Recent topics on Afrika Speaks have dealt with issues such as: Are Black women safe in the UK?; What will make our children safe in school?; 15 Minute Cities – building community or advancing repression?; Are we ready for Artificial Intelligence? and most recently, Are we politically homeless? A recurring theme accompanying these issues was the feeling of an existential threat to the way of Afrikan life in the UK, if not life itself.
This coincides with increasing discussions and indeed activity of “forwarding to Afrika,” or repatriation. Clearly this is not a new discussion but one going back several centuries. But in terms of documentation we can cite early Black Nationalists like Martin Delany, Alexander Crummel and Edward Wilmot Blyden in the 1850s and 60s (1), as well as twentieth century luminaries like Marcus Mosiah Garvey and Leonard Howell/the Rastafari Movement. (2)
A quarter of a century after the thwarting of Marcus Garvey’s Liberia project (3), His Imperial Majesty Emporer Haile Selassie I demonstrated the clearest reciprocation from an Afrikan state with the allocation of five hundred acres at Shashamane to the Ethiopian World Federation. (4)
More recently we have seen Gambia’s Roots Homecoming Festival, Ghana’s Year Of Return in 2019 and Senegal’s The Return. Although Ghana granted citizenship to more than 100 Afrikans from the USA and Caribbean during its festivties four years ago, these events are primarily regarded by many as tourist/business initiatives. (5)
Aside from the Rastafari Movement its hard to find an organised, practical, ideological committement to repatriation that has been actualised on a significant scale over an extended period. Thus the motivational factors driving the move can be many and varied, from those committed ‘sons and daughters of the soil’ reconnecting with their Ancestral lands to what can best be described as simple migration, unmoored from any spiritual/cultural imperative. Indeed, Bro. ShakaRa raised this very concern in an online Mosiah session last year:
“The interest in repatriation is on the uptake, but the revolutionary Pan-Afrikan voice, the Black Nationalist Voice, the Garveyite Voice is not loud enough in the conversation.” (6)
He proceeded to warn against the “neo-colonisation of Pan-Afrikanism” and the potential for returnees to bring a Eurocentric orientation with them. Yet, this idea may even be complicated by the neo-colonial orientation of pretty much every continental government – in contrast to bygone adminstrations like those of Emporer Haile Selassie and Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah. One indication of this is the extent to which governments are willing to ease the transition of returnees to fully participate in life on the continent.
(1) Wilson Jeremiah Moses (Ed) (1996) Classical Black Nationalism: From the American Revolution to Marcus Garvey. New York University Press. p. 145-208
(2) Makonnen Sankofa (2022) The Rise Of Rastafari: Resistance, Redemption and Repatriation (Revised Edition). Peaches Publications. p. 46-8
(3) Tony Martin (1986) Race First: The Ideological and Organizational Struggles of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association. The Majority Press. p.135.
(4) Sankofa. p. 71-20
(5) Nellie Peyton (19/06/21) African Americans view Senegal as an ancestral homeland—and business opportunity. https://qz.com/africa/2022699/senegal-launches-juneteenth-initiative-for-african-americans; Yunus S Saliu (14/01/22) Kunta Kinteh Island named among 52 places in the world for travelers to visit in 2022. https://www.voicegambia.com/2022/01/14/kunta-kinteh-island-named-among-52-places-in-the-world-for-travelers-to-visit-in-2022/
(6) Tafadzwa ShakaRa Mbandaka (09/08/22) #MOSIAH Sessions: “Back To Afrika” – Repatriation As A Revolutionary Act. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtiPRiHJSJw
we ask the question:
Repatriation or Migration – Is there a difference?
1) Is focus on repatriation increasing? If so why?
2) Is a particular orientation/mindset necessary to return?
3) Do Afrikan governments make it easy for returnees?
4) Is there a danger of Afrikans importing European values when returning?
Our Special Guests:
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.
Bro. Makonnen Sankofa: is a devout Rasta and journalist and author of the books, The Rise of Rastafari, which has just been revised in an expanded edition and Life In Gambia: The Smiling Coast Of Afrika, both Amazon best-sellers. His most recent publication is How to Market and Sell Your Book: A guide for beginners. Bro. Makonnen is also the founder of Africa Repatriation Group UK, which is a network to connect people together for those want to repatriate to Africa. He is also founder of the Black Books Show an online webinar showcasing Afrikan authors from around the world and a fortnightly radio show of the same name on Saturday afternoons on galaxyafiwe.net.
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