Reparations: Which Way for Africa?

BBC recently published an article demanding African traditional rulers to make an apology for collaborating in vending their subjects during the notorious and heinous slave trade. According to Civil Rights Congress, a Nigerian rights group’s letter to traditional chiefs: "We cannot continue to blame the white men, as Africans, particularly the traditional rulers, are not blameless." In addition, proponents of the slave trade, such as Archibald Dalzel, argue that African societies were not affected much by slave trade.

Let us face it. Who were the true harbingers and beneficiaries of this sacrilegious trade that saw an estimated 9.4 and 12 million Africans shipped to the new world? The answer is crystal clear. The West and Arab countries.

In the 19th century, European abolitionists, most prominently Dr. David Livingstone, argued that Africa’s fragile local economy and societies were severely harmed by the trade. Scholars such as Basil Davidson later conceded it might have had some benefits while still acknowledging its largely negative impact on Africa.

We’re talking about 10 to 12 million people. Who bothered to document those that died on the way and struggles to catch them? Why doesn’t the UN want to recognize this? Isn’t this deliberate racism and complicity-cum-duplicity?

I once read a certain infamous and fictitious literature blaming Africans for their miseries thanks to their leniency and sheepish behaviour towards slavery, colonialism and imperialism. But if we face it, there’s another missing link that has never been observed and appreciated.

Why was it possible for gluttonous colonialists, traders, missionaries, merchants and what not to take North even South America and Australia but not Africa with all her abundant natural resources? The reason is clear: there was fierce resistance. Some give far-fetched reasons such as mosquitoes, diseases and so on. But is this true? True history of African resistance has nary been written. In its place there is a bogus and dubious one that incriminates and misleads.

Back to this thing-apology, what must be done is not to make an apology but to redress the victims. If someone asked me who must make an apology between the descendants of the chiefs and the current slave masters in state houses in Africa, I’d prefer the latter. The miseries they are causing are graver than those caused by traditional rulers. If apology is such an in-thing, well, our slave masters that have hijacked us must do it. They’re the ones representing their masters. Who would think a sane person would foolishly name any of his street or anything after Queen Victoria or Elizabeth, king leopard, Bismark, etc whose rule robbed our continents?

Africa is weak economically and democratically partly because it was fractured to make it succumb to exploitation. Were it not for the current slave masters, Africans are able to prescribe their future. Who hampers them? The same-western countries that support their lapdogs in power in Africa. Today Africa has notorious and thuggish regimes in Congo, DRC, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and elsewhere. In principle, these autocratic regimes are weak and 'toppleable'. But thanks to the backing by Western countries, they’re still in power terrorizing innocent citizenry.

Almost all promising African post independent leaders either were manipulated or felled by imperialists. Refer to Kwame Nkrumah and Patrice Lumumba; genocide in Rwanda and Burundi not to mention crimes against humanity in Angola, South Africa, DRC and elsewhere. Who provided the arms and military trainings to those behind those crimes? A cudgel breeds the peace of him that bears it.

We can castigate our traditional rulers. But what of churches and mosques whose roles in slavery and colonialism are clear? Who is ready to confront the Vatican, for example, to spend its tax-free riches solicited from poor countries to redress affected countries? Do all those seeking apology from Africa remember the infamous Berlin conference 1884? Have they confronted European countries to make an apology-cum-redress?

How many tonnes of minerals, timber not to mention labour and taxes were stolen by colonial masters? This is the secret behind the riches of Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and others. The Jewish nation of Israel is not rich because it is made of geniuses or hard workers. But because of the redress and special treatments it has always lapped up from rich countries thanks to their conspiracy about Jewish persecution.

Switzerland, island of Man and other tax heavens are not swimming in lucre simply because they are smarter. They’re enhanced by our moneys hidden there by our rat-like thugs in power and slave masters.

Apology is not a big deal. Redress is. But importantly, it must be clear. Those trying to mislead by inculpating us and demanding apology instead redress must be taken as agents of the same evil. Indeed slavery is but holocaust II.

Source: The African Executive Magazine Nov. 18, 2009.