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Introduction
When Arnyel Garnoui says that maps are a confirmation of
acts of violence, he invariably refers to the ability of
cartography to rewrite histories and alter destines. It
is much worse when the objects of cartography are not
also the subjects. In this regard, Africa is a vivid
exemplar. Africa’s present misfortune probably dates
back to that fateful conference in Berlin in 1884, when
she was laid on the imperialist table and &iced up like
a breakfast sausage. Considering that the confinent was
just smarting from the horrors and anguish of the Trans
Atlantic slave trade, the Partition in Berlin amounted
to a resurrection of dead or dying tragedies.
I have been confronted quite often by people both
African and non-African - who insist that colonisation
was a blessing to Africa, since it brought education, a
better religion, and made life easier for the generality
of African peoples. But this school of thought becomes
perforated when the meaning of education is considered
beyond the classroom. Africa did have a system of
education before the coming of the Europeans; education
was a trans-communal affair. It went on in the homes, in
the market place, in the village square, at folklore
sessions, during festivals and in many other places.
There were no schools as we know them today, but
knowledge, tradition and belief were passed on from one
generation to another, mostly through oral tradition.
So much could be said with regard to religion. I may
lack the competence to judge between Christianity and
African religions and, of course that is not the concern
here, but it is common knowledge that Africans knew the
essence and meaning of God before the Christian
proselytisers arrived. They must have had a plural
notion of God, but they certainly did not pray to
themselves. Of course, a multiple notion of God or the
worship of minor gods and spirits for which most
traditional African religions have been criticised
cannot be an absurdity. For it is, perhaps, comparable
to some modem Christian sects and other major religions
where the adoration of saints, the Holy Ghost, or a
hierarchy of gods is an important aspect of worship, as
a means of attaining the abode of the supreme God.
Concerning the amelioration of mundane living conditions
of Africans by the colonial project, it is very crucial
to ask whether Africa as an entity would have fizzled
out if it did not encounter the West in the way and
manner it did. Or, is it possible that it would have
remained stagnant and hopelessly "primitive" if European
colonialists and missionaries did not come here? The
answer to this question may be found in looking at
countries of the world that were never colonised. If
they have been able to grapple with modernity and its
fleeting spirit, what special blessings are there to
talk about in regard to the colonial enterprise in
Africa?
But the fact that Africans were not the only people to
be colonised raises a new set of questions. If Africa
was able to contain the more vicious sin of slavery, why
must colonisation remain an issue in debates on African
development? If countries like Canada, Australia, and
some states of the USA who were also colonised by the
British could come to their present stages of
development, why not the countries of Africa? Ethiopia
was not colonised. But beyond its rich cultural history
and heritage which remain almost intact, Ethiopia shares
with all the other countries in the maze of dilemma and
despondency that encircles post-colonial Africa.
The reality is that Africans have failed to really
emancipate themselves whether it is from outsiders or
insiders. Beyond the divisions and inhibitions brought
about by the mapping of the continent by the colonisers,
peoples of Africa have multiplied the maps” in other
dimensions. Not only are the countries divided along
geographical, linguistic, and other factors, peaceful
co-existence often eludes the various ethnic groups that
make up individual countries. This then amplifies the
violence and artificiality inherent in the phenomenon of
cartography.
Taken metaphorically, cartography logically conduces to
pigeonhole. As a nonce word here, it can mean the
deliberate, if dangerous, calibration of the dynamics of
human psychology in its relation to geography, politics,
religion and other group-marking factors in society. It
is the dangerous psychological implications of
cartography that have culminated in wars and other forms
of violence in, and between, different countries of the
world. From a global perspective, what globalisation or
mondialisation (as the French prefers to conceive it)
purports to do is to reverse the triumph of the
atomising philosophy of cartography in the pursuit of a
universal commonweal. Whether these concepts have been
sincere and successful should be the concern of
political historians and social scientists, but the
indices are there for observation and possible
conclusion by anyone who cares.
Personally, I am not sure how globalisation and/or
mondialisation can help Africa to overcome her numerous
maps in their political and psychological dimensions, If
Africa must take her rightful place in current
internationalism, she must look first within her
homestead for the cracks that defy peace, social
development, and technological advancement. She will
have to find a sustainable antidote to hunger, poverty,
violence and corruption, so that she can stand on her
feet and address other cultures on equal terms.
What we have seen in the course of Overcoming Maps 3
does not show that African leaders and peoples are
ready to take on this imperative. The continent is a
million miles away from reality. Africa lives in a dream
and does not want to wake up.
By collating and publishing some of our experiences and
opinions as creative people and as responsible citizens
in the continent, we may engineer positivising debates
in art and social circles in the continent. Perhaps, in
making the right noises in the right places, this book,
with its rich and constructively critical contents, can
become one of the tools that may be useful in rousing
some of us from slumber in this very challenging moment
of the century.
C. Krydz lkwuemesi
Ag. International
Secretary,
The Pan-African
C&c(e
of Mists and Project Director,
Overcoming Maps 3
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