We continue our Afrika Liberation Day (ALD) theme as we gear up for the remaining ALD event, hosted by the Pan-African Congress Movement and taking place at Saint Geroge’s Community Hub, Great Hampton Row, Birmingham, B19 3JG on May 29th – 30th under the theme Africa In The World Today.By way of preparation at the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party and Pan African Society Community Forum organised ALD on 21/05/16 attendees were treated to a searing message from international speaker Sister Affiong L. Affiong of Moya Wa Taifa on the theme African Women & Youth on the front line.
Using Franz Fanon’s liberation maxim: “Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it” (1), as a point of departure, Sis. Affiong declared that “The mission of this generation is to secure global Afrikan unity in our lifetime.” (2)
Attaining global Afrikan unity may require identifying, or even proscribing respective roles in the liberation fight. Four years before Ghanaian independence, Osgayefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah had begun formulating this concept while addressing a mass meeting at the Centennial Pavillion in Monrovia, Liberia:
“Africa for the Africans! I cried. Africa for the Africans, but not the kind of philosophy that Marcus Garvey preached. No! We are bringing into being another Africa for the Africans with a different concept, and that concept is what?… A free and independent state in Africa. We want to be able to govern ourselves in this country without outside interference – and we are going to see that it is done!” (3)
While Nkrumah asserted the primacy of the continent in attaining liberation it is important to note that Afrikans from the diaspora such as George Padmore, John Henrik Clarke and WEB Du Bois had roles in his administration.
Nevertheless, proscribing the role of the diaspora in Afrikan liberation is an ongoing discussion. In a basic monetary sense the diaspora arguably helps keep Afrika afloat. Research by Hong Kong-based Ghanaian academic Adams Bodomo revealed that the Afrikan diaspora remitted $51.8bn compared to $43bn in what is called Official Development Assistance (so-called “aid”) (4). Yet there are even suggestions this amount is vastly underestimated with about 75% of all transfers are informal and impossible to track, meaning the actual figure could be anywhere $120bn and $160bn (5)
Although the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the body that established Afrika Liberation Day, didn’t specify a role for the diaspora in it’s charter, the African Union (AU) began making provision a year after its launch. (6)
In its Declaration Of The Global African Diaspora Summit of May 25th 2012, the AU proclaimed that it will:
“Encourage the Diaspora to organize themselves in regional networks and establish appropriate mechanisms that will enable their increasing participation in the affairs of the African Union as observers and eventually, in the future, as a sixth region of the continent that would contribute substantially to the implementation of policies and programmes.” (7)
The declaration includes a programme of action encompassing roles for both governments and civil society in the diaspora. Yet for all the laudable proclamations, it cannot be forgotten that (to put it generously) most states in Afrika (and the diaspora for that matter) are neo-colonial in nature. Therefore, even if the will were to exist, there would still be an absence of means.
One outstanding task and highlighted Sis. Affiong was for Afrikans in the diaspora can relate to and build relationships with Afrikan organizations on the continent to support and develop their work. Not only will this require proactive work but also a discerning approach to distinguish between those who really want liberation and those who do not. (8)
(1) Fanon, Franz (1985) The Wrteched of the Earth, Penguin. p. 166.(2) Affiong, Affiong L (21/05/16) African Women & Youth on the front line, message delivered at AAPRP/PASCF ALD, London(3) Nkrumah, Kwame (1973) The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah, Panaf. p. 153(4) BBC (17/04/13) Africans’ remittances outweigh Western aid. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22169474(5) Radlicki, Mikolaj (02/06/15) The 30m-strong Africa diaspora likely sends $160bn home every year: Where does it go?http://mgafrica.com/article/2015-05-29-remittance-in-africa-where-does-it-go(6) African Union (01/2003) Declaration Of The Global African Diaspora Summit, p. 4.(7) African Union (25/05/12) The 30m-strong Africa diaspora likely sends $160bn home every year: Where does it go?http://mgafrica.com/article/2015-05-29-remittance-in-africa-where-does-it-go(8) Affiong ibid.
So we ask the question:
What is the role of the diaspora in Afrikan liberation?
1. Did you attend the ALD event on 21/05? Will you be going on 29-30/05?
2. Is global Afrikan unity in our lifetime really the mission for this generation?
3. Could a co-ordinated programme of remittances be used to develop the continent?
4. Does the AU have the wherewithal to forge global Afrikan unity?
5. Are there really Afrikans who don’t want liberation?
Our special guests are:
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and UNIA-ACL Ambassador for the UK and national co-Chair of the interim National Afrikan People’s Parliament. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of over 30 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An Africentric Guide To Excellence.
Dr. Kwame Osei: is a well-travelled Afrikan Historian, Writer, Political Commentator and Entreprenuer that has been on study tours to Kemet, Australia and India. He has written over 100 articles that have appeared in a range of international publications and outlets including BBC, Black Britain, New African Magazine, as well Ghanaian journals The Daily Graphic, The Catalyst and Public Agenda. Bro. Kwame also presenter on Insite Radio (www.insiteradio.info), where he hosts a weekly magazine show on Saturday afternoons called Inside Afrika.
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