OF AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY AND CONVENTIONAL RELIGION

With the anti-Arab sentiment rising among black Africans on the heels of the inhumane treatment and enslavement of black Africans in Libya and across the Middle East, the debate has taken a new turn on social media, at least among Gambians (surprise!). The new narrative is the stance of Islam on slavery, the history of the contact between sub-Saharan Africa and the Arabs, the spread of Islam and the force-feeding of religious dogma and indoctrination of blacks to submit to the God(s) of the Arabs and subsequently that of the Christians from the western hemisphere.

Won’t do much help to invoke historical facts to debunk the claims of Islam’s spread by the sword to sub-Saharan Africa and beyond; the proponents of such a narrative have already made up their minds as to what to uphold and what serves their narrative. So the argument to be had now is whether those adhering to Islam today are under any duress to uphold the belief or not. So respecting people’s individual choices and values is the hallmark of a democratic and civilized society. Labeling, insulting, denigrating people’s beliefs or those they hold in reverence degenerates into a nasty situation fast and averting damage control is prudent; live and let live!

For those so called African idealists, the narrative that “African Spirituality” has been kicked to the curb in favor of “foreign doctrines” imposed on us is always a prominent presence. But what is African Spirituality? A lot of them will fall short of giving you a coherent answer to that effect; so are you really sincere about your pan African stance or you’re just projecting disdain for others using the shield of a “proud descendant” of great forebears with little to no insight as to what they stood for or believed in?

Let’s employ some logic here; logic may not always be true but truth always stands on logic.

There are two distinct narratives as to who we are; Creation vs Evolution – Faith or a lack of it. What category do you fall under?

If you are truly for African Spirituality then you believe in Creation; shocked? Then you’ve been a hypocrite all along.

See our ancestors believed in the “Supreme Being”, the creator of the universe and all life. They further believed that when we die, our souls are in fact returning to that Supreme Being. One other thing to take note of is that African Spirituality is all encompassing; spirituality informs every aspect of human life, from culture to the environment and especially the public sphere (governance) so let go of your separation of church and state mantra. Even sickness has spiritual significance.

This by no means encompasses all of the various versions of African Spirituality. The point here is that our ancestors believed in a Supreme Being and a life beyond death; which is why the spirits of the ancestors are invoked and the reason why shrines are built for them. Death is not the end but rather it is an ascension to the spiritual realm, a return to the Supreme Being Whom we invoke through those ancestors who have returned to be with Him.

You see the logic in this belief system? You and I are direct descendants of the ancestors; the Supreme Being is the giver of bounds and the healer, since our ancestors are with him it makes sense to call on them to intercede on our behalf, what if that is what the shrines are for? In fact that is the concept in some traditional African religions. Islam teaches that you and I are good enough and worthy enough to ‘face’ the Supreme Being and ask directly from the source and not use intermediaries like our ancestors or anyone else to intercede on our behalf. All that is required is to submit to His Majesty and be humble.

Beyond that African Spirituality is pluralistic and flexible; it does not see other spiritual belief systems as mutually exclusive but rather as a means to strengthen its own spirituality. When I was in tourism, I use to tell this joke when tourists asked me; “why are there many more Muslims than Christians?” I’d reply thus; “Africans have always been polygamous, the Christian missionaries came and said a man can only have one wife; the Africans rejected their call. Then came the Muslims and they preached polygamy of up to four wives and no more, the Africans listened and opened up to receive some more of the message of Islam.” That was a joke but it speaks to the all-embracing nature of African spirituality, which further explains why traditional belief systems are still upheld even with the adoption of Islam and Christianity, are you wearing a Juju? Exactly!

So, now that we can agree that African Spirituality upholds the belief in a Supreme Being, if you truly share that view then we move on to the logic of conventional religion – Islam and Christianity. I’ll lean more towards Islam since I know a little about that. The logical question to ask then is why were we created? What is the purpose of our existence, who is our creator?

How do we know our creator and our purpose?

Our purpose has to be communicated to us somehow, through some medium. From the Islamic perspective, if not that of others this is where the concept of Messengers and Prophets come in. Islam teaches that from Adam, to Muhammad (peace be on them both), the mission was the same, the message was the same; remind us of our purpose and who our maker is; worship the one true God – the Supreme being. So those of you claiming plagiarism understand the mission of the messengers; they come from the same source with the same message; One God – worship Him.

It’s not that simplistic, but you get the gist of it. The first man in this tradition was Adam, to whom was given guidance as to how to live this life; that guidance was passed down from him to his children. Like us today, after a few generations we deviate from the traditions of our forebears and every so often a reminder is sent to get us back on course, and on and on it went through the ages. In that long line of Prophets and Messengers were blacks as well, who are all considered Muslims by the way. When the Rastafarians claim that His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie descended from the royal bloodline of King Solomon and David, they are unto something. According to Islamic scholars, Solomon (Sulayman – the greatest king that ever lived) and David (Dawood) peace be on them both were black. So too was Moses and Jesus; peace be on them all. In fact through scientific research, which caused some uproar recently, scientists concluded that the people who inhabited the region that Jesus was said to have emerged from at the time he emerged were of dark skin complexion. Before them, the last Prophet of Islam described him as having dark skin. The Islamic Scripture gives further evidence to this;

“And verily We have raised in every nation a messenger, (proclaiming): Serve Allah and shun false gods. Then some of them (there were) whom Allah guided, and some of them (there were) upon whom error had just hold. Do but travel in the land and see the nature of the consequence for the deniers! (Quran 16: 36).

Nation here does not mean our current nation states as can be spotted on the map, just for note.

So how would you feel if those ancestors and their messages were rejected because of their ethnicity?

See it is absolutely okay to not believe in what these various scriptures call to; but the people who adhere to them are not all just blind followers. If you do not consider yourself as being full of blind hatred or blind pride, then accord the same respect to those who adhere to different beliefs than you do. Ridicule and open contempt is a direct attack on an individual as our beliefs are an extension of who we are as humans. By all means if someone tries to impose their beliefs on you, repel them any which way you know how, but until then live your life and respect your fellow man.

If on the other hand you do not believe in the Supreme Being as the originator of the universe and life as did our ancestors; if evolution is what speaks to your rationality; then stop come off your liner that faithful people are subjecting themselves to foreign doctrine. Simple reason is that the concept of evolution is also a foreign doctrine to Africans which begs the question; how different are you in that case? If truth be told, the faithful are more African than you and your evolutionary theory, at least they are upholding the faith and teachings of some of those great ancestors sent as Prophets and Messengers; whose teaching are you holding on to?

YOUR MISTAKES DO NOT DEFINE WHO YOU ARE

We can all agree that when despair and distress strikes, we should empathize and be moved to action to better the conditions of those in distress as quickly as we can. In this lies the disappointment many felt towards the government, especially the National Disaster Management Committee. Granted the chief executive was indisposed at the time of the floods up country. A statement of solidarity and reassurance from a representative, preceding any action geared towards relief efforts should have been forthcoming nonetheless; this many felt was unduly delayed and rightly so.

It is refreshing though, to see that a day after their return, a high powered executive delegation made its way up country with needed aid to help the victims of the flood, who no doubt were greatly appreciative and grateful of the assistance.

The greater tragedy though is people jumping on the incident as political opportunists and parading the narrative that the government does not care about the plight of the suffering people. To use a people’s state of despair and distraught for political gain is tragic. This does not amount to failure on the part of the government and certainly is inadequate as a yardstick to measure other aspects of governance as some would like us to.

Having acknowledged the not so rapid response from the government, we should also acknowledge the response and show of solidarity by individuals and groups that came to the aid of our fellow citizens in despair.

What we must all condemn without ambiguity is the attempts at politicizing a tragedy for political gains; that is despicable and insulting to the suffering citizens of the affected regions. National unity should be demonstrated at its highest during such times by having all rally around one thing; bringing relief to those in need. Moments like that should be devoid of politics and partisan praise. But sadly these days, it seems everything is done with the aim of sanctifying some and bedeviling others based on political affinity. We shouldn’t be looking to enthrone some on the seat of saints while making villains out of others, a new obsession it seems in the New Gambia.

When Mama Kandeh responded with much needed aid, some high ranking surrogates; party assigned or not, took to social media praise singing him and mockingly calling out to other political parties and their heads as being absent from the scene with the aim of projecting him as the savior we need.

“Congratulations Mama, we hope and encourage other citizens to emulate this kind gesture to bring much needed help to the victims.”

“We expected a more prompt response from the government, and hope and pray such tragedies are few and far between, but should they strike again, we hope the government has learnt valuable lessons here and will respond better next time.”

Wouldn’t that or something along those lines have sufficed? These are responsible positions we expect within our new political dispensation, but it seems we can’t help ourselves but be overly dramatic and sentimental bordering on condescension.

Trying to gain political capital on the back of people’s misery is the classic definition of dirty politics. Beyond that, it is disgusting and I sincerely hope we can learn an important lesson; that in times of disaster and despair all that is asked of us is EMPATHY and SUPPORT.

Yaya Jammeh Awoke This Sense Of Patriotism

Seems the current narrative is set to endure for a while; “tribalism this, tribalism that, that’s tribalist, you’re a tribalist, blah blah blah... We won’t delve into what tribalism really means for it matters little to those who choose to stick to it to further their agenda. But it seems also that we are averse to learning from history or pondering on the deeper meaning of issues. There is an old Mandinka adage from the elders of the days of yore that goes thus; “Regardless of how long a monkey’s tail is, if you pinch it, it hurts the monkey.”

But like most things, we sing the lines repeatedly and fail to ponder on the deeper meanings of this wise saying. Either that or we deliberately confine them to times before ours and thereby failing to see their relevance or application to any current situation, a foolish error!

Why is that relevant to this write-up, because whatever is happening around that issue today has only one culprit to blame; Yaya Jammeh. But despite his machinations for political survival, what Yaya has succeeded in doing, albeit unwittingly, is to awaken within the Mandinka a sense of pride and patriotism, even those who have hitherto been blind to ethnic differences or nonchalant about it. Now before you go on to sensationalize “Mandinka patriotism” and how it negates patriotism to country, take a look in the mirror and do some deep reflecting. Assuming that being one negates the other is shallow thinking and biased. The two aren’t mutually exclusive, here’s why.

As suggested, take a cue from yourself by relating the situation to something we all share in common; for the most part – Islam. With the constant negative publicity and portrayal of Islam and Muslims as evil on the 24 hour Western news media, how does that make you feel? What questions do you ask yourself of your faith? What research did you do to gain more insight and prove that the terrorists are in fact psychotic sociopaths who, through their actions can lay no claim to what you profess to believe in? Now forget the fact that you are only a passive/seasonal Muslim, probably non-practicing even, that is irrelevant. Truth is you became concerned, frightened, and curious even. Chances are, these feelings awoke in you a sense of responsibility, so much so that you tried to be that moderate Muslim who is trying to say to his close circle of friends and neighbors that you are the face of Islam; caring, loving, moderate and not a sociopath like the terrorists. You didn’t denounce Islam because of it, but you embraced it a little more in spite of it by researching those lines and examples of good Muslims to use to defend your faith.

In this case, you are the proverbial monkey (non-practicing, passive, unconcerned Muslim; completely or mostly detached from the faith you profess, at least seemingly). The detachment from your faith denotes the tail of the proverbial monkey; despite the detachment, you felt a pinch when it seemed under attack and willfully misrepresented. So with that said, don’t fall into the same trap as the racist Islamophobes who claim you are either Muslim loyal to Islam or American/British/French loyal to the country but can’t be both as the two are incompatible. You know that is false.

The irony in this analogy is that Islam is a choice. You chose to be Muslim for whatever reason and can denounce it anytime. But your ethnic identity is an accident of nature, like it or not it is who you are. So consider how much more an attack on that aspect of your identity will hurt.

Vitriol and hateful words spewing from the mouth of tribal bigots like Yaya Jammeh engenders a sense of curiosity albeit motivated by anger. So those who feel targeted because of some connection or claim kinship to the Mandinka dig their heels in and refused to be misrepresented in that fashion. They look back to history to see if such ignorant claims have any basis in history, and… bingo! The digging reveals much to be proud of. Most of that history has been suppressed to a large extent or confined to certain quarters.  Because of the sensitivities of some aspects of history in certain quarters, those aspects have been suppressed, partly that and partly because the elders teach you to be humble. “Kaa-wa mang nying!- Pride and boastfulness are not the domain of a mere servant of The Creator. That may not be an exclusive Mandinka view but they sure hammer it to permanence into your psyche resulting in lifelong humility even when one is entitled to brag.

As an example to highlight these historical sensitivities; Sir Dawda and his government banned Berkeley Rice’s ‘Enter Gambia…’ partly in recognition of these sensitivities and their potential for sowing discord and hampering national unity, so much for a tribalist. (Don’t believe me; read P.S. Njie’s interview with the author).

Even in the religious domain, highly spiritual and versed scholars who’d be venerated and sanctified in certain communities are just ordinary men in their communities respected as elders and scholars. Encounter them outside of their communities and you’d have no regard for them or accord them any status. Just to cite two examples, the late Jasong Touray and Bun Jeng encountered such scenarios in their lifetime. Their humility could be attributed to their faith but we know of people in similar stations (or less spiritual/knowledgeable) who grace life differently.

Point here is, this by no means is an attempt to tout the Mandinka as the high and mighty people that everyone should bow to, that would be silly; quite the contrary. It is an attempt to explain why the sudden awakening among Gambian Mandinkas of a sense of pride and patriotism. Yaya Jammeh made sure of that.  With his vitriol, open display of hate and condescension towards that segment of the population and even outright threats of extermination and exile was greeted with concern at the very least. So you can see why his defeat and banishment was celebrated more within those communities and revived that sense of pride, it spelt SURVIVAL and RESPECT and a sense of RESILIENCE considering the power and reach of the self-proclaimed enemy, above all it was RELIEF.

What we are witnessing is a pat-on-the-back of sorts; “we stood up to the arrogant tyrant and lived to tell.” That’s all it is and nothing more; a moment of reflection on what could've been, of achievement and celebration displayed in the form of embracing that culture that was under threat of eradication (and no I’m not being melodramatic, Yaya meant every word he said and he is bigoted enough with the wherewithal to carry out his threat). So like anyone in a similar situation, the Mandinka are simply proclaiming WE BELONG and WE ARE HERE TO STAY AND BE PRESENT.

An example in our shared identity yet again - Islam; the early Muslims prayed in silence and secrecy, concealed their faith to avoid persecution, but with the more converts and the eventual conquest of Makkah, the prayer was called to from atop the Ka’aba; triumph!

Do not be fooled by those calling for a denunciation of ‘tribal identities’ in favor of adopting and embracing a “Gambian Identity”. A Gambian identity is all individual identities combined, take one out and you’re short. That approach always leads to the dominance of one culture over the rest; we are an amalgamation of ethnic groupings all of whom deserve recognition and celebration on the national platform. Embrace and celebrate your Bainunka culture, your Balanta, Manjago, Serer, Bambara, Aku, Serahule cultures, and all the other cultures. Fail to do so and you’re depriving us all and taking away from that Gambian identity. Don’t let your individual culture drown in the sea of the larger (in numbers) cultures but don't be threatened by their embrace of their culture either nor should any of us be disrespectful to one another.

Being proud of and celebrating aspects of your identity is not synonymous to hatred for or bigotry towards others. It is in fact highlighting aspects for which others can look at and respect you, and every ‘tribe’ has those aspects and should celebrate as such rather than taking the ill-informed and shallow stance that always cries tribalism at every and any opportunity simply because the other person displayed his pride in his culture.

Let us not advocate for a melting of the contents of the Gambian pot, it’s a blend of ingredients all complementing each other and the result can only be a tastier and more succulent Gambia, culturally speaking.

System Change Vs. Regime Change

Sometimes one cannot help but wonder if there is a deliberate and calculated attempt designed to undermine The Gambia’s new found and much deserved freedom, or simply an orchestrated plot to disfavor some and any role they may play in the future. Clearly ignorance can be discounted as a premise for some of the narratives being peddled, judging by the caliber of some of the proponents of such narratives. What am I talking about?

From the claims that allowing the dominance of a single party in the executive as well as the legislative arms of government will serve towards the re-introduction of ‘dictatorship’ or the perpetuation of one man rule; to the claims that what we have in place now is a regime change and not a system change, we see a constant attempt to label what we have as ill-suited.

First of all, as evidenced by the democracies we aspire to be, no executive desires an obstructionist legislative arm and so they campaign to control both branches of the government in order to smoothly put their party policies to work. Now the question is; are those policies within the constitutional framework (legal), are they ethical, will they serve the interest of the nation? That determination is usually made at the Independent Electoral Commission where the parties are required to file a manifesto outlining their policies and programs for advancing the nation as a condition for registration as a political party. Therefore, any party that contests elections has by default met the required criteria. Control of both arms of government therefore does not necessarily qualify as a prelude to the introduction of a ‘dictatorship.’ Concerted and coordinated efforts need to be made to actually concentrate more power in the executive than where sovereignty truly resides; in the citizenry, and the good news is that such attempts can be protested against by citizens in a democracy and through independent courts which are currently being set up, so the ‘dictatorship’ narrative is a flawed one devoid of substance.

‘Dictatorship’ is being highlighted because it is a misused term; even in Yahya Jammeh, what we had was more akin to authoritarianism than full blown dictatorship; even if for the simple fact that in some situations he is limited by the constitution as to what he can do (crown himself king, declare a one party state, etc.). What we had was total submission to his authority by all our representatives and civil servants who dare not say or support any position opposite his. That is authoritarianism. The other reason for highlighting the term is that in the next narrative, the term ‘regime’ is being misused as well. Words matter and that is why it is earlier stated that one wonders whether we are being made fearful by design; duped if you like.

A government can be called a regime certainly, but the term is reserved for a disapproving government, one imposed from above; an authoritarian one. In our part of the world, it has become synonymous with militarily imposed authorities headed by ‘strongmen’. Our new dispensation most certainly does not qualify as such; it is a manifestation of the people’s mandate and we have witnessed thus far that they recognize that mandate and respect it. So that too is a flawed narrative, we have a government, as in a democratic one and not a regime as in an imposed one.

A system by nature is intricate, it’s complex and once in place takes a while to redesign, and that is where we are as a country. One of the aspects of the civil service is continuity, which by default means they have adopted strategies for operational efficiency across the various departments; together they constitute the ‘system’ of running the government. On the other hand, since we do not have an authoritarian regime but a democratic government not just in name means there is a complete system change. The judiciary is not taking directives from the executive, the legislature just opened it sessions but we can be hopeful it will be an independent body abiding by the constitution in procedure and oversight functions. The most symbolic of the power of the former regime is the security service and we know they have switched gears in their operations and dealings with the civilian population. For goodness sake we even work five days a week now and in the process eliminating so much waste and back log. What more system change are we advocating for?

Even in business, the introduction of new technology or operating systems require training and adjustment; a process of familiarization and gradual phasing out of the old. Change does not happen overnight and certainly it cannot be expected of a body as complex as the government of a state. Maybe there is need to shrink the size of government, get rid of redundant departments and personnel, break up the merger of some ministries or departments and converge others etc.

The fact is, there needs to be review and assessment of the system to determine where adjustments are needed; a hasty decision in that regard will yield consequences some of which can be long term. You cannot shock a system into change; you gradually phase out dysfunctional ones and institute lasting, more viable and productive ones.

With all that in mind, why are we constantly talking of the need for system change in such vague terms and drawing similitudes between systems that have nothing in common especially by people who are expected to know better; the so called ‘educated elite’?

Like in every narrative, some stand to gain and others stand to lose. If such narrative is upheld, the losers clearly in this case is the people being targeted for failing to institute a system change; the government of the day and by extension the majority of Gambians. Such a narrative is demoralizing and undermines our steady march towards building strong institutions that will serve everyone’s interest and not just a few. It is deceitful at worst and at best shows a lack of patience and gratitude for the monumental achievement we made together as a nation.

The worst is behind us and the rest will take collective concerted effort to achieve, enough of the bickering and untenable stance that pervades our discourse and time to be the change we desire.

The People Will Resist ‘Democracy’

If we lose sight of, or fail to deeply reflect on the evolution of politics and governance systems in Africa, we only create room for replacing one authoritarian leader with another.

As long as we cite western value systems as models in our quest to strengthen democracy, the people will resist that encroachment on their values.

As long as we keep repeating the colonial narrative as to what governance means, the people will resist.

Africa before the coming of the European invaders was a society with institutions, value systems, and organized governance systems. Despite their claims of ‘civilizing the savages’ with the introduction of Christianity and opening avenues for the salvation of the ‘savages’ through the acceptance of Christ, the fact is that colonialism is exploitative in every aspect.

For it to survive, it has to be exploitative and oppressive because man by nature does not willingly submit his sovereignty to another. Economic exploitation, physical oppression, mental subjugation, and false indoctrination were the pillars upon which colonialism was built and sustained. Existing social and political institutions had to be dismantled to give way to the new system of exploitation. This of course was met with resistance of all forms from its inception to its demise in the so-called declaration of independence of the various states. But a few centuries of systematic and institutionalized exploitation leave in its wake visible scars and new realities.

In the mindset of the colonizer, the colonized is inferior both in intellect and human capacity and so belongs in subjugation. Out of that sense of entitlement and patronage enforced by oppression was borne the ‘democratic’ culture that we celebrate today; a democratic culture that has not progressed much beyond entrenched dictators and corrupt public servants for the past half century. Little wonder oppression and tyranny is the norm in Africa, a method inherited from the invaders further strengthened with new methods.

That sense of white supremacy is what made the colonizers feel entitled to impose their value systems on the African territories they invaded. That value system, which thrived on exploitation, oppression and individualism, is what the Africans rose up against and resisted; not democracy in the true sense of the word. Consider for one moment if all ‘citizens’ of the colonial territory were treated equal as it obtained in the home country of the colonizers? If that was not the case, and if what they had back home was democracy, then what was it that they have us inherit and push us to strengthen?

One can only wonder whether any of our so-called democratic proponents even take a moment to reflect on what systems were in Africa before the Europeans dismantled them. Do we study how democratic they were, or how efficient they were? We do not need a trip back into history to uncover what governance system was in place and how efficient it was. All one needs to do is look at a typical African village and the way it is set up. The only surviving traditional institution in many respects, is a replica of what used to obtain in the days of yore.

Anyone familiar with the roles of the Alkalo and the system of administration at the village level will tell you it is democratic. Why is it that we cannot extend that to the national level and govern based on our values and beliefs? The fact that the Africans believe in their systems and refuse the see the need to replace them is enough to inspire resistance. Democracy that reflects our unique realities and values is the only solution to Africa’s governance struggles, nothing else will work. Europe and the West are hundreds of years ahead of us in terms of where they are in their democratic process. If we want to be at par with them in that regard without building the needed foundations of knowledge and experience, we will fail miserably. Making use of existing systems and norms and reforming them gradually to suit our realities and goals is a prerequisite to building a sustainable and progressive democratic culture.

It is true that no system is perfect, but denouncing it all together for one wrinkle here or there is a disservice to all concerned. And until we take a pause and look within, we will continue churning out the same tyrannical leaders and corrupt public officials who care nothing for the welfare of the people and everything about their personal gains and status.