Même si l’oreille est très près, elle n’entend pas une fourmi qui passe (Proverbe Ehwe – Ghana, Togo).
Even if the ear is very close, it does not hear a passing ant (Ewe proverb – Togo, Ghana).
Author: Dr. Y.
I am an African in love with the history of the world, and particularly that of Africa. I am a child of love, an artist, a scientist, a lover, a friend, a human.
I am in love with nature and beautiful things, art, history, geography, travel, dance, food, science, and technology, and much more.
The Charter of Imperialism
A while ago, I published the charter of Imperialism in French (La charte de l’impérialisme). Today, I would like to bring it to you in English for all to understand how dominated Africans have been, and how that domination continues to this day. As you read this, can you give example of where each one of these articles has been applied on the African continent nowadays?
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The present “charter” was drawn up in Washington during the “slave trade”, then quietly negotiated at the “Berlin conference in 1885” while the Western powers shared Africa; renegotiated secretly in Yalta at the time of division of the world in two blocks after the Second World War and during the creation of the “League of Nations”, the ancestor of the “UN”.
I. GENERAL PROVISION
Article 1:
From the Motto: – Motto of imperialism: Governing the world and controlling the riches of the planet; Our policy is to divide and conquer, dominate, exploit and loot to fill our banks and make them the most powerful in the world.
Article 2:
No third world country constitutes a sovereign and independent state.
Article 3:
All power in Third World countries comes from us, who exert it through pressure on the leaders who are only our puppets. No organ of the Third World can attribute to it the exercise.
Article 4:
All Third World countries are divisible and their borders displaceable according to our will. Respect for territorial integrity does not exist for the Third World.
Article 5:
All dictators must put their fortunes in our banks for the security of our interests. This fortune will be used for donations and credits granted by us as assistance and development aid to Third World countries.
II. THE POLITICAL REGIME
Article 6:
Any power and government established by us is legal, legitimate and democratic. But any other power or government that does not emanate from us is illegal, illegitimate and dictatorial, regardless of its form and legitimacy.
Article 7:
Any power that opposes any resistance to our injunctions loses its legality, legitimacy and credibility. He must disappear.
III. TREATIES AND AGREEMENTS
Article 8:
We do not negotiate agreements and contracts with Third World countries, we impose what we want and they undergo our will.
Article 9:
Any agreement with another country or negotiation without our approval is null and void.
IV. FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
Article 10:
Wherever there is interest, Third World countries have no rights, in the southern countries our interests go before law and international law.
Article 11:
Freedom of expression, freedom of association and human rights only make sense in the country where the leaders oppose our will.
Article 12:
The peoples of the Third World have no opinion or right, they suffer our law and our law.
Article 13:
Third world countries have neither culture nor civilization without referring to Western civilization.
Article 14:
We are not talking about genocide, massacre, or “war crimes” or “crimes against humanity” in countries where our interests are guaranteed. Even though the number of victims is very important.
V. PUBLIC FINANCES
Article 15:
In Third World countries, no one has the right to put in their banks a ceiling of money fixed by us. When the fortune exceeds the ceiling, it is deposited in one of our banks so that profits return in the form of loans or economic development aid in cash or in kind.
Article 16:
The countries whose leaders show total submission to us, our puppets and our valets will not be entitled to the aid mentioned above.
Article 17:
Our assistance must be accompanied by strong recommendations to prevent and break the development of Third World countries.
VI. MILITARY TREATIES
Article 18:
Our armies must be always stronger and more powerful than the armies of the Third World. The limitation and prohibition of weapons of mass destruction does not concern us, but the others.
Article 19:
Our armies must help each other and unite in the war against the army of a weak country to show our supremacy and be feared by the countries of the Third World.
Article 20:
Any military intervention aims to protect our interests and those of our valets.
Article 21:
Any operation of evacuation of the nationals of the Western countries hides our real mission, that to protect our interests and those of our valets.
VII. INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
Article 22:
The UN is our instrument, we must use it against our enemies and third world countries to protect our interests.
Article 23:
Our goal is to destabilize and destroy the hostile regimes and to place our puppets under the protection of our military under cover of the mandates of the “UN” forces.
Article 24:
“UN” resolutions are texts that give us the right and the means to strike, kill and destroy countries whose leaders and peoples refuse to submit to our injunctions under the cover of the resolutions of the Council Security Council.
Article 25:
Our duty is to keep Africa and other countries of the world in the underdeveloped, the bet, the division, the wars, the chaos to dominate them, exploit them and plunder them through the “Missions” of ” United Nations “.
Article 26:
Our golden rule is the physical liquidation of Third World nationalist leaders and leaders.
Article 27:
The laws, resolutions, courts and tribunals of the “United Nations” are our tools of pressure against the leaders and leaders of the countries that defend the interests of their peoples.
Article 28:
Leaders of Western Powers can not be prosecuted, arrested or incarcerated by “UN” courts and tribunals, even if they commit “war crimes”, “genocide” or “crimes against humanity” .
SOURCE: The Royal Museum for Central Africa, in Tervuren, Belgium.
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Quote by Miriam Makeba on the Misrepresentation of Africa in the Media
“People in the United States [the West] still have a ‘Tarzan’ movie view of Africa. That’s because in the movies all you see are jungles and animals . . . We [too] watch television and listen to the radio and go to dances and fall in love.” Miriam Makeba
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Personne ne peut prendre votre place … / No One can Take Your Place …
Quand une poule couve ses oeufs, une autre ne peut se mettre à sa place (Proverbe Bassa – Cameroun). – Si vous êtes dans la détresse, votre frère ne peut se mettre à votre place.
When a hen sits on its eggs, another one cannot take its place (Bassa proverb – Cameroon). – If you are in distress, your brother cannot put himself in your place.
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German Warfare in Africa: 1884 Bombings in Kamerun and The Defiance of Kum’a Mbappé
I never thought that bombing, grenades, and warships had been used in wars in Africa prior to the 20th century. Little did I know that it had been in use in the 19th century, during the European invasion of Africa that is known as the scramble for Africa. Today we will talk about the first bombings on Cameroonian soil which occurred on 22 December 1884, when Germans on warships SMS Bismarck and SMS Olga bombed Hickory Town (Bonabéri) in Cameroons Town (modern-day Douala). What might have caused these bombings by German forces on Cameroonian soil, long before the area was ever known as Kamerun?
Well, when the 12 July 1884 Germano – Duala Treaty was signed between the representatives of the Jantzen & Thormählen firm and some of the Douala kings, King Ndumbé Lobé Bell and King Akwa, it was not a unanimous choice among the locals. As a matter of fact, most of the population was against the treaty, and sided with Kum’a Mbappé also known as Lock Priso, King of Hickorytown. The other kings had signed treaties ceding their lands to the Germans without consulting with the others. Kum’a Mbappé refused to sign the treaty. On that fateful day, when the Germans raised their flag in Hickory Town, after raising it in Joss Town, Kum’a Mbappé reacted by writing to the German consul: “Pull that flag down. No man buy we. They want to give us plenty dash, we tell them no. Leave us free and not make us plenty trouble.” The Germans, of course, did not heed the warning, and Kum’a Mbappé ordered the flag to be taken down and the mast ripped apart, a German merchant was killed in the fightings that ensued.
Kum’a Mbappé and his people courageously resisted and defeated the German army. The Germans were outnumbered. After this defeat, German consul Max Buchner wrote to Germany to send troops with real armament, cannons, bombs, grenades, in order to level out Hickory Town and kill Kum’a Mbappé who was a thorn on his side.
Opposition to German rule followed the annexation of July 1884. Lock Priso still favored the British and staged a rebellion in December 1884. Around this same time, King Bell faced off against his own people, who were largely opposed to the German rule. Bell then found himself up against the other Duala chiefs in the Duala War, which was fought over the killing of a Bonabéri Duala and Bell’s alleged refusal to share his profits with the other sub-lineages. Germans played the competitors against one another – this is a classic technique used by Europeans: divide-and-conquer. They supported the weaker King Bell to counter the powerful King Akwa.
From December 20th – 22nd, Commander Eduard von Knorr sent by Berlin decided to intervene immediately, and sent ashore a landing party of some three hundred men from warships SMS Bismarck and SMS Olga to arrest the leaders of the anti-German tribes and destroy their villages. The troops from SMS Bismarck that went ashore and landed north of Hickorytown, while the men from SMS Olga went ashore south of the village. The Germans fought their way into the town, forcing the local forces to retreat into the mangrove forest, where they could not easily be pursued. While this operation was underway, Knorr received word that other hostile locals had attacked the trading post operated by Jantzen & Thormählen in Joss Town and had captured the company’s local manager. Knorr sent SMS Olga upriver to shell enemy positions, and on 22 December, the landing parties returned to their ships, having lost one man killed aboard SMS Olga and eight men wounded between the two ships. German sailors descended on Bonabéri, and burnt the city down; the deluge of fire was endless and lasted several days. They also stole the princely bow or Tangué from Kum’a Mbappé’s ship, considered the symbol of the Belé-Belé people (people of Hickory-Town): the Tangué is a sort of a bow, carved and personalized, sort of a pennant that identifies a king among the people of these water tribes. The German consul Max Buchner wrote in his war diary,
“Lock Priso’s palace is plundered, a colorful and striking image. We set it on fire. But I have asked all the houses to be inspected before to find ethnographic treasures. My main booty is a great wooden carved work, the princely bow (tangué) of Lock Priso, which will be sent to Munich.” [“Le palais de Lock Priso est mis à sac, une image colorée et saisissante. Nous y mettons le feu. Mais j’ai demandé avant d’inspecter toutes les maisons pour trouver des trésors ethnographiques. Mon butin principal est une grande œuvre sculptée en bois, la proue princière (tangué or tangu’a bolo, in Duala language) de Lock Priso, qui sera envoyée à Munich.”]
After several days of fighting, the German army won because of their superior arms, and also the help sent by other Duala kings. Negotiations went on, and a peace treaty (i.e. a treaty acknowledging defeat) was finalized on 13 January 1885, forcing Kum’a Mbappé to accept German rule in Hickory Town. This hero of Cameroonian resistance, passed away in 1916.
The symbol of the Belé-Belé people, the Tangué, was only returned over 100 years later, after tireless work from one Kum’a Mbappé’s grandsons, Prince and professor Kum’a Ndumbe III and others. To learn more, please read the book Kum’a Mbappé Bonabéri 1884 Liberté! by Enoh Meyomesse, and visit the website of this proud descendant of Kum’a Mbappé, Prince Kum’a Ndumbe III at AfricAvenir.
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African Joke: During a Marriage Ceremony …
During a marriage ceremony, the pastor asks the famous question: “if anyone can show just cause why this couple cannot lawfully be joined together in matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace!”
All of a sudden, a pregnant woman rises up. She is holding the hand of a 5-year-old child. The flies stop buzzing. The bride faints. The groom is sweating profusely. The pastor is wondering why on earth he had to ask that question…
The pregnant woman starts walking down the aisle with her 5-year-old. All the hearts are pounding. Once in front of the pastor, she says, “It is hard to hear anything at the back… so I had to come to the front!”
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Our Article on Namibia featured on ‘The Dr. Mumbi Show’
Our article about Germany Returning Artifacts Stolen From a Namibian Freedom Fighter, Chief Hendrik Witbooi, has been featured on The Dr Mumbi Show this week. Enjoy!
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A Quote from Bernard Dadié: “Thank You God for Making me Black”
Je vous remercie mon Dieu, de m’avoir créé Noir, Je porte le Monde depuis l’aube des temps Et mon rire sur le Monde, dans la nuit crée le jour.
I thank you God, for having created me black, I carry the world since the beginning of times And my laughter on the world, at night created the day.
Bernard Binlin Dadié. The poem below is titled “I Thank you God” or “I thank you my God,” “Je vous Remercie Mon Dieu” de Bernard B. Dadie / “I Thank You God” from Bernard Binlin Dadie
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Proverbe Bornu sur les choses invariables / Bornu Proverb on Unalterable Facts
Même la nuit le lait est blanc (Proverbe Bornu – Tchad).
Even at night, the milk is white (Bornu proverb – Chad).
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Queen Amina of Zazzau: Woman As Capable as a Man
A few years ago, I wrote about Queen Amina of Zazzau: the Great Hausa Warrior born to Rule, the woman remembered today in Nigeria as ‘Amina, rana de Yar Bakwa ta San’ (Amina, daughter of Nikatau, woman as capable as a man). Crowned queen of Zazzau in 1576, Amina expanded her kingdom’s boundaries down to the Atlantic coast; she founded several cities, and personally led an army of 20,000 soldiers to numerous battles. During her 34-year reign, she commanded the construction of a defensive mural around each military camp that she established. Later, those camps evolved into prosperous cities within those walls, and some can still be seen today in northern Nigeria. Those cities are known as walls ‘ganuwar of Amina’ or ‘Amina’s walls‘.
Queen Amina’s achievement was the closest that any ruler had come in bringing the region now known as Nigeria under a single authority. Enjoy this trailer for the movie Amina by Izu Ojukwu and the website for it: AminaQueenOfZazzau.com; the BBC also made a cartoon about her. With Hollywood’s recent lack of imagination and appropriation of other people’s culture, I would not be surprised that they copy her story to bring it onto big screen. However, Africans should put forward their own stories and value them… not wait for some imagination-hungry entity to come grab it, to all of a sudden value their own history (Black Panther).
African Heritage 