THE AFRICAN AND COMMUNISM

Most African states after their independence had tried to move from imperialism to communism, but there was little success, because communism as the African understood it at that time was not something to be welcome into his continent.

The Africans believed, the communist mentality, founded on envy, and enforced by police rule, makes no appeal to them. Communism in any part of Africa in the ’60s had no meaning outside foreign domination, and since the African knew that, free men are the most fanatical defenders of their liberty, they were not ready to accept to communism.

History has taught the African many things. The African has had a collettive experience of being ruled by a foreign power, that is under the imperialist, and it is this experience that promises to be one of the formidable factors against communist penetration into Africa. It was true that communist promised to give subject peoples freedom and independence, but it was equally true that communism aimed at world domination, and that also meant African subjugation.

Most foreign powers believed the African nationalist movement was communist inspired. This point, however, must be made clear, that an African nationalist movement was an honest effort on the part of the African people to reassert their human dignity which the foreign powers have denied them. It was an honest effort to overthrow foreign powers have denied them to an inferior position. And that had nothing to do with communism.

The educated Africans with whom communism had been discussed seemed to be unanimous that the only difference there would be was "the exchange of reins". The African would still be foreign-ruled. He had been a puppet in the hands of European imperialists, and he would remain one in the hands of Russian communists.

There is a sense in which a people suffer under self-rul, but there is also a sense in which a people suffer under alien-rule. The difference being that under self-rule a people suffer with dignity, but under alien-rule, with imposed humiliation.

It seems to us, therefore, that if the former colonial powers had never occupied Africa, communism would have easily make inroads into the very heart of Africa, since the African would never have developed that inner frame of reference by which to judge the many attractive promises of the communist. He would have easily fell a victim of communism just as he did in the case of European imperialism.

During the nationalist struggle in Africa for independence, the African might have taken to communism as a desperate measure. He might have used it willingly as an instrument to get his full independence. But this is only a supposition, since there were no cases we knew of where a group of African people have organized themselves into a communist party in their nationalist struggle for independence.

Africa as a whole seemed well fortified against communism sice both the European powers and the African people have been conditioned against it. Africa as a whole has been predominantly Westernized economically, politically, socially, ideologhically, and educationally.

Pratically all highly educated Africans have been western-educated. The Russanization of Africa is a possibility immediate or remote, but not a fact, whereas the Westernization of Africa is an accomplished fact that has historical roots.

It was interesting to notice that whilst Africans were against communism, the communist party enjoyed legal recognition in Britain, France and India. Now is the time when all communist countries are moving to democracy.

By Nasir-u Iddrisu.