LordCzar202:
African day (A thought provoking epistle)


The African continent was the last frontier of imperial forces. A land so luscious and abundant with resources and so diverse in culture and nature. Some refer to Africa as a country, a continent, a jungle... but what Africa really is today, is a concept. Its been 200years since the begin of Africas exploitation by the Western powers; and behind the facade technological growth in Africa is the evidence of economical failure. Whats more evident than this is the ignorance and confusion that plagues us today in the continent.It is as if we are experiencing a value system disorder. Unfortunately we have failed to come to terms that our problems arise from our own misdeeds and stupidity. Africa is very fragmented and full of conflicts. How did us get to this point? A glimpse of the past might highlight it, but in a bigger picture, Africa is highly influenced by a triumvirate of forces; Religion, foreign influences and indigenous belief.

Quid Pro Quo

Every African society before arrival of western and eastern incursion had a moral code that gave us direction and a feeling of belonging that comes from shared ancestry. This was grounded in a tradition that ensured for the protection of the young and the loyalty to the old, which is imbibed in every African culture. Africans were well known craftsmen, and works from Ife and Benin live to attest to this. Our indigenous belief, however shallow it was was very effective in keeping us in harmony. Arab trade merchants were the first to make in roads into Africa (around 660AD), coming in with a new found religion that preached a sense of community, with practical daily habits of reverence to God. The Arabs with the aid of horses and camels were able to cohabit around the arid areas of of sub-Saharan Africa but found it difficult to spread their influence through the lush rain forests that started from the middle belt of Africa (which cuts right in the middle of Nigeria). This was completely due to a force of nature as the Arabs and their mercenaries realised their horses and camels were always struck with Animal trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) causes by the biological vector tsetse flies; Yes, nature played the first role in the shaping of Africas destiny. The advent of the 'white man' in Africa in the 15th century created new in-roads less traveled. By using the transatlantic sea winds they traversed the African continent and created colonies where there was much to reap. Having started 1000years after Arabian incursions, the Europeans as they were came at the dawn of their industrial revolution and used the slave trade to boost their industrial drive and demands. Men & women, mineral wealth and valuable resources were extracted from Africa systematically for over 400 years (still is today) leaving the continent impoverished. What did we get back in return? Materials of silk and cotton, pleasant luxuries and weapons, they took with them our ablest bodied men, priceless minerals and art works. There are many instances where in the bargain, guns were given for slaves; and thus instruments of production, for instruments of destruction.

At the height of the industrialisation of western Europe, the Arabian conquest of Africa had assumed a new dimension. They on their own had started a Jihad of which traditional rulers were instated as custodians of culture and the islamic religion, which had been made norm. The wave of fundamentalism was washing from the northern hemisphere of Africa, although there was an accommodation in these parts for traditional belief. However, it was obvious the dissent and proclamation of jihad was embedded in the hate for western secularism, that was being observed in the southern subsaharan Africa, and heavily implemented in the far north of Africa. The salve trade persisted for both western European and middle eastern Arab merchants. However, i must highlight this. For how devastating the slave trade was for Africa and Africans, it was the way these parties treated that slave that spoke a lot of their value. For the westerners it was simple; The slaves were segregated, humiliated and abused and always perceived by the whites to be inferior. There was no retribution for a slave, as his children and grand children were born slaves and chained under the shackles of dignity of labor of which they backed up with a then newly revised bible. To them, it was Gods wish. However, the Arabs where guided by strict islamic laws and practices which made them integrate with their slaves. By this virtue, if one (and most times it uplifted the females) was to be married by her master, then she and her children and grand children were free born. But looking in todays world at the racial diversity of the western Europe/Americas and the middle east and Asia, one would think that there should be more blacks living in the middle east than in Europe, given that Arabian slave trade started a thousand years before western slave trade. The truth is truly bitter because most of the black male slaves purchased by Arabian merchants were either castrated at a young age and/or massacred and completely reduced.
The picture of the 'Israelites cry in captivity' comes to mind, but what was more sinister was the plot. The black mans seed could never take root in the Arabian side of the globe.


So there came the need to show morality. In Africa at the time, the natives were well endowed and conveniently satisfied with their outlook of life; The people never asking for much and were always fascinated by the little things, while the westerners were at their colonies enjoying the richness and luxuries of good trade with pomp and pageantry. It was quite an ironic situation because as the bible quotes; 'it is harder for the high and mighty to be virtuous than it is for the lowly and suppressed (simply put; it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to reach the kingdom of God....). Yet, here was Britain and the northern US becoming a more humane society precisely as they became more prosperous. High technology for one was making high morality possible and it looked as if the rich could afford to be compassionate at last. So it was a no brainer that the nation with the highest shipping network in the 18th century (1800-1899) became the leading movement for the abolishment of slave trade in the 19th century. Renewed by this new moral fervour the western Europeans cast a second eye on Africa. With this, the next turn of event set the western and middle eastern civilisations on a collision course; As far as i see it, the call for jihad by usman dan fodio was as a direct influence to checkmate the uncontrolled growth of western secularisation of societies. West Africa began to experience the growth of organized groups of devout Muslims who were both specifically trained and morally compelled to work toward a true Islamic society. Moreover, if the people and their rulers remained irresponsive or hostile, it was the Muslims’ duty to preach the doctrine of conversion by force, through the jihad, a divinely justified war or rebellion against rulers who were native pagans or not true Muslims. The jihads in Africa were a reactionary movement and they buttressed the point for the muslims that the greatest threat to Islam in Africa is not western christianity, but is western secularism... it is not the church of christ but the alter of materialism. Islam is indeed militant in nature.


This did not deter the westerners who used every means available to them to highlight the villainy of the Arabs to the natives using pictures and art drawing. And when this message drove a strong point back in Europe, it was obvious to the powers that be that Africa had to be saved from the Arabs and secured for the west. This led to the Berlin conference of 1884-85 were Africa was divided like a piece of cake to highly placed interest groups and the European government moved to take over business from the various trading companies scattered across continent. There was a second scramble for Africa this time by imperial forces with deep rooted interests. When the colonising forces took centre stage, it wasn't the natives that had to be civilised but the Anglo-saxons - Evil prevailed on the continent. Binding forces of colonisation like Lord Luggard, the overlord of sub saharan Africa was convinced the europeans had 2 goals in their conquest of Africa
1. To harness the mineral & resources of the African continent for our own good
2. To use the mineral and resources to meet the growing industrial demands of Europe.
So they got into Africa and started drilling and digging. However, Lord Luggards jewel mandate of using Africas resources for African development remains unfulfilled. You see, the Europeans were motivated by 3 compelling forces
Gold for their pockets
God for the natives and...
Glory for the greater Europe and its then monarchal system
Unfortunately, the extra baggage their new world order carried was racism and division. If slavery would make us the most humiliated race in the world, colonisation would make us the most gullible and dependent race in the world. The biggest flaw of the colonial rule is that it put together people who would have been separated and separated states that would have been together. Colonial rule also lacked the needed legitimacy, so the europeans in a bid to create their order needed to conscript (enforcement). In the southern cape of Africa, Cecil john Rhodes prime minister of the cape colony 1890-1896 strongly believed in British imperialism and created the first black mercenary force of native decent. Unfortunately what most of these overlords claimed were for queen, God and/or country were for greed and grandeur. In the northern/middle belt side of Africa, the imperialist often left things as they were and preferred ruling indirectly, in the southern parts they set up courts, provincial orders and a system of taxation that bewildered the locals. The locals would have often wondered why they had to pay visitors to live in their own land, but when it dawned on them, they had already lost their lands and were losing control. I reiterate that the northern parts of Africa remained conserved.


However, the indigenous African had been always surrounded with many gods, the spirit of his ancestors and the gods of nature, and overseeing all of these in both the supernatural and natural was a supreme being; A first amongst equal to which was the God. In the light of the ascension of the two other belief practices (islam and christianity), the African belief practice lacked a creed and was shrouded in superstition, mystery and was very opaque. However, it is the African tradition (way of life) that stood ominously of all African mentality. The African child was to be groomed, the African family was central to society and still is the most authentic social institution in post colonial era in a continent steeped by artificialism. The African society was compact. It was at the institutionalisation of education, where the missionaries introduced the 3 Rs; Reading, aRithmetic, and wRiting... but it was the 4th R that is religion, was were their emphasis truly were. This ruptured the fabric of the African society; Fathers against sons, daughters and wives, mothers against daughters. The magnanimity of the europeans was a use of a combination of images and symbols never seen before, but through association with these effects clearly demonstrated a new idea. The rising of the son into a god. Missionary education was at the fulcrum of this and played key roles in making us to learn to live like the europeans but failed to tell us how to achieve like the europeans. This is because the gospel was no manual for technology and there was then a clamour for westernisation without modernisation. You see, if islam created religious division in Africa, westernisation created a barrage of divisions that native Africans have struggled to hold together. Conflicts and confrontations are still caused by cultural mixes between the[b] indigenous beliefs, islam and western lifestyles[/b]. However in well grounded cultures like in majority of asia and middle east, the indigenous is always given the alpha status; hence my assertion of a value system disorder

DBannedAssassin:
The African race is at the bottom of the racial ladder because of Nigeria; we are ignorant savages that care less of anything. We just consume. But there are new African nations that are rising up to the challenge; Ghana, tanzania and zimbabwe are beacons of hope for the black African continent; not Nigeria. nigeria is a colossal failure.

Quinn22:
Baby, you are so smart! More ink to your pen, can't wait for the next epistle

DBannedAssassin:
The African race is at the bottom of the racial ladder because of Nigeria; we are ignorant savages that care less of anything. We just consume. But there are new African nations that are rising up to the challenge; Ghana, tanzania and zimbabwe are beacons of hope for the black African continent; not Nigeria. nigeria is a colossal failure.

MedicMan1role1:
The Nigerian system has found a way to make the average Nigerian have little appreciation for history. Its not encouraged in school, and the current affair quiz is filled with too many international jargons. How are supposed to know where we are going, when we don't know where we are coming from... and to make matter worse, history keeps on repeating itself because we keep on making the same mistakes