A CALL TO SOLIDARITY WITH AFRICA
ENUGU - JANUARY 6, 2004
INTRODUCTION:
First of all, I wish, in the name of Catholic
Bishops Conference of Nigeria, to welcome all participants to this
conference. I welcome especially to our country those who are coming from
abroad, outside our country and beyond the shores of Africa. In particular,
I wish to welcome the representatives of the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops. Through them, we thank the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
the United States of America for the highly significant document on
Solidarity with Africa, which they issued two years ago. That document is
the source of most the ideas on which we shall be reflecting during this
conference. May the Lord God direct us in the way ahead so that we may
indeed be able together to build in our world of today a family of God all
over the world, not only in the Church, but also for all humanity, living in
harmony, justice and peace.
1. THE PARABLE OF A PILGRIMAGE TO GOREE
Goree is a small island off the coast of
Senegal, clearly visible from the port of Dakar. It was the last port of
call from where the slaves from different parts of Africa, especially from
the West coast were embarked for the last lapse of their tedious journey
from their villages and homes to the plantations of the new world. From
Goree, the slaves said their final goodbye to the Continent of Africa to
face a future that they could they had already gone through a tremendous
amount of distress and suffering, forced separation from loved ones, hunger,
thirst, maltreatment, and loss of all human dignity.
Goree is the most vivid existing symbol of the
trans-Atlantic slave trade. Here was a warehouse built for human
merchandise, preserved today for our generation and future generation,
thanks to the support of UNESCO, lest we forget what man’s inhumanity to man
can do. On the 22nd of February 1992, the Pope visited Goree during his
pastoral visit to Senegal. Looking across the Atlantic Ocean, he stood in
silent prayer at the door through which the slaves were pushed unto the
boats. There he pronounced a moving ex tempore speech in which he reflected
on the tragedy of human injustice concretized in the slave trade. “This is a
cry,” said the Pope of Goree, a “cry from centuries and generations of black
people, of slaves”, a cry that all must listen to. Later, in a prepared
speech during a liturgical celebration in the parish Church, he referred to
the “disgraceful trade in which baptized people who did not live their faith
took part”. On their behalf, in a gesture of apology that was later to
become a significant feature of the Jubilee Year celebrations, the Pope did
not hesitate to “confess that sin of man against man, of man against God,
with utmost sincerity and humility.” He continued: “From this African
sanctuary of the suffering of Black People, we implore God’s forgiveness”.
That was a most powerful moment in the Pope’s visit to Africa on that
occasion.
In September 2003, immediately after our
conference at Notre Dame on Solidarity with Africa, I was in Dakar for the
Assembly of SECAM. One of the major highlights of our program was a visit to
Goree. Our visit was much more than of touristy interest. It was a
pilgrimage during which about 200 Bishops of Africa, representing the Church
of Africa, concelebrated Sunday mass at this “African Sanctuary of the
suffering of Black People”. There, along with a vast worshipping
congregation of the Church of Senegal, they too made an act of penance and
contrition, and begged God for forgiveness for the part which our own
African ancestors played in the tragic event that now goes under the name of
the trans Atlantic slave trade. We begged for pardon, not only from God but
also from those who were sold into slavery. Some of their descendants, Africans in
Diaspora, from Haiti and the USA, were with us on that occasion.
It was a most moving celebration.
It was described as a “purification of
memories”. We admitted that if the trans-Atlantic slave trade was possible
at all, it was not without the necessary collaboration and collusion of
certain segments of the African community of those days. After the mass, we
were treated to a well-prepared drama presentation in which the different
characters in the tragic events of the slave trade were vividly expressed.
We saw not only the European slave traders and their wretched black human
cargo, but also the African rulers who were negotiating for the sale of
their sisters and brothers. Prominent too, were presented as Muslim slave
traders and middle-men whose role in this whole enterprise was far front
being negligible.
We left the island of Goree with a lot of food
for thought. Personally, I was intrigued and worried on two counts.
- First, looking back in history, we find that
the phenomenon of Africans selling their kith and kin to foreign lands
did not start in the 16th century. In the earliest documented trade
exchanges between Black Africa and the Greco-Roman world, slaves too
often featured among the “goods” sold to Europe and the Middle East,
along with other items like animals, gold and ivory. I have not come
across any case of European or Arab slaves sold to Africans. One wonders
why?
- Secondly, and of more than historical
relevance, is the fact that even today, the selling of Africans by
Africans into slavery in foreign lands is continuing, although in
different forms. Goree is an on-going reality. We shall say more about
this later.
2. BISHOPS’ EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE
This series of discussions between Americans and
Africans on Solidarity with Africa has been made possible because the United
States Bishops’ Conference did what could be described as a serious
examination of conscience. They came out with this wonderful document, which
was certainly very carefully and competently researched and produced. They
spoke a language of immense freshness. For us in Africa, reading this
document was truly good news for our times. The document briefly but
comprehensively outlined all the factors at play in the present intolerable
condition of our Continent of Africa. In particular, it highlights the
responsibilities of the United States to forge a new and more just way of
dealing with our Continent. The Bishops themselves wanted very much that
their message be broadcast far and wide. This is what Notre Dame University
has decided to do and is doing with immense success. Our continent of
Africa, our Church in Africa and all of us here at this meeting owe the
United States Bishops’ Conference and the University of Notre Dame our
greatest gratitude.
3. THE NOTRE DAME CONFERENCE
At the Notre Dame Conference, we discussed the
document from different angles. A few of us from Africa had the privilege of
presenting our case to an audience that was largely American. We obviously
did not loose the opportunity to tell our tale of woe and weep our cry of
anguish. We knew we were talking to an audience that was ready to listen. We
also knew we were speaking to sisters and brothers in the faith. And so, we
were quite blunt in our indictment of the unjust structures under which our
Continent was suffering. We particularly pointed our those areas where we
believed the rich nations in general and the United States of America in
particular could change policies and take different course of action in
order to reverse the present trend where the Continent of Africa seems to be
daily sinking deeper into misery while the rest of the world is heading for
the planets. We thank our audience in Notre Dame for lending a listening ear
to our appeals. A clear indication of this is the fact that a whole edition
of Origins, the official publication of the Bishops’ Conference of the
United States was dedicated to the Notre Dame Conference featuring only
three of the presentations: one from America, by Bishop Ricard, and the
other two from Nigeria, by President Obasanjo and Archbishop Onaiyekan. It
was wise of the organizers to decide that this conversation will not end in
a Conference in Notre Dame. This is what has brought us to Nigeria.
4. THE AFRICAN STORY
Today we are back home in Enugu, not far from
the original home of Equaino, a famous ex-slave. He wrote the memoirs of his
life as a slave in what has now become a classic literature. We should be in
a position to look at the parable of Goree again, and fmd out what part we
as Africans today are playing in the processes that are reducing our
continent to miser and death. There is a strong parallel between the slave
trade and our present predicament on the continent. The position of Africa
generally can be described as one of enslavement of its peoples. Our people
are working very hard, certainly not less than others. God has blessed our
continent with immense natural resources. But somehow much of the continent
is not reaping enough of the fruits and gains of our human efforts and God’s
blessing.
Today, our enslavement is taking different
forms; impoverishment of our people, rampant exploitation of our resources
for the benefit of others, the promotion and fuelling of conflicts that only
play into the hands of those who have their own agenda on our continent, the
maintenance in power of puppet regimes that facilitate easy exploitation of
our resources, to mention only a few factors. But all these would not have
been possible without the collusion and tacit — and at times active
cooperation of men and women at the helm of affairs in our continent. It is
this aspect of our predicament which we must take the present opportunity of
our Conference in Enugu to seriously, lucidly and courageously address.
5. OUR PRESSING CHALLENGES
The pressing challenges on Africa are many. We
know already that everything does not depend upon us. In fact, it often
appears as if we are not in control of the major decisions that affect us,
since these decisions are taken elsewhere. But I believe we still can do
more than we are doing for ourselves.
It is my conviction that the major and key
challenge to our continent today is that of good governance. The human and
natural resources of the nation must be in the hands of competent people,
who have the common good of the nation at heart. Only then will they do all
they can to seek and accept the best advise available on how best to. manage
our national affairs. A good government will enter into negotiations and
agreements with others in such a way that the interest of our nation will be
paramount, rather than the narrow selfish interests of a few.
We are talking very much today about democracy.
We see that democracy in itself can take different forms. In Africa, it
sometimes takes rather weird forms. But it is still the best form of
government today. However, democracy means nothing if it does not promote
the free participation of the people in the decisions that affect their
daily lives. This is most meaningful in a free and fair election by which
the people choose their own leaders.
A free and fair election presupposes genuine
choice of real alternatives placed before a sovereign people. For many years
after independence, the socio-political growth of many of our African
nations has been stunted and tragically cornpropiised by rulers who
fraudulently claim that Africa is better under dictatorial regimes.
Provided, of course, they are themselves in control. In this regard,
military rule and one party states are only variations of the same theme,
both of which are fortunately no longer in fashion.
We thank God, and congratulate those countries
and thcir rulers who have recently made progress along the path of true
democracy. One is encouraged by the cases of those countries where a
peaceful change of democratic regimes has taken place: like Kenya, Ghana and
Senegal. There are unfortunately still many places where multi-party
democracy is little more than a convenient slogan. Many rulers still find it
very difficult to sincerely accommodate real opposition. and are most of the
time quite allergic to any move towards change of government, even when it
is clear that the nation is not moving forward.
Furthermore, democracy means nothing if it does
not sustain the rule of law where a just society is promoted and every
citizen including the rulers, and especially the rulers, are under the law,
its rewards and sanctions.
Our country Nigeria, with the highest
population. and one of the richest on the continent has a great
responsibility for the destiny of our continent. That is why it is indeed
most appropriate that this meeting is taking place in our country. We all
need to know that we must seriously address the issue of good governance in
our country, built on a democratically elected government acceptable to all
our people and respected by the international community. It is only then
that we would be able to seriously address the issues of poverty
alleviation, peace and security in our land and a good image for our
continent. Above all, good governance will put us in a position to seriously
compete in the world of today, enter negotiations with others with dignity
and honesty, with the interest of our nations as top most priority.
Unfortunately, we have today our modern slave
traders, Africans who sell their brothers and sisters to foreigners for a
pot of porridge. While they think they are doing well for themselves, they
are doing great injustice to the people of our continent and ultimately not
doing well even for themselves. Where a nation is under the control of such
“modern slave traders”, the people will continue to live in distress and
despair, and the natural resources of the nation will remain a free for all
looting ground.
Our hope is that Africa will eventually succeed
in mustering enough resources to insist on and maintain good government at
every level, according to generally accepted international standards. Recent
efforts by African leaders to re-engineer the structures of the continent
politically and economically are commendable steps in the right direction.
Examples are the projects of the African Union (AU) and the NEPAD
initiative. Meanwhile, we must continue to raise the alarm loudly. If we
cannot tell the auth to ourselves here in Enugu, I do not know where we are
going to tell our story.
6. CONCLUSION: TOWARDS A NEW WORLD ORDER OF SOLIDARITY
Our present world is becoming more and more one
global village. The issue of solidarity with Africa is not only a matter
that concerns Africa. The document of the US Bishops rightly pointed this
out. It concerns also the good of the United States of America and of all
other countries in this world. The world cannot afford to allow Africa to go
down the drains. It would be short sighted and unwise for the rich nations
to continue to seek immediate profit from the conflicts and problems of our
Continent. The world will be a better place if Africa too were allowed and
assisted to rise and take its place among the community of nations,
contribute its own quota as it has proved that it can do whenever the chance
is given to it. Africa, on her part, must begin to be convinced that like
charity, justice begins at home; within and between our nations. Without a
serious commitment in this regard, we shall continue to fmd ourselves at the
receiving —and losing end of the international socio-political and economic
system.
This cycle of conversations should be only a
beginning. We hope that it will continue and involve more parts of Africa.
Despite efforts made by the organizers to invite participants from all over
Africa, we have not been able to bring in an adequate representative
participation of the African continent, especially beyond West Africa. We
hope that there shall be another opportunity to continue the conversation in
another part of Africa, bringing into the process other voices and concerns.
Furthermore, we hope that at different levels, more people will get engaged
in it so that we can work for a better world for everyone — for Africa, for
America, for Asia, for the whole world, which God loves so much that he gave
his only Son to die on the Cross, and to rise in glory.
Thank you and may God bless you!
