A LESSON TO AFRICAN CITIZENS IN DIASPORA.
When Afrobeat King Fela Anikulapo Kuti sang “Beast of No Nation” BONN.
I personally expected he would sing about the black Africans, the Asians and the
Latinos seeking greener pastures in the diaspora particularly of the Africans exported
under chains and locks shipped through the transatlantic from their roots in Africa
to America and were used as beasts of burden on American plantations during the
slave trade and in process of time, they forgot all information about their roots.
Fela did not sing about slave trade, but in his usual manner and styles, he used the
acronym B.O.N.N. to attack corrupt politicians and world leaders (such as the UN,
Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher), arguing that their selfish, violent, and
exploitative governance made them “beasts” who operated outside of civilized human
laws.
Beasts of no nation to my own understanding tells more of the enslaved citizens of
African nations in the 16th to 19th century.
In the transatlantic trade, over 12 million enslaved Africans were forcibly transported to
the Americas. While its peak was in the late 18th century, illegal trafficking and local
enslavement practices persisted in various regions until much later.
1807 (Abolition Laws): Britain and the United States passed legislation to abolish the
international slave trade, though illegal trafficking continued for decades.
While slave trade was abolished, many slaves were set free to begin their own
livelihood while some owners held on secretly to their slaves and the slaves were not
allowed western education but were taught the Bible to further enable the illicit trade.
Ephesians 6;5-8
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart,
just as you would obey Christ.
6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ,
doing the will of God from your heart.
7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people,
8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do,
whether they are slave or free.
Such slaves taught in that manner became saved slaves to their masters and they
served them with all hearts to live permanently all their lives and to die as slaves.
The greater problem was not about owners holding on to their slaves using them as
beasts of burden in plantations under key and lock but about freed slaves losing their roots
and identities after decades of slavery in a strange land.
It became the most arduous task for most black slaves to remember or to retrieve their
roots.
So, together with slaves whose masters refused to let them go, many slaves decided to
stay back with their masters and continued to serve them.
These were the actual beasts that were supposed to be referred to as Beasts of no
nation.
The recent declarations by Americas President Trump of the Republican party
elucidates more about Beasts of No Nation.
In a dramatic but most unpleasant manner, President Trump made good his promise
during campaign for the position of the number one office that America shall belong only
to Americans by issuing orders that sent black Africans Latinos, Cubans and the Asians
back home.
Unfortunately for so many whose stay in America dated to the slave trade era, many
lost their identities because their roots could not be traced having spent too long
numbers of years and could not return home.
A lot of troubles was encountered by many trying to ask questions while many were
lucky to get their roots, many were handicapped and could not go back home while
more people went to wrong countries to claim their roots.
These were Beasts of No Nation.
The greatest lesson to learn here is that in every time of life, we should avail ourselves
of opportunities on information particularly that boils on ancestry lines and roots.
We should communicate information to our children and to coming generations through
books.
We never know what tomorrow holds for individuals and for the nations.
All over the worlds, migration is inevitable for purposes of education, greener pastures,
trade, commerce, asylum and for adventures but changing governments and policies
no one can foresee.
Youths of Africa have over several decades availed themselves of the green
opportunities in the western worlds, Europe, America, Canada, South Africa and
Australia.
That was not part of the ancient slave trade but immigration borne out of ambitions and
due to push forces of bad governments in Africa.
To further Immigration more policies were made like the green visa lotteries to
draw more skilled labor from Africa to the United States and lots of black youths were
availed the privileges.
As the home front recessed into bad governance, many Africans youths tried but could
not secure visa lotteries found their ways by all means to migrate too for greener
pasture under the program, asylum seeking with the opportunity of preparing their stay
resident approval documents gradually.
But when the hamrmer of Trump fell on illegal black immigrants, it affected all the non
citizens without documents even those who are in process of perfecting their documents
were asked to leave America.
A large number of Ghanaians, Liberians, Nigerians, Cubans, Asians were affected but
where an individual or a family lost his root already, he becomes a beast of no nation.
It therefore behooves on every citizens of different nations to take the matters of
information on their roots seriously and to continue to remind their wards and children
who hitherto are finding opportunities of greener pastures in diaspora about their roots
before a situation like currently affecting the world comes against them in future.
Not only in America, today, many black Africans are being forced out of other African
nations due to xenophobia.
The latest is South Africa and Libya where Nigerians and other African nationals are
made to suffer xenophobic attacks and are being forcefully repatriated.
If such people have forgotten their roots, they will automatically become beasts of no
nation and will not have a country to return to.
