Pambazuka News 823: The absolute necessity of revolution
25 May 2017
CONTENTS: 1. Features 2. Announcements
Features
As in many post-colonies, the Socialist movement in Nigeria has failed due to the organic divorce of the movement from the struggles of the oppressed. Revolution is no longer seen as a practical necessity, largely because of the movement’s petty bourgeoisie class origins. To revive the movement, this class needs a deep and radicalising experience of privation and oppression out of which it can find no escape but revolution.
History is not as far removed from the crises afflicting Africa today as many people seem to think. Imperialism has fought against the continent’s genuine independence and socialist development over the last five decades. As Nkrumah said, independence was only the prelude to a tougher struggle for the right of Africans to conduct their affairs according to their own aspirations.
Some 130 years ago, European powers met in Berlin to hatch an agenda of subjecting Africa and its peoples to mere vassals, property to be possessed and exploited for the benefit of white people. African Liberation Day celebrates the African people’s successful resistance to this oppression. The Day is also a proud commemoration of the role Africa has played in the advancement of human freedom.
It is important to understand the political significance of this Day. It is not just a Day to celebrate our African pride but also a date to remember the freedom fighters of the continent and to keep in mind all the battles still to be fought for the definitive liberation from neocolonialism. It is a Day to denounce all foreign interference in Africa. The third generation of African freedom fighters is growing impatient with the contradictions of ongoing coloniality in the Motherland. Europe and its allies continue their imperialist subjugation and plunder with the support of puppet leaders as Africans suffer. A new anti-imperialist wave is gathering momentum across Africa to complete the continent's unfinished liberation.
Gaddafi was certainly not killed for humanitarian reasons. He wanted to empower Africa. He had a plan to create a new African Union, based on a new African economic system. He wanted to introduce the Gold Dinar to back African currencies, so they could become free from the dollar. He wanted to protect Africa’s vast natural resources from Western looting. The imperialists eliminated him.
The Igbo genocide is the foundational genocide of post-(European)conquest Africa. It inaugurated Africa’s current age of pestilence. The genocide has been studied most expansively. Thus, to understand the politics of the genocide and the politics of the “post”-Igbo genocide is to have an invaluable insight into the salient features and constitutive indices of politics across Africa in the past 51 years.
Who should be held accountable for the continued violations of rights, and the deprivations of life and dignity, experienced by African refugees and migrants?
Every single revolutionary who has walked this Earth has said it: The liberation of humanity is impossible without the liberation of women. And, for the millionth time, here is why:
Nubians have lived in Kenya for a century, but they are still discriminated against by the government that treats them as foreigners. Getting a national identity card is very difficult. And even after that, Nubians are vetted throughout their lives. Now their efforts, including engaging regional human rights mechanisms, to negotiate the complex bureaucracy are beginning to bear fruit.
Author Abdi Samatar’s muddled account of the history of Somalia is full of errors and inconsistencies. For reasons probably known to him alone, he avoids engaging with the existing scholarship on the post-colonial period. The author seems to be pursuing a certain political agenda, and not solely interested in providing a rigorously researched study of Somali history.
History is not as far removed from the crises afflicting Africa today as many people seem to think. Imperialism has fought against the continent’s genuine independence and socialist development over the last five decades. As Nkrumah said, independence was only the prelude to a tougher struggle for the right of Africans to conduct their affairs according to their own aspirations.
Announcements
The objective of the special issue is to examine the discourses of national, inclusive and equitable transformation as opposed to a mere exercise of power transfer between political elites.
Prospera is the hub of a dynamic, global movement of women's funds, philanthropic organizations driven to change the world for women, girls, trans people and their communities. Over the last year, the Prospera team and board has worked to develop a roadmap for the Network to successfully build up and implement the 2016-2021 Strategic Plan. In this context, we have decided to hire a Deputy Director to work with the current Executive Director and help lead Prospera into its second decade. For more information, view the attached documents below.
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Henry Makori and Tidiane Kasse - Editors, Pambazuka News
Yves Niyiragira - Executive Director, Fahamu
Websites: Fahamu.org, Pambazuka.org |