URGENT response

..-.. Borrower: DVP Call Number: ~

DT31 .M345 0 Journal Title: African Political Thought lam( 2012 ,_, iiiiiiiiiii Volume:

Q !!!!!!!

== MonthNear: 2012 ~ -·- !!!!!!! Pages: unknown [Chpt 1 & Conclusion] Location: ~ iiiiiiiiiii ~ - zim2 ~ = Article Author: Martin, Guy !!!!!!!

! Article Title: [Chapter 1 and Conclusion] -= ODYSSEY z iiiiiiiiiii ILL Number: iiiiiiiiiii ~

!!!!!!!

Q I llllll lllll 111111111111111111 c •• C'ifl -~ ;;.,. .. •• z =

~ I-

CHAPTER I

THE POLITICAL IDEOLOGY OF

INDIGENOUS AFRICA N POLITICAL

SYSTEMS A ND INSTITUTIONS

FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE

NINETEENTH CENTURY

(5) Every individual has a right to life and to defend his/her personal integrity. Consequently, any attempt at taking someone else's life 1vill be punished by death; (16) In addition to their daily chores, women must be involved in all levels of government; (22) Vanity is a sign of weakness, and humility a sign of greatness; (24) In Mali, never mistreat a foreigner; (25) In Mali, the envoy is always safe.

-Selected articles from the Mande Charter (1240) [La Charte de Kurukan Puga], 45, 47, 49, 51

INTRODUCTION

Highly advanced and sophisticated African civilizations, cultures, societ­ ies, and states-such as Ancient Egypt, Kush/Nubia, Axum, Ghana, Mali, and Asante-evolved throughout the continent from the ninth century before the Christian era (BCE) to the nineteenth century CE. African politi­ cal systems and institutions were traditionally based on kinship and lineage (i.e., c ommon ancestry), sanctioned by a founding myth. The lineage was a powerful and effective force for unity and stability in ancient Africa. Each lineage had its head, chosen on the basis of age, maturity, and relation to ancestors. The old (respectfully referred to as "elders") were often chosen as lineage heads because old age was usually associated with wisdom. Each ethnic group had its own system of government. In all indigenous African societies, political organization began at the lineage or village level. Religion defined moral duties and controlled conduct; it informed laws and customs, as well as accepted norms of behavior. In African systems of thought, religion is an essential part of life; indeed, religion and life are inseparable. What this

12 AFRICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT

description accurately portrays is "the belief held among African communi­ ties that the supernatural powers and deities operate in every sphere and activity of lite. Religion and lite are inseparable, and lite is not comparted [sic] into sacred and secular." 1

INDIGENOUS AFRICAN POLITICAL SYSTEMS AND

INSTITUTIONS: FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES

AND DEMOCRATIC CHARACTERISTICS

In indigenous African political systems, the rules and procedures of gover­ nance were established by custom and tradition rather than by written con­ stitutions. In addition, these systems were based on the rule of /a�that is, respect for ( and adherence to) customary ways of resolving disputes and upholding the traditions governing political behavior. More important, cus­ tomary African laws were subject to foll public debate and scrutiny; in fact, chiefs and kings could not promulgate laws without the consent of the coun­ cils. In Pharaonic Egypt-as in other indigenous African societies-every individual was equal before the law: "Pharaonic law remained resolutely indi­ vidualistic. In relation to royal decisions and to legal procedure and penalties, men and women of all classes seem to have been equals before the law. "2

Indigenous African political systems were democratic in many respects. First, they were based on an elaborate system of checks and balances; such institutions as the Inner or Privy Council and the Council of Elders acted as effective checks on the potential abuse of power by the leader ( chief, king, or emperor).3 Second, political succession was carefully institutionalized in such a way that family, clan, and ethnic competition for power was minimized and (physically or mentally) unfit leaders were automatically eliminated. Third, the basic political unit was the village assembly, where major decisions con­ cerning the society were adopted and ordinary people were able to express their opinions, have their voices heard, and actively participate in a politi­ cal decision-making process based on majority rule. A specific socioprotes­ sional group ( or caste )-such as the griots ( or praise-singers) in the Western Sudan-were the custodians of tradition and the living historical memory of the society.

INDIGENOUS AFRICAN POLITICAL

SYSTEMS AS SECULAR AND SACRED

In indigenous African societies, the social order was informed by the belief-­ passed on from generation to generation-that the ancestors constituted the link between the present, the past, and the future . The African concept of power fused the secular and the sacred. The leader was both a secular and religious leader and acted as intermediary between the living and the dead-between the people and their ancestors. The following quote from K. A. Busia perfectly captures the essence of this concept as it relates to the case of the Asante:

THE POLITICAL IDEOLOGY

In traditional African communities, it was not possible to distinguish between religious and non-religious areas of life. All life was religious ... for in tradi­ tional African communities, politics and religion were closely associated. In many tribes, the chief was the representative of the ancestors. This enhanced his authority. He was respected as the one who linked the living and the dead ... The most important aspect of Ashanti [Asante] chieftaincy was undoubtedly the religious one. An Ashanti chief filled a sacred role ... The chief was the link between the living and the dead, and his highest role was when he officiated in the public religious rites which gave expression to the community values ... This sacral aspect of the chief's role was a powerful sanction of his authority.4

13

The religious authority of the leader meant that he was also custodian of the land bequeathed to the group by the ancestors and held in sacred trust by the leader on behalf of the whole people; this explains why the land could under no circumstance be individually appropriated. While some indigenous Afri­ can political systems were more elaborate and institutionalized than others­ the so-called state societies-all of them had some form of centralized power and authority. 5

POWER AND AUTHORITY IN INDIGENOUS AFRICAN

POLITICAL SYSTEMS AND INSTITUTIONS

In indigenous African political systems, the power of leaders was derived from the founding ancestors and was hereditary in the sense that it was reserved for certain lineages by right of ancestry. Thus, in the Mali Empire, Keita was customarily the ruling clan by virtue of the fact that the empire was founded in 1235 by Sunjata Ke"ita against tremendous odds.6 Similarly, as documented by Elliott Skinner, in the Massi kingdoms, political power was linked to close­ ness to the ancestors: "To the Mossi, the power to rule was intimately linked to closeness of descent from the royal ancestors. The supernatural power of these ancestors, and the vigilance they were believed to maintain over the affairs of their descendants, were regarded as important factors in Massi gov­ ernment ... Ritual and the supernatural thus played an extremely important role in the cohesiveness of the Mossi kingdoms and in the functioning of their governmental processes."7 The leaders were customarily appointed by members of the royal lineage ( who constituted the Inner or Privy Council). In the Mali Empire, in addition to the Keita ruling clan, the aristocratic clans represented in this council were Koulibaly, Soumano, and Konate.8 As the guardian of the social order and the "soul of the nation," the leader needed to be endowed with certain personal and moral qualities; he was expected to be strong, generous, humble, courageous, bold in warfare, and devout in everyday life. As they derived their power from their ancestors, African lead­ ers were endowed with (and exercised) both religious and secular powers. Wealth and property did not belong to the leader personally, but rather to the office. Thus in the kingdom of Ghana ( eighth to eleventh centuries), gold ( the basis of the kingdom's wealth) was held in trust for the people by the

14 AFRICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT

king, who could not appropriate it for personal use. According to El Bekri, "All nuggets of gold that are found in the mines of this empire belong to the king; but he leaves to his people the gold dust that everyone knows. Without this precaution gold would become so plentiful that it would practically lose its value . "9 Similarly, in Asante ( central Ghana), the "Golden Stool" was the symbol of the office of the Asantehene (Supreme Chief of the Asante) and was said to embody the spirit of the whole Asante nation. Thus the Golden Stool-presented to the Asante as enshrining the "soul of the nation"­ constituted an emblem of unity and formed the religious basis of the Asante Confederation.10 This explains why (as reported by Colin Turnbull) the out­ rageous demand on the part of a junior British officer to be allowed to sit on the Golden Stool was perceived as an insult that resulted in a bloody war between the Asante and the British: "What he [ the junior British officer] did not know was that the Golden Stool was not a throne ... to be sat upon. It was the sacred symbol of the unity of the Ashanti [Asante] nation, and it was believed to contain the soul of the Ashanti [Asante] people. Therefore what the officer proposed was ... to defile the sacred stool, desecrate the soul of the nation, and so destroy its very existence. "11

Another democratic feature of indigenous African political systems was the decentralization of political authority and the delicate balance between central and regional power, which allowed each lineage or village to manage its own affairs and gave ordinary people a say in local governance. Again, the Asante political system, as described by K. A. Busia, perfectly illustrates this situation:

The Ashanti [Asante] were careful to prevent their chief from becoming tyran­ nical, and they developed a delicate balance between central authority and regional autonomy . . . In matters of administration, each lineage or village managed its own affairs ... each chiefdom was run on a policy of decentral­ ization, and there was a careful balance between the central authority of the chief on the one hand and the local autonomy of the component units of the chiefdom on the other. If the chief abused his power, his subordinate chiefs, the members of his Council, could destool him. On the other hand, if a subor­ dinate chief or councilor tried to become too powerful, the chief could destool him ... In the Ashanti system, the fact that each lineage, village, or part of a chiefdom managed as much of its own affairs as was consistent with the unity of the whole chiefdom enabled many to share in decision-making in local affairs; for the head of each unit was, like the chief at the center, obliged to act only on the concurrence and with the advice of his own local council.12

The African leader was fully accountable for his actions at all times. In theory, the leader ruled for life, but in practice, he ruled only as long as the people allowed it: "However autocratic a chief was permitted to appear, he really ruled by the consent of the people. There was a balance between authority on the one side, and obligation on the other." 13 The leader would be aban­ doned, be removed, or-in the worst-case scenario-be the victim of a ritual murder if he did not perform according to customs and expectations or if his people so wished, irrespective of how long he had been in office. Thus

THE POLITICAL IDEOLOGY 15

K. A. Busia describes the circumstances leading to the customary "destool- ment" (i.e., removal) of the chief in Asante in the following manner:

The Ashanti [Asante] had a constitutional practice which ensured that the will of the people was given consideration. They had ultimately the constitutional right to destool a chief. As the fundamental principle was that only those who elected a chief could destool him, a destoolment required the consent of the elders. Sometimes they initiated a destoolment themselves when, for example, a chief repeatedly rejected their advice, or when he broke a taboo, or committed a sacrilegious act . .. A chief was also destooled ifhe became blind, or impotent, or suffered from leprosy, madness, or fits, or if his body was maimed in a way that disfigured him . 14

Similarly, aggrieved or oppressed peasant subjects could always "vote with their feet" by deserting the village to create a new one, leaving the chief alone ( a social death sentence in African culture) . In most African societies, natural disasters (such as droughts, famines, and epidemics) were generally attributed to the fact that the chief or king had not ruled well and thus should be deposed or killed (regicide). Ritual murders of kings deemed morally or physically unfit to rule were commonly practiced among the Serer of Senegal, the Junkun and Yoruba of Nigeria, and the Shilluk of the Nilotic Sudan.

CHECKS AND BALANCES IN INDIGENOUS AFRICAN POLITICAL SYSTEMS AND INSTITUTIONS

An elaborate system of checks and balances ensured that the power and authority of the African leader was strictly circumscribed. In exercising his functions and discharging his duties as the ultimate political, legal, and reli- gious authority---essentially the maintenance oflaw and order and the man- agement of public affairs for the good of the community-the leader had to take the advice and counsel of two key advisory bodies: the Inner or Privy Council and the Council of Elders. The Inner or Privy Council represented the aristocratic clans and constituted the inner circle of the chief: relatives and friends, as well as prominent members of the community. This system is well described by K. A. Busia in the case of Asante: "The political system of the Ashanti [Asante] . . . had checks and balances. The chief ... was given a Council to hold him in check. The chief was bound by custom to act only with the concurrence and on the advice of his Council. If he acted arbitrarily, and without consultation and approval by his Council, he could be deposed ... Those who elected the chief, also had the power to depose him if he did not perform the duties of his office satisfactorily. " 15 The Inner or Privy Council was appointed (and thus could be dismissed) by the leader. On the other hand, the Council of Elders represented the non-aristocratic lineages and the commoners and thus could not be dismissed by the chief. This body reached its decisions by consensus and aimed at unanimity rather

16 AFRICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT

than majority. Failure on the part of the leaders to consult with the Council of Elders could result in their removal. 16

At the village level, ordinary African people acted as the ultimate judge and final authority on contested issues. Thus the Village Assembly was convened whenever the Council of Elders could not reach unanimity on a contested issue. In Bantu societies (Central and Southern Africa), Village Assemblies also ratified all new laws. Meeting procedures in the Village Assemblies were essentially democratic. First, the chief-addressing the assembly through a spokesman-would explain the purpose of the meeting, merely stating the facts. The chief's advisors would then open the debate, followed by headmen and elders. Then, anybody else wishing to speak or ask questions ( common­ ers, women, etc.) could do so. Decisions were usually taken by consensus; if that proved impossible, majority rule prevailed. Total freedom of expres­ sion-in the form of open debate and free dissent-was the rule. Thus Afri­ can political systems were truly democratic in the sense that they allowed ordinary people to have their voice heard and influence political decision making: "The Ashanti [Asante] system provided opportunities for the 'com­ moners,' those who were ruled, to express criticism, either through their lineage heads, or through a chosen leader recognized as spokesman for the commoners; through him the body of free citizens could criticize the govern­ ment and express their wishes ... in the last resort, they could depose their rulers. " 17

THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN INDIGENOUS AFRICAN

POLITICAL SYSTEMS AND INSTITUTIONS

Women played a key role in African societies, as well as in African political sys­ tems and institutions. In Ancient Egypt, women were master of their homes and senior to their husbands, and children were named after them. 18 In gen­ eral, honors were showered on the mothers, wives, and daughters of the king. It is interesting to note that there were four women pharaohs in Ancient Egypt: Nitokris, Sebeknefru, Hatshepsut, and Tauosre. Women played a key role in the political system. Also noteworthy is the fact that Ahmosis-Nefer­ tari (under Amenhotep I) and Ahhotep (under Amasis) wielded consider­ able influence in political and religious matters.19 One of the most intriguing characters of the New Kingdom (1580 to 1085 BCE) was the ambitious Queen Hatshepsut, only child of Queen Ahmosis and Thoutmosis I and the very first female monarch in world history. In the fifth year of her reign, she was powerful enough to declare herself supreme ruler of the country. The two peaceful decades of her reign were prosperous ones for Egypt. She gave priority to the country's internal affairs, commissioned a number o f important building projects, and revived-after a military expedition-the trade to Punt (present-day Somalia), which had lapsed for several hundred years.20 According to Maspero (quoted by Cheikh Anta Diop), Hatshepsut's rights of succession were superior to those of her male relatives (husba n d, brother, and father), as she claimed Amon-Re as her "father." Consequently,

THE POLITICAL IDEOLOGY 17

she appeared, in the eyes of the people, as the legitimate heir to the ruling Egyptian dynasties. One could conclude from this that in Ancient Egypt, women naturally inherited political rights.21

In Kush-the ancient Nubian rival kingdom of Egypt-the queen mother played a crucial role in the political system. In religious matters, the queen was second only to the king. Queens could also act as co-regents when they assumed power after the death of their husbands. Sometimes, queen mothers directly assumed political office. According to Hakem, many of these queen mothers became famous, and "in Greco-Roman times, Meroe was known to have been ruled by a line of Candace, Kandake or queen-regnant." These Kandake were extremely powerful figures, often able to act as the full-fledged rulers o f the kingdom and, in such cases, to be buried with full royal rituals.22

The Mande Charter stipulates that because they are mothers, women should always be treated with respect; it also rules that in addition to their domestic duties, women should also be part of the political decision-making process.23 Maninka women enjoyed a high social status and a high degree of freedom. Thus, until the middle of the fourteenth century, the first wife of the mansa (emperor) of Mali was the second most senior person in the politico-administrative hierarchy of the empire. The key province of Jenne was under her direct authority.24

CUSTOMARY LAW AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION

IN INDIGENOUS AFRICAN POLITICAL

SYSTEMS AND INSTITUTIONS

In African societies-as in any other society-disputes arise in any family or social group with regard to property. Various mechanisms and institutions were created to resolve these disputes. In Africa, individual attachment to lin­ eages always carried the potential risk of transforming personal disputes into broader group conflicts, as was often the case among the Ganda (Uganda) and the Nuer (Sudan). As a result, the principles of custom, tradition, and fairness were paramount, and particular emphasis was placed on the peaceful resolution of disputes and the promotion of social harmony. Thus the Arusha of Tanzania strongly believed that disputes should be settled peacefully "by persuasion and by resort to the established procedures for settlement." Simi­ larly, the Tallensi of Ghana abhorred killings and the violent resolution of conflicts. During the Golib festival, all feuds and hostilities between clans were prohibited, and "the themes of food, harmony, fecundity, and the com­ mon interests of the people as a whole" were emphasized.25

Peace and security prevailed in most indigenous African states. Thus the Mande C harter specifically states that in Mali foreigners should never be harmed and that the security of foreign envoys is inviolable. 26 lbn Battuta's observations on the Mali Empire are pertinent in th.is regard: "Among these qualities [ of the Blacks] there is also the prevalence of peace in their country, the traveler is not afraid in it, nor is he who lives there in fear of the chief or of the robber by violence.

, m The maintenance of peace within most African

18 AFRICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT

communities was based on four fundamental legal principles: settlement of disputes by deliberation and discussion, rather than by force; correction of wrongdoing by compensation ( except in serious offences such as murder); assessment and adjudication by elders, who were considered to be impartial; and fairness.28 Thus the Mande Charter ruled that two inviolable principles should prevail in relations among the people of Mali: sanankunya (joking relation) and tanamannyonya ( blood pact). As a result, respect of the other and peaceful settlement of disputes were the rule. 29

CONCLUSION

This chapter began by observing that advanced African civilizations, cultures, societies, and states-such as Ancient Egypt, Kush/Nubia, Axum, Ghana, Mali, and Asante-evolved throughout the continent, from the ninth cen­ tury BCE to the nineteenth century CE.

Indigenous African political systems and institutions were traditionally based on kinship and common ancestry. These systems were based on the rule of la1:v, and the rules and procedures of governance were established by cus­ tom and tradition. In these systems, succession was institutionalized in such a way that family, clan, and ethnic competition for power was minimized. The African concept of power fused the secular and the sacred; the leader was both a secular and religious leader, and he acted as intermediary between the living and the dead-between the people and their ancestors.

Indigenous African political systems were essentially democratic in the sense that ( l) they were based on an elaborate system of checks and balances according to which advisory bodies-such as the Inner or Privy Council and the Council of Elders-acted as effective checks on the potential abuse of power by the leader ( chief, king, or emperor) and ( 2) through the agency of the village assemblies these systems allowed ordinary people to have their voices heard and influence political decision making. Moreover, the African leader was accountable for his actions at all times. In theory, the leader ruled for life, but in practice he ruled only as long as the people allowed it. In addi­ tion, women played a key role in African societies, as well as in Indigenous African political systems and institutions.

Indigenous African political systems did not all follow the same pattern of state formation. Each differed depending on the conditions facing it, resource availability, military strength, leadership style, population, types of state, and size. In indigenous Africa, power and authority varied from highly central­ ized (kingdoms and empires) to highly decentralized structures of gover­ nance. States were either centralized under one leader or federal systems in which the people in the periphery paid tribute to the leader. The reference to "indigenous" should not be read as a nostalgic "golden age," but rather as a way of analyzing which institutions can be modified to be incorporated in a reconstituted modern African state.

THE POLITICAL IDEOLOGY 19

FURTHER READING

Ayittey, George B. N ., Indigenous African Institutions (Ardsley-on-Hudson, NY: Transnational Publishers, 1991).

CELTHO, La Charte de Kurukan Puga: Aux sources d,une pensee politique en Afrique [The Mande Charter of 1340] (Paris: L' Harmattan/SAEC, 2008 ).

Davidson, Basil, The African Genius: An Introduction to African Cultural & Social History (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1969).

Diop, Cheikh Anta, Precolonial Black Africa (Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books, 1987 ). Pyle, C. Magbaily, Introduction to the History of African Civilization; Volume I: Pre-

Colonial Africa (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1999). H arris, Joseph E., Africans and Their History, 2nd revised edition (New York: Merid-

ian/ Penguin Books, 1998). Shinnie, Margaret, Ancient African Kingdoms (London: Edward Arnold, 1965 ).

CONCLUSION

THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER

OF IDEAS AND VALUES

TOWARD PEACE, DEVELOPMENT,

AND DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA

.funcan political thought refers to the original ideas, values, and blueprints for a better Africa that inform African political systems and institutions from the ancient period to the present. African political thought also refers to political theories and ideologies developed by various African scholars and statesmen, as enunciated in their speeches, autobiographies, writings, and policy statements. Political thought usually precedes and informs political action; the latter, in turn, influences political thought. Political theory and political practice are thus inextricably linked. In other words, African politi- cal thought provides practical solutions to political, economic, social, and cultural problems, and it varies according to historical circumstances and a constantly changing African and world political environment.

A major distinction was made between indigenous and modern African political thought. The former was developed during the so-called golden age of African history and refers to the governance of ancient kingdoms and empires ( such as Egypt, Kush/Nubia, Axum, Ghana, Mali, Songhay, and Kanem-Bornu), but it was also developed by such scholars as Ibn Khaldun, Al Bekri, and Ibn Battuta and is associated with indigenous African politi- cal systems and institutions. Modern African political thought emerged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and was developed by Afri- can scholars such as James Africanus Horton, Edward Wilmot Blyden, and Kofi A. Busia.

All the modern African authors/statesmen surveyed in this book exhibit a number of common characteristics. First, they are both political think- ers and political statesmen/ activists, linking theory and practice as all great

154 AFRICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT

philosopher-kings have done throughout history. Second, all have, to various degrees, been influenced by the Marxist- Leninist ideology. Third, they are all truly dedicated to the welfare and well-being of their countries and people. As such, they were all dedicated African nationalists. Fourth, they ruled for a relatively short period of time ( sometimes not at all), and many died in the prime of their lives ( often at the hands of agents of Western powers), as the cases of Amilcar Cabral, Frantz Fanon, Patrice Lumumba, Thomas Sankara, Agostinho Neto, Eduardo Mondlane, Samora Machel, and Steve Biko clearly illustrate. As a result, these statesmen/activists were unable to see their poli- cies mature and bear fruit.

This textbook is, to the best of our knowledge, the very first attempt to synthesize African political thought into one single thematic volume . There are other features that make this volume unique and original. For one thing, it is the first book in which indigenous African political ideas and values ( from antiquity to the nineteenth century) are examined alongside modern African political ideas (from the nineteenth century to the present). Furthermore, it is also the very first time that the emergence of Islamic values and ideas on governance between the second and eighth centuries in North, \Vest- ern, Central, and Eastern Africa are studied in relation to indigenous African values and ideas on governance. Finally, contrary to existing works on the subject, this textbook focuses primarily on the ideas and the common themes that bind them rather than on the individualJ-whether scholars, statesmen, or leaders-themselves.

Chapter 1 consisted of an overview of the political ideology of indigenous African political systems and institutions, from antiquity to the nineteenth century. We showed that those systems and institutions were traditionalh· based on kinship, ancestry, and the rule oflaw; furthermore, they were essen- tially democratic in that they were based on an elaborate system of checks and balances, and they involved ordinary people in the political decision-making process. Moreover, the African leader was accountable for his actions at all times. The purpose of this analysis is not to reclaim a nostalgic "golden age '' but rather to identify the still functioning elements of the indigenous African political systems and institutions that could be incorporated into a recon- figured African state and fused with the positive elements of modern Afri- can political systems, as advocated by such scholars as Daniel Osabu-Kle and Mueni wa Muiu and as experimented in practice by Amilcar Cabral, SamorJ. Machel, Thomas Sankara, and Julius Nyerere.

In Chapter 2, we examined the influence of Islamic values and ideas on indigenous African political systems and institutions, from the tenth to the nineteenth centuries . Islam as a religion and way of life is one of the funda- mental aspects of African civilization . The period from the seventh to the sixteenth centuries witnessed the progressive Islamization of the states and societies of North Africa, the Western and Central Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, the East African coastal areas, and the Indian Ocean islands. In West Africa, Islam spread mostly to the urban commercial and political centers among the ruling elite and the aristocracy, leading to the emergence of a clerical class

TRANSFORMATJVE POWER OF IDEAS 155

( ulama) in these urban centers. The majority of the people-mostly peas- ants living in the rural areas-were barely influenced by Islam and remained faithful to their indigenous African beliefs. As a result, Islam in the Western Sudan was very much a mixed religion that included elements of the Berber and other indigenous African religions.

The available historical evidence shows that from the eleventh to the eigh- teenth century, a process of Africanization of Islam took place. This process of mutual cross-fertilization resulted from a fusion of elements of Islamic religion, culture, and values with elements of indigenous African religion, culture, and values that produced a mixed religion retaining aspects of both. Nineteenth-century Islamic revival in the Western Sudan took the form of a militant Messianic movement and a social revolution, leading to the creation of a new political entity, the Islamic theocratic state, which collided with preexisting indigenous African political systems and institutions. Unfortu- nately, the two systems could not be reconciled, and the theocratic states failed primarily because they were not based on indigenous values, traditions, and institutions.

Chapter 3 begins with an overview of the image of Africa as the "Dark Continent" and Africans as "primitive" and "uncivilized" constructed by Europeans-under the influence of social Darwinism-from the sixteenth century onward. The chapter then focused on the French colonial policies of assimilation and association as well as on the British policy of "Indirect Rule"; it also examined the rise of economic and political liberalism in nine- teenth century Europe as a background to the rise of "humanitarianism." The next section focused on a small Western-educated West African intel- lectual elite-Edward W. Blyden, James Africanus Horton, and Joseph E. Casely Hayford-which attempted to reconcile Western systems of thought with African values, culture, and traditions-or Western liberalism with Afri- can democracy. The last section examined the ideas of two prominent African advocates of liberal democracy: Kofi Busia of Ghana, who believed in the universal character of liberal democracy, and Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, who advocated the political ideology of African humanism.

Chapter 4 examined Pan-Africanism and African unity, from ideal to prac- tice. According to the standard-bearers of Pan-Africanism during the early post-independence period-Kwame Nkrumah, Ahmed Ben Bella, Patrice Lumumba, Ahmed Sekou Toure, and Modibo Kei:ta-the African states should aim for immediate political and economic integration in the form of a "United States of Africa" consisting of an African Common Market, African Monetary Union, African Military High Command, and a continent-wide Union Government. Alas, the continental organization that was eventually set up on May 25, 1963-the Organization of African Unity (OAU)- reflected the views of the functionalist/ gradualist African leaders ( such as Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Nnamdi Azikiwe, and Jomo Kenyatta), who advo- cated a gradual, step-by-step approach to African integration based on coop- eration in non-controversial, technical, and economic areas. After Kwame Nkrumah's demise in February 1966, Muammar Qaddafi of Libya assumed

156 AFRICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT

the mantle of leader of the Pan-Africanist movement and actively promoted the project of a Union of African States as advocated by Nkrumah in Africa Must Unite ( 1963 ). Unfortunately, the African Union (AU) that was created in May 2002 does not significantly differ from its predecessor, the OAU, as it is modeled on the European Union.

The chapter then surveyed past and current proposals for a revision of the map of Africa and a reconfiguration of the African states put forward by various authors, notably Cheikh Anta Diop, Marc-Louis Ropivia, Makau wa Mutua, Arthur Gakwandi, Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Daniel Osabu-Kle, Godfrey Mwakikagile, Pelle Danabo, and Mueni wa Muiu. These projects are pre- mised on the belief that unity is an essential prerequisite to the achievement of development, peace, and security in Africa. While each of these proposals has merit, most are not grounded in an overarching political framework, and they lack specificity in terms of the actual structure and functioning of the reconfigured states. We concluded that only with the realization of Mueni wa Muiu's project for state reconfiguration in Africa-A Federation of African States (FAS) based on five subregional units and total political and economic integration with a rotating presidency-will African's "Dream of Unity" finally become reality. 1

Chapter 5 surveyed the political, economic, social, and cultural dimen- sions of the socialist-populist ideology from a distinctly socialist perspective. Note that in the socialist-populist ideology, the emphasis is on socialist. The common characteristics of the leaders associated with this ideology-Patrice Lumumba, Ahmed Ben Bella, Amilcar Cabral, and Samora Machel-are their short tenure of office, their preference for democratic governance, their pop- ulism, and ( for the last three) the fact that they achieved independence as a result of an armed struggle. We noted striking similarities in the political ide- ologies of Amilcar Cabral and Samora Machel: the need for an ideology and to link theory and practice, the primacy of the political, the need to return to the source and create a new man, and acknowledging that the people must be the agents and main beneficiaries of democracy and development. Not surprisingly, the same common characteristics apply to the socialist-populist leaders surveyed in Chapter 6.

Chapter 6 continued the survey-started in Chapter 5-of the political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of the socialist-populist ideol- ogy from a distinctly socialist perspective. The chapter focused specifically on the statesmen who, in spite of their socialist rhetoric, used the socialist- populist ideology primarily as an instrument of control and coercion: Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Ahmed Sekou Toure of Guinea, Modibo Keila of Mali, and Julius K. Nyerere of Tanzania. We observed a significant degree of con- vergence in the way in which Nkrumah, Toure, and Kei:ta conceived of Afri- can socialism. These three leaders all viewed African socialism as grounded in African indigenous values, culture, and traditions; as people-centered, aiming at the creation of"a new man"; and as aiming at creating a Union of African States as a first stage toward the eventual establishment of a United States of Africa. We also remarked that Julius Nyerere's concept of African socialism

TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF IDEAS 157

( U.famaa ) differed somewhat from that of the previous three leaders. For Nyerere, African socialism was a universal concept and an "attitude of mind"; it was firmly grounded in African culture and traditions, and it was realized through a self-reliant strategy of development. What all these statesmen have in common is a deep and abiding faith in the power of African socialism to radically and durably transform their societies in a way that would satisfy the basic economic and social needs of their peoples, thereby significantly improving their standard of living.

Chapter 7 consisted of an overview of the political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of the populist-socialist ideology from a distinctly populist perspective, from the early 1960s to the present. By "populist-socialist" we refer to states that adhere to socialism but do not stress ( or even reject) Marx- ism. The intellectuals/statesmen reviewed in that chapter were both theoreti- cians and practitioners who genuinely sought to improve the living conditions of their people by attempting to implement policies of political, economic, social, and cultural transformation . In that chapter, we noted the striking simi- larities between the political ideas of Frantz Fanon and Thomas Sankara: the essential nature of ideology; the need for a specifically African political thought based on African values, culture, traditions, and history; cultural liberation and mental decolonization, leading to an African consciousness and the creation of a "new man"; the need for the people to be the main actor and beneficiary of democracy and development in Africa; and the need for African unity to be based on the people rather than on the governments and the elites.

The third section of the chapter focused on Muammar Qaddafi's Third Universal Theory, as exposed in the three volumes of The Green Book; it advocates "people power" in the form of a direct democracy with popular assemblies and people's committees, a socialist economy based on equitable distribution of resources among citizens, and the achievement of a substan- tial degree of political and economic unity in the form of a Union of African States. Finally, the fourth section of that chapter surveyed Steve Biko's ideol- ogy of Black Consciousness, an ideology of psychological liberation and cul- tural emancipation of the African man in South Africa. A major dimension of this ideology is its redefinition of "non-whites" as "blacks" to designate the African, Colored, and Indian/ Asian communities in the country.

What this survey of the political thought of Fanon, Sankara, Qaddafi, and Biko teaches us is that if popular democracy and development are to succeed in Africa, African people must stop blindly following the West and must be bold and innovative. In other words, it is essential that Africans develop their own ideas, concepts, and institutions on the basis of African values, culture, and traditions. This alternative path to Western liberal democracy and capital- ist development is precisely the line of thinking of an emerging African schol- arship exemplified by Daniel Osabu-Kle, Claude Ake, Godfrey Mwakikagile, and Mueni wa Muiu, whose political ideas were examined in Chapter 8 .

The Africanist-populist scholars surveyed in Chapter 8 have heeded Fanon's admonition to Africans that they must be bold and innovative and develop their own ideas, concepts, and institutions based on African values, culture,

158 AFRICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT

and traditions . Thus Daniel Osabu-Kle, Claude Ake, Godfrey Mwakikagile, and Mueni wa Muiu-who all have the best interest of Africa and its people at heart-have, each in their own way, developed ideas for a new, free , and self-reliant Africa.

As previously stated, African political thought provides practical solutions to political, economic, social, and cultural problems, and it varies according to historical circumstances and a constantly changing African and world politi- cal environment. The fact that Africa is currently facing a multidimensional crisis-political, economic, social, and cultural-of epic proportions is not in dispute. Ethno-regional and religious conflict, intra and interstate wars, droughts, famine, diseases, epidemics, malnutrition, and state collapse, frag- mentation, and disintegration are the norm rather than the exception in Africa today. There is no doubt that the extreme severity of the African crisis-or, rather, of the African predicament-calls for drastic solutions and radical remedies. As the French saying goes, "aux grand maux les grand remedes" (extreme crises call for drastic remedies). Mueni wa Muiu and I concluded Fundi wa Afrika by addressing the following call to action to every African:

Africans, is this the Africa we want? How many more of us will have to die as a result of senseless wars before we realize that our own salvation and that the solution to all our problems lie not without, but within ourselves? Let us move beyond mere survival; let us refuse to remain passive victims of a perceived pre-ordained fate and let us become the initiators and agents of our own devel- opment. Indeed, as Fanon urges us to do, let us create a new African. Therein resides the secret of Africa's resolution of its predicament, and the key to its future development. 2

Ideas matter. The majority of the statesmen/scholars reviewed in this book demonstrate the power of political ideas as they helped transform the various African societies involved. An ideology is essential as a guide to action in a new society. Political theory and political practice are inextricably linked. As Fanon cogently remarked, "the greatest danger that threatens Africa is the absence of ideology. " 3 Heeding Fanon's admonition to "turn over a new leaf," "work out new concepts," and "set afoot a new man," 4 the Africanist- populist scholars-exemplified by Claude Ake and Mueni wa Muiu-haYe, indeed, been bold and innovative in their quest for new ideas and new con- cepts-based on African values, culture, and traditions-to create a free and self-reliant Africa and a new African. More specifically, these Africanist- populist scholars offer an Africanist perspective based on the conviction that the solution of African problems lie within African themselves; they consider the people as the agent, means, and main beneficiary of democracy and deYel - opment; and they are all convinced Pan-Africanists, variously calling for the advent of a Union of African States, United States of Africa, or Federation of African States. May they inspire a new generation of African scholars to follow in their footsteps, take up the challenge, and come up with new ideas and concepts for peace, development, and democracy in Africa.