Tonight, we continue our exclusive series on Nationbuilding, taking place on the ONLY de-brainwashing station, galafiwe.net and will include future sessions on: Education, Family and Spirituality

As indicated above, the series continues with politics, which many equate with political party (e.g. Conservative, Green, Labour, Liberal Democrats, etc.) representatives at the local (e.g. councillor) and national (e.g. Member of Parliament – MP) levels.  Some may also associate it some sort of public effort (‘political campaign’) to influence the representatives/parties.

However, Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka defines politics as:

““Politics is the art and science of power acquisition and nation building.” (1)

Assuming that this applies to any nation it would be useful to examine, for example, how the UK’s of ‘power acquisition and nation building’ affects the Afrikans within it.  None of the main political parties have an Afrikan leadership of a specific Afrikan agenda.  Although the number of ‘Black’ councillors is languishing at just 1%, (2) there are 20 Afrikan MPs in the UK parliament (two-thirds of whom are Labour, the remainder Conservative), about 3% which is the official proportion of Afrikans in the UK. (3) So, it could be argued that we have the representation proportionate to our numbers in society.  Further, as an indication of even greater leverage, previous research by Operation Black Vote suggested that the “Black vote can decide general election.” (4)

On the other hand, these factors relate largely to numbers, not necessarily interests, as it could be argued that the interests of the existing mainstream political parties, are decidedly not in concert with the interests of the Afrikan community in the UK. (5)

This may compel us to consider what Afrikan political interests currently exist in the UK, if any.  Certainly, the interim National Afrikan People’s Parliament outlined a vision in its draft Manifesto with the intention that it would:

“Form a government of the Afrikan people in the UK, based upon the philosophy of self- governance, self-reliance and self-determination; grounded in the principles of Maat and Ubuntu and the theory of ‘communiocracy’ where the survival and interest of the community is paramount. In so doing to undertake the following:

• Establish a nationwide, centralized system of self-governance to function at local, regional, national and international levels, organizing Afrikan people in the UK as one sovereign people and nation.
• Procure a headquarters as a national office in which to house the operations of the central government of the NAPP and to further establish local and regional government offices. 
• Harness and organize the professional skills and expertise at the disposal of our people in developing the requisite nation building infrastructure, including independent institutions to meet the needs of our people.
• Be a nationally and internationally recognised and recognisable representative body and voice of the Afrikan people domiciled in the UK.” (6)

In the last decade we have the rise of what some refer to as the hastag revolution   that is “gaining ground.” (7)  It is definitely the case that much grassroots activity (though not necessarily activism) now takes place online and has managed to connect Afrikan globally in hitherto unseen ways.  Yet it remains to be seen whether this can be the basis for the meaningful change that we need.

(1) Interim National Organising Committee (INOC) (28/11/15) MANIFESTO: Working Draft For Community Consultation. interim National Afrikan People’s Parliament. p. 6

(2) Professor Maria Sobolewska and Dr Neema Begum (2020) Ethnic Minority Representation in UK Local Government. p. 3. https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=49921.

(3) The Black Presence in Britain (2022) Black British Politicians. https://blackpresence.co.uk/black-british-politicians/

(4) Lester Holloway and Louise Alexander (2013) POWER OF THE BLACK VOTE IN 2015: The Changing Face of England & Wales. https://www.obv.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/downloads/Powerofthe%20BlackVotev3.pdf

(5) Maya Elese (03/07/20) The Labour Party took Black voters for granted and now I feel politically homeless. https://inews.co.uk/opinion/keir-starmer-black-lives-matter-labour-party-465357

(6) Interim National Organising Committee (INOC) p. 9

(7) Eleni Mourdoukoutas (2018) The hashtag revolution gaining ground. https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/april-2018-july-2018/hashtag-revolution-gaining-ground 

we ask the question:

The 5 Steps to NATIONBUILDING Series. Step 2: POLITICS

1) Do we have political representation proportionate to our population?

2) Or does our political destiny lay outside mainstream party politics?

3) What are the key political interests for Afrikans in the UK?

4) Was the iNAPP strategy viable?

5) Can the hashtag revolution really drive meaning change?

Our Special Guest:

Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and an Afrikan-Centred Education Consultant.  Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of almost 40 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Approach To Excellence.