Cameroonian Footballer Dies in Indonesia

A Cameroonian footballer has died in Indonesia partly due to unpaid salaries. See more of the story here.

Bengondo's brother holding a picture of him playing

Happy New Year to Readers of FlourishingAfrica

The record shows that readers of FlourishingAfrica come from all over the world including the United States, China, Germany, Malaysia, Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa, the UK, and many other countries. I would like to thank all of you for making my labor here worthwhile and for continuously expressing interest in the goings on in Africa. May this New Year, 2014, bring you peace and joy and may your vision for your life continue to come true.

Yours Truly,

FlourishingAfrica

The Tragedy of Cameroon's Football

There was a time when Cameroon was known for its superb footballing talents. At that time, most people knew the name of Roger Milla than the name of the country from which he came. Those days are long gone. Today, thanks to Paul's Biya's perfection of corruption and incompetence in the country, talents are hard to find. Now, in order to prepare for the upcoming World Cup for which Cameroon only managed to qualify, Cameroonian officials are now said to be scouring Europe, looking for Cameroonian talents there. It is a shame that Cameroon's talent should be nursed in Europe instead of Cameroon. Those officials who are doing this talent hunt in Europe should ask themselves when Cameroon has ever performed well with mostly European talents. As far as I remember, when Roger Milla mesmerized the footballing world with his skills, he was not playing in Europe. Roger Milla perfected his skills in Cameroon before he went to Europe. When in 1982 Cameroon put up an excellent performance at the World Cup, most of the players in that team were playing in Cameroon; it was only after the 1982 World Cup that Europe came looking for them. When in 1990, Cameroon became the first African country to reach the quarter finals at the World Cup, Cameroon did so with mostly home grown players. Europe came looking for them after the World Cup.

Since then the process seems to have reversed. Instead of relying on talents plying their trade in the country, Cameroonian scouts are now going to Europe to look for old and tired players such as Eto'o and his friends. The country no longer has a national league that can grow good players. The football infrastructure in the country is so dilapidated that football cannot be played at night in the country even at the stadium in the national capital, Yaoundé, because the flood-lights there are bad. It is no wonder that at the last World Cup in South Africa Cameroon was the first country to fail to qualify for the second round. I wonder why we should expect anything different in Brazil in 2014. Cameroon's football, just like the country itself, has fallen into disrepair. We need a new vision.

Stanford Anthropologist says African Pentecostal Belief is "Terrifying"

Another story about African Pentecostalism and witchcraft has been published by an American newspaper. This time the story is from Ghana and it is written by an American anthropologist who teaches at Stanford University. Her conclusion is that African Pentecostal belief in demons and witches is just as "terrifying" as believing that Barack Obama is the anti-Christ - a thought I think many Africans would reject. Whatever happened to the now famous view that anthropologists are not to insult other cultures?

Photograph from The New York Times.

 

The Complex Nature of Gospel Music in Cameroon

Most Cameroonian secular musicians sing songs that carry both explicit and implicit gospel messages, like this one. Thus, it is sometimes not quite clear if what they are doing is parody or serious. Given that Cameroonian secular musicians sing songs that carry gospel messages it leads one to wonder whether or not what they do could be considered as gospel music. This raises the question of what gospel music is. This is a subject that needs to be seriously investigated in the Cameroonian context. The song below is both in Douala (a popular language in Cameroon) and French. The setting seems to mimic a Roman Catholic context; the musician is Cameroonian Jean Pierre Essome. He says something about Christ which I do not understand but towards the end he asks God to give him strength to live the rest of his days. The video ends with the cross of Christ and the expression "Glory to Jesus" in French. Is this gospel music? This cries for further investigation.
 

Pentecostalism and Witchcraft in Malawi

Read the story from Foreign Policy news.

On Christian South Sudan

Not long ago, the current country of South Sudan used to be part of the country of Sudan. The constant tension between what is now South Sudan and what is now Sudan was cast as a conflict between the Muslim North and the Christian South. American Evangelical Christians raised alarm that their Christian brethren were being murdered by a Muslim regime in Sudan. And when things are cast as a fight between Christians and Muslims, all kinds of alarm bells begin ringing. America and other parties were quick to act and a truce was made that finally led to the independence of the country of South Sudan just over two years ago. The independence that came with much fanfare saw the death of talk about a Christian South Sudan and constant musings about ethnic tensions. Thus it is that a conflict that was initially cast as one between Christians and Muslims quietly morphed into an ethnic conflict. Now, no one is talking about a Christian South Sudan. We are now beginning to hear of ethnic cleansing as Christian voices are muted. One is left to wonder: is South Sudan still the part of the former Sudan that was said to be Christian? If so, where are the Christians now? Are these the same Christians who are now killing each other or was the whole conflict between the north and the south in the former Sudan not a Christian-Muslim thing, as we were made to understand, but a conflict about oil?

This brings to mind the current crisis in the Central African Republic which is now being cast as a Christian-Muslim conflict. When the dust settles, we will see that it was about something else. We need to do a better job calibrating the conflicts that happen in Africa. Facile calibrations give us the impression that we know what is going on when we are in fact ignorant of the facts on the ground.

Denis Ekpo and Post-Africanism

One of the most important and exciting but hidden voices in African literary studies is that of Prof. Denis Epko, a Nigerian scholar who proposed the idea of post-Africanism in 1995, refining it ever since. In a 2010 piece entitled "From Negritude to Post-Africanism," he gives a comprehensive description of post-Africanism, including the following:

"Post-Africanism moves away from a culture of anxiety about what the West thinks of us to a pragmatic confidence that negative images of Africa will be removed not by ideological blackmail or mimicries of the latest Western fad but by the demonstration of our competence in making modernity work for us here. No a priori racial dignity or African pride can do better than successfully manipulate modernity’s tools to transform Africa into a liveable, workable human space."

Stating why post-Africanism is needed in our time, he shows how nativistic ideologies of the past have not worked. He writes:

"The neurosis of Afrocentricity became pervasive in the formulation and execution of political systems, economic policies and technological development plans, all culminating in the 1980 document The African Path to Development, dubbed the Lagos plan. The ethos of Africanity, having given rise to a meta-politics of cultural specificity, placed Africa on an unworkable path but, to be sure an African path, gave it an unworkable democracy but an African democracy, an unworkable socialism but an African socialism, etc. Thus, under the cover of a compulsory Africanity, some cultural nationalists went straight back to the archaic tribal past and misused it to furnish non-Eurocentric formulae for Africanising modernity. Africanised modernity in the hands of psychotics like Mobutu Séssé Seko, Idi Amin, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, Gmassingbé Eyadéma to mention but the most colourful, became the abattoir for disposing of the last remnants of the heritage of modernity in Africa, including the state, the economy, reason and humanity. Many of the states formerly ruled by African cultural nationalists have never recovered from the consequences of these dangerous myths."

Prof. Epko's voice needs to be heeded in contemporary Africa. It is a surprise that so little is known of his proposal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who is an African?: On the African Union Branding Campaign

At the middle, left hand side of the African Union Web site, there is a rectangular box that is supposed to be an attempt for the African Union to brand itself. When one clicks on the rectangular box, it enlarges and displays slides of the faces of those who are supposed to be African with the following caption for each: "I am African: I am the African Union". Below is the rectangular box:

The faces missing in this attempt to brand Africa tells you what the leaders of the African Union thinks about that body in the dawn of the 21st century. Is Africa not more diverse than the faces represented in that box?
 

Images of Africa: Is this Racist or Just Stupid?

Perhaps she just said what some only think about. We have a really long way to go.

Twitter: Screen grab Justine Sacco was fired as IAC's corporate
communications director after posing a message joking about AIDS in Africa.             

The Media and the Wrong Narrative of Religious Violence in CAR

The Central African Republic (CAR) is currently described by the media as being on the verge of genocide and comparisons are being made between the current situation and what happened in Rwanda. An equally loud statement that is being made is that the impending genocide may be due to the conflict between Muslims and Christians in the CAR. This narrative, which is widespread in the media is far from the truth. Inasmuch as the current conflict could be assigned a cause, the cause lies in politics rather than in religion. The cause lies in the historical despotism of the state, a despotism that has historically marginalized different groups of people in the country. The horror that is going on in the Central African Republic should be traced to the historical role France has played in the country as it has contributed in sustaining despots who have marginalized segments of their societies. The violence in the CAR is not due to the fact that people are defending their faith or belief or orchestrated strictly through what may be described as religious in its narrow sense. Religious violence is often bred through intolerance of the religious beliefs and practices of the other; however, this is not the case in the CAR where Christians and Muslims have apparently lived together side by side until this year. The politicians have discovered, as politicians often do, that they may make hay by whipping up the sentiments of religious people and make their struggle for power seem like a struggle about protecting religions - nothing could be farther from the truth. Proof of the fact that this is not a religious crisis is that this crisis will not be addressed by talking to religious leaders. This is because the commanders leading this fight are not religious leaders; they are politicians seeking power because they perceive, as is often the case in many African countries, that politics is a zero sum game. The narrative ascribing the current crisis in the country to religion needs to stop; blame should be placed where blame is due and in this case the blame should be placed on the politics of the CAR rather than on religion. This is not a religious horror. Inasmuch as we can separate these things, we need to say that this is a political horror.

Qunu and the Proverb about Good Palm Wine

An African proverb says that a path would be beaten to the home of the one who taps good palm wine. A path will be beaten to Qunu this Sunday because of its son, Nelson Mandela. Elsewhere, cities are often the famous places - so we hear of Lagos, Nairobi, New York, London, Sydney, etc. To these famous names we now add Qunu, a village with good palm wine.

 

The Booing of Jacob Zuma

The booing of current South African President, Jacob Zuma, is a well deserved boo heard around the world. It is a signal that Africans are fed up with corrupt politicians who are only interested in lining their pockets with money looted from their people. The Mandela mystique is outing these leaders.

 

What the Tributes to Mandela Say

People who divide time in order to master it tell us that we live in a time that is known as post-modern or late modern, a time characterized mostly by the bad things that modernity (or the time of lost innocence) has brought us. This time is characterized as a time of playfulness, a time of uncertainty, a time when heroism has left us because people are no longer sure of what is right or wrong. The relativism that paralyzes action, we are told, has led to widespread moral decadence. In short, it seems that now we are living in a time when people no longer know what to do or how to do it. Observing the machinations of politicians and other leading figures around the world may seem to confirm this impression.

However, the tributes that have been pouring in since the passing of Madiba seems to suggest that people still recognize that which is beautiful, that which is good, and that which is true. The tributes seem to suggest that people admire those who are selfless in spite of the fact that capitalistic greed and selfishness seem to be running rampant. The tributes to Mandela seem to suggest that we know the things that make for the beautiful life, we know the things that make for the attractive life. If we are not doing these things, it is not because they are not clear to us. The tributes to Mandela, unless they be only a hypocritical show, seem to suggest that moral relativism is not what is keeping us from being what we need to be. We seem to recognize a great soul when we see one. Our moral compass is not as corrupt as some would have us think. What we need to worry about is the question of how it is that we recognize greatness, acknowledge goodness, and acclaim magnanimity but find it difficult to practice these ourselves. Perhaps Mandela's greatest challenge to our time, however this time is named, is to inspire us to practice that which we know make for flourishing human life.

We Have Seen Mandela

While he was still in prison, pictures of him were banned. For a long time, he lived largely in the imagination of the people as the people took up the cause he gave his life for. In the 1980s, Johnny Clegg and Savuka composed a touching tribute to Mandela that captured this sentiment. Asimbonanga Mandela (we have not seen Mandela) was the theme of the song. Since then we have had ample occasions to see the man but his mystique is still captured by the song. Below is the song, a fitting tribute as we continue to celebrate Mandela.

 

Sports World Remembers Nelson Mandela

See more here.

At African Union's Web Site, Still No Mention of Death of Nelson Mandela

Reading the African Union Web site, one would have no idea that one of the leading figures of Africa and the rest of the world, Madiba, has just passed away. The African Union Web site is supposed to be the source of news for that huge organization that is supposed to represent all of Africa. On the Web site of the United Nations, is a tribute to Nelson Mandela by UN chief Ban Ki-Moon. However, there is no mention of this important death on the Web site of the African Union. The passing of Africa's most famous son is apparently being mourn more by people from outside the continent. This is just one of the ways African leaders are keeping their distance from Mandela because he calls attention to their rapacity.

Desmond Tutu's Tribute to Nelson Mandela

From AllAfrica.com

 

Cape Town — Nelson Mandela is mourned by South Africans, Africans and the international community today as the leader of our generation who stood head and shoulders above his contemporaries — a colossus of unimpeachable moral character and integrity, the world's most admired and revered public figure.
Not since Kenyatta, Nkrumah, Nyerere and Senghor has Africa seen his like. Looking for comparisons beyond Africa, he will go down in history as South Africa's George Washington, a person who within a single five-year presidency became the principal icon of both liberation and reconciliation, loved by those of all political persuasions as the founder of modern, democratic South Africa.
He was of course not always regarded as such. When he was born in 1918 in the rural village of Mvezo, he was named Rolihlahla, or "troublemaker." (Nelson was the name given to him by a teacher when he started school.) After running away to Johannesburg to escape an arranged marriage, he lived up to his name. Introduced to politics by his mentor, Walter Sisulu, he joined a group of young militants who challenged the cautious elders of the African National Congress, founded by black leaders in 1912 to oppose the racist policies of the newly-formed union of white-ruled British colonies and Afrikaner republics. Read more here.

How Do We Say Goodbye to Tata (Father) Mandela?

From Mail & Guardian in South Africa.

                    

African Leaders Shun Nelson Mandela

Even though Nelson Mandela has become an inspiration to many, including the current president of the United States, Barack Obama, African leaders shun him like a plague. Of all the videos and picture taken of Mandela post-imprisonment, there is hardly any image of him with other African presidents. The reason for this may not be hard to decipher. While Nelson Mandela fought for human dignity, most African presidents despise their own people and are only concerned with filling their own bank accounts with the booty looted from their own people. Thus, rather than being an inspiration to African leaders, Mandela has become a terror to them. Let's see whether such African dictators such as Dos Santos of Angola, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Paul Biya of Cameroon, Yahyah Jammeh of The Gambia, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, among others, will attend his funeral.

Roben Island - the Place that Will Live in Infamy

Nelson Mandela Obituary - BBC

Follow Nelson Mandela's Crossing Over on BBC

The BBC is following the passing of Nelson Mandela live, and you may follow it here.

The Baobab Has Fallen

The Baobab Tree, the biggest tree in the forest, has fallen. That Baobab is Nelson Mandela, Madiba, the compassionate son of Africa, the fighter, the man who, in another time and another place, would be a god. Madiba, Africa and the world remember you with deep satisfaction and joy. The living and the dead ululate you. This day should be the Nelson Mandela day!

 

Jacob Zuma Announcing the Death of Nelson Mandela, Madiba

Agriculture as Nigeria's "New Oil"?

Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture is said to have "revolutionized" the country's agriculture, making it to be perceived as just as profitable as the oil sector and attracting many to it. See more about the story here.

Nigeria's Agriculture Minister, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina

Corruption Still Endemic in Many African Countries

See more about the story here.