ART CATHEY: AFRICAN DIASPORA REPATRIATION TO AFRICA AND THE NEED FOR REORIENTATION.

I will use the phrase African diaspora to mean both descendents of African slaves worldwide and African immigrants worldwide. However, my focus in this article would be African American repats who as a result of the bondage of injustice in the United States of America decided to move back to Africa.

This kind of movement is what I call involuntary voluntary repatriation. It would sound tautological but the fact is, there is an exsitential pressure related to internal perception of coercion that is generating this geopolitical exodus embedded in the causal relationship "nomenclaturised" as Bondage of injustice in the United States of America.

" In law and philosophy, voluntariness is a choice being made of a person's free will, as opposed to being made as the result of coercion or duress." 

 

"The African Union defines the African Diaspora as "Consisting of people of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union." Its constitutive act declares that it shall "invite and encourage the full participation of the African Diaspora as an important part of our continent, in the building of the African Union."

The takeaways from the statement above suggest that criteria or requirements have been set in MOTION in respect of those who are welcome and needed in Africa. 

1. Willingness to contribute to the development of the continent.

2. Willingness to build the African Union. Put differently he/she must testify to the core Pan-Aficanist orientation of our nationalist forefathers who had the foresight to established the Organisation of African Unity in 1963.

My observations in recent times indicate a shift in the perception of African Americans about Africa and the momentum to mass migrate to the motherland in search of a better life and the preservation of their human dignity when confronted with bondage of injustice in the United States of America.

However, I am worried, put it mildly I question if we are getting the right people neccessary to deliver exceptional result as highlighted above in the two takeaways rather what I observed is that we are getting large numbers of unskilled, braggadocious, culturally illiterate African Americans with entitlement mentality whose agendas are not different from the colonialist with penchant for the desecration of sacred socio-traditional values cum cosmological worldviews of African.

There is this arrogance about them coming from a misplaced/lack of historical understanding which pushed them to pontificate that they are here to liberate Africans by preaching the philosophy of reverse racism and black isolationism.

I have had several discussion moments with African Americans on the continent concerning plethorae of issues agitating their minds and most times they came across "messsianically racistic" in their understanding of the developmental challenges facing Africa.

 

Here are some of my responses to issues raised during the discussions:

AA1: Africans have colonial education system. Africans lack race centered political consciousness.

     

ME: I think there is a mix up somehow in your description of what you meant by colonial education system predominance in Africa. The system of education in the US, West Indies and UK are all predicated upon the same educational doctrine with slight modifications to reflect nations aspirations. It is fallacious to single out characterisation-wise African educational system as colonial. An average Black American or British Black or Caribbean Black studied within the same entrenched system.

I disagree with your viewpoint. Consciousness is about enlightenment predicted on individual experiences and knowledge plus how you view the world around you. I also studied in the West and there is nothing in the learning environments that is not colonial education philosophically speaking. Race centered political consciousness is not the monopoly of African Americans rather what is often described as race centered consciousness in the African American community is reverse racism. An all out hate of everything caucasian yet you are making use of the caucasian language to communicate, you eat and dress caucasian,etc don't you see that you are living a life of contradiction.

My admonition to you is to stop generalization about Africa education system rather look at individuals and their orientations in terms of what you call black consciousness. Remember that the term means different things to so many people within the black family. If you are an African thoroughly bred in Africa you will have a different disposition compared to African Americans. Take note of these subtle differences and stop presentation of jundiced views as if African Americans or British Black or Caribbean Black are more conscientized than thorough bred Africans. We all studied within the same system and factually Africans knew more about their history and struggles than the diaspora Africans (African Americans)  knew about Africa. We must stop generalization about Africa. Sometimes I wonder where this uninformed generalisation is coming from. I have lived in the west and I must say I met both uneducated, uninformed and educated, intelligent black people (African Americans) just as you will meet similar configuration of people in Africa.

What's consciousness? Is it when you go against everything White and Western civilization thereby creating reverse racism.

AA 2: Why are Africans/Gambians petitioning for the deportation of an African American Art Cathey for expressing her opinion.

ME:  My brother freedom of expression has limitations. Art Cathey has misplaced idea about the struggle of black people and what needs to be done. She lacks respect for Indigenous African culture and brotherly sensibilities to fellow Africans.

If Art Cathey a Black African American woman can be so condescending towards her own civilization and people who welcomed her wholeheartedly then I wonder what kind of consciousness she is propagating. She is doing the same things that colonialism did to Africans. You don't go online castigating your lineage.  I watched all her vituperations online and I find it disgusting that an intellectual junk who ran away from the United States of America to seek refuge in Africa now turned against the same Africans who gave her accomodation by speaking evil about indigenous culture of Gambia.

I am not against intellectual discourse but to cast aspersion on the ways of living of your host without interrogating the inherent logic is a misplaced arrogance cum foolishness. Let her know that she needs to be careful with her sweeping generalization about Africa and Gambia.

We don't necessarily need all African Americans to move to Africa. Only skilled, entrepreneurial, cultured, sophisticated and educated African Americans are needed. People like Art Cathey should be deported from Gambia, really she is not contributing anything significant to Gambia economy rather she is parasitic irritant living on the wealth created by Gambians. Gambia needs to put some kind of barriers in respect of entry requirements for African Americans. Art Cathey has colonialist mentality. I am disturbed that Gambia has tolerated brazen denigration of their society, culture and philosophy by this ingrate, animalistic junk. There's no need to give automatic citizenship to all kinds of African Americans, only those who have contributed tremendously should be given citizenship but not automatic. Organisation of African Unity takeaways are here instructive.

I must emphasis that people don't have right to travel everywhere on the mere basis of being a descendants. Traveling to another country is a privilege contingent on the rules and regulations cum visa entry policy of each nation. Your right to travel everywhere within national territorial boundary might be "unrestricted". An African American that comes to the motherland only to cast aspersions on the foundation of his/her being is not welcome. AFRICA the motherland doesn't need African Americans desecrating the fundamental cosmology, spiritual significance of our ancestors. If you are not good in America.. you will not be of any relevance in Africa. Sincerely speaking most of these African Americans "repats" moving to Africa, running away from the bondage in the United States of America are not really what Africa needs. African nations must establish proper selection process to weed out the junks constituting nuisance.

AA 3:  We are descendants of African Slaves..therefore, no need to set requirements...decisions must be made by heart, since people moved around without restrictions in the earliest of time.

 

ME: Your view is Anachronistic. We do not live in utopia neither are we in the earliest of time. Heart is a complex relativistic concept. Living by heart and not law is an unreasonable, unrealistic expectation in modern times. As matters of facts there are always boundaries in nature and in human society, therefore people don't just move around in the earliest of time as you wrongly claimed. Nobody is denying people from migrating but you must come with good tidings. You cannot call yourself an African yet you spit gibberish, condemnation, condescension on your heritage. That was exactly what the colonizers and slavery did to Black/African people. African Americans cannot come to Africa with the intention of doing the same obnoxious practice. Art Cathey is on a suicide mission of self flagellation, self hate, with her half baked disoriented "consciousness".

African Americans are welcome in the motherland but they must come with good tidings and constructive approaches to development. Those preaching deconstructivism, divide and rule tactics are not welcome. Do not make the indigenous Africans feel like visitors in their own country. Please leave your sickness in America.

OTUNBA ADE ILEMOBADE IS A PHILOSOPHER. TWITTER: @PEARL2PRINCE