Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Why is Africa in such a mess?

well, i can't help chiming in that i strongly disagree. 1.there is no
such thing as "the evidence of history," there is only the archive, and
i suggest you read up on your derrida before positing the archive as a
source for unqualified truth. 2.leaders don't construct nations; if
anything, it is the other way around, or maybe i should cite hegel who
states that leaders are the embodiment of the world spirit. for all the
antagonism toward hegel, for his vile comments on africa, it is ironic
that "leaders construct nation" should be advanced here. it was hegel
who saw in napolean the embodiment of the world spirit.
better we turn to marx who would have said it was human interest that
led to classes, classes interest, and leader/governments as the
instruments of the ruling class.
but even that is too programmatic.
ogugua: please tell me, where do you think leaders come from? aren't
they really "leaders"?

ken

On 12/19/10 6:54 PM, Anunoby, Ogugua wrote:
> The evidence of history, and human development and progress is clear leaders construct nations and making them great. There is no informed person anywhere that disputes the past and continuing terrible exploitation of Africa through slavery, colonialism, and neocolonialism. This is a settled subject for the most part.
> The concern now should be about what needs to be done to extricate Africa from the steel clutches of exploiter-countries and the tangled webs of underdevelopment that her leaders seem not to be worried about. It is even not clear that African leaders are not helping to spin the webs.What is oftentimes forgotten is that the countries that are believed to exploit Africa continue to produce leaders that maintain the status quo in favor of the countries at the same time that African countries seem to be unable to produce leaders that will challenge and end the said cycle of exploitation.
> Right before our eyes and under our noses, China, India, and South Korea and joining the ranks of Africa's exploiter-countries. Where are Africa's leaders? Do they know that this is happen right now? History can be real but this is no reason for history to successfully continue to hold a perpetual mortgage on the present and the past. It seems to me that the case being made sometimes, is that the past's holding of the present and the future hostages is inevitable and unstoppable. History is little use if its lessons are ignored or not learned.
>
> oa
> ________________________________________
> From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of kwame zulu shabazz [kwameshabazz@gmail.com]
> Sent: Saturday, December 18, 2010 7:41 PM
> To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Why is Africa in such a mess?
>
> Peace OA--African nations of been "independent" from roughly two generations. How does that work out to "many years"? Moreover, we have inherited borders and political systems that were mostly imposed.
>
> Re: Sudan--There is a lot more going on there than bad leadership. The Sudanese are divided by foreign religions. But they are also
>
>
> * fighting over increasingly scarce resources, particularly in Darfur (arable land).
> * The north-south skirmishes are being pushed along by Islamicists in Khartoum, by
> * nationalists in Khartoum who believe that securing oil and other natural resources by any means necessary from southern Sudan is in the national interests
> * Zionist who want to undermine Islamic regimes
> * old and new imperialists (e.g. US and China)
> * undisciplined rebel factions.
>
> Re: Asia--Yes, Singapore, Japan, South Korea would appear to be far ahead of many African nations. Most of these nations have not abandoned their Gods and Ancestors, although Mau certainly tried to banish them China. Also these nations was not forced to deal with imposed languages and borders. This is especially daunting in Africa given the stunning level of cultural diversity.
>
> Chinese elites still speak Mandarin and Cantonese. African elites often prefer English or French or Portuguese. Not only that but China's path towards "development" is wrecking havoc on the environment. And the level of poverty in some parts of India would embarrass many Africans.
>
> My sense of things is that we Africans have been colonized psychologically in ways that Asian nations were not. This is what Biko was attempting to address.
>
> Last and most importantly, I think the slave trades--transatlantic, saharan, red sea, indian ocean--have undermined African development profoundly. kzs
>
>
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--
kenneth w. harrow
distinguished professor of english
michigan state university
ph. 517 803 8839
harrow@msu.edu

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