The Scramble for Africa, also widely known as the Partition of Africa or Race for Africa was a very significant historic moment whereby seven European powers that included Germany, France, Britain, Belgium and others invaded the African continent and seized some territory for their economic, political, prestigious and colonial interests mainly between 1881 and at the very start of World War I in 1914. This scramble for Africa led to distrust and conflicts among the European powers since the annexation was swift and unregulated. In order to avoid their conflicts over Africa from leading into military confrontation among the powers, they decided to formalize the partition Africa and peacefully colonize the continent at the 1884-85 Berlin Conference.
Africans, despite being physically fit, they were too weak in other respects to resist the highly advanced and sophisticated European powers who upon overcoming the continent, affected not only culture and politics of Africans, but also their mentality, so much that today, even after getting independence since more than half a century ago. Just like the spirit that prompted the 1884 Berlin conference, our fear is no longer fear of western imperialism, but the fear against the success of our neighbor. We have distrust against our fellow Africans and we compete against each other for prestigious gain and supremacy. Our countries have continued to tighten the western imposed boarders `and enforced strict immigration regulations against fellow African countries including visas. Territorial disputes, in form of boarder disagreement and also economic tussles continue to plague Africans making them fail to open up their boarders for fear of taking advantage of each other’s resources and trade opportunities.
It is this same continuing mentality born of the spirit of partition that contributed to the failure of the agenda of Organization of African Unity (OAU) and its successor, the African Union (AU) to unite the continent. The AU has failed to realize the dream of Africa’s founding fathers like Kwame Nkrumah and Haile Selassie of coming up with the United States of Africa because most of African countries fear losing their power and absolute sovereignty to the federal government that would be established.
Unfortunately, the same mentality has crept into the Seventh-day Adventist Church where power struggle has been the stumbling block to major development in the churches within Africa. There are, for example, conferences and fields within the same union conference where pastors cannot easily cross conference borders and work in the other field or conference. This is all an issue of power control where church leadership and members are not ready to have open policy where pastors and church workers can work closely to each other for fear of losing control and power to other fields and conferences.
While the church preaches about unity on one hand, it still practices disunity on the other hand where pastors and church workers are restricted from work in other countries and divisions. What SDA churches in Africa ignore, or possibly do not know, is that by sealing our borders and making it hard for our members to easily cross borders, we have deprived ourselves of skilled professionals who would complement the efforts those areas within our conferences, or divisions, that are failing to grow because of not having enough human or financial resources. As a result, the Church in Africa has other unions and divisions that are very rich while others are struggling which affects proper and even spreading of the gospel and establishment of the church on the continent.
While I do not intend to encourage laziness and dependency syndrome to those conferences and divisions that are struggling to develop, it would be good that those unions or divisions that are financially stable should assist those conference and unions with less resources to grow, after all, we are all working towards the same Great Commission to preach and baptize people into the fold of Christ. And this can only happen if the church overcomes the mentality that partition of Africa instilled among the African people and embrace a mentality of de-partition. Unfortunately, African SDA Unions and Conferences that are not self-reliant have less voice within the church due to less representation in significant committees that run the worldwide church. Each conference and union works alone to develop itself. But we still have some parts of Africa that cannot develop if not assisted.
Today we have gathered as Pan-African Club (USA) with the purpose to achieve the unity of purpose that can help us to nurture ourselves and promote one another as we live together in diaspora. There is power in doing things together. In fact, the word “Together” in the Hebrew is {yachdaw}, which means …all alike, equally, all at once. All together. This word appears about 92 times in the Old Testament and it implies …A COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE IN ACTION.
We are in USA, the powerful country around the world, and we stay closer to the headquarters of our Church. We have the bigger influence that is hidden in us that can only be unleashed if we become united. We have the capacity to become a voice for the voiceless conferences and divisions that we have in Africa. Together with one voice, we can present our suggestions to the leadership of the church on how the SDA Church in Africa can be developed and overcome its challenges. If united, Pan African-Club (USA) can identify special missions that can be done in Africa with our funding. Many of us have children whose interest is to work for the church, but due to their immigration status they may not be sponsored to work within USA.
Here, in the USA, we have Conferences that cater for some ethnic groups like Spanish speaking people. It is high time to ask ourselves why up to this day we do not have a special Union that caters for Africans who are many in the USA. Are we afraid of who will be in control of such an organization? I have an assurance that once we become united, we can build our schools, establish beautiful churches, open hospitals, establish publishing houses and open television stations where many of us including our kids can be legally employed. This is very possible, but it cannot be achieved as we continue to do things separately. In writing about the importance of unity Paul says, “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought” (Corinthians 1:10).
Politicians in Africa have done their part in trying to unite Africa but their effort has not done much. The church was established on earth to be the pace setter and be force for good. God being with us, what else can fail us to achieve unity? Should the fear of losing Sabbath offerings that we collect from our ethnic churches stop us to unite like this? Should the concern for not having enough space to meet stop us to congregate together? Should the idea that we come from different countries with different cultures stop us from working and meeting together? The answer is NO.
We are now in the 21st Century when language barriers are quickly disappearing because we have languages like English, Kiswahili, French, Portuguese, etc that are spoken across countries in Africa. Therefore, we have no excuse! We serve a mighty God who is bigger than our challenges. Let us use this opportunity of coming together as a platform from which better plans to advance God’s work can be generated and put into actions. May God make this gathering the beginning of a new chapter in breaking the walls that partition of Africa built in our minds that have slowed development of African ethnic churches in USA and those in Africa. May this meeting also be a blessing to the birth of various missions to Africa that we all can fund.
HOPE TO LIVE BY 