On Pan-Africanism, Reality and Common sense Yes, the so called black people do have things in common - proximity, skin colour, cultures (in some cases), a common ancestry, past and recent history (in varied forms) and present day reality amongst others. And all I have I listed can also be termed as things differentiating the so called Black people as well. It all depends on what angle is one looking at it from and on what actions one needs to take. Now, if we are really seeking to better the lot of Africans at home and abroad, is it wise to simply lump them all up together? Lets even begin with Africans at home, or better still make it simpler and pick Nigeria. Would it make sense to lump them all together and simply assume that these people should naturally get along simply because they are Africans and closer in proximity to each other? Is that even natural? Not in all cases. Even amongst other forms of life we see animals of the same breed in packs of their own, their primary function and duty is to that pack and not the entire breed. Primary function of survival is for that pack. Because even though animals they know that the survival of their breed and future of their offspring depends on the survival of their pack. Hence, they fight to protect that pack and sure hope other packs do the same as well. No one rolls out drums of campaigns calling on the forced unity of all packs. Now lets come to the human field. Have a look at the Asians - Wouldnt we say most Asians and Asian nations are faring better than Africans? Are they so called united under one Pan-Asian umbrella or movement? Are they distinct and sticking to their closest identities of Japanese, Korean, Chinese etc to the core? Is that not the bane of their development? Have they not had wars amongst themselves? Did Japan for example not murder and enslave the Chinese? Is the Chinese still not doing the same to the Daila Lamas people (I cant remember their tribes name now)? So how come have they developed and become so great after all these years? How are nations like N. Korea even so hated and neglected still so technological advanced and as well in other spheres? We dont see pictures of poverty, sick kids, bad roads, power failures, dying people etc all around from them do we? And trust me if there were, western media would have jumped on it. So somehow these people have been great without Pan-Asianism, right? They became great by each individual household/tribe striving for greatness, fighting the odds and making their mark. Each tribe contributing to the collective greatness of Asians. Each building block playing its role in the foundation of the Asian greatness. Now, lets look at the Europeans, do we see a similar pattern here or of one that started off with Pan-Europeanism? I mean, the so called greatest nation, the US, was formed after a war amongst the Europeans in the US and against the greatest European nation of that time. How many wars have they fought amongst themselves? How many times have they rolled out the arm against each other and murdered, controlled lands and destroyed themselves? But did they need anything like Pan-Europeanism to become great? Didnt each tribe come forward and fight for the betterment of its own people - FIRST!? Didnt each tribe rush out for the scramble of Africa and the Americas? Didnt they even fight each other tooth and nail for power? Now,somehow that race is collectively great and even nations in Eastern Europe and other parts that never partook in the scramble, slavery and destruction of Africa, Americas and the world are also benefiting from their counterparts greatness. So why have you failed to learn from history and reality? Why do you assume we can and should somehow build our houses from the roof down? Shouldnt we start from the foundation with each block playing a relevant role? We the Oodua National Assembly - ONA understand this very well, hence we are fighting for our lands first and foremost, for our people and culture first and foremost, as they say charity begins at home. We are not blinded by the illusion of chasing a wild goose, nor blind how the bigger picture must be achieved. We are not so naive and dumb to assume we can build our home as Africans from the roof. We have learnt from the previous mistakes of earlier revolutionaries and taken what kernel of purity they contain. We have learned from other races who have dominated the world and those coming up and we can see with clarity how things must be done. It isnt rocket science. We,want Oodua Land to be one of the building blocks for the foundation of a new Africa. We in fact want her to be the chief cornerstone! By Teekay Akin Adeseye 12/08/14
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 06:55:41 +0000
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