I am trapped in conflict between the criticism of afro-pessimism(The notion that the future of Africa is bleak because of the multitude of problems faced by the continent) without inducing idealism, but also of separating afro-pessimism from the critique of African realities. The conflict I am battling through is whether in a critique of prevailing material conditions in Africa, an element of afro-pessimism is located, and equally, whether in the blatancy of engaging the truth about these conditions an element (perhaps closeted?) of afro-pessimist is reflective. The line between afro-pessimism and genuine critique of our prevailing realities is not as clear as it is made out to be and at some point we need to introduce it to our discourse, if only to sharpen contradictions as they relate to our own consciousness and relate that to the extent to which that consciousness is reflective of a thinking that demands decolonisation, reorientation and re-socialisation.
The African reality is that the Tigray Forces are matching on to the Capital, the Prime Minister has requested unarmed civilians to fight back and defeat the enemy. Some Propagandists are at it saying that Abiy has stood up to the west and he is being fought. No one however points out to the human rights abuses that both the forces have inflicted. I disagreed with the fact that the Prime Minister got a Noble Peace Prize, perhaps we should give Saddam Hussein,Ghadaffi and Hitler posthumous awards for the promotion of Human rights. The Noble Peace Prize has been given to Aung San Suu perhaps for killing Rohingya Muslims, so infact Ahmed was being thanked for killing the people of Tigray.
Tigray War is an ongoing civil war that began just before midnight on 3rd November 2020 in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. The Special Forces of the Tigray Regional government are fighting the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), the latter being aided by the Ethiopian Federal Police, regional police, and gendarmerie forces of the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions with the involvement of the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF). The Tigrayan Special Forces received reinforcements from defecting ENDF soldiers, local militias, and civilian volunteers; they were integrated into the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF).All sides, particularly the ENDF, EDF, and TDF have committed war crimes during the conflict. Due to the onset of the war, a deep humanitarian crisis has developed.
The issue with such commentary is that one can border on Propaganda without knowing it. People will paint the Prime Minister as a victim of the West but will be silent on the human rights abuses.The bigger question is how did we get here. We should stop romanticizing the modern Mussolinis in the name of Pan Africanism.
I may seem biased, but who is not.
Mwene 