A Renewed Pan-Africanism Must Oppose The Neo-Colonial Forces Which Oppress Our People
Henry Sylvester Williams organized a Pan-African Conference in 1900. At the time, Williams did not envision Pan-Africanism to be an anti-colonial movement, but this is the direction which the Pan-African movement eventually moved towards. W.E.B. Du Bois, who attended the 1900 conference, would go on to organize a series of Pan-African Congresses which advocated for self-governance for the colonies in Africa. The Fifth Pan-African Congress which was held in 1945 was especially important in advancing the anti-colonial struggle. Kwame Nkrumah served as the joint secretary for the fifth congress. Nkrumah would go to become a leading anti-colonial figure in Africa.
It is important to recount this history because Pan-Africanism has been a central aspect of the anti-colonial movement in Africa. It is also true that Pan-Africanism is a movement which has historically advocated for the unity of African people around the world. As such, Pan-Africanism has been open to a variety of different ideological approaches and visions. This is why Kwame Ture argued that Pan-Africanism was not an ideology, but an objective. He was making the point that everyone who claims to be a Pan-Africanist does not necessarily share the same ideology. Walter Rodney made a similar point when he explained:
It is not sufficient simply that you state your ideology comes from calling yourself a black-power advocate, or calling yourself a nationalist. That is why people can run about talking about the ideology of black nationalism or the ideology of Pan-Africanism, as if Pan-Africanism itself is a pure ideology, or everyone who calls himself a Pan-African has the same ideology.
This all brings to me the government of Togo, which has recently put out a call for participation in a congress which seeks to renew Pan-Africanism, as seen below:
This call is frankly hypocritical coming from the regime in Togo. This is a military dictatorship which established itself in power after murdering Sylvanus Olympio. Whereas Olympio was an anti-colonial activist who wanted his nation to be truly independent from French colonialism, Gnassingbe Eyadema was a servant of French colonialism. He served the French in French Indochina and Algeria, where he fought against anti-colonial liberation struggles. As a dictator in Togo, Eyadema violently served French colonial policies. He was also responsible for the assassination of Tavio Amorin, who was a very vocal Pan-African advocate.
Today the son of Eyadema now calls for the renewal of Pan-Africanism. This is little more than act of opportunism on the part of a regime which is struggling for legitimacy. Faure Gnassingbe certainly will not be the first neo-colonialist who has embraced Pan-Africanism in search of legitimacy. Joseph Mobutu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo advocated for African unity, yet Mobutu’s vision was not the vision of Patrice Lumumba. Likewise, Faure’s Pan-Africanism is not the anti-colonial Pan-Africanism of Tavio Amorin. Faure’s Pan-Africanism is rooted in opportunism and the ruthless oppression of the Togolese people.
Faure is not alone is his opportunism. All sorts of charlatans now operate under the guise of Pan-Africanism. A most recent example is a man who calls himself “Pan-Africanism Strikes Back.” This so-called Pan-Africanist advocates that Donald Trump is the only hope for African Americans.
There indeed must be a renewal of Pan-Africanism and this renewed Pan-Africanism must be a revolutionary and anti-colonial movement which seeks to free African people from the forces which oppress our people globally. This renewed Pan-Africanism will never come from opportunists who use Pan-Africanism to disguise the fact that they align themselves with the very racists who hate African people.
