An African half-century
17 January, 2011 | ALI MAZRUI (The Mail & Guardian)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eurocolonial century just a short chapter in millennia of African
history?
How big was colonialisms influence?
Some African historians believe that, in spite of its relative brevity,
the impact of colonialism on Africa has been of epic proportions,
deep and wide-ranging.
Others argue that the imperial period was often little more than an
episode, its impact unjustifiably exaggerated, one of the reasons
European institutions transplanted to Africa have not taken root.
And only because our generation is so close to the era of
colonialism does its influence loom so large.
The shallowness of transplanted European institutions is best
illustrated in the Belgian Congo. The so-called national army
mutinied within little more than a month of independence.
The richest province at the time, Katanga, declared its secession
soon after. The president, Joseph Kasavubu, and the prime minister,
Patrice Lumumba, declared each other illegitimate and, before long,
the latter was assassinated.
Since then millions have died and hundreds of thousands of women
have been raped. The Congo remains the ultimate example of
Africa’s chronic instability.
The artificial boundaries of African colonies have made it hard to
integrate its populations into real nations. Sub-Saharan Africa
continues to be haunted by perennial ethnic rivalries, while Arab
Africa has suffered from periodic conflict between Islam and
secularism.
Postcolonialism
Postcolonial African economies have suffered from skills shortages
and an abundance of corruption. Three codes of conduct
(indigenous, Islamic and Western) have created moral incoherence,
at least for the time being. Indeed, the Somali militants seem to have
traversed a whole span from pastoralism to piracy.
On the other hand, the epic school of imperial historiography would
argue that European colonialism prepared Africa for participation in
global affairs. The continent has produced two secretaries general of
the United Nations (Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Kofi Annan) and a
dozen Africans have won Nobel prizes, predominantly for peace,
literature and physics.
The epic school also celebrates Africa’s initiation into modern
science and technology, the partial eradication of deadly diseases,
enhanced infrastructure in communications and electrification and
modern cities. Many of these changes are irreversible.
Pre-democracy era
But what are the signs for the next 50 years of post-colonial Africa?
Most of the continent is still in a pre-democracy era and many
elections are notoriously rigged. Nonetheless, most African
countries stand a good chance of becoming democratised.
The real test is when an incumbent president or political party allows
itself to be peacefully voted out of office, not once, but at least
twice. Ghana, which led sub-Saharan Africa in the attainment of
independence in 1957, has satisfied that condition.
Democracy elusive
But there are countries that are unlikely to be democratised before
the end of this century. Particularly vulnerable are the dual societies,
in which two rival ethnic groups account for the majority of the
population, notably Burundi and Rwanda (with their Hutu-Tutsi
rivalry). Other states that may find democracy elusive are those that
have a long history of nomadic lifestyle, or of ordered anarchy, in
which governance tends to rely more on consensus than state
coercion.
And then there are countries that were ordered tyrannies in pre-
colonial times. Ethiopia, Egypt and Libya have a history of
indigenous dictatorship before European colonial rule. In the
postcolonial era it is almost certain that their centuries-old pharaonic
and dynastic legacies will slow down democratisation.
Religion divides
And can Christianity and Islam, both growing in influence across
Africa, coexist peacefully? In reality Christianity and Islam are
divisive in Africa if they reinforce prior linguistic and ethnic divisions.
Nigeria, for example, has the largest number of Muslims in Africa:
almost all its Hausa population are Muslims, almost all its Igbo are
Christians and the Yoruba are split down the middle. Thus Islam
reinforces Hausa identity, Christianity reinforces Igbo identity and
Yoruba nationalism unites its people regardless of religion.
Islam and Christianity divide northern and southern Sudan mainly
because the two regions were already divided by even deeper pre-
colonial cultural differences.
On the other hand, Senegal, a 90% Muslim country, repeatedly
voted after independence for a Christian president and his successor
had a Catholic first lady. This degree of ecumenical democracy has
not been achieved in the West. And in producing a female head of
state, Africa has done something that has proved beyond the reach
of the United States, France and Russia.
The years ahead in Africa will likely be ones of continuing struggle,
but we should ultimately discover whether its colonial transformation
has been deep and epic or merely shallow and episodic.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Professor Ali Mazrui is director of the Institute of Global
Cultural Studies, Binghamton University, and senior scholar
in African studies at Cornell University, both in New York
state
Courtesy
17 January, 2011 | ALI MAZRUI (The Mail & Guardian)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- In 2010 17 African
countries celebrated the
50th anniversary of
independence, from the
largest, such as Nigeria
and the former Belgian
(now Democratic
Republic of) Congo, to
the vulnerable, like
Niger and Somalia.
- But how deep was the
impact of European
Eurocolonial century just a short chapter in millennia of African
history?
How big was colonialisms influence?
Some African historians believe that, in spite of its relative brevity,
the impact of colonialism on Africa has been of epic proportions,
deep and wide-ranging.
Others argue that the imperial period was often little more than an
episode, its impact unjustifiably exaggerated, one of the reasons
European institutions transplanted to Africa have not taken root.
And only because our generation is so close to the era of
colonialism does its influence loom so large.
The shallowness of transplanted European institutions is best
illustrated in the Belgian Congo. The so-called national army
mutinied within little more than a month of independence.
The richest province at the time, Katanga, declared its secession
soon after. The president, Joseph Kasavubu, and the prime minister,
Patrice Lumumba, declared each other illegitimate and, before long,
the latter was assassinated.
Since then millions have died and hundreds of thousands of women
have been raped. The Congo remains the ultimate example of
Africa’s chronic instability.
The artificial boundaries of African colonies have made it hard to
integrate its populations into real nations. Sub-Saharan Africa
continues to be haunted by perennial ethnic rivalries, while Arab
Africa has suffered from periodic conflict between Islam and
secularism.
Postcolonialism
Postcolonial African economies have suffered from skills shortages
and an abundance of corruption. Three codes of conduct
(indigenous, Islamic and Western) have created moral incoherence,
at least for the time being. Indeed, the Somali militants seem to have
traversed a whole span from pastoralism to piracy.
On the other hand, the epic school of imperial historiography would
argue that European colonialism prepared Africa for participation in
global affairs. The continent has produced two secretaries general of
the United Nations (Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Kofi Annan) and a
dozen Africans have won Nobel prizes, predominantly for peace,
literature and physics.
The epic school also celebrates Africa’s initiation into modern
science and technology, the partial eradication of deadly diseases,
enhanced infrastructure in communications and electrification and
modern cities. Many of these changes are irreversible.
Pre-democracy era
But what are the signs for the next 50 years of post-colonial Africa?
Most of the continent is still in a pre-democracy era and many
elections are notoriously rigged. Nonetheless, most African
countries stand a good chance of becoming democratised.
The real test is when an incumbent president or political party allows
itself to be peacefully voted out of office, not once, but at least
twice. Ghana, which led sub-Saharan Africa in the attainment of
independence in 1957, has satisfied that condition.
Democracy elusive
But there are countries that are unlikely to be democratised before
the end of this century. Particularly vulnerable are the dual societies,
in which two rival ethnic groups account for the majority of the
population, notably Burundi and Rwanda (with their Hutu-Tutsi
rivalry). Other states that may find democracy elusive are those that
have a long history of nomadic lifestyle, or of ordered anarchy, in
which governance tends to rely more on consensus than state
coercion.
And then there are countries that were ordered tyrannies in pre-
colonial times. Ethiopia, Egypt and Libya have a history of
indigenous dictatorship before European colonial rule. In the
postcolonial era it is almost certain that their centuries-old pharaonic
and dynastic legacies will slow down democratisation.
Religion divides
And can Christianity and Islam, both growing in influence across
Africa, coexist peacefully? In reality Christianity and Islam are
divisive in Africa if they reinforce prior linguistic and ethnic divisions.
Nigeria, for example, has the largest number of Muslims in Africa:
almost all its Hausa population are Muslims, almost all its Igbo are
Christians and the Yoruba are split down the middle. Thus Islam
reinforces Hausa identity, Christianity reinforces Igbo identity and
Yoruba nationalism unites its people regardless of religion.
Islam and Christianity divide northern and southern Sudan mainly
because the two regions were already divided by even deeper pre-
colonial cultural differences.
On the other hand, Senegal, a 90% Muslim country, repeatedly
voted after independence for a Christian president and his successor
had a Catholic first lady. This degree of ecumenical democracy has
not been achieved in the West. And in producing a female head of
state, Africa has done something that has proved beyond the reach
of the United States, France and Russia.
The years ahead in Africa will likely be ones of continuing struggle,
but we should ultimately discover whether its colonial transformation
has been deep and epic or merely shallow and episodic.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Professor Ali Mazrui is director of the Institute of Global
Cultural Studies, Binghamton University, and senior scholar
in African studies at Cornell University, both in New York
state
Courtesy
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