shalinialisha/ai-for-all · Datasets at Hugging Face

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view of African independence which was popular in the early 1960s, but, on
the contrary, it is fully cognizant of the shabby reality of neo-colonial
Africa. It needs to be affirmed (from a revolutionary, socialist, and peoplecentered perspective) that even “flag independence” represented a positive
development out of colonialism.
Securing the attributes of sovereignty is but one stage in the process of
regaining African independence. By 1885, when Africa was politically and
juridically partitioned, the peoples and polities had already lost a great deal
of freedom. In its relations with the external world, Africa had lost a
considerable amount of control over its own economy, ever since the
fifteenth century. However, the loss of political sovereignty at the time of
the Scramble was decisive. By the same reasoning, it is clear that the
regaining of political sovereignty by the 1960s constitutes an inescapable
first step in regaining maximum freedom to choose and to develop in all
spheres.
Furthermore, the period of nationalist revolution gave rise to certain
minority ideological trends, which represent the roots of future African
development. Most African leaders of the intelligentsia and even of the
labor movement were frankly capitalist, and shared fully the ideology of
their bourgeois masters. Houphouet-Boigny was at one time called a
“communist” by the French colonizers! He defended himself vigorously
against the false charge in 1948:
We have good relations with the [French] Communist Party, that is true. But it is obvious that
that does not mean that we ourselves are communists. Can it be said that I, Houphouet-Boigny
—a traditional chief, a doctor of medicine, a big property owner, a catholic—can it be said that
I am a communist?

Houphouet-Boigny’s reasoning applied to so many more African leaders of
the independence epoch. The exceptions were those who either completely
rejected the world-view of capitalism or at least stuck honestly to those
idealistic tenets of bourgeois ideology such as individual freedom—and,

through experience, they could come to realize that the ideals remained
myths in a society based on the exploitation of man by man. Clearly, all
leaders of the non-conformist type had developed in direct contradiction to
the aims of formal and informal colonial education; and their differences
with the colonizers were too profound to have been resolved merely by
“flag independence.”
African independence was greeted with pomp, ceremony, and a
resurgence of traditional African music and dance. “A new day has
dawned,” “we are on the threshold of a new era,” “we have now entered
into the political kingdom”—those were the phrases of the day, and they
were repeated until they became clichés. But, all the to-ing and fro-ing from
Contonou to Paris and from London to Lusaka and all the lowering and
raising of flags cannot be said to have been devoid of meaning. Withdrawal
of the directly controlled military and juridical apparatus of the colonizers
was essential before any new alternatives could be posed with regard to
political organization, social structure, economic development.
The above issues were raised most seriously by the minority of African
leaders who had individually embarked on a non-capitalist path of
development in their mode of thought; and the problems were considered
within the context of inequalities and contradictions not just between Africa
and Europe but also inside Africa, as a reflection of four centuries of
slavery and one century of colonialism. As far as the mass of peasants and
workers were concerned, the removal of overt foreign rule actually cleared
the way towards a more fundamental appreciation of exploitation and
imperialism. Even in territories such as Cameroon, where the imperialists
brutally crushed peasants and workers and installed their own tried and
tested puppet, advance had been made insofar as the masses had already
participated in trying to determine their own destiny. That is the element of
conscious activity that signifies the ability to make history, by grappling
with the heritage of objective material conditions and social relations.
Brief Guide to Reading
Colonial rule generated a great deal of written material which can serve as
one of the bases for historical reconstruction. Even the non-specialist in
African history would be well advised to look at some original sources,

such as the data compiled by Lord Hailey. Approached with care, several of
the anthropological texts also yield information and insights with regard to
detailed changes in African social structures.
Above all, however, the generations who suffered under colonialism are
still living repositories of the continent’s history. The collective knowledge
of the African people derived from experience is the most authentic basis of
the history of the colonial period. Unfortunately, much of the experience is
not yet written down, but glimpses can be got from biographies of
prominent Africans such as Nnamdi Azikiwe, Kwame Nkrumah, Oginga
Odinga, and Kenneth Kaunda, as well as from the political writings of these
and other leaders—notably Mwalimu Nyerere and Sekou Toure. The books
by Padmore and Hunton mentioned in the literature for Chapter 5 are even
more relevant in this context.
JACK WODDIS, Africa, the Roots of Revolt. London: Lawrence and Wishant, 1960.
_______ Africa, the Lion Awakes.
GANN, L. H., and DUIGNAN, PETER, The Burden of Empire. New York: Praeger, 1967.
The first author and his works are well known for supporting the African anti-colonial stand. The
second example is a colonialist interpretation which offers a contrast.
SLOAN and KITCHEN, The Educated African.
ABDOU MOUMINI, Education in Africa. New York: Praeger, 1968.
For data, the first book is useful. From the viewpoint of analysis, Moumini’s book is superb.
FRANTZ FANON, Black Skins, White Masks. New York: Grove Press, 1967.
_______ The Wretched of the Earth. New York: Grove Press, 1963.
_______ Towards the African Revolution. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1967.
These studies are unique in revealing the psychological aspects of enslavement and colonization
as far as Africans are concerned, whether in the Americas or on the African continent. Fanon does
not have any equal in analyzing the last stages of African colonialism and the advent of neocolonialism.

POSTSCRIPT
by A. M. BABU

Are there short cuts to economic development for the underdevelopment
economies? This question has occupied the attention of many interested
parties during the last decade. These include university lecturers,

view of African independence which was popular in the early 1960s, but, on

the contrary, it is fully cognizant of the shabby reality of neo-colonial

Africa. It needs to be affirmed (from a revolutionary, socialist, and peoplecentered perspective) that even “flag independence” represented a positive

development out of colonialism.

Securing the attributes of sovereignty is but one stage in the process of

regaining African independence. By 1885, when Africa was politically and

juridically partitioned, the peoples and polities had already lost a great deal

of freedom. In its relations with the external world, Africa had lost a

considerable amount of control over its own economy, ever since the

fifteenth century. However, the loss of political sovereignty at the time of

the Scramble was decisive. By the same reasoning, it is clear that the

regaining of political sovereignty by the 1960s constitutes an inescapable

first step in regaining maximum freedom to choose and to develop in all

spheres.

Furthermore, the period of nationalist revolution gave rise to certain

minority ideological trends, which represent the roots of future African

development. Most African leaders of the intelligentsia and even of the

labor movement were frankly capitalist, and shared fully the ideology of

their bourgeois masters. Houphouet-Boigny was at one time called a

“communist” by the French colonizers! He defended himself vigorously

against the false charge in 1948:

We have good relations with the [French] Communist Party, that is true. But it is obvious that

that does not mean that we ourselves are communists. Can it be said that I, Houphouet-Boigny

—a traditional chief, a doctor of medicine, a big property owner, a catholic—can it be said that

I am a communist?

Houphouet-Boigny’s reasoning applied to so many more African leaders of

the independence epoch. The exceptions were those who either completely

rejected the world-view of capitalism or at least stuck honestly to those

idealistic tenets of bourgeois ideology such as individual freedom—and,

through experience, they could come to realize that the ideals remained

myths in a society based on the exploitation of man by man. Clearly, all

leaders of the non-conformist type had developed in direct contradiction to

the aims of formal and informal colonial education; and their differences

with the colonizers were too profound to have been resolved merely by

“flag independence.”

African independence was greeted with pomp, ceremony, and a

resurgence of traditional African music and dance. “A new day has

dawned,” “we are on the threshold of a new era,” “we have now entered

into the political kingdom”—those were the phrases of the day, and they

were repeated until they became clichés. But, all the to-ing and fro-ing from

Contonou to Paris and from London to Lusaka and all the lowering and

raising of flags cannot be said to have been devoid of meaning. Withdrawal

of the directly controlled military and juridical apparatus of the colonizers

was essential before any new alternatives could be posed with regard to

political organization, social structure, economic development.

The above issues were raised most seriously by the minority of African

leaders who had individually embarked on a non-capitalist path of

development in their mode of thought; and the problems were considered

within the context of inequalities and contradictions not just between Africa

and Europe but also inside Africa, as a reflection of four centuries of

slavery and one century of colonialism. As far as the mass of peasants and

workers were concerned, the removal of overt foreign rule actually cleared

the way towards a more fundamental appreciation of exploitation and

imperialism. Even in territories such as Cameroon, where the imperialists

brutally crushed peasants and workers and installed their own tried and

tested puppet, advance had been made insofar as the masses had already

participated in trying to determine their own destiny. That is the element of

conscious activity that signifies the ability to make history, by grappling

with the heritage of objective material conditions and social relations.

Brief Guide to Reading

Colonial rule generated a great deal of written material which can serve as

one of the bases for historical reconstruction. Even the non-specialist in

African history would be well advised to look at some original sources,

such as the data compiled by Lord Hailey. Approached with care, several of

the anthropological texts also yield information and insights with regard to

detailed changes in African social structures.

Above all, however, the generations who suffered under colonialism are

still living repositories of the continent’s history. The collective knowledge

of the African people derived from experience is the most authentic basis of

the history of the colonial period. Unfortunately, much of the experience is

not yet written down, but glimpses can be got from biographies of

prominent Africans such as Nnamdi Azikiwe, Kwame Nkrumah, Oginga

Odinga, and Kenneth Kaunda, as well as from the political writings of these

and other leaders—notably Mwalimu Nyerere and Sekou Toure. The books

by Padmore and Hunton mentioned in the literature for Chapter 5 are even

more relevant in this context.

JACK WODDIS, Africa, the Roots of Revolt. London: Lawrence and Wishant, 1960.

_______ Africa, the Lion Awakes.

GANN, L. H., and DUIGNAN, PETER, The Burden of Empire. New York: Praeger, 1967.

The first author and his works are well known for supporting the African anti-colonial stand. The

second example is a colonialist interpretation which offers a contrast.

SLOAN and KITCHEN, The Educated African.

ABDOU MOUMINI, Education in Africa. New York: Praeger, 1968.

For data, the first book is useful. From the viewpoint of analysis, Moumini’s book is superb.

FRANTZ FANON, Black Skins, White Masks. New York: Grove Press, 1967.

_______ The Wretched of the Earth. New York: Grove Press, 1963.

_______ Towards the African Revolution. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1967.

These studies are unique in revealing the psychological aspects of enslavement and colonization

as far as Africans are concerned, whether in the Americas or on the African continent. Fanon does

not have any equal in analyzing the last stages of African colonialism and the advent of neocolonialism.

POSTSCRIPT

by A. M. BABU

Are there short cuts to economic development for the underdevelopment

economies? This question has occupied the attention of many interested

parties during the last decade. These include university lecturers,