To Sieze Power or Not: A Pan African conversation

ALIEU BAH
Power for the most part has always been a novelty for the oppressed of the continent. A superstition here and a magical thing there. As elusive as it is, it remains a construct of relationships underpinned largely by social forces caught in the web of submission.

Precisely because it was born from the womb of the colonial project, the nation state arrived as an anomaly in how the question of power is addressed for people down home in Africa. As such, it has only demanded the domination of the so-called natives and subjects of colonialism. In connecting the race for surplus with how power is constructed and perceived, the state remains one that demands the servitude of the masses — not the other way round.

In our first edition, we chose to talk about where power meets the resistance that be. Should the struggle move towards taking power from those they have charged with corruption and selling out, or organize alternate power? Should they participate in electoral politics or abhor it? Since these are questions deeply debated within our social movements, it became crucial to open channels of communication on a Pan African platform. Such platforms are ever so necessary as we fight the increasing fragmentation and atomization of our various struggles.

Social movements have gone through many gestations and definitions with the passage of time. From the anti-colonial movements, many of which morphed into mass based parties, to the newer iterations arising mostly during the neoliberal assault, many of which, unsurprisingly, are no fans of political parties or their likes. The connecting thread between the old and the new movements in this regard has always been the desire for a blossoming and radiant Africa.

In this noble attempt, many debates, confrontations, and contradictions have emerged, each as complex and demanding as the times themselves. Implicit in these debates and interrogations is ideological orientation, the funneling of resources to the vast and complex subject of tactic and strategy.

At the dawn of the millennium, a different social force emerged in the form of demand for popular power. Of course there have always been undercurrents of this rhetoric and stance, but in our present times, we see its open manifestation more intensely. From Tahrir Square to the open highways of Dakar, we show the rise of a righteous rage against tyranny, dynasties, and dictatorships. The confluence of that instinctual desire for freedom and the rational, more intentional, was a joy to witness. Many were of the opinion that finally a new Africa is emerging. An Africa whose power dynamic is going to emerge from below, from the many.

Alas, many gains made during those heady times have long been forfeited. The civic space that was seized and expanded by the uprisings has been shrinking at a faster pace than ever anticipated. Many theories and pontifications have been offered as to how this happened. And it’s within the context of these conversations and contestations that the call was made by The New Pan African to deepen and find a sense of departure.

With contributions from across the continent, may this then be praxis of thought worthy of its name!

Alieu Bah is Editor-in-Chief of The New Pan African.