“SANKOFA”: REINVENTING AFRIKA MODULE 2 A Focus on the Homogeneity in the Heterogeneity © Dr. Francis Adu-Febiri 2014

CONTENTS OF PRESENTATION: Introduction Sankofa Ubuntu The Human Factor Superficial Diversity Superficial Commonalities Pre-colonial Deep Commonalities Colonial and Postcolonial Deep Commonalities Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION: “SANKOFA” (Re-invention) Most non-African scholars of Africa tend to emphasize the heterogeneity of the African continent and to imply that the differences that exist outweigh the values and institutions that Africans share in common, but also that these differences are somehow unbridgeable (Khapoya 2010, p. 21). However, the facts are 1) many of these diversities are superficial and therefore bridgeable and 2) there are values, institutions and characteristics that Africans and their countries have in common at a deeper level. THE SANKOFA METHOD: The re-invention or revival of Human Factor Competency (HFC) Education and its underlying UBUNTU could bridge the superficial diversities, eliminate the deep negative commonalities fostered by colonialism, and re-reconstruct the pre-colonial deep positive commonalities to make Africa work for Africans and their allies.

INTRODUCTION: “SANKOFA” (Re-invention) Racialized enslavery and colonization of Africa and Africans succeeded in creating and reproducing superficial diversities and negative deep commonalities in African societies. This is mainly because these invasive social engineering systems broke down the high human factor competency (HFC) and its foundational philosophy of UBUNTU in African societies, and consequently unleashed the neoliberal ideologies of Scarcity of resources zero-sum power relations privatizing gains and socializing losses no alternative to the status Therefore, the re-invention and application of high HFC and its underlying UBUNTU philosophy in contemporary African societies are likely to minimize, if not eliminate, the superficial diversities that overshadow the deep negative commonalities and prevent Africans and their allies from successfully re-creating their own capacities to initiate and do their own development .

UBUNTU

UBUNTU Ubuntu is a classical Afrikan (specifically Bantu) concept and humanistic philosophy that embodies people's allegiances and empowering relations with each other.

UBUNTU: DESMOND TUTU’S DEFINITION …It is the essence of being human. It speaks of the fact that my humanity is caught up and is inextricably bound up in yours. I am human because I belong. It speaks about wholeness, it speaks about compassion. A person with ubuntu is welcoming, hospitable, warm and generous, willing to share. Such people are open and available to others, willing to be vulnerable, affirming of others, do not feel threatened that others are able and good, for they have a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that they belong in a greater whole. They know that they are diminished when others are humiliated, diminished when others are oppressed, diminished when others are treated as if they were less than who they are. The quality of ubuntu gives people resilience, enabling them to survive and emerge still human despite all efforts to dehumanize them (Tutu 2004).

NELSON MANDELA’S COMMENTS ON UBUNTU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngu2BjqP9Kk

PRINCIPLES OF THE UBUNTU PHILOSOPHY There are three maxims that shape the Ubuntu philosophy: The first maxim asserts that 'To be human is to affirm one's humanity by recognizing the humanity of others and, on that basis, establish respectful human relations with them.' And 'the second maxim means that if and when one is faced with a decisive choice between wealth and the preservation of the life of another human being, then one should opt for the preservation of life'. The third 'maxim' as a 'principle deeply embedded in traditional African political philosophy' says 'that the king owed his status, including all the powers associated with it, to the will of the people under him‘ (Samkange 1980).

HUMAN FACTOR COMPETENCY

HUMAN FACTOR COMPETENCY (HFC) Human Factor Competency (HFC) constitutes peoples’ thinking and humanitarian abilities that inspire and facilitate their acquisition and application of appropriate resources to connect with our common humanity and the environment emotionally, morally and spiritually to make a sustainable difference in society (Adu-Febiri 2014)

HUMAN FACTOR: WHAT IS IT? 1. More than Human capital: Economics focuses on Human Capital: the labour dimension of the factors of production. 2. Beyond Human Agency: Sociology focuses on Human Agency: Selective, synthesizing activities of human beings (Kottak and Kozatis 2008, p. 44). 2. More than human consciousness: Jaffee focuses on Conscious and reflective interaction of employees (excluding managers) of organizations (Jaffee 2001: 22-28). 3. The human factor (HF) refers to “a spectrum of personality characteristics that enable social, economic, and political institutions to function and remain functional over time.” These include human capital, spiritual capital, moral capital, aesthetic capital, human abilities, and human potential (Senyo Adjibolosoo (1995: 33 and 36). 4. Analyzing the existing definitions of the HF, Adu-Febiri and Rubin (2004) concluded that these definitions are rigid and narrow. Hence their redefinition of the HF as the human capacity and conduct resulting from a complex interaction of knowledges, skills, habits, principles, policies, institutional structures and normative practices that work for the betterment or debasement of the individuals, organizations, institutions and society.

THE HUMAN FACTOR AS A DYNAMIC SET OF HUMAN QUALITIES (Pierre Bourdieu 1977, Adjibolosoo 1995, Kevin Thomson 1998, Adu-Febiri 2011: Apart from Adjibolosoo, the other authors don’t refer to the Human Factor concept ) HUMNAN QUALITY COMPONENTS Human Capital (Adjibolosoo 1995) Knowledge and skills used to enhance human productivity, and have market value. Cultural Capital (Pierre Bourdieu 1977) Values, beliefs, traditions, customs, practices/rituals, skills, knowledge, attitude, education, and language to connect to people, community, institutions, material world, and life. Social Capital (Coleman 1990) Durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships; group membership, relationships, networks. Spiritual Capital (Adjibolosoo 1995) Insight into human condition, the world, and cosmos beyond the five senses; advanced capabilities to create, invent, innovate, and connect to the universal laws and principles of human life. Moral Capital (Adjibolosoo 1995) Principles relating to right and wrong; good and bad; ethics; conscience. Emotional Capital (Thomson 1998, Adu-Febiri 2011) Aesthetic Capital (Adjibolosoo 1995) Feelings; sentiments; affective connections to self, others, community, and the world. Sense and love for beauty; passion for the arts that connect to people and the physical environment. Human Abilities (Adjibolosoo 1995) Acquired and naturally endowed abilities beyond skills and knowledge; talents. Human Potential (Adjibolosoo 1995) Unused dimensions of the HF

HUMAN FACTOR COMPETENCY (HFC) Without the reinvention of high HFC in African societies/countries, the politics of diversity will make superficial heterogeneities (diversities) drown the deep homogeneities (commonalities) which are the foundation and hope of Africa’s renaissance and sustainable development

SUPERFICIAL DIVERSITY

SUPERFICIAL DIVERSITY Differences that are only of degree rather than in kind. Inconsequential Differences: Differences that don’t matter to human and societal well-being. Exaggeration of differences: The fact of diversity is not the problem; it is the politics of diversity which is the problem

SUPERFICIAL DIVERSITY: “Superficial Differences Exaggerated” (President Nkrumah, 1963) Economic Diversity Level of Economic development Political Diversity Level of Political Stability Ideological Diversity Capitalism – Communism Continuum Colonial Diversity Ties to former colonial masters Ethnic [tribal?] Diversity Core values, beliefs, and practices Cultural Diversity Inheritance Language Technology

SUPERFICIAL DIVERSITY Economic Diversity Level of Economic development There is not much substantive difference between the “big” economies of Nigeria, Kenya, Botswana, Libya and South Africa on the one hand and that of the economies of the other African countries on the other.

SUPERFICIAL DIVERSITY Political Diversity Level of Political Stability Does the political stability in Botswana, Ghana, and Senegal make a big difference in the lifeworlds of their citizens than that of the citizens in politically unstable African countries such as Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and Sudan?

SUPERFICIAL DIVERSITY Ideological Diversity Capitalism – Communism Continuum How substantive is the difference in the leadership practices and the lifeworlds of the citizens of African countries that espouse the neoliberal or free market ideology (Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana), socialist ideology (Libya, Burkina Faso, Muzambique), monarchical ideology (Morocco, Lesotho, Swaziland), and mixed ideologies (Algeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe)?

SUPERFICIAL DIVERSITY Colonial Diversity Ties to former colonial masters Is there any substantive difference in the contemporary political, economic and social experiences among African countries who remain neo-colonially tied to Britain (Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya), France (Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, DRC), the United States (Liberia), and those African countries who claim to have severed their neo-colonial ties (Libya), and the ones that don’t have colonial ties (Ethiopia)?

SUPERFICIAL DIVERSITY Ethnic [Tribal?] Diversity: There are so many similarities in the core values, beliefs, and practices of the various ethnic [tribal?] groups in Africa that tend to render ethnic diversity superficial. The significance of “tribalism” in Africa is more political than the fact of diversity. It is a “superficial difference exaggerated” (President Kwame Nkrumah 1965 speech)

SUPERFICIAL DIVERSITY Cultural Diversity Descent Language Is there any big difference in the quality of life in the African societies that practice patrilineal inheritance (Yoruba, Berber, Luo), matrilineal inheritance (Ashanti, Bakongo), bilateral inheritance (Fanti, Hausa)? To what extent is linguistic diversity of Africa a barrier to migration, interaction, and social integration of the peoples on the continent?

SUPERFICIAL DIVERSITY, BUT CONSEQUENTIAL The similarities in the social-cultural conditions of Africans, the physical environment in which they live, their past and contemporary experiences, and their collective needs tend to render as superficial the diversities in Africa that some scholars, development practitioners and activists highlight. The socially constructed diversity in Africa, however, is not inconsequential.

POLITICS OF DIVERSITY: “DIVIDE AND CONQUER” The socially constructed superficial diversities in Africa have serious implications for: Political Integration Political Stability Economies of Scale Social Integration and solidarity Human Rights

DEEP DIVERSITY

DEEP DIVERSITY 1. Gender diversity in educational and political representations. 2. Social Classes?: The gap between the Rich and the Poor; the gap between the Privileged and the Oppressed These are postcolonial diversities are serious problems for Africans. Africa needs high HFC index and its underlying UBUNTU philosophy to resolve these problems.

COMMONALITIES

SUPERFICIAL COMMONALITIES These are Colonial Constructs such as: “African women are oppressed”: Gender relations differ from region to region “Africa is the poorest continent”: Many regions of Africa are super rich in natural resources.

DEEP COMMONALITIES Africans’ feelings towards one another Marriage Collectivist Ethos/Extended Family Significance of marriage and having children Marriage arrangements and payments Respect for old people Spirituality The Youth Culture The Economy The State The Human Factor Politics of Diversity Totemism

PRE-COLONIAL DEEP COMMONALITIES

PRE-COLONIAL DEEP COMMONALITIES a) Africans’ feelings towards one another b) Marriage Significance of marriage and having children Marriage arrangements and payments c) Collectivist Ethos/Extended Family d) Respect for old people e) Spirituality f) Relationships g) Sacredness of life h) Hospitality i) Totemism

a) FEELINGS TOWARD ONE ANOTHER There seems to be a deep affinity among African’s that is not easily amenable to quantitative measurement or description. That is, somehow Africans from different parts of the continent tend to be very much at ease when interacting with each other either on the continent or in the diaspora.

b) MARRIAGE 1. POLYGAMY: Polygyny is practiced in all African countries/societies where it has not been outlawed by legislation (Khapoya 2010). Nigeria: 30% of marriages are polygynous Benin, Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, and the DRC: Polygynous marriages range from 20.4% to 36.4% Polyandry is absent from all African countries/societies (Khapoya 2010).

b) MARRIAGE 2. TRANSFER OF BRIDEWEALTH All marriages in African societies involve the transfer of bridewealth (cattle, goats, sheep, money, drinks, labour, etc.) from the groom’s family to Bride’s family. Dowry, as gift to the bride from her own family, is virtually non-existent in African societies.

b) MARRIAGE 3. SIGNIFICANCE OF MARRIAGE AND HAVING CHILDREN African societies generally elevate the status of a married person with children above that of unmarried persons and married persons without children.

c) COLLECTIVIST ETHOS AFRICAN SOCIETIES ARE COLLECTIVIST SOCIETIES: Community-focused: A popular African proverb comes to mind here to express the African sense of community. It says: "Go the way that many people go; if you go alone, you will have reason to lament”. The African idea of security and its value depends on personal identification with and within the community. Communalism in Africa is a system that is both suprasensible and material in its terms of reference. Both are found in a society that is believed by the Africans to be originally "godmade" because it transcends the people who live in it now, and it is "Man-made" because it cannot be culturally understood independent of those who live in it now. Therefore, the authentic African is known and identified in, by and through his community. The community is the custodian of the individual, hence he must go where the community goes (http://www.emeka.at/african_cultural_vaules.pdf).

c) COLLECTIVIST ETHOS Language, Proverbs and Community: For the African, if an individual is not able to communicate with the native language, the individual, ideologically, puts himself outside the community. Speaking a language, does not, in the African sense, depend on the peripheral knowledge of the language. It depends on the ability to express oneself adequately in the proverbs and idioms of the language community. These proverbs, idioms, riddles are based and determined by the culture of the community (http://www.emeka.at/african_cultural_vaules.pdf.)

c) COLLECTIVIST ETHOS THE EXTENDED FAMILY: The extended family is the most prevalent family system in African countries/societies. Marriage is a relationship between two extended families than just between a man and a woman.

c) COLLECTIVIST ETHOS LOOSE PARENTAL POSSESSIVENESS OF CHILDREN: In African societies children do not belong to parents only, but also belong to community of relatives. The kind of parental possessiveness towards children that one finds in the Western world is very rare in African countries/societies.

d) RELATIONSHIPS At the African grassroots, relationships take precedence over all other things. Life in the African community is based on the philosophy of live-and-let-live. This principle is based on the concept of the ‘Clan vital’ and applies to a concrete community... Chieka lfemesia sees Humane Living among an African people as a concept which is defined as “...a way of life emphatically centred upon human interests and values; a mode of living evidently characterized by empathy, and by consideration and compassion for human beings” (http://www.emeka.at/african_cultural_vaules.pdf)

e) DEFERENCE TO OLD PEOPLE Old people are respected for their age and wisdom presumed to come with age. Young people usually don’t call older people by their names but by kinship status.

f) SPIRITUALITY Africans have a deep sense of their connectivity with their kin groups—ancestors, the living and the unborn—the environment and the cosmos. Syncretism is deeply rooted in sub-Saharan African communities.

g) Sacredness of Life Furthermore, the sacredness associated with life goes to explain the rigidity with which the Africans treat and regard sexual intercourse and the sex organs. In fact sex taboos and the demand for virginity before marriage stems from the fact that Africans believe that: “The blood of virginity is the symbol that life has been preserved, that the spring of life has not already been flowing wastefully, and that both the girl and her relatives have preserved the sanctity of human reproduction”. Also, "The sanctity of human reproduction" derives from the sanctity of life in the African concept. This idea of sanctity of life makes it an abomination for anyone, under any circumstances to take his own life. Suicide was never permitted. Punishment for it was such that the person was not buried since his corpse was also believed to be abominable to mother earth. The Africans prize life above every other thing. The Igbo saying: Nduka - life is supreme - is expressive of the African regard for life. Any form of materialism which ultimately leads to the destruction of life is alien and destructive of the African culture and concept of human life and should therefore be avoided (http://www.emeka.at/african_cultural_vaules.pdf.) .

h) Hospitality The African sense of hospitality is one of the African values that is still quite alive. The Africans easily incorporate strangers and give them lands to settle hoping that they would go one day, and the land would revert to the owner... Dr. Festus Okafor has summarised the African attitude to strangers thus: “In traditional African culture, whenever there is food to be taken, everyone present is invited to participate even if the food was prepared for far less number of people without anticipating the arrival of visitors. It would be a height of incredible bad manners for one to eat anything however small, without sharing it with anyone else present, or at least expressing the intention to do so. (http://www.emeka.at/african_cultural_vaules.pdf)

COLONIAL & POSTCOLONIAL DEEP COMMONALITIES

COLONIAL & POSTCOLONIAL DEEP COMMONALITIES A) Youth Culture B) The Economy C) The State D) Disenfranchisement, Suffering, Pain and Poverty E) Human Factor Decay

A) YOUTH CULTURE The “Cheetah” generation is virtually westernized: Westernized youth culture is growing in all countries of Africa.

B) THE ECONOMY 1. MERCANTILE CAPITALISM: African countries engage in buy and sell economic activities at the expense of manufacturing.

B) THE ECONOMY 2. PRIMARY SECTOR: A focus on agricultural and extractive industries at the expense of manufacturing.

B) THE ECONOMY 3. THE INFORMAL ECONOMY: African economies have very large informal sectors where a large percentage of the population engage in petty trading, crafts, fishing, small scale trades and vocational activities, etc., that are not captured by the taxation system. This sector is what really sustains African societies.

B) THE ECONOMY 4. THE FORMAL SECTOR: This parasitic sector only accumulates money and properties for the political and bureaucratic elite. It is the battleground of the elites creating repression and political instability—circulation of the elite—in African countries.

C) THE STATE VAMPIRE STATES; FAILED STATES African countries are operated by state functionaries such as politicians and bureaucrats that convert state resources into personal wealth.

D) Disenfranchisement, Suffering, Pain and Poverty. Beyond the racialized and superficial cultural diversities, the experiences of slavery, colonization, westernization, globalization, and the vampire/failed state have created for most Africans shared history and experiences of disenfranchisement, suffering, pain and poverty.

E) HUMAN FACTOR DECAY HUMAN FACTOR DECAY: ABSENCE OF UBUNTU Most African elites, particularly politicians, bureaucrats, professionals, and business tycoons, lack the mental, emotional, moral, and spiritual connections to their countries and their communities. They are therefore bankrupt in relational accountability, responsibility, dedication, commitment, caring, sharing, and selflessness, beyond the extended family.

CONCLUSION Projects/programs and actions that focus on the superficial diversities of Africa such as race, ethnicity, language, colonial history, political ideology, etc., weaken Africa and Africans, making communities vulnerable to neo-colonial social engineering. Thus preventing Africans to engage in creating their own capacities to initiate and do their own development. “Sankofa”: A focus on the revival and enhancement of deep commonalities—using the UBUNTU philosophy and HFC of pre-colonial Africa--would eliminate the superficial diversities and the colonial deep commonalities that work against Afrika and most Afrikans.

References Adjibolosoo, Senyo. 1995. The Human Factor in Developing Africa. London: Praeger. Adu-Febiri, Francis. 2014. “Educated for a World that Does not Exist: Issues in Africa’s Education and Training Programs” Forthcoming. Review of Human Factor Studies. Adu-Febiri, Francis. 2011. “Inviting Emotions, Morals and Spirit into Our Classrooms: A Sociological Perspective on the Human Factor Model of Education”, Review of Human Factor Studies, Volume 17, Issue. 1., pp. 40-78. Adu-Febiri, Francis. 2001. “Human Factor Competence and the Performance Effectiveness of Hospitality Professionals.” In Senyo Adjibolosoo, ed., Portraits of Behavior: The Human Factor in Action. Lanham. Ayittey, George. 2007. “Cheetahs vs Hippos”. http://www.ted.com/talks/george_ayittey_on_cheetahs_vs_hippos.html Kaphoya, Vincent B. 2013. The African Experience. Boston: Pearson Nkrumah, Kwame. 1963. “Superficial Differences Exaggerated”. Speech to leaders of Africa’s independence/freedom fighters. Addis Ababa: OAU Summit. Samkange, Stanlake. 1980. Hunhuism or Ubuntuism: A. Zimbabwe Indigenous Political Philosophy. Graham Pub. Tutu, Desmond. 2004. God Has A Dream. London: Doubleday