I am sharing the below to draw the attention of those interested but who might not have considered reading the speech. It is never enough to read extracts because they could be out of context and that is what is common with western media.
GG
Thursday, February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed his nation, announcing a "special military operation" against Ukraine.
Below are highlights translated by Al Jazeera staff based on the transcript, released by the Russian presidency:
"Respected citizens of Russia! Dear friends!
"Today, I again consider it necessary to come back to the tragic events taking place in the Donbas and the key issue of ensuring Russian security. Let me start with what I said in my address of February 21. I am referring to what causes us particular concern and anxiety – those fundamental threats against our country that year after year, step by step, are offensively and unceremoniously created by irresponsible politicians in the West.
"I am referring to the expansion of the NATO to the east, moving its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders. It is well known that for 30 years we have persistently and patiently tried to reach an agreement with the leading NATO countries on the principles of equal and inviolable security in Europe. In response to our proposals, we constantly faced either cynical deception and lies, or attempts to pressure and blackmail, while NATO, despite all our protests and concerns, continued to steadily expand. The war machine is moving and, I repeat, it is coming close to our borders."
"After the collapse of the USSR, the realignment of the world began, and the norms of international law that had been developed – the key, basic ones being adopted in the aftermath of World War II and largely consolidating its outcome – began to get in the way of the self-proclaimed winner of the Cold War.
"Of course, in practical life, in international relations and the rules that regulated them, it was necessary to take into account changes in the state of affairs in the world and the balance of power. This should have been done professionally, smoothly, patiently, taking into account and respecting the interests of all countries and understanding one's own responsibility. But no, the euphoria from having absolute superiority, a kind of modern-day absolutism, and the low level of general culture and arrogance of decision-makers [led to] decision prepared, adopted and pushed through that were beneficial only for themselves. The situation began to develop according to a different scenario.
"You don't have to look far for examples. First, without any approval from the UN Security Council, they carried out a bloody military operation against Belgrade, using aircraft and missiles right in the very centre of Europe. [They carried out] several weeks of continuous bombing of cities and critical infrastructure. We have to remind of these facts, as some Western colleagues do not like to remember those events, and when we talk about it, they prefer to point not to the norms of international law, but to the circumstances that they interpret as they see fit.
"Then came the turn of Iraq, Libya, Syria. The illegitimate use of military force against Libya, the twisting of all decisions taken by the UN Security Council on the Libyan issue led to the complete destruction of the state, to the emergence of a major hotbed of international terrorism, to a humanitarian catastrophe and a civil war that has not ended to this day. The tragedy, to which they doomed hundreds of thousands, millions of people not only in Libya, but throughout this region, gave rise to a massive migration wave from North Africa and the Middle East to Europe.
"They ensured a similar fate for Syria. The Western coalition's military activities on the territory of this country without the consent of the Syrian government or the approval of the UN Security Council are nothing but aggression, intervention.
"However, there is a special place for the invasion of Iraq, which was carried out also without any legal grounds. As a pretext, they put forward supposedly reliable information from the United States about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. As proof of this, publicly, in front of the eyes of the whole world, the US secretary of state shook some kind of a test tube with white powder, assuring everyone that this is a chemical weapon being developed in Iraq. And then it turned out that all this was a hoax, a bluff: there were no chemical weapons in Iraq."
"In this context, there were promises to our country not to expand NATO even one inch to the east. I repeat – they deceived us, in other words, they simply conned us. Yes, you can often hear that politics is a dirty business. Perhaps [that is so], but not to this extent. After all, such cheating behaviour contradicts not only the principles of international relations, but above all the generally recognised norms of morality. Where is justice and truth here? Just total lies and hypocrisy.
"By the way, American politicians, political scientists and journalists themselves write and say that in recent years, an actual "empire of lies" has been created inside the United States. It's hard to disagree with that, as it's true. But let us not understate: the United States is a great country, a system-forming power. All her satellites not only dutifully agree, sing along to its music, but also copy its behaviour, and enthusiastically accept the rules they are offered. Therefore, with good reason, we can confidently say that the entire so-called Western bloc, formed by the United States in its own image and likeness, all of it is an 'empire of lies.'"
"Despite all of this, in December 2021 we once again made an attempt to agree with the United States and its allies on the principles of ensuring security in Europe and on the non-expansion of NATO. Everything was in vain. The US position did not change. They did not consider it necessary to negotiate with Russia on this important issue for us, continuing to pursue their own goals and disregarding our interests."
"As for the military sphere, today, modern Russia, even after the collapse of the USSR and the loss of a significant part of its capacity, is one of the most powerful nuclear powers in the world and possesses certain advantages in some of the newest types of weaponry. In this regard, no one should have any doubts that a direct attack on our country will lead to defeat and horrible consequences for any potential aggressor."
"As NATO expands to the east, with every passing year, the situation for our country is getting worse and more dangerous. Moreover, in recent days the leadership of NATO has been openly talking about the need to speed up, force the advancement of the alliance's infrastructure to the borders of Russia. In other words, they are doubling down on their position. We can no longer just watch what is happening. It would be absolutely irresponsible on our part.
"Further expansion of the NATO infrastructure and the beginning of military development in Ukraine's territories are unacceptable for us. The problem, of course, is not NATO itself – it is only an instrument of US foreign policy. The problem is that in the territories adjacent to us – territories that were historically ours, I emphasise – an "anti-Russia" hostile to us is being created, placed under full external control; [it] is intensively settled by the armed forces of NATO countries and is supplied with the most modern weapons.
"For the United States and its allies, this is the so-called policy of containment of Russia, [which brings] obvious geopolitical benefits. And for our country, this is ultimately a matter of life and death, a matter of our historical future as a people. And this is not an exaggeration – it is true. This is a real threat not just to our interests, but to the very existence of our state, its sovereignty. This is the very red line that has been talked about many times. They crossed it.
"About the situation in the Donbas. We see that the forces that carried out a coup in Ukraine in 2014, seized power and are holding it through sham electoral procedures, have given up on the peaceful settlement of the conflict. For eight years, for eight long years, we have done everything possible to resolve the situation by peaceful, political means. All was in vain.
"As I said in my previous address, one cannot look at what is happening there without compassion. It is simply not possible to stand all this any more. It is necessary to immediately stop this nightmare – the genocide against the millions of people living there, who rely only on Russia, only on us. These aspirations, feelings, pain of people are the main motivation for us to take the decision to recognise the people's republics of Donbas.
"What I think is important to emphasise further is that the leading NATO countries, in order to achieve their own goals, support extreme nationalists and Neo-Nazis in Ukraine, who, in turn, will never forgive the Crimeans and Sevastopol residents for choosing reunification with Russia.
"They, of course, will crawl into the Crimea, just like in the Donbas, in order to kill, just as the gangs of Ukrainian nationalists, Hitler's accomplices, killed defenceless people during the Great Patriotic War. They openly lay claim to a number of other Russian territories.
"The course of events and the incoming information show that Russia's clash with these forces is inevitable. It is only a matter of time: they are getting ready, they are waiting for the right time. Now they also claim to acquire nuclear weapons. We will not allow this to happen."
"We have been left no other option to protect Russia and our people, but for the one that we will be forced to use today. The situation requires us to take decisive and immediate action. The people's republics of Donbas turned to Russia with a request for help.
"In this regard, in accordance with Article 51 of Part 7 of the UN Charter, with the approval of the Federation Council of Russia and in pursuance of the treaties of friendship and mutual assistance ratified by the Duma on February 22 with the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, I decided to launch a special military operation.
"Its goal is to protect people who have been subjected to abuse and genocide by the regime in Kyiv for eight years. And for this we will pursue the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine, as well as bringing to justice those who committed numerous bloody crimes against civilians, including citizens of the Russian Federation.
"Our plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force. At the same time, we hear that recently in the West there is talk that the documents signed by the Soviet totalitarian regime, securing the outcome of World War II, should no longer be upheld. Well, what is the answer to this?
"The outcome of World War II, as well as the sacrifices made by our people on the altar of victory over Nazism, are sacred. But this does not contradict the high values of human rights and freedoms, based on the realities that have developed today in the decades following war. It also does not cancel the right of nations to self-determination, enshrined in Article 1 of the UN Charter."
"In this regard, I appeal to the citizens of Ukraine. In 2014, Russia was obliged to protect the residents of Crimea and Sevastopol from those whom you, yourself call "Nazis". Crimeans and Sevastopol residents made their choice to be with their historical homeland, with Russia, and we supported this. I repeat, we simply could not do otherwise.
"What is happening today does not come out of a desire to infringe on the interests of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. It is related to the protection of Russia itself from those who took Ukraine hostage and are trying to use it against our country and its people."
"I also need to address the military personnel of the Ukrainian armed forces.
"Dear comrades! Your fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers did not fight the Nazis and defend our common Motherland, so that today's Neo-Nazis can seize power in Ukraine. You took an oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people, and not to the anti-national junta that plunders Ukraine and abuses its people.
"Don't follow its criminal orders. I urge you to lay down your weapons immediately and go home. I want to make clear that all servicemen of the Ukrainian army who do so will be able to freely leave the combat zone and return to their families.
"Once again, I emphasise, all responsibility for possible bloodshed will lay on the conscience of the ruling regime in Ukraine.
"Now a few important, very important words for those who may be tempted to intervene in the ongoing events. Whoever tries to hinder us, or threaten our country or our people, should know that Russia's response will be immediate and will lead you to consequences that you have never faced in your history. We are ready for any turn of events. All necessary decisions in this regard have been made. I hope that I will be heard."
"Dear compatriots!
"I am confident that the soldiers and officers of the Russian Armed Forces devoted to their country will professionally and courageously fulfil their duty. I have no doubt that all levels of government, the experts responsible for the stability of our economy, financial system and social sphere, the heads of our companies and all Russian business will act in a coordinated and efficient manner. I count on a patriotic consensus position of all parliamentary parties and public forces.
"As it has always been the case in our history, the fate of Russia is in the reliable hands of our multinational people. And this means that the decisions made will be implemented, the goals set will be achieved, the security of our Motherland will be reliably guaranteed.
"I believe in your support, in that invincible strength that our love for the Fatherland gives us."
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/24/putins-speech-declaring-war-on-ukraine-translated-excerpts
--There is no end to the bad things the U.S. did, but because I picked my nose yesterday doesn't mean I can't get mad at your doing still worse today -Kenneth Harrow.
Kenneth, if you picked your nose yesterday and today you are still picking your nose, it will be hypocritical of you to get mad at another nose picker because you consider the person's nose picking worse than yours. Until you have stopped your own nose picking, you have neither moral nor legal right to get mad at any person even if the degree of nose picking of the person in question is relatively worse than yours.
The purpose of reading history, either as a hobby or profession, is not to forget its lessons when it is time for its practical application. As Henry Kissinger put it, "One of the most dificult challenges a nation confronts is to interpret correctly the lessons of its past. For the lessons of history, as of all experience, are contigent : they teach the consequences of certain actions, but they leave to each generation the task of determining which situations are comparable (p.16, Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy)." Cuba is a Sovereign State that permitted the then Soviet Union to erect a missile base in her territory, in 1962. When the U.S., through satelite photographs detected the missiles base, she ordered a naval blockade of the Island nation, Cuba, which does not even share land border with the U.S. The crisis was resolved when the Soviet Union agreed to dismantle the missiles base which the U.S. considered a threat to her existence. Now in 2022, the U.S. and her NATO allies intend to recruit Ukraine that shares land border with Russia into NATO and thereafter install missiles base there.
Yet, after the dissolution of Soviet Union, the Communist WASAW millitary alliance which was a counterforce to the Capitalist NATO military alliance was dissolved and the end of the cold war was not only proclaimed but also the beginning of peaceful coexistence amongst all mankind. Naturally, NATO military alliance should also have been dissolved just like WASAW military alliance too. A military alliance must predetermine its enemies and who are the enemies of NATO members? However, NATO military alliance did not only continue to exist but expanded to include former Communist countries such as Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovania, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. It is an open fact that NATO missile base is in Poland, 107 kilometres to the Russian border.
On December 16, the United Nations tabled a resolution that called for "combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary racism." The resolution was carried by 130 votes to 2. The two countries that voted against the resolution were the U.S., and Ukraine. In his address to the Russian people on why he was sending expeditionary forces into Ukraine, Valdamir Putin said, "I am referring to the expansion of the NATO to the East, moving its military infrastructure closer to the Russian borders. It is well-known that for 30 years we have persistently tried to reach agreement with leading NATO countries on the principles of equal and inviolable security in Europe. ......, despite all our protests and concerns, NATO continued steadily to expand. The war machine is moving and, I repeat, it is coming close to our borders. .... Despite of all this, in December 2021, we once again made an attempt to agree with the United States and its allies on the principles of ensuring security in Europe and on the non-expansion of NATO. Everything was in vain." (excerpts culled from Aljazeera translation posted by Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju on this forum)
In order to know the contents of the agreement Russia tried to reach with the United States and her allies in December 2021, let us refer to the Green Left publication posted on this forum, 24 February 2022, by Cornelius Hamelberg. The requests of Russia are as follows : NATO guarantees that it will not deploy missiles in nations bordering Russia; NATO to stop military and naval exercises in nations and seas bordering Russia; Ukraine will not become a member of NATO; the West and Rusia to sign a binding East-West security pact; the landmark treaty between the U.S. and Russia covering itermediate-range nuclear weapons, which the US abandoned in 2019, to be restored. The U.S. and her NATO allies rejected the Russian requests on the ground that each sovereign state has the right to determine over her security and to enter into military alliance with any chosen country. This is where the lesson of history comes in. Cuba was a sovereign state that decided to allow Soviet Union to build missiles base in her territory, but the U.S. unilaterally ordered naval blockade of Cuba because U.S. considered the missiles in Cuba as a threat to the security of the U.S.A. Why is the U.S. led NATO countries granting Ukraine the same right they denied Cuba in 1962? Up till now the U.S. is still illegally occupying Guantánamo in Cuba against the wish of its government and the people. If the right of each nation to determine over its security is sacrosant, why is there so much noise about North Korea and Iran acquiring nuclear weapon?
What Kenneth Harrow failed to recognise in this Ukraine war is that from our experience the freedom and democratic rights proclaimed by the leading carnivores in the jungle have always ended in their prey on the vegetarian mammals on which carnivores feed. All appeals by the vegetarian mammals to the carnivores to stop killing and eating fellow animals have always been rebuffed as communism, socialism and autocracy by the carnivores. If the U.S. and her NATO military allies had agreed not to admit Ukraine as a member and not to place missiles in that country or if the leadership in Ukraine had signed an agreement with Russia never to become a member of NATO and never to allow NATO military alliance to place missiles in Ukraine, war would have been averted. If NATO military alliance does not consider Russia as an enemy why do they need to place nuclear missiles in a neighbouring country, directed at her?S. Kadiri
From: 'Emeagwali, Gloria (History)' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: 25 February 2022 00:12
To: Harrow, Kenneth <harrow@msu.edu>; usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [External] Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - African scholars!"if i were to look for a parallel,it would be germany marchinginto czechoslovakia and poland,with the rhetoric of savinggermans. the same fascist ruler whoused "power past power,"as saro-wiwa saw it."
This is a better approach. Give yourexamples. Don't speak for others.Most of us on this list areexperienced researchers.Let scholars collect a thousandinsights from various perspectiveson the subject.Those who feel itknow it, too. We would liketo hear from commentatorson South America and SoutheastAsia, too.
It is arrogant and presumptuous toassume that any reference to anotherhistorical incident of invasion has tofit into your mode of thinking. It isinsensitive of you to dismiss thepain of all regions, but your chosenareas of focus. To conclude thatreference to this or that historicalincident is automatically intendedto relativize, is an unproven,unfounded assumption.
Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History/African Studies, CCSU
africahistory.net; vimeo.com/ gloriaemeagwali
Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Research
Excellence Award, Univ. of Texas at Austin;
2019 Distinguished Africanist Award
New York African Studies Association
From: Harrow, Kenneth <harrow@msu.edu>
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2022 4:52 PM
To: Emeagwali, Gloria (History) <emeagwali@ccsu.edu>; usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [External] Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - African scholars!Please be cautious: **External Email**
gloria, i shouldn't speak unless i welcome being criticized. a "paternalist" is a funny term to use for me, but if you know me well enough, you can use it. i think you need to talk to my grandkids first, however.
this issue of raising comparisons now interests me doubly. first, the invasion of ukraine by its powerful neighbor is an abomination. for me the parallels are more colonial and imperial. did other countries, or the u.s., not act this way in one or another point in history? of course. raising that point is a diversion from the question of ukraine, and it is being done today over and over on the web. i am sorry to see that. if i were to look for a parallel, it would be germany marching into czechoslovakia and poland, with the rhetoric of saving germans. the same fascist ruler who used "power past power," as saro-wiwa saw it.let the ills of other countries be enumerated whenever you want, but not to "relativize" and thus diminish the critique of russia, which in the end diminishes the critique of colonial expansionism anywhere and anytime.ken
kenneth harrow
professor emeritus
dept of english
michigan state university
From: Emeagwali, Gloria (History) <emeagwali@ccsu.edu>
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2022 4:31 PM
To: Harrow, Kenneth <harrow@msu.edu>; usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [External] Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - African scholars!There you go again, Ken, tryingto muzzle voices and suppresshistorical information. Assensoh'sreference to Grenada was quitein order, and I thank him for that.
I also reflected on the HawaiianKingdom, having just comeacross a few well documenteddiscussions on the subject.In fact I am embarrassed torealize how long this case wasunknown by me, and justlearnt a few new facts aboutthe human rights violationof its last queen. You area real authentic non- partisanspecialist and advocate ofhuman rights, aren't you?
We can even add Libya, Iraq anddozens more, to Grenadaand Hawaii- each relevant tosome aspect of super powerconflict and conflict resolution.
I am actually wrapping my headaround the interconnectionswith Serbia, 1914, as well.I teach World History in additionto African History, so mythinking is multidimensionalover time and space, andcomparative, in methodology.
As a historian I take pride increating awareness andcriticizing all sides, at my ownpace. Grenada was wrong and sotoo Hawaii and Ukraine,Iraq, Libya etc.They each haveunique circumstances, andcan be categorized accordingto a long list of variables.
What's the purpose of airing them?
For the same reason that we studyhistory and politics, Ken - topromote knowledge productionand knowledge sharing,understanding and historicalawareness, in a local, regionaland global context.
I suppose that as a diehardpaternalist, you have the urgeto speak on behalf of yourmentees, juniors and subordinates.
I am not one of them, andnever will be.
Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History/African Studies, CCSU
africahistory.net; vimeo.com/ gloriaemeagwali
Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Research
Excellence Award, Univ. of Texas at Austin;
2019 Distinguished Africanist Award
New York African Studies Association
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Harrow, Kenneth <harrow@msu.edu>
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2022 12:09 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [External] Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - African scholars!Please be cautious: **External Email**
these are weak or false equivalencies. what's the purpose of airing them? there is no end to the bad things the u.s. did, but because i picked my nose yesterday doesn't mean i can't get mad at your doing still worse today.
what is the logic of this for a progressive? we need to feel free, as intellectuals, to criticize the bad things we see, to lend our voices to cry out against them. if my country's past, or even present, were bad, if it acted in the wrong, what does that have to do with us crying out? failing to do so legitimizes historical evils, over and over, anywhereken
kenneth harrow
professor emeritus
dept of english
michigan state university
From: 'Emeagwali, Gloria (History)' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2022 8:58 AM
To: Victor Okafor <vokafor@emich.edu>; usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Cc: Toyin Falola <toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu>; Serges Alain Djoyou Kamga <sergesalaindk@gmail.com>; Damien Ejigiri <dejigiri@yahoo.com>; Onyumbe Lukongo <onyumbe_lukongo@subr.edu>; kesedo@yahoo.com <kesedo@yahoo.com>; afaugustine@yahoo.com <afaugustine@yahoo.com>; Ucheoma Nwagbara <unwagbara@yahoo.com>; Teaway Collins <teaway2001@yahoo.com>; doyinck@gmail.com <doyinck@gmail.com>; noahkankam@gmail.com <noahkankam@gmail.com>; Thomas Ford <tmfordme@yahoo.com>; Godwin Ohiwerei <drohiwerei@gmail.com>; rigodan@yahoo.com <rigodan@yahoo.com>; Afoaku, Osita <osafoaku@indiana.edu>; Nana AB <abenad43@gmail.com>; dsmith@dillard.edu <dsmith@dillard.edu>
Subject: Re: [External] Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - African scholars!Grenada is a great reference.Iremember, too, what the US didto the Kingdom of Hawaii, startof the 20th century.
the-truth-behind-the-illegal-overthrow-of-the-hawaiian-kingdom/
Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History/African Studies, CCSU
africahistory.net; vimeo.com/ gloriaemeagwali
Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Research
Excellence Award, Univ. of Texas at Austin;
2019 Distinguished Africanist Award
New York African Studies Association
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Victor Okafor <vokafor@emich.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2022 4:50 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Cc: Toyin Falola <toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu>; Serges Alain Djoyou Kamga <sergesalaindk@gmail.com>; Damien Ejigiri <dejigiri@yahoo.com>; Onyumbe Lukongo <onyumbe_lukongo@subr.edu>; kesedo@yahoo.com <kesedo@yahoo.com>; afaugustine@yahoo.com <afaugustine@yahoo.com>; Ucheoma Nwagbara <unwagbara@yahoo.com>; Teaway Collins <teaway2001@yahoo.com>; doyinck@gmail.com <doyinck@gmail.com>; noahkankam@gmail.com <noahkankam@gmail.com>; Thomas Ford <tmfordme@yahoo.com>; Godwin Ohiwerei <drohiwerei@gmail.com>; rigodan@yahoo.com <rigodan@yahoo.com>; Afoaku, Osita <osafoaku@indiana.edu>; Nana AB <abenad43@gmail.com>; dsmith@dillard.edu <dsmith@dillard.edu>
Subject: Re: [External] Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - African scholars!Please be cautious: **External Email**
Brother Assensoh:What specifically ignited my response was TF's clarion call: "Develop your theories—don't let others impose their theories upon you."
On Wed, Feb 23, 2022 at 2:59 PM Assensoh, Akwasi B. <aassenso@indiana.edu> wrote:
Brother Victor:
You are correct that when the Igbo abuse the Yoruba, and vice versa, it is all in the family. Therefore, the scenario falls under "Afrocentric articulation"!
SIR Toyin wrote that his coffee almost fell when "one person said the US intervention was for good." Well, my cup of tea fell when I opened a parcel yesterday, which contained another tome, Decolonizing African Studies: Knowledge Production, Agency, And Voice by Toyin Falola: published by Rochester University Press, at i-xii; 6678 pages! I remembered his recent Cambridge University tome on Nigeria, which had a cover showing a poor Nigerian (a "Hausa man"?) carrying the heavy map of Nigeria on his shoulder, all by himself!!
Well, what is happening to Ukraine, like a soccer ball being kicked from left and right, is sad! I remember what Mr. Ronald Reagan's armed forces did in 1983 to Grenada; and what happened to the lawful Prime Minister Maurice Bishop (1944-1983)? Is that a replay in Ukraine? When i think of it, my cup of tea will fall again, again, and again!!!
A.B. Assensoh.
------
Rev. A.B. Assensoh, LL.M., PH.D.,
Co-Book Review Editor, African & Asian Studies Journal,
Professor Emeritus (Indiana University),
Courtesy Professor Emeritus (University of Oregon),
Department of History,
McKenzie Hall (2nd Floor), University of Oregon,
Eugene, OR 97403, U.S.A.
Telephone: (541) 953-7710
Fax: (541) 346-6576
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Victor Okafor <vokafor@emich.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2022 7:02 AM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Cc: Serges Alain Djoyou Kamga <sergesalaindk@gmail.com>
Subject: [External] Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - African scholars!This message was sent from a non-IU address. Please exercise caution when clicking links or opening attachments from external sources.
TF:That's an Afrocentric articulation. Nice job!
On Wed, Feb 23, 2022 at 8:18 AM Toyin Falola <toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:
The most disturbing to me in the Ukraine matter is not the US media and their scholars who are embedded in the empire project. They are all in one room, one brain, CNN, the professors, and the White House.
The most disturbing to me are African commentators on Ukraine.
So your continent was conquered, but they don't understand how imperialism works.
You are ethnically divided, but you only understand Biafra and don't see Biafra in other places. You clap for Biya when he destroys Western Cameroon, and praises the West when he undermines the projects of minorities.
You suffered from the Cold War but you don't understand it when it unfolds in other places. You don't see Ukraine as a proxy project.
You were pawns by superpowers but you don't understand it when you see it in others.
You complain about ethnicity but you don't apply it to other places.
You insult Lagos, but you don't see dirty Peckham in London and slums in North of Paris
When Israel acts, you see them as the "Chosen People" but when Ethiopia acts, they are devils.
You see secessionist movements in your continent but you cannot relate it to other places.
You understand the Fulani herdsmen, but you cannot convert it to a global theory.
The French occupied your continent, but today you can clap for Macron in Ukraine over Putin. You don't see that Putin and Macron are the same!
Illicit flow of wealth from Africa is now $85 billion a year, but you cannot relate it to your conditions and destructions.
US and Belgium destroyed Lumumba and Congo, but you cannot apply this to other issues.
They abused Muslims as the greatest terrorists in the world but you don't see Europeans as terrorists, etc.
One person told me yesterday that US intervention is for good. My cup of coffee almost fell. US does not allow regional solutions to crises, including in the current one. You cannot go to El-Paso on the Mexican border and locate your missiles there directed at the US. Nuclear submarine near China you see it as the protection of global capitalism.
They are asking you not to teach critical theory but every day in private, the Igbo abuse the Yoruba, the Yoruba abuse the Igbo, and they all abuse the Fulani. You see racism in the US, but you don't see it in Morocco.
Develop your theories—don't let others impose their theories upon you.
TF
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Sincerely,
Victor O. Okafor, Ph.D.Professor and HeadDepartment of Africology and African American StudiesEastern Michigan UniversityEmail: vokafor@emich.edu
Tel: 734.487.9594
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Sincerely,
Victor O. Okafor, Ph.D.Professor and HeadDepartment of Africology and African American StudiesEastern Michigan UniversityEmail: vokafor@emich.edu
Tel: 734.487.9594
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