Page 63 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 13

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culture, arts, tradition, family life, who you are”. True men are known
Colonialism versus Coloniality creativity, creation of knowledge for their hearts and not their friends.
I look around me at the various and its storage etc., of a people;
things going on in our beautiful making the supposed free and Right now, as you may or may
Afrika; how the tag third-world, independent people see themselves not agree, there is a deadly tool
poorest continent, backward people only from the eyes of their former of imperialism, colonialism and
etc., is still the tag and identity at- colonial masters and by that, they colonialist agenda in the hands of
tached to the Afrikan people even in are kept in mental slavery. our young Afrikan people, which
the midst of so much wealth. And has taken over an entire generation
it breaks my heart to know that, Maldonado-Torres puts the dif- of our so-called future leaders.
even though we could have done ference between coloniality and That tool is, SOCIAL MEDIA. It
better, we just don’t - irrespective colonialism in this way: has clearly become the most active
of whatever reasons we may give Coloniality is different from colonialism. tool for identity creation, mis-cre-
as individuals or as a people. The Colonialism denotes a political and eco- ation, manipulation, propaganda
situation also brings one to a basic nomic relation in which the sovereignty of and distribution of the same, to
question, that is, is colonialism and a nation or a people rests on the power of the extent that whatever the agenda
imperialism still here with us? The another nation, which makes such nation of the imperialists in Afrika is, it
answer is, absolutely they are, except an empire. Coloniality, instead, refers can be distributed without much
that they are using a more covert to long-standing patterns of power that hassle by the friendly hands of our
system of enticement and attrac- emerged as a result of colonialism, but young people, either knowingly or
tion to the table of greed and fame, that define culture, labor, intersubjective unknowingly. And come to know
first with some of our compro- relations, and knowledge production well that the most profitable venture
mising leaders, and now with our beyond the strict limits of colonial admin- right now in a pandemic season is
young Afrikans. Meaning that while istrations. Thus, coloniality survives colo- the sector of content creation, our
the pre-colonial Imperialist West nialism. It is maintained alive in books, youths are not leaving any stones
penetrated Afrika using the Berlin in the criteria for academic performance, unturned in the quest for the ‘green
conference’s DIVIDE AND CON- in cultural patterns, in common sense, in pastures’ found in their devices
QUER technique, the post-colonial the self-image of peoples, in aspirations irrespective of what it is costing the
Imperialist West are now using the of self, and so many other aspects of our Afrikan community and how it’s
UNITE AND CONQUER tech- modern experience. In a way, as modern putting hindrances in the quest for
nique to bring those who are already subjects we breathe coloniality all the time true revolution that can engineer
compromised in their hearts to and every day. real emancipation. There has never
their table of greed and by that they been a generation in Afrika that is
become puppets in the hands of The danger of young Afrikans more gullible to the machinations
the imperialists. They are very much with compromised hearts of the imperialist, than the one we
aware that once an Afrikan leader There is an old saying that says have right now. And it’s not because
is caught pants down eating from “show me your friends and I will they are ignorant or uneducated, but
that table, in form of debts and show you who you are”. It appears because they are knowledgeable and
the other personal gains they make correct that a person can be known educated in the modern day tech-
from the imperialists, their people by the kind of friends they keep nology, tainted by a twisted ideology
and the natural resources back home until you encounter just how easy it about what it means to be Afrikan
become the sacrificial lambs that is for friends to betray the very trust coupled with hearts that are open to
keep the wheel of global domina- found in their friendships, for the do to anything to make money. It’s
tion going. This is the worst part of sake of personal gains and desires. like having the power of technol-
the entire narrative of imperialism That’s when you will know that two ogy in the hands of young people
and colonialism in Afrika, because people are friends does not neces- without clear cut goals and visions
it makes a fool of the intelligence sarily mean they have the same pri- for the emancipation of Afrika, so,
of the Afrikan people, by simply orities and ideology and thus “you every time the imperialist companies
exchanging colonialism (the act of cannot accurately tell who a person and corporations come knocking at
physically putting a sovereign people is by just looking at their friend or their doors, they easily open. So, we
under another country’s power) for friends”. Instead, I would prefer to have a large collection of young and
coloniality, which is about covertly say “show me your heart and the learned Afrikans with no antecedent
infusing systemic colonialism in the desires in it, then I will show you of where we are coming from as Af-

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