The recent row over the racist comments by Nobel Prize Winner, James Watson, have concerned his allegation that Africa is underdeveloped because Africans are more stupid. He is of course exploiting his celebrity to give credence to ideas that run counter to the overwhelming scientific consensus, although the question is not even within his own area of professional competence.
Yet, his offensive views do create a popular resonance, because Africa and Africans are nearly always reported as victims, and African affairs are typically factually reported or fictionally portrayed only as they impact on white people.
It is therefore important to look at the role that Africans themselves play in their own liberation, and the role of the “liberal” Western imperialisms in thwarting them.
Twenty years ago this month, the French government engineered a coup d’état that overthrew Burkino Faso’s socialist government. led by Captain Thomas Sankara: one of the most progressive governments that Africa has ever seen.
Captain Sankara had been a popular and left-wing army officer. In a small country his progressive politics and charismatic life style, playing as a guitarist in a Jazz band, and driving a motorbike, had made him a nationally prominent figure.
In the developing world the army officer corps can sometimes be progressive, as their patriotism can be linked to a desire to overcome the exploitation of the nation, and to overcome the scandal of poverty, and the army provides a structure for intelligent sons of working people to gain an education and influence. The best known progressive former soldier is of course Colonel Hugo Chavez!
So in 1981, the military government invited Sankara to become Secretary of State for Information, but he quickly resigned after he devloped concerns that the government was not ruling in the interests of working people. A further coup in 1982 gave Sankara the position of Prime Minister, and at this stage the French deliberately intervened.
The neo-colonialist enforcer of the former French Empire, Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, the son of the French President flew is alleged to have flown to the Burkino Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, in May 1983. Mitterrand had a reputation for unprincipled relationships with African politicians. Sankara and two other ministers were arrested and placed under house arrest, all of them members of the “Communist Officers’ Group” (Regroupement des officiers communistes – ROC)
Fearing the worst there was a popular uprising in Sankara’s support, and in August a coup led by ROC member, Blaise Compaoré, made Sankara President.
The next four years saw a remarkable record of progress in the country, which Sankara renamed Burkino Faso, instead of the name given to their land by the colonialists, Upper Volta. Government policy prioritized fighting corruption, promoting reforestation, averting famine, education and health and women’s rights.
It is important to recognise that the emphasis on reforestation makes Burkino Faso’s socialist government one of the world’s pioneers in promoting sustainability and defending the environment.
Sankana acted against the privileges of the tribal chiefs such as their right to receive tribute payment and obligatory labour. And Comités de Défense de la Révolution were formed as armed, popular organisations of the poor and labouring classes.
The greatest gains were in the area of women’s rights, and his socialist government included a large number of women. Improving women’s status was one of Sankara’s explicit goals, an unprecedented policy priority in West Africa. His government banned female circumcision, condemned polygamy, and promoted contraception. The RDP [Rassemblement Démocratique et Populaire] government was also the first African government to publicly recognize that AIDS is a major threat to Africa.
Sankara also acted against corruption, and government privilege. He sold most of the government fleet of Mercedes cars and made the Renault 5 (the cheapest car sold in Burkina Faso at that time) the official service car of the ministers.
But his determination to prevent government ministers enriching themselves at the expense of the poor contributed to his undoing. Sankana had also made a strategic alliance with Libya, and France was at war with Libya in Chad, that borders Burkino Faso, so the French saw an increasing strategic need to overthrow Sankara . An unprincipled and dirty alliance was born between corrupt Burkinabé officials and the neo-colonialist French.
On October 15, 1987 Sankara was killed along with twelve other officials in a coup d’état organised by his former colleague Blaise Compaoré. At the time of his death Thomas Sankara was just 39 years old.
The weaknesses were not all external. It had been known that there was a serious crisis in the national revolutionary council. Its principal leaders, formerly united, no longer agreed about orientation and strategy for action. And increasingly, the four historic leaders, Thomas Sankara, Blaise Compaoré, Boukary Lingani and Henri Zongo, appeared to be ‘too many’ to lead the revolutionary movement. But the serious crisis that was engulfing the RDP leaders remained almost competelly concealed from the grass-roots militants, so the leadership had cut themselves off from the creative imagination and experience of their supporters, and so members of the Comités were unprepared for and surprised by the magnitude and the brutality of the October events.
Captain Sankara was in fact the first to realise the need to democratise, which he professed in his speech of August 1987 in Bobo Dioulasso: ‘Burkina Faso needs a people of conviction, not a vanquished people subjugated to their fate.’ He then began the genuine liberalisation of the RDP releasing several political and common law prisoners.
It seems to have been Sankara’s turn to deepening the popular base of the revolution that caused the other leaders of the government to turn against him. Things accelerated after a speech by Sankara in August 87 in Bobo Dioulasso, when he said: ‘in recent years, we have sometimes made errors. They must not re-occur in the scared land of Burkina Faso…we must prefer to take one step together with the people rather than ten steps without the people’. After this speech, his opponents started plotting to take power, had they allowed Thomas Sankara time to democratise the RDP it would have deprived them of a pretext for the coup.
Some eye witnesees reported French ground troops being involved in the coup. Although Sankara was dead and their cause hopeless, several of the Comités rose up and fought the army in defence of the revolution and for the vision of a better life that Sankara had offered.
A week prior to his death Sankara had made a speech that said: “while revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas.” We should remember this great fighter for socialism.
Tawfiq Chahboune on said:
It’s now down to Watson to explain why white Europeans were obviously more stupid when African civilisation was more advanced. And then to explain what happened to these dumb white Europeans’ brain structure and neural connections to make them smarter and become more advanced. This weird cognitive evolution occurred at the same time that African cognitive capacities, for some unknown evolutionary reason, sharply reversed to make them dumb as stumps. I’d like to see a cognitive theory that explains that. Could it possibly be that there is no such theory and that all humans are pretty much identical? That political and economic factors explains this mighty conundrum?
I’m surprised that Watson has not read his distinguished colleague Jared Diamond. All the answers to this kind of nonsense can be found in “Guns, Germs and Steel”. Add European imperialism, stir in the enforced economic packages by our old friends the IMF and World Bank, top it up with the dictatorships the liberals love so much, then I suggest that the last thing that can be predicted is a dynamic and egalitarian economy and a society producing Nobel Prize winners by the dozen. A shorter answer, however, is black people are stupid. Take your pick.
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Andy on said:
There is in fact an argument (and I haven’t checked the science but it is plausible) that the genetic diversity in Sub-saharan Africa is greater than in Europe, so any genetic component in human intelligence would lead to there being more naturally exceptional geniuses from Africa.
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Jason on said:
Intelligence is a complex subject. This is perhaps partly and anecdotally illustrated by an extremly intellignet man in one field, Watson, making a very crass unevidenced and poorly constructed claim in another field.
There may be some evidence for genetic inheritability of some traits of intelligence but even if this is a small factor it is far outwieghed by social factors ranging from nutrition to access to education to love to using your brain to being given the resources etc, there is no such thing as ‘race’ as a biolgical entity and though there are different populations with different averages for certain items IQ tests are of no importance whatsoever given the impossibility of accounting for different variables.
There’ds some fairly basic discussion of such issues here http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/intelligence/index.shtml#keypoints
It is fairly obvious that the problems of Africa are caused by chronic underinvestment, wars sponsored by the imperialist countries, and the ripping of resources from the earth (the sort of factors often covered by the blanket term ‘poverty’ but as a gold miner from Congo once said our tragedy is not that we are poor but that we are rich and have our resources stolen from us (can’t find reference at the moment but the HRW report The Curse of Gold amply substantatiates his claim http://hrw.org/reports/2005/drc0505/)
The Sankara article is interesting. I don’t know a lot about Burkina Faso but certainly sounds like its worth knowing more.
I do knpow that when i worked in Ethiopia for two years in a country that not only has one of the lowest secondary school enrollemtn rates but has a government supported by ours that rountinely kills teacher trade unionists and students one of the most inspiring struggles I witnessed was by Ethiopian students in Dilla University who organised a strike at great risk to their lives to successfully raise their living standards, get a legalised student union and publication.
Workers the world over are the same and have the same power to transform our lives and our world- the rich elite who fight the wars and f— up this beautiful world of ours revel in our division and fear in trembling at the potential for working class unity. The students in Ethiopia taught me that- well OK I beleived it already but seeing people invovled in a life and death struggle and actually winning if only for a time is truly inspiring.
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Andy on said:
Thanks for that Jason.
I think it is important to recognise the enormous historical and practical difficulties facing socialists in the developing world, and how much some of the progressive governments achieve, against all odds.
To take one example, despite the tragedy the NJM did make a lasting impact in Grenada in terms of boosting literacy and economic development.
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Becky on said:
Strangely enough I was the last Western (read “white”) person to interview Sankara when I visited in September 1987 before he was assassinated. I didn’t realise at the time what a great privilege it was, as I was only 11 (I had won a Newsround “Newshound” competition to make a couple of TV packages on aid projects in Burkina and was there with a fellow winner, who was 14). Nonetheless he did make a big impression on me, as he was interesting (and interested in us), modest (both in his manner and in his surroundings – unfortunately he probably could have done with more security, it turned out), and had such great ideas for bringing change. I remember seeing the cheap official cars outside (must have been the Renaults); he had also decreed that everyone should plant a tree on their birthdays to stop the encroaching Sahel desert. He didn’t seem to mind stopping work to chat to a couple of kids! I remember we signed off our TV report lamenting his death and saying that we “hope his ideas still live on”. If only they had.
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Ger Francis on said:
Fascinating and touching story Becky. Califorina Newsreel have produced a new DVD about ‘Sankara’s brief four-year rule and his revolutionary program for African self-reliance as a defiant alternative to the neo-liberal development strategies imposed on Africa by the West, both then and today’:
http://www.newsreel.org/nav/title.asp?tc=CN0205
.
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Andy on said:
Ger is right there Becky – your story makes it all seem much more human, and much more tragic.
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Mitterrand Jean christophe on said:
Sir,
You wrote a wrong information:
“The neo-colonialist enforcer of the former French Empire, Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, the son of the French President flew to the Burkino Faso’s capitall, Ouagadougou, in May 1983. Mitterand had a reputation for ruthless intervention against progressive African politicians, and immediately Sankara and two other ministers were arrested and placed under house arrest, all of them members of the “Communist Officers’ Group” (Regroupement des officiers communistes – ROC)”
I was’nt in Upper Volta in 1983 (this contry change his name later) when Thomas Sankara was arrested with two other ministers. You should check your information…
Later a had good relationships with President Sankara and I met him several times in Ouagadougou or Paris.
Secondly you write than I “had a reputation for ruthless intervention against progressive african politician” : It’s easy to throw away such rumor without any evidence.
I hope you will informe your readers.
regards
Mitterrand jean christophe
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Andy on said:
Welll on the of chance that you are indeed Jean Christophe Mitterand.
I admit that the specific detail of Mitterand junior visiting Ouagadougou immeditaley prior to Sankara’s arrest in 1983 comes from Wikkipedia, so that may not be correct.
However, on the more general point of Mitterand’s repuation. He was of course charged along with Alexandre Gaidamak in serious criminal activities of breaking an international arms embargo on Angola.
During this period where he was president Mitterand’s Mini-Me in Africa, France had a hands on role trying to prop up Francophile regimes, France was activley pursuing a neo-colonial war in Chad, and France gave active backing to the Huti genocidearies in Ruanda.
Aside from the detail, it is generally beleived that france had a role in the coup that led to Sankara’s murder. Indeed old habits die hard, and only a couple or so years ago France was one of the prime movers in deposing progressive president Aristide in Haiti.
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Tawfiq Chahboune on said:
Andy, genetic diversity *is* greater within “races” than between “races”. So that, for example, a genetic analysis of two Africans would show more diversity than between a European and an African. It’s a simple bilogical fact. You’ll find it in any biology textbook. How strange that a leading biologist can’t seem to grasp such elementary biology!
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Mitterrand Jean christophe on said:
andy,
yes it is really jc Mitterrand writing (one proof : my name take two r, you can check and not only one).
As many people you are mixing every things and have a probleme with the dates and the fact.
About Thomas Sankara we had discussion about the question of chad war against the libyans soldiers in the chad borders. I do not see wery well were is the neo-colonial war. It was not operations against libya and it was not to stay in Chad. It was only operations to help Chad to stay independant in its borders.
Secondly it was the first time tha the french President’s advisor was in charge of all africans countries, and not only french speaking courtries, because the president thaught that the colonial approche was ridiculous in the eighties.
Third
Investigations the trial about my relations with M. Gaydamack is not yed done. I thaught that you are innocent till the proof of your culpability is done. Wait a little before accusing me. In the same subjet, those accusation about arm dealing with angola are concerning the years 1996-2000. I was’nt not any more my father’s advisor till 1992 and is wad dead at that time.
Same for Ruanda. The genocide was in 1994 and i was not anymore in charge tii mid-1992.
As you wrote :”Aside from the detail, it is generally beleived that france had a role in the coup that led to Sankara’s murder.” Let me give you an advice : “Never shout with the wolves” (French saying) and verify your information. I never worked in my life with “generally beleived” if you wand to be sure to write or tell an information. Check before.
By the way the embargo against Angola was finish (UN decision), it was still operating against UNITA Party who refuse the result of the elections and start again the civil war.
At the end I really do not understand why Haiti arrive in this history.
regards
jc Mitterrand
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Andy on said:
Ok – well the article was intended to be about Sankara not Mitterrand.
And I have amended the article to distinguish facts that are in dispute. For some of the details I relied on Wikkipedia, which is notoriously unrelaible, as well as African blogs, who allege French involvement. I apologize if there are any remaining errors of fact concerning MItterrand’s involvement.
As Mitterrand has used the comments here to repudiate the claims made against him and as I have apologised for any remaining error in fact, then i trust everyione is satisfied. Any errors of fact were made in good faith , relying on unrelaible sources.
However, the question mark about Jean Christophe Mitterand and his role in Africa is not just conspircay theory from the ultra-left. I understand that Mitterrand was briefly imprisoned in 2000 in connection with earlier allegations concering Falcone, and there have been reports of Falcone dealing with UNITA in Anglola. I also understand that the French parliament has investigated the French Africa policy of that time.
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Mitterrand Jean christophe on said:
andy
ok it was an article about Sankara and I apreciated this man.
just to finish. I was briefly imprisoned in december 2000 without judgement (french system). The trial will be, may be, in 2009.
Falcone is not accused arms dealing with unita but with Dos Santos angolan gouvernment.
Yes french parlement made an investigation about french policy in Rwanda and made conclusions. Do you know them ? They are on the site of the french assembly.
regards
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Mansoorah on said:
Sankara was great leader. His ideas changed lives and continues to do so. People die but ideas don’t. What africa needs is another Thomas Sankara and his memories should be kept alive for the present generation and generations to come not for just Africans but for all the poor nations in the world. We can make progress and make history if we are true to what we believe in and live by example as Thomas Sankara did.
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Hlengani on said:
I must say the article is ful of truth and sorrow.No matter how much we try as Africans to forget what the West did to us,articles like this remind us of who the West is truely is.The article remind us of how lumumba,Roodney,Biko and Malcom x. We must as Africans remain vigilant,in order to avert the kiling Mugabe,Gadafi and Mbeki. Africa must be free.
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