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Pan-African and first Prime Minister and President of independent Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah’s, was a revolutionary philosopher with Africa at heart.
In “Consciencism: Philosophy and Ideology for De-colonisation”, Nkrumah is inspired by the fact that philosophy arises and operates within the context of a given society. Therefore, it is born of social milieu fraught with contention.
Societal dictates have always determined how regulatory behaviour shapes African societies.
The individual may enjoy independent pursuit of greatness, but he cannot escape community regulation on what constitutes wrongdoing.
In Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”, the tragic hero, Okonkwo, and other titled men in Umuofia, pursue individual glory, albeit under societal checks and balances. The incentive to work hard is the reward that comes at the end, and that the individual’s achievements can redeem him from the past failures of his family, pertinently his father’s.
Although “Things Fall Apart” seems to subscribe to Western aspects of narrative style, with the individual at the centre, it can be used to put Ayi Kwei Armah’s ideas in context, especially when read in juxtaposition with Nkrumah’s “Consciencism”.
“Okonkwo was well-known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements”, Achebe writes.
This is in tandem with Nkrumah’s philosophy that the individual is the end, and not the means to an end.
In a functional society, all men are equal, even though individual good cannot override the community’s good.
In the novel, Okonkwo accidentally kills a kinsman at old Ezeudu’s funeral. Notwithstanding his achievements as a warrior, wrestler and titled man, he is banished to his motherland, Mbanta, for seven years. Without being told, Okonkwo knows that he is doomed.
As Okot p’Bitek says in “Artist the Ruler”, culture plays a pivotal role in regulating individual behaviour, since African societies have always had their own systems of governance and legal institutions.
Okonkwo does not have to wait for the egwugwu council, of which he is one, to preside over his case. He knows that his personal achievements add to nothing: killing a kinsman, accidentally or deliberately, is an abomination that he cannot be excused from.
It is at this point that one draws inspiration from Nkrumah’s “Consciencism”.
Hinging on the social contention of Consciencism in Ghana, particularly, and in Africa, generally, Nkrumah seeks to foist an evolution of a body of principles, which, by guiding the thinking and actions of all Africans, will establish a common range of behaviour for all.
Africa shares a lot in common, not only destiny as a result of colonialism, but in terms of human values and culture.
African literary works like “Things Fall Apart” (1958), Ngugi Wa Thiong’o “Secret Lives” (1964), Pepetela’s “Mayombe” (1980), “Waiting for the Rain” (1975) by Charles Mungoshi, and Mongo Beti’s “Mission to Kala” (1957), though having been written by artists from different nationalities, the cultural, religious, social and political issues raised can be read as having been written by a single African citizen.
Such is the nature of Africa.
In “Two Thousand Seasons” (1973), Armah is of the view that: “Our way, the way, is not a random path. Our way begins from coherent understanding. It is a way that aims at preserving knowledge of who we are, knowledge of the best way we have found to relate to each other, each to all, ourselves to other peoples, all to our surrounding. If our individual lives have a worthwhile aim, that aim should be a purpose inseparable from the way.”
Though not denying the impact of colonialism on the African continent, Armah believes that there is still a vision for Africa seen through Anoa’s eyes as long as the individual buries his dreams in the community’s aspirations.
His use of the collective voice “we”, beguiles the individualistic nature of man, which is the recipe for societal progress. As a proponent of Pan-Africanism, Armah’s vision celebrates African values, which emphasises the essence of the centre as an all-encompassing pivot where collective effort is required.
He maintains that as people “of the way, we know the way”, because “we are not Europeans, we are not Asians, we are Africans” and “we are not a people of yesterday.”
Africans have always known the way, so 2 000 seasons of toil will not dampen their spirits. Armah rejects the idea of micro-nationalism because Africa has one identity, and should speak with one voice.
Armah is conscious of how religious tolerance can be destructive, thus he refuses to create interfaces like Nkrumah does. To him Africa is for Africans, with its rich culture and bowels.
Indeed, if King Mansa 11 of Mali is still regarded as the richest man to have ever lived, whose wealth at his death by today’s standards stands at US$400 billion, accumulated through trading in gold and salt, then Africa cannot be regarded as poor.
Colonialism robbed Africa of its wealth and continues to do so, because the continent speaks with a disjointed voice, as individualism takes an ugly outlook. To Armah the land remains communal property, and should not be individually owned, sold or bought.
In “Things Fall Apart” Unoka, Okonkwo’s father is told by the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves: “When a man is at peace with his gods and his ancestors, his harvest will be good or bad according to the strength of his arm . . . Go home and work like a man.”
The land is central to African prosperity, so it belongs to the community and the hardworking individual simply has to constantly seek fertile lands. And, the European comes to demarcate it as his own and put boundaries to separate Africans from their neighbours.
But, “If our individual lives have a worthwhile aim, that aim should be a purpose inseparable from the way,” Armah reasons.
Okonkwo’s downfall is his individualistic nature. His personal achievement is what drives him because of fear of weakness and failure. In the end he commits suicide. Thus, he dies on the wrong side of the customs that he subscribes to, which are communally inspired.
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The nature of revolution, inspired by Marxism, which also shapes Nkrumah’s “Consciencism”, is clearly depicted in Pepetela’s “Mayombe” (1980), Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s “The Trial of Dedan Kimathi” (1964) and Alexander Kanengoni’s “Echoing Silences” (1997).
There are moral, social and political values to which all the cultural strands in present-day African society should conform. African society values kinship, communal ownership of the land, hard work and respect for the metaphysical.
Marriage, wedding and funeral ceremonies, among other communal gatherings, cement relations. However, colonialism disturbed cultural balance through Western education and religion.
The central cog in religion is belief, and belief is determined by customs. Therefore, if cultural norms and values of a society are eroded, there is bound to be mayhem. This is what happens in “Things Fall Apart”.
To counter this problem, Nkrumah, unlike Armah in “Two Thousand Seasons”, concedes that African society today has become a microcosm, with three strands or layers.
These are traditional Africa, Islamic Africa and Euro-Christian Africa. He suggests that the good aspects of the different religions should be integrated as a way of interfacing and compromise.
With reference to “Things Fall Apart”, Nkrumah seems to be in agreement with Achebe. Through characterisation, Achebe highlights the need to avoid religious fanaticism.
Enoch, the new Christian convert, who is a victim of occultism as an Osu or outcast, causes fierce clashes because of his overzealous nature. As a result, he is reprimanded by the liberal Mr Brown.
Okonkwo and Mr Smith are also intolerant, although in the end, the latter respects Omuofia’s custom that a man who commits suicide should not be buried by his relations.
Suicide is considered an abomination.
“Consciencism” emphasises that it is possible for Africans to live in harmony with people of different cultures and religions, as long as society is egalitarian, and there is a single ideology that ensures adhere to rules. In the end, quality takes precedence over quantity as society evolves. The reasoning behind this is that the revolution has to end at some point.
However, to Armah, as long as Africans are not free from the chains of colonialism, then the revolution continues.
In “Things Fall Apart”, Achebe affirms that culture does not only become burdensome on the individual because of its inflexibility, arbitrariness and abstractness, but it becomes a tool of oppression if it remains static.
Christianity becomes an escape route to those at the receiving end of customs. On the other hand, it is used as an oppressive tool since it is linked to colonial oppressive laws and forms of governance.
It is this that “Consciencism” seeks to correct, to give impetus to a new Africa through Pan-Africanism. Nkrumah regards mysticism and the supernatural as impediments to progress.
Unlike the atheistic Okot p’Bitek, or the Christian convert, Kenneth Kaunda and his Humanism philosophy, Nkrumah advocates the creation of interfaces.
Armah, on the flipside, like most Africans, as evidenced in their liberation struggles, especially in the case of Zimbabwe, spirituality is crucial. Anoa can be read as Mbuya Nehanda, Queen Lozikeyi or Queen Nzinga.
The rationale of the African as a spiritual being is also evident in Taban lo Liyong’s “Colour of Hope” (2010).
As a philosophy, Pan-Africanism is spot on in its attempt to forge an authentic vision for Africa as it reels from colonial burden and reliance on donor funds. However, its implementation remains a pipe dream as the continent fails to locate itself in the global village with its many shades of grey.
And, it seems, due to colour blindness, Africa fails to see the difference.
Indeed, the artist has a fundamental role to play in shaping the Motherland’s destiny so that the spirit of brotherhood is revisited and respected. It only abets white monopoly capital if Africans hack each other’s head off.
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