Frank Ukonga lecture 40: USA- African Summit in Washington
DC. : Focus on Us –African Relations and the imperatives of Reparations-” A
functional Perspective.
His Excellency Prince
Frank Ukonga – Chairman of SDP [Social Democratic Party] Edo state of the Nigerian
federation ;on the behalf of all African peoples on planet earth commend the
biggest gathering of African leaders with President Obama and the leaders of
the United states in this tremendous epoch making event to discuss on mutual security,
economic, trade and industrial cooperation and advancement of the two great continents.
In pursuance of the
noble objectives of the United states / African summit of 2014 focused on “
Investment on the Next generation’ it is commendable to espousing the past and
present with a view to shape the future social, economic ,& investment
entropy towards desirable heights of greatness via mutual cooperation.
In this context we posit the following observations on the
topic of US –African Relations for your perusals:
Historical &
Dialectical Relations, from the perspective of materialism: The
relationship between the United States and the African continent came to the fore
of historical significance about 500 years ago during the period of Slavery,
popularly known as the Triangular trade to those imperialist investing in Black
slavery. Though a view exist that, the
United states and America was discovered
by the Mandingo Prince Abubakadri who
abdicated the thrown of Mali Empire and sailed to the America and
debunked the view that Christopher Columbus discovered America under the sponsorship of Ferdinand of
Aragon and Isabella of Castile… Columbus also discovered lands in the New World
for the Elizabethan sponsorship.
Nevertheless, the United states and the British empire of the Elizabethan Era
gave black slavery its universality in the anti bellum trade of degrading,
capturing, enslaving and bastardization of black peoples on a global scale-A
peace loving peoples who indeed never offended
nor wronged her in any way- according to the observations of His Excellency Abraham Lincoln the American
greatest president that set the Black slaves free at last… this simplistic but
dialectical observation of President Abraham Lincoln reined in the point de
facto de jure that the reason de entre of the universality of black slavery was
purely of economic and materialist conquests debunking the Racial exponents of
WEB Du Bois and others as faulty reducio de absurdum, while the united
states enslaved Africans yet a black man was the first to die for American
independence…
The Racial perception,
of WEB. Dubois .Martin Luther King jn,
Booker T Washington, Elijah Mohammed, Professor Ali Mazuri, George Padmore,
Jean Price Mars, Nelson Mandela, Basorun MKO Abiola, Kenneth Kaunda, Julius Nyerere,
Jafar El Nimeri, Anwar Sadat, etc The racial perspective was invented by
one of the greatest African American scholar and perhaps the greatest Black Intelligentsia
that ever lived in contemporary time Hs eminence WEB, Du Bois. Who theorize
that the 20th century strives is that of the colour line between the
lighter races of Europe, America and Asia and the darker skin colour of Africa
and part of Asia. This theory soon gained its universality in the context of
acceptability and soon became a philosophical hypothesis due mainly that maybe
it was never subjected to dialectical and historical scientific scrutiny in
philosophical questions. It soon gained followership on a global scale.
The liberal views of
Kwame Nkrumah, Leopold Sengor, Thambo Nbeki, Professor Ade Ajayi, Dr Malefi
Ashante Obafemi Awolowo, etc The
views of the Liberals is a more modest adaptation of the WEB. Dubios Hypothesis
adulterated here and there by African traditional believes and the advent of
Christianity as well as Islam into Africa which inter alias had impacted
moderately on the proponent to use the
WEB, Du Bois standards for various reasons of political and economic conquests
of their polity. The majority on this divide are leaders of the African
continent with modest achievements…
The Radical
perspectives of Malcon x, Cheik Anta Diop, Professor Leonard Jeffries,, Ramdan
Albain, , Remi Fani Kayode, Dr Chuba Okadigbo, Professor Wole Shoyinka, Thomas
Sankara, Alfred Olimpio, Sam Nujoma, Jomo Kenyata, Malam Aminu Kano, Murtala
Mohammed, etc..The protagonists of the radical school saw the impudence of slavery,
colonization and neo colonization from a conquest perspective addressed to
dominate Africans politically, economically, culturally by the use of
information, stilt, force and what have you. And to most of them the racial
aspects plays neither very little significance nor the aspects of historical and
dialectical materialism. The panacea to African freedom to this group is total
libration from slavery, domination, colonization and imperialism.
The Materialist view of
Franz Fanon, Antonio Gramsci, Patrice Lumumba, Prince Frank Ukonga, Secou
Toure, Samora Michael, Che Guevara, Dr Sam Ikoku, Mengetsu Hailey Mariam, etc Those
who strengthen the materialists view of US/African Relation are core Marxist philosophers
who espouse the tragedies of the Relations purely from classical Marxist
postulations and laws of class struggles basking on the Marxist rational kernels
of the laws of class struggles between the rich Northern Hemisphere and the
poor southern Hemisphere. Approaching the Historical and dialectical
imperatives of the US/ African Relations
as exploitative on a continuous basis from one generation to another. They also
hold strongly to the views that the impudence of the imperialist into African
legacies is purely for material and economic gains and not a consequence of
Racism or any other colour line bias. Whence the school believes in Reparations
cost being paid to the African peoples for the 500 years of slavery, colonization
and neo colonization as they hold the imperialist responsible for looting the
Human and economic resources of the African continent, And since this is purely
economical and materialistic there is the need to relocate the looted wealth of
the African continent back to African through Reparations, some propose through
a Marshal plan in partnership with the imperialists to re invent Africa and
reposition her back to her rightful place in the schemes of international
politicking and economic prosperity..to the benefit of both parties…which is
seen as dialectical and marketable.. as a win win resolution to the conflict,
but then this is only a modest view,
Some of the protagonist hold strongly to the classical Marxist methodology of socialism
as the only panacea to African underdevelopment.
The subjective
positions of Eyadema, Kerekou, Humphrey Boigny, Peter Abraham, Camara Laye,Ngugi
Wa Tiongo, etc.. The subjective proponents hold the opinion that Africans
should be grateful to the emerging relations with the imperialist and make the
best of it , irrespective of historical and dialectical tragedies of the past which
they hold strongly , should be swept under the carpet.
The Reactionary and
despotic postures of Idi Amin, Maumar Al Gadafi, Mobutu , etc The reactionary and despotic posture
engulf some African leaders who become a
sort of liberators in their polity and the liberator’s dilemma catches up with
them and they become dictators and
opportunists; usually playing the African anger against the imperialist
anxieties for personal gains.
The Slave Trade in US
–African economic & Trade Relations: The Institutionalization and globalization of Black slavery: the
Elizabethan Era institutionalized black slavery giving it universality when she
endorsed the gameplan of Sir William Drake and Lord Buccaneer of Pirating and waylaying
Spanish and Portuguese ships carrying riches of gold, diamonds, etc from their
rich colonies of Latin America, The unfortunacy of the British Empire to
discover rich kingdoms comparable to Portuguese and Spanish discoveries
impacted negatively on the Elizabethan stalwarts to draw her pound of flesh from her
colonies by whatever means possible. Whence she endorse the document to enslave
her African colonies who are transported to her colonies in America[USA] in slave ships to work in the plantations under
chains and worst conditions ever conceived by any rational mind of goodwill.
The Blacks were used and treated as animals, black women raped continuously and
the men used as the beast of burden to build the American and Western
civilization..The products of the free slaved labour of the black race of
fortune were shipped back to England to complete the triangular geometry that
lasted more than 500 years in human history…
A bad case in Race Relations, in the context of mutual, economic
cooperation.
Colonization and neo
colonization of the African continent by the Imperialists: the colonization
and subsequent partitioning of the African continent into fragments of trade
protectorates of the imperialists did more harm than the era of slavery as it
disunited Africans on a continental scale. Secondly it atrophied the African
personality from its primordial roots and loyalties culturally, educationlally,
economically and politically, Destroying and obfuscating the entropy of social economic
and cultural growth and development. This became the real damage that underdeveloped
the African continent. As all African institutions were bastardized and the
African personality, history, culture and essence became the Vivendi of the
imperialist sojourn in Africa and everything native and primordial to the African
vanished and famished with the ebbs and tides of the truculent seas of
imperialist impudence and diabolical passions, This catastrophe became the direct
progenitor of the underdevelopment of the African continent till thisday. As
the necessity and sufficiency premises of research and innovation, research and
invention, research and development has been atrophied by this tragedy of the
white man’s sojourn in the African continent. This began to invigorate
secondary and tertiary levels of problems in Africa as it truncated basic
research methodology from having its tap roots in African societies and the
adaptations of applied research methodology becomes somewhat obfuscating ,
suspect and alien. Whence, the underdevelopment of the African continent.
Decades of living
recklessly: Focus on US foreign Policy thrust in Africa: Mineral Rights vs
genuine African development: If you watch closely the United States does
not interest itself with any African country except if the country has
something of particular interest to the United states sovereignty..Mostly
mineral rights and exploitation of essential minerals as demanded to galvanize
the post industrial greatness of the United States. And the US foreign policy
thrust in Africa has been guided by this catechism for the past 500 years. And
now in 2014 that all African leaders are meeting in USA in an epoch making
summit is it possible for the Leopard to change its colour…? Is Uncle Sam
genuinely interested in genuine development of the African continent or perhaps
another preamble to a gameplan of hideous neo colonization? And can Uncle Sam
be trusted? And lastly what has he placed on the table? And how beneficial is
his proposal to your country on short, medium and long term scales? These are
some of the questions you all African leaders gathered in Washington DC for the
African US Summit have to ask yourselves. And also find solutions to the
questions before you commit your country and your name to signing any pact.
A few examples of US African
forign policy thrust; focus on Patrice Lumumba of Congo, Apartheid Rhodesia,
Basorun MKO Abiola’s Nigeria, North Africa, etc it is on record that the
United states regime of His Excellency President Eisenhower had complicity with
the outer of the government of Patrice Lumumba of Congo for two majour reasons
of the rich strategic mineral deposits of Lumumba’s Congo as well as for
strategic reasons that Congo is the only African country that has borders with
9 other African countries. So strategically if you are in Congo you would have
access to at least 9 African countries. Patrice Lumumba was heading East and
this was unacceptable to the West. The Rhodesia Apartheid Regime of inhumanity
was kept alive for decades because the west was actively trading with Rhodesia,
Same story goes for the mysterious circumstances of the demise of president elect
of the Nigerian federation of the SDP party Basorun MKO Abiola and many others…including
the toppling of Kwame Nkrumah etc… and the prolonged military ruler ship of the
African countries all have complicity with the west..so you have to be at your
wits ends when relating with Uncle Sam, being careful of the Shakespearian Andes
of March.
Emma Lazarus Pluribus
Unum vs Uncle Sam: the proverbal tale of the Ostrich: Long gone with the
wind are the halcyon days of American glories, second to none in virtually everything
under the sun on planet earth…the great days of Emma Lazarus…the prosperity of Benjamin
Disraeli…the victorious George Washington and Roosevelt…the great days of JFK…the
remarkable Reagan,,,, now are gloomy times where the entire universe are
groaning on hardship of unemployment, economic recession, Hugh deficits and
debt profiles, security challenges ,Aids and HIV pandemics and currently Ebola….the
world has wasted away recklessly the vast resources of planet earth and our
planet is being threatened for annihilation by gross environmental degradation
and depletion of the ozone layers…etc.. Who is to blame…? Blame the west for
this indiscretion, blame capitalism for this situation when the entire system
of the world is going moribund presently out of decades of living recklessly..
The big Question: How so we reinvent the world to bring back
the prosperity, security and safety of mankind on planet earth? What role can
Africa play in this gameplan of rediscovering and redirecting the world socio
economic and cultural entropy towards another glorious down? And perhaps that
is why all African leaders are gathered today in the great summit of Washington
DC. Uncle Sam has discovered according to him the great human and economic
potentials of the African continent and calling for friendship and economic cooperation.
This is great and a lofty stream of consciousness.. but then Africa has to heal
the wounds and sores on its legs and body caused by the 500 years of
destruction, looting and denigration of the African legacies on a global scale…
and the only medicine that can cure Africa is Reparation for the carnage and larceny
of yore… the stolen legacies has to be returned so that Africa can have the strength
to grow out of stagnation, rural shiftlessness, urban decay, hunger, redundancies,
diseases ,homelessness ,frustrations and underdevelopment… death and grief…these should impact on all
African leaders in any meeting with the imperialist as this is the generation
of Africans whose destiny is to demand for Reparations in the schemes of things
dialectical, historical and scientific…
Based n the aforementioned conclusion I wish all African
leaders attending the US/ African summit of August 2014 happy deliberations
Long Live the United States of America, long live the
African continent…
