RE: Abandoning concepts of tribe and tribalism: Yoga Adhola
Dr. Valentine Ojo
Abandoning concepts of tribe and tribalism: Yoga Adhola
The recent events in Kenya has sent many people to attempt to analyse, and
postulate whether the same thing could happen in Uganda.
While this conversation is positive, I find it has been constrained by the
concepts being used to analyse. The whole subject has unfortunately been
treated as tribalism.
The concept tribalism is derived from the
concept tribe. What, however, is a tribe? I raise this question because what
most people call tribes are strictly not tribes. They may be ethnic groups or
nationalities, depending on one's ideological disposition. In the case of the
dialogue which has been occasioned by the events in Kenya,
I would rather use the concept identity.
French 'tribu' and English 'tribe' originate
from Latin tribus or the Greek equivalent phule. All these are linguistic terms
designating Indo-European institutions of antiquity. They designate particular
kinds of social and political organisation which existed in these societies at
the time.
According to Henry Morgan, the great 19th
century anthropologist, a tribe "illustrates humanity's condition in
barbarian state." That is to say humanity is no longer at the primitive
and savage, but not yet civilised, not yet a political state.
Notwithstanding the common usage of the word
"tribe", tribes almost don't exist anywhere in the world today. To
use the term, is a daunting misnomer. Beyond this it shows the limited
knowledge of whoever is using the concept for the purpose of analysis.
Concepts like tribe are supposed not just to
represent phenomena, but should also help us understand. They are tools of
analysis. Whenever we are using the wrong concept, there is a disconnect
between our view and the reality we are trying to handle. It is like using the
wrong tool: you cannot, for instance, go to observe the stars with a
microscope; you need a telescope.
It is in this regard that I find the concept
‘Identity?more appropriate. Social identity has been defined as
"...that part of an individual's self-concept which derives from his
knowledge of his membership of a social group (or groups) together with the
value and emotional significance attached to the membership."
We should hasten to point out that at a
definite time one or some of these memberships are more salient than others.
When Daily Monitor columnist, Dr Munini Mulera is talking about tribe, he
actually means identity.
Listen to him: "I praise tribalism as a
positive force for self-affirmation and self identity; for cultural celebration
and continuity; for channeling collective efforts at community development.
Being in the social company of Banyakigezi is a unique family experience that
brings me immeasurable joy."
Here he actually means to talk of identity. As
we have already argued, tribes don't exist any more. However, the need for
identities does exist. This need is met by various forms of identities. They
may be based on ethnicity, gender, religion, or profession.
Dr Munini totally misses the point when he
writes: "I reject a culture that allows ethnic and racial identities to
govern decisions and actions that otherwise demand justice, fairness and a
broader view." It should be remembered that identities also deserve to be
treated fairly. They also demand justice.
A few examples will illustrate our point. The
anti-colonial struggles were struggles for the recognition of the identity of
the colonised nations. In the early ?0s the Blacks in the United States waged
serious struggles to achieve equality for their identity.
Further, this argument is delusional. The
reality is that there are times when identity becomes a political factor. The
current situation in Kenya clearly demonstrates
that. It should be clear to us that it is the identity question which is
driving events over there.
Right as I am writing the womenfolk are waging
spirited struggles to get themselves recognised as equals with the menfolk.
Rubaga South MP Beti Kamya's controversial article too was about the identity question.
Identity has also been the major driving force
of our politics in Uganda. This has been so
despite President Yoweri Museveni's attempt to
obscure issues. He has not only attempted to dismiss identity politics as
something belonging to a pre-capitalist era. On page 187 of his book, Sowing
The Mustard Seed he writes: "......
pre-capitalist polarisation based on identity
rather than rationality can be extremely injurious to a country." It seems
the President is not aware of Quebec in Canada and the Irish.
There is also the case of Belgium. These are all capitalist countries. In Canada, the French Canadians who populate the province
of Quebec have several times tried to break away from Canada
as a way of getting their identity recognised.
Everybody knows that it was the identity issue
which erupted into a long war in Ireland. He has
also tried to ban identity politics, calling it sectarianism.
This is akin to behaving like the proverbial
ostrich. You bury your head in the sand and assume that nobody has seen you.
The late Tanzanian leader Julius Nyerere even put
it better when he said that if you have a sick person in the house and you keep
it secret, the neighbours will eventually know when the person has died and you
are wailing.
This is what has happened in Kenya. For years some Kenyans and non-Kenyans refused
to recognise the existence of the identity issue in Kenya.
That did not eliminate the issue. Eventually the elections brought about the
occasion for it to bust out.
Back to Uganda:
What was Kabaka Yekka, apart from the articulation of an identity which was
declining relative to the other identities? The Catholics as an identity felt
marginalised and organised themselves into the Democratic Party. The Uganda People’s Congress on the other hand was
the embodiment of the feeling of minority nationalities.
Despite President
Museveni's attempts to ban identity politics, the identity question is
still driving our politics. Instead of living in the delusion that it is only
the so-called kipingamizi (Loosely translated Swahili
for saboteur) who engage in identity politics, we should come out and admit
that the principal political problem facing us today is how to negotiate our
way among identities.
It is only that way that we shall institute
programmes to learn about identities. To learn to realise that, just as we feel
proud of our respective identities, others also deserve their identities to be
recognised and respected. That identity can be a political factor of serious
magnitude.
yogaa...@msn.com
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