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Remembering Our Own Soweto
- By Carl Collins Ogunshola Oshodi
- Published 07/5/2007
- Africa & World
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Carl Collins Ogunshola Oshodi
Oshodi writes from Nigeria.
View all articles by Carl Collins Ogunshola Oshodi
All the greatest things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word. Freedom, Justice; Duty; Mercy; Sacrifice; Hope. We who have come together here today, Representing almost all the ethnic groups and national life and nearly all the creeds and churches of whatever our traditions are of the African world. This small audience filling a famous hall - we also can express our purpose in a single word; "Africa ".
At School we learned from Maps hung on the walls, that there is a continent calledAfrica . I remember quite well, being taught this as a child, and after living this 24yrs of my life, I still believe it is true.
However, professional geographers now tell us that the continent ofAfrica is really only on the tropics of the Himalayan Land-mass. I must tell you that I fell that this word be an arid and uninspiring conclusion and, for myself, I distinctly prefer what I was taught when I was an adolescent young boy.
The real demarcation between Africa and the black man is no chain of mountains, no natural frontier, but a system of belief and ideas, which we call African civilization (The preservation of our ancient culture) in the rich pattern of this culture, there are many strands; the Yoruba belief in Ifa; the Christian message of compassion and redemption, the Egyptian love of philosophical truth, beauty and goodness; the Ethiopian genius for law.Africa is a spiritual conception. But if men cease to hold that conception in their minds; cease to feel its worth in their hearts, it will die - this is what the Neo black movement is set to prevent, that Africa Heritage should not die.
These are not my words, but they are my faith; and we are here to proclaim our resolve that the spiritual conception ofAfrica shall not die. We declare, on the contrary, that it shall live and shine and cast its redeeming illumination upon the world of confusion and woe. Honestly apart from the theme of this Essay, challenging the secondary school students towards academic excellence; above is what has instinctually brought us together here, to this very moment and that is what is going to keep us all together - however sharply or even deeply we may be divided on many other matters-until our goal is reached and our hopes are realized.
In our task of reviving the glories and happiness of ancientAfrica , her culture and her prosperity, it can certainly be said that we started at the bottom of her fortunes. There is the fairest most fertile area of the globe; the influence and the power of Africa have for countries shaped and dominated the course of history. The sons and daughters of Africa have gone forth and carried their messages to every part of the world. Religion, Law, Arts Science and Industry; through the world all bear in so many lands under every sky and every clime the stamp of African origin and faces of African influence.
What isAfrica now in this present time? It is rubble heaps, a channel house, a breeding ground of pestilence and hate. Ancient nationalistic feuds and modern ideological factions distract and infuriate the unhappy, hungry population. Evil teachers urge the paying off old scores with mathematical precision and false-guided points of uninspiring retribution at the path to prosperity. In the real sense of the matter, mathematics will always lead Africa to higher truth, and with mathematics being encourage by and wide, it will serve as a catalyst in the redirection of all minds to the actual tenets of hope-actuated dreams, Africa can attain higher truth. In this regard, is there then to be no respite? Has Africa 's mission come to an end? Has she noting to give the world but the contagion of the Bla
ck Death? Are her peoples to go on Harry and fomenting one another by war and vengeance until all that invest human life with dignity and comfort has been obliterated?
Are the states ofAfrica to continue forever to squander the first of their toil upon the erection of new barriers of moral decadences and the widespread of amorality? Are we Africans to become incapable with all our tropical and colonial dependencies, with all our long-created trading connection with all that modern production and transportation can do, of even everything famine and inflation from the mass of our people? Are we all, through our poverty and our quarrel, forever to be a burden and a danger to the rest of the world? Do we imagine that we can be carried forward indefinitely upon the shoulders broad though they may be - of these young youths like myself and of my age bracket? The time has come when these questions must be answered. This is the hour of choice and surely the choice is plain. If the people of Africa resolve to come together and work together for natural advantage to exchange blessing instead of curse, they still have it in their power to sweep away the horrors and miseries which surrounds them (us) and to allow the stream of freedom, happiness and abundance to begin again their healing flow.
This is the Supreme opportunity, and if it be cast away, no one can predict that it will ever return or what the resulting catastrophe will be. In my experience of the enterprise, it is often a mistake to try to settle everything at once far, on the skyline, we can see the peak of the delectable mountains, the fountain of solution switching close. But we cannot tell what lies between us and them. We know where we want to go but we cannot foresee all the stages of the journeys or plan our marches as this "SOWETO " day celebration and the incident, which has been occurring typifying those brutalities worse than "SOWETO " captioned "OUR OWN SOWETO". We are not acting in the field of forces, but in the domain of option. We cannot give orders, we can only persuade for change in our national and social mind-set. We must go forward step by step.
It is for us at this stage to attempt to define or prescribe the structure of theNigeria construction. We ourselves are content to present the idea of Africa , in which our country will play a decisive part as a moral, cultural and spiritual conception to which all can rally without detergence about structure. In the ordinary day-to-day affairs of life, men and women expect rewards for successful exertion and this is often right and reasonable. But those who serve cause as majestic and high as one needs no rewards; nor are our aims limited by the span of human life. If success must come upon our every existence as Africans and if it must be soon, we shall be proclaimed by the march of future event and the judgment of happier ages, we shall have done our duty and done our best.
In order to make a change in this era of Humanity, we must follow concomitantly the African Trinity of " Reason, courage and Grace". As posit by one of the Founding Fathers of the Neo Black Movement of Africa.
A time, where Africans should strike to the trinity, which the NBM hold dear. In our daily lives this should serve as a guiding principles towards living. It should be applied in words and in deeds at all times.
As a true African, one should at all times have a positive and genuine reason to do whatever he wants to do and make sure that whatever he does in words and deeds does not bring shame to him / her firstly as a true African, secondly that it does not bring shame to Africa and the Black man, no matter where they are. Thirdly that the deeds does not bring shame to our common Humanity. Once you are sure of a good reason behind whatever you want to do then comes the "COURAGE" to go ahead and carry out your positive deeds.
Finally when the good results of what you have courageously done comes to the know of all and sundry and it is acceptable, you can now begin to walk through "GRACE" with your head held up high as a result of the glory of what you have done. This was the trinity of the Neo-Black Movement of Africa; REASON, COURAGE and GRACE, which was, posit by Mr. Benny Ojishua in its 'Philosophy and Principles of NBM's Trinity'. This Ideological principle of the NBM was built upon this unshakable concept.
At School we learned from Maps hung on the walls, that there is a continent called
However, professional geographers now tell us that the continent of
The real demarcation between Africa and the black man is no chain of mountains, no natural frontier, but a system of belief and ideas, which we call African civilization (The preservation of our ancient culture) in the rich pattern of this culture, there are many strands; the Yoruba belief in Ifa; the Christian message of compassion and redemption, the Egyptian love of philosophical truth, beauty and goodness; the Ethiopian genius for law.
These are not my words, but they are my faith; and we are here to proclaim our resolve that the spiritual conception of
In our task of reviving the glories and happiness of ancient
What is
Are the states of
This is the Supreme opportunity, and if it be cast away, no one can predict that it will ever return or what the resulting catastrophe will be. In my experience of the enterprise, it is often a mistake to try to settle everything at once far, on the skyline, we can see the peak of the delectable mountains, the fountain of solution switching close. But we cannot tell what lies between us and them. We know where we want to go but we cannot foresee all the stages of the journeys or plan our marches as this "
It is for us at this stage to attempt to define or prescribe the structure of the
In order to make a change in this era of Humanity, we must follow concomitantly the African Trinity of " Reason, courage and Grace". As posit by one of the Founding Fathers of the Neo Black Movement of Africa.
A time, where Africans should strike to the trinity, which the NBM hold dear. In our daily lives this should serve as a guiding principles towards living. It should be applied in words and in deeds at all times.
As a true African, one should at all times have a positive and genuine reason to do whatever he wants to do and make sure that whatever he does in words and deeds does not bring shame to him / her firstly as a true African, secondly that it does not bring shame to Africa and the Black man, no matter where they are. Thirdly that the deeds does not bring shame to our common Humanity. Once you are sure of a good reason behind whatever you want to do then comes the "COURAGE" to go ahead and carry out your positive deeds.
Finally when the good results of what you have courageously done comes to the know of all and sundry and it is acceptable, you can now begin to walk through "GRACE" with your head held up high as a result of the glory of what you have done. This was the trinity of the Neo-Black Movement of Africa; REASON, COURAGE and GRACE, which was, posit by Mr. Benny Ojishua in its 'Philosophy and Principles of NBM's Trinity'. This Ideological principle of the NBM was built upon this unshakable concept.
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3 Responses to "Remembering Our Own Soweto" 
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said this on 05 Jul 2007 5:32:55 PM EDT
There is no way neo-black movement can take credit for preserving the heritage of Africa.That is a tall ambition, Black-Axe is quite inconsequential in issues like that.Please drop that exuberance, its way above your petty board.I am surprised that like your infant days you ealier refered, you are still carrying on with that contraption you are fed with at Black Axe initiation grounds! It is perfidious that at 24 you have joined a secret cult that engages in baseless killings of fellow students and come here to talk of preservation of african heritage.What a cheek! I wish i am replying a numskull lord, not a textbook sibling like you!
Wait until you graduate and join the rank and file of job seekers while your so-called lords cruise along in politis.They wont even take your salute even if you were the emblem like a cap.Grow up and read your books.
i rate you poor because your logic is poor and your grammar is apologetic.Go back to school and pray for ASUU to stop going on strike.
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said this on 06 Jul 2007 5:37:08 AM EDT
Dear Umuidi,
First I accept all you have said and your accessment on issues concerning the Black-Axe, or perhaps the Neo-Black Movement of AFRICA NBM. If is a petty that such a wonderful movement concieved by a well thought founders has taken this dimension. We all fret for the generation of Blackist who are blood hungry killing innocent students and youths alike. I do not share in this nonesense, i was not blended to follow this rediculous mondus operandi, a dick-head bunch of students raping, stealing, and all sort of vices, just to prove a malicious and barbaric point of supremacy. I have had a enough of this bullshit going on around the courtyard of the NBM.
But if you must criticize me sir, i crave your indulgence not to make a haste generalization, such that you will end up reframing from your earlier statements. If you will bitterly criticize my stand in my resolve and hope in Neo-Blackism, you will be right in your opinion and assessment based on the past involvement in confraternal clashes within the campuses amongs waring factions which may either involve the black axe against mafite, or Black axe against Buccaneers, or against the eiye confraternity etc. Honestly, I share in your blatant ourburst; for it is in my dreams to see a community blooming with peace and non-violence. This of course takes me memory lane to the words of Gandhi in his philosophy of "Ahimsa - as a way to Human Preservation". Sir, I can feel you bitterness in the past and present involvement in all of the calculated genocide of the past and present, like the issues arising between the Black Axe and Eiye confraternity in Benin, and Black Axe with mafite confraternity in the east and many other areas. I have traced your statements as an anti-cultism in all ramification. But let me point here that what i joined isn't a cult, but a confraternity of Black Consciousness.
Whatever you say about my grammar cannot be subject of debate at this time around, i m not a grammarian, neither do i major in English. It is not a my first language even if the lingual franca is English. However so, With your "Numskull Lord" analysis you reinterated earlier on, i agree with you totally. For years now, i have noticed that these students where isolated from the major activities of what NBM really entails. there was also a time when the NBM of lords was deculted while the NBM of the campus was culted. This is an irony in a nutshell. I fought tooth and nail to correct the impression that we are one, and whatever those boys in campus does, it all boils down to our head...But for certain, let me therefore inform you that actually there are 86% of these Numskull Lords in NBM, and they are currupting and defiling the originaly, wishes and aspiration of the founders. This is not to say that there are no capable lords who can not effect a change, but the change they think can only come from the outside. Now with your approach to confraternal resolution, i see very little hope if you by your grammatic standard, talk this way; the great Island of "Ahimsa" cannot be realizable. My aim is to culled people like you and others, it doesn't mean you must be an axemen to affect the change and the docileness within the confines of NBM, we are talking about lives here, i need hands from all quaters and all confraternity, be it pyrates, Buccaneers, Mafite and all others to start this "change". I have sensed a conspiracy within some national prospect to eliminate the flourishing and ambitious youths. Some set of generation brackets are out to present future prosperity which is only achievable if the youth are well organised. But the case is the opposite with the past and present killing of the youths by the youth.
Now, the ethical question is, to what end are they killing themselves? What is the target? Do you really think it is a supremacy war? This question is meant for all and sundry who think there is no way out. Something is afront, we should all team up and cure our common cancer. If you are not in the youth bracket, then help us and let us make this country great and the blackman a strength in the hopes of Africa. If my semantic is apologetic, then i agree with that, if that i will be rediculed and cursed because i know there is hope, and others like you do not believe in the hope, then, let it be that, i alone will rot in such an escapade. I believe in the future, and that my generation will make the future great. But the conspiracy theory here is, something is wrong somewhere. Why is it that the youths within the generation spur of your time and mine started killing themselves? Why? Why is that before this time, there wasn't nothing like confraternal clashes and beefs? Haven't you asked yourself, what has your contribution be. Well if your criticism is because you are a member of other confraternity with your writing style, then i can't help it but appeal to you to join in this crusade to liberate the youth. I employ you to drop all sentiments and let us be collectively encouraged to fight this battle, let us war against the principalities and powers within the Nigerian polity, whose plot is to eliminate the youthful generation, and create a spasm of cultural lost, and sacrilagious (whatever the spellings is) morality. Dear Mr. Umuidi, we are not fighting a battle here, we are trying to reconcile all that has been vexed with the past, present, so that we can collective attain a great target of future prospects.
When i was in school, i learnt well, i faced my studies, and i came out with flying colours. Go ask the University of Jos. I still remain the person i m. I have always pursue academic and moral excellence. During my time as an Under-graduate, i was the best in my departments, and i still had the overall GP in the University apart from Professor Monday Mavgwart. So quench your utterance in trying to bittle me, even though i m 24yrs, that doesnt give you the privilege to insult my person, even though you are older, at least respect me because i m a human being, and a necessary creature of God, the father of Humanity. Look i m not trying to bambozoo you with some aride philosophy, they are not my words, but like i said, they are my faith. A great "AFRICA". I have read my books, i have leanrt alot, from experience, with the little years i have spent in life. I knew life at a very tender (not to go deep into my childhood), but i had it tougher to get a full vibe of what life talked about. And i bet you didn't pass through this path i had passed through. Like every other persons in life, we all though are one before God, but were created differently with regards to endowed human potentials.
In all, My reply to your Argument is, let us Unity by all means necessary, for we are brothers in one resolve. And this is, to make AFRICA great. I remain i an Axeman, and will always be. I have hope for the blackman worldwide, I have great concerns for the precarious situation happening in Nigeria amongs youth within and outside the University. But all i have to say is, because i m convinced there is a conspiracy theory in the whole of this act, I employ all to join hands and liberate the youth. We cannot fight from the outside, we can only fight from the inside, at least by this act, victory is certainly.
All the same, i greet you my Elder!
Yours
Dr. Carl-Collins Ogunshola Oshodi (Jr) - Rotary Peace Scholar
Bsc - Applied Psychology (Specialty Para-psychology and clinical Option) University of Jos, Nigeria
Msc - (Philosophy - Metaphysics Option) - Berea College/University of Kentucky USA
PhD Candidacy - Peace and Conflict Resolution. University of Wollongong, Australia
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said this on 21 Apr 2008 5:39:40 AM EDT
aye axemen, aye axemen, aye axemen, may our axe never go blunt!!!! we are the ayes and we stand for justice, aye axemen...
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