“We may yet thank the dictators of Africa for catalysing the re-unification of Africa”

As we wait to see the destiny of the nations of Africa in their struggle with democracy, I had lighter reflections on the direction in which our beloved continent is moving. I concluded that after the
great migrations generally accepted to have originated from Central and East Africa, followed by the colonialism era generally referred to in history as the partition of Africa, the people of Africa are
integrating once again by reason of its unsettled politics.

As one secular prophet of African descend once prophesied, in his famed song called Africa Unite:

“…So Africa unite, Africa unite, yeah
Africa unite
‘Cause we’re moving right out of Babylon
And we’re grooving to our Father’s land

How good and how pleasant it would be
Before God and man
To see the unification of all Africans
As it’s been said let it be done
I tell you who we are under the sun
We are the children of the Rastaman
We are the children of the Higher Man…”

Robert Nesta Marley

Well, three thoughts led me to this conclusion, and when I was reminded of Marley’s prophetic song above, I decided to share these with you.

The first thought was that God always has a purpose for anything that transpires on the earth. The instability of African politics makes one want to despair. When you think about the Warlords of Somalia, the Civil wars of Sudan, the genocide of Rwanda, the wars of the Congo, the coups of Nigeria, the dictatorships of Gabon, Cameroon, Tunisia, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe,Libya, Egypt, Togo, Congo – most of these ills coming after periods of repression and colonial rule of varying intensity from slavery, to protectorates to the grand apartheid of South Africa, the question is why, Lord, and for how long? When shall Africa pull through and work for her own glory? And most importantly, what is the ultimate purpose of the Almighty God in all the suffering of the African?

Let me hasten to say I do not believe God deliberately afflicts a people, but when because of their sin and foolishness a people are afflicted of the Evil one, and by evil-inspired leaders, God still
intervenes and gathers the rubble for the re-construction of a brighter tomorrow for that people. So what does God hope to rebuild out of the messy heap of Africa’s evils? What is the destiny of the
black man? And when is the fullness of his time?

Two weeks ago my thoughts on this topic were once again aroused by a simple event in African culture. A friend asked for my company, among with others of course, to travel to Botswana to pay Lobola, or “BridePrice”. What was poignant about this event is, my friend is Zimbabwean, resident in South Africa. His bride is Ugandan, based in Botswana where they obviously met in the recent past when this friend was working in Botswana. Having attended quite a number of Bride Price
negotiations in my Shona and other Zimbabwean cultures before, what intrigued me was that it was not different at all. They waste your money on trivia before the actual Bride Price, defined in herd of
cattle. The brother laid off a princely sum of cash and the rapturous celebrations that greeted our conceding to their Bride Price after a bit of negotiation to me carried a different significance.

Here were two foreign families meeting on foreign soil and unreservedly accepting each other as equal, similar beings without prejudice. Those who know African culture will remember that marrying
someone from your ‘dongo’; loosely translated meaning someone of similar cultural persuasions, is critical. In fact, it used to be taboo and unacceptable for someone to go across cultures and pick a
bride. Both you and the bride would have to suffer the ignominy of being treated as an outcast by the other’s family. As they played for us celebratory songs in Kiswahili, it was with an uncanny feeling that
I realized that this language is definitely Bantu and can be easily identified with isiZulu and chiShona.

This thought was further reinforced only this past weekend when another Zimbabwean friend dragged us to the Limpopo province of South Africa, deep down in Venda land to wed a Venda bride. Again, the
richness and the similarities in cultures were striking. As one of them recounted the history of the Venda people, he reminded us that this people are said to have originated from the Great Lakes region,
migrated Southwards and settled in Zimbabwe. Only later did they cross the Limpopo. I remember thinking to myself; this is like coming back to your people. On listening closely to their language, you could dispense of the interpreter and still understand their speeches.

These are only two examples but Africans all over the continent and away from the continent are meeting up and integrating their cultures. It is common knowledge that marriage is one of the most powerful tools for this integration of cultures. Most of these people are away from home fleeing economic and political meltdown brought on their nations by intransigent dictators who do not have the first consideration for their so called people. A lot of prejudices one of another as peoples have been broken by these emigrations and subsequent intermingling.

Two things will emerge from the painful face of Africa’s politics. Africa will become one big, happy integrated village. An African will be comfortable and be home anywhere in Africa. The second thing with being away from home is, you cannot afford to be too comfortable. Hitherto the passivity that characterized Africans will become a thing of the past. Banished to other countries on the continent and elsewhere, Africans have continued to hone their skills. Generally risk averse, they have been forced to change their risk profiles by circumstances.

Africans are the next frontline of missionaries to the world; they are also the next frontline of capitalists andentrepreneurs within African countries and even beyond. A people cannot be oppressed and suppressed for that long if it’s not for some potential that must explode in the fullness of time. We may yet thank the dictators of Africa for catalysing the re-unification of Africa.

Africa was too far behind her erstwhile colonial masters. When suddenly let loose, Africa struggled to find her feet. She was prescribed methods to rule herself which were alien to her and consequently gave rise to violent and repressive dictators who could not understand this thing called democracy that required a ‘king’ to give up power when he still “had the bones of a thirty year old”, to quote one of its infamous dictators.

One hopes, however, that this instability and the subsequent displacements of her people will act as a catalyst not only for the coming together of African people, as Marley cries in his song, “How
good and how pleasant it would be, before God and man, to see the unification of all Africans”, but also to see the rise of a visionary leadership not fossilized in the mantra of liberation struggles, many
of which are decades past; but committed to the advancement of Africa as a united, economically powerful bloc.

The borders of Africa must go, Africa is one people. A united people are a powerful people, America knew that from inception hence the United States concept; and Europe, through the European Union, has followed the pattern. The Middle East is organized along economic lines. Every other people are organized, in fact, except Africans.

And all of Africa’s children will need to be involved, including those who have been displaced for centuries. “Africa unite ’cause the children want to come home..” Marley sings, appealing to those in the Diaspora. As stability returns to Africa, all her children must endeavour to come home, even if only to invest and have a temporary home on mother Africa. Mayibuye Afrika!

Patrick Huni is a political commentator based in Johannesburg, South Africa.