Bøger af Godfrey Mwakikagile

The author looks at the challenges the city of Grand Rapids faces in terms of achieving racial equality. He also looks at prospects for achieving the goal, complemented by studies conducted by different groups, agencies and individuals including city officials and academics. Grand Rapids is the second-largest city in the state Michigan after Detroit.The challenges black people face in terms of employment, housing, business opportunities, access to resources, education and race relations in general are some of the subjects addressed by the author. A report in Forbes magazine in January 2015 stated that Grand Rapids was one of the worst cities for blacks in terms of economic opportunities. It was ranked second from last among the nation's 52 largest metropolitan areas in terms of opportunities for black people, surpassed only by Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The author also looks at how far the city has progressed, or regressed, in more than 50 years since the 1967 riot and why the poverty rate among blacks is higher than it was more than 50 years ago. He also looks at where the city is headed in terms of demographics and political orientation. Grand Rapids is in a congressional district that has always been a Republican stronghold.Subjects covered include the city's demographic composition and transformation through the years; establishment of the first black settlement in the city's history, Auburn Hills, by blacks in response to segregation; the 1967 riot; race relations including racial integration and its challenges; gentrification and its impact on inner-city residents, mostly black; the city's gradual transformation from being a conservative stronghold to being somewhat liberal and still having conservative enclaves especially on the periphery but even within the city itself; the city's social and political climate; and what lies ahead and other subjects.

A study of race relations in an American city, including personal experiences, and the status of blacks whose minority position has had a profound impact on their well-being. It also addresses issues of national relevance.

The author shows the role played by Western governments and intelligence agencies - of the United States, Britain, West Germany, and France - in overthrowing Ghana's first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. They worked together to weaken and undermine his government, and they facilitated the military coup which ended his rule. He has used declassified material including interviews with former American ambassadors to Ghana, as well as other sources, to document his study. He contends that the Ghanaian army and police officers who overthrew Nkrumah may not have succeeded, when they did, in ousting Nkrumah had Western powers, especially the United States, not been involved in the plot to oust him. They participated in planning the coup. But he also concedes that it is possible the Ghanaian coup makers would have, on their own, succeeded later in overthrowing Nkrumah. Major Akwasi Afrifa, one of the leaders of the February 1966 coup in which Nkrumah was ousted, planned twice - in 1962 and in 1964 - to overthrow Nkrumah but the plots were discovered by the security forces before they could be carried out. The author acknowledges that Nkrumah had enemies within and faced strong opposition to his rule. But he also contends that there was a concerted effort by Western powers, especially the United States, to overthrow Nkrumah that should not be overlooked when examining his downfall. They worked in collusion with his enemies within. And even if Nkrumah did not have enemies in Ghana, the United States and other Western powers still would have worked on plans to get rid of him because he was considered to be a threat to American and Western interests in Africa. The book includes photos. His forthcoming book, "Ghana after Nkrumah," complements this work.

The author looks at the former Belgian Congo during the turbulent sixties. He also looks at the events that followed, including American involvement, in the bleeding heart of Africa. Mercenaries from apartheid South Africa were also some of the most important players on the Congo scene during that period. The author also looks at the role a number of African countries such as Tanzania played in the Congo to help the pro-Lumumbist nationalist forces during that critical period in the history of the continent as colonial rule was coming to an end. Another important player on the Congo scene was Che Guevara together with a number of Cuban troops who entered Congo through Tanzania. Tanzania served as a conduit and as a rear base for them during their Congo mission. The author takes an in-depth look at the role of Che Guevara and the Cubans during the Congo crisis and at a number of other events which unfolded during that period. The Congo crisis was one of the most important political developments in the history of post-colonial Africa. And its impact is still felt today as the country continues to suffer from years of abuse and neglect, including external intervention, a fate it has endured since the sixties.

The author looks at how Namibia was founded as a German colony known as Deutsch-Südwestafrika (German South-West Africa) and how it evolved into a nation. He explains how it was founded on brutal suppression of the indigenous people, including extermination, and how, on becoming a colony of South Africa, its people continued to be subjected to brutal treatment by the white minority rulers who denied them racial equality. The author also focuses on the liberation struggle against apartheid and how the country won independence from apartheid South Africa. He also looks at how the leaders of the new nation are trying to build the country and construct a national identity on the basis of unity in diversity. It is an analysis of identity formation at the national level, and consolidation of the state, whose relevance is continental in scope: studies of other African countries in their quest for unity and construction - or reconstruction - of their national identities during the post-colonial era can benefit from this work. It is also a work of comparative analysis in terms of nationhood in the African context and how Namibia and Tanzania - two case studies - have sought to construct their national identities, the obstacles they have faced and continue to face in the quest for national unity, especially in the case of Namibia, and why Tanzania has been more successful than most countries on the continent in building a cohesive society where tribalism is virtually non-existent, enabling it to consolidate its unity and national identity. The author also looks at the concept of national character and its relevance to national identity formation and why the national identities of different African countries are weak and what can be done to address the problem. It is also an introductory text which may be helpful to some people who are going to Namibia for the first time although it is essentially a scholarly work intended for members of the academic community and specialists in some fields dealing with this southwest African country and its people. But members of the general public who want to learn more about Namibia may also find the book to be useful.

This work is a general survey of Africa during the post-colonial era. The author looks at how African countries have fared under post-colonial governments, the challenges they have faced through the years, and their successes and failures. He also looks at Africa as a whole during the lost decades - wasted years - when performance of most countries in the political and economic arena was not what the people had expected. They were some of the worst years in the history of post-colonial Africa. Poor economic performance, abuse of power, the brain drain caused by bad government policies and authoritarian rule, forcing tens of thousands of Africans to flee their countries, mostly to the West and most of them highly educated; what Africa needs to do in order to develop; why there is an imperative need to empower the people at the grassroots level; land grab by foreign investors at the expense of peasants and others; and how globalisation has affected Africa since the nineties when it became such a potent force after the end of the Cold War, are some of the subjects the author has also addressed in the book. It is sweeping survey of the continent intended for the general reader and for members of the academic community.

This is an introductory work on the people of Kenya and Uganda including their cultures and traditions and what constitutes their identities as ethno-cultural-linguistic groups and their collective identity as Africans. It also provides some insights into unity in diversity among the different groups which has provided a foundation for the establishment of Kenya and Uganda as modern African nations. Tourists and others may find the book to be useful. It may also help some students but only as a supplementary text for in-depth socio-political studies.

This is a study of statecraft and nation building in Africa in the post-colonial era. Subjects covered include early years of independence, statehood and nationhood, autocracy, state legitimacy, the unitary state, constitutional primacy, federalism, confederalism, institutional transformation, political stability, quest for democracy, ethnonationalism, ethnopluralism, economic development, national integration, consolidation of the state, decentralisation, devolution, reconfiguration of the post-colonial state, and others. It focuses on case studies whose relevance is continental in scope.

This work focuses on one of the most critical periods in the history of post-colonial Africa: the euphoric and turbulent sixties when most countries on the continent won independence and were confronted with the harsh realities of nationhood including nation building and consolidation of institutions of authority as well as their sovereign status. It was a period of high expectations. But it was also a decade of military coups and assassinations, a phenomenon that persisted for decades although there were fewer coups in the 1990s and beyond contrasted with what took place in the previous years, especially the sixties and seventies when the largest number of military coups and assassinations of national leaders took place. The author addresses many subjects in an attempt to provide a comprehensive picture of Africa in the sixties, a defining moment and probably the most critical period in the post-colonial era. Everything that has taken place on the continent through the decades is somehow connected to what happened in the sixties. A complementary volume, Africa in The Sixties, addresses similar subjects.

This is a general survey of Africa in the sixties. The work focuses on the major events which took place across the continent during those years. It was the euphoric sixties, a period when Africans celebrated the end of colonial rule. Most of the countries on the continent won independence in the sixties. But they were also turbulent years marked by conflict. Some of the most tragic events during those years include the Congo crisis - the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the secession of Katanga province, civil unrest across the country and intervention by external forces which turned Congo into the bleeding heart of Africa. Another tragedy was the Nigerian civil war. There was also the Zanzibar revolution. The sixties were also a decade of military coups, and much more. Its complementary volume, Remembering the Sixties: An African Experience, addresses other subjects on some of the major events which took place during those years. The sixties stand out as some of the most important years in the history of post-colonial Africa. It is a decade that will never be forgotten, especially by those, including the author, who were there during those days.

THIS work looks at some of the ways to achieve lasting peace and stability in Rwanda and Burundi whose destiny is inextricably linked with the entire Great Lakes region of East Africa. Conflicts in the two countries affect the entire region, especially their neighbours - Tanzania, Congo, and Uganda - and have ripple effects which go far beyond the region. Therefore all the countries in the region have direct interest in what goes on in Rwanda and Burundi and in the resolution of the conflicts in the twin nations. But resolution of the conflict between the Hutu and the Tutsi in Rwanda and Burundi may require a solution that has never been tried before. It may even require a combination of solutions in order to be resolved permanently. Any solution, however radical, should be tried even if it runs counter to the logic of what African leaders and many other Africans consider to be the proper way to build nations and achieve unity transcending racial, ethnic and regional differences. Resolution of the conflict in Rwanda and Burundi may also provide some insights into the complexities of conflict management, and conflict resolution, in other intra-territorial and regional conflicts and disputes in other parts of the continent.

This work looks at conflicts between the Hutu and the Tutsi in Burundi. It is also a profile of the Hutu and the Tutsi as a people. They are two social groups which claim separate identities on ethnic or tribal basis although they speak the same language and have the same culture. The work also looks at conflicts in eastern Congo which led to the downfall of President Mobutu Sese Seko of what was then known as Zaire. The author also looks at attempts by regional neighbours to resolve the conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi in Burundi, especially the role played by Tanzania and its former president, Julius Nyerere, who was the chief mediator. Most of Burundi's exports and imports go through Tanzania, giving the country leverage as the main facilitator of the peace process which sometimes has involved economic sanctions against Burundi. The conflict between the Hutu and the Tutsi is one of Africa's intractable problems. It is also one of the oldest in the post-colonial era. The book sheds some light on the complex situation in Burundi and on relations between the two groups. It also provides some insights into what can be done to resolve one of Africa's perennial problems. It can also be helpful to those who are trying to learn about Burundi for the first time. Students of African studies may also find this work to be useful.

This work looks at conflicts between the Hutu and the Tutsi in Rwanda and Burundi. The conflicts between the two groups have sometimes been characterised as ethnic, although neither group has fundamental attributes of ethnicity or ethnic identity which separate one from the other. They have the same culture. They speak the same language. And they have had a common history during the past 400 years. They have intermingled and have intermarried for so long since the Tutsi arrived in the region about 400 years ago that whatever differences existed between them in the past in terms of culture, identity, and biology have been erased. Yet they do exist as distinct social groups. They maintain separate group identities, as Hutus and as Tutsis, mainly because of the asymmetrical relationship between them. Inequity of power has solidified those identities. Historically, the Tutsi minority have been the rulers. Their status as the dominant group was enhanced during colonial rule when the Belgians favoured and recognised them as the traditional rulers, superior to the Hutu, thus legitimising inequalities between the two groups. The differences between them were even given official sanction. And the subordinate status of the Hutu majority was used by the Belgians to justify discrimination against them in terms of employment and educational opportunities while favouring the Tutsi. The conflict between the two groups is rooted in inequity of power, fuelled by stereotypes against the Hutu majority. Domination of the Hutu majority by the Tutsi minority, which started before the advent of colonial rule, has also solidified ethnic identities of the two groups through the years. A shared consciousness among the members of each group and their distinctiveness - each seeing themselves as different from the other - have also played a major role in the evolution and consolidation of these separate identities.

The author looks at the challenges he has faced in his life because of his racial identity. He also examines race relations in a larger context, using his experience in what he describes as the crucible of his identity, to shed some light on racial problems in general. Incorporated into his analysis is his background as a colonial subject when he was growing up in a country that was ruled by Britain.

This is a general study of Belize, its people and history including its transformation from colonial status as a British colony - known as British Honduras - to independent nationhood when the country assumed its current name. Subjects covered include the country's cultural and ethnic diversity, as well as its political landscape, constituting a vibrant heterogeneous society that is also unique in the Central American region as the only country that was once ruled by Britain. As a general study, the work is intended for members of the general public. But some members of the academic community may also find it to be useful.

The author looks at how the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar was formed to create the new nation of Tanzania. He contends that Anglo-American geopolitical interests in the context of the Cold War were not the driving force behind the merger but the initiatives taken by the leaders of Tanganyika and Zanzibar to unite their countries. He also states that the leaders who played the biggest role in forming the union were President Julius Nyerere of Tanganyika, Tanganyika's minister of foreign affairs, Oscar Kambona; President Abeid Karume of Zanzibar, and Zanzibar's vice president Abdallah Kassim Hanga - but especially Nyerere and Kambona because of the decisions they made and implemented to lay the foundation and facilitate the merger. He cites various sources to document his study. The work is a counter-thesis to the argument that the leaders of the United States and Britain, including their diplomats in the two East African countries, conceived and facilitated formation of the union to protect Western interests in the region. It is argued that they did so in order to neutralise communist influence in Zanzibar because the island nation was in danger of becoming a communist satellite controlled by the Soviets or the Chinese if it came under the leadership of Zanzibar's minister of foreign affairs, Abdulrahman Mohamed Babu, who was considered to be pro-Chinese, or Kassim Hanga who was considered to be pro-Soviet. That would have provided a base for the Soviets or the Chinese and their allies to spread communism and undermine Western interests in the region and in Africa as a whole if indeed, as it was feared by the West, Zanzibar became "the Cuba of Africa." The author also looks at the challenges the union faced when it was being formed and the other challenges it has faced and continues to face since then. The work is an updated version of the author's previous books on the formation of Tanzania, the first and only union of independent states ever formed on the continent since the end of colonial rule.

Probably more than anything else, Africa is known by the stereotypes many people around the world have about the ''Dark Continent''. But Africa is also a strange paradox. It is the richest continent in the world. Yet it is also the poorest. Its potential wealth is enormous, unrivalled anywhere else in the world. So why so much poverty in the midst of such abundance? The answer lies in the wrong policies and imported ideologies, good intentions notwithstanding, African countries pursued since independence during the sixties. However, with the collapse of communism during the late eighties and early nineties, came a rude awakening. The impoverished African nations were forced to re-evaluate their policies and ideological underpinnings which had failed to sustain one of their ideological ''mentors'' -- the Soviet Union and her satellites. This ground-breaking book provides analyses of capitalism versus socialism as well as case studies illuminating the latest economic developments in the shift taking place in Africa. The case studies were selected because of their relevance to the entire continent.