UPROOTING THE STUMP OF SLAVERY IN AFRICA
Several men over the last three centuries have made concerted efforts to cut down the huge tree of slavery. The root of this tree of course is in Africa but it branches went wide across the Atlantic Oceans to Europe, to both American continents and as far as it could get. As men became enlightened especially through the gospel, efforts were made to cut this tree down by an inexhaustive list of men. I shall be careful not to offend or belittle the impact of anyone by eulogizing some at the expense of others. Not that any of these men would care about mundane recognition, for they acted out of an all consuming zeal and would not have done otherwise for all the monies in the world.
Their efforts to a large extent was very successful, history is filled with stories of their achievements, with monuments of many still visible in several parts of the world. The freedom now enjoyed by the black race in most nations of the earth is also a testament to their successes. These successes were not limited only to these nations but also to Africa where slavery originated from. The continent has achieved self rule or independence after transitioning from been colonies of its past slave masters. This is a remarkable feat giving that most of these men who opposed slavery and fought against it never set their foot on the African soil, yet the result of their efforts could be felt on it nevertheless.
Most importantly was that these men made converts, so that to these days the idea that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." as conceived by John Locke, stylized by Benjamin Franklin and Penned by Thomas Jefferson has driven more men over the years to fight relentlessly for freedom even to the shedding of their blood. Regardless of the form this fight has taken; from Martin Luther King Junior who fought the racial Jim Crow laws with non violent method of civil disobedience to Nelson Mandela who jettisoned the non violent method by creating the militant uMkhonto-we-Sizwe the underlying driving philosophy has been that all men are created equally.
Standing antithetical to this idea of equality is the practice of slavery in its every form. In my opinion while the legality of the practice in many places has been abolished to a large extent, at least constitutionally, its roots has remained untouched, especially in Africa. To better understand this root we will need to go back to slavery as it was practiced while it yet held sway over the continent. Simply put, in those days slaves were acquired by Europeans buying slaves from black men who were prisoners of wars (POW) of ethnic wars and through kidnaping of fellow tribes men for sale.
Many of us in Africa today considered that our forefathers were lucky not to have been sold as slaves but in the real sense many of our forefathers were not sold because they were involved in the business of selling fellow tribes men and women! No doubt there will always be those who were not involved in this dastardly act like the 7,000 in the biblical times, whose knees did not bowed to Baal, but if percentages is anything to go by, then 7,000 represent an abysmal percentage of the population of Israel in those days. No wonder the same fate of those that kissed Baal was shared by the 7,000 that sat on the fence, just as all of us today in Africa are suffering the consequences of the un-uprooted stump of slavery on our continent.
Some may argue that their forebears only got the slaves they sold from local wars, but a man that finds it acceptable to wage war solely with the aim to POW for sales will soon begin to kidnap his unsuspecting kinsmen, since that will be easier and faster and that is the crux of this matter. Morally justifying ventures and enterprises that deny others-be it neighbors, kinsmen, tribesmen, fellow citizens-their rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. This is the root of slavery, it may manifest in many forms but the root is the same and nothing promotes it than the mindset that the end justifies the mean.
From the doctors that will not attend to patient in a public hospital till they get to his private hospital, to a teacher that derelicts at teaching a particular pupil because the pupil is not enrolled with him for private tutor, to the public office holder that diverts government funds to private pocket, to the Pastor that preaches the gospel to enrich himself it is the same thing. To all of them-and they are ubiquitous in Africa-the end justifies the mean. In each of them there are those whose right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness is been violated. This is the root of slavery, the stump that must be uprooted for Africa to attain its potential among the comity of Continents.
Many have undertaken to draw up the account of how Europeans underdeveloped Africa and history will never absolve them from the horror and error of slavery. Beginning-at least from records available- in 1441 when Nuno Tristao and Antonio Goncalves kidnapped 12 people from the coast of Mauritania as a gift to Prince Henry the Navigator till December 6, 1865 when it became illegal in the United States, the Europeans where wholly involved and totally immersed in providing the market, the structure, the system to make slavery a venture that thrives and is exceedingly lucrative. Over a period of 424 years spanning 14 generations and 4 centuries Europeans nations competed against against one another in trading slaves. Therefore it will be impossible to absolve them from this tragedy.
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However, to put the blame on Europeans alone will be wrong, basically because it was not Europeans that waged endless ethnic wars to get POW for sales, nor were they the ones that went inland to kidnap sleeping families at night in order to sell them into slavery. As a matter of fact, Africa was a white man's grave in those days and the Europeans rarely go father from the coastal town due to the endemic nature of Malaria on the continent before the discovery of quinine. It was black men who were unable to resist the appeal of European "toys" that sold their fellow black men into slavery. The toys in those days were iron, guns, gunpowder, mirrors, knives, cloth, and beads.
In our days the toys have changed but the practice is still the same. The aim of the doctor, teacher, public office holder and Pastor described above is to become rich so as to be able to afford luxury gadgets like cars, wristwatches, i-phone and possibly private jets which are are still toys from Europe and other parts of the world. Several decades ago our forefathers sold others into slavery denying them right to life, liberty and happiness in order to acquire iron, guns, gunpowder and mirror and today we are doing the same in order to acquire, luxurious gadgets and private jets. The practice is still the same even though the toys have changed.
This is the stump of slavery.-To find it acceptable to prosper at the expense of the life, liberty and happiness of ones neighbor, provided the end justifies the whatever means employed.
In Africa today many people believe it is solely the responsibility of government to preserve equality and people's right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, especially in Nigeria the sitting President is always blamed for this whenever the conversation is been held. It will be wrong to deny that this is one his responsibility but to expect government alone to address this scourge that has become our way of life for centuries is ridiculous. The fact that successive government have failed-from military rule, to parliamentary system to Presidential system-to make a difference is a pointer that more need to be done,
I will be deceiving myself to suggest that I have a remedy to this malady. I do not. One thing I will do with this space going forward is to attempt to shed more light on it with my articles and declarations. Hopefully God will make my voice like that of him that cried in the wilderness, urging my fellow black men to respect the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of others in their quest for success and reminding them that this is the only way we can bequeath to our children a continent better than the one we inherited from our forefathers.
The biblical Peter in one place said David when he had served the people in the will of God slept with the fathers. David may not have fought slavery but many who did actually did a great job, hewing the tree down leave by leave, branch by branch and trunk by trunk. Now is the time to get the stump out of the ground completely. May many of us find space in our heart to deem it worthy a service in the will of God to embark on this uprooting exercise. It is very easy giving that it begins with you, and no one knows you better than you, is there any way you are violating the right to life, liberty and happiness of other in your quest for wealth?
If you can identify this and make amends personally then this article would have achieved more than it intended, for a great nation is not built by men making noise on the streets but my men who have purposed in their minds to do the right there where ever they find themselves regardless of whether people are watching them or not. Right now on this continent there is no better thing than to love ones' neighbor like oneself in all ones engagement and to love them is to accept that they are created equally and have inalienable rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
Performance Management Manager at Central Bank of Nigeria
3 个月Thank you for shedding light on this important issue. I completely agree that we must confront our internal challenges and take accountability for the role we’ve played in our current state. I may not call it slavery like you did but I believe the collapse in our values is what you’re referring to. The foreigners may have had a role to play in slave trade which cannot be ignored, however the responsibility to build a just and equitable society rests on our shoulders. Addressing the collapse of our values and fostering integrity in all we do is crucial for meaningful progress. I hope we are ‘listening’.