By Mazi Chibuzo Christian Nwachukwu

I have decided to revive the office of Chancellor of England, Keeper of the Lion Seal and entrust it to our loyal servant, Thomas Becket. My Lord! (Thomas Becket, startled and looking deeply surprised) My Lord, this is a stupendous honor of which I may not be worthy. I am inexperienced in these matters and frivolous by nature . . . Rubbish! (The King interrupts) You know more than all of us put together. He=s read books, you know, its amazing .. he drives through the streets of London and he is thinking all the time... I never did anything without your advice, no one knew it and no one will. There! (the King leans forward and slips the ring on Becket=s finger) that=s the Great Seal of England, don=t lose it, without it there is no more England and we all have to pack up and go back to Normandy.

King Henry II of England describing the intelligent and learned Thomas Becket, who will become Archbishop of Canterbury, but today is made the Chancellor of England. With the elders of England (the King=s Barons, the Archbishop of Canterbury and his Bishops) looking on in approval, King Henry II entrusts the administration of England on the shoulders of this young and learned intellectual, Thomas Becket.

Metellus reminds his fellow conspirators of the age-tested wisdom of the elders, the trust they command in society, and, in this instance, the need to have Cicero, an elder, join the conspiracy to murder Julius Caesar.His presence, Metellus contends, would convince the Romans of the nobility of their actions.

African people have forever reposed profound confidence, trust, and respect in their elders as well as in their men and women of intellect, learned and intelligent, as they may be. They see them as the rock on which the African nation-house will be built. And they believe that this bipartisan union between the elder and the young intellectual is the bond by which treaties will be made and the glue that will bond the African nations together.

Apparently, the proposition heretofore expressed by the masses is that both the elder and the intellectual are to come together, each playing a unique role when they come together, create an environment, introduce a mechanism, provide leadership, and begin the process of building the African nation-states. That this scenario is yet to occur would seem to suggest that both the elder and the intellectual have failed the masses. But before we limp to that conclusion, let us first determine who is the senior partner in this union. I contend that in this union the intellectuals are regarded as the senior partner by the following reasons: (1) the culture bequeaths a great deal of responsibility and reverence to the intellectual who is expected to guide us through the dusty parts of the village unto the tarmac of leadership, development, and progress; and (2) the intellectuals have strengthened their position with the extra knowledge gained through travel which has expanded their knowledge horizon, and are therefore, better armed to direct the building of the Anew@ nation-states. The elders, on the hand, come armed with history, deeply rooted in culture, morals, mores, and tradition, which will form the foundation on which the intellectual will build the new African nation-states. The elders are ready, have been ready, to play their proper part. The intellectuals have acquired the knowledge academic instruction can offer. They have also traveled to far away lands and augmented their wealth of knowledge with valuable experience. The tragedy is that they have remained put in these far away lands and have found no reason to return to their homeland where the elders are waiting, have been waiting. This, I believe, seems to be the missing link and the reason why Africans have largely fallen victim to ethnic tensions and armed conflicts. These ethnic tensions and armed conflicts are a revolt of sorts, a demonstration against the long-held belief that the intellectual, armed with the wisdom and trust of the elder, will build a society in which all will live in harmony with each other, one ethnic group with the other, one country with another, and where our geographical boundaries become mere state lines, so permeable and pervious such that commerce and communication move across very freely. That this is not the case in Africa today, that the intellectuals, in large measure, are still abroad today, and that Africa is being torn apart by single interest civil unrest, armed conflicts, and ethnic rivalries, none having anything to do with nation-building whatsoever, begs the question: Are the African intellectuals rational? Are the African masses irrational by their actions and expectations, particularly, their expectations that the African intellectual will lead us to the >promised land=?

African countries, particularly, south of the Sahara, have large unmechanized agrarian economies, with sizeable small landowners tilling the soil. The dominant literature describes this phenomenon as subsistence farming or peasant farming, hence their wonder about peasant rationality. In this my writing and in this soon-to-become dominant literature, I adopt the phrase Asmall land owners@ and similarly wonder, not about peasant rationality but about small land owners= rationality.

The debate over rationality in this essay, therefore, is whether the small land owners can or act with reason in their daily economic considerations. In economic development, as in nation-building, where actions of sorts are taken, it is prudent to expect all individuals to act with reason in making decisions that can be considered as developmental in nature and in context. The small land owners interpret price signals attached to their products. In essence, they become a commercial calculator making sure that they are a rational allocator of resources. But are they in a good position to obtain information about future prices of products and inputs. They are suspicious of the advice of authorities who sing the virtues of new crops or techniques (as if they are the authors of these new ideas). They are particularly ignorant of the vagaries of the weather and how crops can be affected by pests, diseases or the effects of weather, or so it seems. In essence, their procedural rationality has taken the form of using "rules of thumb, approximate solutions and just plain muddling through in the presence of incalculable and pervasive uncertainty." They do the same work in the same way, day after day, season after season, year after year. They use the same implement of work, day after day, season after season, year after year. They know that they should produce more food (or are happier when bigger farm produce is harvested) but they do not know by how much or what it will cost and they know that the bullock or mule or ox is getting old but they do not know when it will stop working. Thus, very few real decisions are made and when they are made, it is under uncertain information and certainly not with the intent of changing or improving their lot.

How about the non-small land owners, (lets call them) the elites or the intellectuals? Obviously, they perceive themselves as rational in their judgment. "It is widely maintained in economics that rational behaviour on the part of individuals can sustain the efficient functioning of an economy. And `rational behaviour' is typically equated with the maximization of binary preference given the assumption that more goods are always preferred to less.@ When this `rational behaviour' is matched against reality, we will readily discover that much of human behaviour is molded and shaped by norms, morals, customs, mores, tradition, and other social values. It is then arguable how much of these characteristics are responsible for shaping the behavior and actions of the intellectuals from Africa, particularly, south of the Sahara. How did they end up in another man=s land, feeling comfortable, perhaps, unperturbed and unconcerned about the condition of their homeland? They still claim, I imagine, that their actions are rational and are still rooted in their sense of values and their understanding of culture. Are we? How did we become copious consumers who shun products manufactured in our homeland in favor of those produced abroad?

It is arguable that Japan is a developed nation today because its citizens who broadened their knowledge horizon from abroad returned to their homeland to lunch an economic revolution that has catapulted her from an underdeveloped status to a developed one. No doubt, world output has increased many folds by Japan=s economic development and growth than would have been the case if her learned intellectuals had remained abroad.But it is not too late, it is not late at all. Like the prodigal son, the intellectuals, particularly from south of the Sahara, may dust up themselves, rise and to the homeland go, where the elders are waiting with open arms, beaming faces, and with reassuring embraces, welcome us home and point us to the task long neglected. And the work begins. But first . . .

The goals of the Africa Solidarity Council, Inc. were discussed in the October Issue. In the November Issue we discussed how these goals will be accomplished while emphasizing the need for accountability which we believe is our instrument for building followership and retaining the confidence of the followership. To ensure this accountability, the Council has retained the services of the accounting firm of: Sam Uwandu & Associates, CPA. A second accountant will be retained in due time. The accountants will do our books, file our taxes, and in collaboration with the Finance Committee, provide all relevant financial information to the public and to all of you, to other relevant government agencies, and to the Internal Revenue Service to the fullest provisions of all applicable laws and regulations. But whom do we have to head and run these committees?

Not unlike Africa itself, the immigrant and Non-immigrant Africans here in the Washington Metropolitan Area, and in these United States, have been distant and disengaged from each other. How soon we have forgotten that the continent is largely promise and the people of Africa are both promise and performance.

We are promise as the world would turn to us tomorrow for solution to the problem that has persistently haunted mankind - how to restore the quality of the content mind. And we perform because we care and we care because we belong and we belong because we are inextricably bound by the same culture and destiny. It is sheer folly to pretend otherwise. But regrettably, in our quests for knowledge we sacrifice truth and knowledge or ignore truth and sacrifice knowledge because that which we seek we do not know and that which we know, the fabric of the person, we seem to discard.There are many of us who feel embarrassed or intimidated whenever the name of our continent is mentioned or we are associated with it. Africa is not a jungle, may I remind us, for if it were, the rest of the world, including the United States, would not establish embassy links in most of the countries of Africa. Africa is Africa! Africa is people!! Africa is self!!! And self is the person. Civilization, therefore, becomes but the knowledge of whom you are, whom you tell others that you are, the acceptance of whom you are, and the propagation of both. Nations, old and new, that have followed this thesis have become important in the world scheme of things and in the general equation of world politics. Not because they usurped anything from anyone or confused and deceived other people for some people. They did it, first, by self-appraisal, followed by their determination of what their hopes and aspirations are and should be, and their realization of the need to belong that yielded a purpose. As long as these ideals remain ever sustained so will their civilization endure.

The Africa Solidarity Council, Inc. laments the disinterest shown by immigrant and non-immigrant Africans in becoming involved in the issues of the day as they affect our lives, the lives of our children, and our loved ones, both here and at home. Let us emerge from the comforts of our ethnic associations and become involved in the business of rebuilding Africa. But to do so, we must become involved in the social, political, and economic lives of our immediate environment, the various communities in which we live. We must, eventually, become engaged in the business of rebuilding Africa.

The Africa Solidarity Council, Inc. is a nonprofit, nonmembership, advocacy organization dedicated to serving the interests of the public through education and service, particularly, the interests of the immigrant and Non-immigrant Africans in the Washington Metropolitan Area and throughout these United States. Through this service, we hope to build friendship with one another as a harbinger to building a new leadership for Africa. Join us, won=t you? Become involved in the mission of the Africa Solidarity Council, Inc. Become a volunteer! Lead a Committee! Join a Committee! Or lead a Chapter. Let us all join this crusade for posterity=s sake.

Many of you have called to indicate interest and voice support. We urge those who will like to join this crusade to call and let us know. If you have done so in the past, please do so again. If you are yet to do so, now is the time. The incorporators are temporary custodians. The officers, three in all, are also temporary custodians. We need to start moving, but we need you.

The Africa Solidarity Council, Inc. will like to congratulate the family of Iyke Louis Udobi and Nkem Chukwu on the birth of their children, the world=s first Octuplets. We sadly remember, however, the death of AOdera@ due to heart and lung failure as we prayerfully ask God to bless and restore the rest of the babies to perfect health. Iyke and Nkem, we wish both of you well as you struggle with raising your bundles of joy - God’s gift.

We would like to thank all donors, both in cash and in kind, particularly, the Embassy of Nigeria for its generous gift. The Africa Solidarity Council, Inc. will be launching a nationwide effort soon to assist the family.

On behalf of the Africa Solidarity Council, Inc., I want to thank you, His Excellency, Ambassador Chemai of Kenya, for your very strong words of support and encouragement. We are particularly pleased with the gracious manner in which you articulate our mission, enlighten us more than we can ever do, and your assurances to support our mission. We are convinced that with solidarity and support from our diplomatic community and particularly from our Ambassadors like you, the mission of the Africa Solidarity Council, Inc. will succeed.

Thanks once again for your wonderful vote of confidence in our work.

Sincerely,

Mazi Chibuzo Christian Nwachukwu, Ph.D.

President & Executive Director

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