Celebrating Tajudeen: Horace Campbell reflects on Pan-Africanism

On 25 May 2009 we were awakened by the shocking news of the passing of a great son of Africa, a great pan-Africanist, an intellectual, a friend, a father and husband; the Secretary General of the Global Pan-African Movement, Dr. Tajudeen Abdul Raheem. May his soul rest in peace.

On Monday 28 May 2012 the Global Pan-African Movement Secretariat based in Kampala organised a memorial public lecture to honour him. The key note speaker was a renowned pan-Africanist, teacher and writer, Prof Horace Campbell from Syracuse University.

Hon. Kahinda Otafire, the Chairman of the Global Pan-African Movement and also Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in the Ugandan Government gave the opening remarks, stating that Dr. Tajudeen had volunteered his youthful years after his doctorate at Oxford University to come and serve at the Pan-African Secretariat as a Secretary General since 1994. He was confirmed in this position by the seventh Pan-African Congress that took place in Kampala in April 994. Chairman Kahinda Otafire further stated that the Pan-African Movement will forever be indebted to Dr. Tajudeen

Prof. Horace Campbell in his introductory remarks said that pan-Africanism came about as an effort to restore the dignity and values of the African people in Africa and the diaspora, who had been dehumanised. He mentioned great pan-Africanists who had paid the ultimate price for this cause and these included Mohammed Bouzazi of Tunisia who demanded dignity as a human being and Dr. Tajudeen Abdul Raheem – the Secretary General of the Pan-African Movement. He further mentioned the African leaders that were assassinated and these included Patrice Lumumba in 1961 and Gaddafi in 2011. He made reference to a book by Dr. Tajudeen – Speaking Truth to Power – and asserted that an idea can never be assassinated.

He highlighted the following dimensions of pan-African freedom, including: the multifaceted nature of transformation; transformation of material conditions; transformation of consciousness; transformation of political relations; women and definition of pan-Africans; knowledge systems and breaking fundamentalism; lessons from the reconstruction of Africa, environmental repair and the ideas of Cheik Anta Diop towards a federated peoples of Africa; what does freedom mean in the 21st Century?

The evolution of pan-Africanism was traced to the times of W.E.B Dubois who called the four Pan-African Congresses (between 1919-1945) and left a legacy of the struggle for intellectual integrity. Popular movements in Africa include: the anti/apartheid struggle in South Africa and other parts of southern Africa; struggles against imperialism and military destabilisation; balkanization and wars and the popular April 6 Movement which made clear demands of ending poverty and unemployment.

He went on to talk about the effect of Egypt, which was defined as a sudden overthrow of the existing social, economic and political order. Nkrumah once stated that “when the spirit of the oppressed people revolts against its oppressors, that revolt continues until freedom is achieved. We have not the arms with which to fight as the Americans did against the British, but we have the moral and the spiritual forces at our disposal which outnumber all the physical weapons.”

Horace highlighted what pan-Africanism looked like yesterday and the challenges today by pointing to the the Aids pandemic; the role of women and youth and the necessity to redefine pan-Africanism; the Pan-African Congress and pan-African Leaders of yesterday and how thegeneration of the anti-colonial period managed to resist colonialism.

He further stated that there is a need for Africa to reposition itself in the 21st century and utilise technologies like the new concept of energy where humans will control computers and appliances; will be able to re-arrange the shape of objects and scan DNA cells for signs of danger, amongst others. With bio-technology, Africa will have the goal of replacing the petrochemical industry and becoming a major source of new energy. There is an urgent need for Africans to undo medical apartheid on the continent in the name of Aids and mass deaths. This can only be achieved through promoting the concept of health for all. This would also address the issue of mothers dying while giving birth, a passionate topic for Dr. Tajudeen.

Prof Horace expressed the need to address the challenges of global warming in Africa. This he said needs a binding agreement bridging the emissions gap through the Pan Africa Climate Justice Alliance. The cascading negative effects of global warming will affect agricultural productivity. He further stated that global warming requires earth democracy: the right to live and to exist; the right to be respected; the right to regenerate its bio-capacity and to continue its vital cycles and processes free of human alteration; the right to maintain their identity and integrity as differentiated beings, self regulated and interrelated; the right to water as a source of life; the right to clean air and the right to comprehensive health.

He emphasised that “any pan concept is an exercise in self-definition by a people, aimed at establishing a broader redefinition of themselves than that which had so far been permitted by those in power. Invariably, however, the exercise is undertaken by a specific social or class which speaks on behalf of the population as a whole.”

Prof Campbell noted that other countries like China and Japan are cooperating to secure their economies against dependence on the collapsing United States dollar through the Yuan –Yen trade plan, 2011; African countries also need to come together and secure their economies. Setting up a United African Bank and creating an African currency were some of the suggestions he gave. African Unity is more important today than before as it is the only viable weapon against the imperialist forces.

He said current outstanding issues for pan-Africanism to include Haiti and reparations; independence in the Caribbean; independence for the Western Sahara; the situation of Afro-Latin Americans and the anti-racist agenda of the 21st century; Pan-African Health networks; sharing knowledge and investing in care, not death. The crucial challenge facing the young people now is manipulation through the social media. A case in point is the Kony 2012 viral video that has since been accessed by millions of young people yet it is a public relations document for AFRICOM and pan-Africanists should fight back.

On a positive note, Prof Campbell said that 2010-2020 is Africa’s decade. Africa is the only continent experiencing high economic growth rates and is projected to grow further and is now the fastest growing region in the world! It also has the highest population growth, the majority of which are youth – a productive stage. This is also a decade of revolution and unity for Africa, as the examples of Egypt and Nigeria demonstrate. He mentioned the alternatives available to Africa to include socialising the ownership of monopolies, de-finacialising the management of the economy and de-globalising international relations.

He examined the priorities for Africa and these include: agriculture and fisheries, infrastructure, water and energy, health care, housing, education, telecommunications, transport, ICT, preservation of languages and cognitive skills.

He concluded by setting the research agenda for Africa for the 21st century to include transformation of water and energy resource, the great green wall and engineering for unity, the bio-economy and solar democracy – implications for the reorganisation of agriculture, repair and reparations for environmental democracy, infrastructure for pan-African unity, health networks and coordination of access to medicine and social services and Africa canal and water transfer systems.

The lecture ended with an announcement of the great green wall of Africa campaign where the young people will plant trees covering 7,775 km of trees, an inspiration from the late prof. Wangari Muta Maathai.

The master of ceremonies, Maj (Rtd) Okwiri Rabwoni then announced that it was time for questions and answers from the audience. The audience was a charged one, full of young pan-Africanists who were passionate about the status quo, the future of Pan-Africanism and issues of accountability by leadership.

Key questions were about the war in Somalia, the rights of gays and the stand of pan-Africanism; the divisions in the Ugandan national chapter; the relevance of the Egyptian revolution and implications for other African democracies; maternal health; integration of African economies and the rights of Ugandan workers.

In response, Prof. Campbell asserted that the Egyptian revolution will change the world at the cross roads of humanity between the Pan-Arab and Pan-Arab-African world. He re-affirmed the need to address the health and reproductive rights question in Africa, especially by addressing mental health issues, and the need to promote people-friendly public priorities. On the integration of African economies, he stated that it was advantageous in Africa because the ordinary people have integrated ahead of their governments and all that the governments need to do is to make people-friendly policies to facilitate this integration and economically transform the quality of their lives. An example of the Lamu project in Kenya was given and this project will greatly improve the transport networks amongst the countries of East Africa. He further remarked that East Africa is a centre for destabilization because the United States can no longer compete with China, India and Brazil. Africa has an advantage of diversity with examples like the 2004 languages; religious tolerance, and respect for African religions. On the war in Somalia, Horace stated that there is need for a pan-African approach and not a foreign mooted approach on resolving the Somalia question. On the rights of Ugandan workers, Prof Campbell stated that the Ugandan government should have laws, which protect the rights of Ugandan workers and their trade unions. This should include the health, safety, well being, and food, nutrition of the Ugandan workers; the youth and the women.

Hon Otafire during his response stated that the Pan-African Movement organises public lectures to allow ideas to flourish to the advantage of budding pan-Africanists. They are a means of passing on the torch to the young generation. On homosexuality, Kahinda stated that homosexuality long existed in African societies and this is justified by the existence of corresponding local words in our languages. But he, however, differed with the advocacy campaign to promote and further spread the practice given that, in his estimation, sexuality is a private matter. On the divisions in the national Pan-African Chapters, he advised the warring parties to stop exposing their bankruptcy of ideas and hold dialogues to resolve their differences. He affirmed that pan-Africanism concerns the idea that we should “organise ... not agonise with one struggle on many fronts,” and that is should move away from intrigue and in-fighting.

The meeting resolved that a Dr. Tajudeen Scholarship fund should be set up and this fund should be used to sponsor young people to study pan-Africanism in universities. It was also resolved that the government of Uganda should support Tajudeen’s family in recognition of the many years he worked for the Pan-African Movement without a salary.

In his closing remarks, Hon Otafire thanked Prof Campbell for a visionary presentation on Pan-Africanism and hoped that the participants had benefited from the profusion of ideas.

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