Names attest to the bigger African identity problem.The first thing the missionaries did was to criminalize African names as evil.
MY TAKE: Muammar Gadhafi and the United States of Africa
By: Jok Gai Anai,
The New Sudan Vision (NSV)
03/29/2008
During the recent African Union Summit, the Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi threatened to turn his back on Africa if it failed to unite, under the United States of Africa. Jok Gak takes on Gaddafi in this article for his column, Carrying Knowledge Up a Palm Tree with The New Sudan Vision
Trail, BC Canada - The copycat idea of the United States of Africa (USA 2??), as envisaged by the imperial and power hungry Muammar Gadhafi of Libya, has no place in 21st Century Africa. This is what he said during the recent African Union meeting in Addis Ababa and I quote, "If unity is not achieved, then Libya will turn its back on Africa and reorient its foreign policy in other directions -- Euro-Mediterrannean or Arabo-Mediterranean" as reported by NSV, January 30th 2008 issue.
Gadhafi further complained that Arab-African states have been denied the position of AU chair for long although they represent two-thirds of Africa. Two-thirds of Africa, my God!
Let’s forget for the moment Gadhafi’s distortion of facts and let’s focus on the idea of a united Africa. Look at European Commision (EC) or European Union; they didn’t have to call themselves “United States of Europe”. Neither should we call ourselves so. And you may think there is nothing in a name. If you think so then allow me to deviate a bit from my discussion and take you through what I think is a misnomer of names in Africa.
A weekend ago, I was in Calgary, Alberta and I went for tea with a young South Sudanese lady. As we sat down to sip our chai lattes at a cafe at The Chapters, she noticed an African Magazine on the shelves and reached out for it.
I can’t remember what it was called. But as I looked at one of the pages, I saw an African name, John Abdi, and I jokingly told the young lady that I could write a book from these two names. If we go by the concept of last names, then his first name is John, a European or American identity and his dad’s is Abdi, assuming an Arab identity. This writer was first confronted by this strange concept of last names when he began studies at a Kenyan boarding school 14 years ago. We were asked to say our surnames but when it became apparent that we had no idea what he meant, the school principal explained that surnames meant our fathers’ names. Now that I live in Canada, I know a different meaning of surnames (last names)!
Why have I chosen to focus on names? Names attest to the bigger African identity problem. This was first introduced by the Christian Missionaries. The first thing the missionaries did was to criminalize African names as evil. Those who went to schools under the missionaries assumed English names and Arabic names for those who went to Arabic schools. Believe it or not, foreign names have become signs of educated and “civilized” men and women for many generations including ours. How else would you explain the recent outcry from our church community when Jonglei Governor, Kuol Manyang Juuk, said he dropped the name Lazarus for Kuol, the name which his parents gave him at birth?
Until today, people have a hard time understanding that believing in God is not equal to being called Isaac, Mary, etc. Again until today among the Sudanese, only those who don’t believe in God have the audacity to criticize the names’ anomaly. I am glad I believe in God but I am also an ardent advocate for African names. If you were named Alier (Dinka god of peace) at birth, I don’t see the fun in changing it to Martin (Roman god of war) in the name of becoming a Christian! But if your parents chose to name you Jerry, a family friend or a celebrity, at birth then you shouldn’t be baptized Wani when you do choose to become a Christian!
Owing to the identity crisis and other happenings on the African continent, Africa is the only continent today where foreigners walk in and want things done their way. In other continents where Africans go, they have to fit in or else they are backwards. Wanting to fit in is human nature, so why people never fancy the idea of fitting into the African way of doing things leaves so many questions to be answered. I am not advocating that Muammar Gadhafi is alien to Africa but remember he was a staunch Arab nationalist when he seized power in 1969. Arabs can live anywhere in Africa but that doesn’t make it an Arabic continent – likewise to Europeans. If we don’t watch this clearly, people can always step on your toes, but you will not know what to say leave alone stand for your right.
So is an African unity attainable? Yes and no depending on how you look at it. From the preceding discussion, we have Africans who have French names, Arabic names, Portuguese names, etc. And if you thought I had no point discussing names, I am sorry you may have to change your mind now. These names impede positive debates on issues of importance to Africa. Depending on what foreign name we have, we read different literature and therefore have different and conflicting affiliations. Discussions suddenly run into brick walls. Simply put: apart from being called Africans, we the intellectuals have nothing else in common. There are many benefits Africa can derive from unity including but not limited to economic advancement, enhanced communication facilities, political stability and a political say in world affairs.
I have an easy solution. Go back to the drawing board [Thabo Mbeki calls it African Renaissance while Mading Ngor calls it Cush Renaissance]. We ought to rediscover ourselves as Africans. We ought to rediscover ourselves as Sudanese [The Cush of old times]. By renaissance, we ought to radically change our education systems for they are so alien. These systems have often than not produced intellectuals who have imperial attitudes towards their own communities. They therefore lose the effectiveness to change things but rather become victims of their own knowledge; how pathetic is that?
And finally, African unity is tenable and mutually beneficial but only if Muammar Gadhafi gets out of the way and give chance to a new generation of Libyans and other Africans. If you love this continent, you can never threaten to turn your back on it – one never chooses where to be born!
*Jok Gai is an Electrical Engineering student at the University of Victoria, Canada, and a columnist for The New Sudan Vision. He can be reached at jokgai@hotmail.com*