Reflections from the African Studies Association of Africa (ASAA) Conference, Accra, Ghana [October, 2017]

Nicodemus Minde

United States International University – Africa

The conference [October 12-14, 2017] was an excellent opportunity to debate the Africa’s standing in global politics. The conference stimulated my interest in the discussion around African studies, Africa’s agency in international relations and place of local agencies in conflict management and peacebuilding. The panel that I presented was titled “The future of Peacebuilding: Security, governance and transitional justice in post-colonial Africa.” This panel among other things debated the potency of Western-led and state-centric approaches to peacebuilding and transitional justice in Africa. In my paper presentation “Peacebuilding through Transitional Justice in South Sudan: Challenges and Prospects”, I critiqued the liberal peace thesis in the peacebuilding agenda in South Sudan. I also critiqued the timing of transitional justice in post-conflict South Sudan arguing that it was rushed. Building on the thematic area of our panel, I also looked at the role of the local agency in peacebuilding. The resulting discussion was on the need for a careful balance between Western approaches to peacebuilding with those that we refer as traditional.

I participated in many other panels which among other things looked at decolonizing academia, deconstructing and reimaging educational systems, democratic consolidation and discourses of development. All panels managed to stimulate debate and discussion on the place of Africa in global politics. For me the best debate came from Emeritus Professor Jacob Gordon of University of Kansas who presented on the role of ASAA in African Studies. Prof. Gordon averred that unless ASAA develops its capacity it cannot influence anything in the global arena. He challenged the role of ASAA and prescribed ways it can be able to resuscitate African intellectualism.

Worth Sharing: [“Who Are We and Whose Are We?”: Professor Ampofo’s Inaugural Address at Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences]

Often, when people talk about identity they refer to individual identity. Recently, however, the focus is shifting to look more closely at the concept of national identity and its impact on individual identity. In her inaugural address as a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, Professor Akosua Adomako Ampofo, a Co-Editor of this Blog, spoke on how some aspects of national identity are impacted by the dwindling image people have of themselves as Ghanaians. Her lecture touched on some aspects of national identity such as food, language, architecture, clothing and artefacts which are significant for a people’s national identity, including Ghanaians. She suggested what others are doing and some of the specific ways in which we can re-claim a people’s national identity.

Language, an embodiment of a people’s culture and identity was one of the issues Professor Ampofo discussed at length. Like most African countries, Ghana has many local languages. It is therefore surprising that not even one of these languages is legitimized as a national language. She noted this lack of respect and attention given to Ghanaian languages and suggested this was implicated in the country’s dire socio-economic status. She observed that the insistence on the use of foreign colonial languages, English and French, cuts out a huge portion of the population who are most fluent and comfortable in their own local languages. She sees the exclusion of Ghanaian languages as a reflection of the negative attitude towards local things. This echoes a point made severally by our friend and colleague, Professor Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. While the issue of selecting one local language as a national language still remains a thorny issue, the fact that other African countries like Tanzania, South Africa and Kenya have been able to do this is a reminder to any doubters that an official national African language is possible.

On architecture, Professor Adomako Ampofo was surprised that architectural designs that favour the local climate have been abandoned in favour of those that do not suit the warm and humid climate in the tropics. During a period when there is no electricity, a visit to most of these buildings with so-called “modern” architectural designs will leave one wondering whether the goal of putting up the building was to simply showcase the architect’s ability to design a sophisticated edifice, or for the building to be used as a working or living space. This is due to the unbearable heat one has to endure during such “unforeseen” times, as if the architect had forgotten which part of the world they were designing the building for! Most Ghanaians who grew up in their grandmother’s village houses well remember that even without air conditioners, all one needs to do is open the windows and the house is filled with enough breeze to make one wrap him/herself in a blanket, especially at dawn. The secret to this is simple: the houses were built in such a way that the windows are positioned in the direction of the wind to enhance circulation in the rooms and to enhance the passage of the wind. Some houses, also had sophisticated technologies such as water reservoirs beneath the building. Harvesting water beneath the house and strategic positioning of windows in the design of the house, greatly contributes to the cool temperatures within these so-called “primitive” houses.

Professor Ampofo expressed regret that such fine architectural styles have been abandoned in place of western ones. In most parts of Ghana now, especially the urban areas, putting up concrete buildings with glazed windows and doors is seen as a sign of prestige. These glass windows, however, contribute to heat retention and result in a high demand for ceiling fans and air conditioners with a resultant increase in demand for power to run these electrical devices in homes and offices.

The significant connection between food and culture is embodied in the saying “you are what you eat.” The definitive attribute of food in addition to its health value cannot be lost on anyone. Food has always been an important aspect of culture. Professor Ampofo wondered why with all the healthy food we have in Ghana the nation spends billions of Ghana Cedis importing polished rice. Let’s conveniently forget about the fact that it has been scientifically proven that the locally grown rice is much healthier. Professor Ampofo was also astounded as to why people would prefer to patronize junk food imported from abroad rather than consume the nutritious locally prepared foods available. All these, she saw as a loss of part of our identity as Ghanaian.

With respect to clothing, she pondered why local fabrics and designs have been abandoned for foreign imported clothes and designs. She also questioned why our monuments are being left to the vagaries of the weather when they are an important aspect of our history and identity. The destruction of some significant Ghanaian artworks and the absence of museums of art and culture to preserve those that remain is of huge concern to her since with time, all traces of the artistic background will be lost and replaced by European or American ones.

Professor Ampofo however believes there is still hope; all is not lost for the reclamation of Ghanaian identity. As Maya Angelou once said “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” Ghanaian culture has faced some challenges and might have lost some of its gloss but as Maya Angelou says if we face the reality of the challenge with courage, the future will be better than the present. Professor Ampofo concluded her presentation with a call for a return to the country’s indigenous ways of doing things and a perfection of these indigenous ways as a way of positioning them as sustainable substitutes to the current options available.

Shared from CIHA Blog.

Book Review: Julius Nyerere by Paul Bjerk

In a short and precise volume, Paul Bjerk succeeds in debating the legacy of Nyerere in six short chapters. The book deals with the highs and lows of Nyerere’s illustrious political career and balances this in a manner befitting a great African statesman, says Nicodemus Minde. 

Paul Bjerk has taken keen interest in the study of Tanzania’s postcolonial history and in particular he has written about the country’s foreign policy and national building agenda with an emphasis on the leadership of Tanzania’s founding president Julius Nyerere. He is the author of Building a Peaceful Nation: Julius Nyerere and the Establishment of Sovereignty in Tanzania, (1960-1964) – which captures the very essence of national building in the formative years of Tanzania’s independence. Having been a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Iringa in Tanzania, Bjerk builds on his previous studies of the country by writing a short, succinct biography of Julius Nyerere.

The book generally highlights the personal life of Nyerere, who was fondly known as Mwalimu – Swahili for teacher. The political story of Mwalimu has been told in many platforms including books, articles, monographs and documentaries. Bjerk, through conversations with Nyerere’s childhood friends tells of Mwalimu’s early life, growing up as a chief’s son. Nyerere’s mother was the fifth wife of Chief Nyerere Burito and as such educating the child of a fifth wife was not always a priority. However, after been convinced by another chief, Nyerere’s father sent his son to school. The author points to the early political socialisation in primary school, secondary school and the Catholic Church which influenced Nyerere’s thinking. Nyerere’s egalitarian principles were shaped by his mentor, Father Richard Walsh, who was the headmaster of St. Mary’s Secondary School in Tabora. His university education at Makerere College in Uganda and at Edinburgh, Scotland further shaped his philosophy of socialism. Upon his return home after completing a master’s degree at Edinburgh, Nyerere planned to venture into active politics where he became a member of the Tanganyika African Association (TAA).

The book situates Nyerere’s role in Tanzania’s political trajectory from the 1950s up until the independence in 1961. The Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) succeeded TAA and became the official political organisation that worked towards Tanganyika’s independence. Away from the lionisation often associated with Nyerere, Bjerk highlights Nyerere’s political suppression of dissenting voices such as those of Zuberi Mtemvu (pp.54-55). Nyerere’s decision to suppress his critics was justified on grounds of inclusivity and equality – a foundation of his philosophical underpinnings. Mtemvu was a proponent of the Africanist ideology which was pushing for a more aggressive policy of Africanisation (p.56). Nyerere’s vision was to build a united nation.

In exploring Nyerere’s contribution to the Tanganyika-Zanzibar Union in 1964, the author captures the intrigues and intricacies of the union formation. The book explores the then global interests and the interplay and power struggles between Zanzibar President Sheikh Abeid Karume and Nyerere. The book also highlights Nyerere’s power consolidation through overt and covert means. In particular, the author draws our attention to the way Nyerere managed to curtail voices that criticised government policy and also that questioned the workings of the Union (p.99).

A statue of Julius Nyerere in Dodoma
Photo credit: Pernille Bærendtsen via Flickr( http://bit.ly/2kEvFtg) CC BY-SA 2.0

Nyerere’s philosophic beliefs anchored in the Arusha Declaration of 1967 that birthed Ujamaa and Self-Reliance or what Nyerere referred to as African Socialism is well addressed in the book. Bjerk situates his analysis of Ujamaa and self-reliance in Nyerere’s vision for national building and through a subtle analysis of Tanzania’s diplomacy and foreign policy. For example, the book looks at the break in relations between Tanzania and Britain in 1965 which was in protest of the latter’s passive policy toward Southern Rhodesia. It was after this that Nyerere turned to the Chinese who helped in constructing the Tanzania-Zambia railway.

The author also looks at Nyerere’s forays in Africa between 1978 and the 1990s including Tanzania’s ousting of Uganda’s Idi Amin, the Tanganyika – Zanzibar Union question and the frosty relations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Nyerere’s voluntary retirement from the presidency in 1985 meant that he took the elder statesman mantle. Nyerere’s aura as statesman and his shadow was ominous especially in the domestic political party discourse. Nyerere spoke almost prophetically on the dangers of corruption in the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM). Mwalimu’s sunset years saw him play a role in the Burundi peace mediation. The world mourned Nyerere when he died at a London hospital in October 1999 and his legacy as the author sums up was one of a man of “rare integrity, intelligence and commitment” (p.148).

In a short volume, Bjerk succeeds in debating the legacy of Nyerere through six short chapters. The book recognises the highs and lows of Nyerere’s illustrious political careers and balances this in a manner befitting a great African statesman.

The book, despite being a biography of Nyerere, draws parallels to contemporary Tanzania’s leadership. The leadership of President John Magufuli has often been mirrored to that of Nyerere due their ostensible nationalistic goals. This book offers that opportunity to understand Tanzania’s political culture and history through the life and times of Mwalimu Nyerere.

Julius Nyerere. Paul Bjerk. Ohio University Press. 2017.

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Nicodemus Minde (@decolanga) is a PhD student in International Relations at the United States International University – Africa (USIU- Africa)