History has stripped Africa’s people of the dignity of building their nations on their own indigenous values, institutions, and heritage. The modern African state is the product of Europe, not Africa. To attempt at this late date to return to ancestral identities and resources as bases for building the modern African nation would risk the collapse of many countries. At the same time, to disregard ethnic realities would be to build on loose sand, also a high-risk exercise. Is it possible to consolidate the framework of the modern African state while giving recognition and maximum utility to the component elements of ethnicities, cultures, and aspirations for self-determination?
Most of Africa spent two generations under colonial rule. This article argues that, contrary to some recent commentaries highlighting the benefits of colonialism, it is this intense experience that has significantly retarded economic development across the continent. Relative to any plausible counterfactual, Africa is poorer today than it would have been had colonialism not occurred. These conflicts are the most difficult to manage within the unity framework; depending on the particular circumstance of the case, they may call for. Therefore, there’s a complex relationship of allegiance and Imperialism.
Africa should begin to experience a well-deserved renaissance which has the capacity to lead us through storm…But if roots are complex, the catalyst is clear enough. … that it is hard to draw firm conclusions about a relationship to subjugation. Sadly, European thinkers justified, legitimized, and challenged dispossession and political domination…and China’s neo imperialism under the guise of loans is equally of serious concerns. Nevertheless, the conversion of the native peoples, however, did not provide an unproblematic justification for the project of overseas conquest. As such, African renaissance and reparation as championed by Bashorun Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (MKO), will suffice.
Interestingly, patriotism has been a concern in all societies as citizens contemplate making special sacrifices for their nations. In existing literature, patriotism is usually understood as one’s feeling for his or her community, devotion to the nation, or allegiance to the state. In general, patriotism can be interior or exterior depending on whether the commitment is for ensuring national progress internally or for protecting national interest from external forces. The exterior mode of patriotism often takes the form of nationalism, emphasizing the priority of collective national interest over fragmented individual or group interests.
On the other hand, colonialism is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another. One of the difficulties in defining colonialism is that it is hard to distinguish it from imperialism. Frequently the two concepts are treated as synonyms. Like colonialism, imperialism also involves political and economic control over a dependent territory. The etymology of the two terms, however, provides some clues about how they differ. The term colony comes from the Latin word colonus, meaning farmer.
Furthermore, this root reminds us that the practice of colonialism usually involved the transfer of population to a new territory, where the arrivals lived as permanent settlers while maintaining political allegiance to their country of origin. Imperialism, on the other hand, comes from the Latin term imperium, meaning to command. Thus, the term imperialism draws attention to the way that one country exercises power over another, whether through settlement, sovereignty, or indirect mechanisms of control. We need a strategic relationship with the global community not a one sided affairs.
Flowing from the foregoing, this article seeks to interrogate the subject of Imperialist agenda on national allegiance. Using the inglorious era of plundering of resources as exemplified by the policies of Nigeria’s administrations and supervised by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala GCON, a Nigerian-American economist, who has been serving as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization since March 2021. Notably, she is the first woman and first African to lead the World Trade Organization as Director-General. Ngozi served in the governments of Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan two unapologetically pro-imperialists.
Ngozi, was perfectly fit for the job and she did it very well. The imperialist agenda is to take maximum benefit using their agents and castrated our own economy to their advantage. She outperformed her predecessors and used media to project herself into the subconsciousness of unsuspecting gullible and unsuspecting narrow minded tribesmen, most of who’s capacities cannot interrogate complex issues. Although, she was graciously rewarded with plum world bank job and recently became the world trade organization (WTO) DG, after renouncing Nigeria citizenship and became an American. The resultant effect of the imperialist agenda is the present situation and economic downturn which many of us out of ignorance and lack of deep introspection blamed the present government alone.
In the same manner, The Mayor of Dallas, Eric Johnson, on Tuesday conferred the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, with the honorary citizenship of Dallas, United States. Reacting to the conferment, Obi through his verified Twitter handle tweeted, “Today in Dallas Texas United States, I met with the Mayor of Dallas and his team. “I had the privilege of being conferred with the honorary citizenship of Dallas.” the question is that, is it not the continuation of the previous? is it possible to continue to do the same thing again and again and then expect a different results? No nation gives power or important national assignments that requires profound articulation, dexterity and ability to defend national interest to individuals with dual nationalities or compromised loyalty.
Conclusively, permit my indulgence to share with us the words of Barack Hussein Obama, an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African-American president of the United States. Obama famously posited in his inaugural address: “What makes us exceptional — what makes us American — is our allegiance to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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.” I therefore wish to finally submit, that we need total emancipation and a TRANSFORMATIONAL leader who is not afraid to embark on fundamental reforms.
GOD SAVE AFRICA FROM THE IMPERIALIST AGENDA
Odusanya is a Social Reform Crusader and the convener of AFRICA COVENANT RESCUE INITIATIVE ACRI
