as for democracy, the notion that it is somehow a foreign imposition on
africa strikes me as a retrograde, empty notion. as i watch the images
of the brave peope in egypt, i think we need to call for intellectual
commitment to the cause they are risking their lives for.
it isn't anything "western." the west doesn't "own" justice or freedom
or systems that value the person. the west has oppressed and slaughtered
enough already, and it isn't a question of a regional failing or an
innate one. there is no superior system at stake, invented here or
there, that requires emulation.
there are basic concepts that we all on earth, everywhere, understand
perfectly well, and if we had the courage would fight for. there are
also concepts to be opposed such as oppression and injustice. can't we
all see that the very rich enjoy lives at the expense of the very poor?
not just in africa! there is a greater discrepancy between rich and poor
in the u.s. than most places on earth, including africa.
what "western" or "african" system do we need to fight for justice?
just our human values.
the same is true for democracy. i find despicable arguments that justify
the subordination of a people and justify the elevation of another. it
isn't "western" or "african" to call for a political order where we all
have a voice, a vote.
there are several ways to organize this: a representative system could
be winner take all; but it doesn't have to be. the parliamentary system
has worked with proportionate representation: everyone is a winner
there, though the larger winners get a stronger role in the govt. how
else would you have it?
can you imagine we are to emulate a society from the past, living in
ways that have nothing to do with today's states or urban environments,
or villages. we live today. we need systems that are responsive to our
lives today, and that count each of us equally. after that, you can make
your distinctions on how to do this.
i want us to imagine ourselves in tahrir square: we want the tyrant out,
we want decent lives and a govt that doesn't throw us in prison and
torture us. let's start with basic principles of decent society, and
forget about who is supposed to claim credit for inventing decency.
ken
On 2/5/11 1:54 AM, Anunoby, Ogugua wrote:
> "This democracy, which leaves out a whole lot of the people who 'lose' the 'elections' may
> not be optimal multi-tribal, multi-clan, multi-state systems that constitute modern African states"'
>
> km
>
> Multi-party/candidate democratic elections are contest that produce winners and losers. Candidates that contest these elections in good faith know to accept the verdict of the electorate if the elections pass the general "smell" test. Democratic elections' outcomes therefore imply that a whole lot of people (usually a minority of people) may be left out until the next elections when all that may change.
> African countries challenges in the practice of modern democratic governance are not as much the result of the diversity of their constituent parts as they are because of ethnic chauvinism, the failure of governance, and the opportunism of politicians who choose to play the ethnic/religion card to gain/retain political power. Very few countries in the world are homogeneous. Somalia generally is, by ethnicity and religion but she is more political fragmented than most other African countries. Zimbabwe has two major ethnic groups and she is by most accounts a failed state. Many African political leaders accentuate their countries' population difference for short-term political gain. China, India, and Malaysia are not homogeneous countries. Their leaders have nevertheless, succeeded for the most in crafting countries that citizens accept as theirs and therefore countries that work. The countries have consequently made and continue to make great development leaps that citizens are proud of, right before our eyes. I believe you mean well when you said "my Akan language" for example. Why not one of Ghana's languages instead?
> What ever Gbagbo's incentives, motivations, and objectives are, there is now no doubt that he is assiduously and fervently determined to destroy his country. His proclaimed patriotism is consequently doubtful. He has been president of his country for ten years. For five of those years, he was an unelected president. Why should he continue as president of his country after an externally funded election that he accepted to participate in, and declared to have lost. He is said to be a former professor of history and an expert on the French revolution. If the above are true, one must conclude that while he may have passed through history, history has definitely not passed through him. As a result of his own choice, his scholastic accomplishments are presently not yielding dividends in his "service" to his country. he has become a costly and heavy burden and scourge to his country, continent, and race.
>
> oa
> ________________________________________
> From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Mensah, Edward K. [dehasnem@uic.edu]
> Sent: Friday, February 04, 2011 6:29 PM
> To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Please Leave Gbagbo Alone
>
> Ikhide, Thanks you very much. Like they say in my Akan language, mo neka,
> meaning, thanks for saying it. I have said it many times in this forum
> that the problem is bigger than overthrowing one African (mis)ruler.
> I am sure that the historians among us know that the ancient African
> kigdoms were not ruled by a winner-takes-all 'democracy'. This democracy,
> which leaves out a whole lot of the people who 'lose' the 'elections' may
> not be optimal for multi-tribal, multi-clan, multi-state systems that
> constitute modern African states. A bit of thinking can help us design a
> more appropriate system.
> The only certaintly after any African 'election' is a mass rebellion. Why
> can't we see that this system we imported from our colonial masters is
> causing more problems than the original problem it is supposed to
> address-- the allocation of political power among the competing interests?
>
>
> Kwaku Mensah, PhD
> Chicago
>
>
> On Thu, February 3, 2011 8:48 am, Ikhide wrote:
>> Folks,
>>
>> Gbagbo is a jerk. Like practically every other misruler in Black Africa. I
>> get
>> that. But why is the world picking on him? Are we not yelling at the
>> symptoms of
>> a larger problem? Democracy as practiced in Black Africa today has been a
>> plague
>> on a truly dispossessed people, perhaps worse than the scourge of AIDS.
>> This
>> "democracy" was imported willy-nilly by our leaders, political and
>> intellectual,
>> the new masters of mimicry. The last time I checked Gbagbo is an
>> intellectual.
>> We are asking for external forces to be massed against Ivory Coast because
>> it is
>> a small country. That is just not right. Are there no other options to
>> deal with
>> this matter?
>>
>>
>> If the soldiers take over from the resident termites in Aso Rock would the
>> AU
>> similarly mass soldiers against Nigeria? Why not send soldiers after
>> Mubarak in
>> Egypt? What about North Korea? What are we doing? Let me be blunt: Every
>> day I
>> wake up and pray for the end of whatever they are calling the yeye
>> government in
>> Nigeria. I will not cry in my beer if monkeys overthrow those assholes in
>> power.
>> Please leave Gbagbo alone. Our problems are worse than merely unseating an
>> asshole with a PhD. This democracy is not working for us. It is actually
>> killing
>> us.
>>
>> - Ikhide
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ________________________________
>> From: Abdul Bangura<theai@earthlink.net>
>> To: "USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com"
>> <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>
>> Cc: leonenet<leonenet@lists.umbc.edu>
>> Sent: Wed, February 2, 2011 12:48:05 PM
>> Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - War Criminal And Pervert Gbagbo
>> Tells AU
>> To Go To Hell
>>
>>
>> I hope that the African (Dis)Union can finally get out of the way of
>> ECOWAS to
>> fulfill his mandate. Thank you, War Criminal and Pervert Gbagbo, for
>> helping the
>> AU see its folly.
>> AU Mission in Ivory Coast Encounters Obstacles
>> Scott Stearns | Dakar February 02, 2011
>>
>> Photo: AP
>> Ivory Coast Prime Minister, Guillaume Soro, attends a media conference at
>> the
>> Golf Hotel in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, January 30, 2011.
>> The prime minister for the U.N.-certified winner of Ivory Coast's
>> presidential
>> election says African Union mediation is the last chance for a peaceful
>> resolution of the political crisis. The incumbent government says it will
>> not
>> accept any mediation that challenges the president's re-election.
>>
>> The African Union's latest effort to resolve the political crisis in Ivory
>> Coast
>> is having problems before it gets started.
>>
>> Members of the heads-of-state panel differ over the possible use of force
>> to
>> remove incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo. Gbagbo supporters oppose the
>> inclusion of the Burkina Faso president on the panel because he is an ally
>> of
>> Gbagbo's rival, Alassane Ouattara.
>>
>> Gbagbo's foreign minister says his government will not accept any finding
>> that
>> questions the legitimacy of the constitutional council annulling nearly 10
>> percent of all ballots cast, which made Gbagbo the winner.
>>
>> Ivory Coast's Electoral Commission and the United Nations say results
>> shows
>> Ouattara winning, even if most of the contested votes are thrown out.
>>
>> Ouattara's prime minister, Guillaume Soro, says the African Union mission
>> is the
>> last chance for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
>>
>> Soro says the five heads of state will go to Ivory Coast to ask the
>> elected
>> president to explain the guarantees he will offer to the losing president.
>> Soro
>> says Ouattara has promised if Gbagbo agrees to leave power, Ouattara will
>> accord
>> him the status of a former president with all of its privileges.
>>
>> Having served as Gbagbo's prime minister for more than three years, Soro
>> told
>> VOA that he does not expect the incumbent president will abide by the
>> decision
>> of the African Union, because the alliance already recognizes Ouattara.
>>
>> "AU recognized Alassane Ouattara as the elected president of Cote
>> d'Ivoire," he
>> said. "And I think that it is a victory for democracy in Cote d'Ivoire.
>> It is a
>> victory of the people of Cote d'Ivoire."
>>
>> Human Rights Watch says Gbagbo allies are killing and raping Ouattara
>> supporters
>> in post-election violence. The United Nations says peacekeepers are being
>> blocked from suspected mass grave sites.
>>
>> Soro says those responsible for that violence must be brought to justice.
>>
>> "The struggle for freedom and the fight for democracy is not easy," he
>> said. "In
>> the history of our continent, the struggle for freedom generally generates
>> crimes and killings and everything."
>>
>> Both of Ivory Coast's competing governments went into the African Union
>> summit
>> hoping for decisive action against their rival. Instead, they got a panel
>> of
>> heads of state. Soro says he is not disappointed.
>>
>> "No, no, no. I am not disappointed. I am a fighter," said Soro. "When
>> you
>> fight for democracy you can not be disappointed."
>>
>> The leaders of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, South Africa, and Tanzania
>> make
>> up the African Union panel. They met Monday to outline their strategy and
>> must
>> now decide when to visit Abidjan and how to approach the country's rival
>> presidents.--
>>
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa
>> Dialogue
>> Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
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>> --
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>
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--
kenneth w. harrow
distinguished professor of english
michigan state university
department of english
east lansing, mi 48824-1036
ph. 517 803 8839
harrow@msu.edu
--
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