REVOLUTIONARY GREETINGS FELLOW AFRIKANS!!!

As I always like to point out,we as a people need to always take time off
and re-examine ourselves as we make our efforts in achieving for ourselves
freedom and prosperity. We need to review our srategies, our strengths and
weaknesses and our location in the world and of course we need to study the
world itself and the forces that operate in it so that we will be
controllers of the world and our destiny, and not the other way round. As we
undertake this task we also need to determine the forces that obstruct us,
in terms of their strength and weaknesses, and the means they use to keep us
down. Any soldier who wants to win a war have to first of all know the power
of the adversary, and the ways of that enemy. This gives you the opportunity
to properly locate yourself and plan so as to position your arms in a manner
that will ensure maximum destruction of the enemy with minimum resources in
minimum time! Great generals like Hannibal employed such a strategy and he
beat the Romans with bigger forces! For those who do not know, the victory
of Desert Storm in the Gulf led by General Schwarpkof followed exactly the
strategy of Hannibal, and the Allies inevitably beat Saddam. Am not
endorsing the Gulf War, but am making reference to the need for  one to
always understand oneself, and also understand what you are against, for
that in itself is one step towards victory. The other more significant thing
is that while we Black people reject our past and history, here is the most
modern army in the most modern time falling back on the wisdom and ways of
the Ancient and registering victory; a past and history which is indeed
ours, for Hannibal is as Black as Madi Jobarteh in the Gambia!!!!!!!
Today I want to state the reasons for my writings and I want to say I have
three objectives for these writings. First I want to stress the need for
strategy and how sometimes we get so much obsessed with strategy to an
extent that it backfires on us, simply because we have confused the
strategy. Secondly I want to address an issue I notice flying around
Afrikans from the Gambia who are talking about unity with Senegal, and
thirdly I want to give again the reasons for the writings I do here.
One of the strategies that is currently high on the agenda is the issue of
unity. But as I said there is some confusion about unity, which in my mind
is not progressive at all. This view of unity has caused some of our people
to either reject the idea of Afrika uniting, or they think it is not yet
time, or still it makes no difference for us to unite or remain as Nigeria
and Togo and Namibia etc.
The misunderstanding stems from  confusing  unity with uniformity. Most
people seem to think of unity as the same as uniformity, and I tell you if
you do then you have no choice but to reject Afrikan unity. I want to state
here that unity and uniformity are not the same and  are not even
contraries, but are contradictory. And I will analyse that.
Uniformity is a concept which holds that everything or everybody should be
one and the same, and no difference is allowed. If we notice the soldiers
they all put on the same uniform, and if you see a major you know he is the
same as that other major.Because of the samenness of soldiers, uniformity
has been therefore interpreted to mean that it can ensure equality and
discipline and control. So because of the fact that soldiers and school
children dress the same we conclude that these groups are disciplined and
equal and can be easily controlled. Now this is a fallacy, because what our
experience have shown today and in fact since ages back soldiers are the
most indisciplined and most priveleged in most societies, and students can
be the most rowdy and rude than any other sector in the society. In fact
what we can conclude is that the discipline that seems to prevail in the
army and school is not because of their uniform, but it is fear of authority
and punishment that force them to behave. And also to win commendation from
superiors. But again we will notice that the discipline is only practised
within the barracks or in the school or where the authorities are present.
We have all been students once, and some soldiers, and you know what am
talking about. School and military does not discipline one. We go to school
and the army after already been tempered by our parents.But that same
misunderstanding about uniformity is what the so-called communists in
X-Soviet Union and China hold as synonymous with socialism and classless
society. For that matter they make everyone dress the same and live in the
same type of house, and have the same type and amount of amenities. They are
seeing human beings as rocks or stars, but even these bodies do have their
various variations. And when we fully scrutinise these countries we see that
it is all fake for the leadership live the most sophisticated capitalist
lifestyle. Meanwhile they force all to see and think the same. Therefore it
should not be strange if these countries become authoritarian dictatorships,
but which unfortunately distorted the true picture of socialism, and of
course with the sabotage of the west, as the most and only true
socio-economic and political system in the world. Similarly also we can
realise that when the slavemaster and the colonialist control us they want
us to see and behave in the same way they propose, and if you see the other
side you are sentenced for subversion and endangering the security of the
state. This is uniformity, and they have to create an education system which
teaches us to see what they want us to see, but we know that is not in our
interest. So folks you can now realise that uniformity is a tool for the
oppressor, and the dictator and the hypocrite. Today some of our leaders use
it, and any dissent of view is seen as dangerous and terroristic. Uniformity
is not progressive, and it denies human beings the ability to expose their
potential, and thereby retarding the progress of society. So as I said
people who see unity in this context are bound to reject Afrikan unity.
Unity is not the same as uniformity. Unity presupposes difference, and it is
that difference or differences that sustain and nourish unity and empower
the uniting parties to achieve what each on his own would not be able to
achieve. There has  to be difference first for unity to take place, for the
differences are a source of strength, and creates several avenues for the
uniting parties to utilise and uplift themselves. For example if Sundiata
and Nzinga marry( with all due respect to the dignity and honour of our
Great Ancestors)it clearly shows that they are not the same or uniform. One
is a woman and the other a man. They have to exploit each other's
differences, and by tapping the various characteristics and potentials of
each and giving support to each other's weaknesses, they bring forth
offsprings and build a happy and confortable family. The offsprings are the
manifestation of the combination of their differences. That is why I always
say anything which is the same as itself unites with itself. For that thing
is already self-identical. You unite with something different. You cannot
unite with yourself because you are yourself already, but you unite with
Makeda or with Jomo and get married, but even homosexuals have to unite with
another man, tho' that is not our culture. You also unite with God the
Almighty, and with his guidance and protection, and with your willingness,
responsibility and hardwork you are saved and prosperous. So the first
prerequisite for unity is difference for it is that difference in which lies
the power of that unity. The difference can be at any level or on the
abilities etc etc of the parties concerned. Imagine if we organise a
cultural show in Kinshasha and invite all the ethnic groups or nations of
Afrika to present a troupe, I bet you after each group's performance we will
conclude that that group is the best. Imagine also we organise a beauty and
fashion show of Afrikan beauties and costumes, do you know how much amused
we will be by the array of colours and prints and wonderful faces we will
see. Still imagine we hold a luncheon of Afrikan dishes, do you know how
much our nostrils will be inondated by the aroma of very delicious cuisines.
For those who are not from the region the colonialists marked and we call
Gambia, I will warn you that the moment you taste 'domoda' or 'benachin' or
'churra gerrteh', you will not get near other dishes. Just try to extend
this analogy to the field of science, economics, football, storytelling,
computer, etc etc and we get the best brains of Afrika together, can we
imagine where we will be. This is unity, and it is all about using all the
differences we have. When we talk about unity we do not mean to say that the
Gambia has to fuse into Senegal, or Senegal fuses into Tanzania, and that
one also fuses into Togo; or that unity means the Ewes have to phase out or
incorporate into the Yorubas, and they also incorporate into the mandinkas,
and they also fuse into the Bantus etc etc. This would constitute
uniformity, and it is wrong. In unity we would see the Wollof fighting to
protect the Akan, and the Akan fighting to protect the culture of the Zulu,
and the Zulu fighting to promote the culture of the Haitian etc etc ,
because we have realised that all these nations of Afrika have rich cultures
that are very essential for the development of Afrika. In like manner we
will also realise that the woman will protect the man and the man in turn
protects the woman, and both promoting the child. What I am trying to point
out is to show you that unity is another level of consciousness which when a
being attains does not only protect himself, but she protects her fellow
being, and nature. This is the consciousness I am talking about. They always
say Afrika is a land of diversities, and our enemies and confused Afrikans
promote the abominable idea that therefore unity will be difficult to
achieve. This is wrong and to those people I give them the response of the
Osagyefo to that assertion, that while they highlight our differences and
exagerate them as impediments, they do not tell us the potential these
differences  will create if we unite. Imagine our diamond and gold put
together, the copper and bauxite, the grasslands and forests, the waterfalls
and sunshine, all put together for the benefit of our people:
Ewe,Xhosa,Fon,Jamaican,PeurtoRican,Soninke,Mandingo,Galla,Hutu,Tutsi,Matabele,Hausa,Yoruba,Igbo,Bambara,Luo,Kikuyu,Dinka,Mende,Temne,Gullah,Afrikan
in US etc etc. The exposee I drew up about organising a cultural show and
bringing our brains together and the potential we will thus create is what
we are now losing just by remaining disunited. Someone may dismiss this as
utopian or impossible, but that just shows one's level of consciousness, and
it is that anomaly we want to eradicate and raise the understanding of the
masses. Let us unite.
As I pointed out in the beginning there is an idea flowing around that
Gambia should become part of Senegal, or the two unite. I do not know why
this idea came up in the first place other than to say that it all forms
part of the hullabaloo surrounding the issue of unity in these times in our
motherland. But I would like to say to people who hold that idea that any
form of unity between any two Afrikan countries that is not done within the
framework of a final and total unification of the continent is ill-conceived
and couter-productive. In other words if any Afrikan States wish to unite
then that unity should be used as a means to lay the basis for the UNITED
STATES OF AFRIKA! Such a move was made by Nkrumah, Sekou Touray and Modibo
Keita in the 60s in what was called  Ghana-Guinea-mali Union. Otherwise,
like I said such a unity will expose us one more time to exploitation by the
West because the legal and diplomatic realities created by colonialism, and
which we still maintain will now be removed, and that means France can
interfere in the Gambia in much the same way as Britain would interfere in
Senegal. But I would like to ask people who hold that idea some questions:
will such a unity provide better living conditions to the citizens more than
the respective countries are now providing?
Will such a unity protect the uniting countries against the exploitation and
power of the West led by the IMF, the World Bank and the UN?
Will such a unity give the citizens the power to control the government and
hold them accountable more than now?
Can such a unity prevent a military coup, and end the Casamance conflict?
Can such a unity protect the lives of the citizens in the US and Europe for
allegedly the same crimes that Americans and Europeans commit in Gambia and
Senegal but go scot-free because of the power of their governments?
Will that unity make the country more powerful than Nigeria, and speak its
mind even as Libya does?
There are many questions we can ask, but all of them would show that such a
unity cannot answer these questions. The only unity which can answer these
questions is the UNITED STATES OF AFRIKA or whatever name you call it.so for
those who hold that idea, I am pleading with you to rethink it, and if it is
not conceived with our minds targetting Afrikan unification then let us drop
it. It is unprogressive and dangerous. Some people do not still believe this
but the independence of any Afrikan country is meaningless if it is not
linked to the total liberation of the Afrikan continent. Nkrumah said this
in 1957 when Ghana became independent, but I would also like to add that
that independence and liberation are also meaningless if  not put in the
context of unification, and used as a means to unify Afrika. There is
another idea which speaks of the need to promote regional groupings as a
stepping stone to unity. I am equally opposed to this idea. What regional
groupings have meant to us is that they have alienated us from each other,
and they have also created unnecessary competition between the regions for
favours and admiration from the West. If you notice the crisis in sierra
leone it is seen as a West Afrikan problem thus those in the south or north
do not get invovled and similarly the crisis in the Congo is seen as a
central/eastern problem and we in the west do not participate. If we do it
is only to express hope and a call on the warring parties to exercise
restraint but not to get whole-heartedly involved. Thus what these regional
groupings have shown so far is to delay unity, and in fact it is never an
agenda in their numerous meetings and summits. Even the OAU has greatly
delayed the unification process because it has become a talkshop and a
platform for accusations and counter-accusations, while the West plays its
usual puppeteering role. All these regional groupings have very elaborate
protocols, but they will never implement them since they are all saturated
by sterile and corrupt leaders. But anything that bans or condemns coups is
quickly voted for because to them to entrench oneself in power to the
detriment of the ciizen has become the end and the means at the same time.
The regional groupings have so far proven to be very good back-up support
for these empty-headed leaders.
Now I want to state the reasons for my writings to the Afrikan family.
If you notice it is the 1945 Manchester congress which laid the stage for
the decolonisation of the continent. Twelve years after that congress one of
its secretaries led Ghana, the Black Star to independence. Seven years after
that same congress one of its active participants Jomo Kenyatta led the MAU
MAU Uprising and independence for Kenya.In our little Gambia I.M. Garba
Jahumpa was also active here agitating for West Afrikan unity. But since the
60s lot of things happened which greatly neutralised the Pan-Afrikan spirit
to an extent that an anti pan-Afrikan thesis developed which promotes very
reactionary and confusing ideologies within the Black struggle.The way I
analyse things is this: The OAU was formed by reactionary forces and leaders
who either wanted to protect themselves in power so that they can become
eternal leaders without the fear of revolutionary and progressive
governments and movements  remove them by any means necessary to institute a
pan-afrikan government, or  thru the OAU the West uses these leaders to
block the unification of the continent. These moves have transformed the OAU
into a platform of coffee-drinking-smiling-leaders who want to just relax.
You just need to read the principles and charter of the organisation and see
either how foolish it is or that some of our leaders then had an ulterior
motive inimical to unity. What happened next in Afrika is the removal of
progressive governments like Ghana, Mali, Congo, Ethiopia under Nkrumah,
Modibo, Lumumba,and The Imperial Majesty, and the several invasions against
Sekou Touray, and the assassinations of several others by unpatriotic sons
of the land in connivance with the West. While these atrocities where taking
place here, in the Afrika of America our leaders are also under attack by
the  US police state in an attempt to destroy the Black Power movement. At
the same time  black intellectuals have been greatly miseducated to an
extent that we have become the vehicle of Western hegemony on our people as
our professors lecture us in class that our liberation leaders are
dictators, and that slavery was partly committed and promoted by our kings
and chiefs, that we are a third world and the West is the first world and so
our development has to emanate from there, better still some claim that
Pan-Afrikanism is not relevant now. This is the education we received, and
what that ends up creating is the total rejection of Pan-Afrikanism as an
ideal and violent movement and ideology, which calls for a return to
primitive times! What resulted is that Pan-Afrikans were banned even in
Ghana, some of them who are not strong enough got frustrated and gave up the
struggle. With renewed determination abd tactics the West launched yet
another onslaught on our people which the osagyefo described as
neo-colonialism. These new attack came with serious illusions and fringe
benefits, which they throw out to fellow Pan-Afrikanists and eventually
neutralised them. They became big time capitalists or joined the government
which are sponsored by the IMF and the the World bank etc. Pan-Afrikanism is
thus knocked unconscious. But again some of us withdrew, and several of
these people now organise and operate on their own in different and isolated
areas. Thus though the ideology is not dead completely, but it is greatly
stifled and dormant.I am concerned about this reality, and several other
people are also concerned, thus I took the task of writing and it has three
objectives:
1. To first of all awaken or re-awaken the masses of our people, especially
the youths and intellectuals to the ideology of Pan-Afrikanism, and the need
for us to unite.
2. To call on us to connect and make each others' lives our lives and
struggle. We have to understand that our salvation lies in the group or the
community. If we raise the consciousness, and with the numerous groups we
have then I think the next logical step is to connect the groups, so that
those in UCLA know that the group in Howard is their group and struggle, and
those in Howard realise that we in Gambia are part of them, and they are
part of us, and those in Ghana are part of those in Azania, and they are
also part of those in Brixton, and they are also part of those in Sierra
Leone and they are also part of those in Haiti, as well as in Brazil, Congo,
Jamaica, Nigeria, Sudan and Mali etc etc. This way we know about each other
and give support to each other.
3. After raising the consciousness of the people and set the stage for us to
connect, I think then the next logical move again is for us to meet and
talk, and this is why I call for a congress, an international congress and
preferably to be held in Afrika. Now the congress wil also have three
objectives:
Like I said in the beginning the congress will be held in the manner of the
1945 congress, but this time setting the stage for unification.
1. The congress will develop an ideology for us as a people. This is simple.
We are probably the only people who are saturated with God knows how many
ideologies to an extent we do not even have one because all of us seem to be
either contrary or contracdicting each other. And I tell you any people who
make history and progress make it on an ideology. An ideology id essentially
the practical and material reality and vehicle of the ideas, thinking,
experiences and strategies in which a culture is expressed and moves for
those people to attain there objectives. Like I said there are lot of
ideologies, and we are fighting each other for what we believe. This is
destroying us. Some call themselves socialist, and some capitalist but they
are fighting each other for that. Some call themselves muslims, christians,
Afrikanists, and they all seem to tell the other guy you are wrong. At the
same time some call for integration and others are for separation, while
others claim a black supremacy philosophy others are calling for equality of
human beings etc etc. These are confusing and we need to sit down and talk
and create a basis which will be the established agenda for the black man
and woman and the Afrika we want to build.
2. We also need to develop a constitution for Afrika and our  various
groups, and this constitution will also define the relationship that will be
set up between our groups, if we do not want to create one big movement.
This is also going to set up a  permanent organisation or structure so that
we will avoid the mistake that was created in the past which is the
organisation seems to be in one person, and if the leader is gone the
struggle suffers. We need permanent structures, and not leaders. If you
check when the  Nkrumahs and the Martins, and the Malcolms and Bikos were
gone things nearly died, simply because they represent the organisation. We
can at this moment commend the Nation of Islam for maintaining a permanent
structure up to now and I hope they will consolidate it and not allow
Farakhan be the everything, similarly we commend the ANC in Azania which
seems still as strong without Walter Sizulu and Nelson mandela at the top.
But again we would ask these groups to allow more grassroots control apart
from just to mobilise them for a rally or vote. We need organisation, not
leaders. One of our leaders who have correctly seen  this reality was Kwame
Touray and he kept on saying it  until he died last year.
3. The congress should set up a front. The front is the battleline and the
arms necessary to fight. We have to be ready and we have lot of means to use
in order to achieve the objective: media, youth, intellectuals,workers,
civil disobedience, armed struggle, positive action, music,
religion,insttitutions and students, diplomacy and economics etc etc. We
fully understand that our leaders have just come from Libya talking about
unity. They concluded that next year they will set up a parliament which
will draft a constitution and they will look at it in 2001. Personally I
think that is time consuming, and secondly they could have opened the files
of the OAU and see the beautiful suggestions some of our leaders made about
Afrikan unity and adopt them or make adjustments where necessary, but to
start in this way with so much time is not encouraging.Any way this is not
the time to fight over that for they have already met and decided, but we
the youths especially need to be alert and if they drag their feet we jump
on the scene and do what we have to do. But now we can support them if we
have to, while at the same time preparing ourselves.
This is the reason for my writings, and basically it is to raise and
re-awaken our consciousness, to connect us and to organise for unification
in the manner the 1945 congress organised for decolonisation. Some Afrikans
from the Gambia region said they would like to be in any organising
committee for the congress. That is good, but what I think should be done
now is let us all at our various locations mobilise the people and organise
them into a body, and try to locate other groups around and connect. This
will help ease the problem of organising the congress which as you know is
international and huge. Those in London organise. Those in US schools and
cities organise. Those in Gambia, Ghana, Congo, Japan, India, France,
Sweden, Brazil, Venezuela, Kuwait etc etc organise and as I proposed we need
a website so that we can communicate and know those who have organised and
are now ready to send their delegates anywhere for the congress. We can do
it and we will do it, and it will be successful. God and our Ancestors are
behind us.
Meanwhile I want to inform the family that we in the Gambia region have
organised a symposium last Friday  to commemorate the killing of Bantu Steve
Biko by the apartheid South Afrika in 1977.It was great. let us organise.
I am sorry for this long piece but the struggle demands it.
victory is certain!!!!
reminder: THE UNION OF AFRIKAN STATES IS COMING. OUR TIME IS
NOW.ORGANISE!!!!

madi

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