If you give three people a knife each, one may choose to use it as a meat carver, another may choose to use it as a wood worker while the third may use it to murder others. Certainly, the fault is not with either the knife or the one who gave off those knives rather, it’s what each recipient chose to do with it. Many contend that after independence, African nations abandoned their rich culture of fashion, language as well as made the wrong choice of religion instead of technology to run on as it’s fuel and hence the deplorable condition of the continent.
Peripheral Issues
The famous civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jnr., once said: “I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” With this generally accepted statement we can filter some of the assertions people sometimes contend are the African problem such as whether we should abandon the fashion, language, and religion of the ‘white man’.
Prior to the covid pandemic, many citizens of France advocated the banning of the hijab which is the head and face coverings of mostly Muslim women. I understand that for some, it was a security concern which has its merits but then for those who simply felt offended by the hijab, time has proved them wrong. The wearing of the hijab like most cultural practices, have stories behind them. Owing to the pandemic, the wearing of masks has become mandatory in several places and is being integrated into fashion on a global scale. Simply put, mask wearing has come to stay as a new addition to fashion culture.
Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and other African politicians have forever proudly worn colorful native regalia for their official duties both locally and in international meetings without offense. Whether we wear agbada, aso oke, bubu or kente for the purpose of work and business has not prevented the massive corruption that has rigged the socioeconomic landscape of the continent. Such issues are simply ‘color of skin’ issues that in no way define the content of human character. I wouldn’t be surprised if in a few years the so called ‘white people’ and others start wearing perhaps agbada, aso oke, bubu or kente for official business across the globe.
A Togolese or Beninois would naturally choose France for further education, while a Nigerian, Ghanaian or Zimbabwean would choose England. When you travel to other countries where you can read basic signs and communicate freely without the need for an interpreter, the experience is so refreshing, and it tells why those who were colonized and taught the language of their colonial masters naturally emigrate to these countries. In the same way, using the English language or French or Arabic as official language does not in any way define who we are. It is simply a question of lingua-franca convenience.
To understand the African problem as whole, we must do some historical analysis of England, the United States, India and South Korea which have often been cited in case studies as modern models of successful advancement. Approximately 300 years ago, England was at a place like some African nations today in terms of governance and economic conditions. The political system of government was a monarchy that was oppressive and triggered corrupt practices of the elite. The industrial revolution was on at the time and scientists as well as industrialists were working hard to foster economic growth in society. Amidst all these developments, the repression in English society and Europe was so bad it triggered the quest of some to look elsewhere for survival. The result was the discovery of North America. The founding fathers of the United States resolved to establish a system of government that did not resemble the English or European monarchies in any way hence, the democratic system that is practiced in the United States today.
The underlying corruption in England was not overcome until spiritual awakenings broke out with notable revivalists such as Charles Spurgeon, William Booth of Salvation Army, John, and Charles Wesley who founded the Methodist Church, Evan Roberts, Smith Wigglesworth amongst others. These revivalists appealed to the conscience of the nation and fostered the moral compass by which the English reinvented themselves. Martin Luther and John Calvin were the spiritual reformists whose writings amongst others are credited to the moral compass by which the Europeans exited the vices dark ages to some extent.
Though the founding fathers of the United States adopted many scriptural principles in crafting the constitution of the new nation, the same corruption that plagued England and Europe began to surface with industrial development. Here again, it took Spiritual Revivalists such as Maria Woodworth Ether, D.L. Moody, John G. Lake, Alexander Dowie, Oral Roberts, Gordon Lindsay, Billy Graham amongst others to restore the moral compass that has sustained the American experiment.
India, and most nations of Africa were colonized by the British and Europeans in the race to expand their domains. South Korea was a colony of Japan. Eventually these colonies won their independence and so have governed themselves for decades.
India’s independence and development is largely credited to Mahatma Ghandhi. Let’s take a closer look at this man. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India’s independence from British rule, and to later inspire movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Born and raised in a Hindu family in coastal Gujarat, Gandhi trained in the law at the Inner Temple, London, and was called to the bar at age 22 in June 1891. After two uncertain years in India, where he was unable to start a successful law practice, he moved to South Africa in 1893 to represent an Indian merchant in a lawsuit. He went on to live in South Africa for 21 years. It was here that Gandhi raised a family and first employed nonviolent resistance in a campaign for civil rights. In 1915, aged 45, he returned to India and soon set about organizing peasants, farmers, and urban labourers to protest against excessive land-tax and discrimination.
Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women’s rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability, and, above all, achieving swaraj or self-rule. Gandhi adopted the short dhoti woven with hand-spun yarn as a mark of identification with India’s rural poor. He began to live in a self-sufficient residential community, to eat simple food, and undertake long fasts as a means of both introspection and political protest. Bringing anti-colonial nationalism to the common Indians, Gandhi led them in challenging the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (250 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930 and in calling for the British to quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned many times and for many years in both South Africa and India.
Gandhi’s vision of an independent India based on religious pluralism was challenged in the early 1940s by a Muslim nationalism which demanded a separate homeland for Muslims within British India. In August 1947, Britain granted independence, but the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two dominions, a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan. As many displaced Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs made their way to their new lands, religious violence broke out, especially in the Punjab and Bengal. Abstaining from the official celebration of independence, Gandhi visited the affected areas, attempting to alleviate distress. In the months following, he undertook several hunger strikes to stop the religious violence. The last of these, begun in Delhi on 12 January 1948 when he was 78, also had the indirect goal of pressuring India to pay out some cash assets owed to Pakistan. Although the Government of India relented, as did the religious rioters, the belief that Gandhi had been too resolute in his defence of both Pakistan and Indian Muslims, especially those besieged in Delhi, spread among some Hindus in India. Among these was Nathuram Godse, a militant Hindu nationalist from western India, who assassinated Gandhi by firing three bullets into the chest at an inter-faith prayer meeting in Delhi on 30 January 1948. (Biography of Mahatma Gandhi is courtesy of Wikipedia)
A brief excerpt of how South Korea overcame Japanese imperialism from Wikipedia states that… “Of the several dailies and magazines founded shortly after the March First Movement, the newspapers Dong-A Ilbo (“East Asia Daily”) and Chosun Ilbo (“Korea Daily”) spoke the loudest for the Korean people and inspired them with the ideals of patriotism and democracy. In the academic community, scholars conducted studies on Korean culture and tradition. Novels and poems in colloquial Korean enjoyed new popularity. David Yongi Cho founded the world’s largest single Church in South Korea, impacted the moral compass of the young nation that today boasts Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Kia and so many global technology brands.
Three significant figures involved in the fight for the independence of African nations such as Nigeria were Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo and Tafawa Balewa. In Ghana it was notably Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Kenneth Kaunda for Zambia, Robert Mugabe for Zimbabwe, Jomo Kenyatta for Kenya, Kamuzu Banda for Malawi, and the list goes on. The various roles they played together with others in fostering the independence and establishment of their young nations are no secret. However, the inward fighting, tribalism and overwhelming corruption that has marked the leadership of African nations are all too obvious. In the seventies and early eighties some of us were witnesses to the rise of great industrialists in South Africa and Nigeria. Many local entrepreneurs established enterprises with potentials that could have eventually matched the achievements of the Samsung’s, Apple and Microsoft’s of today. The question is ‘what happened?’ Did the Churches or Spiritual leaders kill the industrial potential of Africa? The answer is obvious. Spiritual leaders arise to the forefront of national consciousness when there are obvious repressions, depravities, and deprivation that plague society. We must not make the mistake of apportioning blame wrongly or else we shall be ignoring the real issues and end up in another kind of crisis.
The Leadership Issue
When as a young man I bought peeled orange from a hawker in Lagos or Accra or Lusaka or Blantyre or Harare or Gaborone or Lomé or Cotonou or Abidjan and after sucking the juice, I threw the remains on the streets, I demonstrated the lack of leadership. By using the word leadership, I am not relegating it to only Political leadership but to all aspects of human existence such as Family, Community, Business, Educational, Spiritual/Religious etc. Leadership entails having a vision which is a mental picture of some possibilities. We then follow-up this mental projection with diligent steps until it materializes.
The great musician Steve Wonder was once asked how he was able to achieve so much in life and he answered “vision”. The interviewer was amused and retorted “but you don’t have sight?” Steve Wonder laughed and replied that you don’t need eyes to have a vision. I earlier on made mention of South Korea and how their intellectuals rose to the occasion of their challenges and newspapers published articles that revived their national consciousness and values by which they overcame Japanese imperialism and rose to global prominence. I also gave an extensive bio of Mahatma Gandhi the renowned Indian leader who by a ‘selfless vision’ steered India in the right direction after Independence.
This is not to suggest in any way that there have been no African leaders who have demonstrated ‘selfless vision’ and made an impact. I remember former Governor Lateef Jakonde of Lagos State and his vision of free and accessible education for all. Upon assuming office, he harnessed available land in existing schools and expanded classrooms. He built new schools and successfully reduced the school dropout rate in the state. When I was young, I remember an FM Radio Station in Lagos that often played public service jingles intermittently during their broadcasts. The voice of ‘Okoro’, famed character of the ‘Village Headmaster’ drama series would come through…. “Buy made in Nigeria ooooo” as well as many other appeals to the national consciousness.
No singular kind of leadership can fix the sophisticated challenges that plague the African society. It must be a combined effort of leadership at various fronts. Leadership and selfless vision must be taught in our schools, echoed on mass media, and rewarded publicly. Africa needs leaders who would be first to take responsibility for the dysfunctional society we find ourselves in. Family heads must have a selfless vision for their families… Educators must have a selfless vision for their students… Entrepreneurs must have a selfless vision for their customers…. Journalists must have a selfless vision for their audience… Spiritual Leaders must have a selfless vision for their congregations… Politicians must have a selfless vision for their constituents…
Notice that in the previous paragraph I have consistently qualified the need for vision with the word ‘selfless’. I want to focus on its essence. Let us assume that I am at a self-serve party buffet, and due to ‘long-throat’ I serve myself with so much meat, leaving almost nothing for the next person in line. Though such courtesy is usually an unstated premise, it is disorderly to be inconsiderate of others who are at the party. Selfless means to be orderly.
When South Korea became an independent nation, it was reeling from imperialism and a civil war that had shattered the nation very badly. In the same way the British at independence handed over the economy of most African nations with so much capital, the United States granted South Korea millions to spur development of their economy. The South Korean government in turn identified local entrepreneurs with the potential to grow the economy and gave them grants to pursue their enterprise visions. These grants are core to the success story of South Korean entrepreneurs with global brands like Samsung, LG, KIA, Hyundai etc.
If you look closely at how several politicians including the likes of Umaru Dikko plundered the Nigeria government coffers of about $2.5 billion US dollars only to stash it away in overseas bank accounts. Many African politicians such as Mobutu Sese Seko are also guilty of the same practice. It is obvious they all had a vision that was hardly selfless. It was a vision of just acquiring money! Sadly, many Entrepreneurs, Educators, Spiritual and Community Leaders in Africa as a whole share the same vision! It has become a glorified culture such that possession of much money is equated to being prosperous. Hence most people in African society are simply out to get money whether by fair or foul means.
There is a certain order that pervades some of our cultures in Africa but then hardly qualifies to be selfless. Such cultures have been perverted and ultimately self-serving to those in powerful positions of authority. I am not referring to the noble culture of respect for elders which is fundamental to any form of order, rather the over-extensions by which leaders exploit the vulnerable. Vices such as favoritism and injustice meted to those who don’t have lots of cash to flounder around.
A selfless vision is one that becomes a platform for the benefit of everyone. The family head is not trying to exploit family members… the Chief and Judge are not offering justice to the highest bidder …. The Entrepreneur is not out to trick customers …. The Politician is not scheming a way to defraud the people…
I am beginning to sound like an ‘idealist’ or perhaps a ‘preacher’. Well, the reality is, that is how selfless vision is articulated. Someone must sell it to the masses or preach it to the audience. Audacious leaders must arise with that optimism and like Mahatma Gandhi, demonstrate it by a lifestyle of penance. Every nation on the continent of Africa needs such selfless leaders to set the tone for a new kind of order where we frown on selfishness and rather celebrate people for how they diligently impact their communities through selfless works.
What we chose to use ‘the knife’ the ‘white man’ left us with has always been our prerogative. Change starts with me as the legitimate steward of my nuclear family. I must have a selfless vision for all those who look up to me in my community and work. Envisage a selfless possibility of your stewardship, project it and follow it. This is only the first step forward for Africa.
Kenneth R. Walley is a Business Analyst and Gospel Minister…
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