Africa on African terms

Senegal’s best-selling book in 2016 was the essay Afrotopia by Felwine Sarr. Sarr (b. 1972) holds a PhD in economics from France, but economics is not his primary interest. When I met him at a conference on Sahel countries at the University of Florida last winter, he delivered a presentation on African philosophy. During the breaks, he mostly spoke about literature and music, which he actively engages with. Despite owning and running a publishing house in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, Sarr chose to publish his bestselling book, Afrotopia, in Paris. This decision was driven by the desire to reach a global readership, as international distribution is easier from Paris than Dakar. However, Sarr insisted that the publisher sell the book at twice the price in Europe compared to Africa. This illustrates the book’s paradoxical realities, including Africa’s continued dependence on its former colonial powers and the significant economic disparities between Europe and Africa.

Different meanings

In the book’s chapter on economics, Sarr reminds us of facts that most people are aware of: the continent is multifaceted, with its one billion inhabitants spread across 54 countries. Africa had powerful and wealthy kingdoms before colonisation, not just stateless communities. Today, abundant natural resources and a young population offer opportunities for economic development. The most engaging parts of the chapter focus on conspicuous consumption, where showcasing oneself is paramount, and relational economics, which follows a different logic than market economics. (I wish Sarr had delved deeper into these topics.)

In the other eleven chapters, Sarr shines with knowledge and wit. He is well-read, drawing numerous insightful cross-references between European and African scholars and authors. Felwine Sarr juxtaposes French philosopher Michel Foucault (b. 1926) with Ghanaian Kwasi Wiredu (b. 1931) and critically examines African languages and how they are used. Sarr finds it outrageous that the official languages in Africa are still European. He highlights that language is both knowledge and power, but the use of European languages in Africa reinforces the continent’s inferiority. The choice of words when discussing Africa and the meanings attached to them is also crucial for our understanding of the continent. Terms such as «development», «globalisation», and (lack of) «progress» frequently recur. Sarr points out the paradox that arises when Africa is always measured against Europe instead of being compared to itself and its own values. Is it certain that «progress» means the same here as there? Why do Africans accept Europeans defining what development is for Africa? Sarr reminds us that globalisation offers far more freedoms and opportunities for Europeans than Africans, rendering «globalisation» not a global good.

Is it certain that «progress» means the same here as there?

In a new way

Sarr reads Kenyan Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, who is currently a guest at the literature festival in Lillehammer this May and argues for reclaiming language by starting to use African mother tongues in education and defining word meanings in ways compatible with the African universe and African ways of thinking. Ngugi (b. 1938) wrote novels in English until the 1970s when, as a protest against the former colonial power and as an assertion of identity, he began writing in his mother tongue, Gikuyu. His books were then translated from Gikuyu into English. The 1970s marked a decade of authenticity for much of Africa. For example, the president of Chad changed the capital’s name from Fort-Lamy (named after a French general who perished during the colonisation of the country) to N’Djamena (meaning «the place of rest» in local Arabic) and changed his own first name from François to Ngarta. In Congo, President Joseph Désiré Mobutu changed his own first name to Sese Siko and the country’s name to Zaire. Sarr’s argument here is not new, but it is presented in a new way by a younger voice among African intellectuals with international recognition. Language and identity are elevated to a political level where Africans are encouraged to take control themselves.

Sarr discusses Americans Martha Nussbaum (b. 1947) and John Rawls (b. 1921) in relation to Congolese Valentin Mudimbe (b. 1941) and argues that both justice and human needs are debatable concepts that are not the same in Europe and Africa. He explains why market thinking and capitalism are incompatible with the many African value systems prioritising human relationships over profit maximisation. He demonstrates that value and price can be entirely different entities and that various factors drive economic activity. Particularly intriguing is the introduction to the Mouride Brotherhood, where adherents of Sufism follow Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba’s (1853-1927) call to «work in this life as if you were immortal and work in the hereafter as if you would die tomorrow.» The Mourides work extensively while demonstrating solidarity and sharing much of their wealth. This morality has turned their headquarters, the inland town of Touba, into an economic powerhouse in Senegal.

African cultures, forms of social interaction, identities, and perspectives on life differ from European ones

His own identity

Felwine Sarr’s entire project in this book is to demonstrate that Africa is different from Europe and that the continent, with all its variations, must be described, analysed, and measured using concepts and values that Africans can relate to. The Westernisation of Africa must cease. Sarr argues that «Africans must redefine what ‘modern’ means on their own continent and stop behaving like a poor imitation of Europeans. African cultures, forms of social interaction, identities, and perspectives on life differ from European ones and must be discussed, debated, and analysed based on African premises, not European or so-called universal ones.

For those who have read works by French-colonised intellectuals like Frantz Fanon, Aimé Césaire, Cheikh Anta Diop, or Léopold Sédar Senghor, Felwine Sarr’s thoughts are not revolutionary. However, he courageously conveys them, offering clear and sharp observations about present-day Africa. Travel to Senegal and purchase Afrotopia at an affordable price of 5000 CFA, bring it back from Paris for 15 euros or wait for the English edition scheduled for release in 2018.