Joseph Odok|17 August 2017
In all my previous articles on the rationality of Africans, I have defended the thesis that the Whites are not superior in rationality to Africans. I have rooted the woes of Africans on slavery, colonialism, neo-colonialism, globalization. Could White be the cause of the backwardness of Africans? Walter Rodney in his book "How Europe under Developed Africans" answers the question in the negative and weeps the sentiments of Europe being the woes of Africans.
Of recent the question of whether or not Africans are less humans or not catches my fancy. Ekwuru in his book "The Price of Being Human as an African in our Contemporary World" challenged the defeatist view of Walter Rodney. Ekwuru rather advanced the logic of how Africans underdeveloped Africans.
Reading through the logic of Ekwuru, it was the collaboration of Africans with the Whites that made slavery to succeed, same with colonialism, and disaster capitalism that saw Europe draining Africa's wealth and man-power to develop Europe. We are not ignorant of the fact that if what have been looted and starched in foreign banks was used for the development of African, Africans would have been far more developed.
Are the whites not really more human? Thinking as a African, it appears an inferiority complex to accept that the whites are more rational or human than African. But some questions bugs my mind, it is difficult to agree that the whites are more human or rational than Africans. However let's look at some variables and rise above mere emotions
1. To succeed in the business of slave trade, the whites came with a superior logic that made our fathers exchange their sons, daughters, in-laws, uncles and kinsmen for gunpowder, morrow and dry fun.
2. The whites turned our illiterate parents into a viable labour tool that became the engine of civilization. Before their slavery, our parents were less useful. When the likes of Bishop Ajayi Crowder came back from slavery, they were better persons than they were before their encounter with the whites.
3. It is true that our African bothers and sisters in Europe are doing much more better than some whites in their different field of endeavours, but bring the best of our men to African, they become redundant and sometimes tyrants.
4. The most lawless and autocratic bigot of African respects the rule of law and due process of law when they go to Europe. A walk to Nigerian embassies, government agencies, private business etc shows that the rich are above the law, they bribe their way and intimidate everyone into giving them their way: even when their arrogance conflicts with national interest. Shockingly, when these arrogant bigots go to the whites man country, they obey the rules, they carry their bags, drop their securities and convoys.
5. In the white man country everyone must obey the rules, white or black. A boss cannot order the cleaner in his office to polish his shoes. There is strict adherence to the rule of engagement. Africans and white know this, but when the white man or African comes to work in Africa, slavery becomes part of the rule of engagement. Refusal to obey oppressive rules leads to loss of job or even incarceration. Not even a president can enforce an unjust law without some form of Revolt.
6. The white people know how to maintain a history of wealth. The build a history that can protect a generation of wealth. But in Africa, we appear to be shortsighted, a person will want to break all institutions to build wealth. They pile trillions and after they die, their savings vanishes with them. In African and Nigeria in particular, the richest men today are not children of those with the highest history of acquisition of wealth. Babangida children are not the richest, neither is Obasanjo's children. You can't destroy the means of regulating income and expenditures and expect that your income will be safe and secured. Karma is real, like you did to others to empty their pockets, so will others do to you.
Are Africans less human being?
Joseph Odok
Social Change Agent
