10 blunt tweets from the writer Gimba Kakanda

@gimbakakanda: 1. If we stare into the map of racism, we may realise that Africa contributes to the humiliation of its dark-skinned people and descendants.

@gimbakakanda: 2. If we stare into the sociology of the Black, we may realise that racism is also a punishment for our inability to build a viable country.

@gimbakakanda: 3. Unless we’re able to build strong nations, Africans will forever be treated as the “subaltern” race, and as economic leeches overseas.

@gimbakakanda: 4. Even at the airports of African countries, white travelers are treated as special, blacks harassed for no reason other than being black.

@gimbakakanda: 5. The “racial profiling” of blacks at the airports of African countries are done by BLACK security agents who’d never harass a White man!

@gimbakakanda: 5. The “racial profiling” of blacks at the airports of African countries are done by BLACK security agents who’d never harass a White man!

@gimbakakanda: 6. Every dime taken from the public funds meant for the development of African nations decimates the dignity and prospects of the Blackman.

@gimbakakanda: 7. We don’t need to stare long to know that racism is kept alive by the ostentatious inferiorities Africans wear in destroying one another.

@gimbakakanda: 8. No evil would ever be worse than conspiring to loot the resources of a nation in need; this is where the black leaders here lose it.

@gimbakakanda: 9. If you want to fix racism, fix yourself, fix your people and fix your country. No shortcut to stopping humiliations of the black race.

@gimbakakanda: 10. Sometimes, racism is a feeling that comes with realisations that your own race, having built what the others haven’t, must be superior.

And then… THIS!

@gimbakakanda: But it’s true; any plane sent to South Africa to evacuate Nigerians in affected areas may return empty. Ours is that bad!

DEVELOP YOUR COUNTRY AND FORGET ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA

BY HASSAN AMINA VIA THE UAH FACEBOOK GROUP

Given the support that South Africans received during their independence struggles from the rest of Africa, the way they have responded afterwards is the cause of much disappointment. To me this was a very strong dose of realism which led to my initial disillusionment with Pan Africanism. Here were the people who were the recipients of Africa’s great generosity and solidarity, and yet they turned out to be just as predatory, disrespectful and xenophobic towards the rest of Africa as the rest of the world. If their experience could not deliver greater solidarity and feeling of brotherhood with the rest of Africa, what will?

The Pragmatist’s understanding of history is that the nation should focus on itself, its interests, its development if possible to the exclusion of all others. Don’t make sacrifices unless there is something to be gained from it. Unfortunately, even with these experiences we still repeat the mistakes. Greg Mills writes in Why Africa is Poor (pp. 441-2):

“Africa has the biggest voting bloc in the UN, WTO and other bodies. But what does it trade its votes for? Help for Cuba and Palestinians… and manoeuvring around tougher action on Burma and Iran. None of this does one bit for Africa or Africans… Imagine if the Africans used their votes as strategically as the Eastern Europeans did in their campaign for both NATO and EU membership… In the absence of such a strategy, it was going to be difficult to change the attitude that it was not worth talking seriously to Africa since the bloc was ideologically locked into its positions. Until the Africans are prepared to use their voting power… to advance the interests of their own people…the posturing…conferences, not commitments, will rule the day.”

While Tanzania has sacrificed gains from its relationship with Israel, more development assistance from increased alliance with the West because of Palestinians and the rest, the fact is it is very unlikely that they will even write Tanzanians as footnotes in their history books when they achieve their objectives. Our naivety is beyond measure.