Chapter 54

"Do you know something?" Al-Ghazzal asked abruptly.

Soft music could still be heard coming from the background as the people who were coming into the restaurant after their busy day at work moved to their favourite places to sit as they waited for the waiters to come and serve them.

"Tell us, professor. What is it?" Esau wanted to know as he became alert.

"You may also be shocked to learn that those European scholars of anthropology in the past viewed Africans as being incapable of exercising political thought," said Al-Ghazzal.

"Is that really true?" Gloria wanted to know.

"Absolutely. They argued in their theses that political thought never existed in Africa. By judging that way in their findings, they were awarded higher degrees like masters and even doctorates. Funny how some past scholars got their degrees, isn't it?"

They all laughed.

The professor had amused them once more. Then Esau suggested, "Perhaps they thought so due to their understanding of politics. That could be the bone of contention. Come to think of it, what's the best working definition of politics?"

"You have a good point there, Esau. European scholars from the Eastern bloc countries always saw politics in terms of class struggle along the Marxist-Leninist theories. They failed to observe the class structures that existed during the pre-colonial, colonial, and post independence eras but instead argued that political thought was widely lacking in Africa," the professor noted.

"How then can we view politics if the Marxist-Leninist approach can be misleading?" Monica asked almost immediately.

Al-Ghazzal cleared his throat once again, took a long sip at his coffee, which was growing cold, looked at them, his brown eyes showing excitement. Then he observed, "It's always safer to view politics in terms of social interaction between humans. Politics is a group activity."

There was a short pause before the professor went on, "Wherever there are groups of men and women in contact, there is bound to be political thought whenever people ask for certain favours. People express their grievances in groups. This is all that politics is concerned with; the resolution of conflicts."

"So if politics is group dynamics or activity, how does this help us in understanding African political thought?" Gloria shot in.

"Gloria, my dear." Al-Ghazzal said slowly and gently, "It does very well. It is against such a background of politics as group dynamics or activity that makes it possible to argue about African political thought having existed during the colonial era. Indeed, Africans expressed their grievances against their colonial masters during colonialism."

"How did they do it?" Gloria asked.

"By agitating for equal rights. African nationalism was, for instance, a protest movement that aimed at dismantling colonialism and attaining independence in most African nations."

There was another moment of brief silence as the students pondered over the words of their professor. Then Monica came alive again, "Does that mean that the African leaders and nationalists like Senghor, Nyerere, Kenyatta, and Mandela were all engaged in political thought?"

"Precisely! Political terms and philosophy like Senghor's negritude, Nyerere's African socialism, Neo-colonialism, non-alighnment, and Pan Africanism are all clear manifestations of the African's desire to express his protests against the colonizers. Thus, political thought embraces such political ferment that the African echoed against colonialism," explained Al-Ghazzal.

It was now getting late, and Esau beckoned the waiter. He requested, "Please let's have a look at your menu today.

The waiter went to the next nearby table, picked the menu, and brought it. Then he retreated to his corner to wait for other customers to summon him.

"Professor Al-Ghazzal, please select whatever you'd like to have for dinner. We are at your service," Gloria pushed the menu card to him.

Al-Ghazzal eyed the menu and made his selection. The others did the same. Then Gloria signalled the waiter who came almost immediately.

"Take the orders of the gentlemen and the lady. I'll have rice and chicken. For deserts, I'll have ice cream," she ordered.

The waiter took their order and left. As soon he was gone, Esau asked: "So is it safe to say colonialism gave birth to African political thought?"

"It did, but it had both its positive and negative effects. However, it should always be remembered that colonialism was, in most cases, a form of exploitation, oppression, or even institutionalised tyranny. The African man rose vehemently against such exploitation and tyranny. In so doing, he expressed his ideas, wishes, desires, and aspirations. It's safe to argue that the European scholars' views seem to have been naive, erroneous, and unscholarly at the time," Al-Ghazzal concluded.

They watched as the professor looked at his watch and knew he was probably worried about his next appointment. Al-Ghazzal had simplified the facts for them, and they now felt they could tackle the topic with ease.

The waiter returned a few minutes later carrying the tray with their food. He laid the plates out on the table. Then he held a small basin of water and asked them to wash their hands. They all did that, yet there were folks and spoons on the table. Then, the waiter retreated to his corner.

They ate in silence. It was bad manners to talk while eating. The meal was delicious for each of them; each had ordered a personal favourite dish.

When they were satisfied, Gloria spoke, "Professor, we really appreciate your coming. We are sorry we took a lot of your time."

"It's okay. It's been quite a pleasure talking to all of you. Well, I'd better be going, but I hope to see you whenever you would like another discussion." Al-Ghazzal said and rose to leave.

"Absolutely. We'll always let you know," Gloria said as she gave the professor a broad smile.

Then they watched him as he made his way out of the restaurant and headed towards the car park where his maroon Audi was parked.

Al-Ghazzal got inside and drove off to his destination.