PRINCE FRANK UKONGA LECTURE SERIES 31:POLITICAL
PHILOSOPHY & IDEOLOGIES: AN ANALYSIS OF DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA, AFRICA AND
THE BLACK RACE.
-BY PRINCE FRANK ONAIVI UKONGA.
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| Malcolm X |
The development of
African Political philosophy and ideological resolves was largely influenced by
the activities of Black civil right activists in Diaspora of the United States
of America, Latin America and the works of Black intelligentsia in the United States
as well as in Diaspora. We need to acknowledge the daring contributions of Nat
Turner and the Black Panthers as remote causality of the reawakening of the
Black Race on a global basis albeit reactionary.
Otherwise Black
ideological and philosophical thinking
had its roots as far back as the emergence of renowned black intelligentsia
as Booker .T Washington who was largely an apostle of populist philosophy of
advocating Technical education to the black race on a global basis as a
stratagem to catch up with the white Race. Subsequently Marcus Garvey inherited
the philosophy and ideological school of thought of Booker T. Washington and developed
it into a full school bringing in the message as well as a set of precepts to
achieving greatness for the Black Race. In this context he advocated a philosophy
of Back to Africa to all the Blacks in Diaspora and he made the move to
resettle America Blacks back to Africa.
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| Marcus Garvey |
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| chief Awolowo |
On the background we
had Africanist scholars’ like W.E.B. Dubois, Egyptologist Dr Chiek Anta Diop,
Franz Fanon,Prof. Ali Mazuri, Leopold Sengor, Secou Toure, Kwame Nkrumah,
Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko, Remi Fani Kayode,Ngugi Wa Tiongo ,Peter Abraham,
Camara Laye, Prof Atuke Okhai, Prof. Ade Ajayi, Basil Davidson, Basorun MKO
Abiola, and a host of others that shaped the political and ideological
perceptions of the Black Race on a global Basis.
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| Basorun Abiola |
Martin Luther King Jr
came into the scene with a sharp departure from the dialectical and
materialistic approach of virtually all the fore runners bringing into African
ideological and historical development a theological approach to the question
of liberating the Black Race on a global scale which quickly gained recognition
and acceptance as the mundane aspects of religion of forgiveness, meekness,
repentance, and renewal was marketable to both the oppressors and the oppressed
as a solution.
Though prior to the
coming of the white Race into Africa and its resulting wars, slavery, looting
and colonization of Africa, we had a well developed political ideological and
philosophical approach to development which were bastardized and ruined by the
white Race. We had great materialist Philosophers like Al Farid, Al jabir,
Shaka d Zulu, King Esigue of Benin, whose wisdom was comparable to that of King
Solomom,King Okomayin Ogbodo Ukonga of Igarra Kingdom-(great grand father of
Prince Frank Ukonga,)
Soni Sundiata of Mali,
and booming academic centres in Timbuktu, Egypt, Nork culture in Nigeria and
Southern Africa. But all these were bastardized by the white Race by prolonged slavery
, colonization and imperialism and by the time most African Nations became free
as in the independence it became difficult and impossible to go back to our
former ways of thinking and superlative cultural and exquisite intellectualism
so we were assimilated and chained within the coffins of white intellectualism
of monistic, individualism which unfortunately represents the cold, rigid
elements of historical and dialectical development of humanity on a global
scale.
A major landmark in
the ideological warfare in the African continent came shortly after the
formation of the OAU where a section canvassed for the total unification of all
countries of Africa and another section saw it as a style of domination of the
strong African countries over the weak and the ideological frontiers became known
as the Casablanca vs the Monrovia improvisationists.
From that time onward
there came the two broad divisions in African thinking which has shaped the contemporary
development of ideological and philosophical precepts of African Nations till
today. With two broad definitions of conservatives and progressives which now trickled
down from the OAU centre to the Nations to the states, regions, villages, towns
and families…in that order of mutantis mutandis.
The progressives on a
global basis had embraced the Marxist school of though in the context of
ideological and historical methodology of advancing humanity to rational
eudemonia while the conservatives had always camped with various old ways of
retaining status quo anti bellum as in Feudalism, aristocracy, theocracy and
what have you…
This conflicting
ideological frontier was brought into Africa pre independence and post
independent Africa and the struggle was fares and tense. This struggle plunged
many African Nations into civil war, strives and lots of hardship as in Angola,
Namibia, Nigeria, and even Nations of central and sub Saharan Africa were not
speared from this ideological strives of the previous century were on the one
hand the Soviet union assisted the progressives while the West was always
sympathetic with the conservatives.
The Nigerian case
study was largely shaped as well by the general milieu, cruising the African
continent in the context of ideological and philosophical developments as in
the pre independent era where Chief Obafemi Awolowo emerged as the leader of
the Western Region embracing the progressive ideals of Social Democracy in
partnership with Chief Anthony Enahoro, Sam Ikoku,Alhaji Aminu Kano, Chief G. O.Ukonga
(Father of Prince Frank Ukonga), Joseph Tarka, Chief Mariere, Jaja Nwanchukwu,
Chief Okorodudu, and a host of others.Chief Awolowo established the Action
Group party with a social democratic ideolology resolved based on Marxit-
Leninism philosophy but adulterated with religious idealism as an African/
Nigerian adaptation of Marxist philosophy which Dr Sam Ikuku, a renown Marxist
scholar always insisted on pure Marxism which crest on the philosophy of
scientific atheism debunking the aspects of aprori knowledge and
transcendentalism.
On the other hand Dr
Nnamdi Azikiwe evolved a philosophy of Zikism in partnership with Hubert Macaulay
in NCNC that had its rational kernel in the adaptations of the Republican
philosophical divide adulterated with some populist philosophy marketable to a
wide audience of the African genre.
While in the North
Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Ibrahim Kashim, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa evolved an
ideological path based on historical and dialectical premises of inter tribal
relations before the coming of the white Race to Africa with a vision to
Islamize the entire territories to the sea and establish a great Islamic state
as it was the dreams of the fore runners of the Northern Hausa Fulani
oligarchy. But was slightly moderated by the contemporary realities of that
time and accepted to cooperate and share powers with other Regions as in the
alliance between the Ziks NCNC and Balawa’s NPC , the alliance was an instant
success as it produced the first Government that ruled the Newly independent
Nigeria in 1960 with Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe emerging as the President of Nigeria
while Ahlaji Tafawa Balewa became the Prime Minster with executive powers and
Sir Ahmadu Bello was the Premier of Northern Region.
This was the general
situation until the military struck in 1966 and later came a civil war which
truncated the growth of democracy in Nigeria until 1979 when politics was
lifted and General Olusegun Obasanjo handed over to the second republic headed
by Alhaji Shehu Shagari of NPN Party which was the off shot of the NCNC/ NPC
alliance while Chief Obafemi Awolowo formed the Unity Party of Nigerian
partnership with other progressives lost in the election.
The second Republic
was truncated by a military coup de etat and General Mohammadu Buhari became
the head of State. General Ibrahim Babangida took over from General Mohammadu
Buhari and attempted to transfer the Nation to democratic rule as in June 12
election which was later annulled. And in the issue of the June 12 the
progressives regrouped under SDP lead by Basorun MKO Abiola while the conservatives
regrouped under Alhaji Bshir Tofa of NRC.
In 1999 when Nigerian
moved to another milestone in establishing democracy the ideological divide was
also followed as in Chief Olusegun Obasanjo leading the conservatives as in PDP
while Chief Olu Falae led the Progressives AD which was a widely disputed
election.
Later the AD divided
in three as in ACN of Asuwaju Bola Tinubu and SDMP of Chief Olu Falae and NRP
OF CHIEF Anthony Enahoro. Of course there are other splinters of the
progressives as in CPC, ANPP, APGA, NCP ETAL.
The philosophical and
ideological resolves of -Democratic Alternative DA crest itself on the continuous improvement and
modification of the progressive philosophy and ideology of Awoism which itself
drew from the wells of Marxism – Leninism philosophy as an adaptation and
application into the Nigeria/ African setting.
Classical Marxism holds
strongly that human being determines consciousness as in a posteriori knowledge
which subsequently invigorates experience and enterprise.
This INVIGORATES social activities that
generate production and its subsequent social relations within and among the production
forces from whence social classification emanates.
Marxism holds it
adamantine that all social being s are born equal and that they should have
inalienable rights to certain privileges as citizens of a polity which are the
fundamental creed of all Social Democrats the world over, and these rights
includes
Jobs for all,
electricity for all, housing for all, food for all, health for all free and
qualitative education for all, agricultural and industrial revolution and much
more for all citizens of the society. And these are the noble ideals of DA, which Prince Frank Ukonga
hopes to implement when he become the President of Nigeria in 2019 election
under the banner of DA.
So this is a clarion
call to all and sundry in the Nigerian Polity to join hands with DA JOIN
HANDS WITH Prince Frank Ukonga in 2019 polls to move Nigeria out of the
wood and take Nigeria to the promise
land flowing with peace, goodies, milk and Honey,
LONG LIVE DA LONG
LIVE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
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