Mr Jallow,
Suffice it to say that the colonialist and their apologists used terms like
" The Dark Continent" and "The White Man's burden" merely to justify
colonialist, neocolonialist and subsequent enterprises of domination and
exploitation in Africa. Initially, the whole idea was to teach us their
languages so that we see the world from their cultural perspective. This
resulted in the imposition of cultural imperialism, which is still in
earnest, and some of us are victims to it.
I disagree with your assertion that Africa has meagre resources when Nigeria
produces the best brand of crude oil in the world; Ivory Coast is the
leading producer of Coffee in the world and Angolan diamonds are among the
most sought after in the world. Asides Institutional and infrastructural
deprivations, Africa suffers from two ailments, a cure for which would put
us on the road towards genuine independence. These ailments are "Bad
Governance" and "An imbalanced And Exploitative Trade relationship with the
west".
Your criticism of the founding fathers of Africa's independence movement may
be genuine, but atleast you agree that they played a pivotal role in the
context of our overall struggle for socio economic emancipation. Some of the
reasons for their shortcomings were far beyond their control. With the
exception of Nelson Mandela, the others you made mention of had to carry on
the struggle for liberation in a world divided into two antagonistic
ideological camps. It is interesting to note that both Nkrumah and Lumumba
took political postures which allienated them from their former colonial
rulers, and therefore found themselves running against colonial and
neocolonialist traditions and institutions in their own backyards. Our
armies are notable examples in this connection.
You also referred to the contributions of Africans towards the Trans
Atlantic Slave Trade. I wish to remind you that it was European traders who
purposely went to Africa to trade in slaves; they had superior arms and
resorted to threats and blackmail to literally force some of the Coastal
states into collaboration. At its peak, the inhuman trade in persons had
disrupted agriculture so greatly that other states that were not involved in
it initially, had to get involved for purposes of survival. Some European
powers were known to have provided arms and ammunitions to Africans simply
for the purpose of slave raiding: to kidnap unarmed farmers on their farms
or in their villages at night. One good example in this regard, is Abdou
Njie, who opperated  mainly in Guinea Bissau. But the contributions of
upstarts like Abdou Njie cannot be used to undermind the fact that European
powers and traders initiated, organised and maintained the slave trade up to
the point when they identified more profitable economic alternatives to it.
Your stance in this connection is reflective of the position of apologists
for the slave trade.
In conclusion, I wish to reaffirm my position that Africa has never been a
dark continent. That, however, is the view of the continent promoted by
greedy colonialists and their racist apologists. It provided the premise for
regarding Africans as savages and heathens who needed European civilization.
This was a mere excuse for instituting regimes of cultural imperialism and
economic expolitation.
Omar Joof.



>From: Koch Barma <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: WAS AFRICA THE DARK CONTINENT? NOT REALLY.
>Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2004 12:46:49 -0800
>
>The rhetorical question whether Africa can afford anything in global
>affairs is preposterous because the continent of Africa does have
>very limited options with very scarce resources to affect anything
>beyond dictates from the West.
>I shudder when neo-panafricanists brandish a romanticized perspective
>of African History and relapse to atavistic paradigms of leadership
>from renown past politicians.   Nkrumah, Lumumba and Mandela belong
>to different categories of leadership in time and space.   Mandela is
>a freedom fighter, Lumumba although enlightened but compromised with
>communist dogma; and Nkrumah was by all means a platonic tyrant and a
>dictator despite his sincere efforts to de-colonize Africa.
>I do respect Professor Franklin and absolutely agree with his
>observations on slavery that it essentially robbed Africa.   However,
>the challenge for us Africans is not only analysis but to think
>synecdochically about slavery in general and the Trans-African slave
>trade in particular- Africans where actively involved in that inhuman
>institution also.  A large number of local chiefs sold their brothers
>and sisters to the white man.  In fact former colleague of mine in
>the Gambian Army used to brag about how is great great grand father
>sold Banjul to the British for a bottle of rum!
>I will never deny that there is a corrosive influence from Europe and
>Arabia perhaps but the solution to the imminent African problem is
>within the Africans themselves…This was the same little secret that
>Kemal Ataturk realized about Turkey and set the agenda for a total
>cultural transformation to get out of the DARKNESS.
>
>
>Ebou
>
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