ninehillsRAMBLE in the JUNGLE
African Armies – Killing Your Own People
By Wanaku Verdzekov · · Africa & the Gulf of Guinea
Tags: militarism, africa, nationhood
Question: Do post-independence African nations need armies?
It seems like a topic for a citizens' debate. And here is the side I fall on: no need for armies.
What? you might say.
Repeat: no need for armies.
Why?
Question: who are you going to fight or kill? Other Africans? Your own citizens? Who?
Well, that has been the history of the past half century: armies to fight, kill, maim, rape, destroy and blow up Africans, your own people, your brothers and sisters. As long as there are armies, there will be an excuse to put the training and hardware to use, even against your own people.
Yes, we need an army to fight… who again? The US, UK, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy, China, Australia, Brazil…? Yeah? Really?
If you really think about it, the most likely reason an African nation's army will go into active duty is, first of all, against its own people. A remote second possibility is being called up by the on-and-off African Union to do some peacekeeping in another African nation whose army has, again, turned on its own people.
Now if you look at the issue from every angle, you might conclude (like me) that starting an arms race on the African continent (if it has not already started) is a silly, dumb, stupid and nonsensical idea, for this simple reason: who are you going to fight or kill?
Answer: your own people. AFRICANS.
If at any point in the history of a so-called nation an armed section of the community begins to butcher the rest of the people, then the whole concept of "nationhood" is in the balance. If you need an army to make people belong to a so-called "nation", then there is something viscerally wrong with the foundation of that nation. And that something needs re-examining going forward. Under normal circumstances (some may differ on what is "normal"), there is no need for an army, especially when a lot of people cannot even afford three square meals a day.
By the way, if you are already in one of these African armies, please think before you pull the trigger. You might be committing fratricide (you know what that means?).
Blessings
~wv
— Wanaku Verdzekov
Reading & grammar
Reading level: Gr 9–11
Understand
- What question does the author open with, and what is the author's answer?
- Which two situations does the author think are the only likely uses of African armies?
- What does the author ask soldiers to do before pulling the trigger?
Grammar focus: the rhetorical "Yeah? Really?". Informal interjections like "What? you might say" and "Yeah? Really?" imagine the reader's objection and answer it. This makes the essay feel like a conversation, but it is informal style.
Try it: Rewrite the paragraph that begins "Yes, we need an army to fight… who again?" in formal essay style, keeping the argument.
Discuss: Motion for debate: "Post-independence African nations do not need armies." Prepare three points for and three against.