Page 79 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 6
P. 79
MY AFRIKA
ranging from local to global, the notion and practice of justice nial construct, incapable of ex-
personal to political, individual within the context, diversity and pressing the common good and
to infrastructural. Communities differences of our cultures. serving the interests of citizens.
have begun pondering over The recent beatings and killings
their fundamental ways of being. Understanding, Adjust- of citizens by security agencies
These contemplations are likely under the auspices of adminis-
ing and Coping
to shape the world of tomorrow, tering ‘social- distancing’ serve
In this brief piece, I want to fo-
whenever that moment arrives. as a tidy example of the brutal
cus on the sequential process-
To ensure that the anticipated es of ‘understanding, adjusting nature of the postcolonial state.
social changes are for the bet-
and coping’ with the ongoing
ter, it is imperative for us as Afri- Given such a violent historical
pandemic from an agricologi-
cans to explore and engage with background, some scholars in-
cal perspective. In doing so, I
conversations that we think are cluding Mark Derry, the Amer-
examine the everyday social
crucial to our collective selves. management of a pandemic and ican cultural critic have asked:
Imagining the current pandemic how can a community, whose
show how these public health
as a gateway to a new world, we past has been deliberately
emergencies tend to surface,
need to make attempts to know rubbed out, imagine possible fu-
are accommodated, and af-
and pledge to change our ways tures? Better yet, in our present
ter a while they eventually get
of thinking, acting, and behaving resolved having left a strain of context, how, one may add, as
in this transitional period to en- Africans, are we to understand
social, political and economic
sure that the ‘edited world’ that and respond to the latest rapidly
stress on communities across
awaits us on the other side of evolving epidemiological emer-
Africa that have historically been
the Covid-19 pandemic is more gency? To their credit, most Afri-
disadvantaged within the global
inclusive, understanding, and power structures. can governments have imposed
compassionate. As Africans, we some degree of restrictions to
Within Africa itself, there is gen-
must adopt the suggestion made protect the populations from the
eral agreement among political
by Dani Nabudere, the godfather spread of the virus. This is clear-
scholars that the postcolonial
of Afrikology; we must expand ly an important protective step,
state, which refers to the cor-
our appreciation of indigenous pus of governmental structures but we also need to consider
knowledge systems, as well as the very real danger that the
in the post-independence peri-
sharpen our understandings of Covid-19 pandemic will leave
od, is still weak, flawed and in-
in its wake a food security cri-
effective and as such incapable
sis that could affect the political,
of advancing the basic ideals of
social and economic health of
the African community. Indeed,
whereas the main function of African countries. According to
several latest reports, over 250
the colonial state was to main-
million people in Africa are al-
tain law and order that facilitat-
ready living without food. These
ed Europeans exploitation of
reports conclude that these vul-
Africa’s resources, the current
state in Africa is still sustaining nerable populations will suffer
more from both the short - and
a deeply violent and authoritar-
long-term effects of the pandem-
ian political culture. In spite of
ic. According to the United Na-
the so called ‘second liberation’
tions Economic Commission for
in the 1990s, for most part, the
state in Africa remains a colo- Africa (UNECA), Africa’s GDP
“We’ve just hit
a giant reset button on all of
humanity”,
www.msingiafrikamagazine.com heal . restore . rebirth . Afrika | 79
