The unity and direction for ultimate mental liberation
By Shivute Kaapanda [Think Tank Africa]
For each generation, the level of consciousness in terms of everything needs to be heightened.
Owning oneself is the best act of consciousness that gives you maximum definition of oneself and the perspective that one needs to lead a life.
Environment plays a significant role in the consciousness of an individual such as the social, economic and political environment. But again one cannot ignore his or her environment but can eventually change it.
Kenyan anti-colonial activist Jomo Kenyatta who was also the prime minister from 1963 -1964 and then its first president from 1964 until his death in 1978 is quoted saying: “Our children may learn about heroes of the past. Our task is to make ourselves architects of the future.”
This therefore speaks much about what we ought to build as architects of the African continent, our architecture must be in any form necessary and must be able to speak to the next generation for the next generation shall live by our architectural design either in a form of literature, music, poetry, movies or anything we owe ourselves to.
It is therefore in activist Jomo Kenyatta’s words that “The Conscious Republic” is an architecture that we should begin to reflect ourselves on and that the role of our African ancestors of political activism in predicting such architectures.
To put in context the creation of the republic of consciousness, let us paraphrase the revolutionary president of the former Gold Coast, now Ghana, who was also a politician and author of the book “Consciencism” who was quoted saying “ I am not African because I was born in Africa but because Africa was born in me”.
Nkrumah awakened his generation about his patriotism to Africa; indeed he was a patriotic leader.
Today his patriotism illuminates the creation of the republic of consciousness in Africa, the republic that creates knowledge about patriotic knowledge, the knowledge that transforms African people to open up and revolt against the oppressing wind of colonial extraction.
Our dealing with the colonial situation must always be characterized by the revolutionary conscience hence the conscious republic.
The conscious republic or rather the theoretical intellectual movement shall aim to liberate the African continent intellectually, economically, socially and politically in order to give birth to a free republic.
It may not be the only way to get to the most desired place but it may well be one of the ways to other ways, depending to a variety of which way one desires to follow but mostly it’s the way desired by various freethinkers and those that choose the critical posture in thinking particularly those that have a burning desire to change the way things are currently done.
It is patriotism that will save Africa from foreign toxic interventions, patriotism and pan-Africanism is the strongest element in becoming part of the republic of consciousness, we as Africans need to be one, be at one table, eat one and same meal, speak one language as Africans, we may have different perspectives but the common one should be Africa first above all.
Unity shall see our success in decolonizing all which is colonial until Africa owns everything fully not just on paper but practically starting with the land.
The conscious republic teaches us to throw the bible back to the colonists and own what is most sacred, the land, and by that it would make new sense and meaning that we own ourselves.
The conscious republic is the compass which direct us in directing our thoughts and resources and get immunity from foreign instructions and control.
The successful conscious republic will see the new Africa, the continent that will no longer again be the same.
The conscious republic consists of the revolutionary conscience and defiant spirit of Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Steve Biko, Frantz Fanon, John Mbiti, Almilcar Cabral, Hosea Kutako, Julius Nyerere, Patrice Lumumba, Thomas Sankara, Julius Malema, Samora Machel, Muamar Gaddafi,
Robert Mugabe, Sam Nujoma, Job Shipululo Amupanda, Agostinho Netto, Nelson Mandela, Paul Kagame, John Magufuli, Kakurukaze Mungunda, Hendrick Witbooi, Mandume yaNdemufayo, Andiba Toivo yaToivo, Chris Hani and many others, long live compatriots!
– Shivute Kaapanda is a pan-Africanist from Eyanda village. This is an excerpt from his book “The Conscious Republic” published in 2020.
