WHY REAL AFRICAN HISTORY IS LACKING IN AFRICAN CLASSES

 

In the spirit of the dedicated Black history month of February, attention has gone to the need for more Afro-centered history curriculum in African classes, something that has been missing across the board in Africa and the diaspora. Worth noting, is the fact that it’s not a coincidence that no real intellectual discourse and dispensation happens in African classes thus depriving young African minds the knowledge of self.

When the shallow teaching o African history is taught in schools, it happens more often than not to be distorted in fact and there very much equal to propaganda rather than actual accounts of what happened in the parts in regards to African culture systems, civilization and the eventual result of battles and conquest across the whole continent. Without a knowledge of own history, it is rather difficult to instill pride in the young on their African identity and heritage.

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After the attainment of self-rule by many African nations, the curriculum adopted for teaching in schools was that by the former colonial powers, perfect example being the fate of common wealth nations in Africa including Kenya, Ghana, Uganda , Nigeria among others. Very little was done to make sure that the knowledge was in any sense suited to the needs of the African child especially in regards to the history taught, that is centered around the colonial era and nothing much past that.

In the years preceding the conquest of Africa, a destruction of archives of African knowledge took place around the continent in places such as Egypt, Mali, South Africa among others, but the knowledge of what was left preserved either written on in other form is the heritage of the African people and therefore, also ought to be incorporated in the curriculum to give it depth and make it useful in the impact of the teaching in African classrooms worldwide.

Another reason African history has been lacking from the classrooms is the global campaign against African culture and traditional systems. The demonizing of the African culture especially through westernization has left African culture and history in jeopardy. Various tools such as Hollywood films and electronic as well as print media have been used for a long time to white wash African history and discredit the true history of the African people but taking away all the great elements such as Hannibal’s military legacy, the history of the ancient Kemet and Nile valley civilization among others and turned that to non- African history for the benefit of the west.

The most significant solution in addressing this gap in the classrooms would be the creation and adoption of a curriculum developed by Africans for use in the classrooms. With the first step being the recognition of the need and admitting that it exists and bringing together stake-holders in education sector from different nations to make right what has been an overlooked problem in the education system in Africa for the future generations and for a better destiny for the African people globally.

THE REAL IMPEDIMENT TO AFRICAN UNITY

 

Since the establishment of the organization of African Unity on 25^th May, 1963 with the headquarters in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, the quest for African unity has been an elusive goal not just at the regional and national level but even at the interpersonal levels as evident in different institutions. From the inside, looking outward, it is evident that the African has an inherent problem of being divided even on matters that otherwise, we should be able to easily agree on such as united contribution towards economic prosperity under one monetary system across the great continent with such immense potential.

The former colonial powers in Africa are partly to blame for the disunity that has been carried on for generations in Africa. The British and Germans for instance at the Berlin Conference in 1884, divided the continent into small nations for their conquest and instituted the “divide and conquer” system, knowing that a divided people are easy to rule over, not just within the context of the colonial period but even long after the colonial era in Africa was over for most African nations in the mid 1960’s.

With a deep level of distrust among each other that was sowed among Africans by the colonial masters, the reality of a united Africa is further from our reach. The fragmentation of the Africa into Africans on the continent and diaspora Africans also play out to the detriment of the progress of the continent and the African people anywhere in the World. The African identity hasn’t been celebrated or embraced by many Africans for lack of deep rooted self-belief that would otherwise propel the African towards the realization of the ever great need for unity.

Coming from slavery and colonialization, both the African on the continent and the diaspora Africa continued to perpetuate different ideas on what it mean to be African and also on what importance, there would be in uniting. Prior to colonization and slavery, the vice of tribalism ravaged the continent as the division also left many groups and subgroups exposed and weak for easy take over after the colonial invasion.

The impediments towards the unification of African people lies deeply and squarely on the lack of trust among the African people and the illusion that comes from misinformation, that the African has always been at the bottoms which infers that the African right place is servitude for anyone else that has unjustly broken the back of the African and stolen our history to the end of brainwashing the mind of the African both in the continent and in the diaspora.

With the realization that part of the problem has also been the lack of proper leadership on the continent that can inspire true Pan Africanism such as Kwame Nkurumah did in 1964, the African should seek to rethink on the need for the unification of his people and also the consequences of remaining divided under puppet leadership that has stalled the unification of the people in the interest of self.

STRENGTHENING THE RELATIONS BETWEEN AFRICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

 

With a prolonged period of the absence of strong ties between Africa and the Caribbean owing to the matter of colonialization and the consequences after, the goal to forge better and strong relations is at the heart of many Africans on the continent and in the Caribbean.

The leadership mainly in West African nations such as Ghana and Benin has shown a keen interest to strengthen the ties between their African nations and the Caribbean. Ghanaian president Akofu Addo, has made tremendous progress in enhancing the ties between Ghana and Caribbean nations such as Jamaica with efforts to ease travel and trade between two nations. With the removal of visa requirements for both nations, it is much easier to make the bonds stronger and connect the people and the cultures with the understanding that both the Caribbean and the West Africa are the same people.

In the neighboring West African nation of Benin, the leadership has also been eager to make the connection stronger by declaring a warm invitation and call for repatriating back to the to the Caribbean people most of who are descendants of the slaves taken away through the transatlantic slave trade that took African people not only from West Africa but also across the continent in areas such as Tanzania evident from historical slave trading sites such as the Stone town in Zanzibar.

From the Caribbean side, the leadership of nations such as Jamaica & the Dominican have also made significant efforts in a bid to strengthen the ties with Africa . The removal of travel restrictions such as Visas and creation of visa free status and a more open business environment in those countries to encourage investment from continental Africans in the Caribbean is a welcome move.

The alliance between Africa and the Caribbean promises  a greater future with multiple areas of cooperation such as trade and investment, hospitality, culture exchange, education, health, transport, science and innovation, geo-political cooperation for mutual interest among other critical areas to spur cooperation , development and unity  between the Caribbean and Africa.

With the right kind of leadership on both ends, the establishment of a better understanding between the peoples of Africa and the Caribbean will be instrumental in shaping the destiny of achieving a connected people with open borders, shared values and a common passion for development and cooperation in various sectors united through a collective African consciousness.