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8
Richard Katangole, the permanent sec–
retary of Uganda's Ministry of Culture
and Community Devclopmcnt and in
charge of Uganda's
160,000
rcfugees,
"when the colonial govcrnments with–
drew their power, and tribes began
fighting among themsclves in Africa."
A
Neu• York Times
correspondent,
who completed a nine-month journey
through 32 countrics in black Africa,
wrote: "As the new nations of Black
Africa begin their second decade of
independence, nearly all of them are
faced, in one way or another, with a
struggle to kcep thcmsclves intact.
"Africa's central problcm is separat–
ism - regional, tribal and religious -
and
it
is getting worse" (
Ne111 York
Times,
Nov. 23,
1969).
1
Trouble in Kenya
In July
1969,
tribalism was unleashcd
in Kcnya with the suddcn assassination
of Tom Mboya, a mcmber of thc Luo
tribe. Fellow Luos then rioted, shouted
abuse at police, cursed Jomo Kenyatta,
the Kenyan President. The
~dominant
Kikuyus were put on the defensive pnd
reacted tribally. Suspicion abounds.
Hatreds are fanned. A tribal crisis has
developed.
It
was reported that many Kiku–
yus began taking oaths thcy would
never allow the Aag of Kcnya to !cave
"the housc of Mumbi," the term used
to describe their own tribe.
Okelo-Odongo told tbe Kenyan par–
liamtnt, "TI1ese pcople are very short–
sighted. They are isolating one tribc
against the rest of Kenya."
The other tribes in Kenya fcar the
Kikuyus want to domínate them all.
Kenyan journalist Hilary Ngweno
recently wrote: "In the past our attempts
to deal with tribalism have started and
ended with name calling. Tribalism was
a disease that evcryone else suffered
from - except members of one's own
tri be."
What the Future Holds
The future of Africa is bes<:t with
grave problems, many of them scem–
ingly insurmountable. Tribalism, like
European nationalism, líes at thc fore–
f ront of these manifold problcms. Jt
is like a cancer that cats out thc insidc,
rotting the stability, stunting the
The
PLAIN TRUTH
growth, spreading likc a malignant
tumor.
Members of the same tribe quite
naturally feel more comfortablc around
each other. They speak thc samc
language. They belong to the same
tribal societies. They takc carc: of
their own. They look out for
other members of their own tribc. If
one membcr has a high position, he is
expccted to hire a fellow tribcsman to
work for him. Othcrwisc, he is an out–
cast-a traitor to his tri be.
Intellectually, sorne Africans have
conquered their hcritage of tribal ism.
But emotionally, not so. Whcn a crisis
erupts, there is often a sudden flush of
tribal feeling, a surge of tribal pritk·,
a need for tribal protection.
At the news of thc assassination of
Mboya, a Luo professor at thc Univer–
sity of Nairobi said he rcalized for thc
first time "l was not a Kcnyan.
1
reactcd
Jike a Luo."
Because of tribal ism, scparatism, and
Africa's other burgconing problems,
hopes for the future look dim. How
can African peoplcs attain truc peacc
and prosperity, harmony and unity?
How can the divisiveness of tribal
feuds, hatreds, and animosities be ovcr–
come? What is the solution to thc
tribal inec¡uitics of Africa?
How can Africa's nations attain
política! and economic stability?
Nonc of these things are possiblc
UNTIL
the causes of today's ills are
removed. The solution to Africa's ills
demands basic changes.
Needed: Right Government
The first major need for any land is
fair goveroment. Only when all tribes
in black Africa are treated <:(lually,
with respect and tolerance, will tribill
fighting and bloodletting be stoppc-d!
Only whcn members of every tribe
shouldcr responsibility, reccivc a just
proportion of jobs, goods, and services,
and each tribc rcceives rc:cngnition,
respect, and apprt-ciatwn for its own
abilities aod talents, will thc s<:l f.
ccnteredness of tribalism be endcd.
That mcans qualified teachcrs and
instructors must be found who thcm–
sclvcs have truly becn purgcd of tribal
hostilities and animosi ti es!
Man:h, 1970
Needed: Proper Education
Black Africa cannot be raiscd to full
frecdom without making the people
responsible
for that frecdom. To makc
thc people rt-sponsible the masscs must
be
educatcd. And the masses cannot be
c:ducated unlcss thcrc are roads and
numcrous oth<:r mcans to facilitatc
romm11nirfltions.
Only 85 ycars ago there werc almost
no
ro(l(/¡
in black Africa. In much of
black Africa, whercvcr thc tsets<:
Ry
holds dominion, therc wcre no beasts
of burden
except
u·omen.
Eighty-five
yc:ars ago most Africans did not know
the whcel. The women in tropical Afri–
ca carried <:verything on thcir bncks, or
on thcir hcads.
In black Africa nc-arly the c:ntirc
population is overwhelmingly illit<:ratc:.
Thcrc are not enough tc:achcrs to help
th<:m. That's an exampk of why it is
yct impossible to cxpcct Africa to he
a fully responsiblc and enlightc:ned
continent.
Now look at another problem.
Proper Diet Lacking
Considcr thc food sorne Africans eilt.
In a poorer sector of Kano, Nigeria,
for cxamplc, littlc more than a foot away
from a scwagc drain,
PLAIN
TRUTH
cditors carne upon a native restaurant
in thc ccntcr of a dirt street - a big
iron kettlc uf red pilly-pilly soup. That
11 '(/J
thc restaurant.
Walk to thc markets where animals
are butchered. The skins are stripped
of the fat. The Aesh is placcd on !caves
at the side of thc strcct. To kec:p thc
Aic:s off, the fat is placed on thc mcat
and the Ait:s sit on thc fat. What is
not sold today is sold tomorrow. The
tcmpcrature of coursc in thc summer is
oftcn betwec:n ninety and a hundred
Fahrenhc-it. This is life in black Africa.
Only Jf we havc a hcalthy peoplc
can we havc hcalthy minds.
It
is
com–
monplace to sce children with bulging
stomachs, with navels protruding bc–
;aust thcy know little uf hygicne or
propu
dtct. Many who livc· in a tribal
stat<: gorge themselves when food is
availablc. Then they roll in thc
shac~c
witb discomfort be-cause they'vc caten
too much.
African men usually do not cat suf–
(Conlhllled mz
page
48)