The state of Africa

Originally published: 2005

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Language: English

Author: Martin Meredith

Pages: 722

A book sheathing Africa’s transition from colonial rule to independence and the plunder that followed it, Africa was a continent rich in mineral resources and its economic potential was immense yet, soon struggled with corruption, violence and warfare. Prior to reading, my knowledge of Africa was limited to what I had seen and heard on Western media (ironically this book was written by a Westerner) Martin Meredith is a historian, journalist, and biographer. He has written several books on Africa and its modern history Meredith first worked as a foreign correspondent in Africa for The Observer and Sunday Times, then as a research fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford. Living near Oxford, he is now an independent commentator and author.

Meredith’s writing has been described as authoritative and well-documented, despite the pessimism so often imposed upon his subject matter. The State of Africa covers the history of a continent (with 54 recognised countries) in the aftermath of WWII to 2010

Political activism fuelled with anger and determination is required to overcome an exploitative and oppressive regime. However, if activists aren’t driven by values of social justice, once in power, anger and determination converts them into the exploiter and oppressor. Different actor, same outcome.

A key element of Islam is to struggle against ‘the self’ — including base desire such as pride, greed, envy etc. There is a danger activist spend so long fighting others they forget to fight ‘themselves’. If and when they eventually succeed in gaining power and authority, they go astray. This seems to have been the case for many African leaders, most notably Robert Mugabe.

Since 2006, the UK Government has tried to counter terrorism through its Prevent policy. Under Kwame Nkrumah’s leadership, Ghana’s Parliament passed the Preventative Detention Act (1958) in response to opposition to his government. Like the UK’s Prevent Policy, referrals resulted in detentions without fair trial. It was an instrument of fear and control used to locked up and silence critics, justified as a national security measure.

Leopold Sedar Senghor left Senegal for France and tried to assimilate into French culture. He reflected,

“Paradoxically, it was the French who forced us first to seek and then to reveal ourselves to ourselves. We had been able to assimilate the French language and mathematics, but we weren’t able to slough off either our black skins or our black souls”.

This is something many Muslims and people of colour with family roots outside of the West are still learning in 2018.

Julius Nyerere, Tanzania’s first President, was an interesting chap. Bucking the leadership trend, he lived simply and was one of few African leaders who gave up power willingly. And he appears to be a man who held steadfast to his values of socialism. He theorised values of familyhood in his writing (pre-Presidency) and policy (during Presidency), most notably ‘Ujamaa — The Basis of African Socialism’ and the Arusha Declaration (1967).

His economic policies may not have succeeded in alleviating poverty during his reign but he did leave Tanzania with one of the highest literacy rates in Africa, economic equality and political stability.

There were a couple of points in the book where I found the analysis to be dramatised rather than objective, as I believe history books should be.

Mugabe compares himself to Hitler. The word ‘Hitler’ is a bit like Voldemort. In a speech, Mugabe stated he only had one aim,

“Justice for his people, sovereignty for his people, recognition of the independence of his people and their rights over their resources…”

Objectively, those are reasonable views for any Head of State, especially a former colonial nation. Those sentiments would probably be echoed by pro-Brexiters. Add onto the end, “If that is Hitler, then let me be Hitler tenfold.” and those quotes become controversial. Don’t get me wrong, Hitler and Mugabe were terrible human beings. However, justice, sovereignty and control over your own resources aren’t bad. Achieving it through racism, fear and murder is bad.

Example 2: Zuma allegedly says he believes washing himself after sex with a HIV-positive carrier minimised the chances of getting the virus. That’s not what he said or meant. He clarified he meant he took a shower as an additional hygienic measure after sex. Which I would like to think most people do. With some analysis, those quotes would be a non-story. I’d expect those statements to be published in tabloids, not a history book.

These are just two examples that make me question the commentary on historical events in this book and would advise readers to carry out further research on events of interest.

Despite the issues I have with the analysis, I did find the book an interesting starting point for my understanding of Africa. It introduced me to people like Nyerere (Tanzania), the debate on one party rule versus multi-party rule for a new nation and the influence of the Cold War in Africa. It filled me with sadness that after colonialism, Africa was and still is plundered by strong-men. A continents potential goes unfulfilled. In 2018, neo-colonialism rhetoric is banded around and I feel to understand what it is, we have to understand the past.