Two Books On Africa

Happy Africa Day

Africa Day is an annual commemoration of the founding of the African Union (AU). On May 25th, 1963, the Organization of African Unity was founded in Addis Ababa. It was established with the initial aim of ensuring the attainment of independence for African countries still under colonial rule.

In case you’ve forgotten, Africa was colonized by some Western European countries starting in 1833. Only in the late 20th Century did all African countries finally gain independence. While analysts tend to focus on African history from within this period of colonization, Martin Meredith refuses to fall into this trap with his book “The Fortunes of Africa.” Rather than simply settling for the popular option of telling African history as a story of Western European colonization, independence, and post-independence, Martin Meredith begins his book with the Egyptian foundation of human civilization. The great achievement of Martin Meredith’s “The Fortune of Africa” is that it helps to see the grandness of this blessed continent. It removes the limited scale of a purely colonial continent. If Africa will be great, it must tap from a previous memory of greatness. Thank goodness there is one. Colonialism was a big tragedy; however, it cannot define the whole history of the continent. In this book, you will learn about the great Kingdoms and empires that have risen and fallen within the African continent. The book ends with the arrival attainment of independence by African freedom fighters.

Martin Meredith’s second book begins here. The State of Africa begins with the attainment of Independence. The achievement of Independence was not an easy affair, as some Western commentators tend to portray it these days. Colonial masters did not suddenly realize their humanity and then pack their stuff and exit. No, in many countries, it was bloody and cost many lives. Africans fought for their independence. But what did African leaders do with the Independence achieved with blood and sweat? Squander it. In so many African countries, African heads of state became dictators, kleptocrats, and tribal warlords that used religion and ethnicity to hold onto power. The result was an incomprehensible human tragedy that was unprecedented. The inhumanity of colonizers towards Africans was understandable, but the inhumanity of African leaders after independence was incomprehensible. These were African leaders being destructive to their very own people. It is one thing to be looted by foreigners, but it is far more painful to be looted by those who had sworn to protect and develop these countries. This was a betrayal. Martin Meredith documents this betrayal of Africa in flowing prose.

He does not fall into the temptation of treating Africa as a single country, a temptation that I’ve fallen into even in this essay. Africa is a continent with 54 different countries. They are all so different and diverse that some countries have more than 500 languages.

While most of these countries have had unique experiences, their failures have been similar. War. Poverty. War. Dictators. Corruption.

There have been some success stories. Botswana is a sterling example. It is an example of what every African country should have done. The State of Africa tells the story of what they did. It is a sad story.

Martin Meredith comes in handy for a broad view of what has happened in Africa till 2,000. He is not a boring writer. You will enjoy him.