USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Israel and Egypt, how do we begin to compare these two democracies?

Three quick points:

Either statement: "Yoruba are/were warlike" or "Yoruba are/were not warlike" is not accurate. Every society fought wars, and kingdoms and empires more so than small principalities. Of course, the scale of warfare tends to increase as the size and political influence of a polity increase. Hence, Oyo Empire had a more elaborate military machine than any other polity before or after the 17th and 18th century in West Africa south of the Niger but war was only a means to an end for Oyo Empire - conquest in order to open roads for trade and tributes. Hence, in a publication, I referred to Oyo as a trading empire. There were avenues for self realization other than war. 

The statement that there was no Yoruba identity before the mid-19th century is another oft-repeated inaccuracy that has assumed a burnished patina of belief only because it has been repeated so often. The "Yoruba" idea preceded the name. Most of the people from the present-day Togo to Benin shared the view (mythic, symbolic, and material) at least from 1300 up to 1830 – before Samuel Johnson Anla Ogun or Ajayi Crowther - that their ancestors originated from one place. Those polities defined themselves in relation to other polities using kinship terms. Archaeological evidence from Ife to Benin supports this idea (and we are still digging!) That did not of course prevent them from coveting each other's land and fighting one another. The German kingdoms did, and the Greeks did. This is not new. You can only fight or be friendly with your neighbor, brother, or sister, not people you do not know even exist. Our analysis of contemporary events would be richer if we pay attention to the deep past history (of course, I am a partisan here).

Returning to the thread that initiated this fascinating dialogue, the issue might have been phrased this way, perhaps as a thesis: People who believe in dogma tend to be more violent, non-tolerant, and unyielding to multiple ways of being (ontologies). These people have however been more successful in spreading their culture and religion than peoples whose ancestral societies did not live by dogma, who believed in multiple ways of being, and were truly cosmopolitan. The later were so confident in their ways that they did not even seek to convert people they conquer. Instead, they were accumulative of diverse beliefs. The tragedy is that such cultures and societies are almost wiped out from the surface of our planet. Dogma has triumphed. Why?  I have an hypothesis, but not a proof. This is an issue that we can debate, hopefully as a way of understanding why Africa capitulated to the world of globalization and colonialism, and the dogmas that arrived with them.

Thank you,

Akin Ogundiran

UNC Charlotte

 

 

Israel and Egypt, how do we begin to compare these two democracies?

 

Is there any confirmation that the Leader of Boko Haram has been liquidated?

 

Is there any confirmation that the Leader of Boko Haram has been liquidated? How long should it take to  officially confirm or deny the rumour.

 

Would it have been better to take him as a prisoner of war? (No harm meant,  Ignoramus was only asking)