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 and proud", it was against such a
background of rhetoric that Seng. and his compatriots were struggling for
recognition.

After accomplishing all academic excellence, many black students, who became
lawyers, doctors and poets realised that they were still considered as
sub-human. This was really unacceptable, hence the need for self assertion
and recognition. By becoming students of excellence who were still treated
with contempt as a direct consequence of their colour, many contemporary
black students engage in the struggle for acceptance, this was the basis for
their radicalism, it was not due to the fact that they understood the
underlying contradictions which were far more complex and complicated than
racism.

Senghores political role would be better understood if we move from
sloganeering to concrete policy. When the Europeans realised that they had a
common intrest in exploiting the African continent, they buried the matchet,
eventhough they were the bitterst of enemies. They were constantly at each
others throats, killing each other to control terretories for purposes of
exploitation. When they realised that they needed to cooperate instead of
making arch enemies of each other they called a confrence in Berlin  in 1884
to divide the African continent and enter into treatise that would ensure
they no longer fight each other for the colonies they acquired.

It was this type of spirit that Africa wanted at independence, a spirit of
cooperation to defeat a common enemy. This was never to be simply because
there were willing marionettes like Seng. who was prepared to act as the
French emmissary to abhort the African scheme of unity.

This scheme designed to strengthen the African position was catalysed by
Ghana, when Ghana gained Independence and Guinea voted "oui pour
l,independence" they entered into a union, since the two countries together
produced a good deal of bauxite and other minerals, their union presented a
threat to the Europeans. Ghana, Guinea co-operation meant the first
emergence of anti-colonial axis in Africa. This was far too much for the
Europeans to tolerate. If the European intrest was in grave danger a
European solution was therefore imminent.

Before Europe addressed this perceived danger, insult was added to injury.
As they were still too shattered to to to formulate a new policy to contain
the situation, hey presto. Lumumba's Congo, the pearl of Africa stormed into
existence. It immediately sought to join the Ghana,Guinea axis. To europe
this was unacceptable.

To conter such dangerous menace, the French hastened to create a
French-speaking community in Africa, the OCAM, which distinguished itself by
it's docility towards Europe.These accolytes became more gaullist than de
Gaulle. To them Nkrumah was the arch-villain, and they made it their
business to oppose anything, but anything, Nkrumah proposed, to the
detriment of Africa. They were against him in principle. In return for their
subservience, Europe offered the OCAM countries favoured treatement within
the EEC, in the celebrated Agreement signed in Yaounde. In reality the OCAM
countries were guaranteeing to preserve and safeguard European burgoise
intrests in Africa. Nkrumah's call for African unity carried no weight with
them, they thought it was a crazy idea, hence the whole project was abhorted
and its death warrant signed and sealed by the likes of Seng.

The Ghana\ Guinea axis in addition to Algeria, was later joined by Modibo
Keita of Mali and it was through the initiative of this group that the first
confrence to set up the OAU was convened. No leader, however subservient,
dared to oppose the call for a pan African organization, so inspired were
the masses who had expected action from the leadership. This was the climate
under which the ugly head of divide and rule re-appeared and guess who were
the ponds on the chess board. That is why it is right and we owe it to the
African youth to understand the roles played people like Seng. we must not
allow ourselves to be mesmerised by their intellectual profiles. We must
respect their academic excellence but we must dissect their political roles
and I think that is paramount and therefore supercedes any other issue.


>From: Deyda Hydara <[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: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 14:13:34 +0000
>
>Dear Saihou, I read your piece.
>
>If I get you right, speaking of the realities of the village was a sin but
>advocating for the surreal must be hailed. Again, I am worried that the
>time
>factor is not again taken into account. When were Senghor's poems written?
>In the 20s, 30s, 40s. Senghor always tells us in his poems "Je me rapelle"
>(I Remember). In the 1900 or 20s or 30s when the majority of Europeans had
>no access to refrigerators, I wonder how he could have chanted something
>different from what he said in Chants d'Ombre pegged to his childhood days?
>This brings me to Abdoulaye Jallow's question on Negritude. Senghor himself
>defined Negritude as follows: " La negritude est l'enracinement de la race
>noire dans les valeurs de la culture negre". There is a difficulty for me
>to
>give an accurate translation of the word Enracinement as the suggestion in
>my English French dictionary that enraciner means to root does not clearly
>portray the meaning. But let me suggest the following translation:
>Negritude
>is immersing deep into the roots of the values of the negro(black) culture.
>For Senghor (and maybe not the others) there should not be any iota of
>shame
>or complex to be identified as a negro, a black person. And this goes in
>line with Wollof wisdom which says that "a curse or a dereogatory statement
>or remark fits more the originator, the utterer than the one it is destined
>to."
>Senghor defended the blacks' rights to be part and parcel of what must be a
>universal civilization today or tomorrow. This is what he called "Le rendez
>vous du donner et du recevoir". The meeting point for complentarity in
>which
>one gives and takes.
>It beats the imagination that someone who advocated for such a recognition
>of the black race as an equal partner of the  other races  in the universe
>can be called an untrue son of Africa.
>In fact the definition of a son of Africa is very simple. Senghor was born
>in Senegal which forms part of the African continent. He led that country
>by
>reviving its African arts and culture with a national theatre, a literary
>revolution based on African values etc. etc. This suffices to qualify him
>as
>a true son of Africa.
>But for the sake of the current debate, can Senghor be blamed for the ills
>of other African countries in the light of the arguments I developed in my
>last take? I would want to add that Mugabe was in the shadows of Nkruma. He
>has been the helm of affairs in Zimbabwe for more than 20 years. What has
>Zimbabwean farmers got that Senegalese farmers don't?
>I think in the final analysis, each head of state's results must be the
>parameters for any judgment for we are all familiar with the concepts of no
>interference in the internal affairs of states and the sacrosanct
>boundaries
>issue.
>Saihou I now come to LDMPT and Ande Jeff. Thesec parties have been in
>existence since Diouf allowed them in 1981. Today, after 20 years or so of
>existence, they only secured 1 seat each in the last elections meant for
>120
>seats. Don't you think Senghor was right to favour their original currents
>which were more representative such as the one ruling the country today?
>Rhetorics and representation are two different things.
>On The Gambia's independence I cannot see how Senghor could have stopped
>this country from attaining independence.  So, I will not waste my time on
>this issue. But Read Omar Touray on this issue.
>On Guinea Bissau, we all know that it was after Senghor met Spinola that
>things change for the better in favour of the freedom fighters with the
>Portuguese revolution followedc by the independence of Guinea Bissau.
>One must also point out that Koro Sallah and Moja were providing blankets,
>torch lights etc. as historically documented Senegalese soldiers from
>Ziguinchor fought along side the Ninos and the Ansumanas for the liberation
>of that country.
>This is I am afraid my last take on this issue.
>Thanks for your attention
>Deyda
>
>
>
>>From: Saikou Samateh <[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: Tue, 26 Dec 2000 00:37:49 -0000
>>
>>Deyda,
>>Good to see you here and this great piece of yours.The issues that Malick
>>took up here are of great significance in discussing Senghore.Malick was a
>>student of literature at high school and at one time he was asked to
>>compare
>>and contrast two different poems "Night in Sine" of Senghore  with "Night"
>>of Soyenka.Two different poems discussing the same subject,both of them
>>are
>>great poems.But only one of them is speaking the truth about what is the
>>real villager life like in dark nights of Africa.Had it been that night in
>>the village, is so sweet,is in so much conformity with nature,I dont think
>>you would have pointed to some of us the "Teeth of the Sea",do you
>>remember
>>that evening.Senghore chose that life because it is more comfortable.This
>>is
>>all what Negritude is  about,speaking of the sweetness of the village life
>>and yet choose to live the comfortable life so distant from reality.It is
>>very false,because there is no African villager who would not choose the
>>comfort enjoyed by the West,no African Villager will say no to a bright
>>village,a refrigerator,etc,all of the struggle is about a better life for
>>us
>>and for the future  and not to fall in love with our terrible poverty and
>>decadency.
>>You might consider Seng to be a democrat,but he was far from that,in my
>>opinion.You know better than I do what happened to,among others, our good
>>friend Ceesay whiles Senghore was the president of Senegal and for what
>>reason ?such would have been a head line as a typical character of a
>>dictatorial regime,freedom of speech ,freedom of expression was scarce in
>>Sengs Senegal.It was also Seng who banned all other political parties in
>>Senegal,except that of his own and  two other opposition parties,it was
>>not
>>until Abdou Joof took over power that LDMPT,Ade-Jeff etc were able to take
>>up open political work without fear of prosecution.We know what these
>>parties have contributed and are contributing to the democratic process in
>>Senegal.
>>You are right that Seng spoke for the Independence of certain African
>>countries,but Seng never spoke for Guinea Conakry and Why ?He even worked
>>very hard against an Independent Gambia,he wanted us to be part of Senegal
>>against the will of the Gambian people,a democrat would have think
>>otherwise.He was among the very few African leaders who never supported
>>the
>>Liberation struggle in Guinea Bissau.In fact he worked very hard against
>>it
>>and gave the most reactionary forces in Guinea Bissau, protection and
>>ground
>>to sabotage the independent struggle of Guinea Bissau.He forced enrolled
>>his
>>opponents into the Army and sent them to the  frontline to fight against
>>the
>>PAIGC liberation army.Among those who had to experience such brutal
>>nightmare was Abdoulie Bachilly,who is today serving the Senegalese people
>>in parliament and in government.Senegal has never in its history been more
>>democratic as it is today.
>>Seng was a great intellectual and contributed greatly to that end,but his
>>vision of Africa and the African was  very terrible and I see it to be the
>>greatest hindrance why Seng will and can never be placed together with
>>other
>>past great African leaders like Nkrumah.Even though I am no follower of
>>Nkrumah,I will never buy any explanation that he was a Dictator.Here is a
>>great man,who laboured to carve,not only theory, that is indigenous and so
>>needed by then but also worked hard for the  development and progress of
>>the
>>continent,he read Marx,he read Ghandi,he read the bible and so on to come
>>to
>>a conclusion,yes he made terrible mistakes,but these were not out of want
>>of
>>power but that of progress.If you take the trade Union question you will
>>see
>>his mistakes today and argued that our own Jallow Jallow made the greatest
>>contribution on this issue.But Nkurumah on many other issues was far
>>beyond
>>that of his counterparts,had there been any serious approach to some of
>>the
>>questions that Nkrumah raised and work very sincerely for,there is no
>>doubt
>>that we would have been at another stage.Whiles Seng was working hard
>>against the Independence of the Little Gambia,Nkurumah was busy given
>>Gambians Scholarship as a way of preparing Gambians for the independence
>>which he knew was certainly on the way coming ,among those who benefited
>>from that scholarship are Gambians who have contributed greatly and are
>>still contributing to all aspect of the Gambian society and he did not do
>>this only for the Gambians but also for other African countries.A dictator
>>will never contribute to the freedom of the other with so much passion as
>>that of Nkrumah.
>>
>>For Freedom
>>Saiks
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