Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - MODERATOR'S CONCERN AND QUESTIONS

Dear Toyin,

We must continually thank you for having established this listserv and for also continually reminding us of the essence for establishing it.  I find your concerns about 'tribal' and 'ethnic' jingoism valid, but then I noticed that you devolved your criticism to the so-called "Igbo-Yoruba" rivalry.  I believe your criticism should be about ethnicity and tribalism in general without resorting to these two groups, as you rightly said that the concept of this group is meant to be continental.

I was grateful in the early days of this group when I accidentally lumped onto it and found the discussions refreshing.  They were about ideas, though polarizing especially concerning people like me and George Ayittey who were accused of "promoting themselves" or George for announcing every place he had been invited to speak.  You remember when members of the forum had to sue for peace between George Ayittey and others or between Chika Onyeani and others.  I was accused of too much promotion of my book, "Capitalist Nigger," especially as the book had excoriated the so-called African elite class of being lazy, self-serving, and downright being the cause for Africa's abject poverty, underdevelopment and stagnation.  Of course, I still stand by my observations.  The articles were posted with numbers.  But those things are not happening here now as you have, in order not to antagonize anybody, let homophobic, xenophobic and ethnic supremacists run riot here.  I believe that you have the right to eschew anybody's postings that don't meet the standards for which you set up the forum.

The African immigrant has been acclaimed as the most educated in the U.S., but we appear uneducated in our actions when compared to other immigrant groups.  No doubt, there are individual accomplishments, but what is it that the African Diaspora can point to as its collective achievement in America?  We are more interested in our ethnic and village groups, as you rightly pointed out, not even our countries as we observe attempts at national organizations always devolve back to ethnic bickering.  Hence our failure to organize ourselves in the mode of the Jewish, Asian or Latino groups, who have used their collective power to bring pressure to bear on those who make decisions concerning their areas and concerns.

Last year, for example, when President Obama invited African Heads of State for a Summit in Washington, DC, some of us believed that it was an opportune time for these Presidents/Prime Ministers to meet with their most important constituency. In fact, I fired an open letter to them that they should not disappoint their most important constituency, the African Diaspora, for after all we contribute about $80 billion annually to the African economy, resulting in the resilience of the continent's incredible impressive economic growth rate.  But what ended up happening: they not only disappointed the African Diaspora but they met as usual organizations such as the Corporate Council on Africa, an organization run by Caucasians.  But were the Presidents to blame - well not really.  And why, because the African community was not and still not organized.  We have all kinds of ineffective African organizations headed by individuals who are more treated in promoting themselves.

Of course, that is one of my diatribes which will be for another article.

So really, dear Toyin, you established this forum with a standard in mind.  Stop lamenting about people writing this and that.  There are other forums for that.  You possess the big stick.  If people don't want to meet the standards you believe are expected of the forum, don't post their contributions.  Even me as one of the greatest offenders.  Period.

Again, thanks.

Chika Onyeani

-----Original Message-----
From: Bode <ominira@gmail.com>
To: usaafricadialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Fri, Apr 10, 2015 1:21 pm
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - MODERATOR'S CONCERN AND QUESTIONS

Nuru Akinyemi,

The very language you have used here " especially nauseating, extremely disappointing to say the least, and a tremendous waste of time" is in part what the moderator is cautioning against. Again, you can state your agreement with the moderator without indirectly disparaging anyone.  

On 4/10/15, 1:09 PM, "Nuru Akinyemi" < nakinyem@kennesaw.edu> wrote:

Thank you Prof! Reading the postings here the last few weeks and months has been especially nauseating, extremely disappointing to say the least, and a tremendous waste of time. We are better than this. I used to recommend this forum to my students. Let's hope those silenced, bullied and drowned out voices will reconsider and resurface.  They are missed.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Nuru Akinyemi.

---

From: "Toyin Falola" < toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu>
To: "dialogue" < USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2015 10:56:33 AM
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - MODERATOR'S CONCERN AND QUESTIONS

A nationalist and Pan-Africanist voice

When this site was created, it was to be a Pan-Africanist voice, projecting visions of a transformative diaspora network that will be part of the changes in Africa and its diaspora. It was not to be a racial or ethnic site. Indeed, it was created to bring together voices that are not framed as "ethnic" but as nationalist, panAfricanist and continentalist. We were to be a collection of individuals who seek the best in our people, and who take the tools to unite.

 

 Over time, LGBTS voices were drowned, and voices from other African countries began to disappear. More recently, it became an avenue for some to express ethnic sentiments, to defend causes and words that are not defensible, to rate the performance of one "tribal" leader over another "tribal" rival. The poor and the powerless become betrayed and subverted. Scholarship becomes an agency of narrow ideological pursuits in the cause of divisive ethnic politics.

 

Identities are important, but as different scholars defend those causes, they should ponder in their minds whether this is the role for contemporary intellectuals to do. To those who are not cynical and self-appointed ethnic warriors, I would like to pose some questions.

 

Where should the diaspora scholars stand on divisive issues, and whom should they represent?

 

Should the views of ethnic warriors and those of scholars be the same?

 

Is there no way to frame analysis other than through the prism of the ethnic?

 

Whether it is in the Nigerian civil war or the Rwanda genocide, why do scholars become involved as central figures?

 

If a Yoruba politician steals money, is this the reason why the Igbo politician should steal money?  And if the Igbo politician does the same, is this a justification for the Yoruba scholar to defend the Yoruba thief? Is a thief not a thief irrespective of where he comes from?

 

If the diasporan scholars of this generation fall short of the remarkable contributions of Marcus Garvey and W. E. B. Du Bois, can we not dismiss them as a collective failure? What is the worth of their degrees if their views are far worse than those of peasants with consciousness to the poor?

 

Is Ebola, poverty, prostitution, destitution (etc.)  ethnic issues? Can the collective intellectual might of scholars not be focused on issues of great concerns? Is being Igbo or Yoruba a qualification to advance democracy and sustainable development?

 

Africa's population will eventually reach a staggering figure of 5 billion by 2050, according to current projection, what is the role of African scholars in coming up with discussions that will address the various issues around this?

 

 

 

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Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
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Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
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Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
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