When the occasion to address the world arises, especially to speak on African issues, scholars tend to speak in lofty terms, often out of their scholarly experience and out of their many years of learning. The same approach lies in the manner in which nations across Africa approach administrative issues such as governance. The lofty approaches we make come from the sense of righteousness, and intellectualism, as we can justify why a certain approach is superior than another. While we promote democratic approach in governance, we commit fallacies of democracy, as we remain blind to the wishes and aspirations of the people. And even then, we fail to take a closer look at what defines our Africanism, as we have well defined alternatives and ready-made solutions that echo philosophies of what has worked world over. The economic policies and measures we come up with are cut and pasted from the models that have defined them over and over again. And we know too well the tribulations of sticking to either of the philosophies, but our inclination to adopt any of them is adept, as long as it satisfies our present need. But this is not how to build a civilization! Rome stood for long, and her strength did not lie in the strength of her military or the power of her economy. No, it lied in the power of her culture – her mindset, her philosophy. America boosts of her democracy and America exceptionalism; China of her communism; and we are their subjects.
Our forefathers, when they first met at Accra and later in Ethiopia, they had a certain picture of what Africa should be. The only problem that they faced at the time is that some had different schools of thought, and each pulled to the direction of whomever whispered to their ears. To some socialism was the antidote, to others capitalism was the thing. Regardless of whichever paths they took, we are suffering the consequences, and all we have been doing is bargaining with the devil. Tom Mboya, a remarkable Pan Africanist stood forth and presented African Socialism. This shows a quest to identify, and provide a working philosophy such as Karl Marx, Lenin, Adam Smith and all other. The greatness of a people is rooted in their philosophy; for it is a language that defines thought, and practice.
Today, there is no presentation of anything new, but a call for the destruction of what we have for long held as the fundamental truths, and realizing who we are. That calls for the identification of a political and social philosophy that is rooted in our way of life, for a philosophy tied in whom we are is all inclusive. The man in the most remote village does not need to be taught what that is, as it is in the way he lives, the man in the most sophisticated capital city does not need to labor much to create systems that demonstrate that quest. For a common philosophy, just like a common religion sets common believes that inform practices, and determine flow and forward progress of the whole unit. Ubuntu is such a philosophy, as it is borne out of the South African people. The significance of this concept lies in its simplicity, and neither does it need to be weighed alongside the Western philosophies which define their culture rather it should work on improving its undeveloped concepts. Besides, the scale of its application should be about solving the African challenges. Some call for unification of Africa, the greatest unification there is, is Philosophical, and that way we will be the most powerful people on earth.
To implement the proposed approach to Africanism we seek to adopt a policy interpretation approach in a manner that is consistent with the best of our cultural practices. In this case we seek to realign the available socioeconomic policy needs in such a manner that they answer the needs, and wants that are at the grass-root level. The new concepts are interventionalist in their approach as they take note of the best practices in sage-philosophy, the more progressive African Socialism, and the centrist Capitalism.
The central belief is that philosophies are not frigid things but are revolutionary, revisionist, and ought to be re-edited since the aims of any philosophical leaning is not to augment a certain position but to develop better solutions to the people during the given stage of their civilization. As such, a positivist interpretation prevails in establishing whether a certain approach is suitable to a given community and, which, in comparison is less preferable in answering their political and economic problems.
By Meshack Nzioka