Middle Africa: African Nationalism: A Critical Report

...Its cultural significance, however, is mainly constructive and desirable...

...The promise of African nationalism is far greater than the mere attainment of political independence...

...As a political force it is limited in its capacity...

...To restore independent political activities (i.e., activities outside the framework of the colonial administration) to this "indigenous leadership"—as the nationalist movements are now trying to do—would mean, to cripple permanently the system of Indirect Rule upon which so much of colonial imperialism rests...

...So it is, then, that the three major components of African nationalism sustain one another and lead to a further growth of needs and values...

...It must be emphasized here that while some dependence of the colonial economy on the European powers cannot be avoided in the early stages of development, a deliberate plan to integrate the two is a different matter...

...Here a word must be said about the colonial economy itself...

...V The sense of hope and immediacy that nationalism has infused into African life may bring with it a political disillusionment which could, in turn, lead to a powerful setback to the nationalist movement...

...So intense has the desire for learning become that in many parts of Africa schools have begun to flourish like mushrooms —even open-air schools held under tropical trees...

...At this point a definition of a multi-national colonial state may be useful...

...These, in turn, have evoked among the masses and the lower echelons of the nationalist movement a reaction verging on political resignation...

...But the major demands for economic independence i.e., participation and control, which have accompanied African nationalism will continue to receive greater attention...

...It is obvious that adequate constitutional measures are necessary to ensure minority rights in such a case...

...and, as for the "middle class," its present counterpart is the westernized African for whom liberty means primarily the liquidation of the colonial rule...

...On the other hand, in the linguistic-culturally differentiated society, the domi nant national groups enjoy their position largely by virtue of their population strength...

...the masses, liberty means not only political equality but economic and educational opportunity, as well as the preservation of fundamental African institutions...

...But the antagonisms among the various ethnic units undermine the political solidarity of the emerging national state as well as weakening the nationalist front...

...Nonetheless, the seemingly noble objective of territorial tribalism may be attended by dangerous consequences...

...There is a second and equally powerful counter-current, a tendency that inheres in the very principle or nature of nationalism...

...Elections take place in formally according to group units (tribe, village, etc...

...This political apathy becomes even more regrettable if we consider the new role of mediator which the British Crown is now attempting to play...

...By thus retaining the initiative, the European powers partly sapped the morale of the nationalist movements and at the same time made it certain that the nationalist movements would nonetheless have to participate in these schemes...

...Due to the preoccupation with the overthrow of European domination, elimination of the color bar, and the curbing of tribalism as a countercurrent, nationalism in Africa has so far failed to face squarely the problem of economic independence...

...It Together with, and partly in reaction to, these three central currents of African nationalism there have arisen a number of countercurrents...

...It is not a hereditary leadership in the Western sense since power may be transmitted in more than one way...

...It is a way of life that is complete by itself and it embodies political capacities that are undeveloped and largely neglected...

...The means for encouraging economic integration are numerous, but the following two may serve as illustrations...

...In East Africa there has been a noticeable trend toward an increasing participation of African teachers in politics, while in West Africa such trends have gone furthest of all...

...In the face of this overwhelmingly adverse economic situation, poltical independence, though necessary and desirable, does not guarantee immunity against continued economic domination...

...The index of economic independence will be measured not by pretentious economic plans or the amount of foreign capital that is attracted, but rather by the pursuit of calculated economic development programs based upon a definable economic doctrine that reflects the needs of the people...

...Thus, the growing reaction of the ordinary African is a return to the most natural source of political authority that he is accustomed to, i.e., the "indigenous leadership...

...Thus the principle of nationality tends to intensify the inherent ethnic feelings of exclusiveness...

...in effect, it includes a substantial raising of the standard of living and a government that can effectively press for African claims in global politics...

...As for the first of these—resentment of alien domination—its main function is to create a sense of African fraternity, a common outlook that helps give coherence and continuity to the numerous nationalist movements...

...But this canker on the nationalist efforts can be eliminated by corrective measures in the constitutional structure and by politico-administrative re-organization directed against all reactionary aspects of tribalism...

...Politically and economically, tribalism—of which there are two patterns in Africa, regional and territorial—may exhibit a certain amount of destructive features...

...Today, no country is completely independent economically...

...These, however, are the very assumptions that largely determine the socio-economic thinking of the Westernized class that has so far monopolized...

...Dr...

...This is further substantiated by the fact that most of the politically independent countries in Africa today have varied patterns of colonial economy...

...Nor are these the traditional government or missionary schools...

...Both the British and French colonial laws have recognized and applied this principle of African law...

...The former attitude toward the British is in the arena for the crowds, and for political rallies...

...Nor is this a surface phenomenon...

...In the past five years, this kind of tribalism has become the dominating political force in both British and French Togoland...

...We mean rather the elected political leaders of the people...

...It is this difference in kinds of colonial rule that explains why three new constitutional reforms were promulgated in Nigeria and the Gold Coast between 1950 and 1955, while in Kenya and Algeria, where the whites have established themselves as local ruling classes, there has been constant bloodshed...

...The three-way political division of the Nigerian nationalist movement and the sudden rift within the Gold Coast nationalist drive for independence are two results of regional tribalism...

...Furthermore, in its haste to industrialize, the leadership of the new social class favors and is implementing economic policy known to be adverse to the fundamental basis of traditional society...

...The two most important conditions are: (1) The land must be worked and cannot lie fallow...

...To illustrate the nature of this conflict one should go to the most difficult of all African problems, the problem of land...

...Thus, the resistance of the latter to the emergent new Westernized class becomes fundamental and the repercussions affect every aspect of life...

...Only then can the next requirement be forthcoming: a new leadership to realize this new orientation...

...The principle of nationality which is a by-product of nationalism aims at unifying a differentiated plural society on the multi-national level...

...Today, as never before in the history of West African nationalism, there is a marked feeling of doubt about the objectives of nationalism...

...Yet, African nationalist leaders have repeatedly reminded themselves of the fact that political independence without economic self-sufficiency is a trap...

...In, its inner values and formal outlooks, the intellectual vanguard of African nationalism is largely Westernized, while the mass of the people, though anxious to raise its standard of living through industrialization, is extremely unwilling to sacrifice its basic African heritage...

...Furthermore, the abject poverty of modern Africa has also strengthened the tendency toward state intervention and initiative in economic life...

...2) It cannot be sold, but must remain within the family...

...There is a third type of colonial domination that will not be discussed here, i.e., the economic domination of independent African countries by the European cartels and giant American business interests...

...Accordingly, opposition to colonial rule has been of two kinds.* "Classical" imperialism as administered by a European state has, at least occasionally, provided a channel for registering African grievances and gaining limited concessions...

...But such rationalization has no historical basis since most of the independent sovereign nations of the world are themselves plural societies of one sort or the other...

...The younger nationalist leaders have thus been forced to formulate their appeals and programs in language that is intelligible to the masses of the country rather than to the westernized African middle class and the outside world that has trained this middle class...

...The second element in African nationalism—the effort to absorb the assumptions of Western humanism—represents a stage beyond mere resentment of alien rule, and generates some powerful liberal ideas...

...Particularly for the enlarged rank-and-file of the younger nationalist generation, the result is political disenchantment when the former "enemy" seizes the initiative to become an "arbitrator" between Africans...

...second, to promote institutions congenial to private enterprise regardless of their disruptive influences on indigenous socioeconomic life: third, to consolidate and expand the economic positions of the already established European vested interests vis-a-vis new incoming foreign capital and concurrently to narrow the horizon of economic opportunity for the Westernized African...

...to exploit linguistic-cultural differences as well as to nurse socio-political exclusiveness...

...The present drive toward industrialization is both a by-product of African nationalism and a result of enlightened colonial policy...

...What is pertinent here are the reasons and objectives of this change in colonial policy...

...Perhaps the best influence of tribalism is to be found in its attempt to preserve socio-cultural codes of ethical behavior and to encourage a mutual respect for cultural diversity within the same political state...

...In its long-run aspects, the policy is essentially an attempt to integrate the economic development of the various colonial territories with metropolitan (European) economic need...

...Secondary and tertiary economic activities are practically unknown...

...Essentially, it is an economy that depends for its income on primary eco nomic activities like agriculture and mining...

...At the same time, however, beneath the thin veneer of the imposed Western political and economic superstructures there lies the fundamental practice of Communal Ownership...

...Secondly, the more the rule of the European powers—particularly the British—recedes behind the scenes, the more quickly will the new Westernized social class inherit full responsibility for colonial government policies, together with the deep-rooted antagonism to an alien institution of domination...

...On the other hand, East Africa exhibits a different pattern of tribalism, designated as territorial tribalism...

...So far, this growing alliance between the "indigenous leadership" and the younger nationalist leaders has often been a marriage of convenience...

...These counter-currents, it should be stressed, are not necessarily negative, since at times they contain desirable values which serve to restrain the excesses that might accompany sudden social change...

...Somewhat similarly, in order to give greater social validity to the whole movement, the younger nationalist leaders have solicited the support of the "natural rulers" and their political vanguard, which I shall call the "indigenous leadership" of Africa.* Since 1900 this leadership has been largely integrated into the colonial administrative machinery by the system of Indirect Rule...

...Within the next decade, at least half a dozen colonial states will surely gain their political independence...

...3) the continuing influence and strength of the religious-cultural values that are indigenous to African life...

...Consequently, with every unpopular political blunder commited by the semi-colonial governments led by this Westernized social class, the old "indigenous leadership" will gain in prestige...

...they] depend upon the return to the only political structures which made sense to the people if the honeymoon with secular politics settles down to mass disenchantment...

...What is now required is an "agonizing reappraisal" in order to formulate a new political and economic ideology that will be realistic but, at the same time, reflect African background and orientation...

...Particularly in South Africa, the older generation of African nationalist leaders has been replaced by younger and more dynamic men who are not lawyers, ministers or doctors...

...Afraid to discuss the African's demands with him lest that seem an implicit recognition of equality, the white settler feels that to grant even a small concession means to pave the way for a cataclysm which would destroy his privileged existence...

...Liberty was the watchword of themiddle class, equality of the lower...

...For the first time, African history has come to be an item in the school curriculum...

...It is a territorial colonial state with more than one racial or linguistic-cultural ethnic group, each living side-by-side with the other but each having an independent cultural and historical identity, yet all being subject to the same political authority, i.e., colonial rule...

...A second approach is the attempt on the part of the newer foreign enterprises (the few interested in processing semi-finished goods) to solicit African partnerships but with a proviso limiting African interests to less than 30 per cent control...

...IV There is one aspect of African nationalism that deserves special mention...

...Now this trend may be in essential harmony with the traditions and economic theory of Communal Ownership, but it is also diametrically opposed to the assumptions of Western liberal thought...

...Once the masses, the most powerful source of support for nationalism, become disgruntled—which is a trend particularly discernible in West Africa—the future of the Westernized dominant class becomes precarious...

...Like similar forces in history it has reached a transition point...

...Thus far this approach has been confined largely to the nonproductive foreign enterprises, i.e., distributive business...

...The most pronounced counter-current is to be found in the African's response—at once emulous and resentful—to Western mores, and especially as this ambivalence is manifested in his socio-political behavior...

...Parallel with this change is the way in which newspapers have begun to invade the rural countryside and the inland towns...

...So it is that the indigenous leadership is gradually emerging as the defender of traditional values and ways of life which still evoke legal and moral convictions in the masses...

...This tendency, which may be designated as tribalism, can be summarily defined as a socio-cultural antagonism to political and economic domination by the predominant national group (be it racial or linguistic-cultural) in a given African society...

...Its roots lie deep in Africa's past...

...it represents a deep-going trend of enormous importance for the future of African nationalism...

...While antagonism to foreign domination is an integrating force that gives solidarity to African nationalism, yet with every substantial achievement of nationalism there is also a marked growth in the African's awareness of the exclusiveness inherent in the various unintegrated socio-cultural groups...

...The socio-cultural values of either pattern of tribalism is a constant inspiration for the creative development of society...

...In 1862, long before the advent of contemporary African nationalism, Lord Acton described the aftermath of the French revolution: The deepest cause which made the French Revolution so dangerous toliberty was its theory of equality...

...The main contact with international trade excludes capital transfer, i.e., blue chip securities or capital equipment...

...At the very worst, regional tribalism in West Africa can only delay the immediate achievement of independence...

...Both economic development and social enlightenment are central to the nationalist obligation, and failure to achieve an appreciable degree of either spells doom to any nationalist party...

...Paradoxically enough, this tends to transfer the most precious part of the nationalist appeal, i.e., "championship of the underdog," to the traditionalists and away from the nationalists...

...The Westernized young nationalists tend to look upon it in terms of expediency, while the "indigenous leadership," fearful that its influence will be swept away by the new political movements, hurries to regain some of its lost prestige...

...Their lack of a definite politicaleconomic ideology is a grave handicap...

...The same must be achieved by the emerging states of Africa...

...The greatest asset of the new spirit of African nationalism has been the sociocultural and intellectual awareness it has aroused among the people at large...

...The African, confronted with such an unyielding attitude, has no choice but force...

...Actually, African nationalism is still a powerful politicaleconomic movement...

...Regional tribalism and rapid economic development have threatened the structure of traditional society...

...And in the limited orbit of the industrial sector, the growth of trade unionism has been phenomenal...

...Appointed tribal chiefs may be part of this leadership, but not its essence...

...The slogan has been, "Seek political freedom first and all other things will follow...

...the latteris in the daily routine of governmental business...

...This makes for awareness of a cultural tradition and should serve to arrest the undesirable aspects of cultural imperialism during the process of Westernization...

...The attempt in this article to analyze African nationalism and to present a critical appraisal of it would have failed if the reader should conclude that nationalism has collapsed at the very dawn of its grand objective...

...The middle class, having castdown the upper orders with the aid of the lower, instituted a new inequality and privilege for itself...

...Should territorial tribalism achieve its objective, the Ewe people will become the dominant group in a unified Togoland...

...Both as a concept and a social movement, African nationalism contains three major elements: 1) a pervasive antagonism to alien domination, particularly that of the European powers...

...Historically, it should be remembered, Africa has experienced two kinds of colonialism—that administered from the capital of a European power and that controlled by white settlers on the spot...

...Historically, however, this has never been true...

...The first approach is to recruit a few prominent Westernized Africans into the alien-owned and controlled enterprises, and eventually allow such Africans a limited personal stake in the business...

...Two important points follow...

...Besides the racial or linguistic-cultural differentiation, there is another aspect that distinguishes these two kinds of plural societies in colonial Africa...

...And when it is realized that in the near future this Westernized class of Africans is likely to inherit political power from the colonial overlords, the seriousness of the conflict between the communal traditions of African society and the bourgeois liberal orientation of African nationalism becomes particularly striking...

...This colonial development policy had as its immediate objectives: first, to create economic facilities that will be the most attractive to foreign capital...

...These people form what may be called the "natural" and authentic leadership within Africa and exist alongside of what ever colonial system may have been set up...

...Since the post-war era, the three leading imperial states—the United Kingdom, France and Belgium—have embarked upon a certain amount of economic development in Africa...

...By the terns "indigenous leadership" we do not mean the system of tribal chieftainship which is usually sponsored by the colonial power under Indirect Rule...

...But quite a number of countries are in a position to determine their economic destiny...

...But to the "lower class," i.e...

...III The third counter-current may be summed up as a tendency to reduce the principle of nationality to ethnic exclusiveness...

...In these two United Nations Trust Territories, there are a minimum of twenty-seven linguistic-cultural groups, and the Ewe national group alone constitutes 62 per cent of the combined population...

...The conflicts here are obvious, though still largely potential...

...Rather, the colonial economy restricts itself to export of primary products and commodities and the import of manufactured goods...

...In the case of territories with white settlers, however, the very opposite is true: there is no effective clearing-house for the consideration of African needs...

...One immediate implication of this fact is that African symbols and institutions have begun to be given priority and preference over the ideas and language of western liberalism...

...Land is the most important source of African wealth, and the land tenure system is known in Africa as the practice of Communal Ownership...

...Finally, something should be said about the emergent new social class, i.e., the Westernized class of Africans, which is the agent ushering in social change and, in great part, is a by-product of nationalism...

...The "upper orders" in Africa are the occupying colonial powers of Europe...

...trade unions, indeed, have nurtured the first cells of African nationalism...

...In his recent study, Dr...

...they are African owned and operated...

...And gradually it is becoming a matter of common knowledge that the African codes of ethics can hardly be reconciled with the imposed Western codes...

...Because of the economic and technological poverty, as well as the population sparsity of these emergent states—Gold Coast, Nigeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Tanganyika and the Central African Federation—the mere transfer of political power will not be accompanied by an economic revolution...

...In the British Somaliland and in Somalia, territorial tribalism as a politico-cultural force cuts through colonial boundaries in an attempt to bring about the unity of the same ethnic group...

...Why the problem is alarming becomes clear when one examines the political and economic platforms of the various nationalist parties, particularly those of West Africa...

...2) a quest by Africans for "moral status"—first in their homelands and then in the world—which is partly the result of their response to Western humanism...

...For its immediate objective, territorial tribalism attempts to correct a political injustice imposed by European imperialism, i.e., it attempts to eliminate unnatural political boundaries...

...The pop ulation strength of the white settler varies from as low as 0.3 per cent in Kenya to about 21 per cent in the Union of South Africa...

...1 In the latest stages of African nationalism, perhaps the most significant new development is that the youth has begun to take over leadership...

...In the racially differentiated society the politically dominant white settlers always constitute a small numerical minority...

...The leadership of this emerging social class is destined to inherit political authority, and when that happens its economic dominance and social prestige will become all the greater...

...But in contemporary Africa, except for the establishment of various patterns of parliamentary government, there is no adequate social fibre, no strong enough indigenous class, to ensure stable economic growth...

...This new leadership is recruited from such professions as journalism, and it includes university professors, trade union leaders and a few business men...

...For the African's determination to regain his lost "moral status" is an index of his growing political maturity, and consequently a principle of existence that cannot be compromised...

...Because the colonial territorial states of Africa have unnatural political boundaries, drawn during the nineteenth century on the drafting boards of Western imperialism, each of the 63 multi-national colonial states constituting present-day Africa has a number of national entities (ethnic groups and whole societies) arbitrarily brought together within a common boundary...

...Yet one of the paradoxical results of this recognition of Communal Ownership has been that all rights to mineral-bearing lands are vested in the colonial state, and that ; in theory at least, the long-run political and economic implications of this principle of Communal Ownership has been that the initiative for economic development is reserved to the colonial state...

...2) the indigenous type, best described as a linguistic and cultural segmentation...

...At least within the past three centuries, hardly any nation has been able to raise its standard of living and create a military capable of defending its sovereignty without subscribing to a definable economic and political doctrine...

...The reasons for this dissatisfaction may be found in the tactical delays or actual failures of the leadership of the new class to bring the country to the "promised land...

...Apter supports this point: Interviews with tribal chiefs in the Gold Coast revealed that some return to the traditional pattern of authority was regarded as inevitable...

...Under the stress imposed by the postwar international situation, the European colonial powers took the initiative in proposing blueprints for colonial development programs, thereby claiming the moral and economic right to control the broad course of the socio-economic changes...

...It is important to point out that in these two colonial territories, it is territorial tribalism and not nationalism that remains the most powerful force making for unification and independence...

...These exclusive ethnic societies within a common artificial boundary are of two types in Africa: (1) the racial type, instituted by the, white settlers...

...This kind of equivocation, for all that it is humanly understandable, tends to impose a painful schizophrenia on the emergent "moral being" of the new African...

...What is involved here is not so much the problem of how to retain the superstructure of the Western systems of education, government and technology, but rather, how best to integrate these institutions into the over-all life of African society while still maintaining the fundamental integrity of African ways of life...

...Tribalism is introverted, deriving its impetus largely from past historical events, figures or myths...

...and while meager enough when compared to the nationalist demands, such amelioration does create possibilities for further change and compromise...

...That is why the elimination of "white supremacy" in Africa, while it might soon decrease hostility toward the European powers, is only the first step toward realizing the moral dignity of the African peoples—and this within the framework of an African sociocultural heritage that, in many respects, continues to be vital and significant for the people of the continent...

...David Apter, author of The Gold Coast in Transition, describes this problem in terms that are meant to apply to the Gold Coast but have a more general relevance: The British are used as symbols of imperialism on the one hand, and asstandards for behavior on the other...

...In legal theory, it should be stressed, Communal Ownership recognizes and provides for individual ownership of land in perpetuity provided certain conditions are fulfilled...

...the leadership of the African nationalist movements...

...But it will be recalled that the original elite in African society was that group we have called the "indigenous leadership...

...Both regional and territorial tribalism contain some positive aspects when they are considered as a corollary to African nationalism...

...As pointed out earlier, the marriage of the "indigenous leadership" to the nationalist movement was one of convenience...

...The transformation of colonial economy into a mature economy can come about only when African nationalism becomes completely emancipated by evolving its own politico-economic ideology...

...This leadership extends from the village headman up through the African ethnic and tribal nobility to kings and queens...

...The new trend is particularly pronounced in West Africa...

...Particularly is this true of African nationalism, where the outlooks and opinions of the numerous factions tend to be extremely amorphous...

...This weakness has been exploited to give the impression that the strength of tribalism in colonial politics proves the incapacity of the African nationalist movement to unify the country for political independence...

...Concretely, this last ohiective reflects both the fear of American economic encroachment in Africa as well as an attempt to curtail and restrict the economic future of the would-be African capitalist...

...One of the unpleasant conclusions to be drawn from the achievement of African nationalism is that in the struggle to liquidate alien rulers a new African ruling class has already arrived to take their place...

...The new African nations that are on the horizon will thus be dependent, economically, on the fluctuations in the international market and, intellectually, on the restatement by Westernized nationalists of the decadent tenets of laissezfaire...

...The first is that this "indigenous leadership" has regained some of the prestige it had lost since the advent of African nationalism...