Our Politico-Economic Situation and the need for an All-African Revolutionary Struggle: Relevance of the Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare (Nkrumah, 1968)

The ever tightening stranglehold of the people of the world by the owners of capital based in the North, the ever increasing cost of living, the ever widening gap between the rich and the poor, and the advent of neoliberal capitalism all go hand in hand with the increased militarization of politico-economic relations; an inherent characteristic of capitalism in general and imperialism in particular.

It becomes all the more imperative to be well acquainted with the theory and tactics of revolutionary struggle- in this case revolutionary warfare- in order to be well equipped to deliver total liberation and freedom to the people of Africa.

Fifty years after its publishing, the Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare (Nkrumah, 1968) cannot be more relevant. Its vivid description of the state of affairs in post-colonial Africa and what is to be done in that regard should form the basis of our efforts to spearhead and fast-track the fulfilment of the aspirations of the African people.

A view of the current situation in Africa and the rest of the world in relation to the situation as described by Kwame Nkrumah provides immense similarities. Sham independence states, described by Nkrumah as states ‘where political power lies in the conservative forces of the former colony and where economic power remains under the control of international finance capital’[i], form the identity of the numerous nation-states that we have in the continent today. Without exception, all the countries in Africa today work under the heel of their former colonial masters, with their leaders and governments merely serving as accomplices to this state of affairs. This to the effect that the interests of the former colonial powers prevail in relation to those of the subject countries.

Additionally, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU), still serves as an insurance against genuine change, cleverly paying lip service to demands of African political unification while in reality serving as a protectionist body to the existing puppet regimes. It would be difficult to deny that the AU is simply a club for African puppet Heads of State.

Further experience in post-colonial Africa has also seen progressive states isolated in a bid to crush any possible or budding genuine change in the continent. In this regard, mention must be made of Ghana itself at the moment of the writing of the Handbook, during which a puppet regime had been propelled into power by means of a coup facilitated by the CIA. The Congo under Patrice Lumumba and Burkina Faso under Thomas Sankara are other examples, as is the case of Libya at a more recent period. Hand in hand with this phenomenon is the rise and presence of reactionary regimes and leaders, whose sole objective is the maintenance of the status quo and their positions in the system.

Regarding the essential features of the enemy’s offensive, it remains as vivid as ever; a signal of the desperation and decline of imperialist forces. Externally, direct military interventions are still rampant throughout the world. The invasion of the Libyan Jamahiriya is all too fresh in our minds. The intervention in Syria is but an example, as is the day-to-day threats on Venezuelan sovereignty by the US government. Within the Global North, it can be generally agreed that periodic instability persists, and social strife keeps increasing. The need to tighten their grip on the South becomes all the more imperative.

It must also be acknowledged that an attempt to slow down political unification through regional blocs, a trend among reactionaries in the early post-colonial period, still persists in the current state of affairs. In a bold attempt to appear ‘pragmatic’, these pseudo-revolutionaries deny the possibility of full African political, and therefore economic, unification, while paying lip service to Pan Africanism and progressive phrases. Under these phrases, however, lies a clever attempt to maintain the status quo and further entrench the hegemony of imperialist forces.

The objectives of African Revolutionaries are defined by three political components of our liberation movement[ii];

1.       Nationalism. Far from being nationalists, we must make mention that ‘the nationalist phase is a necessary step in the liberation struggle, but must never be regarded as the final solution to the problem raised by the economic and political exploitation of our peoples’. In short, among the tasks to be fulfilled by the African Revolutionary Proletarian Movement are African Nationalist tasks, including full and total political freedom, breakaway of the African economy from the stranglehold of the imperialist powers as well as the assertion of African cultural independence and our breakaway thus from western cultural hegemony. The responsibility of carrying through these bourgeois-democratic tasks falls upon the proletariat for the simple reason that the African bourgeoisie is too weak to fulfil them. It lacks the economic might necessary to compete with the international bourgeoisie. It lacks the necessary military-industrial complex to assert its dominance all over the continent. It lacks the privilege of experience and connections in its relationship with the bourgeoisie of the North. Little wonder then that it must work not in competition with them, but in conjunction with them in order to maintain its own position.

2.       Pan Africanism. The unification of all the peoples of Africa under a Socialist Federation is what would guarantee complete freedom of our peoples, and would lead to the fulfilment of the aspirations of our people. All African revolutionaries, in this regard, should, in their organizations, have in mind the goal of attaining this unification.

3.       Scientific Socialism. Being at the periphery of the world economic system, Africa finds itself part of an economic system marred by contradictions and on the brink of collapse. The proletarian revolutionaries of Africa, in their agitation, education, mobilization and organization of the masses, are most of all working towards the liberation of the entire human race from the yoke of exploitation and the eventual triumph of labour over capital.

Clearly, the objectives of the African revolutionary movement are based on concrete scientific analyses of the state of affairs on the continent as well as the rest of the world.

The internationalization of the forces of production as it were in the post-colonial era is a phenomenon that only grows bigger by the day. Recent events have seen more and more capital getting concentrated into fewer and fewer hands, as more and more multinational corporations merge into giant syndicates. The control of almost all of Africa’s mineral resources by a handful of financial syndicates offers a grim example, and gives a constant reminder of the tasks ahead. The forces of production are globalized, as is the goal of capitalism, and we must in our organizing bear in mind the international character of our struggle. The world economy is more interdependent now than ever. This makes it all the more difficult to survive as an isolated socialist or liberated state; all the more logical to have a revolution spread throughout the world.

‘Neo-colonialism constitutes the necessary condition for the establishment of welfare states by the imperialist nations. Just as the welfare state is the internal condition, neo-colonialism is the external condition, for the continued hegemony of international finance capital’.[iii]

Indeed, in a bid to stabilize their regimes within their countries, and in a move aimed at keeping their working classes pacified, the ruling classes in the North made concessions to the people in the form of the intensive provision of public utilities. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, however, and with the advent of neo-liberalism, it is little wonder why these concessions began to be trimmed. The possibility of a workers’ uprising was seen as less likely, and as a result the world is witnessing a polarisation of incomes and wealth among the people as never before. It must be mentioned, however, that remnants of the welfare state still exist, and the working class of the North still, albeit generally, experience comparatively higher living standards than those of the South. It can also not be denied that as a consequence of the repetitive crises within capitalism, the threat and possibility of far right-wing capitalist regimes has always been there, arising every once in a while in reaction to and in opposition to workers’ organizations and uprisings.

The presence of foreign military blocs within the African continent continues to be a threat to the masses of Africa. Serving in the interests of international monopoly finance capital, these military formations, such as NATO, are quick to intervene whenever said interests are threatened. The recent destruction of the Libyan Jamahiriya will always be reference point in this regard. Additionally, the British, French and American military bases on the continent continue to be used as springboards for violent intervention whence the need arises.

In the face of the present situation of the African continent, therefore, what next?

‘Throughout the world, the escalation of imperialist aggression is making the issues clear, and exploitation can no longer be disguised. In Africa, a point of explosion against imperialism has been reached. But only a massive and organised will to fight can spark it off.

‘Time is running out. We must act now. The freedom fighters already operating in many parts of Africa must no longer be allowed to bear the full brunt of a continental struggle against a continental enemy. The collective and continental nature of our will and our space, the urgency of conquering the initiative and the protracted nature of a revolutionary war calls for a united All-African organisation of all freedom fighters on the African continent.’[iv]

Right from the pre-independence era, the African struggle has clearly faced setbacks primarily emanating from a lack of coordination among all African revolutionaries. If the goal is a Socialist Federation encompassing the entire African continent, does is not go without saying that the means to achieve this is a unified struggle towards this goal? And doesn’t the unified struggle therefore involve a unified organization?

Clearly, therefore, an All-African Socialist Revolutionary Organization is needed to unite all African revolutionaries and, by extension, coordinate all our revolutionary activities within the continent. It is this that would guide our struggle to its logical continental victory, and rid our continent of the yoke of imperialism forever. The ever growing means of transport and communication brought about by technological advancement make this task much easier at this period, and the ever sharpening contradictions inherent in the present system make this all the more necessary.

The unification and coordination of our forces is, I dare say, the most important step forward at this period.

‘The political maturity or immaturity of the masses constitutes the main difference between an enemy-held zone and a contested zone.’[v]

Having a broad umbrella of revolutionary forces would, needless to say, fast-track the political maturity of the masses in zones in which little agitation has hitherto occurred, thus streamlining the revolutionary process.

‘Between a zone under enemy control where the masses are awakening and a hotly-contested zone, there is only one missing link: a handful of genuine revolutionaries prepared to organise and act.’[vi] Additionally, ‘the continental scope now attained by popular insurrection in Africa is a reality. It remains for us to devise effective co-ordinating machinery.’[vii]

‘Our accumulated experience has shown that only practical and planned co-ordination on a continental scale will prevent the enemy from concentrating its forces on isolated and therefore  more vulnerable targets. In our war, isolation is one of the greatest dangers.’[viii]

In a bid to curb this isolation, therefore, a liaison between all parties and organizations which recognize the urgent necessity to conduct an organized and unified struggle against neo-colonialism ought to be in place.

In viewing the present state of the global economic system, and in analysing the process and progress of the international proletarian movement, it would be clear that the backwardness of Africa and the global South by extension grant it the honourable role of being at the vanguard of the international proletarian revolution, given its being the weakest link in the international capitalist chain.

Based on the interconnection of the entire global system, it goes without saying that the triumph of the African Proletarian Revolution would spark a chain reaction throughout the global South. The economic strife caused by decreased proceeds from imperialist interests would further sharpen the objective conditions in the North, where a Socialist revolution would be the only logical occurrence, given the readiness of the Socialist organizations. Voila- revolution in permanence!

References

Nkrumah, K. (1968). Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare. Conacry: Panaf Books.

                  

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[i] Page 8

[ii] Page 24-29

[iii] Page 12-13

[iv] Page 42

[v] Page 47

[vi] Page 49

[vii] Page 55-56

[viii] Page 56