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Ali A. Mazrui's Articles

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Of Gaddafi, my father and the dream of trilingual Africa
Gaddafi regards oil as a historic opportunity for present-day Muslims to ensure an influential role for Islam in world affairs. But over time his nationalism has steadily become more secular. In a long conversation I once had with the Libyan leader in Tripoli, he emphasised the need for a clear language policy if Africans were to realise their development, independence and unity dreams.
Obama win could boost blacks in global political arena
As the 20th Century was coming to a close, Nelson Mandela achieved unique status. He became the first truly universal black moral leader in the world in his own lifetime after spending 27 years in prison. Martin Luther King, Jr achieved universal status after his death. President Barack Obama may be the final fulfilment of upward political mobility. Will he be the ultimate Brain Bonus for Global Africa? The answer remains in the womb of a history that is still unfolding.
Makerere: An attraction for international leaders
The process of globalisation is making us more and more alike in spite of huge distances between us. But that same process is ensuring who is the boss among us.
Makerere is the vanguard of globalisation in Eastern Africa
Globalisation is a new word but it represents a long-drawn out historical process. It consists of the forces that are pushing the world into becoming a global village. Most recently, those forces have been at their most dramatic in the Information Superhighway: Internet and the death of distance and in the spectacular interdependence of the world economy. When South-East Asian economies take a downturn, Boeing feels the pain because sales of planes decline dramatically.
Egypt is umbilical cord of global civilisation and religions
Muslims regard their religion as being partly a refinement and elaboration of the messages of Moses and Jesus. The religion is also regarded as being solidly based on the principle of the singularity of God. Where does Africa feature in this initial configuration?
What was the cord between Nyerere and Obote?
Nyerere's involvement in Uganda affairs was direct and drastic. In 1971, did he convince Milton Obote to leave Uganda and go to Singapore to attend the conference of heads of state and governments? Obote had hesitated about going to Singapore because of the uncertain situation in Uganda. Did Nyerere convince him that he was needed in Singapore to fight Prime Minister Edward Heath's policy towards apartheid South Africa?
The price of a humane society is vigilance on human rights
Although President Kibaki's first term ended disastrously, this should not detract us from its positive aspects. After all, 'the condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance'. Similarly, we should affirm that 'the price of a humane society is eternal vigilance in defence of human rights'.
Africa should take a non-Western route to modernity
The decolonisation of post-coloniality requires new levels of parity of esteem between civilisations. We have re-defined the once discredited concept of modernisation to mean change which is consistent with the present stage of human knowledge, which seeks to comprehend the legacy of the past, which is sensitive to the needs of future generations, and which is responsive to its global context.
Of Julius Nyerere, African Politics and myself
When he was President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Julius K Nyerere's vision was bigger than his victories, his perception was deeper than his performance. In global terms, he was one of the giants of the 20th century. And like all giants, he had both great insights and great blind spots. While his vision did indeed outpace his victories, and his profundity outweigh his performance, he did bestride this narrow world like an African colossus.
Africa can prosper without culturally westernising
Post-colonial Africa must diversify the foreign cultures from which it seeks to learn. There is excessive reliance on the West as the only source. What is there in Japanese culture that has enabled the Japanese to beat the West at their own industrial game?
Why democracy is still a mirage in many African countries
Democracy in Africa has previously been threatened or undermined by various societal, systemic and global factors. Societal factors have included ethnic rivalry, regional disparities, gender inequalities and weak national political culture. Systemic threats to African democracy have included the pull towards presidential concentration of power, single party monopoly of power, the shadow of the military on the political process with a serious risk of military intervention, and existence of ......
US offers human species a chance to attain post-racial Eden
Millennia after Adam there arose an Obama. It is now conceivable, nay credible, that our great grandchildren, of all ethnicities and all faiths, of all colours and all national origins, may witness such a miracle of a post-racial dawn before the end of this century.
Towards a post-racial America: From Adam to Obama
Barack Obama, the US Democratic presidential aspirant, has philosophised about a new post-racial America. In his campaign, he has emphasised not merely Martin Luther King's dream of racial equality, but a more advanced dream of post-raciality. If Obama were elected the first Black President of the United States, that would of course not be the end of race-consciousness in America, let alone the end of racism. But it would be a major step towards a future post-racial America.
From White Abolitionists to Black Reparationists
In January 1808, the US Congress abolished the slave trade. The British had abolished it the previous year. What neither legislature has done 200 years later is pass legislation to compensate Blacks for hundreds of years of enslavement and degradation.
Double standards on nuclear weapons could be disastrous
Nuclear weapons are symbols of military strength. Until 1998, these weapons were a monopoly of the already politically powerful five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Those who are outgunned are sometimes forced to resort to terrorist tactics.
Aime emphasised Africa's dignity
Poet Aime Cesaire of Martinique passed away last week. He was an iconic co-founder of Black consciousness, long before Steve Biko. Surprisingly, of all the non-French speaking African heads of state, only South Africa's Thabo Mbeki sent a message of condolences to the Cesaire family.
Ironies of Caribbean society and Anglo-American legacy
While British rule in Kenya was a matter of a single lifetime, British rule in Jamaica traversed the reigns of about 10 British monarchs. By any measure, therefore, Jamaica and much of the British West Indies were more deeply Anglicised than Kenya was. But since independence is the Caribbean getting de-Anglicised? If so, what are the causes?
Where Petro-dollars meet weapons of mass destruction
Petro-militarism is dialectic between the forces of destruction (mass weapons) and the petro-forces of production (the politics of oil) in the context of a potential clash of civilizations. The 1979 Iranian revolution introduced the history of petro-militarism.
Embrace debate as a critical component of democracy
This article is not about Obama and Hillary. Rather, it examines the role of debate as a crucial component of the democratic process.
French language influence has been declining in Africa
The end of the Cold War unleashed a debate in France as to whether France should continue with its traditional role of a special relationship with its former African empire, or re-focus its orientation towards east and central Europe, and become a major economic and diplomatic force among former members of the Warsaw Pact.
Africa victim of US fight against terror
he President of Tanzania declared a day of mourning for the victims of September 11 in the United States. His critics retorted that they did not remember a day of public mourning in Tanzania when 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the genocide of 1994. In short, Africans grieve when Americans are massacred, but do we grieve as much when Africans are massacred?
Which prince charming will revive democracy in Africa?
In the words of Irish philosopher, Edmund Burke’s words: "People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors." Who killed democracy in Africa? This is a question I ask myself often. A string of suspects have merged from history. Let me personify four forces at work.
The revolutionary, reverend and global Africa
Walter Rodney personified the concept of 'Global Africa' which embraces the people of Africa and those of African descent, who are scattered all over the world. When he was in Africa, Rodney knew when to forget that he was Guyanese and in Guyana he knew when to forget that he was an African. Rodney called upon Africa to re-Africanise itself, but called upon Guyanese to fall short of being either too African or too Indian.
African unity can only succeed by involving intellectuals
In 1958, the year following Ghana's independence, Nkrumah hosted in Accra the All-Africa Peoples' Conference, a people-to-people mobilisation drive. The invitees included Kenya's rising political star, Tom Mboya. He subsequently hosted the first conference of African states. He even attempted a regional unification of three African states: Ghana, Guinea and Mali. Unfortunately, this turned out to be more an experiment than an achievement.
Africa needs to bridge the technological gap to compete
Big powers seek to monopolise certain areas of technology. When I urged Africa to go nuclear in 1979, there was no physical threat from the United States to stop such undertaking. And so apartheid South Africa could manufacture nuclear devices, with the help of Israel, without being threatened by the United States.
Factors that make Nigeria and SA stand out in Africa
Half a century separated the formal independence of South Africa in 1910 and the formal independence of Nigeria in 1960. The two countries have since become the giants of Africa. Nigeria excels in human resources. It has the largest population in Africa. South Africa excels in mineral and material resources. But what other factors distinguish the most influential African countries?
Religion has shaped politics in SA and Nigeria
A major contrast between Nigeria and South Africa is the role of religion in their respective politics. The era of apartheid in South Africa was also the era of a de facto theocracy. In Nigeria, the Abrahamic religions have not only changed indigenous culture; they, in turn, have been modified by ancestral Nigerian traditions. While South Africa has become a paragon of westernisation, Nigeria continues to be a paradigm of indigenisation.
Monarchical leadership now emerging in Africa
Reconciliation leaders seek compromise and consensus from disparate points of views. South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation strategy found a worthy leader in Bishop Desmond Tutu. Also obvious, as a continuing tradition from pre-colonial times, was an older version of the monarchical tendency. Even African societies, which were not themselves monarchical were influenced by the royal paradigm.
What globalisation means for Africa
In recent history, Africa has been preoccupied with four goals–liberation, development, democracy and Pan-Africanism. All these aspects of history need to be viewed in context of globalisation. What, for example, is the impact of globalisation on relations between Africans and African-Americans? Is globalisation bringing them closer together or is it pulling them farther apart?
South Africa should handle its supremacy responsibly
I would like to believe South Africans will find the will and resolve to be a vanguard of leadership without becoming villains of power, to be former victims without becoming new perpetrators, to be Nelson Mandela's heirs without becoming Niccolo Machiavelli's successors.
Vision for a continental language policy in Africa
South Africa has started its post-apartheid era as linguistically more tolerant and culturally more pluralistic than the US. Post-apartheid South Africa recognises 11 official languages. The South African population is not as diverse as that of the US. But while South Africa has fewer "tribes" than Nigeria, it has more distinct "races" than any other African country.
The plight of Zimbabwe: A crisis in the leadership of Robert Mugabe
What should/could South Africa do today in the face of even further deterioration of the situation in Zimbabwe? Of course, military attempt at ‘regime change’ is totally unacceptable. Iraq has taught us what unforeseen consequences can occur in a militarily induced regime change.
The achievement motive in Black experience has worked wonders
Is black academic excellence a form of imitation of white values? Although the formulation could be made less provocative, it contains an important issue. Has the achievement motive among African-Americans been severely damaged by the history of enslavement and racism? How can African-Americans now transcend those inhibitions?
Jamaica grapples with 'isms' culture
Jamaica recognised Garvey as its Hero No. 1 but failed to recognise the mission that made him great. Today, there may be more about Africa in the educational system of Papua New Guinea — whose Black population is not descended from Africa — than there is in the Jamaican educational system.
Modern Black generation should overcome ancestoral phobias
Is black academic excellence a form of imitation of white values? Has the achievement motive among African-Americans been severely damaged by the history of enslavement and racism? How can African-Americans now transcend those inhibitions?
How academia and intellectuals mobilised change in East Africa
The golden age of African nationalism of the post-colonial variety was from the 1930s to the 1970s. African academics and intellectuals helped to mobilise the masses against the colonial order.
Physical mortality and political immortality of modern Pharaohs
The distinction between physical mortality and political immortality remains potent and relevant. During Kenyatta's rule in Kenya, the widespread conclusion was that the country was fragile because it was young, while its ruler was frail because he was old. The mystique of the ruler's age, Mzee, was therefore used to consolidate the country's youth, Kenya. The pharaohs of ancient Egypt did not preside over secular states either. Man and God were fused in the pharaoh.
Julius Nyerere, Ali Mazrui and the intrigues of African politics
I first met Mwalimu Nyerere at what was then Makerere University College in Uganda. He had done his homework before coming to the campus. I was at the time regarded as the rising star of East Africa's academia. Upon introduction in English, he switched into Kiswahili and said, "Tunasikia sifa tu!"(we hear your popularity). He made my day.
Parallel balancing of power: Oginga Odinga and the quest for democracy
A requisite strategy for democracy in post-colonial Africa is the strategy of state domestication. This involves making foreign institutions more relevant to Africa's needs and more compatible with African cultures and traditions. Such foreign institutions sometimes need to be domesticated as a wild beast might be subjected to domestication.
Salience of cultural conflicts overtaken by identity clashes
Since the end of the Cold War and the collapse of apartheid, far more Muslims than Blacks have perished in conflicts with white folks. The natural enemy of the white man is now perceived to be less and less a person with a different skin colour, and more and more a person with a different religion and values. The salience of culture continues to rise.
Celebrating six decades of Pan-Africanism: Alternative routes for continent's heritage
Pan-Africanism and Pan-Islamism are two alternative routes towards the African heritage. After all, Islam first arrived in the Americas and in South Africa in chains; it was brought to the Western hemisphere by enslaved Africans and in South Africa through enslaved Malays.
Black Gandhians and history of forgiveness
Prominent British historian E H Carr was wrong in bracketing Gandhism and Christianity together as "doctrines of non-resistance". What Gandhi provided to Black Nationalism was the element of resistance to the passivity of imperial Christianity.
Afrabia: Is it a mere intellectual fascination or can it be realised?
There are different levels of Pan-Africanism, varying in degrees of sustainability. Sub-Saharan Pan-Africanism is a quest for the unification of Black people in Africa below the Sahara. Then there are two possible versions of Continental Pan-Africanism.

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