As is the case with many academic disciplines, there is an ongoing debate within the halls of African Studies. With Africanists, the debate mostly centers on how best to observe, analyze, and predict -- and whenever possible -- what solutions to proffer vis-à-vis the concerns and problems emanating in and around the continent. The venerated Ugboaja F. Ohaegbulam “identified four interdisciplinary models that are implicit in many of the intellectual constructs advanced by Africanists” in order to meet these challenges: the traditional and colonial models, and the Marxist and pan-African models.

It would be foolish and irresponsible to paint African scholarship with unsavory brush; nevertheless, a huge chunk of it is nothing more than intellectual junk and intellectual commotion -- a sort of copy-paste intellectualism. The major problem with most Africanists is that they tend to aver from well-worn orthodoxy. Most fear taking scholarly risks, they fear going outside the bound of popular tenets; and so they see the continent from about the same lens; therefore, radical analysis and conclusions are, for the most part, frowned upon or completely discouraged or disavowed.

Considering the politics of tenureship (i.e. publish or perish), it is understandable why some African scholars (in the West) write the way they write; hence it is not surprising that commentaries about Africa have similar tone and fiber: redundant, impracticable, and wholly academic. Consequently, it has not been easy to find new thinking and disposition about the continent. But what excuse is there for home-based scholars. Why must their position on a continent that is theirs -- a continent they know so well -- fall in line with the position of visiting scholars? A new type of empiricism should be directed at the continent: a newness that calls for boldness.

In a previous essay, I proposed five steps Africans must take in order to retake and save their continent from squalor, poverty and hopelessness. They are the things Africans owe their continent. Today, I offer seven more steps. The primary aim of these essays is to provoke debates about the future of the continent, and does not in any way serve as the Holy Grail to our collective travails. A rigorous and honest debate about the continent is needed; and such thinking must take place outside of conventional orthodoxy since conventional thinking has proven to be futile.

Loans/Foreign Aid: Most foreign aids are not aids in the real sense of the word since most of the allotted money/material/service never makes it to the intended enclaves; and even when they do, such aids never achieve the intended impact. Moreover, there is the insidious politics involved in foreign aids. Over the long run, foreign aids do not serve any real purpose. The corruption and politics of foreign aid aside, what good would it do any self-respecting people to continually depend on handouts? What does our penchant for handouts tell the world about us?

Today, most African countries depend on foreign assistance to stay afloat. These aids are injurious to a country’s psyche: it encourages laziness and indolence; and makes receiving countries dependent on donor countries. Over the long run, receiving countries become indebted to donor countries and in due course become an appendage to the donor countries. The West, as a rule, does not give a cent out of the sheer goodness of their heart. These are capitalist countries and not charity organizations; and capitalism is all about profit and self-interest. Additionally, African countries should shun loans -- especially those with more than 1% interest rate over the life span of the loan.

Consolidate Nation States: There are countries in Africa that shouldn’t have been nation-states in the first place. These are countries that are just too small, too poor, and vastly undereducated, lacking human and natural resources and are not ready to be truly independent states. Some of these countries should have formed confederations or at best, teamed up with other countries to form one independent state. But pride and undue nationalistic feelings “convinced” them they needed independence. Unfortunately, flag independence  does not pay workers salaries, pave roads, build schools and hospital and eradicate diseases, and provide for public infrastructures and other life’ necessities.

Now, decades after “political independence,” these countries do not have the wherewithal to administer their own affairs as they are constantly in need of foreign aids and other forms of assistance from the West or from other countries that would listen to their pleas for help. For instance, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda would have been better off as one single country; just as Republic of Benin and Togo should have been a single country, ditto Senegal and Gambia. Same can be said of Burkina Faso, Mali, and a host of other African countries. Aside from historical reasons, what business does Swaziland and Lesotho has being independent countries? Wouldn’t’ they have been better off as an integral part of South Africa?

Profits from Foreign Direct Investment: Profits from FDI (or any sort of investment) should be restricted from being taken out of the continent (no more than 35% in 5 years). Such windfalls should be reinvested in the continent. True, capitalism and globalization allows for unimpeded investment and roaming of profits, the fact is that the continent is not economic strong and political buoyant to allow for such unregulated economic practice. Globalization or not, Africa needs this sort of protection from global sharks.

Abolish The Military: In virtually every African country, the military (navy, air force and army and paramilitary) has been used to oppress and punish the populace, and are sometimes used to usurp constitutional rule. Only the Police and the foreign intelligence service should be retained. No sub-Saharan African country truly needs an army. None! A small militarized peace keeping unit may be constituted, and controlled by regional bodies like the Economic Community of West African States or the larger African Union.

Budgetary Control: I am proposing that upward of 75% of the total budget be spent on education, health care, and water and sewage treatment plant and on other fundamentals of development (basic human needs). Of this amount, no less than 25% should be spent on education and healthcare. This could be reduced by 5% each year after the 11^th year but must at no time fall below 10%. Other areas of the economy -- i.e. transportation, housing -- should be privatized. And indeed, it should be illegal for governments to engage in White Elephant Projects like stadiums, airports, shopping malls, and seaports.

Reshuffle and or Dilute Ethnicity: Questions and references to ethnicity and religious affiliation should be deleted in all private and government documents, i.e. employment applications, voter’s registration card and school admission forms. In contesting elections, only residency and other qualifications should matter. Also, more than 50% of secondary schools must be boarding schools with no more than 70% of the student body being indigenes. Boarding schools helps with the detribalization process.

Reverse Migration of Africans: Oversea-Africans must, on their own volition, return to their respective countries to help with the economic, social and political process. For too long, the general argument has been that the political, economic and social space is not conducive, secured or big enough for all those who may wish to return home. This sort of reasoning is outdated, a copout. Some of the continent’s best and brightest are in exile, leaving some of the continent’s dumbest (and brightest criminals) to rule and to plunder.

Sabidde@yahoo.com

Robot  Villager

# 1 As is the case with many academic disciplines, there is an ongoing debate within t...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 21.07.2008 20:51

AMEN  Villager

# 2 Why Use 'sub-sahara' To Describe Us, Again Sir You Expose Your Level Of Consciousness As Regards Us A People, Part 1 Of Your Write Up Contained A Sweeping And Dis-interested Reference To Africa's Past, Which I Chided You For And Now You Come Back With This? Pls Sir Words Are Powerful, So Choose Yours Carefully As You Have A Global Audience To Lead Or Mis-lead, Inform Or Mis-inform. These Keyboards In Front Of Us Are Now Powerful Weapons, And Each One Of Us Possess The Power To Build Or Destroy With It. Don't Forget We Have Indiginous Black People In Egypt,sudan,mauritania,morroco, Western Sahara,libya Etc, Are To Forget Them? Does The Whole Of Africa Not Belong To Black People (arabs Stole The North Since 627ad And Are Still Heading South E.g. Dafur Etc). SUB-SAHARA ETC IS USED BY WHITES AND ARABS TO LAND GRAB, AND MAKE AFRICA LOOK SMALL, AND TO ALSO MAKE BLACK PEOPLE LOOK VERY BAD IN THE EYES OF THE WORLD, HENCE THE REFERENCE TO SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA DURING ANY BAD NEWS IN THE MEDIA. I Hope You Think It Through Before Writing Next Time. God Bless U Amen Posted by AMEN| 21.07.2008 23:12

akuluouno  Villager

# 3 Villagers, Amen, SO, I think SO made the different paradigms from which the study of Africa is usually percieved. Amen's comments falls into hietoric/romantic approach. Even if Arabs. and I have argued this matter when Chinweizu, whom I respect greatly made a submission in the village against the formation of a United States of Africa, took over African lands in 627ad, does that mean that Africans were easily defeated, stupid and unable to fend for themselves. There seems to be a rising tendency of Arabphobia in Africa. History is replete with instances where Africans trounced Arabs even as recent as in Zanzibar. True they were the original slave traders and ravagers of Africa, but they have since been overtaken by the Europeans and other native Africa groups who practice internal colonisation in their nation states. The truth is that sub-Sahara Africa remains the epi-centre of worst indices in the global human development index. The seven horsemen of armageddon roam freely over this region of Africa. SO has boldly raised many issues which I also consider germane if Africa must move away from the shackles of poverty and underdevelopment. Let villagers comment on these issues. One of them is the abolition of the military as an institution and the need to address the challenge of changes in government to make it easier and incapable of causing violent conflicts in African states.:mad::mad::mad: _________________________ _________________________ Please I meant historic/romantic approach which SO cited as the traditional approach in his opening paras Posted by akuluouno| 22.07.2008 04:26

f.scorpion  JJC

# 4 I read the first part of this article with disbelief, but wanted to see your last 7 suggestions before commenting. You are making suggestions that sound good on paper, but wont get us far. You suggest we assassinate errant leaders. You are not the first to think of this...in fact in our very own Nigeria, part of the army tried this in the first decade of our existence. Even though the assassins had legitimate grievances, it didnt turn out so well. Or check out how Rwanda's assassination of a president has spiraled the region into perpetual instability. Same with many of your other suggestions. They have been tried and have failed. Someday, we may acknowledge that the leaders we want to assassinate are really a reflection of who we are as a people.We will only go as far as our mindset. Posted by f.scorpion| 22.07.2008 07:10

allaccess  Villager

# 5 All points made in this article fail to take account of the fact that you can lead a horse to a stream and then the task of making it drink (even with gun to the head) is another matter. I frequently speak with "literate" Africans and can tell you the issue of Africa is nothing to do with a lot of what we write about daily, it is simply a matter of mentality. Misplaced priorities and serious HUMAN WEAKNESS, mental. If the Arabs and whites come back to Africa (with very little guns), they can still colonize the continent for another 300 years, with nothing as much as a few packets or riots and many many articles by "educated" black people crying foul. the United Nations had to do something about the genocide of black people by Arabs in Sudan, blacks in African cannot, they are weak. The United nations is discussing doing something about Islamic murders in Northern Nigeria because Southern Nigerians are weak, they rather write about it on cyberspace. Kenneth Eng is right “blacks are weak-willed. They are the only race that has been enslaved for 300 years.” , and still enslaved. They know they are being enslaved but cannot shake it off. Typical of black writers like this man's piece, he cannot do anything about his Niger Delta or indeed Nigeria but he has jumped the gun to try and fix an entire continent. Posted by allaccess| 22.07.2008 12:10

Dewdrops  Villager

# 6 All those and to stop "polygamy" and the spreading of diseases all over Africa killing innocent people about the place. Posted by Dewdrops| 22.07.2008 12:13

bobokite  Villager

# 7 SO, Some of the seven steps you outlined are OK while some are simply not good. (1) Loans and Foreign aids; if some small African countries like Sao-tome, equatorial guinea, Liberia, Djibouti , Burundi and Rwanda desist from receiving foreign aids, how do they survive in the short-run? (2) Consolidate Nation States; with what is happening in big African nations like Nigeria and Sudan, is it better for a break-up of these big countries or is it better for them to keep staying as one? Your guess is as good as mine. (3) Reverse Migration of Africans; My Gods!! This is practically impossible! Posted by bobokite| 22.07.2008 12:28

aguabata  Villager

# 8 All the points raised in this article all make sense when African countries have good leadership as in Ghana, botswana, south africa and a few more, he doesnt mean Ghana will wake up one morning and reject british aid or Uganda to reject inter. donors, neither shld all diaporans come back in one year, all these will come with progressive and popular leaders running a good number of african countries. Each country shld have a sense of nationhood that is why the idea of dumbing down ethnicism is a good proposal, its the second thing after corruption that is weighing down Nigeria. Their are ethnic battles in every govt parastatal, even in shell, mobil, agip etc, and our blue eyed masters are exploiting the situation and having a laugh. Posted by aguabata| 22.07.2008 17:12

Palamedes  Villager

# 9 Over the years, I have come to learn that what people perceive as a problem and the real problem situation are only thinly related. Beside, problem is a generic term and the first step to understanding any problem is to identify which class the problem belongs. (I have written about “Problem Types” or words to that effect on “eWord.”) It belittles Africa to prescribe a “snake oil” cures for Africa” in no more that two A4 papers. Africa like any other continents have problems and anyone who understand the enormity of issues involved in analysing problem situations and finding appropriate solution(s) would see these enterprises as no more than a child's play. Even if we only take “mismanagement of the economy” as a problem situation and work backwards to identify the factors that experts believed to lead to mismanagement of the economy, and repeating the process with each factor to produce sub-factors that lead to the factors that in turn lead to mismanagement, we would come up with a very long lists of factors indeed. But it is not the quantity of factors or papers but the quality and seriousness of information that they contain. Nevertheless, we still delude ourselves if we think that the problems of Africa is that simple. On the surface, I think the top list of problem situations would (and should) include corruption, religion, incompetence, mediocrity and ethnicity (or C.R.I.M.E.) But forget about what "outsider" pundits like me thinks or says; what we need are no more than a dozen patriots and expert economics, technologists, scientists, historians, philosophers and political scientists (but no dual nationals, lawyers, politicians, journalists, tribalists, messengers of god) from business, industry and academia. These people are then given six months to a year to investigate, analyze and find solutions and the way forward for Africa. We will all be shocked what they found to be the real problems. But all these would be too easy compared to its implementation, but if the committee did their home work properly, they would have noted the African as a risk—one who may jeopardize the success of their solutions for Africa—and put in place counter-measures. But yes, you have guessed it! The African who is a risk to the implementation also has to implement these counter-measures too—presumably against himself. Posted by Palamedes| 22.07.2008 18:40

allaccess  Villager

# 10 =Palamedes;4295073829> On the surface, I think the top list of problem situations would (and should) include corruption, religion, incompetence, mediocrity and ethnicity (or C.R.I.M.E.) But forget about what "outsider" pundits like me thinks or says; what we need are no more than a dozen patriots and expert economics, technologists, scientists, historians, philosophers and political scientists (but no dual nationals, lawyers, politicians, journalists, tribalists, messengers of god) from business, industry and academia. These people are then given six months to a year to investigate, analyze and find solutions and the way forward for Africa. We will all be shocked what they found to be the real problems. The problems you mentioned afflicts all societies of the world, some just have a certain mentality of cohabitation and the desire to progress, while Africa by and large is devoid of decent civilised mentality. Many in Africa are not any brighter than monkeys. Accept it. For Europe to define its foundations they had to fight for their rights to self governance and freedom. Africa cannot progress with a noose of inferiority and lack of nationalism. In Europe people go to war believing they are fighting for their future and that of their future generations, it helps to shape their collective beliefs. In Africa people are ready to live side by side in a balkanised arrangement like say Islamic northern Nigeria and the South, when the South may fight, die to get the right to define their lives without the interference of mallams who don’t share a generic similarity. Then you have illiteracy, refusal to educate themselves beyond the realm of their ancestral religions and cultures, making people who are in the 21st century nothing more than sub-human tragedies. Why can African countries not find ways to make water flow from taps when the entire continent is surrounded by water? You have to ask yourself some questions…and hey, the Americans and Brits have no hand in that matter yet we cannot do it. You cannot place a telephone box in the middle of Kano and come back to meet it there tomorrow morning, ask yourself why it can be done in some of the poorest areas of the west. It all boils down to mentality, simple, sort that out and you can fix the rest. Posted by allaccess| 23.07.2008 10:45