>From: Deyda Hydara <[log in to unmask]>
>To: Malick and Saihou
>Subject: Re: Is Senghor a trus son of Africa?
Malick, Saihou, I read your latest postings on the issue at hand. You will
understand that despite my earlier decision to let sleeping dogs lie I have
to clear the air. WE need to systematise our deliberations on the issue to
give them a coherent approach. What is the equation at hand?
Your indictment of Senghor! According to you Senghor is not a true son of
Africa as per your judgement based on three main issues:
a) Senghor was an honorary European by all accounts
b) Senghor worked against the independence of Senegal and other African
countries
a) Senghor subverted efforts aimed at realising Africa Unity. I believe
these are your central themes you have articulated to crucify him.
On this first issue, I first explained that Senghor asserted himself as an
intellectual of identical caliber to his white classmates. He secured a
Ph.D. that none of his classmates secured including former French President
Pompidou. In addition his conceptualise Negritude or Blackness which is far
from being a political doctrine as advanced by Saihou but a rallying call
for black people to be proud of what they are.
In fact, Wade made a revelation last Saturday at Senghor funeral service
when he stated: "In 1935, a young Senegalese returned home with a Ph.D. in
his luggage. A press conference was thus organised at the Dakar Chamber of
Commerce where the attendance was overwhelmingly white. And to the amazement
of that white colonial audience Senghor developed his concept of Negritude
when they expected him praise assimilation." End of quote. Where then lies
the honorary European theory?
This is how Wade described Negritude: " an affirmation of black personality,
of authenticity and the duty of Africans to carry the message to the meeting
point of giving and taking (Le rendez vous du donner et du recevoir". End of
quote. Where then lies the honorary European theory?
Now, Saihou said Senghor opposed independence. This is baffling! What power
Senghor had to work against independence?
DeGaulle himself said in Brazaville(he came to Banjul as Dakar would not
join him on his way to that meeting and he stayed at uncle Charlie
Carrayol's house on Hagan Street in Banjul) in 1943 that the colonies which
were helping France to liberate herself from Germany would be given
autonomy.
Of course De Gaulle was speaking without taking into consideration the
colonial inclination of the traditional political parties whose alternate
governments ran the colonies with all the ramifications such as interest,
profits and influence in that era.
What is important here was the digestion of that speech by intellectuals of
these former colonies that began forming political parties for such a
prospect.
Senghor could not have stopped that historical movement towards independence
as he was nobody's fool to go against it.
As well documented then West Africans secured an elective place at the Grand
Conseil de l'Afrique Occidentale Francaise(High Council of French West
Africa ) which Sekou Toure once presided over under the Loi Cadre as
promised by De Gaulle. . The Conseil sat at present Senegalese National
Assembly where Senghor was laid in state. But we shall come back to that.
These representatives had different political leanings i.e. Toure and Boigny
were Marxists and Senghor was anti-Communist. Later Boigny left the French
communist party. So they went towards independence with divergences, each
group promoting its ideology. In fact that is what led to the cleavages when
it came to balkanization. They shared the same assembly for years but
decided to it alone when it came to independence as these contradictions
were later exported into their African politics.
However it was only Sekou Toure who remained a Marxist as Niger's Djibo
Bakary was assassinated.
Senghor worked tirelessly to preserve the members of the High Council to
secure independence at the same with the support of Ahoumadegbe, Maurice
Yameogo and Modibo Keita.
Now on to your third issue. You say Senghor worked against African unity. I
have to quote once again Wade when he addressed the gathering paying tribute
to Senghor last Saturday. "Senghor worked tirelessly for African Unity
through his fight against balkanization with his attempt to form a Mali
Federation with former Presidents, Yameogo, Ahoumadgebe,  Keita. But Senghor
did not stop at that as he also worked with Nkrumah and Tubman in an attempt
to lay the foundation of a united Africa but their efforts were frustrated
by the enemies of African Unity." End of quote.
Wade also hammered that Senghor 's commitment to a united Africa was not
just a slogan as  "Senegal's constitution was the only one in Africa with a
Section inviting Senegalese to work tirelessly for African Unity."
How can such a man be accused of working against African unity?
Since your main contention seems to revolve around this last issue, let me
again give you the following view.
Malick asserted that when Europeans realised that they needed to cooperate,
they called the Berlin conference, enter into treaty and ensured they no
longer fight each other. "It was this type of spirit that Africa wanted at
Independence, a spirit of cooperation to defeat a common enemy. This was
never simple because there were willing marionettes like Seng who was
prepared to act as the French emissary to abort the African scheme of unity"
also asserted Malick. First of all, before the Berlin treaty Europeans
fought each other for centuries. Remember the 100 years non stop war between
the British and French.
You said this was the type of spirit that Africa wanted at Independence. Was
Africa really ready then? That's the zillion dollar question!   At
independence Africa had no proper states, no practical economic and human
resources, almost no competent and professional cadres to man the new
responsibilities that were to be theirs. What about transports? No proper
road networks (one or two bitumised roads, no air transport or railway
services. To talk to a brother in a neighbouring country one had to go
through London or Paris. To travel from one part of the continent to
another, one had to go through Europe. Not to talk about linguistic,
administrative and judicial differences. No universities in most of these
countries.  This reminds me of what the late John Colley Faye(may his soul
rest in peace) when I interviewed him in 1981 on the SeneGambia
confederation. "Hamumah Naka La Nyari Hojogoneh di Botanteh"(with due
respect to those concerned). And that was 26 years after independence!
In other words, each former colony had the mammoth task of carving a nation
and it was unfair to expect them to reach out to similar poorer countries to
form a block against their former colonial master as they were, and in fact,
are not still ready for that as we see everyday. The paradox in this entire
debate is that mighty Nigeria and South Africa (understandably because of
Apartheid) are conveniently left out of the pros and cons of the issue.
But back to Senegambia to exemplify the differences. Gambian civil servants
who worked out the modalities of the Confederal Treaty would tell you how
they found it difficult (again after 26 years) to cope with the linguistic,
administrative and legal systems. But let us not desperate the mega plan
hatched by Wade and Mbeki could be the prelude of a long and winding but
succesful road in the end.
Landing Savane and Batchilly recalled during these days over TV and radios
that Senghor many times jailed them but they hailed in contribution as a
great African. In my student days in Dakar Senghor also jailed me after the
May 68 students' demonstrations.
I was jailed with most of Senegal's today's political leaders for 20 days at
the Thies military camp.
I was then like a friend, an economist (who belongs to a leading opposition
party) who visited me yesterday to talk about our debate: I thought Senghor
was a reactionary. Today like him who studied in the US I have a different
view.
Saihou, I withdraw the statement that Senegalese troops fought alongside
Nino and Ansumana; I am reliably informed that, that was not the case a
claimed in 1981 by one colonel Potin of the Senegalese army.
On Franz Fanon, Senghor used to quote Fanon as well as my childhood buddy,
our own  Prof. Sulayman Nyang in most of his Independence anniversary
speeches. I was always proud to hear "Selon le professeur gambien
Souleyemane Niang…".

Happy New Year to all of you 'Glers'





>From: malik kah <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Is Senghor a true son of Africa or not?
>Date: Mon, 31 Dec 2001 17:21:03 +0000
>
>Hi, Saiks happy new year to you, Sister Ndye, and Baa Sambou. Tell Ndye I
>heard her message in my phone and was awaiting to hear again, any way give
>all of them my best wishes Ba Sambou in particular.
>
>>From: saikss <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
>><[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Re: Is Senghor a true son of Africa or not?
>>Date: Mon, 31 Dec 2001 15:43:44 +0100
>>
>>Dyda,
>>
>>Fanon wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> > "Sealed into that crushing objecthood,I turned beseechingly to
>>others.Their
>>attention was a liberation,running over my body suddenly abraded into
>>nonbeing,endowing me once more with an agibility that I thought lost,and
>>by
>>taking me out of the world,restoring me to it.But just as I reched the
>>other
>>side,I  stumbled,and the movements,the attitudes,the glances of  the other
>>fixed me there,in the sense in which a chemical solution is fixed by a
>>dye.I
>>was ingignant;I demanded an explaination.Nothing happened.I burst
>>apart.Now
>>the fragments have been put together again by another self……"
>>
>>It was not the African people who were looking for recognition from the
>>White.
>>For them it was a question of the right to self-determination. It was the
>>responsibility and duty of the White to recognised and respect what is
>>different from them.
>>  However Seng, like many of his counterparts did fought to get this
>>recognition, one, their contribution in mastering and advancing the
>>Culture;
>>the literature, the Lanuage, the philosophy etc of the White man, has been
>>of
>>great significance, Seng will always be remembered for such a great role.
>>It was no accident, or intellectual inferior complex why Anta Jobe
>>insisted
>>that had Seng understood the great African civilisations were built by men
>>of
>>great minds he would not have attributed the ability to think to one race
>>but
>>understand that it is human. Negritude lived to demand recognisation from
>>the
>>White Man and this was not the agenda of the African people and thus this
>>Ideology as a political movement lived to exist only in the heads of its
>>founders.
>>Yes it is true that when we have to judge the importance of a political
>>party
>>in terms of the number of seats they have in parliament then LDMPT,Ande
>>Jeff,
>>etc will be of little significance. But if we are to see politics from a
>>wider
>>perspective, away from that narrow definition then we will see the
>>importance
>>of these parties in the political development of Senegal. After Seng, the
>>involvement of these Political parties, he banned, proved that Senegal was
>>denied the contribution of some of the greatest minds in Senegal.Infact if
>>they happen to be able to win only one seat, it is democratic for those
>>who
>>voted for them to be represented by those they voted for. The fact that
>>they
>>were invited to the reconciliation governement, with LDMPT having two
>>ministerial posts, shows that it is far from the truth that these were
>>insignificant political parties in Senegal.Ande Jeff played, perhaps the
>>greatest role in bringing and holding alive the coalition of opposition
>>parties that brought the PS government out of power. For almost 15 years
>>Ande
>>Jeff have been struggling to hold this alliance together with all the
>>contradictions that were involved. This is the very reason why all these
>>political parties are over seeing important ministerial post as Works and
>>Communication.Seng had a great problem in handling his opponent, he was
>>very
>>brutal, no compromise, he will also be remembered. The role and position
>>of
>>these political parties, since after Abdou Joof lifted the ban on them
>>proved
>>that there banning was undemocratic.
>>I never said that Seng was able stop the Gambia from getting independence,
>>he
>>could never do so, there was no power on earth that could stop the Gambian
>>masses from gaing their Independence, and they were very determind. What I
>>said was that he worked against the Independence of the Gambia. That he
>>was
>>more interested in having the Gambia been part of Senegal. Even the cross
>>boarder attacked on poor, defenceless Gambian farmers by the Senegalese
>>army
>>was seen as a deliberate effort to provoke a military conflict that would
>>give
>>the Senegalese army and explanation to invade the Gambia.
>>If the Senegalese army participated in the Liberation war in Guinea Bissau
>>it
>>was not to help the PAIGC to liberate the conutry. The Senegalese army
>>killed
>>and short at PAIGC arm forces. I have since been marking consultation on
>>your
>>assertion that Senegalese forces were fighting together with the
>>Liberation
>>forces without any success. What is known is that Seng have been given
>>support
>>to the known anti PAIGC party who were based in Senegal, thanks to the
>>efforts
>>of the Bissauian people, Savimbi never emerged in this spart of the
>>continent.
>>In fact many are saying that the tension between these two countries are
>>as
>>a
>>result of the role that Senegal was playing in that war.
>>Wishing you and all at the POINT a happy new year.
>>
>>For Freedom
>>Saiks
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> >===== Original Message From The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
>><[log in to unmask]> =====
>> >Deyda, I think you are missing the point about Seng. The issue about
>>Seng.
>> >Is not about the platitude of the philosophy or doctrine of negritude,
>>far
>> >From it. After all Seng. Lived in an era when black people all over the
>> >World were struggling for recognition, hence the slogans "black is
>> >Beautiful" "black power" am "black
>>
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