Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Of colonialism and us today

To believe that when we use the term colonialism, is to romanticise that epoch in our history, is to misconstrue its impact on how we govern ourselves. Fact is.


In our obtaining governance, we have never really unshackled ourselves from the influence of colonialism on our governance systems. Be it political governance or natural resource governance. The colonial paradigm of citizen and subject* is now epitomised in the urban-rural dichotomy. In our context, the urban - are the colonisers; and, the rural - the colonised. Thence, it is imperative that we must often understand the context of use of the term colonialism. It is not just about the past. It is more about the present.

Thereof, I am often content when, in part, the current President reiterates the need to walk with those we always leave behind, those that fall before us. The ones we deem ourselves colonial masters over - the rural. Need I remind you. How we stiffen our noses, how English, when amidst them? Yet, when back in our moments of colonial glory, we salivate in anticipation of that fat cheque wrapped in caviare.

Kozo.

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* I learned and understood the citizen and subject paradigm in 1997, at Mahmood Mamdani public lecture at some prestigious university in South Africa. He was launching his book, "Citizen and Subject - Contemporary African and the Legacy of Late Colonialism". Well. He was a controversial chap. Last we heard was. They unceremoniously showed him the door!