MASILO LEPURU | Restore Afrikan sovereignty by any means possible

One of the significant benefits of an Afrikan-centred study of European thought and behaviour is the fundamental discovery that “politics is the continuation of war by other means”. 

Politics in essence is about power. While elections are a function of a representative democracy, they are not the core of power. Elections are a mere aspect and one of the instruments of attaining power. 

Electionism as a manifestation of the reduction of politics to voting is a profound indication of the poor level of political literacy in SA among Afrikans. 

A solid level of political literacy helps one to know that the emergence and antagonism between Afrikan politics and white politics in SA begin with the conquest of the indigenous people in 1652 by European conquerors. At the core of white politics is  the  preservation of  power by white settlers. The fundamental characteristic is  for the long-lasting dominance and control by whites in SA since 1652. The strategy of divide and conquer is what undergirds this characteristic. Whites have been using this strategy for centuries and it has been effective. The context may differ now and then but the strategy remains fruitful. This is why whites still use the same strategy today in the context of the current elections. 

The fact that in the context of elections Afrikan politics manifests itself through the registration of 300 parties is a case in point. Afrikans seem to constantly fail to recognise the advantage of their numerical majority and to use it effectively, for example, through an Afrikan agenda of liberation politics. Whites, on the other hand, know and understand the threat of African numerical majority. 

The persistent white fear of the “one man, one vote” and the opportunistic introduction of judicial review and a Constitutional Court since 1994 are an example of how whites understand the power of numbers. 

Unlike Afrikans, whites have plans that span over 100 years. Marcus Garvey has warned Afrikans about this collective weakness as a race. Afrikans in general lack a collective long-term vision and an unapologetic attitude when it comes to the exercise of power. The annoying fear of being called a  black racist and ubuntu are some of the dangerous reasons  Afrikans never capitalise on power when they get it. 

The fundamental objective of Afrikan power, on the other hand, is the total elimination of white power and its beneficiaries. 

This is the liberation dialectic of Afrikan politics and white politics in SA. Until Afrikans understand this dialectic they will always fall victim to the machinations of white politics. The unity of white politics in the form of white nationalism is what maintains white power in SA. 

Whites know when to fight among each other as they always do and when to close ranks against Afrikans as their common enemy. The call for the Cape independence by white settlers is a recent example. 

The fundamental concept of the political as the “distinction between a friend and enemy” is what many Afrikans fail to understand and practisce when dealing with whites. There is an urgent need to resuscitate Afrikan nationalism as formulated by Garvey and Anton Lembede as the highest expression of Afrikan politics. 

Electionism without this tried and tested ideology of Afrikan nationalism is a futile exercise in rituals of representative democracy and a recipe for the triumph of white politics at the expense of Afrikan politics. 

In any event, the point is not to participate in elections but to restore Afrikan sovereignty and power by any means necessary. 

Lepuru is a researcher and founding director of the Institute for Kemetic and Marcus Garvey Studies