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Trevor Noah to replace John Stewart on The Daily Show.

 

 

 

 

1200 Days Of Protesting Paul Biya's 31-Year Dictatorship in Cameroon

FlourishingAfrica has been protesting the misrule of Paul Biya in Cameroon since the machinations of the last election that returned him to power. At the time of writing this post, the dictator has been out of the country for a long time, with rumors rife that he is suffering from prostrate cancer. He has been seeking medical help in Europe where he is listed as being on a private visit. His years at the helm of the state in the country has not brought the medical system to a level he could entrust with his own health, that is why he keeps spending more time in Europe for medical purposes. For most Cameroonians, however, this is not an option. Whenever they suffer from a serious ailment, the option left open for them is to pray for a miracle or die.

Even as the country  is currently fighting Boko Haram in the north of the country, with many Cameroonian soldiers losing their lives there, Paul Biya has hardly been engaged in the issue. The country apparently does not even have money to engage in the fight as citizens are being asked to donate money towards the fight. All the while, the dictator is out of the country, minding his own business in Europe. There is no good reason why he should continue to remain the head of state in Cameroon, given that he is hardly present there.

Why Is the Gay Jesus White?

One would think that with all that we now know about the historical Jesus, he would no longer be represented as a white guy in our time. However, it is quite curios that even a gay representation of Jesus pictures him as white. Instead of calling him the white, gay Jesus, however, he is simply called the gay Jesus. And this gay Jesus is taken to represent all gay people, as if all gay people are white. One would think that a group of people who are particular about discriminatory use of images would be sensitive about the portrayal of Jesus. Aren't there Asian or Black gay people? Why should the gay Jesus be a white guy?

In a related development, the Yoga Jesus is also portrayed as a white guy even though a Yoga Jesus would be a blended idea. And there is a nameless black guy, presumably Simon of Cyrene, helping the yoga Jesus.

The Fall of the Statue of Rhodes

The statue of the patron saint of colonialism in southern Africa, Cecile Rhodes, is currently under attack at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. In fact, in his heyday, Rhodes had the "pan-Africanist" vision of uniting the whole continent from Cape to Cairo, for the purpose of colonial exploitation. Now, however, many young South Africans are saying that he should not be honored with a statue on the campus of the University of Cape Town, as is currently the case. As The Guardian reports, "the removal of the memorial of the British colonizer has been approved." However, The Guardian piece goes on to wonder if the focus should be on the statue rather than on Rhodes' "colonial legacy". One wonders whether the statue itself is not part of the colonial legacy.
Rhodes' Grand vision for colonial Africa

Cameroon's Dictator Ignores Soldiers Who Died Fighting Boko Haram

Paul Biya, Cameroon's dictator for 31 years now, has been conspicuously absent from events honoring fallen soldiers who died fighting against Boko Haram. During one of these events, he was not even in the country. All this is being interpreted as contempt for the soldiers who died defended their country.

Lee Kuan Yew, The Man Who Made Singapore

Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew is not an African, so he may seem to have no place in a blog on African issues. However, what he did in Singapore has often been taken as holding lessons for African leaders. This is because, at independence from Britain in 1965, Singapore was in a similar point, in terms of economic development, like some African countries. However, the leadership of Prime Minister Yew transformed the country to the enviable position it holds in the world today. In fact, Singapore appears to be the favorite medical destination for Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and his family. What Mr. Yew built in Singapore, Mr. Mugabe has not been able to build in Zimbabwe, in spite of his loquacious claims to be fighting colonialism. The recent passing of Mr. Yew should serve as opportunity for African leaders to reflect on the miracle he created for his people.

M.anifest: Rapping the Times in Africa

Bill O'reilly, Power, and Truth

Postmodernism has recently alerted us to the fact that power and truth are close friends, that those who determine what is to be seen as truth are those who have the power. In a broader sense, truth has often been defined by empire, the most powerful political unit of any period. Even though there are often currents that undercut the claim to truth of empire, these currents often speak their own truths in private. From a narrower perspective, it is the powerful in our societies that tell us what is to be believed and what is to be believed is often what does not go against their interest. The marginalized have a way of stating their own truth but such truths are often not regarded as public truth. Public truth is often what those with power say they are.

And this bring us to the spectacle that has been going on around the Fox News showman, Bill O'reilly. Many of the stories that he has reported have been found to be blatant fabrications but given that he is himself a multimillion dollar industry that brings centers of power that include television and the publishing of books, he has simply done what the powerful do - redefine, or rather define, truth. Thus, a war zone is not a place where war is actually fought but any place where there is violent demonstration, like Selma fifty years ago. Also, one can say that they were witnesses of something even if they have only seen pictures of it. Thus, I can say that I was part of the Second World War because I have seen pictures of it or that I saw Pol Pot killing people in Cambodia because I have seen pictures of it. What is going on with the Bill O'reilly situation is a clear demonstration of the postmodern condition - truth and power are good friends. Ordinary, powerless people are taught that truth matters. However, this is not the case when it comes to the powerful - the powerful create their own truth.

Selma and the Co-opting of a Movement

One of the ways to tame a radical movement is to demarginalize it, to make it mainstream, to bring its leaders into power. The cushion of power has a way of making erstwhile radicals very docile and so a movement that was based on ending racism in America now looks like one designed to show racist America how far it has come. Such is the case of the march to remember "bloody Sunday" in Selma today. I am just coming from my barber who told me that he is tired of remembering our racist history. What he would like to see, he said, is an end to the racism itself. However, the bloody event that took place at Selma fifty years ago has now been transformed into a march to remember how far we have come in America, as the speech by President Barack Obama seems to have it. The shameful event has been co-opted by the powerful and the offence of the event has been marginalized even as voting rights are being reversed in this country.

The same thing has happened to the vision of Martin Luther King, Jr., who has been given a holiday for people to go around and volunteer, even as the racist cancer that he talked about is still killing unarmed black people in this country. The march in Selma today is a classic case of how to take away the offense from a movement - just make it mainstream and have politicians give the speeches. See how far we have come . . . .

Palm Oil and Land Grab in Uganda

The grabbing of fertile land to produce cash crops, even as many go hungry, is part of the tale of postcolonial Africa. Here it is manifested through a palm oil plantation in Uganda.