Fifty years on, it is yet to be discovered whether the legacy of colonialism will be brief or long lasting.
This year 17 African countries have been celebrating the 50th anniversary of independence — from the largest, such as Nigeria and the former Belgian (now Democratic Republic of) Congo, to the vulnerable, like Niger and Somalia.
But how deep was the impact of European colonialism? Was it exceptional in its repercussions? Or was the Eurocolonial century just a short chapter in millennia of African history? Some African historians believe that, despite its relative brevity, the impact of colonialism on Africa has been of epic proportions, deep and wide-ranging. Others, though, argue that the imperial period was often little more than an episode, its impact unjustifiably exaggerated — one reason why European institutions transplanted to Africa have not taken root. And only because our generation is so close to the era of colonialism does its influence loom so large.
The shallowness of transplanted European institutions is best illustrated in the Belgian Congo. The so-called national army mutinied within little more than a month of independence. The richest province at the time — Katanga — declared its secession soon after. The President, Josef Kasavubu, and the Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, declared each other illegitimate, and before long the latter was assassinated. Since then millions of people have died, and hundreds of thousands of women have been assaulted. The Congo has remained the ultimate example of Africa's chronic instability.
The artificial boundaries of African colonies have made it hard to integrate the populations into real nations. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be haunted by perennial ethnic rivalries, while Arab Africa has suffered from periodic conflicts between Islam and secularism.
Postcolonial African economies have suffered from shortages of skills and an abundance of corruption.
Three codes of conduct (indigenous, Islamic and western) have created moral incoherence, at least for the time being. Indeed, the Somali militants seem to have traversed a whole span from pastoralism to piracy.
What the imperials would say
On the other hand, the epic school of imperial historiography would argue that European colonialism prepared Africa for participation in global affairs. The continent has produced two secretaries general of the United Nations (Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Kofi Annan), and a dozen Africans have won Nobel prizes, predominantly for peace, literature and physics.
The epic school also celebrates Africa's initiation into modern science and technology, the partial eradication of deadly diseases, and enhanced infrastructure — in communications, electrification and modern cities. Many of these changes are irreversible.
But what are the signs for the next 50 years of postcolonial Africa? Most of the continent is still in a pre-democracy era, and many elections are notoriously rigged. However, most African countries stand a good chance of becoming democratised. The real test is when an incumbent president or political party allows itself to be peacefully voted out of office — not once, but at least twice. Ghana, which led sub-Saharan Africa in the attainment of independence in 1957, has satisfied that condition.
But there are countries that are unlikely to be democratised before the end of this century. Particularly vulnerable are dual societies, where two rival ethnic groups account for the majority of the population — notably Burundi and Rwanda (with their Hutu/Tutsi rivalry). Other states that may find democracy elusive are those that have a long history of nomadic lifestyles, or of ordered anarchy, where governance tends to rely more on consensus than on state coercion.
And then there are countries that were ordered tyrannies in pre-colonial times: Ethiopia, Egypt and Libya had a history of indigenous dictatorship long before European colonial rule. In the postcolonial era it is almost certain that their centuries-old pharaonic and dynastic legacies will slow down democratisation.
Role of religion
And can Christianity and Islam, both growing in influence across Africa, co-exist peacefully? In reality Christianity and Islam are divisive in Africa if they reinforce prior linguistic and ethnic divisions. Nigeria, for example, has the largest number of Muslims in Africa: almost all its Hausa population are Muslims, almost all its Igbo are Christians, and the Yoruba are split in the middle. Thus Islam reinforces Hausa identity; Christianity reinforces Igbo identity; and Yoruba nationalism unites its people regardless of religion.
Islam and Christianity divide northern and southern Sudan mainly because the two regions were already divided by even deeper pre—colonial cultural differences. On the other hand Senegal, a 90 per cent Muslim country, repeatedly voted after independence for a Christian president, and his successor had a Roman Catholic first lady.
This degree of ecumenical democracy has not been achieved in the west. And in producing a female head of state, Africa has done something that has proved beyond the United States, France and Russia.
The years ahead in Africa will likely be ones of continuing struggle, but we should ultimately discover if its colonial transformation has been deep and epic, or merely shallow and episodic. (Professor Ali Mazrui is director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies, Binghamton University, and senior scholar in Africana Studies at Cornell University, both in New York state.)— © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2010
Keywords: Congo, African republic, European colonialism, religious belief, Christianity, Islam
As Somali, I would like to add that most of the pirate operate from Puntland regional in NorthEast Somalia. This is an area that greatly works with the US. The US Administration choose not stop it for whatever reasons they have. They could swoop the whole pirate groups in one day. What is stopping it, it does enter anytime it wants in Somalia lands and Seas. Pirates as whole has nothing to do with Islamic religion. They were formerly fishermen who were terrorized by foreign fishing vessels. Once they tested the money though, the whole patriotic changed to opportunity.
It is good that The Hindu has published this op-ed article on the half century celebrations of 17 African nations which will set our authorities to ponder on what we have done so far for the development of African nations especially for the improvement of its peoples’ health, education, skills and their local employment potential. At every conference of western powers, their development aid to African nations is ritually debated, and goals reiterated in their hand-outs. The last decade’s developments in Africa have a new dimension, of China’s foray into Africa. Western media, especially the Guardian has been carrying articles periodically about how China’s relentless pursuit of its raw materials and energy resources/ requirements from African nations have angered African people In unlikely forums such as that of Commonwealth Lawyers’s Meet a paper by an African banker catalogued what he referred to as “eye-popping” details of how China plundered resources from the forests of African nations cutting more wood than permitted and even carrying them as round wood without allowing the local infant industry to cure it and improve their economies by adding in a small measure to their employment and income. Recently, the western press reported from a leaked World Bank report that investors from rich nations are buying up African land and that local producers were being marginalized. The Economist observed in one of its surveys that “in its drive to secure reliable supply of raw materials it is said that China is coddling dictators, depriving poor countries and undermining western efforts (?) to spread democracy and prosperity.” Occasionally we see lament from western nations that they are losing out in Africa. An ethnic Indian heading one such company spoke of his company’s annual sales surpassing a billion dollar in the next decade. Recently, this respondent saw an advertisement from a Bangalore based horticulture company of how they were buying land at Ethiopia at low rates and about the profits it would generate for its international venture. It appeared to me that we are trying to ape the Chinese in becoming like them, a new colonialist. Pandit Nehru often used to talk of Afro-Asian vision. After him, our emphasis on African front slowed down a lot. Now we have been talking for the last over a decade of our Look East Policy. When we are seeking the support of the big powers to our claim for a permanent seat in the UNSC, we would do well to make a meaningful contribution for the development of the projects in African and Asian nations. A beginning could be made to canalise our efforts in African nations towards infrastructural development, health and education. The least we could do is to enhance the number of scholarships to young Africans for higher studies in Indian universities and educational institutions.
It is good that The Hindu has published this op-ed article on the half century celebrations of 17 African nations which will set our authorities to ponder on what we have done so far for the development of African nations especially for the improvement of its peoples, health, education, skills and their local employment potential. The article refers to European colonialism and its impact on African nations. It also refers to post colonial African nations suffering because of shortage of skills on the one hand and corruption on the other. At every conference of western powers, their development aid to African nations is ritually debated, and goals reiterated in their hand-outs. The last decade's developments in Africa have a new dimension, of China's foray into Africa. Western media, especially the Guardian has been carrying articles periodically about how China's relentless pursuit of its raw materials and energy resources requirements from African nations have angered African people In unlikely forum such as that of Commonwealth Lawyers's Meet held at Nairobi a few years back, a paper read by an African banker catalogued what he referred to as "eye-popping" details of how China plundered resources from the forests of African nations cutting more wood than permitted and even carrying them as round wood without allowing the local infant industry to cure it and improve their economies by adding in a small measure to their employment and income. Recently, the western press reported from a leaked World Bank report that investors from rich nations are buying up African land and that local producers were being marginalized. The Economist observed in one of its surveys that "in its drive to secure reliable supply of raw materials it is said that China is coddling dictators, depriving poor countries and undermining western efforts" to spread democracy and prosperity. Occasionally we see lament from western nations that they are losing out in Africa. Duncan Clarke in his book “Crude Continent” observes that “Africa is a strategic resource base for the modern-industrialised world”. He estimates that as against some 20 oil and gas producers in sub-Saharan Africa, the number will double by 2030. John Vidal writing from the Congo for the Guardian noted that for “bags of sugar and a few bars of soap, foreign loggers gain rights to one of the greatest forests in the world”.
A western report envisions the emerging middle class of Africa estimated at 300 million increasing its)business opportunities. An ethnic Indian heading one such company spoke of his company’s annual sales surpassing a billion dollar in the next decade. Recently, this respondent saw an advertisement from a Bangalore based horticulture company of how they were buying land at Ethiopia at low rates and about the profits it would generate for its international venture. It appeared to me that we are trying to ape the Chinese in becoming like them, a new colonialist.
It was also a comical situation to find China describing how they were – a totalitarian country –putting up massive parliamentary buildings. I was hoping that our foreign ministers or secretaries or embassies would tell them that we shall not only build buildings as massive as the Chinese could do, but also unlike Chinese educate them how in the last 63 years we have developed our own way of parliamentary democracy after the British left. Sadly, as usual there was silence from our government.
Pandit Nehru often used to talk of Afro-Asian vision. After him, our emphasis on African front slowed down a lot. Now we have been talking for the last over a decade of our Look East Policy. When we are y seeking the support of the big powers to our claim for a permanent seat in the UNSC, we would do well to make a meaningful contribution for the development of the projects in African and Asian nations. This does not come out from an empty rhetoric but needs a strong government single-mindedly pursuing developmental efforts, rooting out corruption, observing financial conservatism avoiding profligacy and operating a meaningful parliamentary democracy. A beginning could be made to canalise our efforts in African nations towards infrastructural development, health and education. The least we could do is to enhance manifold the number of scholarships we give to young Africans for higher studies in Indian universities and educational institutions.
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