THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
BY VERY REV. PROF. NOAH KOMLA DZOBO & SIMON AMEGASHIE-VIGLO
OCTOBER, 2004
2
TABLE OF CONTENT PREFACE CHAPTER ONE AFRICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE STUDIES 1.1
Indigenous African Frame of Orientation on Life Cultural
Pluralism and
Problematic Human Existence………………………..……….…..1
1.2
Principles of Cultural Organisations…………………………………………….…2
1.3
Orders of Culture…………………………………………………………………...2
1.4
Basic Postulates for the Study of African Culture Heritage………………………...3
1.5
Culture as a Totality of the Way of Life……………………………………………4
1.6
Culture as the Characteristic Way any Identifiable Social Group Makes Things.…4
1.7.
The Root Culture of Africa…………………………………………………………4
1.8
Elements of Ghanaian Culture Heritage…………………………………………….5
1.9
The Fusion of Cultures…………………………………………………………..…5
1.10
Definition of Terms…………………………………………………………………5
1.11
What is a Proverb?.....................................................................................................6
1.12
The Form and Content of a Proverb………………………………………………..6
1.13
The Evaluative Function of a Proverb………………………………………..….…7
1.14
Possible Exam Questions……………………………………………………….….7
CHAPTER TWO AFRICAN SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE 2.1
Purpose……………………………………………………………………………9
2.2
Uses of Signs and Symbols………………………………………………….….....9
2.3
Natural Signs and Artificial Signs……………………………………………...… 9
2.4
Artificial Signs………………………………………………………………..…...10
2.5
Symbols in General………………………………………………………….…….10
2.6
Suitability of Symbol Objects………………………………………………...…...11
2.7
Types of Indigenous Symbols………………………………………………….….11
2.8
Religious and Ritual Symbols………………………………………………….….14
CHAPTER THREE THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
3 TIME IN THE AFRICAN UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE 3.1
African Time………………………………………………………………………15
3.2
Everlasting Future, Present and Past………………………………………..……17
3.3
The African Attitude to the Past………………………………………..…………17
3.4
The Concept of the Present………………………………………………….……18
3.5
The Cyclical Concept of Time……………………………………………..…….18
CHAPTER FOUR THE INDEGENOUS AFRICAN CALENDAR ORGANISATION OF TIME: AKAN AND EWE CASE STUDIES 4.1
The Origin of Time………………………………………………………………. 21
4.2
The Calendar………………………………………………………………………21
4.3
The Akan Traditional Calendar (Akwasidea)………………….…………………22
4.4
Organisation of Time…………………………………………..…………………22
4.5
Names for the Days of the Week and the Days of the Months………………………………………..………….………….22
4.6
Ritual Days (Dabone)……………………………………………………………..23
4.7
How to Determine the Traditional Name of any Date of the Roman (Christian) Calendar…………………………………………….….…24
4.8
The Four-day (Nkeke-Enene) Week Calendar of the Ewe………………….…….24
4.9
The Meaning of the Days of Nkeke Enene Week…………………………………24
4.10
Nkeke Enene Week and Seven Day Week…………………………………….…..25
4.11
Summary……………………………………………………………………….…25
CHAPTER FIVE AFRICAN THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE AND TRUTH (THE EWE AND AKAN OF WEST AFRICA) 5.1
Introduction……………………………………………………………………….27
5.2
The Method of Knowing……………………………………………………….…27
5.3
Categories of Knowledge…………………………………………………………30
5.4
Nyansa as Wisdom………………………………………………………………..31
5.5
Attitude to Knowledge……………………………………………………………32
5.6
The Concept of Truth ……………………………………………………………33
5.7
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………37
THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
4 5.8
Theology of Life and Death ………………………………………………………39
5.9
Life and Death Syndrome…………………………………………………………39
5.10
The Reality of Life and Death ……………………………………………………40
5.11
The Ewe Word for Death – Ku……………………………………………………41
5.12
The Fear of Death………………………………………………………………...43
5.13
Death and Reinforcement of Moral Sanctions…………………………………….45
5.14
Life and Death of Jesus Christ: African Relevance and View of it……………………………………………………………………...46
CHAPTER SIX SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT: THE ROLE OF THE CHURCHES, PAST, PRESENT AND THE FUTURE 6.1
Opening Remarks………………………………………………………………..51
6.2
School as the Farm for Growing Children………………………………………51
6.3
Children are Seeds Sown in the Field……………………………………………52
6.4
The School as a Developing Agent………………………………………………52
6.5
African Demand for School Education………………………………………..…53
6.6
The Times are Changing…………………………………………………………64
CHAPTER SEVEN CHRISTIANITY AND AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION THE GHANAIAN CASE 7.1
The Wrong Terminologies used for African Indigenous Religion………………57
7.2
The use of Wrong Terminologies………………………………………………..57
7.3
The Concept of the High God in Africa…………………………………………61
7.4
The Dual Name for the High God………………………………………………61
7.5
The Development Relationship between African Traditional Religion and the Christian Faith…………………………………..…………….62
CHAPTER EIGHT COLONIALISM AND COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION IN AFRICA 8.1
Introduction………………………………………………………………………65
THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
5 8.2
Allegory of the Murdered Virgin………………………………………………….66
8.3
Imperialism and the Establishment of Colonialism in Africa ……………………67
8.4
What are Capitalist Monopolies?.............................................................................67
8.5
What is Colonialism?...............................................................................................67
8.6
The Colonial Economy…………………………………………………………..68
8.7
The Crown Colony System of Colonial Administration……………………….…69
8.8
Traditional Rulers and Indirect Rule…………………………………………….. 70
8.9
The French Colonial Policy of Assimilation …………………………………... 73
8.10
Portuguese Colonial Rule………………………………………………….……..75
8.11
Belgian Colonial Rule……………………………………………………….…..75
8.12
Neo-colonialism………………………………………………………………....76
CHAPTER NINE PAN-AFRICANISM, NATIONALISM AND THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN AFRICA 9.1
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………79
9.2
Factors that gave birth to Pan-Africanism………………………………….…….79
9.3
Phases of Pan-Africanism in Africa………………………………………………79
9.4
Aims and Objectives of Pan-Africanism …………………………………………80
9.5
Activities of Pan-Africanists……………………………………………………...80
9.6
African Nationalism and the Struggle for Independence in Africa…………..…..82
9.7
Phases of Nationalism…………………………………………………………..…82
9.8
The Resistance Phase…………………………………………………………..…82
9.9
Proto-nationalism Phase……………………………………………………….…83
9.10
Nature of Proto-nationalism……………………………………………………...84
9.11
Demands of Proto-nationalists…………………………………………………...84
9.12
Mass Militant or Modern Nationalism Phase…………………………………....84
9.13
Methods of Organisation and Demands………………………………………....84
9.14
The Impact of the Second World War on Nationalism in Africa…………….….85
CHAPTER TEN THE POST-COLONIAL STATE IN AFRICA 10.1
Introduction………………………………………………………………….….87
10.2
The Post Colonial State in Africa……………………………………………....88
THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
6
10.3
The Behaviour of the Post-colonial State in Africa………………………….…89
10.4
Similarities between the Colonial and the Post-colonial State ………………....90
10.5
Differences between the Colonial and the Post-colonial State……………….…91
CHAPTER ELEVEN MILITARY INTERVENTION IN POLITICS AND DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA 11.1
Introduction……………………………………………………………………93
11.2
Military Intervention in Politics in Africa…………………………………….93
11.3
To what Extent is the Military an Obstacle to Democracy in Africa?................94
11.4
Reasons for Military Intervention in Africa…………………………………....94
11.5
The Performance of the Military in Politics in Africa………………………....96
11.6
A Critique of the Performance of the Military in Politics in Africa……….…..98
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE STRUCTURE OF AFRICA’S POLITICAL ECONOMY AND CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT 12.1
Introduction…………………………………………………………………...101
12.2
Structure of the African Economy………………………………………….…101
12.3
Concept of Development ……………………………………………………..107
12.4
Theories of Development………………………………………………….….107
12.5
Conceptual Meaning of Development …………………………………….….108
12.6
The Three Objectives of Development Today……………………………..….109
12.7
Education as a Strategy for Development …………………………………....110
12.8
Crucial Questions about Education…………………………………………….111
12.9
Relevance of Education to Development………………………………………111
12.10 The Education Reform in Ghana……………………………………………….112 12.11 Structural Changes in Education……………………………………………….112 12.12 Challenges to Education in Ghana……………………………………………...113 12.13 Goals of the Educational Reform………………………………………………..114
THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
7 CHAPTER THIRTEEN THE AFRICAN DEBT PROBLEM 13.1
Introduction……………………………………………………………………115
13.2
Causes of the Debt Problem…………………………………………………..115
13.3
Effects of the Debt Problem…………………………………………………..117
13.4
Proposed Solutions to the Debt Problem………………………………………117
13.5
IMF & World Bank Solutions to the Debt Problem…………………………..118
CHAPTER FOURTEEN DEPENDENCY AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA 14.1
Introduction…………………………………………………………………….119
14.2
Types of Dependency Relationships in Africa…………………………………119
14.3
Economic Dependency in Africa………………………………..…………..…119
14.4
Political and Ideological Dependency in Africa……………………..…….…..121
14.5
Socio-Cultural Dependency in Africa…………………………………..……..122
14.6
Effects of Dependency on the Development of African Countries…………….122
14.7
Remedial Measures for Breaking the Dependency in Africa………………......123
CHAPTER FIFTEEN PAN AFRICANISM AND THE INTEGRATION OF AFRICAN ECONOMIES FOR DEVELOPMENT 15.1
Introduction…………………………………………………………………..125
15.2
Allegory of the Murdered Virgin……………………………………………..125
15.3
Pan-Africanism and the Development of Nationalism……………………….126
15.4
The Concept of Development………………………………………………..128
15.5
Challenges of Nation Building in Post-colonial Africa………………………129
15.6
Africa in the Global Economy………………………………………………..130
15.7
Integration of Africa Economies for Development………………………….131
15.8
Compensation of Africa for the Slave Trade…………………………………132
CHAPTER SIXTEEN DECENTRALISATION AS A STRATEGY FOR DEVELPOMENT 16.1
Abstract………………………………………………………………………133
16.2
Introduction…………………………………………………………………..134
16.3
Problems of Decentralisation in Development Administration……………...135
THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
8 16.4
The Ghanaian Experience of the Decentralisation in Development Administration under the District Assemblies……………………………….136
16.5
An Exploration of Literature on the Concept of Decentralisation……………138
16.6
Studies on Decentralisation in some African Countries ……………………..139
16.7
Studies on Financial Aspects of Decentralisation in Ghana…………………..139
16.8
Personnel Aspects of Decentralisation in Ghana ………………………….…..140
16. 9
Studies on Rural Development in Ghana …………………………………….140
16.10
Theoretical Framework of Decentralisation……………………………….….141
16.11 Forms of Decentralisation…………………………………………………..…143 16.12 Relationship between Decentralisation and Development………………..…...144 16.13 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..…145 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN TEN YEARS OF MEDIA AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY IN GHANA (1993-2003) 17.1
Introduction…..………………………………………………………………….149
17.2
The State of the Media and the Level of Free Press in Ghana……………… …..150
17.3
Constitutional Duty of the Media…………………………………………… …151
17.4
Relationship between the Media and Government……………………………..151
17.5
Interests Championed by the Media………………………………………….....152
17.6
Performance and Impact of the Media on National Development and Democracy……………………………………………… …152
17.7
Problems and Challenges to the Media Industry in Ghana……………………..153
17.8
Professional Excellence and Ethical Standards…………………………… …. .153
17.9
Prospects of the Media in Ghana………………………………………………154
17.10 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….154 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN THE YOUTH AS CATALYSTS FOR CONSOLIDATING DEMOCRACY, PEACE AND STABILITY IN GHANA 18.1
Introduction……………………………………………………………………157
18.2
Democracy, Peace and Stability……………………………………………….158
18.3
Basic Essentials of a Peaceful and Stable Democracy…………………………159
18.4
The Role of the Youth in Consolidating Democracy Peace and Stability……..159
18.5
Challenges and Threats to the Youth in Serving as Catalysts for
THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
9 Consolidating Democracy, Peace and Stability………………………………..160 1.9 Enabling Environment and Capacity for the Youth to play their Role as Catalysts in Consolidating Democracy, Peace and Stability…………………..162 18.7
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….162
PREFACE This book, ‘The Triple Heritage of Contemporary Africa’ is the result of seven to ten years of research and teaching experience in African Studies at Ho Polytechnic by the Very Reverend Professor Noah Komla Dzobo (PhD) and Simon Amegashie-Viglo (BA Hons. Political Science, M. Phil. African Studies). The title depicts a periodisation of contemporary African history and civilisation. The first heritage is the pre-colonial era, the second heritage is the colonial epoch, whilst the third heritage is the post-colonial period. These three classifications constitute The Triple Heritage of Contemporary Africa. The first seven chapters are the out come of ten years of teaching and research in African Studies at Ho Polytechnic by the Very Reverend Professor Dzobo, a distinguished Ghanaian educationist, theologian and a former moderator of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana. The last eleven chapters are the out come of seven years of teaching and research in African Studies by Simon AmegashieViglo, the Head of the Department of Liberal and General Studies of Ho Polytechnic from November 1996 to February 2005 and Vice Principal of Ho Polytechnic from March 2001to June 2005. The objectives of this book are: • To stimulate an informed interest among students and the general reading public about the complex historical, social, economic, political and developmental problems of contemporary Africa through the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial periods. • To enable students appreciate the adoption of appropriate strategies, particularly indigenous self-sufficient appropriate approaches, for addressing these problems. • To help improve students self-awareness, understanding and appreciation of Ghanaian and African societies with a view to encouraging good citizenship and an involved commitment to the broad issues of societal development. • To help students live and operate more effectively in the Ghanaian and African environment. • To enable students view and evaluate issues more and more from African perspective, in order to reduce in minds, prejudices and misunderstandings about African values and way of life. • To inculcate a sense of nationalism and pride in African students, about their being African to boost their self esteem and confidence for national development. ‘The Triple Heritage of Contemporary Africa’ also assumes the burden of neutralising these racist prejudices and biases. For instance, European works and activities during the colonial period were aimed at ‘proving’ the inferiority of the African. Anything of value that was uncovered or seen in Africa was attributed to the influence of some allegedly superior group on the continent or to people from outside Africa. The idea that Africa could have exerted any civilising influence over other people was completely shunned or ignored. This strategy was to make Africans accept their supposed inferiority in order to prepare the way for the imposition of colonial rule. THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
1 For example, Prof. Trevor Roper had this to say about Africa at the Oxford University during this period. "Undergraduates, seduced by changes in journalistic fashion demand to be taught the history of black Africa. Perhaps in future, there may be some African history to teach. At the moment, there is none. There is only the history of the white man in Africa. The rest is darkness and darkness is not a subject of history". Other negative pronouncements and phrases had been used to describe the African. For example "The African has an extremely small brain incapable of advanced thinking". ‘The African is half-child, half-devil’, "Africans were ordained to be hewers of wood and drawers of water" etc. All these strategies and measures were adopted to make the establishment of colonial domination possible and acceptable to Africans. ‘The Triple Heritage of Contemporary Africa’ for every student of Africa.
is therefore an imperative reading material
Chapter one is entitled ‘The African Cultural Heritage’ and it discusses indigenous African frame of orientation on life pluralism and problematic human existence. The chapter also considers the role of proverbs in African societies. Chapter two takes a look at African symbolic language. It discusses the purpose, uses and significance of African symbolic language. Chapter three is on the concept of time in the African understanding of life. It handles the issue of African time, everlasting future, present and past, the African attitude to the past and the cyclical concept of time. The organisation of indigenous African calendar of time is treated in chapter four. The chapter makes an exploration of the Akan and Ewe calendars. Chapter five takes a critical look at African theory of knowledge and truth in relation to the Akan and the Ewe of West Africa. Methods of acquiring knowledge, categories of knowledge, attitude towards knowledge, the concept of truth, theology of life and death are analysed in the African context. Chapters six and seven are speeches delivered by Professor Dzobo and have been included because of their thematic contents and relevance. The remaining eleven chapters are presentations on the colonial and the post-colonial African situation. Chapter eight deals with the establishment of colonialism in Africa, it outlines the reasons for colonialism and discusses the methods of colonial administration. Chapter nine preoccupies itself with Pan-Africanism, nationalism and the struggle for independence in Africa. The post-colonial state in Africa and the challenges of nation building are the focus of chapter ten. Chapter eleven gives consideration to the emergence of the military as contenders to political power and its implications for democracy on the African continent. Chapter twelve makes an analysis of the structure of Africa’s political economy and outlines the structural bottle-necks to economic development. The concept of development is discussed and education as a strategy for development is examined. The African debt problem is treated in chapter thirteen. The causes, effects and possible remedies to the African debt problem are given. Dependency and underdevelopment in Africa is treated in chapter fourteen. Chapter fifteen which was first published in the Daily Graphic of December 30, 2000 and January 02, 2001, is a very strong Pan-Africanist position on regional integration and economic development in Africa. Chapter sixteen is an examination of the concept of decentralisation as a strategy for development. Finally chapters seventeen and eighteen are public lectures delivered by Simon Amegashie-Viglo and have included because of their themes.
THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
1 This book is our humble contribution to the available literature and discourse on the African heritage from an African perspective. The book may have its own shortcomings in style and content. Criticisms and suggestions from readers for improvement are welcome. We however accept full responsibility for any shortcomings contained in this book whether analytical or grammatical. The Very Rev. Professor N. K Dzobo Former Moderator EP Church, Ghana, Ho
THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
Simon Kofi Amegashie-Viglo Lecturer, Ho Polytechnic, Ho
1
CHAPTER ONE AFRICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE STUDIES 1.1 Indigenous African Frame of Orientation on Life Cultural Pluralism and Problematic Human Existence African Cultural Heritage Studies is a programme of studies that addresses the African cultural heritage as specific and unique cultural orientation as they obtain within the African experience. The programme will present African culture as specifically pluralistic because the world is made up of variations and the most interesting of these variations is the one displayed by human beings referred to as life-ways or culture (Walter Goldschmidt, 1960).A Through their cultures, peoples have worked out equally different ways of meeting or responding to the common problems pertaining to successful adjustment to the diverse emergencies in their lives and of their natural and socio-economic environments. By these responses they have come upon different ways of organising their social and economic life and embellishing their daily living with meaning and arts. In their various responses they have come upon different ways of perceiving reality and explaining their experience and of managing moral and spiritual problems of human, and of ordering economic and ecological relationships. The different ways of responding to the problems of life go up to make history or civilisation which we come to know in its pluralistic forms as the civilisation of Africa, of Europe, of China and America, and as Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilisations. Culture then is not a monolithic racial achievement realised once and for all time, and it is not a uniform or standardised achievement either. Culture is the totality of the way of life, which is identifiable of a group of people. It expresses their characteristics pattern of behaviour with material objects like tools, weapons, types of clothing and shelter, languages, customs, beliefs and ideals, values and social and economic and religious institutions which arise among people living together. Culture is problem-solving in its orientation and so it is the characteristic way any identifiable social group makes things, solves problems, the way they farm, fish, trade, the way they order their society, marry, understand and look at the world around them. Culture includes people’s attitude and beliefs, knowledge and aspirations. Human culture then is not only pluralistic, but dynamic and so each set of people essentially has its own set of solutions to the universal human need for food and shelter, for security and survival, protection and extension of the family. The manner in which each people meet is unique and specific challenges of life becomes its culture and thus its orientation to life. Culture in this course will be seen principally as an orientation to life and of life where such an orientation serves as a fundamental direction, a guiding principle, or a lodestar of life. The specific orientation of life of a people gives their life its characteristics ethos and leads to the evolution of a definite and distinct life style. The course of study then is a study of a specific cultural viewpoint on life referred to as African culture heritage. African culture then is one of the diverse human cultures found on this planet and as such it is not just a bag of outmoded customs, traditions, folk-ways and bizarre taboos; it is a specific and unique African orientation of life with unique defining characteristics. The elements of THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
1 Ghanaian indigenous cultural heritage are therefore kente and adinkra cloths, and how we wear them, various Ghanaian languages, e.g. Ewe, Twi, Ga, proverbs, stools, symbols, ananse stories, festivals like Odwira, Hogbetsotso, Akwasidae, Awukudae, Fodwo, Fofie, our religious organisations, puberty and funeral rites, libation, ancestral beliefs, out-dooring, weaving African names and organisation of time. All these form our indigenous cultural heritage sometimes referred to as social inheritance. 1.2 Principles of Cultural Organisations: As each culture is founded on some dominant principle of comprehension or world-view as for example the Dobu Islanders of the South Pacific founded their culture on treachery and ill-will (Ruth Benedict, Patterns of Culture) and the West founded its culture on the assumption that the human individual is a solitary being and that conflict and struggle are characteristic of individual and social growth and development; Indigenous African Culture, on the other hand, had been founded on the principles of unity in duality and on the assumption that the individual human being is a relational and fundamentally a poetropic being and thus lives basically to achieve a creative synthesis. Growth and progress are therefore seen as brought about in African culture not through conflict of competing interests but through struggle to overcome conflicts wherever they are manifested within the fabrics of society and to achieve the harmonisation of divergent interests. 1.3 Orders of Culture: Culture can be divided into two main orders namely the observable phenomenal order and this includes all the human cultural creations and ordering of human affairs and society. The phenomenal order of culture however, is the product of the ideational order of culture which is the primary determinant of culture as an orientation of life. The ideational order is made up of the value system as found in our proverbs, and the belief and thought systems as found in our ideas of God and human beings and perception of being. The ideational systems provide the foundation of people’s life ways, define their particular fundamental direction and motivations of life. The belief and thought systems will be referred to as the world-view or perception of reality and the value system as the value orientation. (Wellanshauang: comprehensive conception of the world from one point of view). World-view pervades all aspects of culture: it includes the assumptions regarding the world and man’s place in it. It includes human conduct, plight and destiny and socio-economic assumptions. Religion and education are very important aspects of the value orientations of people and are considered as cultural variables and relatively have different meaning and function in different cultural settings. Value orientations and reality perceptions serve as the lodestar of the cultural life of a people. Value orientations and world-views are then not replaceable parts of a culture machine that can be removed and replaced by another. They are intricately woven into the fabric of life and change so as to adjust to the environmental circumstances and the need of people while retaining their essential nature. To destroy the value orientations and world-views of people is to leave them without that sense of direction which is necessary not only for a community life but for a personal self-actualisation and satisfaction. During the course of any cultural contact, however, cultural fusion and borrowing take place and the African culture heritage, that we have now, is to some extent the fusion and adaptation of Middle Eastern and Western industrial cultural traits e.g. Islam and Christianity. As a result, we have in some cases a hybrid cultural heritage as we have among the Creoles of Sierra Leone and in other cases cultural traditions turn to co-exist and exercise mutual THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
1 influence on each other with the influence of the aggressive culture predominating e.g. Western industrial culture and indigenous African humanistic culture. 1.4 Basic Postulates for the Study of African Culture Heritage. 1. Indigenous African culture or the root culture of Africa is not a bag of customs and taboos, it is not drumming and dancing nor outmoded traditions. It is essentially an African orientation of life and thus a different way of apprehending reality and explaining experiences. The indigenous African culture is the unique and specific ways that Africans respond to the various organic needs and problems of life, e.g. housing and survival of the group, the individual and reproduction. 2. Africans, like people everywhere, respond to life’s problems in terms of what they consider to be desirable and satisfying i.e. in terms of value orientations and reality perceptions and form the ideational order of culture which provides the underpinning for peoples’ life ways. 3. Value orientations and world-views form the heart of culture considered as an orientation of life. They give unity and meaning to culture and human existence and form the rallying point around which actions take place. African orientations to life are uniquely different as Prof. K.A. Busia said, ‘Each culture emphasises certain values which determine the way of a people’ (Ed. Mc Ewan and Sutcliffe, 1967 p. 315). 4. That indigenous African culture is inherently worthy as an orientation of life, even though still contains some static and unprogressive elements e.g. Widowhood rite and excessive use of fear as a principle of behavioural transformation. These elements, however, provide its growing points and inherent growth force. 5. That the relevant and meaningful education that Africa needs should come out of the total environment of the people and its goal should be to ensure the growth and development and survival of the life-ways of Africa and preserving, enriching and developing a critical sense of acceptance in Africans of their indigenous culture. 6. That the very important process of enriching and promoting the culture of members of society come from drawing sustenance from the common pool of world’s culture heritage and using formal education as a culture artery for feeding the recipient culture. We shall therefore approach African culture heritage in the course of study not as something sacrosanct but as something in need of continuous improvement. 1.5 Culture as a Totality of the Way of Life: Culture is a totality of the way of life which is identifiable of group of people. It is the characteristic pattern of behaviour, especially the characteristic way they address the problems of their existence with material objects like tools, weapons, types of clothing and shelter, languages, customs, beliefs, ideas, social institutions and means of transport which arise among people living together. 1.6 Culture as the Characteristic Way any Identifiable Social Group Makes Things: Culture is the characteristic way any identifiable social group manufactures things that solve their existence problems e.g. the unique way they farm and fish, hunt and trade, the way they organise their society and the upbringing of their children, attitude and values, their beliefs and aspirations. All form their cultural heritage or social inheritance. 1.7. The Root Culture of Africa: The indigenous African culture or the root culture of Africa is not a bag of customs and taboos, it is not drumming and dancing nor outmoded traditions. It is a definite stand on life or a definite understanding of life and how to live it. It is therefore the different ways that Africans apprehend reality, explain their experiences, it is the unique and specific ways Africans respond to the various organic needs of human existence and to the challenges of their life as a social entity. THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
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Africans like people everywhere respond to life’s problems in terms of what they consider to be desirable and satisfying i.e. in terms of value-orientations and world-views and so valueorientations e.g. social relation ability and world-views from the heart of culture considered as an orientation of life. They give unity and meaning to culture and thus to human existence forms the rallying point around which actions take place. African orientations to life are uniquely different because each culture emphasises certain values which determine the way of life of a people (K.A. Busia). Part of this course will be spent articulating those values that give the indigenous African culture its unique sense of directions, its ethos (guiding beliefs of a person, group) and its motivations. For example, the West has founded its culture on the assumption that the human individual is a solitary being and that conflict and struggle/competition are characteristic growth and development of individuals and groups as a whole. African indigenous culture, on the other hand, has been founded on the principle of unity in duality and on the assumption that the individual human being is a relational being and is fundamentally poetropic and thus lives basically to achieve a creative synthesis. Growth and progress are therefore seen as brought about in the indigenous struggle to overcome conflicts where they are manifested within the fabrics of society and to achieve the harmonisation of divergent interests. 1.8 Elements of Ghanaian Culture heritage: Asiamigbe, Afenogbe, our religious rites e.g. puberty, funeral rites, libation, outdooring rites and weaving, African names e.g. Opoku, Agbesi, our explanation of the universe, and of how things came into being - creation stories and educational traditions, the food we eat, ways of handling crimes, spiritual hunger, etc. 1.10 The Fusion of Cultures: There has been a fusion of indigenous African culture and the industrial culture and its religions from the West and the religious culture of the Middle East. There has been a hybrid culture heritage as we have among the Creoles of Sierra Leone. Cultural traditions tend to co-exist and exercise mutual influence on each other with the influence of the aggressive culture predominating - e.g. Industrial Culture predominating over our humanistic culture. “ If there is to be progress, the African must develop confidence in him/herself, and this he can do only if he/she understands his/her own cultural development and respects his/her own cultural heritage” (Prof. J.A. Ajayi of Nigeria). PAREMIOLOGY 1.10 Definition of Terms ‘Paremiology’ is the scientific study, critical and objective study of proverbs and a ‘paremiologist’ is a person who carries on a scholarly study of proverbs, a proverb scholar. ‘Paremiography is the composition of proverbs and a paremiographer’ is a composer of proverbs. 1.11 What is a Proverb? In the process of communication, various devices are used to get our ideas, feelings and attitudes to people, proverbs are some of these devices. A proverb is an indirect way of communicating what people want to say to others. Proverb is another way of saying something to people. It has its own characteristics which could be said in plain words. They are generally short and pithy sayings used to express symbolically certain ideas, ideal, values and beliefs and so one Yoruba proverb said “A proverb is the horse which carries one swiftly to the discovery of ideas”.
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1 A proverb is therefore more than a wise old saying. It is a symbolic expression that leads us to conceive of situations, events, ideas, patterns of behaviour and of values. The proverb just quoted leads us beyond the literal meaning of the saying to think of how to understand the function of proverbs in general, proverbs are oral literary expressions that help us conceive of relationships, ideas or to arrive at certain understanding of life, e.g. (1) Knowledge is like a baoba tree and no one person can embrace it with his hands, not even with both arms’. This is another way of saying, ‘There is no limit to what an individual can know from life’s experience. Another proverb says the same truth this way: “Knows all, knows nothing” (Nim, nim, nnim). The Greek philosopher Socrates put it this way. “The only thing I know is that I know nothing”. Comparing the different ways the same truth is said it can be said that proverbs are symbolic and pictorial ways that our fore-bears expressed their thoughts and feelings, their beliefs and aspirations. They are figurative ways that reality in the experience of our fore-parents is approached and apprehended. Structurally a proverb is a different way of saying something. A proverb therefore invariably contains a hidden meaning or message in itself or in its symbols. 1.12 The Form and Content of a Proverb A proverb may be compared to a palm-nut, you may have to crack its hard shell of symbolism before you can see the ‘Kernel’ inside it. A proverb has ‘a shell’ and ‘kernel’ i.e. a form and content. The content is always some moral truths, principles, values or attitudes and the linguistic structure provides its form. To illustrate the point; “It is the slave who becomes wealthy that dares to go after the wife of the chief” i.e. “sudden material wealth can make people lose their sense of judgment”. The formal structure of a proverb provides for its denotative meaning, and its content its connotative meaning” To illustrate, “Alive dog is better than a dead lion”. The literal meaning of such a proverb provides us with its denotative/primary meaning: e.g. Two significant symbols: ‘live dog’ and ‘dead lion’. In everyday language the dog ‘denotes’ domestic quadruped and the ‘lion’ a wild quadruped. These are the primary meanings of the words. ‘Live dog’ and ‘dead lion’, however, are used in the proverb ‘to imply different ideas, i.e. ‘to express secondary meaning’. They are used to represent ‘the idea of ‘limited power’, and powerlessness’. These two ideas are implied in the primary understanding of ‘live dog, and dead lion’. ‘ Limited power’ and Powerlessness are the implied or connotative meaning of the primary meaning of the terms. The latter uses of the terms connote meanings, which may not generally be accepted by everyone, and this makes the interpretation of proverbs and their symbols sometimes difficult. The logical relationship between the denotative and connotative proverb is always one of entailment. 1.13 The Evaluative Function of a Proverb: In addition to denotative and connotative meanings, proverbs have evaluative functions. To illustrate: ‘No one scratches the back when it is the chest that itches’. There are two courses of action portrayed in this proverb. The two courses are presented as the two possible ways of solving problems: direct approach/attack and the evasive method. The proverb is advising THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
1 the latter one, and is thus passing judgment/evaluation on the two methods. It is in this respect that we can say that the proverb has an evaluative function. Take another example, ‘Dzigbodii nye xoxo na ada’ Patience is older that force/impatience: judgment; Patience is a virtue while restless desire is a vice’ Here, two character traits are being evaluated: Patience and anxiety. 1.14 Possible Examination Questions 1. ‘Sankofa is an indigenous African culture eruption looking for an authentic cultural identity and expression’ Comment extensively on the quotation. 2. What is Ghanaian culture? 3. State the ideational order of culture and give examples of its elements. 4. What do you consider to be the cultural function of formal education? 5. State two basic postulates of African culture heritage and discuss them fully
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CHAPTER TWO AFRICAN SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE 2.1 Purpose The purpose of this chapter is to study our traditional symbol system as a source of knowledge, truth and values in our understanding of African orientations of life. a) Africans have used both visual objects and picture words to express, transmit and store their thoughts, emotions, attitudes and aspirations. b) Visual images and ordinary objects are used symbolically to communicate knowledge, feeling and values. Thus in Ghana, stools, sandals, rings and cloths etc. are used symbolically to communicate some messages of life. Symbols play a very important role in African conception of reality. Understanding the function of symbolism as a medium of communication, of African culture is very essential. 2.2 Uses of Signs and Symbols 1. The nature and role of signs and symbols can be mixed up in the process of transmitting information. 2. Clear notion of the difference in the way signs and symbols are used and their nature is therefore necessary. 3. This will help a better appreciation of the cognitive value of our indigenous symbols. 2.3 Natural Signs and Artificial Signs 1. The two types of signs are used to provide stimuli for fairly determined and appropriate responses. 2. Natural Signs e.g. Smiling, waving, harmattan haze. ‘Smoke’, is used to indicate the presence of fire, the proverb: ‘There is no smoke without fire’. A smile is a sign of friendliness, presence of swallow, harmattan has come, scar on your leg or face -- a sign of an accident. 3. Natural sign is always a part of a greater event, or of a complex condition, and the sign indicates the rest of the situation of which it is a notable feature: Sign is always a symptom of a state of affairs. 4. Significant Features of a Sign: 5. The sign - e.g. smoke, scar, 6. Its object - fire, accident, 7. Subject - individual who relates the sign and object signified 8. The sign and its objects are logically related - smoke and fire to form a pair - one term is less important - smoke; and the other term is more important - fire. The less important term-smoke becomes the Sign of the more important one – the object (fire). a) The lees important term is normally easily available than the other term in the pair e.g. Smile and warm heart/feeling adu ko nu dome le vo b) The more important term becomes the meaning of the less important term: Love and smile. 2.4 Artificial Signs α) Sometimes we produce artificial or arbitrary objects and actions and correlate them with important ones that serve as their meanings. These are called artificial signs. E.g. traffic signs: red means stop or prohibition, yield right of way-major road ahead and be prepared to yield, right of way. Brown cloth for mourning, placing your arm across the middle of the head or at the back of the head is sign of mourning. THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
1 β) Artificial signs are used in a culture to impart specifically agreed information. Meanings assigned to artificial signs are limitless e.g. Serpent. χ) A sign can be taken or designed to mean so many different things and so different meanings can be read into them that are possible: e.g. “stick-up thumb in Ghana and U.S., ram: humility and power, the left hand can mean a sign of filth or peace and reconciliation. Signs can convey ambiguous information. Yet they furnish information about the environment, intentions and feelings of people so as to evoke appropriate responses. d) Their major limitations are ambiguity and they do not point beyond themselves to hidden meanings and information as symbols do. 2.5 Symbols in General: a) Signs convey simple information. b) Symbols are used to convey complex knowledge, abstract truth and ideas about the environment, life and its meaning, e.g. personal name e.g. Rawlings. J, Clinton used as symbols; c) J.J.R. the former President of Ghana, response: everybody will stand up: the name is used as a sign and so it calls forth an appropriate response. d) In the first instance, the names make us think of what persons bearing such names represent in consciousness. The names in the first instance are used as symbols. e) Terms that are symbolically used do not call forth action appropriate to their objects. They make us think of their objects in a certain way. f) Symbol therefore is a vehicle for the conception of an object. It enables us to conceive or form an opinion of an object. It enables us to conceive or form an opinion of an object and for the information of mental image e.g. Castro as Modern David fighting against the modern Golliath - the U.S. g) The conception of a symbol is therefore in what it means: e.g. Woman, abatan pa symbols of peace, creativity, productivity, life and growth and care. 1) The conception of the objects is derived from certain unique and relatively enduring traits, noticeable in the objects used as symbols e.g. serpent: Continuous renewal and wisdom to live without hands and legs. 2) The meaning of a symbol, like that of a sign, is determined by the one using it and so the serpent can be a symbol of humility and also a symbol of evil and deceit and resurrected life and renewal. 3) The subject and his culture are therefore responsible for the meaning given to any particular symbol and the synthetic process of giving meaning to symbols is expressed by one proverb. ‘The Potter, and not the pot, is responsible for the shape of the pot” E.g. the symbol of egg: feminine beauty, easy and safe child-birth symbol of life.-- Fragile state power held in one hand is safe: Egg held in the hand. 2.6 Suitability of Symbol Objects: a) Objects, plants and animals are used because they run true to type. They possess enduring character traits e.g. Egg is characteristically fragile and so its fragility can be used to represent all fragile objects, easily damaged relations--love. b) Human being is used to represent changeableness, God--permanence, man--war, woman-- peace and goodness-Nyuinyo. 2.7 Types of Indigenous Symbols: The indigenous cultures of Africa are replete with symbols and symbolic expression. In the indigenous Ghanaian cultural symbols are used in different situations of life, and the contexts in which they are used have come to classify them into six major groups with unavoidable overlappings. The six groups are adinkra symbols, stool symbols, linguist staff symbols, religious symbols, ritual symbols and oral literature symbols. THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
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a) Adinkra Symbols The adinkra symbols derived their name and popularity from one of the national cloths of Ghana called adinkra. The word adinkra comes from the Twi words di nkra, meaning “to say good-bye” The adinkra cloth is traditionally a mourning cloth and is normally worn “to say goodbye” to the dead, i.e. to express sympathy for the bereaved family and so it is commonly seen at funerals and memorial services. It is usually printed with symbols that express various views of life and death. Some writers give other possible origin and meaning of the adinkra but it is true to say that it is the use context that provides the name for the cloth. For full account of adinkra symbols, see A.K. Quarcoo, The Language of Adinkra Patterns (Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, 1972) and also A Kayper Mensah, Sakonfa - Adinkra Poems (Ghana Publishing Corporation, Tema 19720) i. Owuo Atwedee “the ladder of death, everybody will climb it one day to go to God”. This is a symbol of the inevitability of death, which is not a curse but a home going to one’s father. ii. Nyame Bewu “Unless God dies, I will not die” is a symbol of the immorality of the soul (se--Ewe), okra--Akan). The two symbols are used to give a true African meaning to human existence: Life and death are two. Nyame Bewu. iii. Ana Mawu aspects of one reality and so you cannot have one without the other iv. Gye Nyame, “Only God” is an abstract symbol representing the dependability of God. Its Ewe version called Mawu ko is a right drawn with a clenched fist and the pointer finger pointing straight up meaning “I lean only on God alone” because he is dependable. The indigenous society uses the adinkra cloth as an appropriate canvas for displaying traditional symbols, which express their unique apprehension of reality and of death. b) Stool Symbols The traditional stool of Ghana, like the adinkra cloth, is used as a medium for displaying various symbols. The stool itself is a symbol in its own right and is considered as the abode of the soul (se- Ewe) (okra -Twi) of a nation or an individual. Every individual or state must therefore have his or its stool. Formally a bride is given a stool by her husband so as to settle her soul in the husband’s house. In some cases, a mother is given new stool on the birth of a new child. The act is to reinforce the continued stay of her soul in her husband’s house. The stool as a symbol of the individual’s soul has become a highly valued personal property: and so if the owner is not sitting on it. Theoretically, nobody else is allowed to sit on it and so it is generally laid on its side. The stool is conceived as a female principle and its seat part is shaped like the crescent and also to represent the warm embrace of a mother welcoming her beloved child from journey or from the day’s labour. The crescent part of the stool I call atuu, which is a word used to embrace a person arriving from a journey. The middle portion of the stool is carved as a symbolic representation which may be an object or abstract symbol such as elephant, sakonfa, bird, Gye Nyame or Eto. The stool usually derives its name from the symbol that is used in its middle portion, which is called titina (middle) or nufiala (teacher), because the particular message of THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
2 any stool is found in its middle portion. The message of the Nyansapow (Wisdom Knot) stool may be used as an illustration and rendered as: “ The present generation cannot lay aside the wisdom of the past for they can only do this if they have something better to replace it” The stool is therefore used as a seat as well as an aid to teach something important. C) Linguist Staff Symbols At the court of any Ghanaian chief, there is always an important official called “ Okyeame”. He is a linguist or spokesman through whom the chief is in term spoken to, on both private and public occasions. The linguist is usually appointed with regard to his experience and expert knowledge of traditional matters and for his tact and diplomacy. He is a close adviser to the chief and pronounces judgement at the court on behalf of his chief and his elders. Each linguist has a staff of office, which is carved in wood and topped with a symbolic emblem, usually covered with silver or gold leaf. The emblem depicts a proverb or expresses a highly cherished value in the society. The five popular symbols that are seen on top of linguist staffs are given below. 1. “Three heads joined together: This depicts the value of consultation and discussion in arriving at mature decisions especially at the court of the chief. It is based on a proverb that says: “One head does not go into a council”. 2. “A hen stepping on her chicks: This is a symbol of parental discipline. It is the duty of parents to correct their children and parental correction should not be taken as lack of affection for children but a deep concern for their good. 3. ‘The crowing rooster’ (Cock): This is a symbol of a good leadership. The belief among the Ewe is that a leader is the person who wakes up his followers to their responsibilities and privileges. This symbol is used as a guiding principle of the administration of the chief of Anyako in the Volta Region of Ghana. 4. “The Pineapple”: The Pineapple symbol represents the value of deliberation and long thought needed at the chief’s court as a prerequisite for arriving at sound decisions. The symbol is derived from a proverb which says: “If you are in a hurry to eat a pineapple, you end up eating a green one”. 5. “A man holding a snake’s neck” Like many other symbols, this one is based on another proverb which says. “If you get hold of the head (neck) of a snake, what is left is a piece of rope”. This is advice to chiefs to address themselves to the essential elements of their administration and to the important needs of their people. It has become clear from the preceding discussion that in the indigenous African society, the cloths that people wear, the stools they sit on and what they use as aids are used as a means of self-expression and as a medium for teaching both the young and the old. 2.8 Religious and Ritual Symbols: All the preceding visual symbols were born of religious or philosophical beliefs. But there are other symbols that express specific beliefs about, say the High God and reveal the conceptions of his nature. Thus “Nyame-dua” is a symbol of a belief in the abiding presence and protection of God. In the Mawu - cult among the Ewe, the rugged triangle made of sticks is a symbol derived from the opening proverb formula of traditional prayer which runs as follows: “Three things (Nyame Dua) make life”. THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
2 This is another way of saying: Anything put on tripod of the traditional outdoor stone stove will not fall down. This is a symbol of stability and inner repose called Eto, i.e. three. This type of life is also described as being “cool” (efa in Ewe) and is one of the defining characteristics of the Ewe High God, Segbo, who is therefore referred to as Fafato “the Father is Owner of Coolness”. Peace has therefore become the necessary condition of life creativity and growth and so one proverb says: “The yam thrives well when its mound is cool”. The other very religious symbol is the woman, who is used as a symbol of Ewe High God in his capacity as the primordial cosmic unity--totality and the creative principle of life. The unity of the godhead is referred to as Segbo, which represents the fullness of the divine being; and it is referred to in its totality as Mawu-Lisa or Dada segbo-Lisa. The dual name for the High God comprises the female and the male principles of life; and one is invalid without the other (June Singer, 1976). The High God as a creative principle is therefore characteristically symbolised by a woman. This makes it clear why it is a woman among some African ethnic groups, who officiates at puberty rites and at weddings. These rituals have their symbolic meanings. The purpose and essence of life to the indigenous African society are to be creative and productive and the whole of life is seen as a field in which the individual plants the seeds of life. The personal Ewe name Agbefanu, meaning “Life is like sowing” And the proverb, “Woman without man is like a field without seed”, sums up the indigenous creative view of life, which is an essential component of Africanity.
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CHAPTER THREE TIME IN THE AFRICAN UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE 3.1 African Time: The expression “African Time” was frequently used, especially during the colonial period to describe generally the uneconomic use of time in Africa by Africans. The phrase has therefore been used to mean the lack of attaching strict money value to the use of time by Africans. When we Africans look at the Western use of time, we say that generally speaking the West has a secular attitude to the use of time and we see this attitude in such popular saying as: “time is money”. Time therefore has become a quantity to be divided into time units classified as “hour” “day” “week” “month” and “year” and quantified as so many cedis/dollars per hour, per month and per year. West Africans, generally speaking, are relaxed in the use of time and even though they are becoming conscious of time as so much money per so many time units, their predominant attitude to time is determined by its ability to promote human good and strengthen creative human relationship. The Ewe therefore have the saying: “Novikpokpo enye noviwowo” meaning: “You enjoy yourselves as brothers and sisters when you have the time to meet often”. Africans thus hold a spiritual view of time because, ‘………. For Africans man is deeply a religious being living in a religious universe. His/her time in the universe has a religious significance for Africans.’ (John Mbiti 1970) We shall now examine the total African conception of time temporarily, especially its categories. There has been some misrepresentation of the four categories of time in Africa, viz; the past and present, the future and eternity. According to J.S. Mbiti, to Africans time is a two dimensional phenomena, with a long past, a present and virtually no future. He goes on to say that for the African actual time therefore is what is present and what is past. It moves backward rather than forward, and people set their minds not on future events but chiefly on what has taken place. There is no idea of a distant future beyond six months and at most beyond two years, contends J.S. Mbit. Dominique Zahan, presents this generalised view of time in Africa and says: “The human being (in Africa) goes backward in time, he is oriented towards the world of ancestors, towards those who no longer belong to the world of the living, while he turns his back on what is to come, the future” (Ibid. p. 45). These representations of the African conception of the various categories of time are too sweeping and over-generalised. Asare Kofi Opoku took a very strong exception to these generalisations of African conceptions of time and gave three examples of events in the life of Ghanaian-Africans which go to show that they have an idea of a solid and distant future. In the communal ownership of land among some Ghanaians, the ownership is vested in the clan ancestors who are to ensure the proper use of the land for the sake of the present generation and generations yet unborn. There is therefore a practice of leaving some palm fruits from any fresh bunch of palm-nuts from the tree so as to ensure that there will be palm fruits in the forest to provide food and oil for the succeeding generations of an indeterminate future. Asare Opoku went on to delineate two futures. Certain and unspecified future. The unspecified future is any time in the future within which an action can take place. It can be a very near future or a remote future as illustrated by the following two proverbs; THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
2 a) “The vulture says he is learning to walk like a king for some day (da bi, Twi Gbedeka, Ewe) a day unknown to him he might be made a king”. b) The person who is prepared for war is never taken by surprise and so life must be planned with this certainty of the future in mind. Life definitely has its past, its present as well as its future and because of this understanding of time in Africa, one other proverb says: The pig says: You eat tomorrow, tomorrow and not only today, today”. In other words, make provision today for tomorrow which is certain to come because agbe le ngo, meaning “there is life yet ahead of us to lead”. Life is lived in terms of its past as well as its future. From these analyses we can conclude that there is a futurity concept in Africa, at least in West Africa and people are interested in the future as much as they are in the present and the past. God deals with us in our past, present as well as in our future. It is interesting, however, to know that in the Ewe language there is only one word for “past” and “future”, and the word is etso, and to refer to yesterday add the clause “si va yi” and you have, etso si va yi, which means: “etso which has passed me by” and to refer to tomorrow you add the clause, si gbona and you have etso si gbona, and it means “etso which is coming to meet you”. If we refer to the future this way it means we are facing the future and so we do not turn our back on what is to come i.e. the future, we rather face it. We therefore picture ourselves as facing time, which is like a flowing stream and the part of the river of time that is coming to meet us is the future and where we stand in the river of time is the present (egbe Ewe) and the river of time that has flown past us is the past (etso si va yi Ewe) and is all behind us now. The future flows into the past through the medium of the present which is the meeting point of the past and the future. This concept of time as dynamic flow of energy is what has been stated in the first of the fifth stanza of the hymn: O! God, our help in ages past”; it reads: Time, like an ever rolling stream”. 3.2 Everlasting Future, Present and Past There is also a concept of an everlasting future-present referred to in Ewe as tegbee and an infinite past called tete or blema. Tegbee is the time that will keep flowing from the unending future time into the present and thus the growing point of the infinite past. There is a goddess in the Volta Region of Ghana called Mama Tegbee at a town that bears the same name - Tegbi. Mama Tegbee is the goddess of unending future. Future time is not an exhaustible item; but it is an over-flowing stream full of potentialities to be utilised in the present. The concept of an infinite past is referred to in Ewe as tete (twi) or titi (Ewe) and the word comes from Twi word tete, meaning “to bring up a child, to train or inform a person in the wisdom of the elders, and people who are well trained in the wisdom of the elders are called ametsitsiwo (Ewe) tetene/tetefo (Twi). The wisdom of the elders is the collective and the filtered experiences, made up of all that successive generations have accumulated since the dawn of time. The past time - tete or blema then is the wisdom foundation on which we stand to do what must be done today, and so one proverb says “A tree stands on its roots to grow its branches” And “The new is woven on to the old”. The past then begins with the dawn of time and carries in its train all the wisdom of ages. The past time then is a quality time and so the people who belong to the past e.g. ancestors are revered in Africa. 3.3 The African Attitude to the Past. It is true therefore to say that in some respect the African finds the justification and meaning for his actions not in the future but in the past and she/he goes back in time to fetch what is a model of behaviour which was set in the past and has been hallowed by usage and time as has THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
2 been the practice with the people of the Bible. Such usages and models and valid interpretations of life are referred to by the Fanti of Ghana as the “Wisdom Knot”. As the proverb says, “the present generation cannot ignore the wisdom of the past unless it has worked out something better.” Only better Wisdom knot permits the present generation to disregard the filtered experiences of the past. Change therefore can be introduced into life and into society only if it is a change for the better. We justify our present action and method not so much by their agreement with the way they are done in the past per se but because they solve present problems more satisfactorily and there is change that is ameliorative and thus reasonable. History then is an eternal flow of dynamic energy in which we have the essence of our humanity subject to change and stability. 3.4 The Concept of the Present It has been stated above that the “present” is the meeting point of the future and the past and the future passes through the present (egbe) to become the past. The full African concept of the present, however, is more involved than just being the medium through which the future passes to become the past. It is believed in Africa that human beings have been given the present time as the only action time in which to exist, i.e. in which to realise their humanity and their human community. The present then is the quintessential quality time. This understanding of time is what we see in the following pronouncement of Jesus: “As long as it is day, we must keep on doing the work of him who sent me, night is coming when no one can work”. (John 9:4) It is believed that each individual human being comes into this world to fulfill a master purpose called in Ewe du and each human community or nations equally has a master purpose, called duko to realize. The time to realise both individual and collective master purpose is the present time (egbe: Ewe) The individual is therefore conceived is as agent i.e. he/she has the power of thrusting him/herself into new possibilities of existence. The present then is given to the individual to achieve his/her agent-hood and goal in life and the triumphant ancestors who have successfully achieved their life’s goals are therefore called “Amewonuawo”, meaning “the truimphant” “the Achievers”. The triumphant are equally those who have harnessed the dynamic flow of their potential energy and have creatively used the harnessed energy in the development and promotion of the ideal life. 3.5 The Cyclical Concept of Time The real African time is the cyclical concept of time which has been characterised by the late Swiss theologian, Emil Brunner, as a mechanical and circular movement of time that is always returning on itself. It is, according to Brunner, the same movement we observe in nature, day and night, summer and winter, birth and death, all in a perpetual rotation. He concluded his observation by saying, “this movement, then has no climax, it leads nowhere”. (1948, p. 45 - 74). This is a mechanical view and a caricature of the cyclical concept of time. Africans like the Jews have didactic view of time i.e. of history or of any little event and for that reason a dead frog with outstretched legs teaches Africans a very important moral lesson and philosophy of history. The lesson of the proverb is “we only know how long a frog is when it is dead”. We must therefore let history judge our deeds. Africans therefore believe that the circular nature of the heavenly events contains some spiritual and moral lesson to be read from such so-called rotative events. All such natural THE TRIPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
2 events become symbols loaded with meaning and thus the serpent drawn with its tail back into its mouth signifies for Africans undying time and universe and the periodic shedding of its scales signifies the importance of change and renewal. Through continuous rejuvenation and renewal, life is prevented from disintegration and decay. This the prophet says: “the Lord’s unfailing love and mercy still continue, fresh as the morning as sure as sunrise.” (Lam 3.22.23). The rotative cosmic events signify for us the unfailing and fresh love and mercy of God. The circular movement of time has its climax which is symbolically represented by the drawn tail of the serpent back into its mouth (head) signifying the making of the old being new. St. Paul was referring to this situation in nature when he said: “When anyone is joined to Christ, (as the head) he is a new being: the old is gone, the new has come”. (II Cor. 5:17). There is nothing climatic than the transformation of the old person into a new person e.g. Saul becoming Paul, pre-Pentecost timid disciples becoming bold post Pentecost apostles. The repetitive natural events therefore are not important in themselves for Africans but they remind us symbolically of the importance of transformation of the old into new, the need for a periodic renewal of life’s relationships and to have a contact with its source, the Head which is God. Africans therefore do not envisage one global cataclysmic and catastrophic end of history, but they see end of history/time as taking place within limited scopes of activities and as an achievement of limited objectives as reflected by events in nature. Renewal and reconciliation have become the climax of such limited objectives and scopes. It is renewed people who change history by making it ever meaningful and thus ever new. The climax of the short period that Jesus spent on earth is in the fact that God made all humankind his friends through him. (II Cor. 5:19) Traditionally Africans make renewal and reconciliation the climax of all periodic festivals like the Odwira Festival of Kwapim of Ghana. The climax of history is not in nature but in us and in our relationship with the Ground of our being and with the living and the living-dead. History then is a process and this process is dynamic because it is seen as the area of God’s action. God is thus known by even circular events that affirm His everlasting presence with humanity.
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CHAPTER FOUR THE INDIGENOUS AFRICAN CALENDAR ORGANISATIONS OF TIME AKAN AND EWE CASE STUDIES 4.1 The Origin of Time Once upon a time there was no time as we know it today and its beginning with the coming into being of our sun and its planets were formed from a giant spinning cloud in space and this giant spinning cloud is made up of chemicals in the form of gas and dust and some of these clouds seem to be turning into new stars up to date. The giant spinning cloud was hundreds of millions of kilometres wide and the force of gravity pulled it into the shape of a huge, flat wheel and spun around and around just like a wheel. A ball of gas was formed in the middle of the wheel-shaped cloud as gravitation pulled the cloud together. The gas formed in the middle of the wheel -shaped cloud was the beginning of our sun, which is a hot burning ball of energy. Other balls formed in the cloud as gravity pulled bits of dust and gas together and these balls of gas and dust whirled around the sun due to its gravitational pull. These balls were the beginning of the earth, other planets and moons. The spinning of the planet earth on its own axis has been used as the basis of calculating our day and night. The whirling of the earth around the sun is used to calculate one solar year and the earth’s moon’s whirling around the earth is used to calculate lunar year. The concept of time is therefore derived from the movement of the following celestial bodies: sun, the planet earth and earth’s moon. 4.2 The Calendar A calendar is a system of keeping track of the days of the week and the month and the numerical position of the day within the year. Calendars also provide additional information such as the dates for holidays, Easter, Christmas, historical anniversaries and such astronomical data e.g. the phases of the moon, tides and eclipses. The two traditional Ghanaian calendar systems that we are studying closely are used to proved information about rotatory market days, religious and social ritual days and they are used to determine days that are propitious for the performance of certain activities e.g. the beginning of the farming season and celebration of the New Year Yam Festival in September. The week system of measuring time is an artificial unit of time and so in some cases a week is 7 days or 6 days as found among the Akan, Santrokofi people, or 5 days as found among Ayoma people or 4 days as found among the Ewe of West Africa, Yoruba, Ancient Egyptians. We shall study the three-week systems that are made up 7 days, 6 days and 4 days. 4.3 The Akan Traditional Calendar (Akwasidea) There are calendar systems that operate among Ghanaians, traditional calendars and the Western calendar which could either be the Julian calendar or Gregorian calendar.
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AKU SIKA CALENDAR (AKAN TRADITIONAL CALENDAR) 4.4 Organisation of Time The Akan traditional year is organised according to days (da) to weeks, nnawotwe) and months (bosom or orsram). The length of one year is not 365 days but rather 378 and three are 9 months instead of 12 in each year each month consists of 42 days of 6 weeks but is made up of the usual 7 days and there are 54 weeks instead of 52 in a year. 4.5 Names for the Days of the Week and their Days of the Months The Akan originally had 6-day week referred to as nnannon and its days are Fo, Nwuna, Nkyi, Kru, Kwa and Mono. The 7-day week (nnawotwe) came later may be from the middle East and the names of its days are Dwoda, Benada, Wukuda, Yawoda, Fida, Memeneda, and Kwasida. 3. As a result of the meeting of the different week systems each name of the days of the 6day week was paired with all the names of the days of 7-day week; and it requires 42 different pairings to complete the cycle and this creates a set of 42 different new names for the 42 days of the Akan traditional month (even though the 9 months themselves have no individual names). For example, one of the names is Kuru-Kwasi and it is paring of Kuru, the 4th day of the 6-day week and Kwasi, the last day of the traditional 7-day week and so we have a new name KuruKwasi Second example, Monofie is a name for one of the months and is made up of Mono, the 6 th of the 6-day week plus Fie, the 5th day of the 7-day week and so we have Monofie, sometimes taken as a personal name written Munufie. 4. To summarise, according to the Akan tradition, each day of the week, be it that of the 6 or 7-day week has its special name and each date of the month of 42 days has a special name different from the name for the day of the week on which it falls. The 42 names are as follows:1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Kwa-Dwo Mono-Bena Fo-Wukuo Nwuna-Ya Nkyi-Fie Kuru-Memene Kwa-Kwasi Mono-Dwo Fo-Bena
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10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.
Nwuna-Wukuo Nkyi-Ya Kuru-Fie Kwa-Memene Mono-Kwasi Fo-Dwo Nwuna-Bena Nkyi-Wukuo Kuru-Ya
19. KwaFie 20. Mon oMemene 21. FoKwasi
1. Nwuna-Dwo 2. Nkyi-Beba 3. Kuru-Wukuo 4. Kwa-Ya 5. Mona-Fie 6. Fo-Memene 7. Nwuna-Kwasi 8. Nkyi-Dwo 9. Kuru-Bena 10. Kwa-Wukuo 11. Mono-Ya 12. Fo-Fie 13. Nwuna-Memene 14. Nkyi-Kwasi 15. Kuru-Dwo 16. Kwa-Bena 17. Mono-Wukuo 18. Fo-Ya 19. Nwuna-Fie 20. Nkyi-Memene 21. KuruKwasi 4.6 Ritual Days (Dabone) There are four major ritual days in the Akan traditional Calendar. These days are Akwasidae, Awukudae, Fodwo, and Fofie: The important minor ones are Benada, Dapaa, Memneda Dapaa. These ritual days are special days of the month and are combined as follows: 1. Akwasidae is Kuru-Kwasi 2. Awukudae is Kuru-Wukuo 3. Fodwo is FoDwo 4. Fofie is Fo-fie 5. Beneda Dapaa is Nkyi-Bena 6. Memeneda Dapaa is Nkyi-Memene Each date name, e.g. KuruKwasi also called Akwasidae comes 9 times in a year of 378 days and the 9th Akwasidae is also called Akwasidae Kese - Big Awasidae which is celebrated in a big way like Christmas and it ends the Akan Traditional year. Akwasidae is also the last day of the month, i.e. the 42 nd day of the month and it is observed as a holy day and sacrifices are made to the ancestors and ancestral stools. According to the Aku Sika Calendar, each traditional month therefore ends with Akwsidae and each traditional year ends with Akwasidae Kese. 4.7 How to Determine the Traditional Name of any Date of the Roman (Christian) Calendar Six different colours are used for the days of the 6-day week (nnanson), e.g. red is for Fo and purple is for Mono as indicated in the left hand column. The names of the 7-day week (nnawotwe) are retained in the top column as well as the usual Roman Calendar dates of the month but these dates are written with the different colours of the days of the 6-day week to show the nnanson name for the particular date. To determine the name for any THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
date, take the colour name of the date and combined with the ordinary week-day name for that particular. 4.8 The Four-Day (Nkeke-Enene) Week Calendar of the Ewe It may come as a surprise to some people to know that all weeks, months and years are not equal. In some calendar traditions a week is either four (4) six (6) or seven (7) days. The Ewe traditionally have the four-day week like the ancient Egyptians and a month is 28 days, or 7 weeks, and one year is made up of 13 months, or 91 weeks or 364 days. The four days of the Nkeke enene week of Ewe are called Afenegbe, Asitoegbe, Domesigbe, Asiamegbe. The four days are divided into two groups of two days. The first two days are called Nkeke xo dzowo i.e. ‘Hot days’. This is because traditionally on these days people perform certain things that they do not enjoy doing e.g. burying the dead, dethroning a chief, divorcing a wife or husband, cleansing ancestral stools, Purifying one’s soul from stains of misfortune, etc. The last two days are designated Nkeke Fafewo, i.e. ‘Cool days’ because on these days things of life, good fortune and peace are done, e.g. engaging a girl, marrying, wedding, enthroning a chief, having sex with a newly married wife, starting a new business, festival observance and worship of God. The Nkeke ene week calendar is used to order economic and ritual, religious and political activities. The calendar is used to organise the 60 different open markets that are held in the Volta Region of Ghana. Thus there are four groups of markets that are held on rotative days of the Nkeke Enene week, and each group bears one of the names of the day of the Nkeke Enene week and so we have Afenegbe group of markets, Asitoegbe group, Domesigbe group and Asiamigbe group of markets, and each individual market takes the name of the town where it is held. Thus we have Kpandosi, which is Asiamigbe market, Anfoegasi which is Afenegbe market, Dzodzesi which is Asitoegbe market and Hosigbe which is Domesigbe market. 4.9 The Meaning of the Days of Nkeke Enene Week All the days of the Nkeke Enene week end with the word gbe, meaning day, and so Afenegbe, the first day is made of Afene which is a corruption of Afeno which means; staying at home and not working on the farm - and so Afenegbe means ‘the day of rest’. This day is traditionally observed as a sacred day to miano Zodzie, mother of Earth and so no work is done on the land. The second day is Asitoegbe and the word is made up Asi-togbe i.e. the ‘next’ (to) ‘market’ (asi) to-Afenegbe. The third day is Domesigbe and it means ‘the middle (dome) market (asi) day (gbe). The third day is referred to as the ‘middle market day’ because the Ewe do not start counting from Zero and they count inclusively and so they start counting from Afenegbe and end up with Afenegbe, five days in all and thus Domesigbe becomes the middle one. Afenegbe, Asitoegbe, Domesigbe, Asiamigbe, Afenegbe. The last market day of the Nkeke Enene week is Asiamigbe and it is made up of Asi (market) mamie-(ami)-the last and so Asiamigbe means ‘the last market day’
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4.10 Nkeke Enene Week And Seven Day Week: Since the days of the Nkeke Enene week are not the same as the days of the seven-day week, the four days of Nkeke Enene week are paired with the 7 days of the seven-day week in a rotatory manner and in one month of 28 days each day of Nkeke Enene week pairs with each of the days of the seven-day week. But with months which have irregular days e.g. 28, 30, 31, 29. Some of the market days can come more than seven times a month of the Julian Calendar/Gregorian Calendar. The Use of the Calendar Based on the Nkeke Enene Week I started making the special calendar based on the market-day week since 1975. It has been found very useful by the market women, the motor traffic unit of the Police Force, the Police use it to check traffic since the movement of the passengers buses tend to follow the market days and to the places where the markets are held. Our traditional leaders use the calendar to fix the dates for their various rites and religious services, and the calendar helps them to fix the right dates some months in advance. The calendar helps husbands living especially in the market towns like Ho to know how many asigbega i.e. weekly marketing allowances to give their wives and here a week is four days (nkeke enene week). Elementary school children in the Volta Region have found the calendar useful as it helps them to know the months of the Julian year in Ewe. The calendar helps the Ewe who live and work outside the Volta Region to know the market days on which any market is being held on any day of the seven-day week. By a clever calculation based on the first four market days as arranged on the Dzobo market-day calendar the market day e.g. Domesigbe that falls on the date of Julian Calendar can be known from where we are at the beginning of any new year. 4.11 Summary 1. Afenegbe: The first day of the Nkeke Enene Week and some people use it as a day of rest, and as one of the days on which they take care of the chores of human existence. 2. Asitoegbe: the next market day to Afenogbe. 3. Domesigbe: The middle market day 4. Asiamigbe: the last market day.
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CHAPTER FIVE AFRICAN THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE AND TRUTH (THE EWE AND AKAN OF WEST AFRICA) 5.1 Introduction This chapter is based upon an analysis of the epistemic evidence found in the everyday speech and oral literature. The chapter is concerned mainly with critical remarks, clarification of definitions of epistemic term. Some synthesis and interpretation of the analytical findings are attempted in the concluding sections. Indigenous African societies consider knowledge and truth as the key elements in living a meaningful and satisfying life. They have been used as the principal categories, which differentiate human beings from animals. A human being is therefore indirectly defined both by the Ewe and the Akan as “the being that knows things”. That is to say, only man has the intellectual faculty for acquiring knowledge and for grasping reality through the medium of ideas. A a result of this understanding of the essential nature of man, one way to say that a person is stupid is to say “he is an animal” (Menya nu o - Ewe; Onin ade – Twi), or simply to say that “he is an animal” (Enye la – Ewe; Woye aboa – Twi). The head is believed to play a very important role in knowing and so a person who is not intelligent is described as “his head is dead” (Efe ta gbor ku – Ewe; Ni ti awu – Twi). In other words ‘to be human is to have your head alive’, that is to say, to be intellectually alert or to grasp things mentally in terms of their fundamental principles. Thus, to be human epistemologically is to know and understand things, especially life, in terms of fundamental ideas. For this reason, one proverb says, “the child who goes about inquiring to know what is happening is never an animal (fool)”.(Vi-bia-nya-ta-se medzoa la o. –Ewe). 5.2 The Method of Knowing The main question we shall address our inquiry will be: a. How do we know? What does it mean to know? b. What is known or what is knowledge? c. What are the sources of knowledge? d. What are the categories of knowledge? e. How is knowledge validated? Indigenous society is never skeptical about man’s ability to know; it is strongly believed that man can and does know. Therefore the question is not “ what can man know?,” but How do we know?” Indigenous society is therefore epistemologically dogmatic, and is concerned first and foremost with the manner of knowing. How do we know? To answer this question we shall examine carefully the different Ewe and Akan synonyms for ‘to know’. There are four very important words for this, two in Ewe – nya and dze; Twi – nim and nya. To know as Nya. The most common word for ‘to know; is nya, which has an object nu meaning ‘a thing’. Thus, the expression nya nu implies the certainty of something known; it rules out any room for skepticism.
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Dietrich Westermann, the celebrated German authority on the Ewe language, translated the verb nya into English as ‘to know’, to understand’ ‘to be able’ (Westermann, 1928). Those are however secondary meanings of the verb nya. Its primary meaning can be translated as ‘to observe’, ‘to take a look at’, ‘to note’ and ‘to look at’. These meanings of the verb appear in such expressions as: a. Nya nusi wom vi wo le da – “look at or observe what your child is doing”. b. c.
Nya asi wo da, efo di – “Look at this”. This expression is equivalent to another perceptual expression, See da! (Ewe) “Listen to this”. The two expressions call for the use of the senses of nunya, meaning ‘thing observed’: the result of observation then is perception. Nya nu then means “to gain knowledge by observation or seeing, by the use of the senses”. Observation is the means by which we come to know and what is known is therefore referred to as knowledge (nunya) This basic understanding of the verb nya is supported by its Akan use. Nya is perhaps originally an Akan word or common inheritance. In Akan it means ‘to find’, ‘to experience’, ‘to gain’, ‘to come by’ as found in such expressions as Manya sem: ‘I have found trouble”; Wanya sika: “He was found (made) money”; Wonyaa wo he: “Where did you find it? The uses of nya in these sentences always imply that the subject of the sentences is ‘doing something’ i.e. ‘going through an experience and getting something from it.’ Therefore, if the verb nya is used epistemically it implies that the subject of the verb nya is doing something observing or experiencing something and then deriving something out of it. What is derived epistemically from such an experience is nunya (knowledge). According to John Dewey the process of acquiring knowledge from experience/observation has two phases: active and passive. The active phase of experience consists of trying or experimenting with something; the passive phase is undergoing the consequences of what has been done. The value of the experience lies in connecting the two phases – that of trying and that of undergoing. Dewey went on to say “when an activity is continued into the undergoing of consequences, when the change made by the action is reflected back in a change made in us, the mere flux is loaded with significance. Knowledge arises when the doer is able to connect what the first phase of experience means in terms of its second phase or consequences. The ability to deduce the correct lesson from experience is highly valued in the indigenous society. One proverb emphasises this by saying “It is only a fool who allows his sheep to break lose twice”. (Okwasea na ne guan to Mprenuu. - Twi, K.O. Agyakwa, 1980). Another proverb making the same point says:” It is only a fool (animal) who falls down twice on the same mound”. (Ame le ye dzea anyi zi eve le ko deka dzi –Ewe). Observation and inferring then are methods of producing knowledge; experience is the raw material for the production of knowledge. To know as Dze si: - Ewe ‘ Nim: - Twi The infinitive dze si means ‘to know’, ‘to note’, ‘to observe’, ‘to recognise’, it is used in such expressions as: Medze sii: “I have recognised him”, or “I have observed him once”, it is equivalent to Menyae, meaning ‘I have known him’. Dze
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si always implies the use of the sense of sight or observation in knowing; in this sense it is equivalent to the Akan word nim meaning ‘to know through observing an external reality’. To sum up what has been said so far about the indigenous method of knowing: observation and inference have emerged as the methods of knowing reality. There are two steps involved in the knowing process: firsts, observing and external phenomenon by the senses and receiving the necessary sense-data from it (the experiencing phase of knowing): second the process of organising and interpreting the sense-data into ideas which come to be referred to as knowledge (nunya – Ewe; animdee- Twi). Knowledge is an end-product of psycho-intellectual processes of reflection and inference; they are the beginning of empirical knowledge which can be reduced to sensory experience. The passive way of knowing The method of knowing discussed above was referred to as the active method of knowing. There is, however, the passive or acted upon –way of knowing, which does not have an epistemic term in Ewe. The two most common terms used to represent it are le, meaning ‘to seize’, ‘to grasp’, ’to encounter’, ‘to grip’, and wu, meaning ‘to kill’, i.e. ‘to experience passively’. Examples of their uses appear in the following expressions: a. Do le lem: “illness has seized me” – I am sick. b. Do le wu yem: “Hunger is killing me” – I am hungry. c. Tsiko le wu yem: “Thirsty is killing me” – I am thirsty. d. Tro le asii: “The god has seized him/her to be his wife; i.e., a god has elected him/her as his priest/priestess. He has experienced/known the power and presence of a god. In all these and similar experiences the subject knows something, not by what he does, but by what happens to him; hence this type of knowing can be described as passive and subjective. The subjective nature of such knowledge does not ipso facto make it invalid because such knowledge is best verified by its positive fruits. In the indigenous society then knowing is the result of two different types of experiences, one active and the other passive. 5.3 Categories of Knowledge There are four main categories of knowledge in Ewe, each traceable to sensory experience as their source. They are nyatsiname, susnnunya, nusronya, and sidzedze. a. Nyatsiname usually refers to knowledge that is passed down by word of mouth. This may be described as traditional knowledge, where traditional is used to mean that which is passed down from one person or from parents and elders to the next generation and contained in proverbs and other forms of oral literature is a good example of knowledge as nyatsiname. b. Susununya is knowledge gained from reflection. Its nature is deductive or contemplative. This does not require an immediate experience as its source, but relies on deduction from premises that have been already established. c. Nusronya is knowledge acquired through the process of learning from formal education. Its popular designation is ‘book knowledge’ (agbalemenunya). Nusronya is not highly valued by the traditional society because it tends to be foreign and thus is divorced from the realities of the African environment. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
d.
Sidzedze which is the knowledge that is gained as a result of acquiring a certain level of awareness or gaining a certain understanding of things, relations and situations. This knowledge is gained as a result of understanding things in terms of their fundamental principles. It is described in Ewe as sidzedze which can be applied to skills or technical capability based upon fundamental principles. One proverb say: “Knowledge of self that takes the place of sidzedze makes a person a slave”. (Simademadze ame dokui fe ablode de wodoa kluvi ame). This is a manner of saying, “The only self-knowledge that is worth having is that based upon the fundamental principles of mind”. This type of knowledge makes us free.
5.4 Nyansa as Wisdom The word nyansa usually is used to translate the English term ‘wisdom’, but sometimes is used to translate knowledge. I will limit its use to ‘wisdom’ in order to avoid any confusion in a philosophical discourse. Nyansa as wisdom is a Twi word, made up of nya and nsa meaning ‘that which is obtained and is never exhausted’, i.e., the lesson learned from an experience and is lasting, an important lesson from experience. Nyansa then is a special type of knowledge: it is deduced from experience and is cherished because of its value for one’s life. The elders are usually credited with the ability to draw appropriate lessons (nyansa) from the various experiences of life. For this reason one Akan proverb says: “Wisdom, we acquire it through learning (experience); we do not buy it”(Nyansa yesua na yento). This proverb implies that nyansa deduction is based upon a considerable experience of life. Thus, valid deductions can be done only by the elders, who in Ewe are called ametsitsiwo or ‘the mature ones’. One proverb sums it up this way, “You get palm-wine only from mature palm trees” (De tsitsi me aha nona – Ewe). The nyansa lessons are stored by the elders in the proverbs, wise sayings and songs of the indigenous culture. Nyansa as careful and mature lessons deduced from experience cannot be regarded as Sophia, i.e., a complete vision integrating the various fragmented experience of life. Some examples of such minor but consistent teachings about life are found in the following proverbs: a. “Knowledge is like a garden, if it is not cultivated it cannot be harvested”, that is, knowledge is always the result of an active participation by the knower in the knowledge process. b. “You do not keep the dish in which your neighbour has sent you food, (You return it with your own food in it)”, that is, reciprocity is one principle that guides successful social behaviour. c. “Once you get hold of a snake’s head what is left is just a piece of rope”, that is, the most effective way to solve a problem is to tackle it at its roots. Nyansa, however, is not just a series of guides for conduct; it is an attitude or fundamental disposition which influences the behaviour of the person who holds it. The wise men of the indigenous society (nunyala – Ewe; nyansani – Twi) are therefore not just knowledgeable men and women, but persons who have a consistent mode of response to life’s experiences. In this regard they can be said to be people who have a philosophy of life. This is taken here as a specific frame of orientation: their thoughts and actions are guided by their frame of orientation, nyansa. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
Both knowledge (nunya) and wisdom (nyansa) therefore must have a practical bearing on the conduct of life. This attitude to knowledge and wisdom is not (like) gold which may be kept in a safe” (Nyansa nye sika na woakyekyere asie); and “One does not collect wisdom in a bag, lock it up in a box and then comes to say to a friend “Teach me something”. (K.O. Agyekwe, 1980) Nyansa is a valuable commodity in the indigenous society. It maintains that the whole world is founded on wisdom (Nyansa) because, according to the people of Benin (Dahomean), the wisdom of the world is concentrated in Mawu, the Creator, Organiser and Sustainer of the world. In Dahomean thought coolness symbolizes wisdom and so one praise-name for Mawu is Fafato which means’ the Source of Coolness’ (Omnirefrigerance). God then is the source of all nyansa, which one Akan proverb expresses thus: “All wisdom is from God” (Nsem nyina ne Nyame). God is all-wise. Coolness/Wisdom is also said to be characteristic of women and old-age. Women are generally said to give wise judgment in disputes because of their characteristic cool, calm and pacific nature. As a result of this conception of women, traditionally before a judgment is delivered at a chief’s court the elders always go into a council, as the saying goes, “to consult the old lady”(abriwa) for a wise judgment. In the past the elders really did consult an old lady. Chiefs also, because of their role as decision-makers, are expected to acquire the cool nature of women or the gods to enable them to make wise judgments. The chief’s title among the people of Benin is therefore Dada meaning ‘Mother’, among other Ewe he is addressed as Togbui and as Nana among the Akan. These titles are associated with maturity, cool-naturedness and wisdom. In conclusion it can be said that in the indigenous thought knowledge (nunya) and wisdom (nyansa) are formerly acquired but are female, i.e., creative principles as Mawu, the High God, is the Supreme Creative Principle of life. Nunya and nyansa are creative, growth-promoting and life-giving principles; wherever they are, life prospers. One Ewe proverb sums it up by saying: “The yam grows well when its mound is cool” (Ne te drume fa la eyae na te dona) “The value of knowledge is then in its contribution to human growth and development: this is its validity and the justification for its acquisition in the indigenous society. 5.5 Attitude to Knowledge: Apart from the general attitude to knowledge discussed above, there are some specific indigenous attitudes to nunya and nyansa. The first attitude to knowledge is that there is a limit to what any one individual can know, but there is no limit to what can be known. One proverb expresses this attitude thus: ‘Knowledge is like a baobab tree (monkey-bread tree), no one person can embrace it with both arms’ (Nunya adidoe, asi metune o). Since knowledge is limitless any person who claims to know everything knows nothing: “Knows all, knows nothing” (Nim nim, nnim – Twi). A chief alone is not expected to give judgment in cases at his court because of this attitude to knowledge. For wise and sound judgment is supposed to come from several heads: “One head does not go to council. The next attitude to knowledge is figuratively expressed by the proverb which says “Knowledge is like a garden, if it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested”. The main point of this proverb is that the individual has an active part to play in the production of THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
knowledge, or as another proverb puts it: “Knowledge is not the gift of the gods” (Nunya mele aklama me o). Man is not born with or provided with innate knowledge; whatever he knows is acquired through experience and through a deliberate effort on his part to know. One proverb therefore says: “The one who keeps asking never loses his way (Obisabi – safo nto kwan. – Twi). Another one says: ‘the child who goes about asking to know what is happening will never be a fool’. Lack of knowledge, ignorance, on the other hand is said to make a fool of a person (numanya-manya de wo doa bometsila ame – Ewe). This attitude to knowledge as under discussion rules out any a priori and revealed knowledge, it indicates a bias towards a posteriori or empirical knowledge. The third specific attitude to knowledge is the conception of knowledge as light and the source of freedom. We see this attitude in two proverbs. One says, “The lamp of ignorance misleads the night” (Manya manya fo akadi tra ame za –Ewe). In this proverb ignorance is likened to darkness and so its lamp cannot be expected to provide light, while knowledge is light considered especially as moral enlightenment. As enlightenment knowledge makes the individual free and in this sense it is said to be creative of a better life. To the indigenous society therefore, as Dewey said, “knowledge is not something separate and self-sufficing, but is involving in the process by which life is sustained and evolved. 5.6 The Concept of Truth The examination of the concept of truth is a logical follow-up of the study of knowledge. The main question to be examined is: What makes our knowledge true or false; what is the indigenous concept of and attitude to, truth? To answer these questions, we shall again examine some truth terms and expressions as found both in Ewe and Twi languages, especially as they are found in everyday utterances and proverbs of the people. There are six main terms for truth in Ewe, namely: nyatefe, nyanono, nyagbagbe, nyanga, nyadzodzoe, and anukware. The last term, anukware, is borrowed from the Twi language, and the remaining terms which are Ewe in origin have the root word ‘nya’ which as we have seen plays a very important part in the conception of knowledge and wisdom and can best be translated here as ‘statement’, ‘word’, ‘matter’ and ‘case’. In other words, to the indigenous mind truth is a knowledge-statement with specific characteristics. We must search out these characteristics. Truth as Nyatefe: The most common Ewe term for truth is nyatefe, which has been made popular by its use in Christian communication. Etymologically it is made up of nyatefe which means ‘place’ or ‘spot’; it is a common suffix in “Ewe language, as seen in such words as Ametefe, nutefe, kutefe. Thus, nyatefe literally means ‘the statement/word is at its place”, as is usually said about the report of an eyewitness. According to the nyatefe conception of truth, a statement is true if it describes an object or event as it really is, and such statements are generally known to be made by eyewitnesses. Thus one proverb says: “Nobody doubts the death of the crocodile’s mother if it is reported by fish”. This is another way of saying that the report of an eyewitness can be trusted to be true because such reports normally give accurate accounts of the state of things. For this reason when the elders at a court want to question the validity of a report of a person they ask him either ‘Eno nya la tefea’, which means literally: Did you sit down (witness) at the place where the event occurred”? or ‘Ekpo etefea?: “Did you see the place where the event happened”? Nyatefe then is an on-the-spot-version of an event reported by a person who witnesses it. The belief is that there is a high degree of reliability and accuracy in such truth statements THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
than in hearsay. This however does not rule out the fact that there may be errors in the reports of an eyewitness; so the essence of nyatefe concept of truth is its facsimile copy of reality. Truth as nyatefe then is in a high degree of correspondence with the truthstatements that can be made about objects, events and relations which are true because of the intrinsic nature of such realities. Truth statements are therefore relative and determined by the nature of reality under consideration. Truth as Nyanono (Nyano): the second truth term is nyanono or nyano which is made up of nya and no. as no means ‘mother’ or ‘female’ nyano means literally ‘mother/female statement or word’. This is a metaphorical expression in which ‘mother’ or ‘female’ is used as a symbol of life, of that which creates life and promotes growth. Nyano as truth then means ‘the statement that is alive’ or has a creative power, just as the woman in the indigenous thought is seen as the principle of life, creativity and growth, while man represents the principle of death and destructivity. The Nyano concept of truth emphasises truth-statements as living, creative and productive principle. It has the power to create new situations, to promote growth and effect rejuvenation. This is a dynamic understanding being that if it is the truth it will germinate, grow and bear fruit. Falsehood, which is called nyakuku or ‘dead word/statement’ will not germinate. The nyano conception of truth implies its method of verification: truth is known by and consists in its power to create new situations and make things better. Truth as Nyagbagbe: Nyagbagbe means the word/statement that is alive (nya and gbagbe – alive). Gbagbe is used in such expressions as nu gbagbe, meaning ‘living thing’. Thus nyagbagbe means ‘living word or statement’ in contrast to falsehood, which is termed nyakuku - ‘dead word/statement’. Again truth, nyagbagbe, is conceived as a female principle, a principle of life, creativity and growth; thus truth can be described as the statement of life or life-statement. As such truth is always considered important as life, which is the greatest value for Africans. Truth as Nyagba: the other term for truth which derives from nyagbagbe ‘understanding of truth’ is nyagba, and is made up of nya and gba which means ‘first’ ‘firstly’, ‘distinguished ‘genuine’, ‘important’. Gba appears in such expressions as nu gbae: ‘The real thing’ or ame gba: ‘An important person’. Truth then is an important statement because it contains the word of life; as such it takes precedence over all other statements and things. The last three conceptions of truth as an active and creative principle may be designated as “the Creativity or Nyano theory of Truth”. This can be said to be unique to the indigenous concept of truth. It is not only the workability of an idea that makes it true, but its power to bring about a better human situation and continuously to improve upon life. The defining characteristic of the creativity theory is its emphasis on the ameliorative nature of truth. Truth as Nyadzodzoe: Nydzodzoe is the fifth Ewe term for truth; it is a forensic term which is heard often in the settlement of dispute. Like the others, it is made up of two words – nya and dzodzoe which means ‘straight’. Truth as nyadzodzoe therefore literally means ‘straight statement/word’, falsehood is referred to as nyamadzomadzo, meaning ‘crooked statement/word’. Nyadzodzoe is usually pronounced as a judgment in a dispute to mean’ not guilty’ or ‘you have behaved correctly’, but the correctness of one’s behaviour is judged on the basis of the truthfulness or falsehood of the statements one makes about what has happened. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
The straight-statement conception of truth presupposes the existence of normative standards of truth-statements which are used to measure other truth-statements. This understanding of truth as a statement that is judged to be straight by an already accepted ‘straight-statement’ is brought out in the proverb: “It is only the liar who loses his teeth three times in his life time”. Normally people lose their teeth twice in their life time, once in childhood and lastly in old age. Thus, the statement that corresponds to this fact of life is: “Men lose their teeth twice in their life time”. Any person who says he loses his teeth three times is not making a ‘straight-statement’, and no behaviour emanating form such a statement will be considered straight. The normative truth-statement is therefore what is generally known by the society, represented by the elders, to be true in speech as well as in deed. The truth of a statement is therefore in its identity with what has been known to be the case in such matters. The knowledge of normative truth-statements is acquired through long years of experience and is passed down from generation to generation. In non-literate societies the memory is the repository of truth as nyadzodzoe. Truth as Anukware: Anukware is a Twi word for truth, where it is spelled anukware. This is made up of ano – meaning ‘mouth’, and koro meaning ‘one, hence anokware (anukware) means ‘one mouth’. Truth as anukware means a statement that is made with one mouth’ i.e., made with consistency and without contradiction in the description of the same reality. Inner consistency and harmony are therefore the marks of a truth-statement conceived as anukware. Dr. K.O. Agyakwa of the Faculty of Education at the University of Cape Coast is of the view that ‘speaking with one mouth’ rather means several people saying the same thing about a given state of affairs”. (K.O. Agyakwa, 1980) “Truth is the sum-total or consensus of what people are saying about a given state of affairs.” He concludes that consistency becomes the test for truth, which resides in the collective mind of the community. The consistency that Dr. Agyakwa referred to as the criterion of truth is an external one; that is to say, the consistency is between truth-statements made by two or more people about the same reality, and not the consistency among truth-statements made by the same person about one and the same reality. This latter consistency might be called internal consistency and is generally required by people in establishing the validity of statements. For this reason as soon as an individual contradicts himself (speaking with two mouths) he is said to be speaking a lie. An individual who corroborates what others have said is confirming and not necessarily ‘speaking’ the truth which is always first established by one person. Moreover, the ubiquity of an opinion cannot be used as a criterion of truth, because the voice of the people (Vox populi) is not always the voice of God/truth. It can be concluded then that the anukware conception of truth is the internal consistency and harmony that exists among statements made by the same person about one and the same reality. This conclusion is upheld by several indigenous conceptions of falsehood. To say that ‘you are telling a lie’ the Ewe living around Ho in Ghana say ‘enyi ve’, which literally means, ‘you are an alligator lizard’ which has a forked (two) tongue. ‘To be an alligator’ is a metaphorical way of saying ‘you have two tongue’, ‘you speak with two tongues (mouths)’. Another way of saying that ‘you are telling a lie’ is ‘you have two heads’ as proverb puts it: “One person does not grow two heads” (Ame deka me toa ta eve o). This is a mode of saying ‘stop contradicting yourself’ “it is the liar who grows the tongue of an THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
alligator ‘His mouth is twins (two-pronged)’ (Nano ye nta – Twi), i.e., “he is a liar”. A local term for falsehood is venyinyi (Ewei) which means ‘the state of being an alligator’ which is a representative of those who have ‘two tongues/mouths’. All these falsehood expressions indirectly stress consistency and harmony among the statements made by one and the same person as the criteria of truth conceived as anukware. Four clear concepts of truth have emerged from the preceding examination of the indigenous truth terms. First, truth is the knowledge-statement of reality that corresponds to a very high degree with reality as it is. Second, truth is in the internal consistency and harmony that exists in knowledge statements made by the same person about the same reality. Finally truth is therefore a dynamic and creative property of knowledge-statement. 5.7 Conclusion The preceding summary shows that, even though truth has a formal property, it is essentially dynamic and creative. Hence, one proverb says “Truth makes things good” (Nyatefe nyoa nu – Ewe). “Truth is woman”: as woman has the power to bring forth new lives so truth has creative power, while falsehood is destructive and disintegrative. Therefore, if truth is ignored the result is disaster, for only truth can settle falsehood. Truth is therefore held as the greatest spiritual value. As one proverb puts it, “Sebe, if truth lies in your mother’s virgina and you use your penis to bring it out you have not had sex with her”, which is a mode of saying that truth stands at the very top of any hierarchy of values and all other values can be sacrificed if need be to get truth. Nothing can destroy truth; the person who loves truth will live long while the person who loves falsehood will die because truth is life while falsehood is death. The ability to know, i.e., to grasp reality in terms of fundamental ideas, and the possession of knowledge are critical properties that makes one a human being in the indigenous society. One method of gaining knowledge of an object is through the process of observation and intellectual assimilation through the medium of ideas. The knower must detach him/herself from the reality to be known as much as possible so as to have a knowledge-statement of the object which can be described as nyatefe. The other method of knowing is to encounter the object to be known or act upon you and then making appropriate inferences from this passive experience. Knowledge (nunya) then may be defined as the inferences or ideas deduced from experience, be they active or passive, and expressed as statements or propositions. Nunya becomes nyansa (wisdom) when it can be regarded as a complete principle of comprehension of a fairly large segment of experience. Nyansa conceived as such produces a fundamental disposition or attitude, which influences the behaviour of the person who holds it; it thus becomes his frame of orientation or philosophy of life. Both nunya and nyansa then have practical bearings on our conduct of life, and so are highly valued in the indigenous society, which considers not only human life, but the whole of life and the world to be created in and supported by Nyansa. Without knowledge (nunya) and wisdom (nyansa) human life returns into animality; they are the divine creative Intelligence and Principle at work in the creative, organisation and support of the universe and of life. Not every inferential statement, however, is accepted as a valid representation of reality. Indigenous society therefore has established four canons that can be used to identify true knowledge-statement: THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
a. A knowledge-statement must to a very high degree correspond to an objective state of affairs to be accepted to be true. Such a knowledge-statement is known as nyatefe (Ewe) b. A knowledge-statement to be true must be identical with other knowledgestatement whose validity has already been established. Such a knowledge is known as nyadzodzoe (Ewe) c. Knowledge-statements describing one and the same state of affairs/reality must be internally consistent and harmonious to be true. Such a knowledge-statement is called anukware (Ewe and Twi). d. A knowledge-statement to be true, besides its formal properties, must have the power to create a new and better state of affairs. Truth then is the knowledgestatement that has an ameliorative power. This is a dynamic and creative conception of truth. Such truth is called nyano in Ewe ‘mother/female word/statement’ or nyagbagbe ‘the statement/word of life’. Since this indigenous understanding of knowledge and truth is unique I have designated it as Nyano or The Creativity Theory of Knowledge and Truth. Notes 1. The Ewes are an ethnic and linguistic group of people found in West Africa. They occupy mainly the southern section of Benin, Togo and the Volta Region of Ghana. There is a small Ewe enclave in Western Nigeria. Through occupational migration the Ewes are found all over Ghana and along the coastal areas of West African countries, from Sierra Leone through Nigeria to Zaire. Between 1885 to 1960 the Ewes came under three different colonial powers, namely: German, English and French and are now under three different West African Governments. For this reasons they are not able to form a single political unit. Though they have not been united politically, they have existed always as a cultural whole held together by one common language, Ewe, one indigenous religion, a shared historical experience and a common pattern and truth is the subject of the present investigation. 2. John Dewey; Democracy and Education (New York: Macmillan, 1958), p. 163. 3. It is sometimes spelled in Ewe, but I shall adopt the Twi spelling for the sake of consistency. 4. There is a story told of Ananse who collected all the knowledge in the world in to a pot and hung the pot around his neck and was climbing a coconut tree so that nobody else could have access to knowledge. Having hung the pot right in front of him he was having some difficulty in climbing the tree. His son Ntikuma was standing by, watching Ananse climb the tree with difficulty. He suggested to his father to put the pot of knowledge at his back in order to facilitate the climbing. Ananse did so and found the climbing easier. But this meant that some knowledge (intelligence here) had been left in the world and that he had not gathered all the knowledge in his pot. In anger he threw down the knowledge pot and broke is; as a result knowledge spread to all parts of the world. The point of the story: nobody can claim to know everything and so must be open and ready to acquire new knowledge. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
5. Op. cit., p. 339 6. Sebe: is used to excuse the use of vulgar language. 5.8 Theology of Life and Death Like all aspects of African life there have been certain understanding, beliefs and orders of life and death before the advent of the Christian faith in Africa. The Christian faith came with its own understanding and beliefs about life and death and the practices that go with such understandings and beliefs. The African understandings and beliefs, however, still obtain in the Church, so we have two sets of such believers who are supposed to drop the traditional views and beliefs about life and death. It is interesting to note that it is when many Christians are faced with the crises of death that they tend to revert to the African traditional world-view and use it to understand and cope with the tragedy of death. Apart from the social respectability and prestige that Christians derive from the Christian ritual concerning the burial of the dead, many Christians derive emotional satisfaction and feeling of security from the way the African traditional society handles the trauma of death. We shall also reflect on the way the African traditional society handles the trauma of death. We shall now reflect on the traditional understanding and beliefs about life and on the practices that accompany them. 5.9 Life and Death Syndrome Human beings are mortal and this is an undeniable fact of human existence. We have time to exist and die. Death is however, like a mystery and so has escaped the explanation by the various religious traditions. Different African communities have their stories to explain how death entered our world and the purpose for which it has entered it. We shall examine the Ewe and Akan versions of why death is around life and how its inevitable presence has been made tolerable. In Ewe and Akan world of thought life and death are together like day and night and you cannot conceive of one without mentioning the other. This life and death dialectic is seen in such dual Ewe names as Agbedziodeku, the Ewe word for life is “agbe” and “Life sites is” “ku” so the name means “Life is leaning of death” another Agbelekugbo” “Death is not a taboo to any life”. As Dominique Zahan said: “Life and death are both “given” to man/woman by the creator; they are fundamental terms of existence and so are closely linked that one cannot be conceived with the other”. He went on to say “Death, however, enjoys the incontestable advantage over life in that it is necessary, for it was not inevitable that life be given, but as soon as it appeared death had to follow. It is fair to say that death seems to be unavoidable consequence of life. (p36). This dialectic of life and death is uniquely characteristic of Africa teaching about lie and death. Both life and death are given by the creator as the fundamental terms of human existence. The Judeo - Christian tradition, however, creates the impression that only life is given by God and death has entered the world through the sin of disobedience of the first human beings (Adam And Eve) but has been removed by the second Adam, Jesus Christ. This Judeo -Christian thinking about death is possible because of logic of either …….. or, it must be either life alone or death that is given at any one time, while the African dialectic of thought is both ……… and, so it is both life and death which are the given. This African dialectic of thought is more realistic and explains satisfactorily the continued experience of death is our world in spite of the “death -conquering” work of salvation by Jesus. The first fundamental preposition of the doctrine of life is that both of them are THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
given like day and night as the fundamental terms of our existence and they are the basic possibilities of our human nature. But now the question is which of them is inevitable, life or death or both? Dominique Zahan thinks Western opinion argues that life is not necessary but rather death is inevitable because as soon as life appears death must follow. But if we look at the problem with the African, we can say that both life and death are given at the same time and are two aspects of the same phenomenon as day and night are two aspects of one world. As soon as you mention one you imply the other. And so even though we may find this truth about our human existence distasteful yet any time we pray for life we are praying for death at one and the same time. The question then is, what is the reality of life and death? 5.10 The Reality of Life and Death The reality of life shares in the reality of all things. The underlying reality of all things is a dynamic flow of creative energy which recreates itself continuously and expresses itself as a unity in duality. We can therefore compare the reality of life to a flowing stream which takes its source from an underground reservoir. As a flowing stream of energy it has its high and low tides, its ebb and flow and it is not static and stagnant. Like other streams it dries up during the dry season but comes back to life during the rainy season because it is the reservoir of the source of life as dynamic flow of creative energy which never dries up even though the streams that come out of him/her may dry up. It is as a reservoir of the dynamic flow of creative energy that God is referred to as a Principle, the Everlasting Source of Being. It is because of this understanding of the reality of life as a dynamic flow of creative energy that the Ewe use the word Tsa, meaning “to flow” to describe the movement of a person who travels from place to place as “ele tsatsa” meaning literally “he/she is flowing (wandering) from place to place” and the same word is used to describe the movement of water in a stream. Jesus movement in his ministry has been described in terms of the dynamic flow of energy by Peter in his speech at Joppa: He said “You know about Jesus of Nazareth and how God poured on him the Holy Spirit and power (energy). He went everywhere, doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, for God was with Him” (Act 11:38). We are now in a position to conceptualise “death” in terms of the reality of life as a dynamic flow of creative energy. Death can be described as the temporary stoppage of the dynamic flow of life’s energy. The Ewe describe any stream that has stopped flowing during the dry season as “tsi la ku” meaning literally: “the stream has died”. The stream is “dead” with the knowledge that it will come back during the rainy season; and when it does come back it is described as “Tsi la gbo” meaning “ the stream has breathed life” and so out of the seeming death then is not annihilation of life but a flow back of life as dynamic flow of energy into its reservoir and waiting for the season when it will spring back, the springing back is the resurrection and so a new life resurrects from death. When we compare the reality of life to a dynamic flow of creative energy, then death is a temporary stoppage of that flow and it is a state when the dynamic energy has gone back to its source, the underground Reservoir, God the Principle, the Mother and out of her comes the new life, the Resurrection to newness of life. It is because of this view of life and death, the Ewe have one word for the womb and the grave - “Yome”. It is the womb when it gives birth to a new life then the “O” in Yome” carries an acute accent and it carries the THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
grave (\) accent when it becomes the receptacle for the backward flow of the energy of life. The Reservoir of God then is the Reservoir of Life and Death and as Life comes out of her Death goes in waiting for the appropriate time to come out again as life. 5.11 The Ewe Word for Death - Ku The Ewe word for death- Ku is packed with meaning for the traditional understanding of life and death. The same word ku is used for death by the Ewe and the Yoruba. The seed of a tree is called “atiku” that means “the tree that is dead or is sleeping in the seed”, with the understanding that when the seed is planted i.e. buried in the ground, the tree will sprout - resurrect and grow into a new tree again through the agency of the out-push of the Creative urge of the Spirit sleeping in it. It is in terms of this understanding of life and death that Jesus said, “I am telling the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain (ku in Ewe) unless it is dropped into the ground and dies (Ku, Ewe). If it does die (ku Ewe) understanding of life and death. Both the Ewe - African and biblical thoughts of death is a return to “the seed stage of existence” where life is planted - buried and waiting germination or in religious term, resurrection. Both the Ewe and Akan of Ghana describe “burial” as “sie” (Akan) and “dzra do” (Ewe) and both terms mean, “to store away carefully for future use”. Here again to our people death is not an annihilation of life but a safe keeping of life in its seed stage and shear too life becomes a process of moving through various growth stages. According to the seed philosophy of death, death is an invitation to life to come out of death and again let us remind ourselves of what the father of the Lost Son said. “For this son of mine was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found”. (Luke 15:24). Death then is not outside being and is not strange to it either even though popular aversion to death makes it a hated external enemy. We shall see the reasons for this attitude to death very soon. In our reflection on the dialectic of life and death we see both as a dynamic flow of energy as a tree growing from seed stage into a tree and back to seed state. The two processes are characterized by “resurrection from death to life” Resurrection i.e. change and growth are principal elements of the spiritual life but come to mystify the resurrection of Jesus - Christ without seeing its relevance for our spiritual unfoldment. Jesus - Christ realising the importance of resurrection for the spiritual life said to his hearers: “Come to me all of you who are tried from carrying loads and I will give you rest”. The Greek word for “I will give you rest” is ‘anapauso’ which means “I will renew you, I will create you” Also see Isaiah 40:31. The New Year yam Festival in Africa is not just a celebration of the new yam or rice and a temporary end of hunger but the celebration of the renewal and restoration of fresh relationship between God and the ancestors on the one hand and human being on the other. It is a renewal of the good relationship between members of the extended family and the local community and it is an opportunity to renew one’s contact with one’s roots. The indigenous African Culture is firmly rooted in the importance of resurrection or renewal; of the dynamic flow of life’s energy. Africans renew life’s energy at any point in the in cycle of life where the old and the new years meet and the Akan greeting as such conjunctions is “Afihyia pa” meaning “a favourable meeting of old and the new” and fundamentally it is the meeting of the old and new energy of life, the emergence and existence of a new life, a new being. We must revisit the doctrine of the resurrection and THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
formulate the doctrine of our spiritual growth in dynamic terms, in terms of continuous change and growth. With this understanding of life as resurrection from death, the chief concern of the African therefore is not “salvation from” but the continuous restoration and increase of the dynamic flow of life’s energy or power which expresses itself as vitality, fertility and potency, the power that provides the strength that he/she needs to cope with the problems and challenges of his/her existence. An essential discontent that leads to the out-push of the creative urge of the Spirit into new ventures. The African Christian is also concerned with the continued expression of life’s energy as fertility and vitality and health of women and man, of the calm in community and the land and animals. The African is therefore in search of a faith that will vouchasafe and ensure him/her that there will be continuance and increase of the dynamic flow of life’s energy and death will continue to yield more abundant life. From the African perspective then the loss of power/vitality is a fundamental and ultimate evil, e.g. bareness and impotence; and anything that is destructive of the Out-push of the creative Urge of the Spirit is evil and must be feared. 5.12 The Fear of Death If this is all there is to death why then do people fear so much? Why does death frighten people so much? As life is a mystery, death is more of a mystery and frightening one at that. People are afraid of death because they do not understand it and so they do not know how to control him. Death has become the most erratic phenomenon of human existence. Death has become the most erratic phenomenon of human existence and so cannot be predicted and Ewe name: Kulilim: “Death has taken me by surprise”, expresses the unpredictable nature of death. To the popular mind death comes as an end to life and not only as a conclusion of life whose goal have been achieved but it comes to take away the lives and so the Ewe name Kugblenu, meaning “death is the great wanton destroyer”. One other reason why people fear death is the fact that nobody really knows what happens to people in the after life, and all that is popularly known about the after-life is speculations, imagining and wishes as will be confirmed in the following Ewe references to the afterlife. Even though people cannot talk about the after-life with any high degree of certainty yet awareness of the after-life impinge so much upon their lives and this becomes obvious in the various names they have in Ewe for the here-after. We shall reflect on some of these names (1) Afe: ‘Home’ ‘hometown’ and the word “de” which means - ‘Home - country is the mythical and euphemistic name for the place, it is believed, we go to after death. These two names give you the impression that the African thinks of our life here as a sojourn and of us as sojourners who are here to fulfil a purpose. Among the Yoruba and the Ewe, it is the task of diviners (afakalawo, Ewe, babalawo, Yoruba) to help the individual to become conscious of his/her goals in life. This is one supreme task that the Christian Church should perform for its members because before the individual can co-operate in the cultivation and liberation of his/her life he/she must know the individual and communal purposes - du and duko - for his/her life.
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Tsiefe: Tsiefe is a popular name for the after-life it means “the spirit world”, “the spirit’s home” and that means we go back home as spirits and not as bodies. It is the dynamic energy that flows back to where it comes from. i.e. into the Great Spirit Mother. Kuwode: The home of death. The traditional regret is that nobody knows this home of death, if it were known we would go there to attack and destroy him. In short, human beings are powerless before the destructive power of death. Togbuiwode: Togbui, means the ancestor and so togbuiwode, means ‘the abode of the ancestors and this is the place the devoted African would like to go after death and be with the illustrious dead. More will be said about the illustrious died below. Vovlowode: Vovlowo: means “the departed who will not come back”. The belief is that the dead go to a place where they do not return to this life as we know them and so one popular name death is “Demagbonugbe” which means “a journey of no return” and so Vovlowode, means “the dwelling place of those who go and will not return to this life”. This situation rules out any belief in the resurrection of the body, the Ewes believe in the resurrection of the dynamic energy of life as has been discussed above and not in the resurrection of the body which any child will tell you turns into earth eventually here. Noliwode: Another word for spirit is noli and so noliwode means “ the spirit world”. Agume and Awlime are two words which picture the place for the here-after as the underworld located in the earth. The earth here refers to Mother Earth, Miano Zodzie Ewe), out of whom we come as a womb (yome) and into her we go back to as the dynamic flow of the energy of life (yome, Ewe). One popular prayer at burials therefore is: “Mother Earth, from you we come, into you we go back so rest gently on the soul of your own departed child”. Kutonu: The belief among the Ewe is that there is a river of life and death called Kuwotosisi which we cross when we go from this life to the other and vice versa. The boatman who ferries the dead across is call Kutiami, the messenger of death. The river of life and death has two crossing points, the one on the side of the living is called Agbetonu, the crossing point of life and the one on the side of the dead is Kutonu, the crossing point of death (this is the same for the commercial city of Benin in West Africa) Kutonu that is the gateway to the teritory of death and it has come to stand for the home of death. There is an old funeral rite which is performed for the dead before the coffin is finally closed, this ceremony is practised both by the Christians and traditional people. Just as the coffin is about to be closed people who want to, come around and put money into the coffin as tolls for crossing the river, Kuwotosisi, and also to be used by the departed to buy water to drink on the journey to the land of death. This final funeral rite is done to show one’s care and love for the departed and psychologically to facilitate emotional disengagement from the departed. The study of the terms used to refer to the after-life and certain funeral rites show that the Africans believe in the after-life and it is the same place we originated from and the same place we go to. When it is the place we come from then it is referred to as Bome with God as the Great Spirit Mother and when it is the place we go to after death, then it is referred THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
to as Tsiefe, the abode of the departed spirits and so it is here that the departed join the ancestors, the illustrious dead to enjoy the beatific life for ever. The study also shows that life in this world is thought of as a sojourn, i.e. a stay of a short duration during which we are to fulfil our earthly mission then we go back home, Bome Tsiefe. This view of life here and here-after harmonise very well with what the Psalmist said “Teach us how short our life is, so that we may become wise”. (Ps 91:12). It falls to the Christian Church in African Christian may lead a more purposeful and meaningful life. As it is our custom to take some worth-while gift called Agbamekanu, Ewe), home when we return from a journey, as we return to our original home - Tsiefe we take the dynamic power of life home to be united with the Great Spirit Mother (Se Ewe, Kra, Akan Ori, Yourba, Chi, Ibo) which resurrects to newness of life. This starts off another cycle of existence. The concept of hell then is not part of an African Ewe world - view. There is a judgement after death by Nolimetasi who ascertains whether an individual has satisfactorily fulfilled her/his life’s mission or not. If the individual has not, he/she is sent back to fulfil it. Such individuals are sent out of Bome - Tsiefe, that is, they are not allowed to join the illustrious ancestors who are illustrious because they are “amewonuawo”, i.e.: they are Achievers, the Victorious Ones. They have overcome. Ostracism then is equivalent to the temporary punishment for unfulfilled life. The ostracism of the non-achievers is, however, for a short while. As soon as the living relatives have offered a sacrifice of atonement on their behalf they are welcome back into Bome - Tsiefe to have communion with the illustrious ancestors and with the Great Mother Spirit from whom we come and into whom we return. Communion with the living and the dead is a quintessential spiritual value of Africans. 5.13 Death and Reinforcement of Moral Sanctions: Death is feared and so is unwelcome but traditionally its occasion is used to improve upon the moral quality of family and community lives. As soon as death occurs in a family it is reported to the chief and the Church. A meeting know as kuxaxa is convened, at this meeting of the elders the type of death and the cause of the death are ascertained and the type of efforts made by the bereaved family ascertained; if the reports from the bereaved family are accepted a satisfactory, a prayer is offered to the high God and the ancestors for a peaceful performance of the funeral and for a peaceful journey of the departed to join the ancestors. If there are any unresolved family quarrels between the departed and any members of the extended family or the community, they are resolved with the living partner to the dispute before preparations for the burial can go ahead. But as custom demands members of the bereaved family will have to appear publicly before the local community to tell them how it happened that they have lost one more life to death and what they have done to save that life. It is on such occasion that communal solidarity involving members of the extended family and community and fellow-workers is displayed. Death and burial are occasions among Africans for the demonstration of communal solidarity, reinforcing family obligations such as mutual help and co-peration, caring for the sick and the elderly and the need to maintain good personal relationship among the members of the extended family. The individual tries not only to live well but to die well THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
as well and be buried respectfully and with honour, because moral values are attached to the way a person dies. 5.14 Life and Death of Jesus Christ: African Relevance and View of it It has been pointed out above that because our existential Jesus –Christ, is perceived as God-Man of Action, he is action-oriented God-Man, problem solver, and Achiever and in Ewe, Amewonua. Jesus-Christ saw his mission as an action-oriented mission and announced it as such in Nazareth: He said “The Spirit of Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. (Action) He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives (Acton), and the recovery of sight to the blind; (Action) to set free the oppressed. (Action), and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people”. (Action) Luke 4:18. What we are saying in Africa is that because of unique problem nature of our existence we can relate meaningfully to such God-Man Action. Once again to articulate our unique problem in a nutshell. We know and believe that like all other human beings we have been created in the image of God and thus have been endowed with the life of God, the reality which is the dynamic flow of creative energy and this energy gives us the strength to do all things as St. Paul said to the Philippines from his existence. (Phil. 4:13). This dynamic flow of energy, the out-push of the Creative Urge of Spirit, God in us must be cultivated and liberated to be able to give the strength that we need to make our existence in African and black peoples a bit better and more dignified and tolerable. This is our existential mission, which has become necessary because during the course of human history, our humanity, which I term our Christhood, has been raped and our human dignity and worth have been violated and infringed upon, as we became people who were enslaved and colonised, discovered and evangelised, exploited and oppressed. We have been even humiliated and our human rights abridged by people who were and are supposed to be helping and saving us. We are helped in such a way that we will never be able to help ourselves and so we shall remain in a perpetual state of dependency. The crucial question then is, how can life and death of Jesus - Christ help us resolve this our existential problem? How do we, Continental Africans and black people interpret the life and death of Jesus-Christ so that it will be potent and relevant principle and power transforming the life of black people all the world over? Because generally we feel bad and sad about our own inevitable end that we see in the end Jesus-Christ we tend to sentimentalise and idealize the death of Jesus-Christ, and we tend to sensationalise and moralise it. Traditional Christians theology has not helped us much to understand the real meaning of Jesus’ death because the Church has come to exploit it as a means of modifying human behaviour, i.e. conditioning people to conform to a certain way and standard of living called “the Christian way of living! Why did Jesus of Nazareth die? What meaning is fathomed in his death: Did Jesus Christ die a good death (Ku nyui Ewe) i.e. a meaningful death or a better or for worse (Ku vo -Ewe) i.e. meaningless death? As has been pointed out above, for better or for worse life is wedded to death and they can never be separated, we can separate them in thought and wishes but never in reality. The THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
meaning of Jesus’ death cannot therefore be clearly and correctly understood without relating it to his life. Jesus-Christ lived and died to reveal some great spiritual truths which we need as the basis for the transformation of our lives in Africa. He said, “I tell you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it dies then it produces many grains”. (John 12:24). The first great spiritual/existential truth that Jesus-Christ has revealed through his life and death is that “Good death always ends in abundant life” and this is referred to in the text quoted above as “producing many grains”. Death instead of being an extinction of life, leads rather to the abundant life life. This may sound paradoxical, unrealistic and contrary to all that we know and have been taught about life and death. But this is a true revelation: true death always gives birth to the abundant life. (Vide Luke 15:24). We must learn not only to live truly to die truly, i.e. we must die for the abundant life. We must stop dying for nothing but for something really great in Africa. We have the tendency to see things and know them in halves as bad parts in separation and believe strongly that this life has an end and the end is death. The true meaning of death has been made known to us through the death of Jesus-Christ. Once life is given death must follow but through death we are led to the abundant life, life then is the beginning and the end. That is the reason why Jesus said to John the Divine: “I am the first and the last ……. the one who is, who was, and who is to come”. (Rev. 1.8) There is always light at the beginning and at the end of dark tunnel of any type of life, healing follows illness, prosperous life follows the life of wants and the best robed sonship awaits the vagabond who returns home to his Father. Jesus used his life and death to teach this one great spiritual existential truth. There is always a meaningful answer that yields energy for living this life satisfactorily. Again let us ask the question: How is Jesus’ life and death related to the abundant life he promised? The death of Jesus was the inevitable end of the type of life he preached and lived. The second major spiritual/existential lesson that Jesus taught and demonstrated in the way he lived is the truth that the essence of this life is change and growth through the experiences that come our way. Right from the beginning of his ministry Jesus proclaimed the importance of change or transformation of the way the people of his time were living. He said, “The Kingdom of God is near! Turn away from your sins and believe the Good News” (Mark 1: 15) Jesus right from the start of his ministry chose the way of change and growth as the essence of human existence, and so he went about changing people’s way of thinking and understanding and of doing things. He used to open his teaching with the words. “You have also heard that people were told in the past. Do not do this ……… but now I tell you: do this, do not do that ………..” By his teaching and actions he turned many people’s world upside down and by this he made many people feel insecure and so they resented his presence in their midst and resisted to change their lives as he proposed. He became unpopular. The secular and religious authorities and the people of his time became convinced that Jesus was a threat to the smooth operation of the status quo, he was a radical, and a revolutionary and so must be quickly liquidated. Jesus was killed because he THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
challenged people of his time to change and grow. He called people to follow him to a new way of life which is realised through change and growth. Finally if we ask the question, what did Jesus die for? We will say that they killed him because he brought a better and a new way of life. (II Cor. 5:17) which implies that the life we are living now can still yet be better. They killed him because he did what was good and right, by giving us a better understanding of our human existence. This is another paradox about Jesus’ life, but it is also one truth of life. We sometimes suffer not because we have done the wrong thing or because we have destroyed life but because we have saved life and have done what is good and right. Read the footnote to Luke 9:5 from the Good news Translation. In 1976-77 a young black South African called Steve Biko went about teaching his fellow black people to be proud of being African black and to do something to improve upon their way of living and upon their self-image. The white South African authorities hated him for teaching what they called pernicious Black Consciousness and mange to get him killed in a police cell. Steve Biko like Jesus of Nazareth had the courage to preach and do the good and they had to pay for it with their lives. The popular Christian interpretation of life and death of Jesus -Christ is that he suffered and died to take away the sins of the world, and especially of those who believe in him. The Church has used this moralist interpretation so as to create a sense of guilt in the individual devotee and hoping that this will cause him/her to stop doing wrong. This moralist interpretation is however, a moral exploitation of life and death of Jesus of Nazareth. Three new ways of interpreting the life and death of Jesus are proposed which are relevant and meaningful in the African situation. The first message from the life and death of Jesus for Africans and black people is that we must stop dying for nothing, we must stop living and dying to serve purposes that are not our own, we must live and die for something really great as Jesus was a Jew and the Jews are not the world’s greatest people but they have left their imprints on the history of the world and the time has come for Africans to contribute phenomenally to the development of humanity. Jesus came to preach the importance of change and growth, because of the tradition bound nature of life in Africa, the message that Africans need badly is the message of change and growth. This message from the life and death of Jesus, however, has been suppressed with the message of over stressed moral platitudes. The true African Christian is the learning and growing Christian, growing in spirit as well as in mind and body. The transformation that is badly needed in all aspects of our lives in African cannot come about unless black people developed the courage to always do what is good and right which may be unpopular, so as to make our total life situation always better. The cultivation of the dynamic flow of energy which gives the strength to do all things is the bottom-line of all spiritual endeavour and striving.
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CHAPTER SIX SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT: THE ROLE OF THE CHURCHES, PAST, PRESENT AND THE FUTURE 6.1 Opening Remarks Mr. Chairperson, distinguished guests, golden Jubilee celebrants, ladies and gentlemen. I count it as a unique honour to be asked by Mawuli School to speak on the topic “The Role of the Churches in School Development in the past, now and in the future” on this momentous occasion in the annals of Mawuli School, the premiere secondary school of the E.P. Church, Ghana. Mr. Chairperson, I remember very clearly, 51 years ago, I was privileged to be a student at the E.P. Church Seminary located at the top of the Old E.P Church, Ho Kpodzi, when Rev. Prof. Walter Trost arrived in 1949 from U.S. to take charge of Mawuli Secondary School. In September of that year after one of our Seminary morning worship services, the weather was wet and cold, Rev. Dr. Eugen Grau marched 12 Seminary students, to go and start clearing the site for a new secondary school. This was a significant step in the history of school development by the Church in the former British Mandated Togoland, a part of which we are calling today as the Volta Region of Ghana. 6.2 School as the Farm for Growing Children: “The Role of the Churches in School Development” Mr. Chairperson, to understand what school development is all about we must firstly understand what we mean by the term ‘school’ and ‘school education’. It was the German educationist Forebel, who called his school, Kindergarten’ meaning ‘a garden/farm of children’. In my many years of involvement in school education, I have come to the irrevocable conclusion that the best conceptualisation of school is that it is ‘a garden/farm where children are grown or developed. As we have farms where we grow palm-nuts and animals so do we have a farm/garden where we grow human beings and some of the agents for growing human beings are, the school, church, our homes and local communities. Mr. Chairperson, in fact according to the belief of our forebears the whole world is a farm called in Ewe, Bome or Bofe, where human beings are grown or developed by God and other growth-producing agents. St. Paul was thinking of the Church as a farm/garden when he declared to the Corinthians: “I sowed the seed, Appollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow ……… For we are partners working together for God and you are God’s field”. (1 Cor. 3.6,9) In these words, Paul has conceptualised for us the educative function of the Church and its workers and I will say the school like the Church is God’s field and all who work there are partners working to achieve their common objectives through co-operative efforts. 6.3 Children are Seeds Sown in the Field We may ask. Who then are the children we are sowing in the field? The children/students in our schools are the seed that we sow in the field of life and each human seed (potential) has the capability of becoming a human being. The process of becoming the being inherent in the seed is referred to as human existence, in Ewe, we describe it as ‘amenyenye,’ or THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
amezuzu’. To exist means to emerge or come out from the background of human possibility into the domain of human reality. The essence of our humanity then is not a prior idea of humanity, but it is in the power of the human being to exist, the power to achieve the goal of human existence. It is in the power of becoming and to translate our being from its potential state into its actual state that we described as our humanity, in Ewe amenyenye,. To be is to continue to become and to keep thrusting yourself into new possibilities of existence. This process of growing the latent human capability in an individual is what we are referring to as development. Every being /thing has a developing capability, seed develops into a plant, a shop develops into a big business, a building plot develops into a beautiful house. 6.4 The School as a Developing Agent How did the mission organisations which came to Africa in the 19 th century approach the general development problem, firstly the development of their evangelistic work and secondly the development of the hidden capabilities in Africans? All the missionary organisations that came to Africa in the 19 th century had their evangelistic development agenda. They came primarily to convert Africans to Christianity but they ended up planting a new way of life. The first basic presupposition of the Christian evangelisation of Africa, south of the Sahara therefore was that the African religious culture was an error and so it had be corrected through elimination and conversion of Africans from indigenous African religion and culture to the Christian faith. Converts therefore had to be formed into new groups near missionary posts called ‘salems’ or ‘Kpodzi’ and these are the nuclei of a new and alien culture from the West to be established in Africa. Along with the establishment of missionary post (salems) was the building of theological seminaries for the catchiest and teachers to work in churches and in mission-assisted schools. The principal purpose of this initial school development was to train Africans to serve their goal of evangelisation. But with the spread of colonial commerce and administration a significant step was taken in the development of schools. Mission schools helped in the training of men who worked as court interpreters in the colonial administrative set-up and as store-keepers for such commercial houses as U.A.C., U.T.C. and C.F.A.O. Schools had been developed at their initial stages as a means of producing lower manpower such as preaches and primary schools teachers and other workers for mission schools and churches and for commercial firms in our country at the time. It is to be noted that school development was in our country at the time. School development was not determined by needs of the people in the colony and Togoland but determined by the limited foreign bodies working in our country, namely, missionary bodies, trading companies and colonial administration. These were the consumers of our school products at the time and this produced a limiting factor in educational development to a considerable degree. 6.5 African Demand for School Education With the passage of time, school education took hold in our society and with an increase in the volume of trade with the outside world, Africans went to school and started building THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
schools because of the economic benefits of formal school education and because there was a market for the products of our schools, especially for the standard seven school leavers and there was ready employment with trading houses and government. Above all the demand for school education increased because its symbols became obvious: you can gain personal advancement and acquire high social status and a relative material well-being all through school education. Missionaries were the originators of school education and now churches and Africans became developers of formal education and people aspired for the provision of more and better school facilities. From the very beginning of the introduction of Western education tradition in Ghana the Churches have been concerned with the provision of school education for our children and this observation is born out by the shear growth in primary schools developed and administered by the Churches. Now the growing point of our formal schools system is our secondary and tertiary educational institutions. The demand here is not for more mushroom secondary and tertiary institution but for more quality education at these levels with an emphasis on the development of girls’ education. The development of girls’ education has been delayed and has not been addressed nationally with the seriousness it deserved. This is because of traditional attitude to the girl-child to grow up to be a wife, a mother and to operate from the kitchen as her headquarters for all her life. The sorry view of a girl has retarded the development of viable girls’ education either in single-sex or co-educational institutions. Some feeble attempts were made in the 1960’s to develop competitive girls education but it was not until 1983 that the first Senior Secondary school for girls called “Mawuko Girls Secondary School” was opened in the E.P. Church at Ho to provide reserve-seat second cycle education for girls. The time has come for our Church to embrace second cycle and tertiary education as it did with Basic Education in the past. 6.6 The Times are Changing One very important point to keep in mind in any school development undertaking is to remember that school development takes place within a social context and so school development is relational to a large social context. As Roman said: ‘The times are changing and we are changed in turn’ In 1983 some earth-shaking events happened in Ghana. Either due to the abysmal economic and political situation in which we found ourselves at the time, our military government decided to turn to Washington D.C. and to the World Bank and to the I.M.F. not only for financial help but for the adoption of new political and economic systems. In 1992 by the adoption of the republican constitution of the fourth republic, Ghana opted for liberal democracy, i.e. for multi-party political system after years of filtration with socialism and welfare state policies. The liberal democracy that we have opted for since 1992 is definitely a new way of life with its corresponding economic system called capitalism. Liberal democracy and capitalism go together and you cannot have one without the other. The main distinguishing marks of the capitalist economic system are, profit motive, enlightened-self interest, production of good and services, emphasis on individual efforts to save oneself or THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
you become a street dweller. There is also a great emphasis on competition for markets for manufactured goods and services. By adopting the liberal democratic and capitalist model of social ordering whether we are conscious of that we are doing or not, the competitive world market of production of goods and services would apply as the Asian Third World Countries are doing now. As new comers into the competitive world market we have to aim to excelling all other producers at least of certain goods and services e.g. as Togo B.B. beer has become competitive on the world market and selling fast in the U.S. As a people, we dislike competition and we do not value excellence well enough as vital to our survival as individual and as a nation. As a people we have to incorporate competition with a human face and excellence consciously into all walks of life of our society which is being developed as a competitive industrial and democratic society. Liberal democracy needs liberal education and the capitalist economy requires an underpinning of scientific and technological education to be effective and viable. When formal education was introduced into our society during the 19th century its principal aim is to foster the development of an alien culture in our midst, e.g. Western religion, commerce, colonial administration and to promote the development of western forms of thought especially among African elites. Schools and Colleges were built to serve alien purposes. The time has come for us to turn round our formal educational system to become liberal, science and technological education which we need for our industrial development and out-put and also for the development of liberal democratic citizenry and of our indigenous culture. Development, however, is not limited to human beings alone but everything has developing capability and so a seed develops into a plant, a shop into a big business and building plot into a beautiful house. The early Christian missions in Africa built schools to train Africans to help with the development of their missions in Africa. Later on the mission schools trained workers needed to cater for Western economic interest and colonial administration. Gradually school development came to be influenced by three main factors: the manpower need of the Churches, the African need for Western style education and the colonial administration manpower need. With the advent of national independence in the 1950’s and right after independence our governments took over in dominant ways educational development because of the need for an educated citizenry. The Churches’ role in school development was therefore severely curtailed and for some time Churches were not allowed to open schools. Mr. Chairperson, to repeat the point I have made earlier, to be able to hold our ground in the competitive free market of the world we must evolve appropriate and meaningful education that underpins industrial and liberal democratic society as we see in Japan, India, South Korea and U.S. Liberal democracy needs liberal education and the capitalist economy requires an underpinning of science and technological education to be effective and viable. Can the Churches provide this type of education for Ghana now and in the future?
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CHAPTER SEVEN CHRISTIANITY AND AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION THE GHANAIAN CASE 7.1 The Wrong Terminologies used for African Indigenous Religion: The Indigenous idea of religion in Africa South of the Sahara has gone through an interesting history of misrepresentation and administration simply because as our elders say, “If you are not prepared to lick your lips during the harmattan season (harmatan is a parching-land wind which blows from December to February in West Africa) the hamarttan will chop it for you”. That is to say serious African scholars were not present during the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century to write objectively on African traditional religion. As a result, the earlier literature on African traditional religion was written by non-Africans. The Africans’ own understanding and interpretation of their culture and religion in particular were overlooked or demonized, or apologetically referred to. These earlier non-Africa writers, who were mainly European explorers, missionaries and anthropologists, all brought to bear on the subject, African Traditional religion’ the European misconceptions about the non-European religion. Africans were represented as a savage people immersed in crippling superstitions and so whose religion lacked any abiding values and therefore they became fitting objects of evangelisation. The Christian missionary work in Africa was consequently started on the wrong understanding of African religion and it has remained on that footing till now. 7.2 The Use of Wrong Terminologies: One such wrong footing is the use of wrong terminologies such as animism, fetishism, paganism and heathenism to describe African traditional Religion. Let us examine some of these terminologies. Animism comes from the Latin word animus meaning ‘spirit’ or ‘soul’ and is used by the British anthropologist E.B. Taylor in 1866 to talk about African religion. According to Taylor primitive people considered every object to have its own soul/spirit and hence there were innumerable soul and spirits in the universe. Such beliefs and their practice, Taylor labelled as ‘African Traditional Religion’. Since then Africans who were neither Moslems nor Christians are referred to in Western literature and mass media as animist e.g. Africans in southern Sudan who are neither Christians nor Moslems are always referred to as animists in Time Magazine. The African use of the word soul/spirit as we shall see below and attitude to the created order is completely different from Taylor’s representation of it. The belief in the High God as creator spirit and thus a Mother -Father God is widespread in Africa and is known by various local names such as Mawu-Lisa (Ewe), Nyame Obata Pa (Akan) Ata Naa Nyomo (Ga) in Ghana and Togo mainly. He is essentially spirit and he/she is not represented by any earthly representations. His/her presence is acknowledged in prayers by lifting three times to heaven a calabash or palmwine or any object or sacrifice. He/she is recognised as the creator of persons the world and all that there is in it. As the creator of person in the Ewe of West Africa call her Boeno and the Akan of Ghana call her Onyame obatan pa meaning the Ideal Mother God and the Mother-Farmer of human beings. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
At another time African traditional religion was described as “fetishism” which comes from the Portuguese word meaning “idol” and so Africans were characterised as “heathenism” and “paganism”. Paganism comes from the Latin word “paganus” meaning “rural dwellers”. At another time African traditional religion was fashionably described as “polytheism”, that is, the worship of many gods as over against “monotheism” which is the worship of one God. There are refracted lesser deities who derived their powers and functions from the High God. For example the Ewes have one refracted God called Aklama who on behalf of the High God functions as the guardian deity for each individual who comes into this world. He protects and guides the individual who comes into this world. He protects and guides the individual in all his/her ways, prospers him/her and gives long life and good health. He likes individuals who are cheerful and grateful and hates people who are morose, complaining and untidy. Another refracted deity is Legba which functions as the god of change and free will while Fa functions as the god of permanence and determinism. All these lesser deities may be represented in one form or another in any Ewe traditional household. They have the power to reward people and can punish with misfortune, disease or even death. These refracted gods reflect certain aspects and functions of the High God who made them gods to reflect certain aspects and functions of the High God for specific purposes. They have their specialities or areas and so they are not just plural gods being worshipped by the people. Some of these refracted gods are associated with certain features of the environment, such as trees, rocks, rivers and mountains, etc. But these palpable objects are not, as in commonly believed, gods themselves, they are only the symbolic representations of the gods. At another time African traditional religion was described as an ancestor worship. It is my contention that African do not worship their departed relatives but they value and cherish the relationship that exists among them in this life and death does not terminate this relationship and so it extends into the next world. Through the ancestral veneration this relationship is reinforced and cherished. In African society, as Wilbur C. Harr said, “Human existence is a (relational) responsibility and not a self-centred isolationism”. (Pie Beaver, 1960, p. 200) African traditional religion was once called a “superstition”, that is fear and belief what has no rational grounds. African indigenous cultures, like any other cultures, contain some false beliefs and irrational fears, but the essence of African traditional religion is not false beliefs and fears that it may contain, but rather it is the unique and ultimate spiritual principle of comprehension that it has evolved for understanding our human existence. African traditional religion is therefore something more than superstition or magic. All these characterisations are loaded with value-judgements are intended to create the impression that Africans are worshipping wrong objects either from nature or created by human beings, in short, they are worshipping the creature and not the creator. African traditional religion is therefore taken to be based on false natural revelation instead of on historical and personal revelation as we have in Judaism and Christianity. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
On the basis of this false religious awareness the Christian West came to the conclusion that either African religious culture false so Africans must be saved, converted that taught to worship the one true God called Yaweh. The question is, what is the true nature of the religious/spiritual awareness that the West encountered in Africa, south of the Sahara during their first contact with the African continent? My answer to this question is in two parts: the first answer will deal with some general aspects of the African traditional religion and it will be brief; the second answer will take up a specific traditional spiritual apprehension as is found among the Ewe of Benin, Togo and Ghana. I want to introduce you specifically to the Ewe Traditional Religion because it is one of the traditional religions from West Africa which was taken over to the Americas along with the slaves. We find its barbarised and truncated from wirhin a country like Haiti where it is called “Voodooism” “vodu” is an Ewe word and is the local name for god especially used by the coastal Ewe. The other Ewe religious word found in the New world is “Legba” who is the god of change and free will. What is African traditional religion is the cultural product of our forebears and it is their attempt to explain and give ultimate meaning to our human existence. It is our world-view, that is, our normal way of looking at the world and experiencing life itself. It is therefore a part and parcel of the African Cultural Heritage which goes back thousands of years in our cultural life. There are words for religious ideas and objects, for practices and places and there are local words/names for the gods and religion is organised around the gods. African traditional religion therefore has developed along with the other aspects of the culture and so it belongs to each people among whom it has evolved. It is not propagated through persuasion because you are born into it and like your mother tongue you imbibe it from the cultural milieu. As African traditional religion is an integral part of the way of the people it goes along with the devotees wherever they settle to work and as such the gods of Ewe fishermen are found on the breaches of the Atlantic Ocean and some market women go to the market with their gods. African traditional religion is a problem-solving religion and so its devotees adopt a practical and pragmatic attitude towards it. It has therefore provided answers for the problems of the people even though some of the answers may be spurious, it has all the same provided some answers and direction in life and so people are not willing to leave it. It gives its followers a sense of security and protection against the negatives and destructive forces of human existence and above all it gives its followers a sense of identity and belongingness. African traditional religion is an essential part of the way of life of each people and its influence covers the time you are an idea in the minds of your parents, all the way to your birth and long after you have departed this life. It is spread by its fruits i.e. by what it does and so had paid missionaries to spread it, and this is one of its limitation and its strength at the same time. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
Someone may ask for the proof Africans have for the existence of God. It has been said that religion to Africans is more than rituals and conduct reflecting beliefs and it is far more than a system of rational arguments to establish the existence of the Supreme Being. It starts as an individual apprehension of spiritual reality that reflects itself (herself/himself) in the life of a person and eventually in the cultural expression of a people. Religion therefore from the earliest time became in the African the dynamic force in the development of all the major aspects of Black Civilization. The essence of the African indigenous religion is therefore an experience of the divine personality derived from how the divine encounters the individual. The general consensus is that the divine encounters the individual as a transforming and enabling power, (Matt. 18:2:3) for this reason the popular name for God among the Ewe, whether High or low is “Tro” which means “transform”. Unfortunately, this name for God has been demonised by Christian evangelism and to many African Christians the term tro has come to present the devil from whom people must be saved. The person in whose life such a transformation has taken place becomes the priest or priestess of the God, and he/she is now called “Trosi” which literally means “the wife of God” (Vide Hosea 2:16). From the day the personality transformation has occurred the Trosi becomes a new being with a new name and a new vocation in life and is therefore given a new name (Gen. 17:4) (II Cor. 5:17). She wears new clothes which may be white or blue, women leave their tops bear and wear cowry bracelets to show that they have become the dwelling place of the transforming and enabling power of high God in any form of his/her manifestation. The experience can now be translated into thought forms and conceptualised as various divine names for the supreme God will show below. 7.3 The Concept of the High God in Africa: Single names for the High God. The High God is known by single and dual names and is usually conceptualised by the use of symbols, metaphors and objects that are suitable and available in the various cultures of Africa, but the qualities attributed to him/her are everywhere identical. As a single name He bears several different names like Segbo - The Great Spirit (Ewe), Okra, (Twi) Kla (Ga), Ori (Yoruba), Chi (Ibo) all meaning the spirit as the ultimate stuff of being. 7.4 The Dual Name for the High God. Some Africans, among whom are the Ewe, conceive of the godhead of the Supreme God as a deity with a dual nature, one female and the other male and yet they are one in essence (J.S. Mbiti, Concept of God in Africa (London, S.P.C.K. 1970), pp 29 -30) This African traditional concept of the High God is based on and derived from the African view of reality, which is found in the indigenous religion, creation myths, personal names, proverb and symbols. This view of being is expressed simply by a Tanzanian proverb which says, ‘In the world all things are two and two’. This is a basic ontological statement of the African perception of reality. The two that forms the nature of everything in the universe is made up of opposites which become one while remaining two. Thus the unseen is as much a part of reality as that which is seen, the spiritual is as much a part of reality as the material and there is a complementary relationship between the two. Chinua Achebe calls this ‘the notion of duality.
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According to this notion of duality man is made up of body and spirit and the human community is made up of the living and the living-dead and reality of this is given expression in the libation prayer and other scarifies to the dead regarded as continuing members of the community. The Mandes of Sierra Leone expressed the dual origin of all things (Twoness/dialectics) by saying that the High God, Mangalal, created the varieties of an eleusine sed conceived as twins of opposite sex in the “Egg of God” which is also called the “Egg of the World” (Elicit Skinner, People and Cultures of Africa (the Doubly Day N.Y. 1973) p. 637. The Ewe cosmology maintains the same view of being in more detail. According to Ewe religious tradition the High God called Segbo, the Great Spirit, has a dual name called Mawu-Lisa which is refraction of God’s nature and their union has become the basis for the organisation of the world. In the divine duality “Mawu” the female principle in the harmony, peace, care, rest, joy and freshness. (is 40:30; Matt. 11: 28-30) Lisa (Litsa) the male principle in the godhead, is the symbol of power, warlike, labour, strength and toughness, he is the principle of justice steadfastness, pain and suffering, security, protection and all human strivings. Daryll Ford observed … Their dual and conflicting nature (contracting nature) expresses even before the world was organised, the complementary forces which were to be active in it”. (African World) p 219 Duality, twoness or dialectics is the fundamental structure of being according to Ewe traditional religion. Mawu-Lisa therefore expresses together the unity of the world conceived in terms of duality. This unity is called segbo. The Great Spirit of the Universe. The divine names Se, Mawu, Lisa (So, Fa) appear a great deal in Ewe theophorous names and are taken as personal names. Few examples* Se 1. Sena: 2. Senanu: 3. Senyo:
Life is the gift of God, (Nathaniel) God has given us varied gifts. I shall call on God alone for help
Mawu 1. Mawunyo: God is good. 2. Muwuli: God is with us 3. Mawuko: I shall call on God alone for help. Lisa: (So, Fa) 1. Sosu: The mighty God 2. Fasinu: Wait upon the Lord 3. Sosi: The wife of God. 7.5 The Development Relationship between African Traditional Religion and the Christian Faith: It is exciting for some of us to live long enough to see the dawn of religious pluralism, that is, the collapse of Western religious imperialism and Christian trimphalism/ the world at THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
long last has admitted not only the necessity of democratic pluralism but religious pluralism as well, whereby people are offered genuine religious choices. The present situation of religious pluralism has made the development of a new relationship between African traditional religion and Christianity preach a gospel of betterthan-thou and as a result propagated in Africans the attitude of total rejection of things African because they are said to have been tainted with “paganism”. As the English proverb says “Give a dog a bad name and hang it”. The African traditional religion has been demonized through Christian propaganda and thus downgraded and denigrated and Africans are consequently asked to turn away from it. The demonisation of African traditional religion has not completely stopped with the advent of religious pluralism but as the Roman saying “The times are changing and we are changed in them”. I have used some African proverbs as principles to guide our understanding of the necessary change of attitude to the African traditional religion and to guide Africans to re-appropriate their indigenous religious heritage. The first proverb says: “The new is always woven on to the old” This proverb comes from the experience of weaving the famous Ghanaian Kente cloth strip by strip. The daily weaving is always as an addition to the previous day’s weaving. Our religious tradition is an inevitable foundation of our present religious behaviour and experience because a tree grows on its roots and not without them. The second proverb: “To go back to fetch what you have forgotten is not a taboo or stealing”. This proverb is called Sankofa/Nlobegatso. According to this proverb, life is a journey which has a definite purpose. It has its origin, its present and its termination, and if something very important from your past, go back and fetch it and those things you need to go forward and continue moving forward. Make a creative but with its neck turn back picking an egg from its past. The egg is a symbol of new possibilities for the future. The third guiding principle is contained in the proverb which says: (α) “It is the news from abroad that makes the narrow rich”. (β) “The stone that is thrown from very far away hits the hardest”. These wise sayings stress the modus vivendi that should guide the relationship between the African indigenous religious tradition and any new invading religious faiths. According to the wisdom of these proverbs any new religious faiths are welcome to Africa not to dislodge and destroy the traditional African Spiritual apprehension of human existence but to enrich and deepen the faith meaning that Africa is not to replace but to improve upon the quality of African religious experience and the faith expression of the ideal life in our situation.
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CHAPTER EIGHT COLONIALISM AND COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION IN AFRICA 8.1 Introduction To prepare the grounds for the colonisation of Africa and Africans, exploration missions were undertaken by Europeans to know more about the resources of Africa. This led to voyages of exploration and discovery by people like Mungo Park, David Livingston, Stanley, etc. This period of exploration and the missionary activities that followed have come to be known as "the opening up of Africa" – which was than known to Europeans as "The Dark Continent". Africa was referred to as the "Dark Continent" because little was known about it in Europe. European works and activities during this period were aimed at proving the inferiority of the African. Anything of value that was uncovered or seen in Africa was attributed to the influence of some allegedly superior group on the continent or to people from outside Africa. The idea that Africa could have exerted any civilising influence over other people was completely shunned or ignored. This strategy was to make Africans accept their supposed inferiority in order to prepare the way or the imposition of colonial rule. For example, Prof. Trevor Roper had this to say about Africa at the Oxford University during this period. "Undergraduates, seduced by changes in journalistic fashion, demand to be taught the history of black Africa. Perhaps in future, there may be some African history to teach. At the moment, there is none. There is only the history of the white man in Africa. The rest is darkness and darkness is not a subject of history". Other negative pronouncements and phrases had been used to describe the African. For example "The African has an extremely small brain incapable of advanced thinking". The African is half-child, half-devil", "Africans were ordained to be hewers of wood and drawers of water" etc. All these strategies and measures were adopted to make the establishment of colonial domination possible and acceptable. 8.2 Allegory of the Murdered Virgin The growing process of underdevelopment and indebtedness of Africa, a continent heavily endowed with a bewildering diversity of natural resources, vigorously stirs the minds and imagination of most analyst of the situation on the continent. Perhaps in the history of human civilization, no other continent has had its human and material resources so ruthlessly and indiscriminately plundered by so many foreign countries, in return for so little, because of division and the lack of unity. Before the continent started having contact with Europeans, Africans had their own civilization and a subsistent economy. In this economic system everything produced was used by Africans. Men and women, young and old ate or used what was produced and produced what they ate or used. But the traumatic experiences of slave trade, colonialism and racism resulted in the physical, religious and mental captivity of Africa and the African. These experiences and the impact they had on the psyche of the African is THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
tremendous and has made collective thinking and common action rather difficult to achieve. Let me illustrate what happened to Africa with the following allegory. Once upon a time, some fortune seekers embarked on a fortune- seeking- mission into a great forest. After roaming for a very long time without getting anything of interest, they came upon a virgin lady. They quickly became very much excited and decided to rape her in turns. After several rounds of ruthless raping, the lady became unconscious. As a result of fear, they decided to kill the lady. Her body was cut up into parts. Each man had portions of the lady’s “parts” according to his influence within the group. The fortune seekers agreed that the “parts” of the lady should be preserved, in case the crime was ever detected, they could surrender the parts, to the parents and family of the virgin lady for a decent burial. Different methods were used to preserve the parts of the lady, some of the fortune seekers used smoking to preserve their parts. Others employed salting and drying, refrigeration, frying and roasting among other methods to preserve their parts of the virgin lady. Several years after, the crime was detected, and the parts were retrieved and stitched together to represent the virgin lady. When the body of the virgin lady was laid in state, none of the members of the family could recognize her. She had, as it were, undergone too much change to be recognised. The crude threads of the stitches made the body look very strange. The fortune seekers are the European nations that took part in slave trade and colonialism. The virgin lady is the African continent. The cutting into pieces is the partitioning of Africa among the European powers. The pieces of meat or parts of the murdered lady are African countries as they are toady and the methods of preservation are the various colonial policies used by the European powers in Africa, e.g. the Crown Colony System, the French Policy of Assimilation, etc. The detection of the crime and retrieval of the parts were struggle for and attainment of independence by African countries and the crude threads of stitches are the colonial boundaries on the African continent. Africa still remains within these colonial boundaries. This explains the difficulty Africa is facing today in thinking collectively and embarking upon the surest journey for economic independence and integration. 8.3 Imperialism and the Establishment of Colonialism in Africa Imperialism may be defined as a universal tendency on the part of the strong and powerful to expand external influence and domination over the weak and powerless. Imperialism is believed to be a trend even among other living organisms including insects like ants and locusts because they also possess the inherent tendency towards "imperialist" expansion and seizures. Lenin pointed out that free competition capitalism develops into monopoly capitalism, and monopoly capitalism is what is referred to as imperialism. Lenin defined Imperialism as "Capitalism at that stage of development at which the dominance of monopolies and finance capital is established; in which the division of the world among the international trusts has begun; in which the division of all territories of the globe among the biggest capitalist powers has been completed". Nkrumah Kwame, (1974) THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
8.4 What are Capitalist Monopolies? Capitalist monopolies are large enterprises, companies or associations concentrating in their hands a sizeable part of the production and marketing of commodities on the basis of a high degree of concentration of capitalist production for the purpose of making superprofits. These super profits and the high levels of capitalist accumulation enable them to influence and dominate other countries all over the world. 8.5 What is Colonialism? Colonialism is the establishment of political authority by a stronger nation over a weaker one, with the purpose of exploiting the latter's human and material resources for the development of the former (coloniser).The basic driving force of colonialism is economic. There are three main doctrines of imperialism and colonialism. • The doctrine of exploitation of the weak by the strong and powerful. • The doctrine of trusteeship or partnership. • The doctrine of assimilation. The exponents of these doctrines believe in the right of stronger peoples to exploit weaker ones to develop world resources and to civilise backward people. According to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in his book Towards Colonial Freedom "The annexation (conquest) of one nation by another and the application of superior technological strength by one nation for the subjugation and economic exploitation of a people or another nation constitutes outright imperialism". Nkrumah Kwame (1962) The dominant reasons for the quest for colonies in Africa by European capitalist powers were stated by Jules Ferry in 1885 in the Chamber of Deputies in France, while speaking in defence of French colonial policy. He said "The Nations of Europe sought colonies for the following three purposes. • In order to have access to raw materials of the colonies to feed their industries back home; • In order to have markets for the sale of their manufactured goods; • As outlets for the investment of surplus capital.’ Nkrumah Kwame (1962) Albert Sarraut, Colonial Secretary of State for France in 1923, said the following in Paris: "What is the use of painting the truth? At the start, colonisation was not an act of civilisation, it was not a desire to civilise. It was an act of force motivated by interests ..... European Colonisers are thinking primarily only of themselves, working only for their own power and for their own profits." Nkrumah Kwame (1962) Sarraut exposed the falsehood of "the white man's burden and the mission civilisatrice" when he concluded his speech by saying that "The origin of colonisation is nothing else than enterprise of individual interests, a onesided and egotistical imposition of the strong upon the weak". Nkrumah Kwame (1962)
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8.6 The Colonial Economy The purpose of founding colonies was mainly to secure raw materials and protect trading interests in Africa. To safeguard the means of securing such raw materials the following policies were indirectly put into action in the colonial economy. • To make the colonies non-manufacturing dependencies; • To prevent the colonial subjects from acquiring the knowledge of modern means and techniques for developing their own industries ; • To make colonial subjects simple producers of raw materials through cheap labour; • To prohibit the colonies from trading with other nations except through the "mother country" (coloniser). Nkrumah Kwame (1962) It is true to argue that some infrastructure was provided under colonisation e.g. health centres and hospitals, schools, roads, castles, railway, marketing boards, etc. The provision of these facilities under colonial rule was meant to accelerate the rate of exploitation. For example, the limited schools were to produce the needed personnel for exploitation of resources, the hospitals were to provide the health needs of the Europeans and their labour force, roads and railways to promote the transportation of raw materials to the ports for export and the forts and castles for storage of goods and security. Colonialism destroyed African values and norms, art and craft and local industries. In fact, what remained of colonialism in Africa today, which some people are tempted to see as development, are all the unintended consequences and by-products of a mission of exploitation. The exploitative nature of colonialism quickened the revolt against colonialism by African nationalists. Nkrumah Kwame (1962) 8.7 The Crown Colony System of Colonial Administration The Crown Colony system of colonial administration was adopted by the British in ruling their dependencies. In this system all the colonies of Britain were regarded as the legal possession of the Crown (the Queen or the King). The administration was hierarchically structured with the Queen or King at the apex; followed by the Secretary of State for the colonies who was based in Britain; the Governor in the Colony; who was assisted by the Executive Council and the Legislative Council; the Regional Commissioner; the District Commissioner, and the traditional rulers. The Monarch (The Crown) The Monarch was the ceremonial head of the colonies, and the colonies were administered in the name of the crown, that was why it was known as the crown colony system of administration. The Secretary of State for the Colonies The Secretary of State for the colonies was normally a minister of cabinet rank and was responsible to the British Parliament for the administration of all British colonial territories. The Governors were appointed by the Monarch on the recommendation of the Secretary of State. He could also recommend the promotion, transfer and dismissal of governors. The governors were responsible to him in the day to day administration of the colonies. The powers and functions of the Secretary of State were, however, controlled or limited by parliament. He could be criticised and made to answer questions on how the colonies were being administered. Secondly, the principle of collective responsibility of the executive to parliament compelled the Secretary of State to listen to the advice/opinion
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of other cabinet members on colonial issues. Thirdly, public opinion in both Britain and the colonies often affected the policies pursued by the Secretary of State. The Governor The Governor was the representative of the Crown in the colony. He was assisted by the executive council and the legislative council, whose members were appointed by him. He presided over the meetings of the two councils. These two councils were advisory bodies to the governor. The governor could ignore the advice of these councils. In the event of ignoring the advice of any council, the governor only had to explain the circumstances to the colonial Secretary in Britain. The governor had reserved powers, veto powers and the powers of certification. These powers virtually made him a dictator. The governor was, however, controlled by the Secretary of State and public opinion in the colonies and in Britain. The Executive Council The Executive Council was initially composed of only whites, but Africans were later added to the membership. There were official and unofficial members. The official Members were heads of Departments in the colonies. The functions of the executive council were to advise the governor, to help initiate bills and to implement colonial policies. Members were responsible to the governor. The Legislative Council The Legislative Council consisted of unofficial and official members. Some members were nominated by the governor, whilst others were elected on limited franchise basis. The main functions of the legislative council were the discussion of bills and policies initiated by the Executive Council and offering advice to the governor. Regional and District Commissioners The Regional and District Commissioners resided in the Regional and District capitals respectively. They were in charge of the implementation of colonial policies at the regional and district levels, and ensured that the activities of traditional rulers were in conformity with the policies of the colonial government. 8.8 Traditional Rulers and Indirect Rule The traditional rulers were the main instruments of administration at the local level. The British instituted the system of indirect rule at the local level. Indirect rule was a system by which the British ruled their subjects and territories through the traditional rulers and traditional institutions. The system was first introduced into West Africa by Lord Lugard in Northern Nigeria from where it spread to other territories. Reasons for Indirect Rule • Acute shortage of experienced personnel especially during the first world war. • Lack of finance for general administration of the colonies. • The existence of an already well organised system of local administration under traditional rulers. • There was the problem of communication i.e. language barrier. The British could not communicate easily or directly with the Africans. • These problems were further compounded by the vastness of the colonial territories.
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Indirect Rule in British Colonial Administration The British colonial government when faced with the question of the maintenance of law and order, for smooth and peaceful trade, could not but recognise the traditional authorities and use them as agents of decentralised colonial administration. The adoption of traditional institutions for administering the affairs off the colonies was not motivated by a genuine concern for decentralisation of administration. It was an attempt to maintain law and order without paying the political cost involved. This explains why even though the system was known as indirect rule, the traditional authorities never had the autonomy to operate. They were, in fact, directly controlled and guided by the colonial government in the execution of their functions. The traditional authorities raised their own resources despite the fact that the functions were transferred to them by the colonial government. Traditional rulers were the main instruments used to administer the affairs of Africans at the local level. The traditional rulers assisted the colonial treasurer in the collection of revenue, part of which they keep for local development and administration. Virtually, all the educated elite were excluded from indirect rule. There existed traditional institutions like the courts, the native authorities, resident supervisors, native treasuries and warrant chiefs. The exclusion of the educated elite resulted in the formation of political movements and the agitation for self-determination. Indirect Rule and the Development of Native Authority System in the Gold Coast Indirect rule was introduced in the Gold Coast in 1878 with the passing of the first Native Jurisdiction Ordinance and lasted until 1944. The major pre-occupation of the British Colonial authorities, until the early post-second World War era, was the question of the maintenance of law and order facilitate smooth and peaceful trade and commerce. To attain the goals of law and order, the British colonial government needed money and skilled manpower, both of which were not immediately available in the Gold Coast. In the face of all these difficulties, the British colonial government could not but establish and maintain a system of local administration through the recognition and use of the existing indigenous African institutions known as “native authorities”. Indirect rule, which was popularized by Lord Lugard, in a book entitled The Dual Mandate in British Tropical Africa, was described by James Coleman as s system of local administration in which “the essential features were the preservation of traditional political institutions and their adaptation under the tutelage and direction of the British colonial administration to the requirement of modern units of local government”. Under these systems, the recognized native authorities were endowed with powers that enabled them to perform administrative, legislative and judicial functions. This functions of the native authorities included the maintenance of order and good government in their areas of jurisdiction, interposition to prevent the commission of any crime; summoning people before their courts for the settlement of land, marriage and chieftaincy disputes; the passing of bye-laws; working out estimates of revenue and expenditure; organising tax collection and undertaking of development programmes like the construction of schools, health centers, latrines and other welfare services. The Native Authorities also had jurisdiction over the distillation and sale of liquor; prohibiting, restricting or regulating gambling, fishing, disturbances of peace; prevention of pollution of sources of water supply; the protection of trees and the requiring of natives THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
to report cases of infectious or contagious diseases to health authorities. The native authorities were, however, under the supervision of the resident British administrators or the district commissioners The first attempt at incorporating the indigenous African institutions as local government units in the statutes of the Gold Coast was the passing of the Native Authority Ordinance in 1878. Between the passing of the above-mentioned ordinance and 1944, 13 other Ordinances were passed to regulate the functions of native authorities. Some of these Ordinances include the Native Administration Ordinance of 1833; the Town Council Ordinance of 1894; and the Native Administration Ordinance of 1933. In 1936, the Native Treasuries Ordinance legalized the importance of levies by traditional states provided they established treasuries. Other laws passed to improve the structure and functions of improve the administration in the Gold Coast were, the Native Authority (Northern Territories) Ordinance of 1932; the Native Administration (Togoland Southern Section) Ordinance 1933 and the Native Authorities Ordinances of 1935 and 1944 for Asante and the colony respectively. The Native Authority was under the careful control of the colonial government in the exercise of the powers given to it. It was the Governor who appointed the Native Authorities and all their rule and regulations were implemented only with his approval. Any of the laws could be revoked by him at any time. The establishment of native treasuries and the imposition of any rates, fees, annual estimates or other forms of taxation also required the governor’s approval. For example, if a Native Authority applied for the Governor’s permission to impose a tax, it submitted for the approval of the Chief Commissioner; the amount payable by every individual, the persons to whom the tax was to apply, the purposes for which the tax was to be collected and the period within which the tax was to be collected. The Native Authorities achieved some successes in the collection of taxes, the settlement of customary disputes, the provision of social amenities like good drinking water, latrines and the construction of schools and feeder roads. Native courts administered native laws and customer practices prevailing in their areas of jurisdiction so far as these laws were not repugnant to natural justice or morality or inconsistent with any provision of any other ordinance. The courts were graded A, B, C and D depending on the status and stool of the chief. The Native Authority Ordinance made provision for appeals. For example, in land cases, in the Asante Confederacy, appeals were made to the Asantehene’s court A; from there they were referred to the court of the Chief Commissioner of the Gold Coast and finally to the West African Court of Appeal. Despite their modest achievements the Native Authorities were beset with a diversity of problems most of which were constitutional. The Native Authorities had no jurisdiction in constitutional matters having to do with the election, installation and deposition of chiefs. Candidates or contestants to stools loyal to the colonial government were elected in most places, particularly in Ashanti even though they had no titles in native law to such offices. Confident of government support such rulers were scornful of traditional checks on chiefs. The rule of such chiefs was characterised by instability, insecurity, internecine power struggles and rebellions, as there were constant moves and agitations to replace them by men elected from the authentic lineages. For example, in 1905, the people of Agona rebelled and refused to serve their chief, Kwame Boakye because he was not the rightful THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
heir to the stool. But the colonial government supported him and ordered the people to continue serving him. Similar rebellions occurred in 1906 at Ejisu, Akropong (Ashanti) Ahinkuro and Nsuta where chiefs were similarly appointed. In each case the colonial government backed the chief and kept him on the stool. Finally, the educated elite were excluded, generally, from participating in the native authorities except for a few elected members from the municipalities of Accra, Kumasi, Cape Coast and Secondi-Takoradi based on limited franchise of education and the possession of considerable property. This situation gave birth to antagonism between the traditional authorities and the intelligentsia. Despite the problems associated with Indirect Rule and the Native Authority System they, nevertheless, provided a rudimentary framework for decentralisation of administration in the Gold Coast. 8.9 The French Colonial Policy The French administered their colonies directly from France because they regarded them as part and parcel of metropolitan France. France adopted the Policy of Assimilation. During the era of the Policy of Assimilation, the French thought that their civilisation had reached its peak and the colonies should be absorbed into this culture of excellence through education. Assimilation was therefore in the political, social, economic and cultural spheres. The French Colonial Administration was also hierarchically structured with the President and the French Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies at the top. This was followed by the minister in charge of the colonies who was resident in France; the Governor-General who was resident in Senegal. Under the governor-general were the Lt. Governors who were resident in the various French colonies. The colonies were divided into regions/provinces which were headed by Commandants. Under the Provincial Commandants were the Commandants de circles; then came the chiefs, who administered the affairs of the colonies at the local level. Citizens and Subjects The policy of assimilation resulted in the division of colonial people in the French territories into citizens and subjects, with different rights, responsibilities and privileges. Citizens were those Africans who were either born in the four communes of Senegal, i.e. Dakar, St Louis, Goree and Rufisque and those who were qualified by law to be regarded equal to the ordinary Frenchman. Subjects were those indigenous people who on account of lack of education or low level of literacy were regarded second class human beings and treated as such. Privileges and Responsibilities of Citizens Attainment of high educational status or being born in any of the four communes of Senegal made it possible for a citizen to enjoy the following: • The right to vote and the right to be voted for i.e. the franchise. The right of representation of the colonial people in the Chamber of Deputies in France. • The privilege to be employed to work in France or the assumption of a post in France. • The right to marry a French woman or a French man. Outside the four communes of Senegal, French citizenship could only be granted to the following: • Persons who had served several years in French employment. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
• • •
Persons who could read and write the French language thoroughly. Persons who showed evidence of good character – e.g. the practice of monogamy and the denunciation of African culture. Possession of legitimate means of self support.
The citizens were also exempted from the indigenat, prestation and forced labour. They also had the right to be educated in France. They also had their taxes based on their incomes Subjects • They were denied all the privileges of the citizens. • They mostly lived outside the four communes of Senegal • They were subjected to the indigenat which was a system of onthe-spot discipline administered to subjects. • They were denied political rights i.e. franchise and right to participate in or criticise government. • They were subjected to prestation i.e. the payment of huge sums of money to be exempted from forced labour. • They were compulsorily conscripted into the colonial army. • They paid taxes which were not based on their income levels. i.e. arbitrary taxes. 8.10 Portuguese Colonial Rule Portugal is one of the poorest European countries and its resources are controlled by a small group of extremely wealthy families. Portugal had Mozambique and Angola as her colonies in Africa. The Portuguese colonial policy was one of the most brutal in Africa The Portuguese instituted a system of forced labour which was virtually a kind of slavery in Mozambique and Angola. Men and women were treated not as human beings, but as beasts of burden and they worked from morning till evening under the supervision of the local "chef do post" or the District Officer. Nkrumah Kwame (1962) The Portuguese also practised a type of assimilation. Under their system of assimilation, which was called the “Assimilado”, or "Civilizado" system, an African by the process of law was regarded a "white man" if he possessed certain European standards and qualifications. The Assimilado Policy was based on racial superiority of Europeans and was meant to turn Mozambicans and Angolans into Portuguese through Christianity, moral training and education. This notwithstanding, education was shamefully and woefully neglected in such a way that in 1955, when Ghana was preparing to attain her independence, Angola had only 68 African high school students. Nkrumah Kwame (1962) One African from Lourenso Marques in Mozambique had this to say about the Portuguese Policy of Assimilado: "The Portuguese think that it was a mistake on the part of God to make the African. Their Assimilado Policy is an effort to correct this divine error". Nkrumah Kwame (1962) 8.11 Belgian Colonial Rule The vast country of the Congo (formerly Zaire) about 77 times the size of Belgium was between 1876 and 1908 the exclusive property of one man, King Leopold II of Belgium. He became one of the richest men in the world through the merciless exploitation of the Congo. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
In the Berlin Act (1885) which was signed after the Berlin Conference in 1884, European colonial powers pledged themselves; "To watch over the preservation of the native populations, the improvement of their moral and material conditions of existence; to co-operate in the suppression of slavery and the slave trade and to further the education of the natives". Nkrumah Kwame (1962) This pledge was broken with impunity. Contrary to the spirit and letter of the pledge, African workers were robbed, beaten up, tortured, mutilated and murdered when they failed to produce the required amount of rubber, or ivory. The lost of lives in Africa as a result of Belgian colonial brutality was put between five and eight million people. Reports of these brutalities forced the other European powers to investigate the situation in the Congo. The result of the enquiry was that the Congo became a colony under the Belgium Government. A governor-general was appointed and was responsible to the Belgian Parliament. Unfortunately, he had no legislative council or assembly to check his powers nor were Congolese allowed to be represented in the Belgian Parliament. Nobody in the Congo, white or black had the right to vote, let alone be voted for. The Congolese had few, if any, civil rights. There were Belgian District Commissioners, who ruled the various localities in much the same manner as the Governor-general ruled the Congo from Leopoldville. The Belgian Government monopolised the economy of the Congo and ruthlessly raped it for the development of Belgium. The education, security and health care needs of the natives were completely neglected in the Congo. At the time of independence in 1960, there were practically no experienced Congolese politicians or civil servants and no African officer in the Congolese army. 8.12 Neo-colonialism Neo-colonialism is a post independence phenomenon. i.e. this process starts after a country has attained political independence. By way of definition, neo-colonialism may be said to be the situation whereby a country is in theory, independent; and has all the outward trappings of international sovereignty, but in reality its economic and political policies are directed from outside by more powerful and stronger forces. Nkrumah Kwame (1974) Neo-colonialist tendencies may manifest themselves in the form of heavy foreign military presence in a sovereign country to "protect the government"; economic or monetary means by which the neo-colonial state is obliged to import manufactured products from only the imperialist power; by sending foreign civil servants as "experts" into positions whereby they can dictate policy. In the opinion of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, neo-colonialism is the worst form of imperialism because "for those who practise it, it means power without responsibility and for those suffer it, it means exploitation without redress" Nkrumah Kwame (1974) References 1. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah; 1. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah; Neo-colonialism, The Last Stage of Imperialism (1974) p. XI 2. Walter Rodney: How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (1972) THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
3. 4. 5. 6
Brett, E.A.: Colonialism and Underdevelopment in East Africa (1973) William Tordoff: Government and Politics in Africa Macmillan Education. Ltd. (1984) C. Leys: Underdevelopment in Kenya: The Political Economy of Neo-colonialism (London: Heinemann. 1975) J.H. Price; Political Institutions of West Africa (London: Hutchinson Educational Limited 1967) pp. 10 – 11. 7.
James Coleman; Nigeria: Background to Nationalism (California: University of California Press, 1958) p. 71.
8.
K.A. Busia; The Position of the Chief in Modern Political System of Ashanti. (London: Oxford University Press 1951) p. 141.
9.
J. Sheridan and R. Riley; “Local and District Councils: Should they be Forgotten?” Journal of Modern African Studies. Vol. 2. No. 13, 1975. pp. 309 – 310.
10.
Busia; The Position of the Chief. P. 224.
11.
Sheridan and R. Riley; “Local and District Councils: Should …” p. 310.
12 J.K. Nsarkoh; Local Government in Ghana. (Accra: Ghana University Press 1964
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CHAPTER NINE PAN-AFRICANISM, NATIONALISM AND THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN AFRICA 9.1 Introduction Pan-Africanism may be regarded as a movement for the reassertion of the integrity of Africa and Africans and the establishment of a kind of United States of Africa through political emancipation from foreign domination and a return to Africa by those Africans in the Diaspora. 9.2 Factors that gave birth to Pan-Africanism • The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the degrading and dehumanising treatment of African slaves and ex-slaves during and after the slave trade. • The exploitation of the material resources of Africa under the pretext of "legitimate trade" and the seizure of African lands through "treaties of friendship and protection" during colonialism. • The racism and race consciousness that resulted from the slave trade and the exploitation of African resources. Vincent Bakpetu (1969) 9.3 Phases of Pan-Africanism Pan-Africanism may be divided into three main phases, namely • Pan-Africanism as an Idea, (1776-1900) • Pan-Africanism as a Historical Movement (1900-1945) • Pan-Africanism as an on-going process. (1945 to date). Pan-Africanism as an Idea (1776-1900) Pan-Africanism as an idea has its origin in the writings of Dr. W.E.B. DuBois. As an idea, Pan-Africanism sought to unite the thoughts, ideas and ideals of all peoples of Africa and people of African descent in the Diaspora – (in the West Indies, Jamaica and the United States of America). During this era of Pan-Africanism, the various groups of Africans, quite separate in origin, became so united in experience and exposed to the impact of new cultures that they began to think of and yearn for Africa as one idea and one land. It was this unity of thought and spiritual attachment to Africa that originated in Pan-Africanism as a historical movement between 1900 and 1945. Vincent Bakpetu (1969) Pan-Africanism as a Historical Movement (1900 - 1945) The era of Pan-Africanism as a historical movement/development may be credited to the activities of people like Henry Sylvester - Williams, Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, Bishop Alexander Walters, Henry Brown, and George Padmore from the Diaspora and other African scholars who were studying in Europe during the Fifth Pan-African Congress in 1945. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
This phase began in 1900 when Henry Sylvester-Williams, a West Trinidad/Indian Barrister, summoned a Pan-African Conference in London. This conference was followed by a series of other Pan-African conferences in 1920, 1923, 1925, 1927, 1935 and 1945. 9.4 Aims and Objectives of Pan-Africanism during this Phase (1900 - 1945) 1 To act as a forum for protest against the aggression of white domination and exploitation. 2 To bring people of African descent throughout the world into closer touch with each other and to establish more friendly relations between black and white races. 3 To appeal to the missionaries and abolitionists of Britain to protect Africans from the degradation of colonialism. 4 To start a movement for securing the full rights and business interests of all Africans. 5 Political emancipation of Africa and the establishment of the United States of Africa. 9.5 Pan-Africanists Activities during this Era (1900 - 1945) During this era, both protest and fellowship emerged in the formation of the "African Redemption Movement by Marcus Garvey, an Afro-Jamaican, to uplift the image of the African. Garvey had this to say: "I know no national boundary where the Negro is concerned. The world is my province until Africa is free" In the decade between 1935 and 1945, the growth of Pan-Africanism was profoundly influenced by Marxism, Socialism, the Gandhian policy of passive resistance and peaceful protest, the growth in the assertion and appreciation of African culture and institutions. Gandhian principles led to a combination of tact and shrewdness which directed political action towards the objective of self-determination and independence. During this period emphasis was increasingly laid on the value of traditional African culture. Researches of African intellectuals and people of African descent led them to recognise common features as well as diversities in African culture. They emphasised the common features for the sake of Pan-African unity. Vincent Bakpetu (1969) Concepts like Negritude and African personality were formulated by African intellectuals e.g. Leopold Senghor, who formulated Negritude. Aime Cesaire also championed the cause of the establishment of Presence Africaine in Paris, whose main task was to emphasise and popularise the cultural unity of Africa. In this cultural Pan-Africanism, there was a good deal of emphasis on shared symbols and heritage of Africa. The intellectuals in this era showed tolerance in absorbing ideas from external sources and from each other. These intellectuals organised seminars and discussions during which subjects like democracy, anarchism, socialism, utopianism, communism and other political concepts and institutions were evaluated. Such activities among African students and intellectuals abroad led to the formation of the West African Students Union (WASU) which greatly influenced the introduction of Pan-Africanist ideas to Africa and promoted the struggle for and the attainment of independence. Vincent Bakpetu (1969)
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Pan-Africanism as an on-going process (1945 to date). Pan Africanism as an on-going process may be said to have started with the Fifth Pan African Congress in 1945, in Manchester, England. It was organised by people like Dr. Peter Milliard (British Guyana) Chairman; Mr. F.R. Makonnen (Ethiopia) Treasurer; Mr. George Padmore (Trinidad) and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Joint Secretaries; Peter Abrahams (South Africa) Publicity Secretary; Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya) Assistant Secretary. In their resolution, the delegates decided to pursue the struggle for self-determination in peace, but would employ force as a last resort, i.e. "positive action". They also advocated education, equal rights, decent living standards and self-rule for Africans. They condemned imperialism, discrimination and maltreatment of Africans. The WASU was reorganised by Nkrumah in 1946 to co-ordinate the activities of the various Nationalist Movements in West Africa. Vincent Bakpetu (1969) Pan-Africanism as an on-going process gathered a renewed momentum and became an active force for political emancipation soon after Ghana's independence in March 1957. In fact Dr. Kwame Nkrumah declared that The independence of Ghana was meaningless unless it was linked with the total liberation of the African Continent. This statement clearly demonstrated his commitment to Pan-Africanism. Under the radical and skillful leadership of Dr. Nkrumah, Accra became the political Mecca for PanAfricanist activities. In April 1958, Nkrumah convened a conference of independent African states during which strategies were mapped out to support nationalist leaders fighting for independence from colonial domination. This was followed closely in December, 1958, by the all African Peoples Conferences at which all the dependent African countries were educated on strategies for the fight against colonialism. The collective effort of Nkrumah and the other African leaders yielded dividend with the independence of 17 African countries in 1960. Pan-Africanism as an on-going process was cemented with the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in May 1963 to facilitate the attainment of PanAfrican political emancipation and the establishment of a United States of Africa. The formation of the OAU in 1963, was quickly followed in 1964 by the formation of the Organisation of Afro-American Union (OAAU) by Malcolm X. He admitted that he drew inspiration from the founding of the OAU. In an address at the OAU summit in Cairo later in 1964, Malcolm X paid tribute to the founding fathers of the OAU and urged them to recognise the link between OAU and OAAU and to realise that Africa would never achieve total dignity unless people of African descent in the New World achieved it. PanAfricanism is an on-going process because Africans are yet to attain their aspiration of a United States of Africa which the founding fathers envisaged. 9.6 African Nationalism and the Struggle for Independence in Africa Nationalism as a political concept was defined in the Report of the Royal Institute of International Affairs as; "The consciousness on the part of the individual or groups; or that THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
feeling of patriotism and loyalty which compels the individual to sacrifice for the common good, prestige and development of his nation." Nationalism in the African context may be defined as: ‘The physical and mental resistance against foreign domination and the conscious effort on the part of nationalists towards the achievement of national self-determination through the removal of alien rule’. 9.7 Phases of Nationalism in Africa Nationalism within the African context may be classified into three main phases. They are: • Resistance Phase; • Proto-Nationalism, and • Mass Militant or Modern Nationalism 9.8 The Resistance Phase The Resistance Phase of nationalism refers to the period before and during the establishment of colonial rule. This period was characterised by wars of resistance between Africans and European colonisers. It was, in fact, an era of armed opposition to the establishment of colonial occupation. In order to stage such a resistance the following minimum conditions had to be met: 1 There must be a certain military power to warrant such an attempt. 2 There must be a recognised and powerful leader or chief to direct the actions of the group or state which is making the resistance. 3 There must be some hope of winning the struggle. Examples of primary resistance to the establishment of colonial rule in Africa are: • The Azande Resistance of 1892 - 1912, which was a resistance movement against the establishment of colonial rule by the Belgians, in Congo-Kinshasa. • The Sagrenti War of 1874 which was a war of resistance between the Asante and the British against the establishment of colonialism in the Gold Coast. • The Bayaka Resistance 1895 - 1906; the Baluba Shankadi Resistance 1907 1917; and the Bashi-Lele Resistance 1900 – 1916, which all took place in CongoKinshasa against the establishment of Belgian colonial rule. 9.9 Proto-nationalism Phase Proto nationalism took place mainly during the inter-war period 1919 - 1939). During the proto-nationalism phase, the establishment of colonial rule had taken place and had been accepted by Africans because of superior weapons and/or treaties of "peace and friendship" with Europeans. During the proto-nationalist era, African nationalists were not fighting for the removal of colonialism, but they were only fighting for reforms within the colonial system to enable them participate in the colonial administration. Examples of some proto-nationalist movements during this period were; ι) Separatist African Churches, which broke away from the European Missionary Churches after the defeat of Africans and the establishment of colonial rule. These separatist churches used spiritual and religious means to express their opposition to THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
and frustration with foreign domination. One of the best examples of these separatist movements was the Kimbanguist Movement (Kimbanguism) among the Bakongo of Congo-Kinshasa. ii) The Aborigines Rights Protection Society which was formed in 1897 to fight against The Land Bills of 1897 in the Gold Coast. The group succeeded in stopping the Land Bills of 1897 after sending a delegation to the Queen in England during which they argued that land in the Gold Coast belonged to three categories of people, i.e. the dead, the living and the yet unborn, and insisted that the living, did not form a quorum to give away the land. ii) The National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA) which was an interterritorial African Nationalist Movement involving Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and the Gambia. 9.10 Nature of Proto-nationalism • Membership of proto-nationalist movements was selective and limited to the educated elite e.g. doctors, lawyers, lecturers, merchants, accountants, engineers and university graduates. •
Their activities were urban . i.e. limited to the coastal towns and cities. e.g. Lagos, Freetown, Burthest, Calabar, Cape Coast, Port Harcourt, etc.
•
They used constitutional and non-violent means to pursue their aims. sending of delegation, petitions, etc. to the colonial government.
e.g.
9.11 Demands of Proto-nationalists 1. Participation in the colonial administration through representation of Africans on the executive and legislative councils in the various colonies. 2.
The extension of the franchise and the abolition of limited franchise based on education and the ownership of considerable property.
3.
Africanisation of the civil service, i.e. employment of Africans with the requisite qualification into the civil service.
4.
Removal of racial discrimination i.e. equal opportunities for employment, equal work for equal pay for both blacks and whites.
5.
Improvement in the social and economic conditions of Africans in the various colonial dependencies including education, health and housing.
9.12 Mass Militant or Modern Nationalism Mass Militant or Modern Nationalism was a broad based nationalist movement that emerged after the World War II. The main aim of nationalism during this phase was the total removal of colonial rule and the achievement of self determination. Examples of nationalist movements during this era were: i) The Convention Peoples Party (CPP) formed by Dr. Kwame THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
ii) iii)
iv)
Nkrumah in 1949 in the Gold Coast with the slogan "self-government Now". National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC) which was formed to fight for self government for Nigeria and Cameroon. The Zikist Movement (later known as the Freedom Movement) 1946 - 1950. It was formed by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, as a radical advancement of the less radical NCNC. It was a Nigerian movement which represented the aspirations of the most of Nigeria's youth. The Mau Mau Movement in Kenya led by Jomo Kenyatta.
9.13 Methods of Organisation and Demands Nationalist leaders during this period were radicals and they demanded complete abolition of colonialism and the establishment of sovereign African states. Attempts at having dialogue with the colonial authorities were often not successful. The nationalists were consequently compelled to resort to the use of radical and violent methods like "positive action" "passive resistance", strikes, boycotts, violent demonstrations and even guerrilla warfare as the case was in Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia and South Africa. This was because of the settlement of Europeans in these countries on a permanent basis with the resultant seizure of African lands. The achievement of independence was more difficult and more brutal in these settler colonies because of the seizure of African lands and the frustration and hatred that went with it. In French Africa (Francophone Africa) there was hardly any sustained struggle for independence. This was because the policy of assimilation incorporated the educated elite into the administration of metropolitan France. Unlike their British counterparts, who were excluded from effectively participating in the colonial administration, the educated Africans in French colonies were granted generous entry into the French colonial administration where they enjoyed the same conditions of service as the French. Independence was virtually thrown at the French colonies as a result of pressures from the international community, particularly from the USA and the USSR. 9.14 The Impact of the Second World War on Nationalism in Africa 1. The World War II left most of the colonial powers Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal and Spain - physically exhausted and psychologically embarrassed with little will to resist the aggressive nationalist demands for self-determination. 2. America and Russia (i.e. the Former USSR) emerged as the superpowers after the World War II and for various reasons brought pressure upon colonial powers to grant selfrule to all dependent people. USSR and other Communist countries in 1948 designated 21st February as a day for the struggle against colonialism. 3. Furthermore, the World War II led to the promulgation of the Atlantic Charter which declared; "The right of all people to choose the form of government under which they should live" and expressed the wish to see "sovereign rights and self-government restored to those who were deprived of them". Even though Winston Churchill and his colonial secretary denied that the declaration applied to Africa both America and the THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
Labour Party under Clement Attlee in Britain maintained it did apply to Africa. In fact Clement Attlee had, earlier in 1941, told WASU during the World War II that: "We look forward to an ever increasing measure of self-government in Africa. Out of the horror of war and destruction we shall come to a world of peace, security and social justice not for one people, not for one continent, but for all peoples of all continents of the world". 4. The colonial powers, especially Britain and France were compelled to reward the colonies for their support during the World War II. Hence there was an atmosphere of sympathy for nationalist demands for independence. 5. The breaking of the myth of white superiority during the war. i) African soldiers e.g. Seth Anthony of the Gold Coast rose to officer ranks and commanded black and white soldiers. ii) African soldiers proved very brave on the war front and they saw whites running away from battle, crying when they were wounded and dying on the battle field. iii) Perhaps the final blow that completely shattered the myth of white superiority was the generosity with which white ladies fell in love and slept with African soldiers. This was a development which was previously considered impossible - a blackman going to bed with a white lady!. As Oliver Atmore rightly pointed out, it was the change in the balance of world power after World War II, rather than the prevailing internal conditions and nationalist agitation, that led to emancipation from the yoke of colonialism. That is to say, if it were not for the world war II, nationalist agitation and domestic problems like the demand for representation in the executive and legislative councils; extension of the franchise; abolition of discrimination, Africanisation of the civil service, unemployment and poor housing, monopolisation of trade by whites, the seizure of African lands by settler Europeans etc. would never have brought about independence at the time it came. References 1. Vincent Bakpetu Thompson Africa and Unity: The Evolution of Pan-Africanism (1969) pp. 23-59 2. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah: Africa Must Unite (1963) pp 216 - 222 3 William Tordoff , Government and Politics in Africa (1984) 4. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Towards Colonial Freedom (1962) 5. Vincent Bakpetu Thompson, Africa and Unity: The Evolution of Pan Africanism. 6. T. Hodgkin, Nationalism in Colonial Africa (London: Frederick Mueller; (1956) 7 James Coleman; Nigeria: Background to Nationalism (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1958)
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CHAPTER TEN THE POST-COLONIAL STATE IN AFRICA 10.1 Introduction The legitimate authority in a country and the institution for carrying out or exercising this authority is what is referred to as the state. i.e. the legitimate power or authority for the political organisation of a country. Radcliffe Brown defined political organisation as the concern with "the maintenance or establishment of social order within a territorial framework, by the organised exercise of coercive authority through the use or possible use of physical force". During the colonial period in Africa, the colonial state was seen as an instrument of capitalist exploitation; i.e. the colonial state was only meant to serve the economic interest of colonial powers. After independence, however, the ruling classes in Africa began to see the state in a different light. The post-colonial state is seen as a set of associations, institutions and agencies claiming control over a defined territory and its population. The main components of the state are; the decision/law-making structures (the legislature & political parties); decision- enforcing institutions (the executive, the bureaucracies, parastatal organisations and the security forces; and decision-mediating bodies (primarily the courts, tribunals and investigation commissions). The character of the state in any particular country is determined by the pattern of organisation of these institutions at specific points in time. The post-colonial state in Africa has been depicted alternately as weak and powerful; as regressive and feeble; as fragile and absolutist; as dependent and autonomous; as expanding and collapsing, in different countries at different times. Naomi Chazan, Donald Rotchild & Co. (1988) The Structural Foundations of African States. The Colonial Legacy The post-colonial state in Africa is a carry-over of the colonial state; i.e. newly independent African states inherited the colonial state apparatus and started using them with very little or no changes. For example, independence was obtained within the colonial physical geographical boundaries, independence constitutions and other arrangements were heavily influenced or determined by the colonial powers; the structures and institutions of state were inherited. e.g. the legislative, executive, judiciary, bureaucracies, para-statals and security agencies even though in most cases they were too elaborate and expensive for African economies to support and operate. Naomi Chazan, Donald Rotchild & Co. (1988) The functional pattern of organisation during colonial period was backed by a welldeveloped coercive apparatus. Police forces were established in each territory ostensibly to maintain order, but also to ensure compliance with specific dictates. When necessary, colonial troops were brought in to quell expressions of dissatisfaction and behind every colonial government stood a strong security force. The colonial state was essentially a military-administrative unit. Consequently, the political-culture bequeathed by colonialism contained the notions that authoritarianism was an appropriate mode of rule and that THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
political activity was merely a disguised form of self-interest, subversive of the public welfare. This power apparatus was what African countries inherited at independence. The preparation for independence from the administrative point of view was even in the best of circumstances rather hasty and incomplete. In 1945 there was virtually no expectation that independence would come so quickly. When independence came, the skills and experience of the new civil servants were too limited to master the numerous tasks of governance. The colonial administrative structure was, therefore, the institutional mainstay of the power apparatus inherited on the eve of independence. To a large extent, these administrative agencies retained a remarkable continuity during the transition from colonial rule to self-government. African administrators received from colonial rulers a structure of control that was largely untouched by the political currents of decolonisation. In most of the countries of the African continent, the transition to independence was smooth and uneventful. If the nationalist leaders did not always succeed in obtaining all that they demanded, colonial powers were also unable to impose their preferred models in their entirety. Thus, independence did not constitute a total break with colonial political values and interests. It did, however, mean that the location of political power altered and that the rules of the political game were no longer unassailable. 10.2 The Post Colonial State The process of decolonisation, only involved a change of regime. The political legacy bequeathed at independence was at best uninformed and uncertain. The new leaders of political parties had earned their positions as a result of their ability to organise and capitalise upon the colonial protest. They had little or no experience in actual governance when they assumed power. They were confronted with the paradoxical situation of having to operate pluralist institutions of alien derivation (i.e. political parties, legislatures, executives, judiciaries, etc.) whereas their own understanding of politics was moulded in a centralised and authoritarian context. Naomi Chazan, Donald Rotchild & Co. (1988) The contradictions they faced were, therefore, real and overwhelming and not easily reconcilable. The states in Africa at independence had to deal with the issue of power consolidation in a situation where their own legitimacy was in the balance. Demands were exacerbated, resources were meagre, expectations were high, external vulnerability was pronounced and domestic allegiances were uncertain. 10.3 The Behaviour of the Post-colonial State in Africa Just like the colonial state, the post-colonial state, concentrated political power at the centre, political competition and participation was drastically curtailed, dominant political parties were strengthened, administrative structures were expanded and decision-making was heavily centralised around the head of state and his cohorts. A process of power consolidation with authoritarian and repressive overtones occurred throughout Africa. e.g. the Preventive Detention Act 1958,which permitted the Nkrumah regime in Ghana to detain without trial, persons whose activities were considered incompatible with national interest and security. The post-colonial state was unable to meet the high expectations among their people for socio-economic development. This resulted in a series of strikes, demonstrations and THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
boycotts. This situation of unrest compelled the post-colonial state to over-develop its coercive state apparatus for the purpose of maintaining law and order. Secondly, social foundations for effective political competition or for capital formation and accumulation were absent or weak. The state was, therefore, the dominant employer and was seen by the ruling elite as an avenue for attaining wealth and status. This drive for wealth and status manifested itself in the emergence of a net-work of patron-client relationship in politics. Naomi Chazan, Donald Rotchild & Co. (1988) The post-colonial scene in Africa became marked and marred by mismanagement, bribery and corruption, nepotism and other vices. Amid these upheavals, the rule of law, the due process of law, freedom of speech and the press as well as political participation were greatly denied or curtailed. Issues of providing better conditions of life for their people in the form of shelter, food, clothing, education and health, remained greatly unattended to because of lack of funding. This situation put African states in a perpetual cycle of poverty. In their helplessness and in a bid to alleviate the plight of their people, post-colonial state African leaders have had to resort to the IMF and the World Bank for financial assistance. This IMF and the World Bank assistance is characterised by conditions like; i) Massive retrenchment of labour ii) Trade liberalisation iii) Cumulative devaluation iv) Privatisation of public enterprises v) Free entry for multi-national corporations vi) Abolition of exchange, price and wage control vii) Withdrawal of subsidies across board, even for health, education and agriculture. viii) Adoption of multi-party systems ix) Credit squeeze, and x) Decentralisation of political power among others. These conditions have further compounded the plight of the post-colonial state by further opening up the continent for neo-colonial exploitation, in the name of financial assistance. In summing up, it may be said that the post-colonial state has been characterised by i) Autocracy and repression, ii) Overriding security concerns and the importation of arms to protect their regimes to the neglect of the development issues of their countries. iii) Mismanagement, bribery, corruption and an increasingly collapsing post colonial state. iv) An on-going re-colonisation of African countries by the IMF and the World Bank. Naomi Chazan, Donald Rotchild & Co. (1988) 10.4 Similarities between the Colonial and the Post-colonial State 1. The use of state institutions - the executive, the legislature and the judiciary in the administration of their territories. Both the colonial and the post-colonial states depended on the use of the military and para-military apparatus for the suppression of expression of dissatisfaction. For example, the shooting of Sgt. Adjetey, Cpl. Attipoe and Private Odamptey Lamptey in the 28th February, 1948 Christianborg Cross-road incident in the Gold Coast under the British colonial administration and the Preventive Detention THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
Act 1958 in Ghana under Kwame Nkrumah. 2. Extractive and exploitative economies based on mono-croppism and the exploitation of raw materials. E.g. Ghana, cocoa; Zambia, copper; Kenya, coffee; Nigeria, cotton; etc. 3. Inability to raise the necessary human and material resources to provide the basic needs of society, e.g. shelter, food, clothing, health and education. Under colonialism, the resources were exported to the colonial mother countries, whilst during the post-colonial era, security consideration, the greed and corruption of African presidents and their ministers of state caused the national interest to be sacrificed for selfish individual interest. For example, Emperor Bokasa, Mobotu Sese Seko and Sani Abacha, etc. who stole and misapplied state funds that could have been used to improve the lot of their people. 10.5 Differences between the Colonial and the Post-colonial State 1. Under colonialism, the sovereignty of the colony was compromised and it flew the flag of the colonial master. In the post-colonial era, the countries, at least in theory, were independent and could reject any favourable influences from the metropole or elsewhere. 2. Politically the franchise was limited under colonialism and was often based on education and the possession of considerable property. In the post-colonial period, there was universal adult suffrage. 3. Post colonial state was marked by the involvement of the military in politics for various reasons. But under colonial rule the military was left out of politics completely. The military's main concern was the protection of the colonial state, from external aggression. 6. The judiciary under colonialism was hardly independent of the colonial authority. In post-colonial Africa the judiciary was at least, on paper, supposed to be independent. Naomi Chazan, Donald Rotchild & Co. (1988) References 1. William Tordoff: Government And Politics in Africa (Macmillan Education Ltd. 1984) 2. Naomi Chazan, Donald Rotchild & Co. Politics and Society in Contemporary Africa (Lynne Rienner Publishers Inc. 1988) 3.
Donald Rotchild & Naomi Chazan (Ed) The Precarious Balance: State and Society in Africa (Boulder; Colonial: Westview Press 1988)
4.
Martin Doornbos: “ The African State in Academic Debate: Retrospect and Prospects “ in The Journal of Modern African Studies Vol. 28 No.2 (1990)
5.
Mike Oquaye: Politics in Ghana 1972 - 1979 Tornado (1980)
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Publication
CHAPTER ELEVEN MILITARY INTERVENTION IN POLITICS AND DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA 11.1 Introduction A remarkable development in post-independence Africa, has been the emergence of the military, as contenders to political power and authority. Consequently, the postindependence history of Africa, with painfully few exceptions, has been the history of military intervention in politics with its attendant political instability. Military adventures into politics in Africa, has led to the collapse of constitutional and representative governments, the suspension of constitutions, the abolition of parliaments; the disbanding of political parties; the arrest and detention of politicians and the destruction of life and property. Military ruling councils are set up and they rule by decrees. Mike Quaye; (1980) 11.2 Military Intervention in Politics in Africa The military menace in politics, started when Col. Gamel Abdul Nasser overthrew the Egyptian monarch through a coup d'etat in 1952. This was followed in 1958 by the seizure of political power in the Sudan by General Abdoul and then the overthrow of Lummumba Patrice's Government by the military led by Col. Joseph Mobutu Sese Seko in 1960. Military personnel throughout Africa, were not slow in realising that little resistance was raised by civilian populace when the soldiers moved into politics. In fact, in many cases, spontaneous demonstrations were staged in support of coups d'etat. These demonstrations in support of coups, more than anything else, are expressions of the weak political culture of African countries. Mike Quaye; (1980) It came as a matter of little surprise, therefore, when the military over-ran civilian constitutional governments in the following succession in Africa; January, 1963 in Togo; October, 1964 in Dahomey (now Benin); 1965 in Algeria; January 1966 in Nigeria and February, 1966 in Ghana. Since that time, the floodgates of military intervention had opened and coups and counter-coups had occurred with a bewildering frequency. For example; July 1966; 1975; and 1983 in Nigeria; January, 1972; July, 1978; June, 1979 and December, 1981, in Ghana; Angola in 1977 and Liberia in 1980, among a lot more. By September, 1987, 31 out of 51 countries (i.e. a little over 60% of independent Africa) had experienced coups d'etat at least once since independence. Statistics underline the basic instability of most African governments, irrespective of their colonial heritage, party system, ideological orientation, religious persuasion and ecology. Mike Quaye; (1980) 11.3 To what Extent is the Military an Obstacle to Democracy in Africa? The question that attracts scholarly interest at this point is; to what extent has the military in Africa been an obstacle to democracy. Democracy as a political concept is difficult to define in precise terms. Nevertheless, there are two basic underlying assumptions and certain critical indicative elements that could be outlined to facilitate our discussion. The two basic assumptions are: • all human beings are equal; and THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
•
all humans are endowed with knowledge and can contribute meaningfully to the running of society.
These two assumptions should be accepted by any society that professes to be democratic. More importantly the concept of democracy involves certain important elements like, government should be established with the expressed consent of the ruled; government should be based on the rule of law, as opposed to the arbitrary whims and caprices of an individual or group of individuals. The rule of law involves the supremacy of the constitution, equality before the law, the enjoyment of fundamental human rights and the application of the due processes of law, a guarantee for the basic freedoms of life, like the freedom of association, of assembly, of movement and the right to property, security of life and expression among others. There must be institutions which would make these assumptions workable, with particular regard to ensuring accountability of government to the people and the right of the people to remove an unpopular government from power through the ballot box. Another important element of democracy is the right of participation in decision-making processes and the right of the citizens to be consulted on all major policy issues either indirectly through their representatives in parliament, or directly through a referendum. 11.4 Reasons for Military Intervention in Africa With these definitive characteristics of democracy in our minds, we may proceed to examine the motives that have lured the military into politics in Africa. Secondly we would try to evaluate the performance of the military in politics within the context of the critical elements of democracy as delineated above, and see whether the military has been an obstacle to, or has given impetus to democracy in Africa. In justifying many a coup d'etat in African countries, the military had often cited cases of despotism and dictatorship, bribery and corruption, the abuse of constitutional provisions, the monopoly of political power the suppression of human freedoms, inability to effectively manage the economies of their countries, among others, by civilian governments as their reasons for intervention. Nkrumah of Ghana, Emperor Bokasa I of Central Africa Republic and President Macia Nguema of Equitorial Guinea, are believed to have ruled their people despotically, abused human rights by detaining political opponents without trial, suppressed press freedom and had blocked all constitutional means of a change of government. In such situations the military stepped in, ostensibly to restore democracy. Bame K.N; (1989) , In February 1966 in Ghana, as earlier mentioned, the military explained that they had intervened to end autocracy and corruption, to revive a bankrupt economy; to stop interference with the army and the police and to prevent further unpopular and damaging foreign adventures of Nkrumah. Quite apart from the shortcomings of civilian regimes stated above, the military has corporate and individual interest and ambitions, that it seeks to pursue. Furthermore, the military may intervene in politics, when they perceive threats to their career development. For example General Christopher Soglo's coup d'etat in Benin in October 1964 was triggered off by personal animosity between him and Mr. Ahomadegbe and the fear that he would be replaced by Col. Aho. In Uganda, Idi Amin's personal differences with exPresident Obote, the fear of dismissal, disgrace and probe led him to stage the coup in 1971. In Ghana, under Nkrumah, the military suspected that the President's own Guard THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
Regiment would replace them and they harboured indignation against the facilities being enjoyed by the Presidential Guard. Nkrumah's move to send the military to fight in Rhodesia against Ian Smith's Unilateral Declaration of Independence confirmed and affirmed their suspicion because they saw it as an attempt to wipe out the regular army and replace it with the Presidential Guard. In January, 1972, Col. Acheampong upon staging a coup d'etat, bemoaned the alleged withdrawal by the Busia government of the few amenities enjoyed by the army under Nkrumah and stated in an interview with "The Times of London" on 18th January, 1977 that he had been contemplating a military take-over since the middle of 1970. (just a few months after the Busia regime had begun in September 1969). From the examples cited, it is clear that 1 the military has assumed the role of umpires and restorers of "democracy." 2 The military has emerged as potential contenders to political authority in Africa, and had held themselves out as alternative administrators for remedying the failures or apparent failures of civilian democratic governments, particularly in cases where there existed threats to their corporate and individual ambitions and interest. And when they intervene, the problem of voluntary handing over arises. Bame K.N; (1989) 11.5 The Performance of the Military in Politics in Africa Whatever the justification for a military intervention in politics, the performance of military regimes in Africa, vis-a-vis the elements and assumptions of democracy as earlier outlined, should be the basis for examining the extent to which the military is an obstacle to or facilitators of democracy in Africa. Very often, military adventurers, who seek to dabble in politics have tried to justify their actions by special reference to the fact that Sir Winston Churchill was once a military officer. But Churchill did not come to power through a coup d'etat. In fact he left the army before entering politics. Lt. General Ocran, commenting on the performance of the military in politics had this to say in his book "A Myth is Broken" 1969; "I believe that soldiers should leave politics alone. When they try to run a country, in spite of their enthusiasm they run it badly because they are right from the beginning expected to assume the role of policy-makers in a job for which they have had no previous training". This comment, by a man who had a first-hand-experience of the military in politics cannot be overemphasised. Questions like; how effective has the military been in managing the economy after their take-overs? How responsible and accountable have they been to the citizens of their countries? How successful have they been in stopping bribery and corruption, nepotism and favouritism? Has there been the rule of law, equality before the law, the due process of law, enjoyment of human rights? To what extent have they promoted freedom of speech, of assembly, of participation and of the press? In attempting to answer these questions the extent to which the military has been an obstacle to democracy would unfold. Military regimes, wherever they exist and whatever their justification for intervening in politics, are first and fore-most unconstitutional and illegitimate. This is because they neither have the consent nor the mandate of the people to rule. An essential element of government is that, whoever rules must do so with the consent of the ruled. Military THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
regimes are, therefore, illegitimate. In order to give their regimes a touch of legitimacy, military regimes embark upon a civilianisation of their rule either through plebiscites and presidential elections as in the case of President Eyadema of Togo, Samuel Doe of Liberia or as attempted by Gen. Acheampong under the concept of Union Government; March 30, 1978 and Rawlings in 1992 or through the co-operation and incorporation of influential civilian sections opposed to the ousted government. Mike Quaye; (1980) The latter is exemplified by the National Liberation Council (NLC) in Ghana between February 1966 to September 1969, where the NLC tremendously relied on professionals, chiefs, technocrats, politicians, lecturers and students for policy-making and execution. The same can be said of the PNDC Government (1981-1992) in Ghana, under J.J. Rawlings. Military regimes in Africa have proved impotent in managing the economy. For example, under Acheampong in Ghana, there was a decline in the production of gold and cocoa despite remarkable increases in their world market prices. Serious cases of bribery and corruption, violation of human rights, suppression of press and individual freedoms or expression, detentions for alleged coup plots and trials of alleged offenders in "revolutionary courts" followed by summary executions without the right of appeal. For example the trial and execution of Gen. (rtd.) Afrifa, Gen. Acheampong, Major-Gen. Utuka, etc after the June 4 uprising in 1979 by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). This shows that under a military regime the individual is more likely to be denied the right of appeal - an essential element of the rule of law, in a democracy. The military in Africa had not done any better than the civilian governments they came to replace. Even though the National Liberation Council (NLC) is on record to have voluntarily handed over power to a constitutional government its very Chairman was alleged to be involved in a scandalous corruption case, one of the vices of which his regime accused the Nkrumah regime. Mike Quaye; (1980) Military regimes in Africa have been marked and marred by political instability because of actual or imaginary threats, had often charged the political atmosphere under military regimes with pronounced feelings of insecurity with the resultant committal of meagre foreign exchange earnings to military spending. This singular factor, without exaggeration, has aggravated the balance of payment positions of their countries, lowered the standard of living, increased unemployment and arrested socio-economic development, For example, the Acheampong regime in Ghana 1972 - 1978. Under the Acheampong regime expressions of dissatisfaction against his idea of Union-Government, by students, professional bodies, the Bar Association, etc. were ruthlessly crashed. This era of his regime was consequently characterised by frequent demonstrations, boycotts, strikes and other forms of civil disobedience. The situation in Uganda, under Idi Amin, was no better. Most of the worst atrocities ever committed against humanity in Africa by Africans were accomplished by the military under Idi Amin 1971 to 1979. He declared himself president for life; promoted himself to the rank of a Field-Marshal and ordered the massacre of about 3,000 Acholi and Langi tribesmen who were suspected to be loyal to Milton Obote. He murdered the Chief of Defence Staff of the Ugandan Army - Brigadier-Gen. Muhammad Husein, cut off his head and put it inside the refrigerator overnight. Mike Quaye; (1980)
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Perceived and suspected `enemies' of his regime were often packed into rooms and blown up with explosives. In all, about 300,000 of Uganda's 12 million people were murdered in Amin's discriminate campaign of terror against his own people. Mike Quaye; (1980) In Togo, the January 1963 coup d'etat has led to the political ascendancy of the Kabre ethnic group. This has resulted in the torture, murder and detention without trial of many Ewes, who were in President Olympio's government. In fact, the Amnesty International 1990 Report, has mentioned Togo as a country in which human rights have been grossly abused and confirmed allegations that there were prisoners of conscience in Ghana. The report mentioned Akoto Ampaw and Courage Quarshigah as some of the prisoners of conscience in Ghana. Finally, opposing camps within a military regime may lead to a lot of human suffering and deprivation, civil wars and the destruction of life and property. When this happens, it becomes a tremendous obstacle to democracy. Current developments in Liberia, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Somali, Angola, Chad, Sierra Leone and La Cote D’Ivoive, where military involvement in politics has led to unprecedented lost of lives and the destruction of property, are cases in point. 11.6 A Critique of the Performance of the Military in Politics in Africa Whatever there is to be said for or against civilian non-performance or lack of democracy, it should be borne in mind that they, at least, have the consent and mandate of the people to rule. The electorate, therefore, have the right to vote them out of power if in their opinion the government has not performed well. This is not so under military regimes. They impose themselves on the bulk of the citizenry only because they have access to and control the state machinery of coercion. This leads us to the crucial matter of accountability and responsibility of military regimes to the citizens. Military regimes in Africa have failed miserably in being accountable to the people. Being accountable to the people does not merely involve prudently spending the countries money and having proper records on them. Accountability, more importantly, involves the right of the people to be consulted on any major policy issue and the justification of all policy measures taken by government to the people. When a military regime has become unpopular or is clinging to political power unduly without any regard to handing power over to a constitutional civilian government, there is little the people can do to remove it from power. For example. Military under Gen. Babaginda and Gen. Sani Abacha in Nigeria from 1985 - 1997. It should not be assumed that malpractice like bribery and corruption, mismanagement and despotism and the abuse of human rights do not exist in African countries - like Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Swaziland where there had been no military interventions, or that they have a higher political culture than others. Nor should the military in these countries be perceived as having no corporate and individual ambition. In fact coups d'etat have been attempted in some of them like Gabon in 1964, Angola in 1977, Cameroon in 1984, the Gambia in 1981 and Kenya in 1982. The fact of the matter is that the political maturity, tact and diplomacy shown by such leaders like Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Houphet Boigny of La Cote D'Ivoire until after his death and Senghor of Senegal, in handling the military had reasonably kept them out of politics. For example, in Tanzania and Zambia, the armed forces are well paid, housed, equipped and senior army THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
officers have been co-opted into cabinet positions or given important posts. The military (at least the top hierarchy) in these countries are members of the managerial bourgeoisie and perceive little or no threat to their career advancement. They, therefore, have a greater commitment in maintaining the status quo. In others like Senegal and La cote D'Ivoire during the regime of Houphet Boigny, military assistance agreements with France which involves a heavy French military presence to defend the government was enough to deter even the most ambitious military officers from contemplating a military coup. For example, by 1981, France had a total military presence of 6,700 troops in Franco-phone Black Africa. This is the price some countries have had to pay in order to prevent the military from constituting an obstacle to democracy in Africa. In summing up, it could be said that, whatever justification the military in Africa may have for intervening in politics, it should be noted that the military in Africa has no marked capacity for economic development, and because of the restrictions placed on political party activities and representative institutions, the military in Africa has curtailed rather than promoted, has been an obstacle rather than a facilitator of democracy in Africa. References 1. William Tordoff; Government and Politics in Africa (Macmillan Education Ltd 1984) 2. Ocran A.K.; A myth is Broken, 1969 3. Mike Quaye; Politics in Ghana, 1972 - 1979 (Tornado Publications 1980) 4. Pro. K.N Bame; The Military and Democracy in Africa (1989) 5. Afrifa A.A; The Ghana Coup 1966 (London 1967) 6. Amnesty International Report 1990 7. Austin D. and Luckham R. (Eds) Politicians and Soldiers in Ghana (London: Frank Cass 1975) 8. Decalo S; Coups and Army Rule in African Studies in Military Style (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press 1976) 9.
SE Finer; Politics (London: Pall Mall Press, The Man on Horseback: The Role of the Military in 1962) 10. First R; The Barrel of a Gun: Political Power in Africa and the Coup d'etat :A Comparative Analysis. (London: Allen Lane, The Penguin Press, 1970) 11. Welch CE (Ed) Soldier and State in Africa of Military Intervention and Political Change (Evanston: North-western Univ. Press. 1970)
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CHAPTER TWELVE THE STRUCTURE OF AFRICA’S POLITICAL ECONOMY AND CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT 12.1 Introduction: Major problems like mass poverty, food shortage, low-productivity, weak productive base and backward technology still stare Africa in the face. It is not possible to get solutions to these deep-rooted problems without a structural analysis of the political economy of Africa. An appropriate framework for such a structural analysis should be based on an examination of the enabling and disenabling factors:- domestic and external, historical and contemporary – which have shaped and continue to sustain African’s underdevelopment. Normally there are both static and dynamic factors at play, ranging from the physical environment to socio-cultural influences as well as policy and strategy. The fundamental problem of Africa is that of “a vicious interaction between poverty and low levels of productivity. The African environment is characterised by serious deficiencies in basic and physical capital, research capabilities, technological know-how and human resources development that are indispensable to an integrated and dynamic economy”. Several other problems like unstable export earnings, poor governance and political instability, balance of payment deficits, rising debt burden and lack of unity which have a bearing on the economic performance of Africa have aggravated the crisis. The combined effect of all these are the dependence, exploitation and manipulation of Africa, by forces and powers outside the continent.
12.2 Structure of the African Economy The structural characteristic identifiable with the pattern of production, consumption and exchange of the African economy constitute the most fundamental causes of its development and retrogression. The most important manifestations are: a) The predominance of subsistence and commercial activities; b) The narrow, disarticulate production base with ill-adapted technology; c) The neglect of the informal sector; d) The degraded environment; e) Lopsided development due to the urban bias of public and development policies; f) The fragmentation of the African economy; g) The openness and excessive dependence of the economies on external factor inputs and; h) Weak institutional capabilities. Economic Commission for Africa Resolution, IMF SAP. (E/ECA.15/6/Rev. 1990)
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12.3 Predominance of Subsistence and Commercial Activities The African economies are predominantly subsistence economies. The non-subsistence sector on the other hand is characterised by the predominance of commercial and trading activities based mainly on imports and exports with domestic production playing a secondary role or no role at all. The services like banking, finance and insurance as well as the transport sector are dominated by foreign interest and oriented towards external trade. 12.4 Narrow Production Base The production base in Africa is narrow, both in terms of size and inter-sectoral linkages. The production base has been contracting in the last two decades. The combined share of agriculture and manufacturing sectors in GDP declined steadily from about 50% in the 1960 to around 30% in the 1990s. Economic Commission for Africa Resolution, IMF SAP. (E/ECA.15/6/Rev. 1990) Agriculture, on which most African countries depend primarily for employment, income, foreign exchange earnings and government revenue, is characterised by traditional production techniques and generally low level of productivity. In addition, attempts at agricultural transformation have been concentrated mainly on the export sector while the development of the food and the raw materials sub-sectors have been generally neglected. While women play a crucial role in agricultural production, particularly in the food subsector, their role as producers and agents of change has been severely constrained by their meagre share in the means of production (land, capital, credit, technology etc) and their marginalisation in production relations. The industrial sector has also remained structurally weak and narrow with insufficient internal linkages. Such weaknesses perpetuated the structural dependence of the manufacturing sector on imported factor inputs such as capital, skilled manpower, technology and finance, spare parts and raw materials. There are several causal factors for the failure of African countries to transform and expand their production base. The most important of these include: a) Capital shortage to sustain transformation investments in physical infrastructure, notably transport, energy and industries. b) The low level of scientific and technological application in Africa. c) Shortage of trained personnel, together with the poor integration of development schemes in the framework of development planning. d) Scarcity of entrepreneurial capabilities to spearhead transformation and development e) Weak infrastructure; and f) The limited size of the private sector and institutional rigidities. . Economic Commission for Africa Resolution, IMF SAP. (E/ECA.15/6/Rev. 1990) 12.5 Neglect of the Informal Sector Africa’s informal sector plays a significant and growing role in economic activity, especially in production, distribution, finance and employment creation. It is estimated to THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
account for about 20% of the total labour force and these ratios are expected to rise over time. This notwithstanding, the sector is presently fairly underdeveloped and is characterised by low productivity. In part, this is due to government policy, which has so far generally neglected or discriminated against this sector. Additional impediments include: poor interlinkages with the modern sector; competition from imported manufacturers lack of training and limited access to productive resources/inputs. 12.6 Environmental Degradation The natural resources on which the sustainability of Africa’s development critically depends has been considerably and consistently eroded by natural and man-made factors. The causes of this degradation are complex and varied including, over-use and misuse of the soil, poor conservation policies and practices, overgrazing, deforestation, drought, salination, river systems pollution and water-logging. The cumulative effect of these factors has resulted in reduced carrying capacity of the land at present levels of technology, reduced productivity, social dislocation and increased poverty in the rural areas. 12.7 Lopsided Development Sharp contrasts exist between urban and rural areas, between towns and villages. The focus of attention has tended to be first and foremost, the modern sector and urban populations who constitute less than a third of the total population. There are thus severe imbalances in the distribution of social services and amenities between the urban and rural areas. Even in the urban areas, there are large disparities between the urban population and the urban rich in terms of housing, medical facilities and education. Education and training, for instance are largely urban-centered whereas the major segment of the production base is rural. 12.8 Fragmentation of the African Economy Fragmentation of the African product and factor markets is another major constraint on the exploitation of the ample possibilities of resource complementarities and economies of scale on the continent. This fragmentation arises principally from the generally hostile physical environment and the characteristically small nation-states of Africa coupled with the relatively low level of incomes. Of the 50 African countries, 23 have population of less than 5million each and 10 of these have population less than one million each; 13 countries have an area of than 50,000 square kilometers each, while 14 are land-locked. Again of the 43 least developed countries, 28 are in Africa. The uneven spatial distribution of population, especially in the geographically large countries, has inhibited the development of transport networks thereby constraining the integration of national economies. This situation imposes serious limitations on their ability to exploit natural resources for development. The cumulative effect of these structural limitations is the vulnerability of African economies to both domestic and external shocks. African economies are open and fragile in an increasingly unfavourable international economic climate. Commodity prices in Africa are collapsing and exchange rates are fluctuating amid high interest rates and increased protectionism and worsening debt crises. These have the grave consequences of growing poverty, increase in the spread of diseases including HIV/AIDS, falling quality of education and low standard of living. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
12.9 Openness and External Dependence In Africa, exports are concentrated on a few commodities, which often account for about 80%of total government earnings. For example, cocoa in La Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana, copper in Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo etc. The decline in export volumes and the deterioration in the terms of trade and rising debt have worsened Africa’s situation. Resource leakages also result from the openness and dependence of the African economy. These leakages arise mainly from the manipulation of foreign trade transactions (overinvoicing of imports and under-invoicing of exports) adverse terms of trade, losses in external reserves, capital flight and brain-drain. Emphasis on the negative implications of openness should not be understood as a call for isolationism. Indeed, a degree of openness that ensures mutual benefits from interdependence of countries is useful. 12.10 Lack of Institutional Capability Part of the failure of African economies to transform and expand is due to the lack of institutional capability. This could be seen either in the presence of vital institutions (democratic, legal, industrial and social) in the different sectors of the economy or the inefficiency of the existing ones. 12.11 The Socio-Political Structure The significant elements of the socio-political setting for Africa’s political economy consists of the social organisation, the political system, the institutional set-up, management of the economy and the cultural milieu. These factors interact with the production structure of the economy to determine the dynamism and relative viability of the development process. 12.12 Social Setting The social setting of Africa’s political economy consists of the social organisation of production, its associated patterns of ownership and distribution, forms of social differentiation and the cultural milieu. The core of this setting is the social organisation of production. This determines not only the narrow cycle of economic production and reproduction, but the broad social system in terms of relationships among groups and individuals. The African social structure is currently undergoing severe strains and stresses due to uncontrolled urbanization, erosion of social sanctions and values. Even the much cherished institution of extended family is threatened by disintegration. Today, more than ever before, the African social fabric is in danger of collapse as a result of the cumulative impact of deteriorating economic crises. Moreover, these social relations of production also determine the differentiation of society into social groups and classes. There are also social differentiations arising from linguistic affinity, gender, ancestral origin or blood relations such as clans and ethnic groups or nationalities. The dominant patterns define the important implications for the development process, especially in relation to the political process, equity, social mobilisation economic management and institution building. The cultural milieu is a major factor in the development process. It is the totality of values, norms, attitudes and beliefs of a society which shape it social, political and economic organisations, institutions an general feeling towards development are related issues. This is why “Africa’s Submission” to the UN (ECA/OAU; Addis Ababa 31st March, 1986 p4) maintains that among the internal factors in the current crisis is the persistence of social values, attitudes and practices that are not always conducive to development. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
Such values tend to nurture cultural cleavages that make nation-building difficult, provoke cultural conflicts and promote multiple loyalties that render efficient management and discipline difficult. . Economic Commission for Africa Resolution, IMF SAP. (E/ECA.15/6/Rev. 1990) The cultural milieu also exhibits lingering problems of lack of identity and dominant values for propelling development. The preference for foreign exporters, foreign models, standards and goods is a consequence of Africa’s imitative modernism and constitutes a barrier to experimentation, innovation and self-reliant development. Nevertheless, not all aspects of Africa’s cultural milieu are negative and problematic. There are many that are positive and could be exploited successfully for development. Examples are the implications of African perceptions of human beings as the focal point for development, the extended family as the nucleus for co-operative spirit and self-help development and the traditional sanctions on leadership to ensure accountability. 12.13 Political Context As stated in the Khartoum Declaration (EEA, Khartoum, 6-8, March, 1988 p.19), basic rights, individual freedom and democratic participation by the majority of the population are often lacking in Africa. This pervasive lack of democracy also makes mobilisation and effective accountability difficult. This is one important sense in which Africa needs more democratic political structures in order to facilitate development. As the Abuja Statement (ECA.CERAD June, 1987) noted, Africa has to draw strength from political cohesion and new political perspectives that emphasise the democratisation of the African society and increased accountability of those entrusted with responsibility. The existing patterns of social differentiation and political organisation tend to encourage a rather narrow base for decision-making and lack of popular debate over basic national development policies and their implication. Hence the Khartoum Declaration observed that “the political context for promoting healthy human development has been marred, for more than two decades, by instability, war, intolerance, restrictions on freedom and human rights of individuals and groups as wells as over concentration of power with attendant restrictions on popular participation in decision-making. All these impose severe constraints on motivation for high productivity. 12.14 National Economic Management The management of the economy in Africa has suffered greatly because of lack of relevant institutions and poor institution building and development. As a result we have poor accountability and policy discontinuity. African countries are pre-occupied with short-term crisis management almost to the exclusion of long-term economic planning. There is an increasing role of foreign experts and managers in national economic decision-making in Africa notably the IMF and the World Bank. The unfavourable external factors such as the debt burden have also constrained economic management. This situation has been worsened by protracted negotiations on policy and adjustments and programme reviews by donor agencies particularly the IMF and the World Bank as precondition for balance of payment support and debt relief.
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The scope for independence in policy-making and national economic management in Africa are decreasing drastically, making African economies appendages of a global economy over which they have no control. The efficient use of available resources is also central to effective management of the economy. In Africa, the resources (financial, physical and human) are not always productively used and there are considerable leakages. This is most evident in the coexistence of increasing brain drain due to high rates of unemployment of skilled manpower of even science and technology graduates while at the same time foreign “experts� are being brought in large numbers to Africa. 12.15 Concept of Development Development, traditionally meant the capacity of a national economy to generate and sustain an increase in its output at a rate faster than the growth rate of its population; i.e. the per capita index. The per capita index, as an indication of development was rejected because problems of poverty, unemployment, inequality and distribution were not addressed. 12.16 Theories of Development Several theories of development have emerged over the past three or four decades. The most important ones are: I) The Linear Stages Model ii) The Neo-classical Structural Change Model iii) The Dependency and Underdevelopment Theories of Development iv) The Marxist Theories of Development. The Linear Stages Model The linear view of economic development theories, sees development as a series of successive stages through which all countries must pass. It was primarily an economic theory of development in which the right quantity and mixture of savings, investment and foreign aid were all that were necessary for all third world countries to proceed on the journey to technological and industrial growth that was historically followed by the developed countries. Development thus became synonymous with rapid aggregate growth. The Neo-Classical Structural Change Model This theory focuses on the mechanism of transforming underdeveloped economies from traditional subsistence agriculture to modern and industrialised economies. The basic reason behind this approach was that African societies are in the process of becoming modern rational entities in which efficiency and scientific logic would replace traditional values, beliefs and superstitions. In economic terms modernisation was seen as commensurate with rapid industrialisation and growth in social terms, its goals were defined as increasing individual mobility, controlling the political importance of communal identity and to establish procedure for equitable resource allocations. Dependency and Underdevelopment Theories The dependency and underdevelopment theories are based on the assumption that African progress has been and continues to be impeded by forces (international and domestic) which are bent on exploiting the continent and its resources to their own advantage. Dependency is a kind of relationship that exists between a developed nation and a THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
developing one such that the resources of the developing country are siphoned to a developed country thereby under-developing the country concerned in the process. i) ii) iii) v) vi) vii)
Dependent and underdeveloped countries are characterised by very low prices for their primary commodities and very exorbitant prices for their imports. There is specialisation in the production of agricultural/primary commodities to feed industries outside their own countries. There is a perpetual struggle against constant increases in their imported goods. They have high population growth, poor health, poor nutrition and poor work They experience sharp falls in the prices for their commodities as attitudes. There is low capital formation and low investment per capita. There exists high unemployment and under-employment. There are limited educational opportunities, inadequate managerial skills and low productivity. The relationship can only be corrected when there is a total break with the imperial powers. Michael Todaro, (1977)
Marxist Theory This theory involves the state control of the factors of production i.e. land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship to ensure high productivity and the equitable distribution of resources for the satisfaction of the needs of every citizen. This theory disallows individual ownership of the factors of production to prevent exploitation of man by man. 12.17 Conceptual Meaning of Development The conceptual meaning of development began to change as a result of a seminar paper delivered by Prof. Dudley Seers in 1969. Seers conceived of development not only as an economic growth but also as those conditions under which people in a country have adequate food, shelter, job opportunities a reduction in poverty and inequality. According to Seers, three basic questions must be asked about a country's development. i) What has been happening to unemployment? ii) What has been happening to poverty? iii) What has been happening to inequality? Michael Todaro, (1977) If all these three indicators have declined from high levels to low levels then beyond all doubts, there has been a period of development for that country. If one or two or all of these three central problems have been growing worse, then it would be strange to call the result "development" even if per capita income had doubled. 12.18 The three Objectives of Development Today Today, development is seen as a multi-dimensional process involving changes in the social, political, cultural and economic structures, popular attitudes and national institutions for accelerated economic growth to ensure the elimination of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Development represents the whole process of change by which an entire social system is nurtured to satisfy the basic needs and desires of the individuals within society. It is a movement away from a condition of life widely perceived as unsatisfactory towards a situation regarded as materially and spiritually better. Development in all societies may therefore have three objectives. 1. To increase the availability and widen the distribution of basic life sustaining goods and services e.g. food, shelter, health and protection to all members of THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
2. 3.
society. To raise levels of living, including higher incomes, the provision of more jobs, better education and greater and better attention to cultural and human values. This helps to generate and promote greater individual and national self-esteem. To expand the range of economic and social choice to individual and nations by freeing them from servitude and dependence not only in relation to other people and nation-states, but also to the forces of ignorance and human misery. . Michael Todaro, (1977)
We may, therefore, reformulate Prof. Seer's question about the meaning of development as follows: i) Have the general levels of living expanded within a nation to the extent that absolute poverty, the degree of inequality in income distribution, the level of employment and the nature and quality of educational, health and other social and cultural services all improved? ii) Has economic progress enhanced individual and group esteem both internally vis-à-vis one another and externally vis-à-vis other nations and regions? iii) Finally, has economic progress expanded the range of human choice and freed people from external dependence and internal servitude to other men, institutions and nature? If the answer to these questions is yes, then there has been real development in the country concerned. 12.19 Education as a Strategy for Development It is common knowledge that the most developed countries in the world are the most literate and the least developed ones are among the least literate. The problem however is what should be the relationship between education and development? The fact is that there is a positive relationship between education and development. For example, Africa is the least literate continent and remains the least developed. For a long time education was conceived of as a means whereby society passes on its values and beliefs to successive generations. This view of education is no longer wholly acceptable, because some of the values are questionable in themselves and needed to be changed. In fact education should be seen as a means of changing people’s attitude and understanding of life and the world in which we live. Desirable skills should be inculcated into the youth. Finally, education must be seen as involving more than merely making people to be able to read and write. There are all kinds of assumptions about Africa, some of which are: • The educational systems we inherited from our colonial masters are not suitable to our development needs. Education should serve a purpose drastically different from what the colonial masters imposed on Africa that is reading, writing and arithmetic for producing the needed manpower for the colonial administration, commerce and evangelisation. This type of education excluded science and technology.
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•
Education should be made suitable to the specific environment of the people and to make them live more meaningfully. Education should not alienate its beneficiaries from their roots, but it should equip them with knowledge, skills and attitude for analysing their peculiar circumstances for improvement and for facing the challenges of modern life.
•
Another assumption is that illiteracy diminishes a person’s potentialities and hinders his contribution to the development of society. An illiterate becomes a slave to superstition and ignorance and is consequently ignored or marginalisation in the development of his nation.
•
Through education you produce people who transform society – the assumption is that education releases the energies that are relevant to development and produces confidence and self-esteem in the individual
On the basis of these assumptions it is believed that there is a direct link between education and development i.e education is the key to development. Education as a process can be classified into two main groups. Formal education and non-formal education. Formal education involves a well-structured system of instructions over a period of time e.g. Primary, J. S. S, S.S.S and tertiary education in Ghana. Non-formal education, on the other hand, is the process of socialisation in the family, the church and society through our five senses of sight, taste, touch, feeling and speech. For example, the child starts his education right from the home through observation, etc. Non-formal education also involves literacy campaigns, adult education, learning trades through apprenticeship, in-service training and on the job-training. 12.20 Crucial Questions about Education Should primary and secondary school education be seen as stepping-stones to the university? Not everybody is naturally capable of moving to the highest level of education. Secondly, even when the individual is naturally capable there are other constraints. For example, the environmental and financial constraints. The question therefore arises; i) How many primary school products should go to secondary school and how many secondary products should go to tertiary institutions. If all the products from one stage cannot move forward, what should the person who is not able to move forward do? The answer to this question should be incorporated into the curriculum of the school system and should apply to all the stages of education. 12.21 Relevance of Education to Development Formal education is a long-term measure and there is therefore a need for efforts at removing bottlenecks in the short and long term effects. In this regard, only certain forms of education are considered to give immediate and direct links with development. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
For example, the provision of courses in technical, vocational, professional and management training because of their direct contribution to development. What kind of education should we give? In fact, we should give the kind of education which is most relevant to economic development. An educated person is an instrument for the development of himself and his society but not an instrument for enslavement by others. Other questions emerge here again • How many people should be given education that is directly relevant to our development aspirations? • How much of society’s resources should go into their training needs. • Who should provide them with jobs after their education? The government or the private sector? An educated person must get a job commemorate with his education, to satisfy the aspiration engendered by his education. It is very dangerous for the socio-political stability of a country to produce more educated people than its economy can readily absorb, when you train, accountants, economists, engineers, technicians, statisticians, secretaries and other intellectuals but prevent them from participating in the benefits of the economy, they may constitute a potential source of instability to the country. This disturbing scenario, leads to two very important questions. • Should the number of people educated at higher levels be restricted to what the economy can involve? • If education is said to bring out the best in every individual, is there a moral justification for restricting access to higher education only on account of the inability of the economy to absorb them? 12.22 The Education Reform in Ghana Problems of Education in Ghana 1975-1985. As early as the 1970s, the need for reforming education in Ghana was felt. The Dzobo Committee Report recommended radical review of the education process in 1972/73. Unfortunately, steady socio-economic and infrastructural decline, lack of political will on the part of previous governments and lack of interest and commitment on the part of administrators, the Dzobo programme never proceeded beyond the experimental stage. Education in Ghana is plagued with the following problems: i. There was little or no teaching-learning materials such as chalk, textbooks particularly in the rural areas. ii. A lot of trained teachers left the classroom and the country for greener pastures elsewhere on account of poor conditions of service.. iii. School buildings and furniture had deteriorated and no new ones were being provided on any appreciable scale until the establishment of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) 2000. 12.23 Structural Changes in Education The traditional6-4-5-2 pre-university education was changed by the Dzobo Committee to 6-3-3 and implemented by the PNDC Government. It was started in 1987 all over the country after about a decade of experimentation. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
The old education arrangement gave the erroneous impression that apart from the universities no other institution could be classified as a “higher institution”. This has caused the problem of equating higher education with university education. The National Council for Tertiary Education Act, Act 454, passed in 1993, affirmed the new education reform. The Act 454 defines tertiary education to mean university or university college, polytechnic, diploma awarding institution and other post-secondary school. The Act also makes tertiary education vary in duration from two to five years depending on the area of specialisation. Curriculum Innovations • A strong and diversified technical vocational bias has been built into the educational system to prepare students to establish businesses on their own in the informal sector. • The development of books and other teaching and learning materials. This is to help change our perception, attitudes and our responses to our environment. Strengthening Administration As part of the constitutional decentralisation Act 240 (1) 1992, The Ghana Education Service has also decentralised the districts. It has appointed high-level Directors to each of the 110 districts in Ghana. Some routine functions which were previously performed in Accra or the Regional Capitals e.g. promotions, transfers, preparation of estimates etc, are now done at the District offices. To enable the districts respond effectively to these new demands some supporting inputs like vehicles have been provided to each District Office through the EDSAC (the Education Sector Adjustment Credit) Community Participation Education is people-centred therefore education delivery should involve people at all levels e.g. churches, parents, teachers, students, government and non-governmental organisations and youth associations are being involved more and more in the planning and provision of school buildings and other facilities by way of cost sharing with government. 12.24 Challenges to Education in Ghana Education is becoming increasingly expensive to parents, students and the government. Notwithstanding the cost of education, the problems within the educational system continue to produce a large number of dropouts at the JSS and SSS levels. The situation at the SSS level should be questioned regarding its desirability, equity and fairness of subsidising the education of the few students who enter SSS to the neglect of the majority who are not able to enter. The establishment of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) is perhaps one of the best things that ever happened to education in Ghana. If the fund is properly managed the most of the problem confronting education in Ghana would be solved.
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12.25 Goals of the Educational Reform 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Universal Basic Education. High-level enrollment in secondary schools. An increase in tertiary enrollment to satisfy the manpower needs of the country. Provision of equal opportunities in the educational system for both boys and girls of all ages and at all levels.. Improvement in the efficiency of the educational system and management. Progressive eradication of illiteracy through a functional literacy programme
References 1. Economic Commission for Africa Resolution No. 332(XIV) Development Strategy For Africa For The Third Development Decade (E/1979/50/E/Cn.14725) 2
The Abuja statement The International Conference on Africa: the challenges of Economic Recovery and Accelerated Development, Abuja, Nigeria, 15-19, June, 1987, ECA/CERAD/87/75.
3 Economic Commission for Africa Resolution: The Khartoum Declaration on the Human Dimension of Africa’s Economic Recovery and Development, Khartoum, 6-8 March, 1988. 4. Economic Commission for Africa Resolution The African Alternative Teamwork for Economic Recovery and Development to the IMF SAP. (E/ECA.15/6/Rev. 1990) 5. Michael P. Todaro: Economic Development in the Third World. (Longman. Inc. 1981) 6. Michael Todaro: 7.
Economics for a Developing World (1977) pp 87-104 Walter Rodney: How Europe underdeveloped Africa (1972)
8.
WW Rostow: Stages of Economic Growth: A Non Communist Manifesto: Cambridge Univ. Press (1960)
9.
AndrĂŠ Gunder Frank: "The Development of Underdevelopment" in Robert Rhodes (ed.) Imperialism and Underdevelopment (1970)
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CHAPTER THIRTEEN THE AFRICAN DEBT PROBLEM 13.1 Introduction African countries, more than ever before in their history, are increasingly sinking into a thought-provoking debt problem/crisis or burden. The debt problem in Africa is a recent development. In the 1960s, African countries owed little and nobody thought about it. But since the 1970s, there has been a tremendous increase in Africa's external debt. The exact amount is not known, but it is estimated to be around 300 billion dollars. 13.2 Causes of the Debt Problem The causes of this indebtedness could be traced to both external and internal factors. 1) Prominent among the external factors was the collapse of the general boom in the world economy following the Korean war, which resulted in a worsening of successive economic depressions in the economies of western countries. This gloomy picture was worsened by the 1973/74 and 1979/80 oil crisis. This situation resulted in a sharp reduction in the growth rates of Western economies. African countries suffered seriously because there was a sharp drop in the demand for commodities exported from Africa in the 80s. For example, African countries lost 13.8 billion dollars between 1980 and 1983 because of the fall in the prices of export commodities. 2)
The matter was compounded further by inflationary trends in the western economies which have always been passed on to Africa in the form of exorbitant prices for imported items.
3)
The sharp increases in petroleum prices in 1973/74 and again in 1979/80 caused a major foreign exchange problem for all oil importing countries of Africa. For example, in 1971, fuel took only about 6% of the value of Ghana's total imports, but by 1983, 50% of the value of total imports went into petroleum imports. The situation was not different in the other non-oil producing African countries. During the 1973/74 oil boom, OPEC countries suddenly accumulated billions of dollars which they could not readily spend.
4)
These petrol-dollars were deposited in American banks and put on the Eurodollar market. Much of this petrol-dollar fund was lent to African countries. This massive borrowing aggravated the debt crisis , because of high interest rates and rescheduling. 5)
The United States' high interest rate policy on debts payable by African countries was another factor that aggravated the debt problem. The shortening of grace periods and maturity period, exchange rate fluctuations which led to serious instability and overall loss in the foreign exchange holdings of African states.
6)
A hard and harsh reality of the African debt problem is the ever
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increasing debt servicing and rescheduling burden. African countries are obliged to commit a disproportionate percentage of their foreign exchange to service debt instead of paying the debt. For example, it is estimated that about 50% of the foreign exchange earned by African countries is used to service their debt. 7.
By far the most irritating internal cause of African indebtedness is the expenditure on arms and ammunition. The undue premium on security considerations by African leaders with the resultant spending on arms has increased our indebtedness. In addition, the incessant military coups and civil strives have compelled African leaders to borrow millions of dollars (covertly or overtly) to strengthen their precarious hold on their countries. Rebel leaders borrow huge sums of money to buy arms to prosecute civil wars which further worsen the debt problem. For example Ethiopia, Mozambique, Angola, Sudan, Liberia, Somalia and Spanish Sahara, etc. have had long periods of civil wars thus throwing their countries in total indebtedness and destruction.
8.
Another factor on the internal front is the rapid population growth rate, which is higher than her economic growth. Unfavourable climatic conditions have also contributed to African indebtedness. Drought and starvation in Ethiopia, Sudan and other Sahelian countries. These countries have had to depend on assistance and huge loans from friendly countries in order to be able to feed their starving population. The drought in 1978/79 and in 1982/83 had a severe adverse effect on agriculture and food production.
9.
Economic mismanagement and inappropriate policies of African countries have resulted in huge debts. Corruption in high places and the display of wealth by African leaders in front of the impoverished people have often angered donors and prevented them from giving better terms.
10
The remittance of profits to the countries of expatriate investors is another cause of African indebtedness. This capital flight from Africa has not helped issues any better. The Gulf war crises in 1990/91 and the rise in world prices of crude oil, to over 40 dollars and US led unilateral invasion of Iraq in March 2003, and the resultant increases in the prices of crude oil to over 50 dollars per barrel. Mismanagement, bribery and corruption on the part of African leaders like Sani Abacha of Nigeria and Mobotu of Congo (Zaire).
11. 12
13.3 Effects of the Debt Problem The debt crisis in Africa has had a devastating effect on their economies. 1. The debt servicing obligation has come to take away large portions of the scarce foreign exchange earned by African countries. This has resulted in the perpetual shortage of foreign exchange in Africa. Essential imports are foregone because of lack of foreign exchange. For example, medical supplies, spare-parts and machinery among others become difficult to obtain in the face of foreign exchange shortages. This may result in under capacity utilisation since the necessary inputs cannot be imported because of foreign exchange constraints Hence, unemployment or THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
underemployment might result. Foreign exchange shortage has led to a reduction in per capita income, consumption and investment as well as lowering the standard of living of the citizens. 2.
Another effect of the debt problem is the growing interference of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in the affairs of African countries. African countries are compelled to accept structural Adjustment Programmes as a condition for loans and to further compel them to meet their debt obligations at the expense of their development. The debt crisis has made African countries dependent on external support in the form of loans, aid, grants, etc. to enable them service their debt i.e. African countries borrow money to pay their loans. The result is that African economies have become vulnerable to manipulation by outsiders especially the IMF and World Bank.
13.4 Proposed Solutions to the Debt Problem 1) A wide range of solutions have been proposed, For example, that by the Finance Ministers of the OAU at a meeting on the matter. The OAU Finance Ministers suggested a stoppage of debt servicing to concentrate on the payment of principal of the loans, because debt servicing alone takes about 50% of all the foreign exchange earned by African countries. 2)
There should also be longer periods of moratorium of between 5 to 10 years instead of the present 2 to 3 years . 3) Some of the debts which are due for payment should be rescheduled for longer periods. This will give African countries the chance to pay the debts one after the other instead of spreading the same amount over several debts. This would give African countries some breathing space in the business of paying their ever growing debts. 4) The African Finance Ministers also recommended the total cancellation of the debts owed by African countries or conversion of loans to grants. 5) Another recommendation was that there should be fair trade practices towards African countries i.e. Western trade partners should offer higher prices for primary products from Africa. This would increase the foreign exchange earned by Africans. Steps must also be taken to reduce the interest rates on loans, as well as increase the flow of resources to African countries. 13.5 IMF & World Bank Solutions to the Debt Problem The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have also proposed some solutions to the debt problem. 1) They have suggested that African governments should reduce their budget deficits by cutting public expenditure. This according to the IMF, can be done by abolishing all subsidies on food, medicine, education, shelter and petroleum products. 2) The IMF also proposed that African countries should pursue realistic foreign exchange rate policies i.e. African currencies are over-valued and that they should be devalued to make their exports cheaper on the World Market so that demand for them will rise. Imports will reduce because their prices would increase and the demands for domestic goods will rise. This in the opinion of the IMF would conserve foreign THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
3) 4) 5) 6)
exchange for African countries. The IMF recommends trade liberalisation so that the burden of producing these goods would shift from government to individuals and private organisations and government expenditure would reduce sharply. There should be price incentives to traditional export producers to increase their production to earn more foreign exchange for their countries. The IMF has suggested higher interest rates to squeeze domestic credit facilities at home to encourage savings for development. Finally, the IMF and the World Bank have also recommended privatisation of state owned enterprises, corporations, industries and government parastatals. According to the IMF and the World Bank, government participation in these areas has proved ineffective and costly because of the dependence on government for subvention in order to operate. The IMF and the World Bank proposal for economic recovery for Africa is called the Structural Adjustment Programme. (SAP) and the African alternative proposal is called the African Alternative Framework for Economic Recovery and Development (AAFERD) to the IMF - SAP.
References 1. 2. 3. 4.
Kwesi Anyemadu, Economic Policies of the PNDC Akilakpa Sawyerr, Politics of Adjustment Policy Bade Onimode The IMF, The World Bank and the African Debt; The Social and Political Impact: Kwasi Jonah, The African Alternative Framework for Economic Recovery and Development to the IMF/World Bank SAP
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CHAPTER FOURTEEN DEPENDENCY AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA 14.1 Introduction Dependency is the kind of relationship that exists between a developed nation and a developing one such that this relationship becomes dysfunctional to the development efforts of the latter. Dependent societies have certain structural characteristics which may be defined as patterns of behaviour and their corresponding linkages that make the liberation or development of the dependent society very difficult. 14.2 Types of Dependency Relationships in Africa There are many types of dependency relationships, namely economic dependency; sociocultural dependency; political dependency and ideological dependency. African societies have had long periods of colonial intercourse with European powers and this colonial intercourse has led to the development of various types of dependency as outlined above. 14.3 Economic Dependency in Africa By far the most pronounced type of dependency in African societies is economic dependency. Many political economists often hold the erroneous view that dependency is only a problem of imperialism and the investment of finance capital. In fact, the relationship that existed between the Soviet Union and the Eastern European countries was one of dependency as we shall soon see. Economic dependency is the kind of relationship that developed between the metropolis and the periphery (the coloniser and the colony) whereby the latter produced raw materials or concentrated on the extraction of minerals for export to the former and imported manufactured goods in return. In short, there is a pre-occupation with the production of agro-based commodities which in recent times have been facing sharp falls in prices because of synthetic substitutes and sheer overproduction. Secondly, there are normally weak linkages between the production of these commodities and local industries. For example, Ghana and La cote d'Ivoire produce cocoa, Senegal and the Gambia cultivate groundnuts, cotton is produced in Northern Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya, but a boom in the production of these commodities does not lead to a boom in manufacturing industries which use this commodities, because all these commodities are exported to the developed world to feed their manufacturing industries. Fluctuation and decline in the prices of these primary commodities have often resulted in the loss of huge amounts of money in foreign exchange to the dependent economies. For example, Zambia had $234 per ton for her copper since 1963, in April, 1974 the price rose to $400 per ton, then fell to $500 in 1975. Secondly, Ghana in 1954 had $430 per ton for her cocoa, then in 1956, it fell to $209. Rene Dumout has estimated that between 1955 and 1959 alone the decline in export prices caused Tropical Africa 600 million dollars (twice the amount of aid Africa received during the same period, from the developed world). Another important aspect of economic dependency in Africa is the heavy outflow of capital to the developed world, in the form of repatriated profits, transfers of remittances, payments of royalties and the rescheduling of debts due for payment. This capital flight THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
has worsened the indebtedness of African countries which is currently estimated at 300 billion dollars. This huge debt burden has compelled African countries to borrow increasingly from foreign lending agencies in order to purchase essential imports of capital goods. For example, AndrĂŠ Gunder Frank cites the net capital outflow of 25.6 billion dollars from the underdeveloped world from an initial capital investment of only 9 billion dollars between 1950 and 1965. The situation is more pronounced in Senegal where it has helped to absorb metropolitan and urban unemployment from poor regions of South West France. The case is similar in Zambian copper mining industry where the South African and American experts are heavily paid in foreign exchange to the detriment of the economy. At the local levels, state intervention in agricultural production is an aspect of the internal dependency relationship in Africa. African governments in a bid to manipulate the producer prices, establish marketing boards that have held back much of the profit due farmers . The activities of these marketing boards have led to confrontations between African governments and farmers associations. For example around 1933 in Ghana there were cocoa hold ups (i.e. farmers refused to sell their cocoa to the cocoa purchasing companies because of low prices. In Senegal peasants organised under the Mouride Brotherhood had to threaten withdrawal from the cultivation of groundnuts before the government could double the producer price paid to farmers in 1974. (Cruise O'Brien Donald. Political Opposition in Senegal; 1960-1967 (1967). A final aspect of the economic dependency in Africa is the domination of their economies particularly high profit making areas like commerce, banking, shipping and insurance by expatriates. This domination is detrimental to African economies because it prevents the formation of domestic capital for development. For example in Senegal banking, insurance and commerce are dominated by the French. French banking institutions still retain quasi-monopoly in the provision of medium and long term credit and the ministry of foreign affairs is still substantially staffed with French technical assistance personnel. In a bid to control foreign domination of certain vital sectors of their economies, countries like Ghana and Nigeria have adopted indigenisation policies that sought to smoke out foreigners from these areas. The practice of fronting and naturalisation has however rendered these indigenisation policies less effective. 14.4 Political and Ideological Dependency in Africa Perhaps the most thought-provoking aspect of dependency in African countries is the political and ideological dependency. Africa lacks an ideological persuasion that is peculiar to itself hence African countries have a very weak political culture, because of the division into Anglophone, Francophone, etc. of African countries and the accompanying political and ideological linkages and influences which underscore the political and ideological dependency in Africa. For example, all former British colonies now belong to the Commonwealth of Nations and the former French colonies are tied to the apron strings of France within the French community. Their political institutions and ideology are a replica of those of France in much the same way as those of the Ex-British colonies are those of Britain. Thus a Ghanaian would feel more at home in far away Kenya, or Gambia, than he would do in nearby Togo or La Cote D'Ivoire. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
The ideological and political dependency became more pronounced in the 1960s when most issues pertaining to Africa were understood in East-West or Capitalist-Socialist terms. Consequently, African governments saw themselves as practising or adopting socialism or capitalism, or a modification of either of them as a strategy for development. This ideological dependency did not much help the African countries that dabbled in it. For example, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, who was understandably pursuing his own brand of socialism, with the support of the Soviet Union, had all his on-going projects discontinued after his overthrow in 1966. The reason is simple. There had been a major shift in ideological persuasion. This was practical extension of the cold war to Africa, a development which all the more made African countries dependent on the East or West for political and ideological bearing or guidance. This period was marked and marred by coups and counter-coups, in a bid to unseat a government professing one ideology and to introduce another. In such an atmosphere of uncertainty, most African governments had to rely on the heavy presence of foreign military personnel to protect their regimes and to prevent coups. For example, the presence of Cuban soldiers in Angola and Mozambique and French soldiers in Senegal estimated at 27,800 at independence and scaled down to 6,600 in 1965. (Cruise O'Brien: White Society in Black Africa: 1972:124) Africans have also adopted the political institutions, judicial systems and laws of their former colonisers till today. 14.5 Socio-Cultural Dependency in Africa There is also cultural dependency in Africa. For example, the French policy of assimilation that accorded French citizenship to people who could read and write French, accepted Christianity and practised one man one wife, etc., made the educated in the French Community greatly deculturalised. This was the genesis of the socio-cultural dependency in Africa and the development of what Nkrumah had called the colonial mentality of Black inferiority and white superiority. Dr. Nkrumah, called for African personality, a total rejection of the colonial cultural heritage, the removal of artificial boundaries and advocated a total political unification of Africa. Nevertheless, socio-cultural dependency remains an African problem. African countries have not been able to break the linguistic dependency and still use the language of the former colonisers three decades after independence. African systems of education are colonial legacies that turned out grammarians and catechists, to the neglect of vocational the technical subjects. The present educational reforms going on in African countries like Ghana, with emphasis on the study of science, technical and vocational subjects is an attempt to redress the colonial cultural heritage. There is also scientific and technological dependency of Africa on the developed world. This scientific and technological dependence has caused African countries much foreign exchange and has helped to worsen the debt problem. 14.6 Effects of Dependency on the Development of African Countries The factors of dependency discussed above have had tremendous adverse effects on the African societies. First and foremost it has led to the incorporation of African economies into the world capitalist system of unequal exchange, the development of African indebtedness and balance of payment problems as a result of the declining export prices of THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
their commodities. The political and ideological dependence has contributed towards political instability in Africa. In an effort to solve the decline in their economies, African governments have resorted to massive borrowing from international lending agencies. This has made them further dependent. The problem of lack of development and dependence in Africa continues to receive attention from different sources and levels. Most African countries have resorted to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank for Financial assistance to carry out structural transformation. Some of the recommendations like intensification of the production of traditional exports, privatisation, the removal of subsidies, etc. have been criticised as only going to entrench African economies all the more into the world capitalist system of unequal exchange and would thus worsen their dependency. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa has also come out with its own recommendations. These recommendations are contained in The African Alternative Framework to Structural Adjustment Programme (AAF-SAP). Broadly speaking, AAFSAP advocates mixed economy approach based on sustainable growth and the preservation of the environment and increased inter-linkages between agriculture and industry. Inter-dependency is a necessary aspect of human life in the world. The point to be noted is that we have equal and unequal interdependence. The best way out is to change the linkage structures from an unequal one to an equal one that would be fairly beneficial to both the core and peripheral countries, for the formation of a new world order. 14.7 Remedial Measures for Breaking the Dependency in Africa The fact about African dependency in political, ideological, cultural and economic terms is that African countries have accepted the artificial colonial boundaries and increasingly see themselves as Anglophone, Francophone, Lusophone, etc., and preside over economically enviable geographical territories in the name of political independence. This situation makes them more vulnerable to external manipulations and exploitation. To prevent this manipulation and exploitation, the best option open to African countries is total political unity as advocated by Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. That aside the formation of regional economic co-operation groups like Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Preferential Trade Area (PTA) the Maghreb Union and the African Union should be encouraged to intensify their efforts at removing custom and tariff barriers between their countries to allow for the mobility of labour, capital and entrepreneurship, and the establishment of joint ventures in industry that would utilise the raw materials produced in Africa. Finally, frantic efforts should be made to restructure the present educational systems to emphasize technical, scientific and vocational subjects.
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References 1.
Rita Cruise O'Brien (Ed) Political Economy of Underdevelopment: (Sage, 1979)
2.
Richard Harris (Ed) The Political Economy of Africa: (Schenkman Publishing Co. Inc., 1975)
3.
CODESRIA Buletting No. 2, 1990
4.
William Tordoff: Government and Politics in Africa: (Macmillan, 1984)
5.
AAF-SAP.
6.
Michael Torado, Economics for a Developing World: 1977)
7.
Walter Rodney How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (1972)
8.
Andre Gunder Frank "The Development of Underdevelopment" in Robert Rhodes (ed.) Imperialism and Underdevelopment (1970)
9.
Kwame Nkrumah. Africa Must Unite (1963)
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CHAPTER FIFTEEN PAN AFRICANISM AND THE INTEGRATION OF AFRICAN ECONOMIES FOR DEVELOPMENT 15.1 Introduction The growing process of underdevelopment and indebtedness of Africa, a continent heavily endowed with a bewildering diversity of natural resources, vigorously stirs the minds and imagination of most analyst of the situation on the continent. Perhaps in the history of human civilization, no other continent has had its human and material resources so ruthlessly and indiscriminately plundered by so many foreign countries, in return for so little, because of division and the lack of unity. Before the continent started having contact with Europeans, Africans had their own civilization and a subsistent economy. In this economic system everything produced was used by Africans. Men and women, young and old ate or used what was produced and produced what they ate or used. But the traumatic experiences of slave trade, colonialism and racism resulted in the physical, religious and mental captivity of Africa and the African. These experiences and the impact they had on the psyche of the African is tremendous and has made collective thinking and common action rather difficult to achieve. 15.2 Allegory of the Murdered Virgin Let me illustrate what happened to Africa with the following allegory. Once upon a time, some fortune seekers embarked on a fortune- seeking- mission into a great forest. After roaming for a very long time without getting anything of interest, they came upon a virgin lady. They quickly became very much excited and decided to rape her in turns. After several rounds of ruthless raping, the lady became unconscious. As a result of fear, they decided to kill the lady. Her body was cut up into parts. Each man had portions of the lady’s “parts” according to his influence within the group. The fortune seekers agreed that the “parts” of the lady should be preserved, in case the crime was ever detected, they could surrender the parts, to the parents and family of the virgin lady for a decent burial. Different methods were used to preserve the parts of the lady, some of the fortune seekers used smoking to preserve their parts. Others employed salting and drying, refrigeration, frying and roasting among other methods to preserve their parts of the virgin lady. Several years after, the crime was detected, and the parts were retrieved and stitched together to represent the virgin lady. When the body of the virgin lady was laid in state, none of the members of the family could recognize her. She had, as it were, undergone too much change to be recognised. The crude threads of the stitches made the body look very strange. The fortune seekers are the European nations that took part in slave trade and colonialism. The virgin lady is the African continent. The cutting into pieces is the partitioning of Africa among the European powers. The pieces of meat or parts of the murdered lady are African countries as they are toady and the methods of preservation are the various colonial policies used by the European powers in Africa, e.g. the Crown Colony System, THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
the French Policy of Assimilation, etc. The detection of the crime and retrieval of the parts were struggle for and attainment of independence by African countries and the crude threads of stitches are the colonial boundaries on the African continent. Africa still remains within these colonial boundaries. This explains the difficulty Africa is facing today in thinking collectively and embarking upon the surest journey for economic independence and integration. 15.3 Pan-Africanism and the Development of Nationalism Having painted the background to the tragedy of the African situation, we may now take a look at the concept of Pan-Africanism. Pan-Africanism may be considered as the collective effort of Africans and people of African descent to re-assert their integrity and to promote development of Africa. As a concept, Pan-Africanism has four main elements namely: (a) A movement for the re-assertion of the integrity of Africans, which was destroyed during the slave trade and colonial rule. (b) Emancipation of African and Africans from foreign domination. (c) The establishment of a Pan-African Continental Government. (d) An affirmation of African personality and values as well as a return of people of African descent in the Diaspora to Africa. Let us proceed to examine the factors that gave birth to Pan Africanism. Pan– Africanism has its origins in certain historical experiences on the continent of African. 1. Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade during which Africans were bought and sold as articles of commerce and trade, coupled with the dehumanising and degrading treatment of slaves and ex-slaves from Africa. (2) (3)
The imposition of colonial rule, and the prolonged exploitation of the material resources of Africa under the pre-text of legitimate trade and the seizure of African lands through “treaties of friendship” and other fraudulent means. The rise of Social Darwinism, racism and race consciousness that resulted from the slave trade. During this period, Africans and people of African descent were regarded as inferior human beings who were incapable of managing their own affairs. In some cases Africans were regarded as having very small brains and were incapable of advanced thinking. This situation, in the opinion of certain racists, has rendered the adult African half-child, half devil. In short Africans became victims of racist prejudices and biases deliberately contrived to portray them as inferior beings.
(4) Pan-Africanism may be divided into three main phases; namely, 1. Pan-Africanism as an idea (1776-1900) 2. Pan-Africanism as an historical movement (1900-1945) 3. Pan-Africanism as an on-going process (1945 to date). As an idea, Pan-Africanism, sought to unite the thoughts, ideas and ideals of all Africans and people of African descent in the Diaspora. During this era of Pan-Africanism, the various Africans in the Diaspora began to think of Africa as an idea and as their God given land. It was this unity of thought and experience that originated in Pan-Africanism as an historical movement between 1900 and 1945. As an historical movement, Pan-Africanism may be credited to the activities of people like Henry Sylvester William, Dr. WEB Du-Bois, Marcus Garvey, Bishop Alexander Walters and George Padmore among others and African scholars who were then studying in THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
Europe, like Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. During this phase of Pan-Africanism, African intellectuals organized lectures, seminars and discussions on concepts like African cultural unity, African personality, democracy, socialism, communism etc. This activities among African intellectuals abroad led to the formation of the West African Students Union (WASU) which greatly influenced the exportation of Pan-Africanist ideas to Africa to promote the struggle for independence. Pan-Africanism as an on-going process i.e. 1945 to date, may be said to have started with the 5th Pan-African Congress 1945, in Manchester, England. It was organized by people like Dr. Peter Milliard (British Guiana) Chairman; Mr. F. R. Makonnen (Ethiopia) Treasurer; Mr, George Padmore (Trinidad) and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Joint Secretaries; Peter Abrahams (South Africa) Publicity Secretary; Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya) Assistant Secretary. In their resolution, the delegates decided to pursue the struggle for self-determination in peace, but would employ force as a last resort, i.e. “positive action”. They also advocated education, equal rights, decent living standards and self-rule for Africans. They condemned imperialism, discrimination and maltreatment of Africans. The WASU was re-organised by Nkrumah in 1946 to co-ordinate the activities of the various Nationalist Movement in West Africa. Pan-Africanism as an on-going process gathered renewed momentum and became an active force for political emancipation soon after Ghana’s independence in March 1957. In fact Dr. Kwame Nkrumah declared that, the independence of Ghana was meaningless unless it was linked with the total liberation of the African Continent. This statement clearly demonstrated his commitment to PanAfricanism. Under the radical and skillful leadership of Dr. Nkrumah, Accra became the political Mecca for Pan-Africanist activities. The proposal for the establishment of a Pan -African Continental Government was the brain-child of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, which he popularized in his book Africa Must Unite. The concept of African Unity as propounded by Dr. Nkrumah involved the creation of a common African Parliament; a common currency; removal of political, colonial, trade, of customs and tariff barriers and boundaries; as well as the establishment of an African High Command for rapid deployment in conflict areas to prevent avoidable lost of life and property on the African Continent. 15.4 The Concept of Development After exploring the background of Pan Africanism, let us now turn to the concept of development. Development traditionally simply meant the ability of a nation to expand its output or GNP at a rate faster than the growth rate of its population. That is development was seen mainly as an economic phenomenon. In the 70s however, this economic definition of development was rejected because the wealth generated was not equitably distributed, poverty was increasing, unemployment was growing, and the gap between the rich and the poor was becoming more and more pronounced. Consequently, development came to be redefined in terms of the reduction or elimination of poverty, inequality and unemployment, within the context of a growing economy. Development is, therefore a multi- dimensional process involving major changes in social structures, popular attitudes, national institutions, acceleration of economic growth, the reduction of inequality and the eradication of absolute poverty. In short development is a THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
movement away from a condition of life widely perceived as unsatisfactory towards a situation of life regarded as materially and spiritually better. An inner meaning of development also involves three core values of life- sustenance, selfesteem and freedom. All people need life sustaining conditions or inputs like food shelter, health and protection. When these needs are critically in short supply or absent, then a condition of absolute-underdevelopment and deprivation exists. (1) The basic function of all economic activity therefore, is to provide as many people as possible with the means of overcoming the helplessness and misery arising from a lack of food shelter, health and protection. (2) The second core value is self-esteem – a sense of worth and self-respect, of not being used as a tool by others for their own ends. (3) The third core value is freedom from alienating material conditions of life and freedom from social servitude of men and women to nature, ignorance, misery and dogmatic beliefs. From the afore-mentioned exposition, we may conclude that development is both a physical reality and a state of mind for obtaining a better life. At this point it may be instructive to ask, what has been the development situation on the African continent? What agenda has Pan Africanism got for addressing the development issues of the continent? Which forces are militating or conspiring against the development efforts of Africa and Africans? And finally what role should the youth play in overcoming these obstacles to the development of African economies? Africa still remains a vulnerable and divided continent on the international scene with diminishing strengths, growing weaknesses, disappearing opportunities and intimidating and unpredictable threats. During the cold war between capitalists led by the USA and socialist states led by USSR, Africa became the battleground for ideological warfare. As if the humiliations Africa and Africans suffered during the slave trade and colonial rule were not enough, they became victims one more time of circumstances they had no hand in creating. That is the Devil’s Theory of Imperialism under which most western countries that derived great profits from the manufacture and scale of arms and ammunition conspire to provoke limited armed conflicts in order to create demand for their weapons of war. These western countries cannot sell their weapons of war when there is peace in the world. 15.5 Challenges of Nation Building in Post-colonial Africa The contradictions African leaders faced at independence were real and overwhelming and often not easily reconcilable. They had to deal with the issue of power consolidation in a situation where their own legitimacy was in the balance. Demands for development projects were exacerbated, resources were meagre, expectations were high, external vulnerability was pronounced and domestic allegiances were uncertain. Majority of African states were content with having flags, national anthems, parliaments, cabinets etc and the other trappings of their political independence even though they were not based on economic independence. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s views on Pan African Government were rejected with contempt and the OAU’s attention was diverted from its original objectives of African Unity to conflict resolution.
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For example, African countries like Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Rwanda, Angola, DR. Congo have been plagued by wars, only God knows whether these wars were not the results of the Devil’s Theory of Imperialism at work. The result of these wars in addition to sheer economic mismanagement and missive corruption have drawn African states farther away from achieving their development aspirations. Hence Africa is replete with: high unemployment and underdevelopment; low labour demand; low investment per capita; dependence of foreign goods; limited educational opportunities, inadequate managerial skills, poor health and nutrition, poor attitude to work, low income, high population growth rate, high dependency ratio, absolute poverty, human misery, hunger and preventable death. 15.6 Africa in the Global Economy A recent World Bank Report has stated that African countries are worse off now than they were at independence in the 1960s. The Report pointed out that the combined incomes of 48 countries in Africa is little more than that of Belgium. The major highlights of the Report included the following: In the last 40 years, average incomes per person in Africa have stagnated while they have grown in most countries of the world. Africa now accounts for only 1% of the total world economic output and 2% of world trade. On the average African countries have economies smaller than a town of 60,000 people in a rich country. Africa has only 10 million telephone lines with half of them in South Africa hence Africa has little chance of gaining maximum access to the Internet. Africa has fewer roads than Poland only 16% of which are paved and only one in five households has access to electricity. Decades of civil war and conflict have increased poverty, violence and human misery in 20 of Sub-Saharan Africa’s 48 countries. Africa is the world’s most indebted and aid dependent region with 17% of GDP flowing out in debt payment. African countries at the individual state levels have embarked upon economic recovery programmes and reconstruction under the supervision of the IMF and the World Bank. Most of these IMF and World Bank recovery programmes have failed, despite huge investments. What is the explanation for this failure? Most of the IMF programmes only serve to keep African countries in an unequal trade relationship. African countries are primarily producers of agro-based commodities that feed industries located outsider Africa. Since the era of colonialism Africans had produced things that they did not eat or use, and ate or used things that they did not produce. For example commodities like cocoa, coffee, cotton, rubber, timber, sisal, jute, groundnut, palm oil etc. were produced; the prices of which African countries have no control over. The IMF and the World Bank dictate to African countries because they are weak and divided. They are dealt with almost always as individual states. African governments are compelled to implement policies that directly worsen the plight of their citizens. For example, they embark upon massive retrenchment of labour, privatisation their industries including high profit making ones, withdraw subsidies across broad including education and agriculture and encourage free entry of all sorts of investments.
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15.7 Integration of Africa Economies for Development It is becoming apparent to most African leaders, particularly the Ecowas countries that no individual country can win the war of national development and economic independence without regional integration. The division of the continent into phones, That is Anglophone, Francophone, Lusophone etc. and the Commonwealth of Nations and the French Community division have not aided the course of African development. Perhaps the efforts being made by ECOWAS in form of ECOWAS traveller’s cheques, common currency, removal of all barriers, and ECOWAS parliament etc as contained in the 34 ECOWAS Protocols are worthy of emulation by other sub-regions on the continent. The Magreb Union and the Preferential Trade Area (PTA) should redouble their efforts for an accelerated political and economic unification, as proposed by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah long ago. It is perhaps gratifying to recall that the Libyan leader, Col. Muama Gaddafi on Tuesday May 30, 2000, called upon African countries to shelve the outmoded concept of sovereignty and work towards integration if the continent is to survive in the 21 st century. He stated that individual African nations are too insignificant to be taken seriously in the globalised market and called for the establishment of the African Union and the Pan African Parliament. Let me attempt to provide some suggestions on what I think could be done and what role African leaders, political parties, traditional authorities, professional bodies, civil society and the youth can play. Africa has no option than to unite politically and economically. This is because the International Community deals with individual African states hence our resources are easily taken away. A united Africa cannot allow this trend to continue. When African regional or sub-regional unity is achieved – issues like a single and strong currency, common market, African High Command, Africa Court of Justice, and PanAfrican parliament etc. could be attainable to abate our neo-colonial heritage. Secondly, there is the need for liberation from the colonial mentality and an intensification of the campaign for a total and an unconditional cancellation of the debts of African countries. The practice of winner takes all in African politics should be discouraged to allow opposition parties to play major roles in the management of the affairs of their countries. There should be a radical diversification of the export of non-traditional goods and subsidies on education, health and agriculture should not be withdrawn. Corruption and outright stealing of public funds should be considered as crimes against humanity, and punished as such. The right of the African to choose the form of government under which he/she should live should be respected. 15.8 Compensation of Africa for the Slave Trade I have ever read from better informed but timid African scholars saying that there is no need for Africa to demand compensation for the slave trade from the European countries who took part in the trade. But I am of the opinion that, Africa should demand compensation not only for the slave trade, but also for colonialism and for the African soldiers who were forced to fight and die in wars in which they had no stakes. If the holocust victims under German Nazi rule deserve compensation, and if the Chinese and Indonesian women who were used as bed-comforters during the second world war deserve compensation for crime against humanity why should Africans not demand compensation when they were manipulated to participate in slavery? Time is no remedy for crime. Secondly, Africa must be compensated for losing millions of soldiers in wars which did not concern them. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
What African leaders, political parties, traditional authorities, professional bodies and civil society should do is to accept and implement African Unity. Secondly, a concrete proposal should be submitted by the OAU to the UNO to compel those European countries guilty of these crimes against Africa to pay compensation Before I conclude this article, let me quote Emperor Haile Selassie, the Lion of Judah and Emperor of Ethiopia to underscore my call an unrelenting campaign for cancellation of African debts and a demand for compensation for the slave trade and ex-soldiers. “Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who should have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, and the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most that have allowed evil to triumph.� Evil is triumphing on the African continent today and this is the time to act.
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CHAPTER SIXTEEN A THEORETICAL EXAMINATION OF THE CONCEPT OF DECENTRALISATION AS A STRATEGY FOR DEVELPOMENT
16.1 Abstract Despite the benefits that decentralisation is said to be capable of bringing about, attempts at decentralisation in Africa have brought no marked improvement in development drives. Policy-makers and development administrators in Africa continue to express dissatisfaction with the way decentralisation policies have been implemented. Decentralisation policies that were introduced transferred functions and responsibilities to lower levels of government without the transfer of corresponding measures of financial, human and material resources. In much the same way, attempts at decentralisation in Ghana since independence have proved ineffective and problematic. Consequently, an important question since independence has been; what kind of decentralisation is appropriate to our circumstances? That this question is still relevant today amounts to a general admission that the forms of decentralisation programmes we have experimented in Ghana over the past years had failed to achieve expected results. It is against this background of failure of decentralisation programmes in Ghana, that the P.N.D.C. government introduced its decentralisation policy with the establishment of the District Assemblies (D.A.s) in 1989. The P.N.D.C.’s decentralisation programme came with certain measures calculated to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the D.A.s. Notwithstanding the measures taken, the D.A.s remained ineffective and inefficient because the functions and responsibilities transferred to them were not accompanied by corresponding measures of financial, human and material resources. The situation improved for the better with establishment of the District Assemblies Common by the 1992 Constitution. Nevertheless, issues concerning decentralisation have continued to generate academic debate in the realm of theory and practice. In this article a theoretical examination of the concepts of decentralisation as a strategy for development is made. 16.2 Introduction Decentralisation has become a recurring theme in political and administrative discourse for advocates of administrative reform everywhere in the world. (Asibuo S.K 1991: 45). Decentralisation is probably the most frequently recommended structural reform to Third World Countries because “it suggests the hope of cracking open the blockage in an inert central bureaucracy, curing managerial constipation, giving more direct access for people to the government and the government to the people, stimulating the whole nation to participate in national development”. (Philip Mawhood, 1983: 1). The popularity of the concept of decentralisation in development administration and the debates it has generated could be attributed to the linking of decentralisation with such benefits as equity, THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
effectiveness, responsiveness and efficiency. (Ayee J.R.A 1992: 49). benefits of decentralisation have been stated by Rondinelli: “as societies, economies and government become more complex central control and decision-making become more difficult, costly and inefficient. By reducing diseconomies of scale inherent in the over-concentration of decision-making in the national capital, decentralisation can increase the number of public goods and services – and the efficiency with which they are delivered – at lower cost”. (Rondinelli D.A 1981: 18).
Some
Despite the benefits that decentralisation is said to be capable of bringing about, attempts at decentralisation in the developing world, including Ghana, have brought no marked improvement in development drives. (Kwamena Ahwoi 1990: 15). Policy-makers and development administrators in the Third World, continue to express dissatisfaction with the way decentralisation policies have been implemented. Studies, as we shall see in the exploration of literature, show disappointing results of attempts in most countries to decentralise planning and management functions. In most cases, central government introduced heavily publicised decentralisation policies only to see them falter during implementation process. Studies further reveal a kind of double-mindedness in developing countries about the desirability of transferring powers and responsibilities from the central ministries to other organisations. While local administrative organisations were given broad powers in some countries to perform development planning and management functions, adequate financial resources and qualified personnel necessary to carry out these functions were often withheld. (Cheema G.S. & Rondinelli 1983: 297). Field offices of central ministries, district planning and administrative units were established in most countries in the developing countries, but central government officials had been reluctant or lacked the political will to assist them. In their desire to minimize political conflicts and secessionist agitations, central governments discouraged the growth of community and non-governmental involvement in decentralisation policies. (Cheema G.S. & Rondinelli 1983: 297). Consequently development planning and administration had remained highly centralised after decades of persistent attempts at decentralisation. In some cases, authority was delegated without giving local organisations the flexibility to perform new functions in the ways that met local demands and needs. In developing administration in the Third World, performance and impact have not often matched the goals of their decentralisation policies, while control over financial resources continues to suffer severe shortages in qualified personnel. Local organisations have thus been largely incapacitated in their development efforts and exist merely to extend centrally-controlled and established priorities and are seen as solicitors of support for national policies. (Cheema G.S. & Rondinelli 1983: 297).
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16.3 Problems of Decentralisation in Development Administration Diana Conyers, in probing the problems of decentralisation in development administration had a series of questions to ask: (i) What are the functional activities over which some sort of power has been transferred? (ii) What types of powers have been transferred with respect to each functional activity? (iii) To which levels or areas (for example, state, province, district, ward etc). have the powers been transferred? (iv) To whom at these levels has authority been transferred? (v) Finally, what legal or administrative means have been used to transfer the authority? (Diana Conyers 1989: 18). Finding answers to these questions ushers us into the problems of allocating authority, managing and implementing decentralised administration. The implementation of any sort of development policy like decentralisation; involves major changes in structure and encounters problems arising from the relationship between the management of decentralised systems of administration and implementation of reforms designed to increase the amount of decentralisation. The prevalence of these management and implementation problems, has made the rural areas by comparison with the urban centres scenes of massive poverty, unemployment, inadequate or virtually absent health care services and educational opportunities, poor road network, lack of good drinking water, low agricultural productivity, ignorance, hunger and disease. (Owusu-Ansah K.A 1976: 19). Conyers had reached certain conclusions regarding the implementation and management of decentralisation programmes. She noted that the amount of decentralisation is often woefully inadequate. Secondly, decentralisation has failed to achieve the intended developmental objectives and thirdly decentralisation has been characterised by undesirable side-effects. (Diana Conyers 1989: 13). Although some scholars are critical about the undesirable side-effects of decentralisation – regionalism, the pursuit of parochial interest, disparity in development standards, loyalty to local rather than to national leaders etc – the undesirable side-effects do not in any measure outweigh the benefits of decentralisation in development administration. Despite the weaknesses of decentralisation it is a better option as compared with centralisation in development. This is because centralisation as a strategy or model for development has marginalised decentralised organisations in development efforts in the Third World countries as a result of discrimination against the rural areas. 16.4 The Ghanaian Experience of the Decentralisation in Development Administration under the District Assemblies Attempts at decentralisation of government machinery in Ghana since independence have proved ineffective, inefficient and problematic. Consequently an important question since independence has been, what kind of decentralisation is appropriate to Ghanaian circumstance? That this question is still relevant today amounts to a general admission that that the forms of decentralisation programmes we have experimented in Ghana over the past have failed. The reasons often given for this failure have been many and have included the following: THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi)
Low development capacity of the decentralised areas, not unrelated to size and weak revenue and resource base; Lack of technical expertise; Poor financial administration and corruption; Inexperience and poor calibre of local government personnel, attributable in part to low prestige attached to and poor remuneration for service at the local level; Unclear definitions of the distribution of functions between central government agencies and local authorities; Intrusion of partisan politics into local government with a view, primarily to winning political advantage and patronage for the incumbent regime; and Joggling with local government boundaries, local pressures (particularly from chiefs) and considerations of political advantage, with the result that the number of local government areas in the country has varied between as high as 282 and as low as 50. (Republic of Ghana (c) 1991: 14).
It is against the background of ineffectiveness and inefficiency of decentralisation programmes in Ghana that the Provisional National Defence Council (P.N.D.C.) launched its decentralisation programme with the establishment of the District Assemblies (D. A. s) as the highest political authority in each district in 1989. The “District Political Authority and Modalities for District Level Elections” – the document that outlined the preliminary aspects of the PNDC’s decentralisation programme states that: In order to democratise state power and advance participatory democracy and collective decision-making at the grassroots level there is the need to set up decentralised political and administrative authorities with elected representatives of the people. The decentralised authorities will be the bodies exercising state power as the people’s local government. (Republic of Ghana; (a) 1987: 1). In this connection, the decentralisation programme was expected to help bring about qualitative changes in the country’s administration, to promote effective delivery of goods and services and to facilitate the involvement of the people at the grassroots in decision-making. Grassroots participation in decision-making was intended to ensure that experience and wisdom are tapped in the pursuit of development programmes. (Ayee J.R.A.1990: 46). To give the decentralisation programme a more meaningful push, certain measures were taken. These measures include, among others, the following: (i) The increase in the number of districts in the country from 65 to 110 the rationale behind this action was not only to make the districts smaller to promote effective participatory democracy, but also to make them “viable and more homogenous and manageable units”. (Min. of Local Government 1991: 88). This line of reasoning in the opinion of some scholars, including Ayee, (Ayee J.R.A 1992: 51) is faulty because large units have not been proven and tested to be less effective and efficient than small ones. (ii) The holding of District Assembly elections in 1988/89. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi) (vii)
The enactment of PNDC Law 207 of 1988, to give backing to the District Assemblies and to authorise the transfer of legislative, administrative and executive powers to them. The jurisdiction of the District Assemblies, much unlike the previous attempts at decentralisation, covers planning, finance, budgeting and security. (Ayee J.R.A 1992: 51). The transfer of planning and budgeting processes to the district. This measure was consolidated in March, 1990, by the appointment and posting to each district, of district planning and budgeting officers to compel ministries to actually deconcentrate their staff so as to make district composite budgeting a reality. (Ayee J.R.A 1992: 51). The power to pay government contracts up to the value of 250 million cedis. In furtherance of this measure, District Tender Boards were established to advice the District Assemblies on the award of contracts. District treasuries were simultaneously set up to take over control of budgeting from departments formerly under the Controller and Accountant General’s Department in Accra. (Ayee J.R.A 1992: 51). To help the District Assemblies execute their functions more efficiently, 22 departments were decentralised. (Ayee J.R.A 1992: 51). The ceding of certain taxes previously collected by central government to the District Assemblies. These ceded revenue bases meant to augment the financial resources of the District Assemblies include; entertainment tax; casino revenue; betting tax; gambling tax; income tax (registration of trade, business, profession or vocation) daily transport tax; advertisement tax.21 and taxes on District Weekly Lotto Operations. (Ayee J.R.A 1990: 49).
The establishment of the District Assemblies and the measures taken were to ensure that local people get the opportunity to elect their representatives to the District Assemblies and to participate in decision-making and implementation processes at the district level. This opportunity quickly whetted the appetite of the people for the initiation and implementation of development programmes. Unfortunately, however, the District Assemblies assumed far more functions and responsibilities than the human, financial and material resources at their disposal could accomplish. Most District Assemblies had to resort to the imposition of unsanctioned taxes on the people of their districts. (Ayee J.R.A 1990: 46). Consequently, the District Assemblies were confronted with serious challenges and problems in meeting their responsibilities and functions. They lagged behind in fulfilling the expectations of the people with regard to development projects. District Assemblies therefore remained largely ineffective in the implementation of development programmes that had been on their drawing boards for years, until the establishment of the District Assemblies Common Fund in the 1992 Constitution with the allocation of five per cent the gross national income. 16.5 An Exploration of Literature on the Concept of Decentralisation The climate of opinion in which liberal economists, as well as Marxist thinkers were urging the virtue of centralised planning mechanism as the key to rapid development is fast fading into oblivion. (Philip Mawhood 1987: 13). This state of affairs is due principally to the growing dissatisfaction over the failure of national or central planning and investment to produce results in development schemes in the Third World in the 1960’s and the new grounds decentralisation is believed to have broken or to be capable of breaking. (Philip Mawhood 1987: 13). Hence THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
decentralisation of the machinery of government has been regarded as a panacea for solving socio-economic woes of developing countries. (Asibuo S.K. 1991: 45). The wealth of literature available on decentralisation of administration and development is, therefore, worthy of critical review. This review of literature concentrates on empirical works available and relevant to decentralisation and development in general with particular emphasis on Third World Countries and Ghana. 16.6 Studies on Decentralisation in some African Countries In his case study of decentralisation experience in the 1970’s and the 1980’s of Zambia, Sudan and Nigeria, S.K. Asibuo, revealed that insufficient political will undermined the effectiveness of the implementation of decentralisation programmes. Secondly, there was inadequate understanding of the provisions of the reforms and the new roles expected of both councillors and staff. This situation, Asibuo noted, was due to lack of adequate education on the real meaning and fundamental philosophy of decentralisation by the different actors in the drama of implementation of decentralisation programmes at each administrative level. He concluded that numerous functions and responsibilities were transferred to the local authorities in each of the three countries without the transfer of corresponding measures of financial, human and material resources. Consequently even though local autonomy and democracy were the objectives set in the restructuring processes of the three countries, they could not be realised. In contrast, centralisation of power was enhanced. (Asibuo S.K. 1991: 45). Samuel Humes, in an article entitled: “The Role of Local Government in Economic Development in Africa” observed that; ‘The basic weakness of decentralised local institutions as promoters of economic development has been the lack of sufficient functions, funds and functionaries to undertake the capital development so vital to economic prosperity’. (Samuel Humes 1973: 21). Apart from the emphasis on finance, Samuel Humes stressed management problems. He stated in a study he conducted on Nigeria that the calibre of the membership of local councils had been generally low, too few qualified men were available for office and too many incumbent local government officials were illiterate and corrupt, hence the ineffectiveness in the discharge of their duties. (Samuel Humes 1970: 91). 16.7 Studies on Financial Aspects of Decentralisation in Ghana There are empirical studies on the problems of decentralisation and development in Ghana with emphasis on lack of sources of financing development projects. Commenting on the causes of poor performance of local government councils in Ghana, S.A. Nkrumah, asserted that the absence of a civic sense of responsibility among the local population has made it difficult for local authorities to collect rates, hence their over-dependence on central government grants-in-aid which are grossly inadequate, irregular and often late in coming. Nkrumah argued that this chronic financial problem of local authorities could be solved through direct revenueTHE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
sharing with the central government on specified percentage basis. (Nkrumah S. A. 1990: 83). In a working paper on “Local Government Grants-in-aid and Ghana Local Government Grants Commission”, (Nsarkoh J.K. 1980: 80). John Nsarkoh pointed out that under the Busia regime, even though local government councils had power to generate revenue for the effective discharge of their duties and responsibilities, they could not do so. In another study, Nsarkoh concluded that available sources of revenue offered plenty of scope for expansion provided that the councils would apply themselves to the organisation of revenue collection as a matter of paramount importance by eliminating dishonest and corrupt tax collectors. (Nsarkoh J.K. 1977: 28). In support of Nsarkoh’s view is the study by Dankyi (Donkor Dankyi 1987) who investigated the extent and effects of financial problems facing local government councils in Ghana. Dankyi analysed local authority budget in the allocation of resources and examined the existing and possible new sources of revenue for local government units and came to the same conclusion as Nsarkorh. Another study on the problems of implementation of decentralisation programmes is that by Dzakpasu on the performance of the Dzodze Local Council between 1966 and 1969. He disclosed that inadequate financial capacity had been the major limitation on the development efforts of the Council. (Dzakpasu C.C.K. 1976) In a comparative study of the financial resources of some District Assemblies in five regions of Ghana, Joseph R.A. Ayee, stated that the District Assemblies in Ghana lacked the necessary revenue to cope with the numerous functions conferred on them by the Local Government Law 1988 (PNDC Law 207). He argued that some District Assemblies have as a result, resorted to the imposition of new and unsanctioned taxes on the people. (Ayee J.R.A. 1990: 46). 16.8 Personnel Aspects of Decentralisation in Ghana Apart from financial problems in the implementation of decentralisation policies, another work has touched on personnel and administrative problems. In her study entitled “Administrative Capabilities of District Councils” for instance, PepraOmani, argued that one of the most important factors which has contributed to low productivity of local authorities had been lack of qualified personnel to man the administration at the district level. She concluded that if local government bodies are to make any meaningful impact in their bid to promote development, then training of manpower should be given serious attention. (Pepra-Omani, R. 1986). 16. 9 Studies on Rural Development in Ghana Other works have focused on the question of development strategies adopted by Ghanaian governments in their development efforts. S.A. Nkrumah writing on “Centralised Administration and Rural Development in Ghana”, hypothesized that centralisation has caused rural atrophy in Ghana. To him, centralisation as a model of development has discouraged popular participation and generated apathy in people towards government. He concluded that centralisation as a model for development has failed to deliver the goods in Ghana. (Nkrumah S.A. 1979: 22). THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
Yaw Boachie-Danquah, in a study akin to Nkrumah’s one entitled “Crisis in Development: A Four-Factor Theory Towards Rural Development” analysed some of the causes of the failure of decentralisation programmes in Ghana. He blamed the failure on mismanagement, corruption, poor planning, poor calibre of staff, non-determination of national priorities, irresponsible defence spending, low agricultural output, weak currency and an almost cavalier towards public property. As a remedy, he propounded what he called “The Four Factor Theory for Development”. The theory involves four elements; basic needs strategy; industrial dispersal and special development agency strategy; institutional decentralisation strategy and integrated rural development strategy. (Boachie-Danquah Yaw 1984: 79). In his contribution to the existing literature on strategies for development, C.K. Brown propounded what he called “A package deal for Rural Development”. “His package deal” which is similar to Boachie-Danquah’s “Four Factor Theory” involves perceiving rural development as a comprehensive national programme and to include agricultural development; land reform, human resource development and the formation of development co-operatives. (Brown C. K. (a) 1976: 7). In another study entitled “Institutional Reforms Needed for a viable Rural Development” Brown added another reason for the failure of many rural development programmes. He noted that the inability of entrenched social, cultural, political and customary institutions and attitudes to adapt themselves to changes especially in the rural areas had accounted for the failure of many development programmes. He enumerated some of the development inhibiting attitudes as land tenure system, status re-enforcing customs, wasteful ceremonies and religious expenditures, unnecessarily extravagant funerals, negative attitudes towards birth and population control programmes and adherence to outmoded customs and taboos. (Brown, C.K. (b) 1976: 41). It is clear from the review of literature that there have been several studies on the problems associated with the implementation of decentralisation programmes in which the financial, personnel and administrative problems have featured prominently. It is true that finance and personnel problems are important in accounting for ineffectiveness of decentralised units of administration. From the bulk of literature reviewed, six conclusions may be drawn. First, in order to promote popular participation in decision-making processes, ensure accountability of the elected to the electorate and responsiveness and effectiveness, developing countries including Ghana, have transferred certain powers and functions to decentralised local bodies to provide certain services to their population. Second; the transfer of these functions were, in most cases, were not accompanied by adequate qualified staff and financial and material resources. This has resulted in the failure of many well-publicised decentralisation programme. Third, most of the decentralised local bodies lacked adequately trained manpower or personnel resources. This problem has accounted for mismanagement, poor planning, corruption and sheer incompetence. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
Four, there had been lack of adequate education on the real meaning of decentralisation programmes as well as lack of clearly defined functions, responsibilities and powers of the different actors in the drama of decentralisation. Five, the adherence to certain obsolete and unprogressive cultural, social and customary practices has impeded development efforts. Finally, central governments were particularly unwilling to transfer adequate power to the decentralised local bodies for fear of secessionist agitations and the pursuit of parochial interest. Instead they tended to re-concentrate power at the centre while giving profound publicity to decentralisation programmes. 16.10 Theoretical Framework of Decentralisation Decentralisation as a concept is loaded with a lot of confusion concerning its appropriate or exact meaning. This confusion surrounds not only the definition of the concept, but also the various forms of decentralisation which include devolution, deconcentration, privatisation and integrated or fused hierarchy model. (Cheema G.S. & Rondinelli 1983: 18). Despite this terminological confusion, decentralisation may be defined in general terms as “reversing the concentration of administration at a single centre and conferring power on local government units. (Mawuena Dotse F 1990: 43). Rondinelli and Cheema also defined decentralisation as “transferring of planning, decision-making or administrative authority from central government to its field organisations, local administrative units, semi-autonomous and parastatal organisations , local governments or non-governmental organisations”. (Cheema G.S. & Rondinelli 1983: 18). Diana Conyers sees decentralisation as more than just a form of sub-national organisation to which power and authority has been transferred. To her, it is an organisational form for remedying some of the problems related to development in the Third World. Decentralisation in this sense is considered as a tool or strategy for development. (Diana Conyers 1989: 14). Advocates of decentralisation have emphasized the claim that the concept brings about popular participation, responsiveness, accountability, speed, flexibility, coordination and stability in both the planning and implementation of development activities, thereby not only creating a more “democratic” society, but also making projects and programmes more relevant to local needs and demands and engendering local commitment and in some cases contributions in kind or in cash. (Cheema G.S. & Rondinelli 1983: 14). Decentralisation may speed up the process of decision-making since decisions can be made locally without reference to a higher level and enable administration to be more efficient, flexible and responsible to popular opinion. Decentralisation may encourage co-ordination between sectoral agencies at regional or local level thereby creating a more integrated approach to planning. For these reasons, decentralisation can at least in theory, result not only in a more effective and efficient use of local resources and government’s financial and manpower THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
resources, but also the development potential of the local population. (Diana Conyers 1989: 15). Finally, decentralisation has been seen as a means of strengthening development administration in rural areas. This is partly because attention has tended to focus on rural areas since it is there that the vast majority of the population of most less developed countries lives. (Diana Conyers 1989: 15). 16.11 Forms of Decentralisation The two types of decentralisation which are relevant to this article are devolution and deconcentration. Devolution is a more comprehensive form of decentralisation and entails the transfer of political authority to formally constituted sub-national units of government known as “local government�. (Cheema G.S. & Rondinelli 1983: 22). In a sense, devolution is power-sharing between the centre and its constituent parts, where specific functions and responsibilities are developed to these units of government in partnership system designed to promote national and local interest. Under devolution, which applies mostly in federal states, there exists miniature political system with an elected chief executive, a legislature and a well constituted judiciary. (Mawuena Dotse F 1990: 45). In its purest form, devolution has certain fundamental characteristics. First, local units of government are autonomous, relatively independent and clearly perceived as separate levels of government over which central authorities exercise little or not direct control. Secondly, the local government units have legally recognised geographical boundaries and perform public functions. Finally, devolution implies active popular participation in development efforts on reciprocal basis and in partnership with central government. Deconcentration; on the other hand, involves the redistribution of administrative responsibilities only within the central government. It principally entails the shifting of workload from central government ministries or headquarters to its own field staff located in offices outside the national capital without transferring to them the authority to make decisions or exercise discretion in carrying them out. (Cheema G.S. & Rondinelli 1983: 18) The Integrated Local Administration or the Mixed or Fused Hierarchy Model The integrated local administration or the mixed or fused hierarchy model exists where the central government field administration, as established usually through deconcentration is integrated or fused with representative local institutions. In such a situation, there is only one integrated or fused form of organisation for government and administration at the local level. This is made up of officials of both the central government and the peripheral institutions. The administration consequently established is usually headed by a central government appointee of the general administration type (prefect, governor, district commissioner, district secretary, etc). (Mawuena Dotse F 1990: 45). Although the integrated local administration or the fused hierarchy model has the advantage of minimizing conflicts and promoting co-ordination, it nevertheless, has the tendency to encourage central government domination of local government THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
institutions (Mawuena Dotse F 1990: 50) and an attempt to pursue participatory values without paying the political cost involved. (Mawuena Dotse F 1990: 13). Ghana during the 1974 decentralisation programme, adopted the integrated model by mergining local government services with central government appointed officials. The country’s decentralisation programme under the 1992 Constitution is also to a large extent, fashioned along lines of the integrated or fused hierarchy model. (Mawuena Dotse F 1990: 50). Writing on the fusion of activities of both central and local governments in Ghana, Akuoko-Frimpong stated that: … given the fusion of central government field administration with local government, the distinction between central and local governments has in effect been abolished; through a process of institutional integration and personnel absorption, a single integrated administration has been provided for each regional or district level. (Akuoko Frimpong H 1989: 4). 16.12 Relationship between Decentralisation and Development Development, in this study is conceived of as a multi-dimensional process involving major changes in social structures, popular attitudes and national institutions, as well as the acceleration of economic growth, reduction of inequality, eradication of absolute poverty, provision of employment and the basic necessities of life – water, food, clothing and shelter – without which life becomes impossible. Development is also characterised by a general movement away from those conditions of life widely perceived as unsatisfactory towards a situation or condition regarded as materially and spiritually better. (Todaro Michael P 1985: 85). In concrete terms, development involves such social goals as improved conditions of health and nutrition, augmented educational opportunities, expanded social welfare services and increased mobility, as well as such economic ones like raised incomes, higher agricultural production and increased employment opportunities. (Owusu-Ansah K. A 1976: 19). Attempts to decentralise administrative systems are seldom initiated solely for developmental reasons. This is because decentralisation is fundamentally a political process in the sense that it involves a change in the distribution of power and influence. For example, if local government units are dominated by opposition political groups in a multi-party system or if there is any risk of political secession. (Diana Conyers 1989: 15). It therefore becomes necessary to examine not only the developmental aspect of decentralisation but also its political role and dimension which are often very complex. For example, it is important to recognise the difference between “topdown” decentralisation, which is initiated at the national level of government and consists of the transfer of some of the powers and authority of the central government and the “bottom-up” decentralisation where the major initiative comes from local pressure groups seeking greater power and participation. (Diana Conyers, 1989: 16).
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Most of the recent decentralisation programmes in Africa (including the District Assemblies in Ghana) belong to the former category, since they were initiated at the national level. The division of Nigeria into states after the Biafran war of 1966/67 and the devolution of powers to the provinces in Southern Sudan are examples of “bottom-up” deconcentration. (Diana Conyers 1989: 15). Furthermore, since no government is likely to give away power willingly without good reason, one finds that “top-down” decentralisation programmes inevitably have some sort of ulterior political motives of a centralising nature in the sense that they are intended to strengthen, rather than weaken the role of central government. (Diana Conyers 1989:16). A good example, of this is the appointment of the District Chief Executives by the government as the Chief Executive Officers of a largely elected body of representatives as the District Assembly in Ghana. (Republic of Ghana (b) 1988: 6). 16.13 Conclusion Decentralisation may therefore be seen as a means of increasing democracy or tackling widely recognised social and economic problems or as a means of avoiding an even greater loss of power. Moreover, some fashionable and wellpublicised decentralisation programmes have strong elements of centralisation. This may mean the degree of decentralisation is actually very limited or that the reform involves both decentralisation and centralisation – in other words “the central government gives with one hand and takes back with other. There are other factors which have to be taken into consideration in analysing the role of decentralisation in development. Firstly, although decentralisation may have a positive impact in terms of achieving objectives such as popular participation, speed and flexibility and intersectoral coordination, it may, under certain conditions, hinder attempts to achieve other national objectives, such as the implementation of nationwide sectoral policies, reduction in public spending and inter-regional equity. Secondly, objectives such as popular participation, administrative efficiency and intersectoral co-ordination are very complex phenomena which are difficult to define precisely, let alone to actually achieve. Moreover, these objectives only constitute part of the overall objective of development. Finally, the extent to which decentralisation will achieve any objective will depend, to a very large extent, on the form of decentralisation adopted and the political willingness to genuinely involve the people in decision-making processes as against mobilising them to endorse a predetermined development agenda of the central government, which might not reflect the true wishes and development aspirations of the local people. 1.
References Akuoko-Frimpong H (1987) “Decentralised Administration: The Ghanaian Experience” Paper Prepared for The Commonwealth Secretariat Workshop on Training for decentralised Administration. (ASCON, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria. March, p. 4).
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2.
Asibuo S.K. (1990) “Case studies of African Experience in Decentralisation in the 1970’s and 1980’s; Lessons for the 1990’s”. The Journal of Management Studies. Third Series. Vol. 7. Jan. – Dec. pp. 45-54.
3.
Ayee J.R.A. (1992) “Decentralisation and Effective Government: The Case of Ghana’s District Assemblies, Africa Insight Vol. 22 No. 1 p. 49.
4.
Ayee J.R.A (1990) “The Functions and Financial Resources of the District Assemblies under the 1988, Local Government Law in Ghana”. The Journal of Management Studies; Third Series. Vol. 6. Jan. – Dec. p.46.
5.
Brown C.K (976) (a) “A Package Deal for Rural Development in Ghana”. Greenhill Journal of Administration. Vol. 3. Nos. 1 & 2. April – September, 1. pp. 7 – 18.
6.
Brown C.K (1976) (b) “Institutional Reforms Needed for a viable Rural Development Programme in Ghana”. Greenhill Journal of Administration. Vol. 3. Nos. 1 & 2. April - September,. pp. 41 – 51.
7
Cheema G.S. & D.A. Rondinelli (1983) (eds.) Decentralisation and Development: Policy Implementation in Developing Countries. (Beverly Hill. Sage), p.297.
8
Cheema G.S. & D.A. Rondinelli (1983) “Implementing Decentralisation Policies – An Introduction” in G.S. Cheema and D.A. Rondinelli (eds.) Decentralisation and Development: Policy Implementation in Developing Countries. (Beverly Hills: Sage,), p. 18.
9.
Diana Conyers (1989), “The Management and Implementation of Decentralised Administration in Africa” in Commonwealth Secretariat Decentralised Administration in Africa; Policies and Training Experiences. London: Commonwealth Secretariat,) p. 18.
10.
Donkor Dankyi (1987) A New Look at Financing Local Government in Ghana (Unpublished M.P.A. Thesis, University of Ghana, Legon).
11.
Dzakpasu C.C.K. (1976) Local Government in Dzodze, 1966 – 1969 (Unpublished M.A. Thesis, University of Ghana, Legon).
12.
Kwamena Ahwoi, “Local Government in Ghana” S.A. Nkrumah (ed) in Formative Period of Decentralisation in Ghana; An Evolution: A Report of the Third Annual Seminar on Decentralisation in Ghana School of Administration, University of Ghana, Legon, 1990. pp. 1 – 15.
13.
Mawuena Dotse F.; “Thoughts on the Concept of Decentralisation”. Greenhill Journal of Administration. Vol. 7. Nos. 1 & 2. Jan. – June, 1990. p. 43.
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14.
Ministry of Local Government (1991) From Centre to the Grassroots (Excerpts from selected speeches on the PNDC’s Decentralisation Policy – 1988/1991 (Accra: Venus Publication, p. 88).
15.
Nkrumah S.A. (1979) “Centralised Administration and Rural Development in Ghana – Hypotheses and Consequences”. The Journal of Management Studies. Second Series. Vol. II. No. 1. March, pp. 22 – 27.
16.
Nkrumah S.A.; “Trends in Local Government: Unresolved Issues” in Formative Period of Decentralisation in Ghana: A Report on the Third Annual Seminar on Decentralisation in Ghana. (Ed.) S.A. Nkrumah (School of Administration, University of Ghana, Legon. 1990. pp. 83 – 92).
17.
Nsarkoh J.K. (1977) A Second Look at Aspects of Local Government Finance in Ghana. (Accra: Research Project for the Ministry of Finance Ghana.). pp. 28 – 30.
18.
Nsarkoh J.K.; “Local Government Grants-in-Aid and Ghana Local Government Grants Commission” School of Administration, University of Ghana, Legon. Working Paper Series Vol. pp. 80 – 86. August, 1980.
19.
Owusu-Ansah K.A.; “Managing Rural Socio-Economic Development in Ghana – Towards Improved Performance”. Greenhill Journal of Administration Vol. 3, Nos. 182 April – September 1976. pp 19 –39.
20.
Pepra-Omani, R; Administrative Capabilities of District Councils: A test of the Impact of the Mills-Odoi Report on District Council Staffing, (Unpublished M.P.A. Thesis, University Ghana, Legon. 1986).
21.
Philip Mawhood (1983) (Ed) Local Government in the Third World: The Experience of Tropical Africa. (John Wiley & Son Ltd; Chichester, p. 1).
22.
Philip Mawhood (1987) “Decentralisation and the Third World in the 1980’s” Planning and Administration.. p. 13.
23.
Republic of Ghana; (a) District Political Authority and Modalities for District Level Elections (Accra: Ghana Publishing Corporation, July, 1987 p. 1).
24.
Republic of Ghana (1988) (b) Local Government Law 1988, PNDC Law 207. (Accra: Ghana Publishing Corporation Nov. p. 6).
25.
Republic of Ghana 1991 © Report of the Committee of Experts (Constitution) on Proposals for a Draft constitution (Accra: Ghana Publishing Corporation, July, p. 14).
26.
Rondinelli D.A.; “Government Decentralisation in Comparative Perspective: Theory and Practice in Development Countries: “International Review of Administrative Sciences” Vol. 47, 1981, pp. 22 – 42.
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27.
Samuel Humes (1970) “Local Government” Quarterly Journal of Administration. Vol. v. No. 1. Oct.. pp. 91 – 110.
28.
Samuel Humes (1973) “The Role of Local Government in Economic Development” Journal of Administration Overseas. Vol. xii, No. 1. Jan.. pp. 21 – 27.
29.
Todaro Michael (1985) Economic Development in the Third World. Third Edition. (Longman, Inc. New York p. 85).
30.
Yaw Boachie-Danquah (1984) “Crisis in Development: A Four Factor Theory towards Rural Development in Ghana”. Journal of Management Studies. Third Series. Vol. 1. No. 2. October,. pp. 79 – 92.
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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN TEN YEARS OF MEDIA AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY IN GHANA (1993-2003) 17.1 Introduction Mr. Chairman, Honourable Guest of Honour, the Chairman and Executives of the Volta Region Branch of the Ghana Journalists Association, members of the Inky Fraternity, Invited Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is with great pleasure and humility that I accepted the invitation by the Volta Region Branch of the Ghana Journalists Association to deliver a public lecture to commemorate World Press Freedom Day. My topic is, ‘Ten Years of Media and Public Accountability: Personal Perception of the Constitutional Duty of the Media to Uphold the Responsibility and Accountability of the Government to the People’ Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the organisers of this commemorative public lecture i.e. the Volta Region Branch of the Ghana Journalists Association for considering me worthy of invitation. Perhaps on an occasion like the World Press Freedom Day, I may be acquitted and discharged at the court of the Inky Fraternity if my personal perception of the topic is not entirely shared by the audience. If this happens, it will underscore a cardinal principle of press freedom. i.e. tolerance for dissenting views or opinions. Before I proceed to tackle the main issues involved in the topic, let me stir your minds and imagination with a series of rhetoric questions. What has been the state of the media in Ghana before and after the coming into effect of the 1992 Constitution? What has been the relationship with government? Whose interest have the media sought to champion? What has been the performance and impact of the media? What obstacles and challenges have they encountered? What professional and ethical standards have the media sought to maintain? Finally what prospects have the media in Ghana with regard to their constitutional duty of holding government responsible and accountable to the people for national development? Mr. Chairman, I do not pretend to have answers to these questions. I only consider them as the agenda for a meaningful discussion and debate on the constitutional duty of the media in Ghana. I propose, nevertheless, to discuss my perception of the constitutional duty of the media with these questions in mind. 17.2 The State of the Media and the Level of Free Press in Ghana Prior to the coming into effect of the 1992 Fourth Republic Constitution in 1993, some ten years ago, there was little press freedom in Ghana and life was comparable to life in the state of nature based on the principle of the survival of the fittest. The politically strong and powerful wilfully trampled upon the rights, liberties and freedom of the weak and vulnerable in society. The press - the Fourth Estate of the Realm - often looked on helplessly with its tail between its legs, as the weak and vulnerable suffered callous inhumanity from the strong and powerful. The existence of certain obnoxious laws on the Statute Books such as the Newspaper licensing Law, 1989 (PNDCL 211) and the Preventive Custody Law 1982 (PNDCL 4) gagged the private media in Ghana. PNDCL 211, for example, gave unlimited powers to THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
the government over the printing, publishing and circulation of any newspaper in the country. This law saw the death of the Legon Observer and the going into cold storage of the Catholic Standard, two private newspapers which were critical of the PNDC government. Under PNDCL 4, any person could be arrested and detained in “the interest of national security”. What, however, constituted a threat to national security was not defined by the Law. Government could therefore justify the arrest and detention of any individual provided that his/her activities were considered a threat to national security. In this state of affairs, there was hardly any peace and tranquillity and Ghanaians lived in a state of perpetual insecurity. Any contrary view or opinion on how the nation should be governed was labelled counter-revolutionary and rebellious. Media practitioners who criticised the government of the day were arrested, detained, tortured, hurriedly tried and sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment. They were released only upon promising to renounce and denounce printing and circulating “subversive materials”. This era in our history has come to be known as the era of the culture of silence. In fact, it was only “hot headed” academics and die-hard journalists like Professor Albert Adu Boahen, Kwesi Pratt Junior, Tommy Thompson, Kofi Koomson and Kwaku Baako Junior among a few others who could “talk” in those days. Though these people paid dearly for their bravery and patriotism, they have come to be recognised and respected as custodians of the struggle for freedom of the press in Ghana. Never in the history of the struggle against dictatorship in Ghana have so many people looked up to so few to fight a culture of silence and to establish freedom of the press. 17.3 Constitutional Duty of the Media The coming into force of the 1992 Fourth Republic Constitution in 1993, created a new media landscape that guaranteed the freedom and independence of the press. The Constitution provides for the establishment of private press or media without interference from and control by government. Media practitioners shall not be punished or harassed for their editorial opinions or views and shall be free at all time to uphold the principles, provisions and objectives of the 1992 Constitution. The Constitution further provides that state-owned media shall afford fair and equitable opportunities and facilities for the presentation of divergent views or dissenting opinions. Today, as we commemorate World Press Freedom Day, Ghana has a free and vibrant private print and electronic media working vigorously to offer alternative views on national issues to compliment the role of the state-owned media. And today, media practitioners can wag their tails in a newly found freedom, something they hardly did before the coming into effect of the 1992 Constitution In spite of the initial confusion and conflict that characterised the allocation of frequency, private broadcasting and private television have become important aspects of our quest for press freedom and pluralistic democracy. The numerous FM stations and the few private television stations, we now have, are monuments to the changing press freedom landscape in Ghana. Further impetus has been given to the changing media scene with the abolition of the Criminal Libel Law from the Statute Books by the NPP Government.
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17.4 Relationship between the Media and Government Before the advent of the 1992 constitution in Ghana, the presence and work of the private press was hardly visible. The state owned media under the Ministry of Information dominated the media landscape. Government control and manipulation of the media was total, particularly during the PNDC days. The promulgation of the 1992 Constitution saw the springing up of the private media as principal players in our democratic discourse. Relations between the press and the government from 1993 to 2000 had not been cordial. The private press was referred to by government officials as “opposition press”, and they were excluded from covering events at the Castle, the seat of government during this period. To bridge this gap between the press and the government as well as the public, the Ghana Journalists Association, (comprising state and private media practitioners) established the GJA Media Encounter Programme. Despite these efforts, government and the private press had not been good bed fellows until after the 2000 elections. 17.5 Interests Championed by the Media The vision, mission and objectives of a newspaper inform its editorial direction and the stance it must take on controversial issues of national importance. It is a socio-political reality that the press in Ghana is under various influences, philosophies and orientations which invariably determine the touch and taste of their output. Publications are funded by or sympathetic to certain political persuasions or organisational interests. Educational level, ideological orientation, social status, political affiliation, hero worship, the complex net-work of patron-client relationship, reporter biases and even religious inclinations have affected final media output over the past 10 years. Consequently, objectivity has come to be seen as the view point that closely represents your personal position or analysis of the issue at stake and not necessarily what most closely represents “the truth” or “reality”. Regarding the editorial direction and stance of the press, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, in his contribution to an overview of the media had this to say in August 1995: “It would be the height of irresponsibility if journalists were to be neutral in the confrontation between right and wrong, between justice and injustice and between democracy and dictatorship. The journalist ought to have a commitment to the prosperity of himself and society………. which guarantees the fundamental human rights of the people” Perhaps one cannot agree more with Kwesi Pratt on this position. 17.6 Performance and Impact of the Media on National Development and Democracy Despite the imperfections that are the lot of the media industry in the developing world, the media in Ghana in my opinion have performed creditably on the whole and have had a positive impact on society. The press has played its role of educating, informing and entertaining the public with zeal and commitment. The watch dog role of the media, particularly the private print media has been pushed to new heights during the past 10 years. For example, the other side to issues of national interest like the Keta Sea Defence Project, the Quality Grain scandal, the Presidential jet affair, corruption among certain public officials, ghost names on payrolls, payment for supplies not delivered and contracts THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
not executed, arrest and torture of suspects and other fragrant violations of human rights were articulated by the press in Ghana. At this point, it may be instructive to quote what Professor Kofi Kumado, former Chairman of the National Media Commission had to say on the performance of the press in Ghana: “In a continent where the political leadership has persuaded itself that the true path to national development and survival is harmonisation and subordination by any means of all centres of influence and power to the state and its functions, the media have justified the trust reposed in them by the constitution by serving as a major independent counterpoise”. 17.7 Problems and Challenges to the Media Industry in Ghana Practitioners and advocates of press freedom are faced with a bewildering diversity of problems and challenges in their business of criticising and holding government accountable for its stewardship. I have no intention of discussing these problems and challenges. But I cannot resist the temptation to catalogue them. For example: • Low remuneration and poor conditions of service and the inability of the media industry to attract and retain staff. • Exorbitant cost of inputs e.g. equipment like printing machines, films, spare parts, transport, newsprint and stationery. • Lack of funding i.e. poor capitalisation and limited capacity to generate revenue due to high production costs. • Threats to and intimidation of journalists by officials of state and other pockets of power and influence in the country, including the use of unconventional and unethical methods like the spreading of shit on their premises. • Arrest, detention and torture of media practitioners very critical of government policies and activities. • Defamation and libel suits, the demand for apologies, retractions and the obligation to publish rejoinders. • Doubts about the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and its implications for the media industry and practitioners. • Other occupational hazards, including the temptation to practise “stomach journalism” or “cheque book journalism” among others. These problems and challenges, Mr. Chairman, often frustrate the resolve and commitment of media practitioners and advocates of press freedom to hold government responsible and accountable to the people. 17.8 Professional Excellence and Ethical Standards In the quest for professional excellence and the maintenance of certain standards, the media industry and practitioners in Ghana are guided by a code of ethics crafted in 1994 in Sunyani by the Ghana Journalists Association in collaboration with other stakeholders in the struggle for press freedom. This code of ethics has guided some journalists to become shining examples of journalistic excellence in Ghana. Other journalists have however often fallen foul of these ethical standards. Sections of the private media are most guilty of sensational, abusive and unacceptable use of language. For example, there have been headlines like: “Rawlings is Konongo Kaya” “Vice President’s (Arkaah) appetite for young girls” and that he was “Senile and impotent upstairs but active in between the thighs,” in reference to the Jemina Yalley affair. “J.J. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
orders thugs to kill – 12 shot in Anti VAT March” appeared after the ‘Kumipreko Demonstrations’. Recently, during the ‘March for Survival’ by the National Democratic Congress (NDC), some placards read “Kufuor papa shoe shine”, ‘ Kufuor mame kayaye’. There have been headlines that bore little relationship with their contents in some private newspapers. Grammatical mistakes and incorrect use of idioms have often cast a slur on the training and standing of some reporters. The public has often been left wondering whether the editors of these private newspapers read the stories before publication. There have been media wars whereby newspapers fiercely engaged in war of words against one another. By far the most disturbing tendency on the part of the media today is what has come to be known as the dictatorship of the media in Ghana. Having been at the receiving end of all dictatorial regimes in Ghana, media practitioners are themselves becoming ironically dictatorial and increasingly intolerant of criticism. These shortcomings on the part of some media practitioners have brought the struggle for professional excellence and the maintenance of ethical standards into disrepute. This type of journalism can create social tension and disunity which make national integration and development rather difficult to attain. 17.9 Prospects of the Media in Ghana The guaranteeing of press freedom in the 1992 Constitution, the establishment of the National Media Commission to regulate the exercise of press freedom, the adoption of a code of ethics to guide media practitioners in their conduct and the abolition of the Criminal Libel Law from the Statute Books have created an enabling legal environment for a vibrant media industry. It is now left to media practitioners to seize this opportunity to exercise their legitimate duty of making government responsible and accountable to the people. 17.10 Conclusion It is gratifying to be able to say that the media in Ghana have performed creditably, in the past 10 years, despite the constraints under which they have had to operate. There have been a few excesses in sensationalism and the use of abusive language by some practitioners. This has often brought their professional excellence and ethical standards into disrepute. The present legal environment is conducive for press freedom. As we commemorate World Press Freedom Day, the challenges facing the media would have to be confronted with collective determination by all Ghanaians if the holding of government responsible and accountable to the people is to be realised. Journalists and other principal stakeholders in the struggle for press freedom should therefore never fear to write, nor write out of fear. References 1. Republic of Ghana: Constitution of the Republic of Ghana 1992 (Chapter 12) 2. Kwesi Afriyie Badu & Kabral Blay Amihere (Ed): State of the Media in Ghana 1994 –1995. Friedrich Ebert Foundation Accra, (1995) 3. Kabral Blay Amihere & Niyi Alabi (Ed): State of the Media in West Africa (1995 – 1996) Friedrich Ebert Foundation Accra March 1996. 4. Aloysius Denkabe Audrey Gadzekpo: What is fit to Print? Language of the Press in Ghana. (Friedrich Ebert Foundation, 1996 Accra) THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
5.
K.A. Ninsin & F.K. Drah (Ed): The search for Democracy in Ghana (A case study of Political instability in Africa (Asempa Publishers) Accra 1997. 6. Albert Adu Boahen: The Ghanaian Sphinx: Reflections on the Contemporary History of Ghana. Accra. Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences 1989. 7. K.A. Kinsin & F.K. Drah (Ed) Ghana’s Transition to Constitutional Rule (Ghana Universities Press) Accra 1991 8. Ali A. Mazrui, Violence and Thought, London: Longman’s Green & Co. Ltd. 1969. 9. West African Journalists Association: (WAJA) Accra Declaration on Media and Democracy in West Africa, (Friedrich Ebert Foundation) March 1996, Accra. 10. 11. 12. Ltd
Prof. Henrietta Mensah-Bonsu: Law and the Journalist (Friedrich Ebert Foundation 1997 Accra). Salf Siepman: Developing Media in the Third World: Project Examples, Friedrich Ebert Foundation (Germany 1990) Bonnah Koomson (Ed) Prospects for Private Broadcasting in Ghana (Gold Type 1995 Accra, Ghana)
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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN THE YOUTH AS CATALYSTS FOR CONSOLIDATING DEMOCRACY, PEACE AND STABILITY IN GHANA 18.1 Introduction Mr. Chairman, Honourable Ministers of state, The Regional Co-ordinating Director, District Chief Executives, The Regional Co-ordinator, National Youth Council, Heads of Departments/Institutions, Youth Participants, Distinguished Invited Guests, the Press, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is with great pleasure and humility that I accepted the invitation by the Regional Minister and the Regional Co-ordinating Council to deliver this lecture as part of activities marking the 2nd National Youth Camp for Peace at Ho, in the Volta Region on the topic; ‘The Youth, a Catalyst for Consolidating Democracy, Peace and Stability.’ Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports for this initiative and to express my gratitude to the Regional Co-ordinator, National Youth Council and the sponsors of this programme for the honour done me and Ho Polytechnic by their invitation. You may agree with me that to give a lecture on as complex a topic as ‘The Youth, a Catalyst for Consolidating Democracy, Peace and Stability’ is no easy task. In a country where there is no definitive and comprehensive youth policy, I consider the topic one of the most challenging assignments I have ever been confronted with. I will, however, make an attempt to share my thoughts on the topic by first stirring your imagination with the following series of rhetoric questions. • What is a peaceful and a stable democracy? • What are the basic essentials of a peaceful and a stable democracy? • What should be the role of the youth in consolidating democracy, peace and stability? • What are the challenges and threats to the youth in serving as catalysts for consolidating democracy, peace and stability? • Who should provide the enabling environment and capacity for the youth to play their role in consolidating democracy, peace and stability? Mr. Chairman, let no one be deceived into thinking that I possess answers to these questions. I only consider them as the agenda for a meaningful discussion and debate on the topic. I propose, however, to discuss the topic with these questions in mind. 18.2 Democracy Peace and Stability The word “democracy” originated from two Greek words “demos” which means people and “kratis” which means statecraft or government. Hence the simplest meaning of democracy is “government of the people”. Perhaps the most famous definition of democracy is the one given by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States in his Gettysburg Address of 1863, as “a government of the people, by the people and for the THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
people”. Peace may be defined as a situation or period of time in which there is no war or violence in a country. Peace in a broader sense is not just the absence of physical violence or war, but also includes the freedom from fear, discrimination, intimidation and psychological violence. Stability may be seen as the quality or state of being steady or not being disturbed in any way. A catalyst, on the other hand, may be defined as any substance, object or person that facilitates the process of change but does not become a victim of that change. Mr. Chairman, after giving an operational definition of the main concepts in the topic, permit me to examine the concept of democracy a little further. There are two main types of democracy, direct or Athenian democracy and indirect or representative democracy. Under direct or Athenian democracy, all free born men met at the Acropolis in Athens to participate directly in decision making processes. Under this type of democracy, slaves, women and foreigners were excluded from participation. This type of direct democracy still takes place in small towns and villages in Africa, whereby adults meet under trees, at market squares, community centres or the palace of the chief to deliberate on issues affecting the town or village. If this is done in a peaceful and stable environment, devoid of fear and intimidation, threat of victimisation, discrimination, violence, death or fear of death, then we can say there is democracy, peace and stability in the country concerned. With the growth in population and the complexity of modern government, indirect or representative democracy has come to replace direct or Athenian democracy. Under representative government, a country is divided into constituencies and each constituency elects persons or a person to represent them in parliament. The electorate have the right to vote, criticise their representative on his/her performance and vote him/her out of office during the next elections if his/her performance does not meet the expectations of the electorate. There are other variants of representative democracy like liberal democracy based on multi-party and plural participation, non-liberal or communist or socialist or people’s democracy normally based on single party or no-party participation. One thing that underscores representative democracy is the philosophy and principle that the power to govern emanates from the people hence whoever governs must do so with the consent of the governed and must be responsible and accountable to the people. 18.3 Basic Essentials of a Peaceful and Stable Democracy For a country to be regarded democratic, certain basic conditions must exist. Since time will not allow me to discuss them in detail, I will only outline them. • Responsibility and accountability of the government to the people because all powers of government spring from the sovereign will of the people. • The rule of law - supremacy of the law, equality of all before the law and the absence of arbitrary rule and guaranteed human rights. For example, the right to life, the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment, freedom of thought, expression, conscience and religion, freedom from unlawful arrest, the right to own property etc. as contained in the chapter 5 of the 1992 Constitution. • An independent electoral commission to conduct free and fair elections at periodic intervals to ensure orderly transfer of political power. • The existence and practice of universal adult suffrage - one man one vote. • A free press, to defend and protect the rights and privileges of the people. • An independent judiciary with power to review legislative enactments and executive actions found to be inconsistent with the constitution. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
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The need for a well informed and critically minded electorate through vigorous and sustained educational campaigns by state institutions like the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the print and electronic media, educational institutions, political parties and civil society organisations. Participation of the people in social and political activities through their elected representatives at all levels of government. Finally, the satisfaction of the basic needs of the people – like water, food, shelter, health, clothing, education, employment and decent income, provision of road, electricity, transport and the protection of human rights.
18.4 The Role of the Youth in Consolidating Democracy Peace and Stability For the purpose of this lecture, the youth are indiscriminately defined as all persons between the ages of 10 and 30years. This segment forms about 40% of the Ghanaian population. Formulating a coherent and an all embracing policy for the youth appears to be a problem for Ghana. There was however an attempt in the Ghana-Vision 2020 Development Plan to provide a blue-print for the mobilisation, organisation and coordination of the energies of the youth for development. A careful study of the section of this Plan on the youth seems to suggest an emphasis on school dropouts, youth without any employable skills and the unemployed youth. But for the purpose of consolidating democracy, peace and stability, the youth in school and out of school, the youth with and without employable skills and the unemployed as well as the employed youth should be of interest to us as Ghanaians. There are many examples of the youth working actively to promote democracy, peace and stability in Ghana. For instance, the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), the Ghana National Union of Polytechnic Students (GNUPS), youth associations of political parties and religious bodies, old boys and girls associations, student representative councils of the various educational institutions and affiliated youth groups of NGOs like Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, and the Red Cross etc. These youth groups have served as agents of socialisation, change and national integration. They also serve as informed peer pressure groups to influence policies to their advantage or to protest against policies perceived to be inimical to their interest or to help implement certain policies of their mother organisations. Most of these youth groups often have their own constitutions in which procedures for electing and removing office holders, standing orders for conducting business etc are stated. The beauty of these youth groups is that their membership cuts across ethnic, social, religious, political and economic barriers. The opportunity offered the youth to associate with other youth groups from other regions and ethnic groups, creates a unique chance for national integration and consolidation of democracy, peace and stability in Ghana. In addition, the youth especially those 18 years and above, who are registered voters can and should participate in the electoral process not only as voters, but also as candidates at all levels of leadership. The educated and articulate youth have taken interest in national issues by writing to and reading newspapers, phoning in and listening to radio and watching television. They have criticised government policies and offered suggestions for improvement. In availing themselves of these opportunities the youth serve as catalysts for furthering the cause of democracy, peace and stability. THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
Unfortunately, however, the activities of these enlightened youth groups are normally not carried out on sustainable basis and have often been limited to the urban centres and the campuses of our institutions of higher learning. The majority of the youth staying out of school and those in the rural areas are usually denied the privilege of participating in organised youth activities. If democracy, peace and stability are to be consolidated into national development then majority of our youths should be covered by and incorporated into youth programmes. 18.5 Challenges and Threats to the Youth in Serving as Catalysts for Consolidating Democracy, Peace and Stability The desire to have a well informed and critically minded youth, capable of consolidating democracy, peace and stability is bedevilled by serious challenges and threats. In the first place, there is no National Youth Policy to provide a comprehensive framework for mobilising the youth for national integration and development. Secondly, Moral and Civic Education are hardly considered academic disciplines of importance in our educational institutions. Hence majority of our youths leave school with little or no knowledge about their moral and civic responsibilities. This might perhaps, explain the spate of indiscipline and moral bankruptcy in our schools and among the youth outside school today. Institutions of state like the National Youth Council, the churches, schools and other civil society organisations have the social and moral duty to guide the youth to responsible adulthood. Unfortunately, the lack of adequate funding, equipment, transport and the impact of foreign cultures have militated against them in the performance of their duties. The mistake has often been made that the education of the youth is the sole responsibility of the schools and the National Youth Council. In fact, it is the responsibility of all Ghanaians – government institutions, civil society, the media, NGOs, our educational institutions and religious bodies. The lack of involvement of these bodies in issues affecting the youth is a major threat to our resolve to build a peaceful, stable and a democratic culture. The youth in Ghana today are so much overwhelmed by problems peculiar to them. Majority of the youths are still confronted with difficulty in getting access to institutions of higher learning, because of the large number of school leavers. The high dropout rate and the frustrations that go with it have demoralised the youth. Even when admission is given, the problem of feeding and accommodation and the payment of school fees have become unbearable to most parents. Most youths are out of school and there is an increasing rate of unemployment among them because the economy is not expanding as expected. Furthermore, vices like addiction to and abuse of drugs; resort to alcoholic drinks; aggressive and intolerant behaviour; negative peer pressure and indiscipline; poor parental upbringing; lack of opportunities for self-development; sexual bribery and harassment and a conspiracy of silence from some adults, have compounded the problems of the youth in Ghana. The already bad situation in which the youth find themselves has been aggravated by many negative examples, double standards and hypocrisy from adult members of society, the very people who are supposed to guide and mentor the youth to responsible adulthood. For example the youth see some adults: THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
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Smoke and tell the youth smoking is bad so they should refrain from smoking, yet they sometimes send the youth to buy them cigarettes. • Drink alcohol and tell the youth drinking alcohol is bad, but they send the youth to buy them alcohol. • Advertise alcoholic drinks on our national radio and television stations for the sake of money and pretend it will have no effect on the youth. • Insult people of other ethnic groups before their children but tell their children not to insult people. • Go after girls young enough to be their daughters but tell their own daughters to be cautious of men. • Watch pornographic films secretly but prohibit their children from doing so. All these examples of double standards and hypocrisy from adult members of society create confusion in the minds of the youth and undermine their desire and efforts to work for the consolidation of democracy, peace and stability of the nation. 18.6 Enabling Environment and Capacity for the Youth to play their Role as Catalysts in Consolidating Democracy, Peace and Stability Having discussed the challenges and threats faced by the youth in playing the role expected of them in consolidating democracy, it will be instructive to confront these threats and challenges to create the desired capacity and enabling environment for the youth. If the challenges and threats are confronted, the youth will better act as agents of social change in the process of political transformation and consolidation of democracy, peace and stability. The first step in creating this enabling environment and capacity building for the youth is to have a National Youth Policy which will provide a comprehensive framework for mobilising the youth for national integration and development. Secondly, Moral and Civic Education should be made core subjects in the junior and senior secondary schools. This would promote the education of the youth in their civic and moral responsibilities, discipline, good governance and leadership training which are prerequisites for democracy, peace and stability. Furthermore, bodies like the National Youth Council, the media, civil society, religious bodies and NGOs should join the civic and moral education campaign to promote the culture of tolerance to ensure stability of our democracy. Youth and student groups like the NUGS, GNUPS, the SRCs of the various educational institutions and other youth groups should take active interest in national issues and act as pressure groups to promote good governance and the provision of basic needs of the people, like the right to education, health, shelter, food, water and the protection of human rights. This will provide the enabling environment for the youth to serve as catalysts for consolidating democracy, pe 18.7 Conclusion There is no definitive and comprehensive youth policy in Ghana. This has made the mobilisation, organisation and co-ordination of the youth for consolidating democracy, peace and stability difficult. The hard and harsh reality is that majority of the youth in Ghana today, hardly have any emotional peace hence they are not stable. Perhaps, this is on account of the fact that Moral and Civic Education as academic disciplines have not been given the attention they deserved in Ghana. The National Youth Council which is the THE TRIPPLE HERITAGE OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICA
body constitutionally mandated to oversee the affairs of the youth, is constrained by inadequate funding and logistics support to reach out to the youth in and out of school. In addition, the youth are confronted, as never before, with serious problems of existence, like dropping out of school, lack of employable skills, unemployment and the threat of being wiped out by the HIV/AIDS diseases, bad examples from adults and the impact of foreign cultures. These problems have conspired to undermine the role of the youth in consolidating democracy, peace and stability in Ghana. If the youth are to play their expected role in consolidating democracy, peace and stability the problems facing them must be quickly tackled and promptly resolved, with a collective commitment by all Ghanaians.
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References 1. Mike Oquaye (Ed.) - Democracy and Conflict Resolution in Ghana Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Accra 1995 2. Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences - Making Democracy Work in the 4th Republic, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Accra 1998. 3. Niyi Alabi – Parliamentary Democracy in West Africa, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Accra 1998. 4. Republic of Ghana – Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. 5. K.A. Ninsin & F.K. Drah (Eds) - The Search for Democracy in Ghana, Asempa Publishers, Accra 1987. 6. K.A. Ninsin & F.K. Drah (Eds) - Ghana’s Transition to Constitutional Rule, Ghana Universities Press, Accra 1991. 7. Kwaku Addeah - Principles of Modern Government, Accra 1979. 8. Albert Adu Boahen - The Ghanaian Sphinx: Reflections on the Comtemporary History of Ghana, 1972 – 87 Accra, Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1989. 9. Mike Oquaye - Politics in Ghana, 1972 - 1979, Accra, Tornado Publication 1980. 10. McIlawain CH, Constitutionalism: Ancient and Modern, Revised Edition London Carnel University Press, 1947. 11. Vile, M.J.C. - Constitutionalism and the Separation of Powers, London Oxford University Press 1967. 12. Wheare, K.C. - Modern Constitutions: London, Oxford University Press, 1966. 13. Republic of Ghana - Ghana-Vision 2020. The Medium-Term Development Plan (1997-2000) Accra, July, 1997.
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