The African Renaissance: Illusion of the Black Elite or Reality of an African Revolution?

by DR MAGAUGAU’S CORNER

The first thing that comes to mind when one talks of African renaissance is an embodiment of diverse African cultures bought into one uniformed culture that can express the African identity. In fact the notion that an African Renaissance is broader in definition, and culture is only but a component of it. There is a crippling ideological ambiguity at the core of the discourse on African Renaissance and the debate itself has been narrowly captured by intellectual elites. It has become a one-sided monologue that excludes realities of ordinary African folks. In South Africa, the African Renaissance debate or concept was introduced in the public domain by former president Thabo Mbeki in the mid-nineties and was underscored by his famous ‘I Am An African’ speech. His aim was to initiate an intellectual debate on the concept with the purpose of reviving the Africanist spirit. To his credit, it is ironic that as an ANC leader from a Charterist tradition, he did a lot to advance the Africanist cause which one would have expected from the PAC – which, unfortunately, seems to be more focused on leadership disputes and legal wrangling than anything of value for its severely battered image. During his tenure he was actively involved in rebuilding institutions that advocated Pan Africanism. These institutions included inter alia, the African Union (previously the OAU), the Pan Africa Parliament and the New Partnership for African Development(NEPAD). It is a pity that while there were few scholars who wrote extensively and impressively on the subject – the likes of professors Malegapuru Makgoba and Sipho Seepe – within his party Mbeki was the intellectual colossus who could not be engaged on the issue. Also unfortunate is that today discourse on the African Renaissance has been muted and there is no indication of a resurrection in the near future. African Renaissance is now passed off as another romantic slogan to keep Africans hoping for the Promised Land. However, we cannot simply say that by virtue of the mutiny African Renaissance is not happening; truth be told, an Africa Renaissance needs an African ideology to spearhead it. Unfortunately the African school of thought has its limitation as academic institutions and academic literature in this country and the rest of the continent continue to be antagonistic to Africa-specifi c thought; this is due to the fact that, by their very nature,academic institutions are foreign and other academic institutions that promote African literature are never deemed capable of producing academic literature. It’s only Western institutions that are still classified as world-class by virtue of their appeal to Western idealism. It’s imperative that we ask questions that will further assist in understanding the African Renaissance – including: (i) What is it that we seek to achieve with the African Renaissance? (ii) What is African about the African Renaissance? (iii) Is the conceptualisation of African Renaissance limited to academics and intellectuals, and what impact do colonial institutions have on developing African Renaissance as a pragmatic solution in addressing the continent’s problems and challenging the Dark Continent stigma? The most precise defi nition of African Renaissance was that formulated by Ugandan-born political scientist, Mahmood Mamdani. “African Renaissance is the name for a mutual effort in response to a common predicament, one that South Africa shares with wider Africa,” he writes. The reason why this specific definition is more appealing is simply because it acknowledges the continent’s shared experiences. At the core of his definition is that Africans should seek solutions to African problems – with revolutionary leadership that espouses the ideals of great revolutionary leaders, such as Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba, Bantu Steve Biko, Amilcar Cabral and Chris Hani. These leaders championed an Africa with real political autonomy, economic liberation and a modern African identity shaped by African ideals and values based on our great past. Those are the fundamental ideals that need to be entrenched and restored by the African Renaissance. It’s a pity that some of the continent’s leaders – like Robert Mugabe – have betrayed the African Dream and are therefore unable to spearhead the ideals of the African Renaissance, let alone preserve the African identity and restore the dignity of the continent. As the last country to have shaken off the shackles of colonialism, South Africa has been hailed as the hope of the continent and the beacon of peace, democracy and sustainability – thanks to Nelson Mandela’s sterling leadership. His visionary and saintly leadership in averting a civil war during the transitional stage has turned South Africa into a model of confl ict resolution on the continent and beyond. It has also encouraged a culture of dialogue as an alternative to conflict, although civil wars are still a tragic reality. Although the country has gained such elevated status on the continent’s political landscape, she still has to reckon with all sorts of challenges ranging from unemployment to AIDS. It would be a disservice to fallen heroes and heroines if African Renaissance is simply treated as an ornamental discourse as opposed to a goal that Africa seeks to strive towards. The philosophy of Black Consciousness (founded by Bantu Steve Biko) needs to be bought back into the public domain and further developed as a tool to educate people about the African Renaissance, especially culture and identity. Tribalism and ethnicity have also been major contributors in distorting the ideals of the African Renaissance. The irony is that although ordinary Africans (the poor and mostly in rural areas to be precise) have suffered under colonial rule and oppression, their culture (a key component of the African renaissance) although unstable, remained indestructible. They have continuously practised African Renaissance within their communities through restoring African ways of life, but they are never given the opportunity to bring conceptual perspective on African Renaissance. Traditional leaders still use African ways to resolve disputes and prosecute offenders. European infl uence has ensured that certain African practices are seen as barbaric, but some of the methods used in such communities could still be applied in restoring our identity. In conclusion, the African elites have monopolised the debate on African Renaissance and most are scholars who have been subjected to the Western perspective of what the African Renaissance should be. African Renaissance urgently needs to be bought back into the public domain and every African should have a say, so that its signifi cance can be widely assessed using a variety of platforms including youth forums, universities and even parliament – as Thabo Mbeki did.