HE Frank Ukonga Lecture 230: 140 Years of Berlin's Conference of Partition of Africa & The Imperative of Reparations: A Functional Perspective @2024 Anno Domini:
Fellow Compatriots of the World, on the behalf of all African HE Prince Frank Ukonga, Ex Presidential Candidate of the Nigerian Federation comes to you with warmest Affections to remind you of the Berlin's Conference of Novermber 15th 1884 to February 1885, where the decisions of the Partitioning of Africa was decided and implemented by the powers of Europe and America. This year we commemorate the 140th years of the unfortunate decision of the imperial powers to devide and plunder Africa in one of the grestest carnages ever in creation. This lecture peruse the carnage and advocates contemporary panaceas in the context of Race Relations addressed to achieve universal brotherhood, economic prosperity, detente and it's sustainability.
this Lecture posits the following observations on the topic of 140 years of the Berlin's Conference of the Partitions of Africa to Colonial Trading interests of the imperialists and its impacts of on Africans to thisday Nov 15 th 2024 and the need to dress the wounds of Slavery, Colonization and imperialisms which has made Africa poorer and enriched the White Europeans and Americans and the need to support Africa through Reparations as posited by HE Basorun MKO Abiola - the Nigerian President Elect who obstheed in his book Reparations that If Peristroika Changed thr face of Europe, Reparations would change the destiny of Africa for Good.
Points of Notes:
In the Year 1884 by the 15 th of November to the February 1885 the European powers of
"Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, and other European powers divided Africa without consideration for the people living there. Britain secured territories like Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt, while Belgium claimed the Congo Free State, a colony that became notorious for its brutal exploitation under King Leopold II. Traditional governance systems were dismantled, ancient cultures were disrupted, and millions of Africans were forced into labour to support Europe’s industrial ambitions. The borders drawn by the Europeans would later fuel conflicts that still affect the continent today."
This carnage of Africa demands reflections into European/imperialists - African Relations with a view to access the extent of damage and the need for Reparations and Restitutions.
1.Historical & Dialectical Relations, from the perspective of materialism: The relationship between the European inperialists 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.The United states, Portugal, France, Belgium,Spain and the British empire of the Elizabethan Era and other European Powers 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 them 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 and Europeans powers enslaved Africans yet a Black man was the first to die for American independence…
2. 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.
It would be pertinent to peruse other globally postulated views of the reason d entrée of Black Slavery and colonization and prescribed panaceas by other erudite intelligentsias:
3.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…
4.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.
5.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 European/African Relations 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 imperialists/ 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.
6.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.
7.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.
8.The Slave Trade in US/European –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 ware 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, European 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 a consequence of the Berlins Confrednce of 1884; 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.
9. Decades of living recklessly: Focus on imperialists foreign Policy thrust in Africa: Mineral Rights vs genuine African development: If you watch closely the imperialists does not interest itself with any African country except if the country has something of particular interest to the thier sovereignties..Mostly mineral rights and exploitation of essential minerals as demanded to galvanize the post industrial greatness of their Countries. And the imperialists foreign policy thrust in Africa has been guided by this catechism for the past 500 years. And now in 2024 , 140 years after the partitioning of Africa in the Berlin's Conference we need to te evaluate the Race Relations with a objectives of repairing the wrongs through Reparations and Constructove Engagements?
10.Are the imperilists plus uncle Sam genuinely interested in genuine development of the African continent in comtemporary times or perhaps planning a reset of a gameplan of hideous neo colonization of Africa? And can the imperialists 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 need to constantly ruminate about and tathe imperilists for serious commitments to the development of Africa.
11.A few examples of imperialists 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 umperialist 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 and his imperialists partners, being careful of the Shakespearian Andes of March.
12.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..
13.The big Question: How do 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 should continue to be protective of their emoimois economic and moneral rights from being plundered by the imperialists in exchage for peanuts.
The Imperatives of Reparations: 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…through slavery ,colonization and imperialism 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…
15.Based on the aforementioned Lecture we conclude the mandatory necessity and suficiency reasons in support of Reparations as the urgently needed panacea to pull the African Continent out of the Wood for the benefits of the Northern Hemispheres and all of mankind of Subsequent creation in generality.
HE Prince Frank Ukonga is an African Intellegentia who has authored and published 5 books and more than 250 lectures in many academic Journals. He is a Presidential Candidate of the Nigerian Federation.
