doesn't just begin and end with political leaders, but extends to artists, writers of scholarly books and otherwise, etc., is put in the hands of a few whose stature is deliberately elevated to gain them access to, as well as justify high posting in society, who are intentionally handed a formula for success that doesn't wash in reality, that they believe will serve their countries well as they go about the task of nation building, a modus operandi they rigorously apply and do their all to defend, as such inadvertently hold the entire group to which they belong in neo-colonial bondage.