Africana: A Journal of Ideas on Africa and the

African Diaspora
Volume 3, Number 1

2009

Editorial Coordinator

Mr Yilma Tafere Tasew

Editor-in-Chief

Dr Christopher LaMonica

Board Members

Mr Thomas Banda
Dr Margaret Clark
Dr Ramon Das
Dr Mourtada Deme
Dr Marron Maddox
Dr Victoria Mason

IT Consultant

Ms Mariko Hemmingsen
AFRICANA
Victoria University of Wellington
P.O. Box 600
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
Phone: +64 (4) 463-5760
Fax: +64 (4) 463-5414
www.africanajournal.org

Africana: A Journal of Ideas on Africa and the African Diaspora. All

rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any
form without permission in writing from the publisher.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
ii

CONTENTS:

Introductory Note
Christopher LaMonica
Yilma Tafere Tasew
5

Attractions and Limitations of Liberal Democracy in

Africa
J. Shola Omotola

32

Cultivating cultural change through cinema; Youssef

Chahine and the creation of national identity in Nassers
Egypt
Barrie Wharton

57

Growing Civic Awareness - Symptomatic Rehearsal of

True Democratic Dividend: Lessons from Nigerias
General Elections of 2007
Franklins A. Sanubi

73

The Niger Delta in Nigerian Nation-Building, 19602005

John H. Enemugwem

91

Some Ethical Challenges in Media Advertising in SubSaharan Africa: A Zimbabwean Case Study
Fainos Mangena

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
iii

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
iv

INTRODUCTORY NOTE
As several have astutely noted, publication and release of the
December 2009 issue of Africana was delayed by several long
weeks. This was due to the relocation of our journal from
Victoria University of Wellington, in New Zealand (with Massey
University Printers), to the African Studies Center, at Boston
University, 232 Bay State Road, Boston, Massachusetts, in the
United States. http://www.bu.edu/africa/ It is our firm belief
that formal affiliation with this long-established and well
respected institution, dedicated to the study of Africa, can only
help the global recognition of our journal and our mission. As
such, future editions of Africana will include formal references to
and coordinates of our new home, as well as a newly established
ISSN. Being based in the relatively neutral state of New Zealand
did have its advantages and the growing number of African
refugees within that state made dialogue of African issues
particularly appealing and interesting. Our Board continues to
include participants from New Zealand and Australia. But we
have also taken on board a scholar of islamophobia, North
African & Middle Eastern Politics from Lancaster University in
the U.K., Dr Victoria Mason, and an Africanist scholar from the
University of Cergy-Pantoise in Paris, France, Dr Douglas Yates.
As stated on our web-page http://www.africanjournal.org our
hope is to extend the dialogue on Africa and the African
Diaspora among interested parties throughout the world.
It is an atmosphere of some excitement but with the knowledge
that much work remains to be done that we present the
December 2009 issue.
In the months leading up to its
publication we received an ever-growing number of
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
1

Africana

contributions and, again, we must remind contributors and

readers of the rigorous peer review system that we feel obliged
to maintain. That said we start the issue with a particularly
well-researched contribution from J. Shola Omotola, a PhD
graduate of the University of Ibadan, who now teaches political
science at Redeemers University in Nigeria. Readers will note
that Dr Omotola is a prolific writer on the matter of liberal
democracy
and
the
policy
challenges
underlying
democratization in African contexts. Here, Omotola jumps right
into the fray of scholarly dialogue on the issue and interestingly
points out the ways that the term liberal democracy, and other
related terms, have been used as justification for policy action.
His concern is that the term liberal democracy might not be as
universal as many of its proponents continue to claim. Instead,
Western mainly U.S. objectives are prioritized as the political
realities of Africa continue to be largely ignored. We would like
to thank Dr Omotola for his timely and thoughtful contribution.
The second contribution, from Dr Barrie Wharton of the
University of Limerick, Ireland, is especially unique as it weaves
together ideas from literary scholarship and from popular film
from Egypt. Although we recognize the difficulty that some
might have in following the characters, plots and themes from
Egyptian film, we do appreciate the creative spirit that Wharton
has used in approaching his subject of study: the promotion of
an Egyptian national identity through popular film under
Nasser.
This is followed by another timely piece on the notion of
democratic dividend by Franklins A. Sanubi, a Lecturer in the
Department of Political Science at the Delta State University in
Abraka, Nigeria. Sanubi challenges the popular understanding
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
2

Africana

among the Nigerian electorate that politicians should be elected

solely on the basis of commitments to the provision of public
services (e.g. roads, health care facilities and education). Within
a democratic context, politicians also play an important role at
promoting civic awareness, which is instrumental to the proper
functioning of a democratic state. With references to the state of
literature on the subject, Dr Sanubi cleverly uses data from the
Nigerian elections of 2007 to make his case. It is compelling and
we thank Dr Sanubi for his contribution.
The fourth article, by John H. Enemugwem, Senior Lecturer
and Head of Department of History and Diplomatic Studies,
University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, is entitled
The Niger Delta in Nigerian Nation-Building, 1960-2005. Dr
Enemugwens aim is to demonstrate the crucial historical role
that the peoples of the Niger Delta played in the creation of
the modern Nigerian state. As is so often the case in
discussions of history, the involvement of certain peoples in
particularly important national moments is not always as
adequately documented as it should be; we wish Dr
Enemugwem well in his efforts to document the
accomplishments of the peoples of the Nigeria Delta and
thank him for his contribution to our journal.
Finally, Fainos Manenga, a journalist and a Senior Lecturer at
the University of Zimbabwes Department of Religious
Studies, Classics and Philosophy, considers some of the ethical
issues tied to advertising in sub-Saharan Africa and in
Zimbabwe in particular. He reminds us of the potential
conflicts of interest between multinational businesses and the
public at large. As is the case with other contributions to this
issue, Dr Manengas topic is timely and especially wellVol. 3, No. 1
2009
3

Africana

argued. To him and to all of those who have made this

December 2009 issue possible our sincere thanks.
Christopher LaMonica
Yilma Tafere Tasew
December 2009

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
4

Africana

Attractions and Limitations of Liberal

Democracy in Africa
1

J. Shola Omotola

Abstract
Democracyistodayoneofthemostpopularconceptsnot
onlyinacademiccircles,butalsoingovernmentalaswell
as nongovernmental domains. The New World
(Dis)Orderhasmadeitsliberalversiontoacquireafairly
standardizedanduniversalconnotationtotheneglectof
J.SholaOmotola,currentlycompletingaPhDinPoliticalScienceat
the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, teaches political science at
Redeemers University, Redemption City, Nigeria. His research
interests are in comparative African democratization, oil and
environmental politics and identity politics, on which he has
publishedinreputablenationalandinternationaljournals,including
Representation, Africa Today, African and Asian Studies, Africa Insight
and South African Journal of International Affairs, among others. His
latest work, Garrison Democracy in Nigeria: The 2007 General
ElectionsandtheProspectsofDemocraticConsolidationappeared
in Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 47, 2(2009): 194220. He is
also completing a book length manuscript tentatively titled Trapped
in Transition: Nigerias First Democratic Decade, 19992009 to be
publishedbytheCanadianbasedpublisher,AfricaReads.
Email:sholaomotola@yahoo.com

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
5

Africana

contextualvariablesthatmayimpactonitforgoodorill.
This paper questions the universalistic conception of
liberal democracy as one, whose character is fairly
standardized, arguing that such a conception represents
a major disservice to democratization in Africa.
Consequently, liberal democracy has not only become
subjective, but also theoretically ambivalent and
analytically vacuous. Its dispositions as a celebrity in
its own right, tend to propel undemocratic forces to
pretend as democrats to avoid coveting international
resentment. For this reason, the concept of liberal
democracy can be indicted of complicity in the level of
autocratsinciviliangarbsacrosstheglobeparticularlyin
Africa.Initspresentformandcharacter,theconceptof
democracy does very little or nothing to illuminate our
understanding of contemporary politics particularly in
the African context. Its main attraction seems the
advancement of Western interest especially the USA in
the consolidation of its Cold War victory, and that of
opportunistic African leaders in their quest for power
and accumulation of private capital. Critical questions
pertaining to its contexts of origin and metamorphosis
must,therefore,beinterrogatediftheconceptwouldever
beusefulboththeoreticallyandanalytically.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
6

Africana

Introduction
The talk of democracy is very influential. Indeed,
democracyistodayprobablyoneofthemostpopularconcepts
notonlyinacademiccirclesbutalsoingovernmentalaswell
ascivilsocietydomains.Whileithasalonghistoryinpolitical
theory,theuseoftheconceptofdemocracydoesnotbelongto
thecategoryofconceptsdefinedinuniversalisticterms,whose
characterisfairlystandardizedwithinthecontextofitsorigin.
But,theendoftheColdWarandthesubsequentemergencyof
a New World Order has, hypocritically indifferent to the
contexts of its origin and metamorphosis as it were, tends to
makedemocracyacquireafairlyacceptable,standardizedand
universal connotation, to the neglect of contextual variables
that may impact on it for good or ill. Consequently,
democracy as a concept has not only become subjective,
difficult as it is to operationalize (measure), but also
theoretically ambivalent and analytically vacuous. As the
hottest bride in town, with its celebratory disposition as a
celebrity in its own right, it often propels undemocratic
forcestopretendasdemocratstoavoidcovetinginternational
resentment. In this sense, the concept of democracy can be
indictedofcomplicityinthelevelofautocratsinciviliangarbs
across the globe particularly in Africa. The universalistic
conception of democracy as one, whose character is fairly
standardized, therefore, represents a major disservice to the
concept.

This paper attempts a critical evaluation of the

attractionsandlimitationsofliberaldemocracyinAfrica.The
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
7

Africana

papersanalysisisunderpinnedbythecentralquestion:what
is the concept of liberal democracy good for? The main
purposeofthepaperistoexplorethisquestioninthelightof
inherent and apparent contradictions in the emerging
standardizedconceptionofliberaldemocracy(seeSaul,1997a:
219236;1997b:339353;Shivji,1991;Robinson,1996;Ake1995
etc). But, if democracy is a concept whose values are
standardized, why is it so markedly different in its level of
development across time and space? What sort of difference
dowereferto,andhowdoesitimpactontheusefulnessofthe
concepttodayparticularlyinAfrica?Thesequestionsare,no
doubt, central to the substantive question of the study, either
of which cannot be satisfactorily answered without a good
knowledge of the meaning of the concept of democracy,
showingitsmetamorphosis.
Thefirstsubstantivesectionofthepaperaddressesthe
meaning, origin and growth of democracy. The next section
conceptualizesdemocracyparticularlyitsliberalversionasan
ideology. The last major section evaluates the concept of
liberaldemocracytoascertainitsattractionsandlimitationsin
theglobalandAfricancontexts.

Democracy:ItsMeaning,OriginandGrowth
Democracy has been a concept of intense study. The
resultant body of literature is equally very extensive.
However despite the mass knowledge that has been
accumulated over the years, there is little appreciation of the
fact that its conception as an inevitable phenomenon whose
valuesarenotonlystandardizedbutalsouniversalisnotonly
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
8

Africana

theoretically faulty, but also practically unsupported by

reality.Theglobaloutlookofdemocracythathasemergedis
therefore pretentious and runs contrary to the logic of the
argumentofthispaper.

What then is democracy? This is certainly a difficult

question to answer. Yet it is pivotal to the distillation of our
central question. Let us begin with a general definition.
Democracy is a system of government usually involving
freedom of the individuals in various aspects of political life,
equality among citizens, justice in the relations between the
peopleandthegovernmentandtheparticipationofthepeople
inchoosingthoseingovernment(Nnoli,2003:143).Thisisin
linewiththecommongoodandthewillofthepeoplethesis
of democracy. As Schumpeter (1950: 250283; 1967: 153188)
democracyentailsthatinstitutionalarrangementforarriving
at political decisions, which realizes the common good by
makingthepeopleitselfdecideissuesthroughtheelectionof
individuals,whoaretoassembleinordertocarryoutitswill.
Thesecondsideofdemocracy,accordingtoSchumpeter(1950;
cfQuinton1967:173),emphasizesthecentralityofcompetition
to the emergence of political leadership. In this sense
democracy is an institutional arrangement for arriving at
political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to
decide by means of a competitive struggle for the peoples
vote.

What these general conceptions suggest is that

democracyasasystemofgovernmentstressesthesovereignty
of the people (see Zack William, 2001:213214; Osaghae,
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
9

Africana

1994).ItisalsoreminiscentofRobertDahlstwodimensions
ofdemocracy(Dahl,2000:3540).Thefirstdimensionsees
democracy as an ideal, goal, aim, or standard, one that is
perhapsunachievablebutnonethelesshighlyrelevantnotonly
for classifying and judging political systems but also for
fashioning strategies of democratization, designing
appropriate political institutions, and so on. An ideal
democracy is therefore coterminous with a political system
that might be designed for members of an association who
were willing to treat one another, for political purposes, as
political equals (Dahl, 2000: 37). Such a system requires
certaincriteriaforeffectivefunctioning.Thisincludeasetof
fundamental human right of citizens, democratic political
institution to boost citizens participation in electing
representative, to freedom of expression, inquiry, discussion
and so on. One important thing is that these rights and
opportunities must not just exist as merely abstract moral
obligations,butmustbeenforceableandenforcedbylawand
practice(Dahl,1989:106131;1999:3543,8399;2000:37
38).

Thistakesustotheseconddimensionofdemocracy.It
hastodowithdemocracyinpractice,asopposedtoittheory.
This becomes the more pertinent because, as Dahl (2000: 38)
has also pointed out, having rights and opportunities is not
strictly equivalent to using them. The mere fact that
democraticsocietyconcedecertainrights,forexampletovote
and be voted for, to their citizens, does not imply that all
qualifiedcitizenswillparticipateintheseactivities.Inreality,
thereisampleevidencetosupportthisposition.Forexample,
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
10

Africana

empirical studies have shown that citizens do not put much

value on actual participation themselves in political life, as
exemplified by the experience of European Community as a
whole. There, it was found out that average over the entire
period 1973 92, 17 percent said they discussed politics
frequently,and34percentsaidtheyneverdoso(Topf,1995:
61;cfDahl,2000:39).

Lamentable this seeming contradiction marks a major

problematic about the concept of democracy, which may not
beunconnectedwithitscontextoforigin.Withinthecontext
of the Greek City State to which democracy owes it origin as
anidealandapractice,itwasforaverylongtimeconfinedto
the borders of Athens. This was at a time when Athens was
sustainedbythelabourofitsslaves,whoincidentallywerein
overwhelming majority relative to the free citizens. It would
therefore be catastrophic to allow for egalitarianism in the
decision making process. This is because such would have
enabled the slaves to predominate over their economically
superiormasterbutwithlimitednumber(seeNnoli,2003:146).
Hence the Athenian democracy excluded the slaves, as
equality, freedom and justice values were to be confined to
free citizens. Democracy therefore, within the context of its
origin in Athens during the Greek era, was an exclusionary
phenomenon,wherewomenandslavesweredeprivedofany
political rights (ElDin, 2003: 5). In fact, it was such that in
anotherGreekState,Spartatobespecific,whichexistedabout
thesametimeasAthens,theissueofegalitarianismindecision
making even among the so called free citizens was absent.
This was due to the threats of revolution from the slaves to
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
11

Africana

upturn the table against the citizens. This led to the

emergence of a strong military machine to thwart such a
revolution. It was also necessary to be able to crush it if it
materialized.Undersuchacircumstance,asNnoli(2003:146)
has rightly observed, some, if not most, of the citizens
necessarilylosetheirfreedomandSpartawasreputedasa
militarydictatorshiporoligarchy.

Following the dialecticism that characterizes the

historyofhumansociety,fromtheslavethroughthefeudalto
the capitalist epoch, nowhere has egalitarianism, fairnessand
justice have ever prevailed. The ascendancy of bourgeois
democracy following the industrial revolution in Europe and
the subsequent colonization of colonies particularly in Africa
attest to this (ElDin, 2003: 6). But following the
marginalizationofthebourgeoisbythenobilityinthedecision
making process, their focus shifted from securing favourable
conditions of international trade to that of removing the
priviledgesofthenobilityatthepoliticalandeconomicrealms
so that they could assert their growing influence in society.
Thus such concepts as freedom, equality and justice were
conceptualized as inherent to man, sanctioned by arguments
of natural law, and found expression in doctrines of natural
andhumanrights(Nnoli,2003:148).

During the Cold War, the concept of democracy

became a part of the propaganda arsenal of both ends of the
ideological spectrum the West led by the United States of
America(USA)andtheEastledbytheSovietUnion.Whythe
former champion a kind of democracy built on liberal
philosophy of individual freedom and equality the latter
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
12

Africana

emphasizeswhatitcalledsocialistdemocracywherethestate
calls the shot. Following this classification, the USA
reportedly worked assiduously to overthrow the
democratically elected working class government of Salvador
Allende of Chile in 1973, and supported all forms of anti
democratic regimes in the name of fighting communism (see
Nnoli, 2003: 149). The Cold War era also witness the rise of
what was called African socialism in Africa as champion by
African leaders such as Kwame Nkuruma of Ghana, Julius
Nyerere of Tanzania and so on. Thus the concept of
democracy assumed some ideological underpinnings that
were inimical to theory building and the universalization of
knowledgeondemocracy.

With the end of the Cold War in favour of the West,

there has been the ascendancy of liberal democracy on a
universal scale, with no competing values (see Fukuyama,
1991). It values include pluralism and multiparty system,
including free and fair competitive politics; popular
participation; the rule of law, respect for human rights, and
equalityofaccesstoallcitizensandgroupstothestatepower
and resources; gender balance; and constitutionalism, among
others (see Osaghea, 1999: 7; Ayoade, 1998: 18). The
universalization of this values, with little or no contest from
anyquarters,wouldappeartobeofamoderatinginfluenceon
the clash of civilizations as espoused by one of the most
articulate, influential and original thinker and writer of our
time, Samuel Huntington (Huntington, 1996). But, this may
not be so, if we interrogate further the concept of liberal
democracyasanideologicalcategory,whichmaystillpossibly
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
13

Africana

recede with time, like all other previous waves of democracy

(see Huntington, 1991), considering the level of criticism that
hasattendedit.

LiberalDemocracyasIdeology
Our understanding of democracy in its current form
andcharacterwillbeenrichedifwetreatit(liberaldemocracy)
as an ideology. This requires that we first of all have a
workingdefinitionofwhatanideologyisallabout,aswellas
itsdefiningcharacter.Basically,anideologyisasystematized
andinterconnectedsetofideasaboutthesocioeconomicand
political organization as a whole (see Lane 1962; cf Nnoli,
2003: 178). Essentially, it serves to provide collective
legitimization of governmental actions and/or inactions, as
well as a basis for popular mobilization in support of such
actions.Characteristically,anideologyoftentendstoarisein
conditionsofcrisis,isexclusive,absoluteanduniversal;andin
theextreme,maybepersonalizedandturnintoasacredbelief
similartoreligiousbeliefs(Nnoli,2003:177183).

If we situate liberal democracy within the context of

the foregoing description, one finds that it is largely an
ideological phenomenon. For example, the rise of liberal
democracyonauniversalscalewasasaresultofthecrisisand
contradictionoftheColdWarera,forthebattleofdominance
between the West and the East. And since its victory at the
endoftheColdWar,itswaveshavecontinuedtospreadinan
unprecedentedmanner,suchthatnoregion,noteventheonce
impregnable Eastern Europe, is free from its hegemonic
penetration. It was so much that the ascendancy of liberal
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
14

Africana

democracy, following the end of the Cold War, has been

labeledastheendofhistory,portrayingitasthefinalform
of government (Fukuyama, 1991). It has therefore become
hegemonic and universal, and fast assuming the status of a
global religion for the mobilization of citizens internally, as
well as citizens and states, in addition to other actors at the
internationallevel.Thisisexemplifiedbythefactthatdonor
states and institution have now come to link their
development assistance/aid to democratization. The same
condition has equally been set for any form of concession on
the Third World quest and clamour for debt
forgiveness/cancellation (see Diamond, 2001; Baylies, 1995:
321337;Allen,1997:329337).

Generally the hegemony of liberal democracy has not

been without criticisms. As far back as 1984 when the Cold
War was still alive, Barber (1984: 4; cf Saul, 1997a: 230) has
forcefullyarguedthat:

We suffer, in the face of our eras manifold crisis, not from

too much but from too little democracy from the time of
Toqueville,ithasbeensaidthatanexcessofdemocracycan
undo liberal institutions. I will try to show that an excess
liberalism has undone liberal institutions. For what little
democracywehavehadbeenrepeatedlycompromisedby
the liberal institutions with which it has been underguided
and the liberal philosophy from which its theory and
practicehasbeenderivedLiberaldemocracyisathin
theory of democracy, one whose democratic values are
prudential means exclusively individualistic and private
ends.Fromtheseprecariousfoundations,nofirmtheoryof
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
15

Africana

citizenship,participation,publicgoodorcivicvirtuecanbe
expectedtoarise.

Earlier,Huntington(1975;cfBarber,1984:95andSaul,
1997b:341)hasarguedthattheproblemsofgovernanceinthe
United States then stemmed from an excess of democracy.
For him the effective operation of a democratic political
system usually requires some measure of apathy and non
involvement on the part of some individuals and groups.
Still in the same tradition, Manfred Bienefeld powerfully
argues:

Unfortunately genuine democracy is hard to reconciled

neoliberalisms mystical belief in the magic of disembodied
markets,itfiercehostilitytothenotionofstateandsocietyas
organicentitiescapableofdefiningandpursuingacommon
interestanditsinsistenceonpervasivederegulation.Under
such conditions, the state loses the capacity to manage the
economies in accordance with democratically determined
social,ethicalorpoliticalpriorities.Onlytheshallowestand
most meaningless democracy will survive in a cowboy
capitalism where property rights became virtuallyabsolute
because states and electorates are disempowered by the
mobility of capital (Bienefeld, 1995: 17; cf Saul, 1997b:
343).

While these assertions may be general, the African

conditioniscertainlymorepathetic.Forexample,eveninthe
face of glaring possibilities of pervasion and abuse, Africans
hadhadtocontinuetosupportthestrugglefordemocracythe
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
16

Africana

continentasasecondindependencemovement.Theirhopes
of material improvement and political empowerment were
recklessly shattered because of the divorce between public
policiesandsocialneeds.Evenwherethetwoconverges,poor
implementation due to massive cronyism has always been a
clog in the wheel. The result is the general atmosphere of
democratization of disempowerment prevalent in Africa. As
ClaudeAkehaspoignantlypointedout:

Democracy is been interpreted and supported in ways that

defeat these aspirations and manifest no sensitivity to the
socialconditionsoftheordinarypeopleofAfrica.Generally
the political elites who support democratization are those
withnoaccesstopower,andtheyinvariablyhavenofeeling
for democratic values. They support democratization
largelyasastrategyofpowerthepeoplecan(only)choose
between oppressors and by the appearance of choice
legitimize what is really their disempowerment (Ake, 1995:
3940;cfSaul,1997b:349).

African resignation to fate is understandable. It was

duetotheirhelplessness.For,asMiliband(1994:190191)has
observed,virtuallyallgovernmentintheThirdWorldhave
accepted the hegemonic role of the West and adapted their
economicandsocialpoliciestoit.Thepricefornotdoingsois
beyond their capacity and their will. Perhaps, this
helplessness explains the fragility of democracy and
developmentacrossthecontinent.Thisisasemblanceofwhat
John Saul (1997b: 339 353) refer to as the fear of being
condemned as old fashioned, which has made Africa to
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
17

Africana

follow the path of liberal, at the expense of people/popular

democracy. Despite it inherent tendencies towards popular
disempowerment, liberal democracy has continued to gain
popularityandrecognitionasthefinalformofgovernmentthe
worldover.

Evenasscholarscontinuetotalkabouttoomuchortoo
little of democracy, there is yet the problem of measurement.
Onyeoziri(1989: 80) has pointed out, to say that a political
system is democratizing is a theoretical statement. This is
because at the level of phenomenal reality, we cannot
physically point at the political system and say, this is
democratization going on. Measurement therefore bridges
the gap between a theoretical concept and observational
reality.Toadequatelymeasuredemocracyhoweverrequiresa
multiple indicator approach that will capture the entire
domains and dimensions of democracy. While such
dimensions have engaged scholarly attention (for example,
Bollen, 1990; Cutright, 1963: 253264; Dinneya, 2003: 137177),
theproblemisstillfarfrombeingover.Itshouldbenotedthat
these dimensions are institutional, processoral and
behavioural, and any good measure must capture all these
dimensions. The breakdown of these would include element
such as participation, competitiveness, inclusiveness,
openness, civil liberty, level of toleration of political
opposition, succession credibility, legitimacy standing of
government, independence of electoral bodies, mass media
and judiciary, quality of governance, level of democratic
dividendandthegeneralenvironmentofpolitics.Againthere

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
18

Africana

is also the problem of how to assign numerals to, and scale

theseindices.

Yet, every country of the world today claims to be

democratic,evenifitsdemocraticcredentialisnotbeyondthe
level of teleguided elections, with little or no chances of
leadership alternation, as has mostly been the case in Africa
(see Jinadu, 1997; Bratton, 1998; Adejumobi, 2000; Omotola,
2004a).Inmostcases,thishasbeenpartlyresponsibleforthe
high level of legitimacy deficit among African governments
(see Omotola, 2004b) with the protection offered by such
faade election it is therefore not difficult to come across
severalleadersespeciallyinAfricawho,exceptforthesimple
fact that they assumed office through the ballot of the box,
whoseresultswereatbestsuspectandquestionable,arebyall
standardautocraticintheirstyleofgovernance.Basichuman
rightsassimpleasthatoffreedomofexpression,righttovote
andbevotedforandthelikearenotonlybeingviolatedwith
impunity, the economic rights of the people particularly the
peasants have been effectively mortgaged through the
elevationofthecapitalistcomponentofliberaldemocracytoa
dizzying height. This is usually done through economic
reform agenda built on chronic opportunism and political
patronage that made the accumulation of private capital
dependentonthestate,tothedisempowermentofthemasses
(seeOmotola,2005;2004c).Theargumentthatdemocracyisa
precondition for development therefore stands defected at
leastintheAfricancontext(seeAke,1996;1995;1994).

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
19

Africana

Flowing from the foregoing, liberal democracy can be

described as an ideological category, which despite its
contradictionandcriticisms,hascontinuedtoenjoyuniversal
practice. It has continued to be a rallying point within the
context of sociopolitical and economic mobilization at all
levels of governance. Yet there is more to it than meet the
eyes. This questions the very usefulness of democracy as a
concept.

AttractionsandLimitationsofLiberalDemocracy
What then is the concept of democracy good for with
reference to Africa? From the preceding analysis, democracy
as a concept can be said to serve two useful purposes and
interests. First is that of the developed democracies and
advancedeconomiesoftheWestparticularlytheUSA,which
emerged as the victor from the Cold War. To consolidate its
victory,theUSAhastostrengthenitsvaluesespeciallyliberal
democracythatconstitutedoneofthecoreissuesoftheCold
War.Thiswasnecessarytopreventanypossiblereversaland
by extension erosion of its pyrrhic victory. Democracy is
therefore a useful concept for the preservation of Western
(American) hegemony across the world. This hegemony is
mostly demonstrated through the socalled democracy aid
industry, through which liberal values such as elections and
election monitoring are emphasized (Omotola, 2009; 2006;
Carothers,2009).
Second,liberaldemocracyisalsousefulfortheAfrican
countries not only because it has become one of the major
conditions for development assistance by donor states and
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
20

Africana

agencies, but also because it serves the interest of African

leaders in their quest for power and accumulation of private
capital.Inordertoachievebothdevelopmentassistanceand
accumulationofprivatecapitalataminimumcost,thesurest
bet is for African leaders to be seen as being democracy
compliant,nomatterhowpretentioussuchmaybe.Themost
prevalent example of this tendency in Africa relates to the
conductofritualisticelections,justtofulfillallrighteousness,
without meeting internationally acceptable standards of
democratic elections (Omotola, 2009; 2008; Roth, 2009). These
standards can be measured in terms of popular competition,
participation and legitimacy (Lindberg, 2004). Assessed
against these indices, African elections are far from being
democratic. With the notable exception of Ghana, Botwana
and South Africa (GyimahBoadi, 2009), African elections are
nothing more than the fading shadows of democracy often
adoptedbyautocratstomasqueradeasdemocrats(Roth,2009;
Adejumobi,2000).

Beyondthese,liberaldemocracyiscompletelyemptied
of any meaningful relevance. It is neither a necessary nor a
sufficientconditionfordevelopmentespeciallyinThirdWorld
countriesingeneralandAfricainparticular.Thisisbecause,
as Allen etal (1992: 10; cf Saul, 1997b: 348) have pointed out,
much more commonly, democracy serves as a system
through which class domination and various forms of
systemic inequalities are perpetuated and legitimized. In
Africa, for example, the Structural Adjustment Programmes
(SAPs)ofthe1980sthroughthe90srepresentedanexampleof
World Bank and IMF dysfunctional policy prescriptions for
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
21

Africana

Africa.AstheSAPsturnedout,itfurtherpushedAfricadown
the margin towards total collapse. These manifested in the
form of political, economic and social dislocations, including
rising unemployment, urban unrest, poverty, inflation and
general decline in the standard of living of Africans. the end
result was the excruciating debt burden it inflicted on most
African economies and the widening of the developmental
gap between Africa and the developed economies (Omotola
andSaliu,2009;OmotolaandEnejo,2009).
Democracy is also both an exclusionary and elitist
phenomenon, which marginalizes, nay excludes the masses
especially at the economic realm. This is best exemplified by
rising official corruption, increasing inequalities between the
rich and the poor, and the privatisation of the privatisation
process, or what Omotola (2005) calls deregulation of
disempowerment,etc.Infact,democracy,beitliberalornot,
is not a necessary attribute of human life because it has not
existed from time immemorial. Its origin and growth were
embedded in a Western historical context, grounded on the
economicandsocialdevelopmentofWesternsocietiesandto
that extent entrenched in capitalist theories (see ElDin, 2003:
6;Nnoli,2003:146149).Thefactthatithaspassedthrough
manywaveswherebyitscontentsvaryfromoneepochtothe
other, having been known in the Athenian city states system
onlytodisappearandreemergedinadifferentshapeafterthe
industrial revolution (ElDin 2003; Huntington, 1991) is an
eloquenttestimony.TheColdWarwastolaterhaveprofound
impactonitsdefinitionfromonesspectrumoftheideological
continuum to the other, in addition to its transformed
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
22

Africana

meaning and virtues in postCold War order. Today, main

emphasis is placed on elections and related institutional
parameters, without adequate attention to more substantive
issuesofhumanwellbeinganddevelopment.Thistrend,ina
sense, reflects what Carothers (2009) calls the political
approach to democracy assistance at the expense of the
developmental approach. Although he did not call for the
abrogation of the political approach, Carothers seems to
privildge the developmental approach over the political
approach, but calls for a careful merger of the two in a
mutuallyreinforcingmanner.

In the final analysis, therefore, the attempt to portray

liberal democracyasa universalandinevitablephenomenon,
whose character is fairly standardized and perhaps a
necessarilyattributeofhumanlifeislargelyunfounded.This
development negates the fact and lesson of history. The
messianic connotation attributed to it as a precondition for
development assistance and by extension development, has
not only made it subjective, but also contributed to the high
level of autocrats in civilian garbs across the globe especially
in Africa. Conceptually, therefore, democracy is analytically
vacuous and theoretically ambivalent, difficult as it were to
adequately define and measure. In its present form and
character,theconceptofdemocracydoesverylittleornothing
to illuminate our understanding of contemporary politics
particularlyintheThirdWorld.Criticalquestionspertaining
toitscontextsoforiginandmetamorphosismustthereforebe
raised if the concept would ever be useful both theoretically
andpractically.
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
23

Africana

Conclusion
What I have done in this paper is to interrogate the
usefulness and otherwise of the concept of liberal democracy
in the African context. It would seem, as suggested by the
precedinganalyses,thattheuniversalisticconceptionofliberal
democracy as one with a fairly standardized values and
possibly inevitable to human existence, is not supported by
thefactofhistoryandabodyofempiricalevidenceandwell
constructed theory. Rather, it is merely an ideological
category,whosecharacterandformhavebeeneverythingbut
constant under its various waves over the years. Thus apart
from its usefulness in advancing the interest of the West in
propagationofitsvalues,andthatofitdependantforforeign
aid of various kinds from the Third World, the concept of
democracy,toallintentsandpurposes,servelittleornouseful
purposes. Indeed, it is a major source of disservice
particularly to the developing countries, which pathetically
have had to live with it due to their helplessness. With
democracy as the only game in town, what these countries
need to do is to situate their democratization process within
their particularistic and systemic contexts to accommodate
theirpoliticalculture.Butasaconcept,itistooideologically
laden, analytically vacuous and theoretically ambivalent to
illuminate our understanding of contemporary politics in the
ThirdWorldandbeyond.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
24

Africana

References
Adejumobi. S. (2000) Elections in Africa: A fading shadow of
Democracy, International Journal of Political Science, Vol. 21, No. 1,
pp.5975.

Ake C. (1996) Democracy and Development, New York: Brooking

Institute.

Ake,C.(1995)TheNewWorldOrder:AviewfromAfrica,inhans
Henrik, H. and George S. (eds) Whose World Order? Uneven
GlobalizationandtheEndoftheColdWar,Boulder:WestviewPress,pp
3048.

Ake, C. (1994) Democratization of Disempowerment in Africa, Cass

MonographSeries,No.1.

Allen,C.(1997)WhoNeedsCivilSociety?ReviewofAfricanPolitical
Economy,(ROAPE),No.73,p329337.

Allen,C.etal(1992)SurvivingDemocracy?ROAPE,No.54.

Ayoade, J.A.A. (2000) What is Democracy? in Ayoade J.A.A. (ed.)

Democracy:ItsMeaningandvalues,Ibadan:VantagePublishersLtd.Pp
19.

Barber,,B.(1984)StrongDemocracy:participatorypoliticsforaNewAge,
Berkeley/LosAngeles:UniversityofCaliforniaPress.

Bienefeld, M. (1995) Structural Adjustment and the Prospects for

DemocracyinSouthernAfrica,inMooreD.BandGerald,J.S.(eds.)
Debating Development Discourse: Institutional and popular perspectives,
London:Macmillan.
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
25

Africana

Bollen,K.(1990)PoliticalDemocracy:ConceptualandMeasurement
Traps Studies in Comparative International Development, Vol. 25 (1),
pp.724.

Bratton,M.(1998)SecondElectionsinAfrica,JournalofDemocracy,
Vol.9(3),pp:5166.

Carothers, T. (2009) Democracy Assistance: Political Versus

Developmental?,JournalofDemocracy,Vol.20,No.1,pp.519.

Cutright, P. (1963) National Political Development: Measurement

andAnalysis,AmericanSociologicalReviewVol.28(2),pp.253264.

Dahl,R.A.(2000)ADemocracyParadox?PoliticalScienceQuarterly,
Vol.115(1),pp3540.

Dahl,R.A.(1999)OnDemocracy,NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress.

Dahl R.A (1989) Democracy and its Critics, New Haven: Yale
UniversityPress.

Diamond, L. (2001) International Relations: Debt for Democracy,

http://www.hoover.stanford.edu/publications/digest/011/diamond.html,
Retrieved18March,2005.

Dunneya,G.E. s(2003) Constructing a Cardinal Measure of

Democratic Development in a Transition Polity: The Nigerian
Example,NigerianJournalofInternationalAffairs,Vol.29(1&2),pp.
137177.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
26

Africana

ElDin, I.N. (2003) In Criticism of the Western Mind and Practices:

TowardsaNewVisionforAfricanDevelopment,AfricanPerspective,
Vol.4(15).

FukuyamaF.(1991)TheEndofHistoryandtheLastMan,NewYork:
FreedomPress.

GyimahBoadi,E.(2009)AnotherStepForwardforGhana,Journal
ofDemocracy,Vol.20,No.2,pp.138152.

Huntington,S.P.(1996)TheClashofCivilizationsandTheRemakingof
WorldOrder,NewYork:SimonandSchuster.

Huntington S.P. (1991) The Third Wave: Democratization in late

TwentiethCentury,Norman:UniversityofOklahomaPress.

Jinadu,A.(1997)MattersArising:AfricanElectionsandtheproblem
ofElectoralAdministrations,AfricanJournalofPoliticalScience,Vol.2
(1),pp111.

Lane,R.(192)PoliticalIdeology,NewYork:FreePress.

Milliband,R.(1994)SocialismforaScepticalAge,London:Verso.

Nnoli,O.(2003)IntroductiontoPolitics,RevisedSecondEdition,Enugu:
PACREP.

Omotola, J. S. (2009) Garrison Democracy in Nigeria: The 2007

General Elections and the Prospects of Democratic Consolidation,
CommonwealthandComparativePolitics,Vol.47,No.2,pp.194220.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
27

Africana

Omotola,J.S.andK.E.Enejo (2009) Globalization, World Trade

Organization and the Challenges of Sustainable Development in
Africa, Journal of Development Alternatives in Africa, Vol. 10, No. 2,
pp.520538.

Omotola,J.S.andH.A.Saliu(2009),ForeignAid,DebtReliefand
Africas Development: Problems and Prospects, South African
JournalofInternationalAffairs,Vol.16,No.1,pp.87102.

Omotola, J. S. (2008) Political Globalisation and Citizinship: New

SourcesofSecurityThreatsinAfrica,JournalofAfricanLaw,Vol.52,
No.2,pp.268283.

Omotola, J. S. (2006) The Limits of Election Monitoring: Nigerias

2003GeneralElections,Representation,Vol.42,No.2,pp.157167.

Omotola, J.S (2005) Globalzing in Poverty: Deregulation of

Disempowerment in Nigeria, Mimeo, Department of Political
Science,KogiStateUniversity,Anyigba,Nigeria.

Omotola,J.S. (2004a) The 2003 Nigerias Second Election: Some

comments,PoliticalScienceReview,Vol.3(1&2),pp.126138.
Omotola, J.S. (2004b) Explaining Succession and Legitimacy Crisis
inAfrica:ColonialismRevisited,ResearchforDevelopment,Vol.20.(1
&2).

Omotola, J.S. (2004c) Economic Reform and Sustainable

Development:TheTragedyofNigeriasSimultaneousTransition,in
Fadeyi,AfricanPerspectiveonGlobalizationandSustainableDevelopment,
Lagos:FacultyofSocialSciences,LagosStateUniversity.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
28

Africana

Osaghae,E.E. (1999) Democratization in SubSaharan Africa:

Fautering Prospects,New Hopes, Journal of Contemporary African
Studies,Vol.17(1),.pp.220.

Osaghae, E.E. (1994) Towards Sustaining Democratic Stability in

Africa: The Moral Imperatives, in Omoruyi, O. etal (eds.)
DemocratizationinAfrica:AfricanPerspective,Vol.1,BeninCity:Hima
andHima.

Onyeoziri, F. (1989) Operationalizing Demoocratization: A Multi

Dimensional and Configurative Approach, proceeding of the 16th
NationalConferenceoftheNigerianPoliticalScienceAssociation;pp.80
93.

Quinton, A. ed. (1967) Political Philosophy, London: Oxford

UniversityPress.

Robinson, W.L. (1996) Promoting Polyarchy: Globalization, US

InterventionandHegemony,Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.

Roth, K. (2009) Despots Masquerading as Democrats, Journal of

HumanRightsPractice,Vol.1,No.1,pp.140155.

Saul, J.S. (1997a) Liberal Democracy Vs. Popular Democracy in

SouthernAfrica,ROAPE;No.72pp.219236.

Saul, J.S. (1997b) For Fear of Being Condemned as Old Fashioned:

Liberal Democracy Vs. Popular Democracy in SubSaharan Africa,
ROAPE,No.73pp.339353.

SchumpeterJ. (1950) Capitalism Socialism and Democracy, London:

AllenandUnwin.
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
29

Africana

Schumpeter, J. (1967) Two Concepts of Democracy in Quinton, A

(ed.)PoliticalPhilosophy,London:OxfordUniversityPress,pp.153
188.

Shivji I. (1991) State and Constitutionalism: An African Debate on

Democracy,Harare:SAPES.

Topf, R. (1995) Beyond Electoral Participation, in HansDieter, K.

and Dieter Fuchs (eds.) Citizen and State, Oxford, UK: Oxford
UniversityPress,pp.5279

Email:sholaomotola@yahoo.com
DepartmentofPoliticalScienceandPublicAdministration.
RedeemersUniversity,RedemptionCity,
Mowe,OgunState,
Nigeria.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
30

Africana

Cultivating cultural change through cinema;

Youssef Chahine and the creation of national
identity in Nassers Egypt
Barrie Wharton2

Egypthaslongbeenconsideredbymostcommentatorsasthe
birthplaceofArabcinemaandmanyoftheseminalmilestones
inArabcinematichistorysuchastheshootingofthefirstfull
lengthfeaturefilm,Layla(1928)3tookplacealongthebanksof
theNile.ThegoldeneraofEgyptiancinemabeganinthelate

Dr Barrie Wharton, from the University of Limerick, Ireland, is

currently a Visiting Fellow at the National Centre for Research on
Europe at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. He has
lectured widely throughout Europe ( Portugal, Greece, etc) and the
Islamic world (Egypt, Iran, etc) and he has published widely in
refereed journals throughout Europe, the Middle East and North
America. He is a regular contributor to the international press and
mediaonquestionsrelatingtoEuropeandIslam.
3Duringthearticle,allfilmswillbereferredtointhefirstinstancein
italics by their Arabic titlein an English alphabet form followed by
an English translation and the year of film release. Subsequent
referralstothesamefilmwillbeinitalicsbutinEnglishtranslation
form only. In the filmography at the end of thearticle,all films are
referencedintheirArabiclanguageversioninEnglishalphabetform
followed by an English translation and year of release. All
translationsareinstandardEgyptianArabic.AnyArabictermsused
inarticlearehighlightedinitalicsandboldscript.
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
31

Africana

1940s and continued through the 1950s and early 1960s, an

erawhichcoincidedwiththecomingtopowerofCol.Nasser
aftertheFreeOfficersRevolutionof1952andthesubsequent
establishment of Egypt as the cultural fulcrum of the new
emergingpanArabdoctrine.Duringthisperiodwhichended
with the death of Nasser in 1970, Egyptian cinema moved
frombeingasimpleentertainmenttoolforthemassestoarole
as an instrument of sociocultural change. As such, Egyptian
cinema became almost a blueprint for the new Nasserist
societal vision and thecinema screen broughtthis vision to a
population where high rates of illiteracy hampered written
efforts.
Although much more famous internationally for his
postNasserwork,oneoftheforemostdirectorsofthisperiod
wastherecentlydeceasedEgyptiandirector,YoussefChahine
andthisneglectedperiodofhiscareermayinfactprovetobe
his most important legacy. This neglect is perhaps
understandable as Nassers sudden and premature death in
1970 led to a rapid demise in what had become perceived as
Nasserist cultural policy and in a rapidly changing Egypt,
both cultural commentators and Chahine himself shied away
from the discussion of his role in what had been perhaps the
mostimportantprojectofnationalidentitycreationinmodern
Egyptianhistory.

Indeed, when one analyzes the considerable literature

available on culture, and more specifically on cinema, in
Nasserist Egypt, there seems to exist an almost avowed and
deliberate playing down of Chahines role in Nasserism. On
the contrary, there has been a vast range of academic studies
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
32

Africana

on the role in Nasserist Egypt of his contemporary and

sometime collaborator, Naguib Mahfouz4 while the influence
on Nasserism of the legendary singer and actress, Um
Kolsoumhasalsobeenwidelydocumented.5
Therearevariousreasonsforthisacademicobfuscation
oftherelationshipbetweenChahineandNasserbutforemost
amongst them is undoubtedly the contemporary academic
obsession with Chahine as an antiestablishment maverick
director whose themes of cosmopolitanism, liberalism and
homosexualitymarkhimoutasanantiregimefigureinArab
society. This obsession was exacerbated by his attack on
Islamic fundamentalism in Heya Fawda..?/Chaos (2007) and
increasingly, one sees Chanhine posthumously lauded in an
erroneous manner as a Western director . Admittedly, the
aforementioned themes do exist in his most famous work in
the West, his Alexandrian quartet, Iskandariyah... lih?
/AlexandriaWhy ?(1978), Hadduta Misriyah /An Egyptian Tale
(1982), Iskandariyah Kaman wa Kaman/Alexandria Again and
Again (1989) and IskandariyahNew York/AlexandriaNew York
(2004)buttheydonotpredominateinthesefilmsandplayno
part in much of his work. In fact, closer examination of
Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988 and this
spawned a huge wave of research on his work with the bulk of it
concentrating on his work during the Nasserist perios when he
wrote his classic Cairo Trilogy and perhaps his bestknown work,
MidaqAlley.
5 Indeed, the Institut de Monde Arabe in Paris dedicated a full
exhibition in 2008 to Um Kolsoum with much of the exhibition
concentratingonherrelationshipwithNasserandNasserism.
4

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
33

Africana

Chahines complete oeuvre reveals a cinematic master who

was far more a poet of marginalization and social inequity
than a chronicler of dilettante life in modern Egypt and it is
noteworthythatbythetimeChahinereleasedthefirstofthis
mainly autobiographical quartet of films which is often cited
as spanning his career, he had already directed twentyeight
films and as this article will argue, his most significant
cinematic work, albeit not his most celebrated, was already
behindhim.
In particular, this article will concentrate on three of
ChahinesfilmswhichwereproducedduringtheNasseristera
and which had in different ways, a profound effect on a
national culture and identity which was still in the throes of
formation. The first is the seminal Bab alHadid/Cairo Main
Station(1958),afilmwhichrecreatesanddistillstheupheaval
ofCol.NassersnewEgyptthroughaseriesofinterwovenand
fraught personal relationships in the symbolic location of the
countryslargesttrainstation.SecondisAlNasserSalahAdDin
/Saladin (1963), the quintessential Arab epic of the Crusades
and a thinlyveiled allegory of the expected triumph of pan
Arab nationalism, a paean to the moral certainty of the new
regime and almost a hymn to Nasser himself. Finally, this
article will examine the daring and groundbreaking Al
Ard/TheLand(1969),Chahinessadlyneglectedneorealisttour
deforcewhichcapturedthesoulofruralEgyptandstillstands
today as one of the most powerful testaments to social
injusticeintheannalsofworldcinema.

Tounderstandtheproblematicpositionwiththework
of Chahineand its roleand influence in Nasserist Egypt, one
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
34

Africana

mustlookprimarilyatthereceptionwhichhasbeenafforded
to panArabist and Nasseristera cinema and intellectuals in
the post1970 period. First and foremost, one must mention
that the legacy of this period has been primarily associated
withCol.QaddafiinLibya,SaddamHusseininIraqandtoa
lesser extent, Hafez alAssad in Syria, the late father of the
current Syrian president. The association between Nasserism
andtheseauthoritariananddictatorialfigureshasdonemuch
todiscreditNasserismasaninnovativeculturalprojectandby
extension,thosethatwereheavilyinvolvedinitscreation.

Some such as Naguib Mahfouz, the winner of the

NobelPrizeforLiteraturein1988,managedsuccessfullytore
invent themselves in a new postNasserist Egyptian cultural
environment without having to overtly disassociate
themselves from or deny their past. Others such as
AbderrahmanCherkaoui,whohadworkedwithChahineand
Mahfouz on the script of Saladin, were not as successful and
foundthemselvesintellectuallymaroonedinPresidentSadats
new infitah capitalist society6 where theywere tainted, albeit
oftenwronglywiththestigmaofservantsoftheSovietUnion
andintellectuallydemeanedanddebasedasmerereactionary
mouthpiecesoftheculturallyredundantNasseristideologyof
panArabism.
Infitah or open door policy wasa policy initiatedby Sadat which
wasoriginallyeconomicbutquicklyhadwiderangingsociocultural
and political ramifications. It involved the opening up of Egyptian
society to capitalism and the rejection of Nassers socialism. It
broughtEgyptclosertotheUnitedStatesandawayfromtheSoviet
sphereofinfluence.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
35

Africana

YoussefChahinecircumventedthisdangerwhenafter
athreeyearhiatusfromfeaturefilmsafterNassersdeath,he
released El Ousfour/The Sparrow (1972), a film which clearly
pointsthefingerofblameforthecalamitousdefeatofEgyptat
thehandsofIsraelintheSixDaysWarof1967attheNasserist
politicalestablishment.Indeed,thefilmwassoprovocativein
its attack on state corruption that Nassers successor, Sadat
haditbannedfortwoyearsafteritsrelease.However,thefilm
was successful for Chahine as an individual in that he
managed to clearly draw a line in the cultural quicksand
between his Nasserist pastandhisfuture career and as such,
TheSparrowbecomesawatershednotonlyinChahinescareer
butalsointhetrajectoryofEgyptianfilmasitsreleasemarks
the end of Nassers panArabist cinematic dream as a new
generation of Arab directors and producers followed
Chahines lead and moved towards more introspective,
microcosmicvisionsoftheirsocietiesinstarkcontrastwiththe
avowed pannational didactic nature and universality of
themeandstructurewhichhadcharacterizedArabcinemain
the Nasserist era. Highly ironically, The Sparrow was itself an
Arab coproduction between Egypt and Algeria but such co
productions would be few and far between in the following
decades.
However, it is Chahines preThe Sparrow work which
is of principal concern to this article and despite its powerful
condemnation of Nasserism, the reality is that Chahines
careerwasforgedinandhelpedtoforgeNasseristcultureand
by logical extension, contemporary Egyptian identity. It may
havebeenpossibletodetachandremovethestigmaandyoke
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
36

Africana

of Nasserism from Chahine after 1970 but it will never be

possibletoremoveChahinefromNasserism.
Born in 1926 in Alexandria into a Christian family,
Chahine attended the prestigious and elitist Victoria College
from where he progressed to Pasadena Film School in
California. As such, Chahine was not a member of the
different opposition political groups such as Young Egypt or
the Muslim Brotherhood7 but to suggest that he was
ambivalenttoorignorantofthegreatpoliticalchangethatwas
onthehorizoninearly1950sEgyptwouldbefoolish.
HisfirstthreefeaturefilmswereshotwhenEgyptwas
still under British colonial rule but his career really took off
aftertheFreeOfficers Revolutionof1952whichbroughtCol.
Nasser to power with his accompanying vision of a new
Egyptian culture and society. This vision called for a total
bouleversement of the hitherto existent class and societal
structurethroughasocialistprogrammeofnationalizationand
education for the masses in order to create a new, more just
society.
Nassers utopian vision involved the formation of a
newnationalidentityandcultureandemissarieswereenlisted
throughout the respective spheres of Egyptian cultural
production and entrusted with the dissemination of the new
Nasseristcreed.Cinemawasoneoftheprincipalspheresand
from the early days of the revolution onwards, Egyptian
Young Egypt was a neofascist group with sympathies towards
Nazi Germany while the Muslim Brotherhood which still exists
today sought to islamicize Egyptian society and was the breeding
groundformanyoffshootIslamicradicalgroupings.
7

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
37

Africana

cinema enjoyed huge government subsidies and production

support as long of course as it served the aims of the
revolution. Chahine was one of the first directors to benefit
from this support and early films such as Sira` Fi alWadi
/StruggleintheValley/TheBlazingSun(1954),inwhichChahine
discovery,OmarSharifenjoyedhisfirstmainroleandSira`fi
elMinaa/DarkWaters,StruggleinthePort(1956)standthetest
of time as almost propaganda documents of early Nasserist
doctrine.
However,itwasCairoMainStation(1958)whichwould
cement Chahines reputation as Nasserisms greatest director
and bring his work and by extension, Nasserism to a wider
Arab and international audience. Cairo Main Station is a
complexandaboveall,visuallyrichfilm,averitablefeastfor
the eyes. Its frequent long shots echo the influence of Italian
neorealismastheprincipalcharactersarejuxtaposedagainst
the tumult and chaos of the real railway station of the title.
Such contrasts mirror the cultural upheaval and radical
changewhichcharacterizedearlyNasseristEgyptandperhaps
the most moving scenes are occasional ones of complete
silencewhichcontraststarklywiththeusualincessantnoiseof
thestation.Oneofthemoststrikingandfamousimagesfrom
the film is the shot of the giant statue of Ramses II which
standsoutsidethestationwiththemassesswarmingaroundit
andtheimpactofthisshot,whichrepresentsthecreationofa
society of the masses, a dominant theme in panArabist
ideology,remainsaspowerfulandeffectivetodayaswhenthe
filmwasfirstreleased.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
38

Africana

CairoMainStationisthestoryofasimplemindedman,
Qenawi, a disabled newspaper seller in the railway station, a
rural peasant cast adrift in the new metropolis. Chahine
himself plays the role of Qenawi and despite his privileged
upbringing, he imbues his character with an ibnalbalad8
qualitywhichendearshimtotheaudiencewhoidentifywith
hischaracterfromtheverybeginning.Qenawicutspicturesof
womenfrommagazinesforthestationhuthelivesinbutthe
realobjectofhissexualdesireormorecorrectly,frustrationis
Hanouma, the beautiful lemonade seller, played by the
popular Egyptian actress, Hind Rostom. However, Hanouma
is engaged to the handsome Abou Serib, a station porter and
tradeunionorganizer,playedbyFaridChawqi.
Hanouma playfully but innocently flirts with Qenawi
and the confusion this provokes unleashes a wave of tragic
violence.Thisviolenceresultsinthedeathofaninnocentgirl
whom Qenawi kills during a rage in a case of mistaken
identity as he attempts to kill Hanouma who has resisted his
advances and when he attempts to kill her again, this act
inevitably leads to Qenawi being taken away to a lunatic
asylum. This allegory for the consequences of the inability to
accept and embrace change in Nassers Egypt was shocking
forEgyptianaudiencesandafteritsrelease,itwasshelvedfor
almosttwentyyearsinEgyptbutithadsucceededinbreaking
ibnalbalad, literally a son of the neighbourhood, is one of the
greatestcomplimentsonecanpaytoanEgyptian.Indialect,itvaries
from area to area but in Irish English, the term salt of the earth
would be used. The term is used to describe somebody who
embodiesinherentdecency,atypeofeveryman.
8

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
39

Africana

newgroundinEgyptiancinemaanditspositiveportrayalofa
fallen woman as a heroine was the first time the issue of
gender inequality had really been portrayed on the Egyptian
cinemascreen.
ThepowerofCairoMainStationisitsabilitytoportray
complex political, social and cultural issues in a simple yet
always didactic manner. For this purpose, Chahine employs
all the classic stereotypes of Egyptian society in the familiar
setting of the Cairo railway station, a location familiar with
almostallofEgyptiansociety.Soundsofpeoplegreetingand
parting,eatinganddrinking,buyingandsellingpermeatethe
film and almost lull the audience into a sense of ease and
familiaritywhichmakestheendallthemoreshocking.
Parallelstoriespermeatethefilmasweseeaselection
of vignettes of a changing Egypt which reinforce the films
message. Porters try to set up a trade union while a feminist
givesaspeech.Afamilyofruralpeasantswanderthroughthe
stationcompletelylostandadriftakintoaliensinabravenew
world while two young lovers arrange a secret rendezvous.
Above all, we see the repeating vignette of the uprooted and
isolated Qenawi, an existential loner and silent voyeur,
emasculatedanddoomedbyhissocialcondition.
Ataleoffailedsocioeconomicdeterminismandsocio
cultural fatalism, Cairo Main Station is a cry for change in
Egypt for only radical change can alter the destinies of the
protagonists.Thefinalsceneinthefilm,whenQenawiistaken
awayinastraitjacketthroughtheteemingcrowdsafterhehas
been persuaded to dress up for a wedding which will never
take place, is almost overly melodramatic but indeed, highly
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
40

Africana

emotive and it quickly became seen as a leitmotif for the

programmeofsocialjusticeandreformswhichNassersought.
If Cairo Main Station linked Chahine to the new
Nasserist creed, he became interminable intertwined with its
fortunes through Saladin (1963). Ostensibly, a historical epic
chartingthetwelfthcenturydefenceofJerusalembytheArab
hero, Saladin against the Christian crusaders, the film is a
thinlyveiledallegoryfortheyearnedfortriumphofthepan
ArabnationalistideologyofNasser.
Scripted by Naguib Mahfouz and Abderrahman
Cherkaoui,thefilmwasoriginallytitledElNasser;Saladinbut
to avoid accusations of overt propaganda, the title is usually
shortened.However,theinferredparallelbetweenSaladinand
Nasserisglaringlyobvious.Saladinisaparagonofpeaceand
religious tolerance, an educated ruler who gives clandestine
medical assistance to Richard the Lionheart and guarantees
religious freedom for all. A three hour epic, Saladin remains
one of the few authentic postcolonial cultural productions
which attest to theglory of ancient Egypt. Indeed, the film is
often as cited as the great historical epic of Egyptian cinema
with Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt and Syria uniting Arabs
acrossWesternAsiaandNorthAfricainordertowardoffthe
ChristiancrusadersanditsappearanceinthewakeoftheSuez
crisis was widely interpreted as echoing Nassers
contemporary harnessing of Arab society against the Zionist
enemy.
ChahineneverdiscussedatlengthSaladininlateryears
butitsinterpretationandappropriationofEgyptianhistoryfor
propaganda purposes cannot be denied. Saladin had already
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
41

Africana

beentheprotagonistofanEgyptianfilmbytheLamabrothers
in 1941 but in colonial times, he had been reduced to a mere
action hero in an adventure. Yet, Chahines production, in
whichheappearshimself,bringsSaladintoanewplaneasa
symbolofjusticeandchivalrywiththeomnipresentsloganof
unity resonating throughout the film, striking a direct chord
withcontemporaryNasseristideologyofthetime.
Arab identity is constantly placed above religious
affiliationandthecharacteroftheChristian,IssaalAwamis
pivotalwithhisdepictionasSaladinsclosestconfidante.The
film is of course, historically inaccurate and the Kurdish
origins of Saladin are never mentioned nor is his
predispositiontoviolence.Onthecontrary,heispresentedin
apurelypositivemannerasbefittedtheNasseristdiscourseon
the portrayal of Nasser and as such, one encounters a
cinematicworkwhichoverthirtyfiveyearslater,stillholdsit
own alongside the oeuvre of other eminent propaganda
directors such as Riefenstahl or Senz de Heredia9.
Interestingly,Nasserissaidtohaveresentedhisportrayalon
the screen in such a magnified and deified manner yet, such
assertions only give rise to further myths such as that of
Nasserasareluctantandbenevolentdictator.10
SeeLeniRiefenstahlsTriumphoftheWill(1935),thefilmofthe1934
Nazi party rally at Nuremberg and Jos Luis Senz de Heredias
Raza(1941),apropagandahomagetoGeneralFrancosvictoryinthe
SpanishCivilWar.
10 This myth of Nasser as a reluctant and benevolent dictator was
widelypropagatedandofficialpicturesofNasserwithchildrenand
inciviliandressstillpredominate.
9

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
42

Africana

ChahinesfinalgreatworkoftheNasseristperiodwas
The Land (1969), another groundbreaking work of social
realism in the style of Cairo Main Station. Adapted from the
1952 novel of the same title by Abderrahman alCherkaoui,
one of his collaborators on Saladin, The Land is a harsh epic
about the power of feudalism in rural Egypt as it chronicles
the struggle of a group of peasants against the oppression of
thelocallandowner.
Inamarkeddeparturefromothersocialrealistepicsof
thepostwarperiod,TheLandshowshowpoliticaloppression
doesnotnecessarilyleadtoasenseofsolidarityamongstthe
disinherited and as such, the film presents a pessimistic and
almostnihilisticviewofEgyptontheeveofNassersdeath,a
view which stands in stark contrast to that of Cherkaoui, the
authoroftheoriginalbookwhowasanuncompromisingold
school Marxist. A politically committed film against the
backdrop of a love story and intergenerational conflicts, it
contains numerous memorable vignettes of the social realist
genre but its ambivalent ending is disturbing and echoes the
vacuum which defeat in the 1967 war and the consequential
failureofNasseristideologywrought.11

InTheLand,oneseestherealdailylifeoftheEgyptian
peasant. Their accents and clothes are real. One sees their
work through the seasons, the sweltering days and cool

The film has strong echoes of early Italian neorealism and in

particular films such as Vittorio de Sicas The Bicycle Thieves (1948)
andUmbertoD(1952).
11

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
43

Africana

nights. For the first time on cinema screens, one sees their
cows and chickens cohabiting with them, their dignity in
poverty,theirsuperstitiousnaturebutmostofall,theirquasi
religiousattachmenttotheirplotofland.TheNasseristmotif
of solidarity in community is present throughout but
throughout the film, a current of pessimism exists about the
prospects for real social change, mirroring the pervading
socialattitudesofthetimeasthepowerofNasserismwason
thewane.

What is really memorable in The Land is the feast of

Bertoluccilike archetypal images which stand as almost a
collagetotheprincipaltenetsofNasseristideology.Themost
striking is perhaps the long tracking shot of the films last
scene where the aging villager who has stood up to the
tyrannical landlord is brutally punished. His feet are bound
withhisbodytiedtothelegsofahorsewhichisriddenbythe
village sheriff. With his clothes ripped apart and his body
bleeding, he is dragged along but continues to clutch at the
soil. On analysis of this highly emotive scene, one may
questionwhetherheisclutchingthesoil,refusingtoletgo,to
abandon his land, his home or whether it is the earth that is
clutchinghim.

Whichever way one interprets this deliberately

ambivalent ending, one cannot deny that The Land is an
immenselypowerfulandmovingfilm,almostapreludetothe
huge funeral of the charismatic Nasser which would take
placelittleoverayearlater.Moreover,itwasthefirsttimethe
Egyptian peasant, the cornerstone of the nation, had been
portrayedonthescreeninarealisticfashionandassuch,the
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
44

Africana

film fulfilled its Nasserist role of empowering the hitherto

silent peasantry with an authentic voice and presence in
Egyptianculture.
Yet,despitetheobvioussocialandpoliticalcontentof
these three films alongside most of his work, many of the
obituariesandtributesonChahinesrecentdeathconcentrated
onhisstatusasaliberal,westernizeddirectorwhoopposed
the conservative and traditional values of his Egyptian
homeland. Such a concentration, albeit erroneous, is
principally due to the aforementioned semiautobiographical
Alexandriaquartet,AlexandriaWhy?(1978),AnEgyptianTale
(1982), Alexandria Again and Again (1990) and AlexandriaNew
York (2004), a series of films which have been popular in
arthouse cinemas and film clubs worldwide over the last
twenty years and which have come to embody Chahine for
manycriticsandcommentators.
In Alexandria.Why ?, a patriotic Egyptian soldier
kidnapsaBritishsoldierbutbeginsahomosexualrelationship
withhimandthenfallsinlovewithhisvictimwhereasinAn
EgyptianStory,theyoungprotagonistfromAlexandriaWhy?
isseenatanolderageundergoingacrisisofconscienceashe
awaits heart surgery. Alexandria Again and Again sees Yehia,
theoriginalprotagonistandChahinesalteregoasasuccessful
director who joins an actors strike and daydreams about
Amir,ahandsomeyoungactorwhosecareerhehaslaunched.
However,hethenmeetsthebeautifulNadiaandfallsinlove
with her. The quartet ends with the melancholic Alexandria
New York which brings Yehia back to America where he

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
45

Africana

discovers a lost son but mourns the loss of American

innocenceandvalues.
Although successful internationally with the creation
of a cinematic portrayal of Alexandria reminiscent of Woody
Allens homages to New York, one could argue that the
quartet is far from being Chahines best work and
undoubtedly,itisnotthemostrepresentativeofhisrealtalent.
Admittedly, the Alexandria quartet is more accessible than
someofhiscomplexearlierworkandhisparticipationasaco
director in the portmanteau post September 11th production
110901 Eleven Minutes, Nine Seconds, One Image (2002) has
onlyhelpedtocementthisfalseimageofYoussefChahinein
cinematic circles as an ultraliberal and westernized Arab
director.
However, the truth is that the films of the Alexandria
quartetmaybeamongsttheblandestandleastmeaningfulof
Chahines work. They may appear more polished than The
LandorCairoMainStationbutthispolishdiminishesmuchof
thepotencyofadirectorwhoserealtalentlayinhisabilityto
shockanddisturbaudiences.Chahinesbodyofworkuntilthe
mid 1970s implicitly embraced the fusion of history and
politics with the omnipresence of a strong social conscience
and in the tradition of Italian neorealism or the French new
wave,suchfilmssoughttoovertlyinfluenceanddirectsocio
culturalchange.TheprequartetChahinewasinthetruesense
of the word, a revolutionary director and for much of his
cinematic life, he worked towards the goals of Nassers
revolution. As such, one sees the innovative treatment of
characters from humble and destitute areas combined with
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
46

Africana

nonlinear plots, a mixture of sociology, psychology and

remarkablecinematicindividualityinthetreatmentofsubject
matterandintechnique.Witharangeinstylesandcinematic
language from neorealism to the surreal to blatant
melodrama, Chahine spanned cinematic movements but his
engagement was everpresent and although he would often
flirt within the same film with myriad styles and genres, he
remainedfaithfultohispreoccupationwiththedestructionof
class distinctions, the question of gender equality and the
definitionofanewEgypt.
This crucial social committment of Chahine is key to
his relationship with the Nasserist regime and it is not until
The Sparrow (1972) that he really criticizes it but one must
remember that by then, Nasser was dead and the panArab
dreamwasover.Perhapstellingly,Chahinesquarelylaysthe
blame at corruption in the Nasserist administration for the
calamitous defeat by Israel in the SixDay war rather than
directly at Nasser. In the last scene before the film ends with
CheikhImamshauntingthemetune,Nasserannouncesdefeat
in the war and his offer of resignation but Chahines
protagonist,Bahiyya,celebratedinImamssong,runsintothe
street,followedbyagrowingcrowd,shouting,No,wemust
fight,wewillnotacceptdefeat.
A pioneer of social realism in the Arab world,
ChahinesworkwasnotonlyconfinedtoEgyptianthemesin
thisrealmofsocialawareness.InDjamilaBouhired/Djamila,the
Algerian(1958),heportraystheAlgeriananticolonialstruggle
in a biopic which documents the heroism of the resistance
fighter, Djamila Bouhired and his subsequent trial. As such,
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
47

Africana

Chahines work alongside contemporaries such as the

Algerian Mohammed Bouamari or the Syrian, Nabil Maleh,
can be seen as sowing the seeds for the birth of New Arab
Cinemainthe1980sand1990swhichwouldbecomechiefly
characterizedbyitsstrongcommitmenttoandespousalofthe
Palestiniancause.
What is important to note here is that Chahine was
never vehemently antiIsraeli and indeed, his positive
portrayal of the Jewish community and legacy in Alexandria
in AlexandriaWhy ? aroused the wrath of many antiIsraeli
hardlinersintheArabworld.Yet,hewasalwaysabraveand
open critic of social inequality and here, he would
hypothetically stand ideologically with a Palestinian
population. Not simply a mere anticolonial or Arab
nationalist director, Chahine was brave enough to turn the
mirror of criticism upon his own society as in Cairo Main
StationorTheLandwhilecontinuingtopointtounjustglobal
systemswhichweretoblameforthefundamentalproblemsin
theArabworld.
An avowed secularist, Chahine was appalled by the
rise of religious fundamentalism, both Christian and Muslim
alike, in his beloved Egypt. This was something he shared
closelywithNasserandhisrejectionofwhathesawasforces
ofignorancewasstillopenlyapparentinhislatterfilmssuch
asElMassir/Destiny(1997)andhisfinalfilm,Chaos(2007).This
almost rabid opposition to religious extremism and social
conservatismisoftenwronglyinterpretedasthecharacteristic
ofaproWesterndirectorwheninfact,itmayonreflectionbe
a natural reaction of angry nostalgia by an artist who was
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
48

Africana

culturally and ideologically formed and moulded in the fires

ofNasseristrevolutionaryrhetoric.
Youssef Chahines death in July, 2008 left Egyptian
cinemawithoutitscolossusbutEgyptalsolostitseyes,itsears
and most importantly, its conscience. Chahine will be
remembered for taking on fundamentalism in the
contemporaryerabuthehadtakenontheyokeofimperialism
almostfiftyyearsbeforewithhisvisionforanewEgyptwhich
he would tragically never see. This eventual failure of
NasserismtorealizetheprojectofanewjustEgyptiansociety,
based on principles of secularism, tolerance and equality is a
historical reality with myriad cause factors but this doesnt
denigrate or diminish in any way the fundamental role of
YoussefChahineinthissocial,culturalandpoliticalprojectfor
almosttwentyyears.
The failure of Nasserism may account for the
introspectivenatureofmuchofChahineslaterandironically,
more commercially successful work but his most enduring
legacymaybehisstatusasacinematicconscienceforanation
and this was never clearer than in works such as Cairo Main
Station,SaladinandTheLand.
Chahine,likeNasser,knewthatEgypthadtofaceher
memoryandbyextension,herfearsbeforeshecouldembrace
her hopes and her future. Their dreams for the cultural
production of a new Egyptian would never come to fruition
and would remain a utopian dream, tarnished by political

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
49

Africana

oppression.12Yet,asNasseristideologyfadesintohistoryina
contemporary climate of increasing religious radicalism, the
Nasserist films of Youssef Chahine such as Cairo Main
Station and The Land remain as powerful celluloid
advertisements for and testaments to one of the potentially
most powerful sociocultural ideologies of the last century.
SuccessiveEgyptianheadsofstatehavegonetogreatlengths
to cast off and exorcize the legacy of Nasserism as a socio
culturalbeaconfromcontemporaryEgyptiansocietybuttheir
effortswillhavebeeninvainaslongasthecinemaofChahine
survives.

Filmography
BabaAmin(PapaAmin)1950
IbnalNil(NileBoy)1951
ElMoharegelKebyr(TheGreatClown)1952
SaydatalKetaar(LadyontheTrain)1953
NisaabilaRegal(WomenwithoutMen)1953
Sira`FialWadi(StruggleintheValley/TheBlazingSun)1954
ShaitanalSahraa(TheDesertDevil)1954

NasserwasparticularlyharshinhispoliticaloppressionofIslamic
groupssuchastheMuslimBrotherhood.
12

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
50

Africana

Sira`fielMinaa(DarkWaters,StruggleinthePort)1956
WaddatuHobbaka(FarewelltoYourLove)1957
EntaHabiby(YoureMyLove)1957
BabalHadid(CairoMainStation)1958
DjamilaBouhired(Jamila,theAlgerian)1958
HobblelAbad(ForeverYours)1959
BeinEdeik(InYourHands)1960
NidaaalOushaak(ALoversCall)1960
RajulfeHaiaty(AManinMyLife)1961
AlNasserSalahAdDin(Saladin)1963
FagrYoumGedeed(DawnofaNewDay)1964
BiyaaElKhawatem(TheRingSalesman)1965
RimalminThahab(GoldenSands)1966
EidalMairun(TheFeastofMairun)1967
AlNaswalNil(ThosePeopleoftheNile)1968
AlArd(TheLand)1969

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
51

Africana

AlEkhtyiar(TheChoice)1970
Salwa al Fatah al Saghira allaty Tokalem el Abkar (Salwa the
LittleGirlwhoTalkstoCows)1972
ElOusfour(TheSparrow)1972
Intilak(ForwardWeGo)1973
AwdetelEbnelDal(ReturnofTheProdigalSon)1976
Iskandariyah...lih?(Alexandria...Why?)1978
HaddutaMisriyah(AnEgyptianTale)1982
WadaanBonabart(AdieuBonaparte)1985
AlYawmalSadis(TheSixthDay)1986
IskandariyahKamanwaKaman(AlexandriaAgainandAgain)
1989
ElKaheraMenawarabeAhlaha(CairoastoldbyChahine)1991
AlMohagir(TheEmigrant)1994
AlMassir(TheDestiny)1997
KolahaKhatwa(ItsOnlyaStep)1998
AlAkhar(TheOther)1999

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
52

Africana

SokootHansawwar(Silence,WereRolling)2001
110901ElevenMinutes,NineSeconds,OneImage2002
IskandariyahNewYork(AlexandriaNewYork)2004
HeyaFawda..?(IsThisChaos..?)2007

SelectBibliography

Abou Shadi, Aly. A Chronology of the Egyptian cinema, 18961994.

Cairo,alMajlisalAlalilThaqafah,1998.

AlObaidi, Jabbar A. Egyptian Film: Gender And Class Violence

Three Cycles. International Journal of Instructional Media, 27.3 (2000)
261275.

Armbrust, Walter. Islamists in Egyptian Cinema. American

Anthropologist,104.3(2002)922932.

Armbrust, Walter. New Cinema, Commercial Cinema, and the

ModernistTraditioninEgypt.Alif:JournalofComparativePoetics.15.1
(1995)81129.

Baker, Raymond. Combative Cultural Politics: Film Art and

Political Spaces in Egypt. Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics. 15.6
(1995)17998.

Beattie, Kirk J.. Egypt during the Nasser Years: Ideology, Politics and
CivilSociety.Boulder:WestviewPress,1994.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
53

Africana

Daney, Serge and Toubiana, Serge. Alexandrie, parce que.Cahiers

duCinma.431.1(1990)4452.

Darwish, Mustafa. Dream makers on the Nile: a portrait of Egyptian

cinema.Cairo:AmericanUniversityinCairoPress,1998.

Gaffney, Jane. The Egyptian Cinema: Industry And Art In A

ChangingSociety.ArabStudiesQuarterly.9.1(1987)5373.

Gordon, Joel. Days of Anxiety/Days of Sadat: Impersonating

Egypts Flawed Hero on the Egyptian Screen. Journal of Film &
Video.54.2(2002)2742.

GonulDonmez,Colin.ThecinemaofNorthAfricaandtheMiddleEast.
NewYork:WallflowerPress,2007.

Jankowski,James.Egypt;ashorthistory.Oxford:Oneworld,2000.

Jousse,T.EntretienavecYoussefChahine.CahiersduCinema.517.1
(1997)3539.

Kehr, Dave The waters of Alexandria: the films of Youssef

Chahine.FilmComment32.6(1998)2328.

Khan, Mohamed. An introduction to the Egyptian cinema. London,

Informatics,1969.

Khatib, Lina. Nationalism and Otherness: The representation of

Islamic fundamentalism in Egyptian cinema. European Journal of
CulturalStudies.9.1(2006)6380.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
54

Africana

Kiernan, Maureen. Cultural Hegemony and National Film

Language:YoussefChahine.Alif:JournalofComparativePoetics.15.1
(1995)13052.

Klawans, Stuart. Nine views in a looking glass: Film trilogies by

Chahine, Gitai, and Kiarostami. Parnassus: Poetry in Review. 25.1
(2000)231234.

Le Pron, Serge and Daney, Serge. Le syndrme Alexandrie./

Entretien avec Youssef Chahine. Cahiers du Cinma. 310.1 (1980)18
25

Malkmus, Lizbeth. The New Egyptian Cinema: Adapting Genre

ConventionstoaChangingSociety.Cineaste.16.3(1988)3033.

Massad,Joseph.ArtandpoliticsinthecinemaofYoussefChahine.
JournalofPalestineStudies28.2(1999)7778.

Reynaud, Brnice. Everywhere desirea profile of the works of

EgyptianfilmdirectorYoussefChahine.SightandSound.7.8(1997)
2023.

Samak, Qussai. The Politics of Egyptian Cinema. MERIP Reports.

56.1(1977)1215.

Vatkiotis.P.J.NasserandhisGeneration.NewYork:St.MartinsPress,
1978.

Woodward,Peter.Nasser.London:Longman,1992.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
55

Africana

Growing Civic Awareness - Symptomatic

Rehearsal of True Democratic Dividend:
Lessons from Nigerias General Elections of 2007
Franklins A. Sanubi13

ABSTRACT
The concept of democratic dividend is a peculiar one among
Nigerian politicians whereby political office holders believe
thattheircalltoserviceisoccasionedbytheneedtogarneras
much of political goods to their electors as possible from the
national cake. Therefore, there is a popular conception (or
perhaps misconception) among the local people that
democratically elected public officers are only relevant in as
muchastheycansecureandgraciouslygivemoreofthese
publicgoodstothemintherespectiveconstituenciesfortheir
immediate and long term enjoyments. In this article, Dr.
Sanubi,usingeventsatthe2007stateandfederalelectionsas
dataframework,believesthatmorethanjustsecuringpolitical
goods such as roads, health care facilities and education, the
awakening of the local people to a civic awareness and
responsibilityinagrowingdemocracyinwhichthepeopleare
inthedrivingseatofthedeterminationofpoliticalprogressin
theirownstateisamoreenduringdividendofdemocracy.

13

Franklins A. Sanubi, Ph.D., is a Lecturer in the Department of Political

Science at the Delta State University in Abraka, Nigeria.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
56

Africana

INTRODUCTION
Political apathy, which is the inverse of an active political
participation in a democracy, may perhaps be one of the
strongest retardations to the development of modern
democratic culture in contemporary Nigeria. More than just
dispatchingelectionmonitors(internationalobservers)during
national election periods, if there were any agenda of
international concern on Nigeria in the furtherance of the
development of a healthy democratic practice in this
phenomenally sprawling and fledgling democracy in the
entire African continent, the issue of stimulating political
awareness (otherwise known as Civic Political Education)
among the local people should take precedence. In a society
historically shaped in monarchism, authoritarianism, and in
fact, where the civil population had over the years lived in
perpetualaweofstatepoliceandotherinstrumentsofpolitical
subjugation particularly as expressed in the long years of
militarydominationindomesticgovernance,theintroduction
of popular rule (or democracy) is undoubtedly a long and
arduousinvestmenttoundertake.

TheRelevanceofCivicAwarenessinDemocracy
Democracythrivesinapoliticallyconscioussocietywherethe
people (whose popular decision is often expressed at public
electionsandotherdemocraticforums)arenotonlyawareof
theircivicrightsincludingthoserelatingtothedetermination
ofwhotakesthegovernmentseatofthestateatagiventime
but also have the freedom to exercise those rights. In the
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
57

Africana

advanced democracies, dwindling civic awareness which can

easily be implied by an observation of declining voters
participationatelectionsusuallyprovideacourseforconcern
to policy makers. For instance, the US Senate in September
2004resolved,thattheSenate

(1) recognizes and supports all efforts to promote greater

civic awareness among the people of the United States,
including civic awareness programs such as candidate
forumsandvoterregistrationdrives;and

(2) encourages local communities and elected officials at all

levels of government to promote greater awareness among
the electorate of civic responsibility and the importance of
participatingintheseelections.

Representative Ralph Hall (RTX) at the House session on

October 7, 2004 expressed similar view in a proposed
resolutionthatthepercentageofAmericansregisteredtovote
unfortunately has declined in recent yearsthere is no better
time to make citizens more aware of one of the greatest
privileges we have as Americans the right to vote. (108th
Congress, 2d Session, S. Res. 434). An effective political
awareness programme or the presence of numerous civic
awareness organizations and advocacy groups at the federal,
state and local level actively promote voter registration and
voterparticipation.Infact,civicawarenesshelpstostimulate
what Thomas Ehrlich (2000) calls a vibrant civic engagement.
Civicengagementiscrucialifthepeopleinademocracyareto
be seen as responsible for their own societal political progress.
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
58

Africana

The American Democracy Project (ADP), (an initiative of 219

AASCU campuses that seeks to create an intellectual and
experiential understanding of civic engagement for
undergraduates enrolled at institutions that are members of
AASCU) defined the goal of the project as the production of
graduateswhounderstandandarecommittedtoengagingin
meaningful actions as citizens in a democracy. According to
Ehrlich(2000),Civicengagementmeans:

working to make a difference in the civic life of our

communitiesanddevelopingthecombinationofknowledge,
skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It
meanspromotingthequalityoflifeinacommunity,through
both political and nonpolitical processes a morally and
civicallyresponsibleindividualrecognizeshimselforherself
asamemberofalargersocialfabricandthereforeconsiders
socialproblemstobeatleastpartlyhisorherown;suchan
individualiswillingtoseethemoralandcivicdimensionsof
issues, to make and justify informed moral and civic
judgments,andtotakeactionwhenappropriate.

Political awareness from the foregoing therefore, not only

encouragescivicengagementbutalsoprovidesamongothers,
the knowledge that no one person or group of persons can
subduethepopularwillofthepeople.Thisiswhatpolitical
scientists call the sovereignty of the state. In defending the
sovereigntyofthestate,thecivilpopulationisavailedalotof
instruments of check on the exercise of state power by those
currently managing it. Such instruments include elections,
the courts, public opinion, civil/mass actions (as in public
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
59

Africana

demonstrations,presscondemnations)amongothers.Election
asaninstrumentofcheckonpoliticalpowercanbeseenfrom
variousperspectivesnamely;asanenthronementprocessasin
generalelections,adethronementprocessasinrecall,andevena
confidence vote as in plebiscites and referenda. In such a
traditionallyauthoritariansocietywherethepeoplehadlived
in political apathy especially to elections and other modern
proceduresofdemocraticdetermination,acriticalrequirement
for building a virile democracy is the promotion of a healthy
civiceducationamongthepeople.
Out of Nigerias fortyseven years of independence,
only seventeen comes under what may be regarded as
attemptstopracticesomeformofmoderndemocracy.And
withthreeofsuchattemptsnamely19601966,19791983,1993
1995failingtoentrenchasustainabledemocraticculture,anda
fourthattemptbeingcurrentlyundertestofsurvival,thereare
undoubtedlygreatimperativestoidentifythosefactors,which
impede the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria. Civic
Educationisapanaceatopoliticalapathyifthecitizensneed
to understand that their political destiny is in their hands.
With lessons drawn from the conduct of the 2007 general
elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC),wepresentlyexplicatehereinhowthecurrentpractice
of democracy in Nigeria has yielded (perhaps unexpected)
benefits in form of the creation of a strong civic awareness
amongtheNigerianelectors.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
60

Africana

DefiningtheDividendofDemocracyinNigeria
Exceptfortheinternationalreaderwhomayerroneouslyseeit
from the traditionallybusiness point of view of corporate
investmentinstocks,thephrasedividendofdemocracyisa
peculiar terminology in Nigeria which means something that
is quite a departure from stock trading. In recent time,
politicians in Nigeria have expropriated the term dividend
toimplypaymentofonesownshareofthenationalcakeas
a result of participating in the democratic governance in the
country at whatever level. It depicts, quite unfortunately
however, some farreaching negative philosophy of political
participation in the country an avenue for wealth creation
andnotnecessarilyasacalltoserve.Infact,formostpolitical
office holders, service is only a medium of self
aggrandizement and the building of personal economic base
for ones life expectancy. If anything, good service is
accidental.Inotherwords,ifintheprocessofapublicservice,
apoliticalofficeholder(suchasacouncil/countychairman,a
governor, a senator, a minister or even a president) finds
himself providing some political goods such as good
governance, roads, health, education etc, the local people can
most often perceive it as windowdressing for personal
enrichment. In fact, some political office holders have
indicated, by their personal attitudes, that the provision of
suchsocialgoodstothepeopleisaprivilegeandnotaright.
In this reasoning therefore, whenever political office holders
use the word dividends of democracy they are seemingly
telling their audience about the amount of social goods they
are able to garner and graciously provide for their electors
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
61

Africana

such as the amount of schools built with public funds,

hospitals or infirmaries equipped or staffed, kilometers of
roadsconstructedandoramountofstudentbursarypayments
made while in office. Because of this perception, it is often
very easy to picture an average politician in Nigeria as being
overtly corrupt. This also makes it difficult to identify who
amongthesepoliticalofficersisactuallycalledoutforservice
totheirmotherland.Buthastheseventeenyearsofdemocratic
experimentinNigeriayieldedanysustainabledividendsto
theNigerianelectorthanmereprovisionofrudimentarybasic
socialgoodsasroads,waterandeducation,ifany?
Beyond these, we believe that one fundamental
latent dividend which we may classify as an unexpected
benefitofthecountrystransitiontodemocraticgovernance,
is the growing spate of civic awareness among the Nigerian
electorsasmanifestedintherecent(2007)stateandfederal
elections in Nigeria. The creation of a strong political
education is regarded here as unexpected benefit because
those whose political activities indirectly yielded this benefit
maynothaveenvisagedit.Somesocalledpoliticalstalwarts
had wished that the local people in their community would
perpetually remained uneducated and subservient to their
(stalwarts) domineering political magnanimity and the
peoplescontinuingeconomicandsocialdependence.

ThePoliticalDividendsofthe2007Elections?
The 2007 state and federal elections in Nigeria has become a
topical issue, albeit in the international political platform, for
policymakerstochewupon.Theelectionrepresentedinmany
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
62

Africana

respects,agrievousbackslideinNigeriaspoliticalimageand
nationalintegrity.Itwasanelectionthatwouldalreadyhave
aroused a popular pessimism by neighbouring and foreign
erstwhile hopeful friends of the nation, beside its enemies,
ontheabilityofthenationtofunction,eveniflessactively,in
the contemporary millennial global political and economic
settings.Itwasanelectionthatcastseriousinnuendoesonthe
nations aspiration to a regional power, let alone an
international player in world politics. For a nation that once
sought a permanent seat at the United Nations Security
Council (Osagie,2005) the 2007 state and federal elections
exposed the nations faltering electoral process, which has
provided a new alibi to call for the total restructuring of the
wholeelectoralsystem.Rightfromthetimeofitsappointment
by the executive arm of the government, up to its
commencement of preparations for this election, the electoral
authority, INEC demonstrated ineptitude and incapability to
deliveritsassignmenttherebyportendingfailure.Theprocess
began with the registration of about sixty million eligible
voters representing 40.09percent of an estimated 140million
national population (as per the figures of the 2006 national
population census released by the National Population
CommissioninearlyFebruary2007).Earlierin2006,therehad
been discussion and some acceptance of a possible electronic
voting during the final elections in 2007. This inspired the
electoral body to register eligible voters through a
photographic procedure whereby voters personal and
forensic data are embossed in the voters registration card
apparently to act as check againstmultiple voting during the
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
63

Africana

election. The photographic process of registration was

undoubtedly a more expensive venture compared to the
manual registration hitherto used in previous elections. To a
great extent, there seemed to be a popular acceptance of this
process at least as some measure of advancement of the
electoral system. Suddenly however, the final voting was no
longer to be the electronic type as the electoral authority had
argued that there was insufficient time available to it to test
run and perfect the electronic system which, it was already
working towards. Thus with the hope of electronic voting
jettisoned, INEC was constrained to relapse into the usual
manual voting in a peculiar Nigerian system called Open
Secretballot(asystemwherebyavotersecretlythumbprints
againstthecandidateofhis/herchoiceandcomestocastitinto
atransparentballotboxkeptonanopenplacewhereeveryone
aroundthepollingstationcansee).Theelectionsintoseatsin
Nigerias thirtysix state assemblies and as governors were
conductedonSaturdayApril142007throughoutthecountry
while that into the presidency and the bicameral national
assembly (Senate and House of Representatives) were
conductedaweeklateronSaturday,21April2007.Therewere
atotalof120,000pollingstationsnationwideeachcontaininga
segment of the 60 million registered voters names. The final
conduct of election and the aftermath was quintessentially
deplorable as demonstrated by various observers. Two views
fromcredibleinternationalmonitorsamongstafloodofother
observersareincisivelysummativeofthe2007elections.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
64

Africana

Firstly, the European Union Election Observation

Mission(EUEOM)faultedtheconductofthegeneralelections
saying:

the election fellfar shortof basic internationalandregional

standardsfordemocraticelection.

The Election, according to the mission, was marred by poor

organization, lack of essential transparency, widespread
procedural irregularities and significant evidence of fraud,
particularlyduringtheresultcollationprocess.EUEOMalso
listed voter disfranchisement at different stages of the
process,lackofequalconditionforcontestantsandnumerous
incidents of violence as other major features of the elections
concluding;

asaresult the elections have not livedup to the hopes and

expectationsoftheNigeriapeopleandtheprocesscannotbe
consideredtohavebeencredible.

The observation that polling started late throughout the

countryduetothelatearrivalofmaterialsandINECofficials
while voting was not conducted at all in many areas, was
characteristic. The EUEOM observers also reported that at
least 200 people, including candidates and policemen were
killed in electionrelated incidents, adding that thugs were
widely used to create a significant degree of fear and
intimidation. It regretted that, INEC, which was financially
dependent on the executive, did not prepare well for the
election and does experience widespread lack of confidence
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
65

Africana

among election stakeholders in relation to its capacity and

impartiality, noting that the quality of final voter register
was poor and included under aged voters, double entries,
missingandblurredpicturesofvoters.TheEUEOMfearing
probable mass reprisals quickly urged aggrieved candidates
and political parties to demonstrates calm and explore the
legal mechanism to seek redress and called on the relevant
authoritiestoinvestigateallegationsofirregularities.Itequally
called for an immediate action to establish what it called a
truly independent and capable election administration. For
the confidence of voters to be restored, the mission calledfor
the demonstration of political will by the federal and state
governmentstoendthepracticeofhiringthugstoperpetuate
electoralviolence(Vanguard:2007)
The second credible international observer at the
electionthatweshallconsiderhereistheNationalDemocratic
Institute (NDI), which described the election as a failed
process. Ms Madeleine Albright, the leader of the
internationalelectionobserverteam,describedtheelectionas
afailurestating,inmanyplacesandinanumberofways,the
electoral process failed the Nigerian people. The cumulative
effect of the serious problems the delegation witnessed
substantially compromised the integrity of the electoral
processthe polls were flawed by several shortcomings,
includingunprecedenteddelays,earlycloseorfailedopening
of the polls, which served as a fundamental barrier to
popular political participation and most likely,
disenfranchised many prospective voters. Other flaws
observed included ballot snatching and stuffing, supply of
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
66

Africana

inadequatepollingmaterials,underagevoting,lackofsecrecy,
unverifiable electoral documents and involvement of security
agents in manipulating the electoral process among other
flaws which, Albright believes has further eroded citizens
confidence in the electoral system while the 2007 polls
represents a step backward in the conduct of elections in
Nigeria, But the striking part of the NDIs report is the one
relating to the judiciary, legislature, civil society and vibrant
media which it believes gave rise to hope.(NDI: 2007). The
reportcommendedthedisciplinedpostureoftheelectorate
beforeandduringtheelections,addingthataggrievedparties
should seek redress through peaceful and constitutional
means before May 29. The group proffered a fivepoint
solutiontothepitfallsrecorded,includingearlypreparations,
effective and credible judiciary, expeditious prosecution of
poll cases and respect for the rule of law. It stressed that the
INEC must ensure speedy correction of the identified
technicalfailingsbeforefutureelectionsareheld.
Beside these observations, there were a flood of
domestic protests (with attendant demonstrations by various
segments of the society including women) coming from
aggrieved parties, among which were the nations foremost
labour unions, the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade
UnionCongressofNigeriawhichevenstressedthatthenew
president will lack legitimacy (NLC,2007) and a greater part
of the electorate majority of who expressed complete
disenfranchisementduringtheelections.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
67

Africana

CivicAwarenessinthe2007ElectionsATruerDemocratic
Dividend
Civic response to the 2007 state and federal elections in
Nigeria showed that, by and large, the citizenry is growing
tremendously in civic awareness. There has not been any
election in Nigeria with such a massive civic engagement as
reflectedintheyearsvotersturnoutinitshistoryofelections
depictingaburningdesireandhopebytheelectoratethatits
mandateisreflectedintheenthronementprocessofnewstate
andnationalleaders.Whetherornot,thisdesirewasfulfilled
inthe2007stateandfederalelectionremainsacrucialmatter
ofconcernfordemocraticwatchersofNigeria.Yet,foroncein
its history of elections in Nigeria, the electorate was able to
discernbetweencredibleandincrediblecandidates.Itwasan
electioninwhichmoneyfactor(especiallyasabaitonvoters)
was very minimal, if not completely absent. If anything,
moneypoliticswaspracticedatthemiddleandupperlevelsof
the political class. Massive domestic media coverage of
elections, especially by privately owned organizations) was
unprecedented.Perhapsthemanyyearsofsocialandpolitical
anguishandcountrysideeconomicpovertyhavewhippedup
the political consciousness of the people to determine its
destiny by the ballot. Another striking element of the civic
awarenessinthe2007electionswastheemergenceofinformal
political organizations popularly known (especially in the
Niger Delta regions) as Political forums. During the three
years preceding the conduct of the 2007 state and federal
elections, some of the key players in the domestic politics of
the local communities, especially those who participated in
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
68

Africana

securing some dividends of democracy for their local people,

with an intention to use them as platforms for prosecuting
further political ambitions, have mobilized their community
members into forming strong political associations where the
political stakes and other objectives of the respective
communities are articulated and projected. By the eve of the
2007 elections, there were countless numbers of political
forums. In fact, each local community has a political forum
named after the community under which the political
aspirants from the community launch their political
campaigns.TheUrhoboPoliticalForumintheNigerDeltafor
instance became the forerunner of the establishment of a
plethora of political forums among the Urhobo ethnic
communities including Uvwie Political forum, Udu Political
Forum, Oghara Political Forum amongst others. This
development is also characteristic of other regions in the
countrynotjusttheNigerDeltaalone.

Conclusion
The enormous political awareness demonstrated in the 2007
state and federal elections show that despite its present
inability to enforce its will on the current awful election
process, in no distant future, election fraudsters would be
completely overwhelmed by an overriding will of the people
toenforceitchoiceofcandidatesatpublicelectionsinNigeria.
A highly civically aware society would constraint election
manipulatorstoapplytherulesofthepoliticalgameatpublic
elections.Publicelectionsinsuchastatewouldbemeaningful
andtrulyrepresentativeofthepeopleschoiceatelectionsand
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
69

Africana

prevent the glaring practice of political disenfranchisement

anddenialprevalentinthecurrentdispensationinNigeria.By
that time, there will be no need for external assistance in
determiningcredibilityinelectionsinthecountrybecausethe
people can then enforce their popular will on the state
whenever any anomalies were observed, even in the face of
threats and intimidation from statutory authorities. Civic
awareness therefore is the major instrument required in
attaining a sustainable democracy in Nigeria. This to us is a
symptomaticrehearsalofabetterdemocraticdividend,which
the 2007 state and federal elections have bequeathed to the
teeming population of helpless Nigerians in their quest for a
betterdemocraticculture.

References
AmericanAssociationofStateCollegesandUniversities
(AASCU)(2006)AmericanDemocracyProjectADP@
http://www.aascu.org/programs/adp/

American Congress (2004) (108th Congress,2d Session, S. Res.

434)WashingtonD.C.

Ehrlich, T.(2000) (ed.)Civic Responsibility and Higher Education,

American Council on Education/Oryx Press(Preface, page vi) and
(Introduction,pagexxvi).

NDI(2007)InterimreportoftheNationalDemocraticInstituteonthe
2007Nigeriangeneralelections.
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
70

Africana

NigerianLabourCongress(2007),NewPresidentwilllacklegitimacy,
Vanguard, Tuesday, 24 April,Vanguard Media Limited, Apapa,
Lagos,P.7

Osagie, E. (2005), Repatriation of Nigerias financial assets held

abroad by Nigerian officials for national development. Paper
presented at a oneday Workshop on National Awareness on the UN
Reforms, Benin City,June 22, The Presidency/Faculty of Social
SciencesUniversityofBenin.

Vanguard (2007) The election was a failure, The Daily Vanguard,

VanguardMediaLimited:Apapa,LagosTuesday,24April,P.5

FranklinsA.Sanubi,Ph.D
DepartmentofPoliticalScience,DeltaStateUniversity,
P.M.B.1,Abraka,Nigeria
EMail:Sanubi@yahoo.co.uk
Telephone:2348034089467

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
71

Africana

The Niger Delta in Nigerian Nation-Building,

1960-2005
John H. Enemugwem14

Keywords
Civilwar,governance,legislating,science,statescreation,
technology.

Abstract
This work highlights the various methods employed by the
Niger Delta peoples in nationbuilding. In the First Republic
they propounded the twelve states structure of the Nigerian
Federation. Then in the civil war period, between 1967 and
1970, they were the cornerstone of the victory of the Federal
Troops as well as saving lives in the defunct Republic of
Biafra.Theiractivitiesinthepostwaryearsweretowardsthe
rehabilitation and reconstruction programme of the Federal
Government of Nigeria. This gave them the opportunity to
establish many things including the Rivers State Secretariat,
gasturbine,SeaSchool,thepioneerUniversityofScienceand

Dr John H. Enemugwem is Senior Lecturer and Head of

Department of History and Diplomatic Studies, Department of
History& DiplomaticStudies, Faculty of Humanities, University of
PortHarcourt,PortHarcourt,Nigeria.
14

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
72

Africana

TechnologyinNigeriaandfreeeducation.Thesecontributions
areindelibleandyearnforhistoricaldocumentation.

Introduction
Okilo (1992:1) defines nationbuilding as the process of
developing a country in a way that would satisfy the needs
and aspirations of the nationals. The good activities in this
regardusuallybringgreatchangesnotonlyinsomethingnew
but also what can move the country forward. According to
Carr (1952), without nationbuilding inculcating a new order,
asetofvaluesintheeconomic,politicalandsocial lifeof the
inhabitantsofacountry,thesovereigntyofthatnationwould
notberealized.Hence,everynationthatwantstomaintainits
sovereignty needs active nationbuilders. And so is Nigeria
whosenationbuildersfromtheNigerDeltajoinedothersfrom
otherpartsofthecountrytocontributetowardstheexistence
ofthislargestblacknationintheworld.
The Niger Delta people were in the art of nation
building for over forty years, 19602005. Their motivation
stemmed from their forebears that occupy ninetenth of the
Nigeriancoastline.Becausetheywereexposedtointernational
commerce with Europeans, they contributed to the political
foundation of Nigeria from 1830 to 1960. This includes their
activeparticipationintheindependencemovementduringthe
colonial period, 19001960. As soon as independence was
achieved in 1960, they and others were in the task of nation
building which only few aspects of their contributions are
documentedinthiswork.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
73

Africana

The First Republic and the Twelve States Structure of

Nigeria,19601967
The postcolonial period started in 1960 and witnessed the
NigerDeltarevolutionariesinnationbuilding.Theywerenot
contented with the refusal of the Imperial Government to
create more States in colonial Nigeria. After Eyo Itas
campaign for ethnical states during the Macpherson
ConstitutionalConferencebefore1951andthatofBiriyeinthe
1957 London Conference, they saw the independence period
of the First Republic of Nigeria, 19601967, as an opportunity
tocontinuetheiragitationforit.Hence,anIjoNCNCmember
of the Federal House of Representatives for OpoboSouth,
ChiefU.O.EkeneokotofObolo(Andoni),raisedamotionfor
the creation of more states in the Nigerian Federation with
emphasis on a future Rivers State. Although it was carefully
noted,itdidnotreceivetheimmediateapprovaloftheNCNC
NPCcoalitiongovernment(AminiPhilips,2005:147150).
In 1966, the Rivers Leaders of Thought delegated Dr.
IsaacJohnFiberesima(19061986)ofOkrikawhosepositionas
the pioneer medical doctor in Okrika advanced the study of
medicine in the Niger Delta, Chiefs Harold DappaBiriye,
WenikeBriggsandDr.W.T.WakamatotheEasternNigerian
Consultative Assembly at Enugu. The research of Daminabo
(2006) showed that the issue discussed also bordered on the
creationofRiversState.Theyfurtheredtheirdemandintothe
military regime in 1967 when Chiefs Harold DappaBiriye of
BonnyandZumohEfekeofAmassomalaunchedacampaign
inNorthernNigeriaforthedivisionofthecountryintotwelve
statesstructure.Opara(1997:3637)documentedthesupportof
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
74

Africana

the Northern Nigerian politicians. The suggested formula of

theseNigerDeltamen,sixstateseachintheNorthandSouth,
was the policy adopted by the Federal Military Government
headed by General Yakubu Gowon in creating the twelve
statesstructureoftheNigeriaFederationinMay1967.
SaroWiwa (1989: 257266) stated that the
memorandumwhichcreatedtheenablingenvironmentforthe
Nigerian Government to create more states in 1967 was
preparedon10September1966andsignedbytheNigerDelta
Ijoandtheirneighbours.IntheNigerDeltadelegationtothe
Federal Government for this feat were Chief Harold J. R.
DappaBiriye, Messrs. Emmanuel J. A. Oriji and Wenike
OpurumBriggs.ThesignatoriesforthecreationofRiversState
were S. N. Dikibo (Chairman), Dr. Isaac J. M Fiberesima
(Degema Division), Barrister Nwobidike Nwanodi (Ahoada
and Port Harcourt Divisions), Barrister Robert P. G. Okara
(Brass Division) and Mr. Graham B. C. Otoko of Obolo
(Andoni)signedfor(OpoboDivision).
ItbecameoneofthemajorcausesoftheNigeriancivil
war when some groups in the eastern part of Nigeria
disagreedwiththisnovelstructureofthefederation.Thebone
ofcontentionwasthecreationofRiversStatewhichgoeswith
Port Harcourt, the petroleum city of Nigeria, as the state
capital. In order to redeem it the architects of the defunct
RepublicofBiafrasawcivilwarasimminent.Thisenlistedthe
reaction of some Niger Delta revolutionaries whom proved
theirmettleinthebattlefield.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
75

Africana

The Nigerian Civil War and the Niger Delta

Contributions,19671970
During the Nigerian civil war the contributions of Harold
Jeneibiwari Rowland DappaBiriye (19202005) formerly
Wilcox of Bonny had remained prominent. Etekpe (2004)
demonstratedBiriye as a brain behind the victory of the
Federaltroopsinthecivilwar.Hetouredabroadandwonthe
British and Russian support for Nigeria. To this end, an Ijo
man, General George Kurubo of Bonny, was appointed
Nigerias ambassador to the USSR to deepen the Russian
commitment to Nigeria. In the same year, 1967,
DappaBiriyewasappointedamemberofNigeriasdelegation
to the United Nations General Assembly. This enabled the
U.N. to mediate in the ArabIsraeli conflict through the
passingofResolution242oftheUnitedNationsOrganisation.
Inaddition,hisChairmanshipoftheNationalCouncilforArts
and Culture in Nigeria, 19751978, would be remembered for
twothings.FirstistheWorldFestivalofArtsandCulturefor
Blacks(FESTAC)thattookplaceinNigeriain1977.Second,he
used the opportunity of the postcolonial Nigeria to cement
theunityoftheNegroworld.

Within this independence period, the Ijo also

produced the pioneer revolutionaries that advanced the
political development of Nigeria. Their feats were eloquent
duringtheyears.ProminentamongstthemwereIsaacAdaka
Boro,SamuelOwonaru,NottinghamDick,GeorgeAmangala,
Boardman Nyananyo, Sylvanus J. S. Cookey and Geoffrey L.
Uzono.TheysymbolizedIjostruggleforselfdeterminationon
the one hand and Ijo supreme sacrifice and commitment for
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
76

Africana

the unity of Nigeria. Indeed their collective and individual

activities are vital in history. It is a common knowledge that
theirsalvagingrolesintheliberationoftheNigerDeltaregion
duringthecivilwarbroughttheFederaltroopstovictory.

IsaacJasperAdakaBoro(19381968)wastheiconofthe
struggle. Prior to his revolutionary martyrdom, he had
identifiedtheproblemsofhisIjoethnicityandthatofNigeria.
Boro was the first Nigerian to undertake an armed struggle
against the Nigerian State. It was to illuminate and
demonstrate to the world the exploitation and oppression of
the Ijo. In the course of it, he and some of his Niger Delta
VolunteerForceof159menwerearrested,chargedfortreason,
sentenced to death and later commuted to life imprisonment
(Tebekaemi, 1982). The threats of Ojukwus rebellion to
undermine the indivisibility of Nigeria forced Gowons
administration of Nigeria to pardon and enlist them into the
Nigerian Armed Forces. Hence, they justified the Federal
confidence in the Ijo and reinstated the unity of Nigeria.
AlthoughBorodiedinthestruggleofdefendingtheNigerian
Federation, he was not alone. He enjoyed the tremendous
supportofhiscontemporarieslikeNyananyo.

According to Nyananyo (2006: 12), Boardman

Nyananyo (19321967) was named Esinkuma, meaning, fear
not.FromhisearlyeducationatMamfeinCameroonandat
the Kalabari National College Buguma, he displayed much
brilliance in mathematics that his peers nicknamed him
Boardman. After his Senior Cambridge Examinations that
hepassedinflyingcolours,Esinkumawasofferedscholarship
bySt.AndrewsUniversityScotlandtostudymathematics.He
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
77

Africana

distinguishedhimselfandcompletedhisprogrammeinrecord
timewithMasterofArtsdegreeinMathematicsandDiploma
in Education. This distinctive achievement endeared St.
Andrews to offer him a job that he did for three years.
Boardman returned to contribute to the development of
Nigeria,in1963.HetaughtMathematicsatPriscillaMemorial
Secondary School (PMSS) Oguta and Federal Government
CollegeWarri.

It was at Warri that he and his friend, George

Amangala left and enlisted in the Nigerian Army. Their
enlistment sensitized the Ijo youth who went through the
creekstoLagos.Asaresult,thefamousBonnyCampTraining
Centre was established in Victoria Island for the military
trainingofvolunteersfromIjoland.Theaftermathisthatthey
contributedtothesuccessoftheFederaltroopswiththeirrich
knowledgeoftheNigerDeltaterrain.Thequintet,Nyananyo,
Amangala,Boro,OwonaruandDickwhowerecommissioned
officers in the Third Marine Commando had a fulfilled
mission of landing in Bonny in July 1967 and liberate all Ijo
landbeforeDecember1967(Awoala1983).

However,thecontributionsofNyananyocanrarelybe
forgotten. This gallant Army Major used his mathematical
trainingtoestimatetheenemypositions.Nyananyo(2006:24)
revealed that whenever the secessionists shell, he will
ascertain the position from whence the shell came and
encourage the Federal troops to set their equipment to the
required distance. By this method of Nyananyo, the enemy
wasalwayswipedout.UnfortunatelyandexceptOwonaru,he
and his above named friends were killed during mopping
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
78

Africana

up operations in Bonny in December 1967 and late 1968. In

1982, the Shehu Shagari administration of Nigeria awarded
Nyananyo the posthumous national award of the Member of
theOrderoftheNiger(MON).Thiswasinrecognitionofhis
gallantsoldiering,brillianceandcontributionstothevictoryof
theFederaltroopsintheNigerianCivilWar,19671970.
Coming to the role of Cookey during the war period,
Anokari (1984: 3738) posits that he was the Provincial
Administrator of Opobo Province and Commissioner for
Special Duties in the defunct Republic of Biafra. His primary
responsibilitywastonegotiateforassistancefromtheforeign
reliefagencies.Asaresult,theInternationalCommitteeofthe
RedCross(ICRC),theWorldCouncilofChurches(WCC)and
Caritas International were sending relief supplies to Biafra. It
isalsotothecreditofCookeythatheundertooknegotiations
with Presidents HouphouetBiogny of Ivory Coast, Albert
Bongo of Gabon and Siaka Stevens of Sierra Leone, among
others to recognize and support this defunct republic. Their
assistance ranges from medical facilities and drugs to the
evacuationofthesickchildrenfromthewaraffectedareasto
these countries for treatment. Some were sent to Sao Tome.
After receiving medical attention, they were sent to school
there until the end of hostilities when it was imminent for
themtoreturntoNigeriaandwitness
TwogentlemenwereworkingcloselywithCookeyin
the Opobo provincial office. They were the Provincial
Secretary, Mr. Chukujiekwu from the present day Enugu
State,andtheIntelligentOfficer,Mr.GeoffreyLysiasUzonoof
Obolo (Andoni) in the Niger Delta. Before Opobo fell to the
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
79

Africana

Federal Troops in 1968, these two gentlemen protected the

interest of the Andoni and Ibani Ijo groups against
molestations by the secessionist forces for supporting the
federalcause.AccordingtoUzono(1987:12),inadditionthey
championed a massive educational advancement campaigns
that finally put these groups in the front burner of their
regional politics and gave them a voice in the postwar
Nigeriannationbuilding.BothUzonoandChukujiekwuwere
motivatedonthefactthatanation,communityandfamilyare
recognized by its qualitative elements in nationbuilding and
notbyitsnumberofhumanbeings.

TheNigerDeltainthePostWarNationBuilding,1970
2005
Inthepostwaryears,19702005,Nigeriawasnotwithoutthe
nationbuildingoftheNigerDeltarevolutionariessincemany
ofthemweregovernors,legislatorsandparamountrulers.At
this period were Alfred Papapreye DietteSpiff who was a
naval officer, later Military Governor of Rivers State in the
postwaryearsandmonarchofTwonBrassandChiefMelford
Obiene Okilo. Others were Chief Ada George, His Royal
Majesty King Owen Sylvanus UkafiaEde VI and Chief
Richard Aiyetowonwo Jolowo. While there were many of
them, this paper could only take this number because of the
economy of pagination. Some of them started their roles
duringtheNigeriancivilwar.
First among these equals is King Alfred Papapreye
DietteSpiff (1942 ) who played several roles as a statesman,
distinguishedseaman,exnavalcommanderandcurrentlythe
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
80

Africana

paramountrulerofTwon(Brass)inBayelsaState.According
to Ayotamuno (2006:12), Spiff initiated the training of divers
as a specialized unit to meet the critical operational needs of
the Nigerian Navy which he was a naval officer. A good
number of top naval officers benefited from this legacy and
grew to command ships while some became Chief of Staff
Nigerian Navy at various times. In later years when Spiff
becamethefirstMilitaryGovernor ofRiversState,19671975,
hereplicatedthisfactbyestablishingtheNigerianSeaSchool,
Isaka, for the training of seamen. He also set up the Rivers
State Diving School under the then Ministry of Works and
Transport.

Motivated by his flare for special boat operations in

patrols and intelligence, Spiff was instrumental for the
creationofanAmphibiousBrigadeintheNigerianArmy.He
seconded some men to train as amphibious personnel. This
featendearedtheArmyHighCommandtoseetheneedforan
amphibiousoperationandestablishitwithoutdelay.Beingthe
firstMilitaryGovernor,CommanderA.P.DietteSpiffcarried
out two feats that moved Rivers State forward. He
implementedtheFederalGovernmentspolicyofresettlement,
rehabilitation and reconstruction in the Rivers State. Second,
the Rivers State secretariat and other infrastructures built by
his administration put the State on the fast lane of
development(Daminabo2006).
Following the trend was Chief Melford Obiene Okilo, a
career politician and first civilian Governor of Rivers State,
19791983. Oral history stated that after his birth in
AmakalakalaOgbia, and training in various institutions, he
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
81

Africana

taught briefly before wining parliamentary elections in 1959

into the Federal House of Representatives under the ticket of
the Niger Delta Congress (NDC). This minority opposition
partyinthedefunctEasternNigeriawasfoundedandledby
Chief Harold DappaBiriye. It is instructive to note that the
alliance between the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) and
the Niger Delta Congress (NDC) facilitated Okilos
appointment as Parliamentary Secretary to the then Prime
Minister of Nigeria, Sir Tafawa Balewa. As a result, he is
known to have played a leading role in the national
developmentofNigeria.Hewascommittedtotheunityofhis
countrywhenhewonthe1959electionastheonlysoutherner
in alliance with the NPC. Prior to this time,southerners and
northerners were craving for the split of Nigeria but his
election shows that they were in need of each other (Awoala
2003).

In the post independence Nigeria, Okilo doggedly

contributedtothefightfortherestorationoffiscalfederalism
duringtheSecondRepublic.ParticularlyalongwithProfessor
Ambrose Alli, Second Republican Governor of the Bendel
State, they instituted a legal action against the Federal
Government and restored revenue allocation formula by
derivation in Nigeria. Chief Melford Okilo as Governor of
Rivers State, 19791983 assuaged the feeling of neglect,
deprivation,backwardnessandpovertythatcharacterizedthe
Ijopeoplesandpioneeredsomeschemesaimedatfacilitating
development in the Niger Delta area. These include the
establishment of the first independent electricity power plant
in the southern part of the country, the Imiringi gas turbine
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
82

Africana

that is now supplying electric power to the present Bayelsa

State.Othersarehisaggressivepolicyofcanalization,flooding
and erosion control complemented with the establishment of
an Institute of Flood and Erosion Control and the
establishment of the first Nigerian University of Science and
Technology as a foundation towards technological
advancementofthecountry(Daminabo2006).

In the Third Republic of Nigeria, the contributions of

Chief Rufus Ada George were imminent. According to
Ayotamuno in a personal communication, Chief Ada George
ofOkrika(1940),aprofessionalaccountant,becameSecretary
totheGovernmentofRiversStateintheSecondRepublic.By
1991,hewaselectedExecutiveGovernorofRiversStateinthe
Third Republic that was suddenly terminated in 1993. His
twenty months administration sponsored the Rivers Chiefs
andPeoplesConference(RCPC)totheEarthSummitinRiode
Janeiro in 1993. The outcome of it led to the establishment of
the Rivers State Environmental Protection Agency (RSEPA)
that provided the framework and personnel for the
subsequentcreationoftheMinistryofEnvironmentinRivers
State. He identified and opened up new roads as a veritable
strategy for expanding Port Harcourt to meet the population
influx.

OfimportancetotheIjointhenewmillenniumarethe
struggles of His Royal Majesty King Owen Sylvanus Ukafia
Ede VI (1933 ) of Obolo (Andoni) towards the political
development of Nigeria. UkafiaEde VI, Paramount Ruler of
EasternOboloLocalGovernmentArea,AkwaIbomState,was
trainedattheNigerianInstituteofJournalism,Lagos.Jeffreys
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
83

Africana

(2006) aptly stated that after distinguishing himself in

investigative journalism, advanced reporting, press law, he
served many media houses between 1952 and 1980 before he
retired as a news editor. UkafiaEde was reputed in practical
journalismandaccuratereporting.Heusedhispositioninthe
Nigerian Chronicle, Calabar, to mould some young journalists
intogeniuses.AmongstthemwereRayEkpu,nowproprietor
of Newswatch Weekly Magazine; Nick Fadugba, editor of a
Londonbasedmagazine;NnamsoUmoren,PatrickandKate
Okon who ended up as permanent secretaries as well as
ClementEbrithatlatterbecameGovernorofCrossRiverState
intheSecondRepublic.

Ukafias role in the Nigerian Civil War between 1967

and 1970 was immense. As a tall gentleman with strong
disposition, respectability and integrity, he steered Eastern
Oboloaffairsduringthisperiodandwasaforceintheeastern
fringe of the Niger Delta. His journalism contributed to the
victory of the Federal Troops. He also went on an
enlightenment campaign of the neighbouring villages where
the Eastern Obolo refugees had sojourned and persuaded
them to return to their homes. Then, EasternObolo (Andoni)
was deserted owing to the death of 105 indigenes during the
liberation of the area by the Federal Troops on Sunday 31
March 1968. UkafiaEde also reactivated the daily market,
educational institutions with free education and the Eastern
OboloClanCouncilofChiefs.Hehadsomuchinfluenceand
respectthatputEasternObolointhefrontburneroftheNiger
Delta.EasternOboloowesitsexistencetothissingulareffort
(Abia2003:3).
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
84

Africana

As soon as he retired from active journalism in 1980,

he ascended the most ancient Eastern Obolo throne with
innovations.Assuch,KingUkafiaEdeVIisthefirstAndoni
monarch to workup his throne from third class to first class
institution. He was recognized by the Government of Cross
RiverStateastheVillageHeadofOkoroeteTownin1981and
ClanHeadofEasternObolo(Andoni)in1987.In1987,Akwa
IbomStatewascreatedwithEasternObolo(Andoni)asapart.
He used the opportunity to crave for the creation of Eastern
Obolo Local Government Council that materialized in 1996
before he was elevated to Paramount Ruler of Eastern Obolo
Local Government Area by the Military Administrator of
Akwa Ibom State, Group Captain John Ebiye in 1999 (Ukafia
2004).

This pioneer first class monarch in Obolo (Andoni)

was the Chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Council of Chiefs
and Traditional Rulers between 2003 and 2004. While in this
position, UkafiaEdes innovations were the one thousand
naira (N1, 000.00) Nigerian currency note issued in 2005 in
honour of late Dr. Clement Isong, a former Governor of the
Central Bank. This came up in his welcome address to
President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria during the latters
visittoAkwaIbomStateinAugust2004.Second,heusedthe
same welcome address to prevent Obasanjos administration
from transferring some oil wells in the Niger Delta to
neighbouring States. With these in view, the dynamism of
King UkafiaEde VI from journalist to traditional ruler
contributedtothedevelopmentofNigeria(Ukafia2004).

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
85

Africana

Another Nigerian patriot from Ijo extraction is Chief

Richard Aiyetowonwo Jolowo (19602004) of Ajakpa in
Arogbo, EseOdo Local Government Area of Ondo State. He
read Law at the University of Lagos and graduated with
L.L.M. in 1973. Personal communications with Dr. Z. B.
Agbede revealed that within his period in the university, he
represented Nigerian students in the Conference of National
Affairs in Texas, USA in 1969. After graduation, Jolowo
became a Member of the Ondo State House of Assembly in
1979androsetothepositionofSpeakerfrom1981to1983.

According to Agbede (2004), Chief Richard Jolowo

headedtheNationalPovertyEradicationProgrammeinOndo
State between 2001 and 2003 andthe StateChristian Pilgrims
Welfare Board until his death in 2004. He built the road
linking Oroto and Ajapa and the Ajapa Basic Health Centre.
He also contributed enormously to the establishment of
OkhubamaHighSchool,Ajapa;CommunityGrammarSchool,
Biogbini; Eliki Model College, Addoseimo; Arogbo Grammar
SchoolandSt.ArenitanMemorialHighSchool.Ijawlanguage
thatisnowtaughtinprimaryschoolsinOndoStateaswellas
broadcasting it in the Ondo State radio is his making. The
demandandcreationofEseOdoLocalGovernmentCouncilis
alsoentirelyhiseffort.

Conclusion
Goingbytheforgoneanalysis,theNigerDeltarevolutionaries
were in the Nigerian nationbuilding between 1960 and 2005.
Withinthisperiodtheireffortsintherealizationofthecreation
of twelve states in the Nigerian Federation was laudable.
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
86

Africana

Thereafter, they went into other aspects of nation building

alongsidewithotherNigeriansandplayedaleadingrolethat
ensuredthevictoryoftheFederalTroopsintheNigerianCivil
War, 19671970. In the postwar period, 19702005, they are
known to have established the first university of science and
technologyinthecountry.

Bibliography
Abia, Prince (2003). Citation of His Royal Highness King Owen
SylvanusUkafiaEdeVI,ParamountRulerofEasternObolo
LGA,AkwaIbomState,(Uyo:MSS,2003).
Agbede, Z. B. (2004). Chief Richard Aiyetowonwo Jolowo (1960
2004),(Arogbo:MSS,2004).
AminiPhilips,Isaac(2005).ASynopsisoftheFoundingFathersofOld
RiversState,(PortHarcourt:TheBlueprint,2005).
Anokari, Nimbari B. (1984). A Profile of Professor Sylvanus
Cookey, The Pytons Eye: A Journal of the History Students
Association,UniversityofPortHarcourt.No.2(1983/1984).
Asiegbu, J.U. J. (1984).Nigeria andIts British Invaders, 18511920:A
ThematicDocumentaryHistory,(NewYork:NOK,1984).
Awoala,E.B.A.P.(1983).CultureofaPeople,(PortHarcourt:MSS,
1983).
Ayotamuno, Young (2006). The Contributions of King Alfred
DietteSpiff, Chief Melford Okilo, Chief Rufus Ada George
and Dr. Diepreye Alamieyesiegha in National
Development,(PortHarcourt:MSS,2006).
_________(2006).IsaacJasperAdakaBoro,SamuelOwonaru,Dick
Nottingham and Captain Amangala, (Port Harcourt: MSS,
2006).
Carr,E.H.(1962).StudiesinRevolution(London:O.U.P.1962).

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
87

Africana

Coleman, James S. (1986). Nigeria: Background to Nationalism (Benin

City:Winston&Broburg,1986).
Daminabo, Opubo (2006). Chief (Dr.) Isaac John Fiberesima of
Okrika,(PortHarcourt:MSS,2006).
Enemugwem, J. H. (2008). The Ijo in the Political Foundation of
Nigeria,18301960,(PortHarcourt:MSS,2008).
Etekpe, Ambily et. al. (eds.) 2004. Harold DappaBiriye: His
Contributions to Politics in Nigeria, (Port Harcourt: Onyoma
Publications,2004)
Jeffreys, J. O. (2005). The Role of King Ukafia Ede VI in National
Development,(UnpublishedBAProject,UniversityofPort
Harcourt,2007).
Nyananyo, B. L. (2006). Major Boardman Harab Esinkuma Awo
Nyananyo,(PortHarcourt:MSS,2006).
Okilo, M. O. (1992). Art of Government and the Okilo Administration,
(PortHarcourt:TheAuthor,1992).
Owonaro, S. K. (1949).The History of Ijo (Ijaw) and Her Neighbours,
(Yaba:TheAuthor,1949).
SaroWiwa, Ken (1989). On a Darkling Plain: An Account of the
NigerianCivilWar,(PortHarcourt:Saros,1989).
Sklar, Richard L. (1963). Nigerian Political Parties: Power in an
EmergentAfricanNation(NewYork:A.Knopf,1963).
Tamuno, T. N. & Alagoa, E. J. (ed.) 1980. Eminent Nigerians of the
RiversState,(Ibadan:Heinemann,1980).
Tebekaemi,Tony(1982).TheTwelveDayRevolution,(BeninCity:The
Author,1982).
UkafiaEde VI, O. S. (2004). Welcome Address to His Excellency
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, President of Nigeria, On the
Occasion of His Official Visit to Akwa Ibom State, August
2004,(Uyo:MSS,2004).
Uzono,G.L.toJohnEnemugwem,2June,1987.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
88

Africana

BiographicalNote
John Horace Enemugwem read history at the University of Port
Harcourt, Nigeria, under N. C. Ejituwu and specialized in African
historyandOralhistoriography.HehastaughtAfricanhistoryand
historiographyathisAlmaMaterforfifteenyearsandiscurrentlya
SeniorLecturerandHeadofDepartmentofHistoryandDiplomatic
Studies. Dr. Enemugwem is one of the joint editors of the book,
History Concourse 2005: The Life and Work of E. J. Alagoa, (Port
Harcourt:OnyomaPublications,2005)andhaspublishedchaptersin
books and articles in national and international learned journals.
Email:j_enemugwem@yahoo.com

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
89

Africana

Some Ethical Challenges in Media Advertising

in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Zimbabwean Case
Study
Dr. Fainos Mangena15

Abstract
Themediahave,sincetheturnofthe20thcentury,occupieda
uniqueandstrategicpositioninSubSaharanAfricaingeneral
andZimbabweinparticular.Unlikemostotherbusinesses,the
mediahaveacquiredmostprofitsnotdirectlyfromthepublic
readership but indirectly through advertising. Due to the
influx of multinational corporations (MNCs) in SubSaharan
Africa,themediahavebecomeveryusefulinadvertisingand
marketing products from these large corporates. Through
media advertising, these large corporates have managed to
beatcompetitionandremaininbusiness.Thisarticlehowever,
bringstotheforesomeoftheethicalchallengesthatconfront
mediaandcorporateadvertisinginsubSaharanAfrica.Inthis
article,Iarguethatthemedianeedtostrikeabalancebetween
corporateadvertisingandinformationdisseminationifitisto
serve its main function of educating, informing and
entertainingitsconsumers,whoarethepublic.

Dr. Fainos Mangena is a Journalist and a Senior Lecturer at the

UniversityofZimbabwesdepartmentofReligiousStudies,Classics
andPhilosophy.
15

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
90

Africana

Keywords: Advertising, media ethics, morality, multi

nationalcorporations,sensationalism.

Introduction
Media ethics have always clashed with business values
(particularly the profit motive) to the extent that
advertisements have been given prominence over and above
media content. This development has been predominant in
subSaharan Africa due to the influx of outside companies
advertising their products. This does not mean that
advertisingispredominantinsubSaharanAfricaaloneasitis
aglobalphenomenonbutitisthemannerinwhichthemedia
have somehow relegated the medias ethical role to inform,
educateandentertainwhichisofconcerntomeinthisarticle.
Most of these companies are multi nationals with their
headquarters in England, Germany, France, Japan and the
United States of America. The space allotted for news items
hasalwaysbeendeterminedbytheamountofspacerequired
foradvertisingtherebygivingnewsandentertainmentsecond
priority. This has had negative ethical implications and the
thesis advanced in this presentation is that there is need to
balance the script if media consumers, that is, readers and
viewersarenotgoingtobedisadvantaged.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
91

Africana

In this paper I argue that media organizations need to find

othermeansofgeneratingincomeratherthansolelyrelyingon
advertising.Thepaperdrawscloserhomeandtriestolookat
the media in Zimbabwe and the ethical issues therein in the
lightofthepreeminenceofadvertisinginboththeprintand
theelectronicmedia.Thepaperbeginsbydefiningkeyterms
suchasethics,media,mediaethics,advertisingandmultinational
corporations (MNCs). In the last section of this article, I
consider the critical role that media ethics plays in the
inculcationofsocietalnormsandvaluesandhowadvertising
has,tosomeextent,becomeanobstacletothatrole.

Definingmediaethicsandadvertising
It will probably be overgeneralizing to define media ethics
beforedefiningethicsandmoralityespeciallyinapaperofthis
naturewhereclarityinargumentationiskey.Tothisend,the
word ethics is derived from the Greek word ethos, meaning
custom,usageorcharacter(Day,2003:2).FortheGreeks,ethics
referred to the study of what is good both for the individual
andforsociety(Patterson,1998:3).TheGreekswereconcerned
withtheindividualvirtuesofcourage,justice,temperanceand
wisdom as well as societal virtues such as freedom (1998:3).
Twothousandyearslater,ethicshavecometomeanlearning
tomakerationalchoicesbetweenwhatisgoodandbad,what
ismorallyjustifiableactionandwhatisnotRationalityisthe
key word here, for the Greeks believed and modern
philosophersaffirmthatpeopleshouldbeabletojustifytheir
ethical decisions to others. When one justifies his or her
ethical decision, he or she does so by way of reason. Ethics
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
92

Africana

takeusoutoftheworldofthisisthewayIdoitorthisis
thewayitsalwaysbeendoneintotherealmofthisiswhatI
should do or this is the action that can be rationally
justified. Ethics in this sense have the same meaning as
oughttalk(1998:2).

Thewordmoral,ontheotherhand,isderivedfromtheLatin
mos, moris meaning (among other things) way of life or
conduct(Day,2003:2).Thus,moralityreferstothosesocial
rulesandprinciplesthatguideandregulatehumanconduct.It
will,however,bewrongtodefineethicsandmoralityfroma
WesternperspectivewithoutalsoconsideringAfricannotions
or definitions of the same concept(s). From an African view
point, as KNdeti puts it, the termsmorality and ethics denote
the rules, traditions, taboos and principles used in a given
society to guide and regulate behaviour (Kaba and Rayapen,
1990:33).

Thequestionwhichfollowslogicallyfromtheabovedefinition
is:Whooriginatestheserules,traditionsandtaboos?Itwould
seemseveralsourcesareresponsible.First,Africasconceptof
beingisdeeplyrootedinontology,thatis,withintheAfrican
being,thereisanintrinsiccognitionofrightandwrong(1990:
33). Second, the rules, traditions and taboos of a society are
ascribed,thatis,theyarepickedupatbirthandchildrengrow
up with them and they manifest themselves through formal
instruction or teaching (Mangena, 2007: 129). In this article I
consider both Western and African ethical perspectives in
order to accommodate every reader who comes across this
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
93

Africana

workandalsointhespiritoftheenvisagedandgrowingcall
for a global ethic that will resonate with the demands of the
global village. But four crucial questions remain even after
succinctlydefiningmoralityandethics:Howcanmediaethicsbe
defined?Shouldweseekforacommonground?Shouldwego
by the Western view point? What about the African view
point?

Whateverperspectiveonewilltakewillstillleadtothesame
conclusion that in every work our journalists and media
organizationsdo,theyshouldbeguidedbyethicalprinciples
ofthemedia,betheyWesternorAfrican.Mediahererefersto
thosedevicesthroughwhichbothaudioandvisualmessages
are transmitted to the mass audience. This can be done
through radio, television, newspapers, magazines, business
journals,moviesandcomputernetworksknowntodayasthe
internet(Baran,2002:6).ForBaran,thewordsmediaandmass
media can be used interchangeably to refer to the
communication industries themselves (2006: 6). Basically,
there are two types of media namely, the print and the
electronic media. The print media include; newspapers,
magazines, business journals, books and pamphlets inter alia.
The electronic media include; the television, radio, video, the
internetandthecablenetworkamongothers.

With this clear cut distinction between ethics, morality and

media, it is crucial, therefore, to define media ethics as that
branch of ethics which deals with the particular ethical
principlesand/orstandardsofthemedia.Itiscriticaltonote
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
94

Africana

that everything that a journalist does has ethical dimensions,

toalesserorgreaterdegreebecause,everythingajournalist
writes or omits has an influence to people, good or bad
(Retief, 2002: 4). Media ethics also looks at ethical dilemmas
and other such questions of mass media. Some of the
dilemmas in the media are; is it ethical to give priority to
advertising at the expense of news and entertainment? Is it
ethicaltofabricatestoriesinordertolurethereadership?Isit
ethical for a journalist to dig deeper into the private life of a
celebrity including his dark side of life? Media ethics also
consider questions of media content, media censorship and
media bias as found in both the print and electronic media.
Media ethics give prominence to the cardinal virtues of
truthfulness, honesty, accuracy, fairness, objectivity and
consistence at the expense of vices such as deception and
lying. But what is the place of advertising in media ethics? In
order to properly capture or understand the relationship
betweenmediaethicsandadvertising,itwillbecrucialtodefine
advertisingitself.

Advertising
Etymologically, the word advertising is derived from the
French word avertir, which means bringing something
deliberatelytosomeonesnotice(Domatobetal,1987:282).Its
major purpose is to establish an awareness of, create
favourable attitude to and stimulate demand for a product,
idea or service among potential consumers (1987: 282). When
applied to the mass media, advertising relates to any paid
message that appears in the mass media for the purpose of
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
95

Africana

selling, informing or persuading people about particular

products, services or beliefs (1987: 282). But what is
advertisingintheeyesofnewspaperandtelevisionmanagers
and executives? Of what value is it to their existence? As
Conrad Fink remarks, advertisings defenders newspaper
and television executives among them naturally regard
advertising as a form of communication that permits
consumerstomakeintelligentchoicesbyprovidingthemwith
valuable information on products and services (Fink, 1988:
123). In subSaharan Africa, most advertising is done by
MultiNational Corporations (MNCs) who have sound
financialbasesascomparedtolocalconglomerates.Bywayof
definition, MultiNational Corporations are multi product
firmsmostofwhosesharesareownedbyafewpeopleinone
country and whose manufacturing and sales are fragmented
intomanypartialsubsidiaryoperationsacrossalinkedsystem
straddlingmanycountries(Domatobetal,1987:282).

Nearly all their revenue comes from their overseas branches.

HalfoftheseMNCshavetheirheadquartersintheUSA,while
the rest are based in West Germany, Japan, the UK, Italy,
FranceandHolland.Theirmainaimsaretomaximizeprofits
andtoaccumulatemoreinthehandsoftheseconglomerates.
SubSaharan Africas participation in the international
production process is minimal. Most importantly, all crucial
decisions on policing, innovation, profit level, new
investmentsandlocationarenottakenlocallyinAfricabutat
the distant head offices in New York, Tokyo, Bonn, Paris,
London and Amsterdam (1987: 282). In the next section, I
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
96

Africana

considertheimpactofsensationalismandadvertisinginsub
Saharan Africa with a view to see how these two concepts
sometimesclashwithreadersvaluesandexpectations.

SensationalismandadvertisinginsubSaharanAfrica
Whenappliedtothemedia,themarketingconceptholdsthat
all departments, including news must contribute to the
financialwellbeingoftheorganization.Thus,newsexecutives
areexpectedtopackagetheirnewsandinformationtoattract
atargetaudienceandtoexploittheeconomicpotentialofthe
marketplace(Day,2003:248).

In subSaharan Africa, media organizations have also

packaged their news items and information to attract public
readershipandtoexploittheeconomicpotentialofthemarket.
To add spice to their news, some media organizations have
resortedtosensationalismtoattractthepublicreadership.

Sensationalisminvolvesoverexaggeratingstoriesorcomingup
with juicy headlines to court the readership. In Zimbabwe,
thispracticehasbeenrampantinthepublicandprivatemedia
where stories have been cooked up to hook the readers into
buying the newspapers in this competitive environment. In
the run up to the 2002 presidential elections, The Daily News
(now defunct) alleged that a Guruve woman had been
beheadedbysomeyouthlinkedtotherulingZANUPFbutit
was later discovered empirically that no such thing had
happened and the editor of the newspaper was asked to
retract the story. This is one case among many where
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
97

Africana

sensationalism has been used as s marketing tool to woo the

readers and viewers in the case of the electronic media.
Sensationalism has set its deep roots, particularly, in third
world countries because of the growing need by media
organizations to beat competition when it comes to the
disseminationofmediamessagestotheconsumers.

But as fate would have it, sensationalism now seems to be a

decrepit concept as it has since been overtaken by such
concepts as censorship, agenda setting and gate keeping
especially in the western media. Sensationalism is a gross
violation of the journalistic imperative, which stipulates that
themediasethicalroleistoeducate,informandentertainthe
public and to tell the truth always. The ethics of journalism
suffer when media organizations deliberately try to treat the
media consumers as uncritical recipients of media messages
without considering their axiological nature as moral agents.
Not only has the media resorted to sensationalism as a
marketingstrategyinsubSaharanAfrica.Advertisinghasalso
taken precedence over media content to the extent that even
space in the newspapers is determined by the space allotted
foradvertising.

Therehasalsobeenanincreaseinsoftnewsdeckedinfeature
storiesaswellassupplementsknownasadvertorialsactually
paid for by advertisers but cloaked in the respectability of
media content (Day,2003:251). Theelectronic variation of the
advertorial is the infomercial. Well, this is a normal practice
the world over but in Africa, it is more pronounced and it
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
98

Africana

impactsnegativelyontheethicsofjournalism,whichcallsfor
objectivity, balance and fairness when writing news. The
position of this paper is that, it is very difficult to adhere to
thesevirtuesofjournalismifthereisnotenoughspaceallotted
fornewsbecausethewholespaceiseatenupbytheadvert.

The economic pressures exerted by the influence of

advertising are quite apparent to say the least. Sometimes,
these adverts carry messages considered immoral from an
Africanpointofview.InZimbabwetherearethoseadvertson
condoms which describe men who use condoms as smart
guys, but which are seen by the custodians of African value
systems, that is, chiefs and other traditional leaders as
promotingsexualimmoralityinsteadofabstinenceinthisday
and age of HIV and AIDS. But because these media
organizations survive on advertising, they have no choice
excepttobendtheethicalstipulationsandgiveprominenceto
business values. By and large, the quality of commercial
materialdeterminestheamountofspaceortimeremainingfor
nonadvertising content; that is, news and entertainment.
Newspaper editors are obliged to arrange their editorial
content in the space remaining after the advertising
department lays out its adverts on the pages (2003: 253). As
Finksuccinctlycapturesitinapparentreferencetomediaand
advertisinginAmerica:

Mediamanagerstodaymustperformefficientlyand
profitably in their business responsibilities or soon
be unemployed. The rising tide of shareholder
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
99

Africana

expectation and other imperatives of successful

business leadership force many newspapers and
television managers to put profit first; everything
elseissecondsometimesincludingethical,socially
responsible journalism. Exceptions are those lucky
managerswhoseorganizationsareenlightened(and
profitable)enoughtofollowgood,soundjournalism
as a route to financial success. But even they must
keep their business priorities straight (Fink, 1988:
139).

This argument might appear to be applicable only to

AmericanbusinessenterprisesbutitalsoappliestoAfrica,in
general and Zimbabwe, in particular. In television news,
producershavetoslottheirstoriesaroundcommercialssothat
thereisalimitontheamountoftimedevotedtoeachpackage
(Day,2003:253).Evenentertainmentismoreofteninterrupted
bycommercialbreaksorspotannouncements.TheZimbabwe
Television(ZTV)hascommercialbreaksmostlyduringprime
time viewing and programmes often affected include;
Ezomgidho, a musical programme held every Thursday from
18:30 to 19:30 pm, This is Football, a football talk show and
phonein programme held every Wednesday at 10 pm and
many other programmes such as Face the Nation and Mai
ChisambaShow.

While advertising plays a very influential role in media

packaging the world over, subSaharan Africa seems to have
thebiggestchunkofadvertisingmaterialbecauseoftheinflux
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
100

Africana

ofMNCsandbecauseoftheneedtodevelopthesenations
reelinginabjectpoverty.TheMNCshavethemoneyandthe
hostnationsmustprovidethelabourforceandthemediumof
communicatingthosecommercialproductstothepeople.This
givesrisetothedependatiosyndrome,whichinturnrelegates
ethicalissuesinthemediatothedustbinofhistory.Thenext
section looks at the influx of MNCs in subSaharan Africa,
ethicalimplicationsforthemassmediaandthewayforward.

TheInfluxofMNCsinthemediaandethical
implicationsforsubSaharanAfrica
As Richard J Barnet et al (1980:126) argue, MNCs dominate
advertising in subSaharan Africa. These corporations with
vast resources at their disposal flood subSaharan Africa
radiosandnewspaperswiththeirmessages(1980:126).Insub
SaharanAfrica,strategicadvertisingspaceonnewspapersand
peak radio listening and television viewing periods are
monopolized by products like CocaCola, Tobacco, Beer and
otherconsumables(Yermoshkin,1984).InKenyaandmostof
Francophone Africa, MNCs finance over 80% of most of the
advertsonradioandtelevision(Yermokshin,1984).

The same also applies to Zimbabwe and other Anglophone

states. Notwithstanding the economic slide that Zimbabwe
has been plunged into in recent years and the relocation of
MNCs to better economies such as South Africa, Zimbabwe
hasexperiencedariseintheadvertisingofalcoholicbeverages
by the remaining MNCs such as Cocacola Africa and Delta
Beveragesadvertisingcastlelarger.Itsnotonlybeerthathas
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
101

Africana

topped the list of advertising in subSaharan Africa.

Cigarettes have also had a fair share of advertising with
brands such as Pacific storm topping the list of advertised
cigarettesparticularlyinZimbabwe.

TheethicalchallengesofadvertisinginZimbabwe
There is no doubt that advertising creates awareness as to
whatgoodsandservicesareavailableandhowconsumerscan
access them. There is no doubt, too, that advertising brings
lots and lots of benefits to host nations and these benefits
include employment particularly in advertising agencies.
Those who have supported the idea of MNCs advertising in
less developed regions of Africa have also supported the
above view. For them, advertising raises peoples living
standardsbyencouragingsalesofmassproducedgoodsthus,
stimulating production and creating employment and
prosperity(Domatob,1987:283).

Zimbabwe has also seen a lot of advertising agencies

advertising consumables such as food, motor vehicles and
other services. The Gary Thompson and Associates (GTA) is
one such advertising agency that has taken Zimbabwe
newspapers and television advertising by storm. Coming
hardontheheelsofanationthathasbeenhitbyashortageof
advertising agency due to economic recession, GTA has
openedanewchapterinZimbabwesadvertisinghistory.The
advertisingcompanyisinpartnershipwithcompaniessuchas
Cairns foods, National foods, African twist and Jaggers,
advertisingtheirproductsthroughthetelevisionquestionand
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
102

Africana

answer programme called Money or the Box (M.O.B) held

every Monday at 7pm. The advertising company has also
joined hands with the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ)
to advertise and promote music talent among the youths in
Zimbabwe through what has come to be called The CBZ A
AcademyamusiccompetitionheldannuallyinZimbabwe.

Chris Doghudje sums up some of the positive benefits of

advertisingbyMNCsasfollows:

It is now a fact universally acknowledged that the

most powerful means by which the availability of
goodsandservicescanbeknownisadvertising.This
is why advertising is embraced by capitalist
countries. But not every body is aware that
advertising is also the most powerful means for the
selling of ideas, of policies and of government. Too,
often advertising is seen as no more than a selling
tool to be used by businessmen. But governments,
charitableorganizationsandpoliticalpartiesallneed
advertisingforthepromotionoftheirideas,policies
andworthwhilecauses(Doghudje,1987:2)

In a way, it is perfectly true that consumer goods have

broughtsomecomfortandpleasuretoblackAfricans,andina
few cases, have alleviated want and hardship. This is quite
ethical. According to the McBride report, advertising
promotes desirable social aims, like savings and investments.
It provides the consumer with information about possible
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
103

Africana

patterns of expenditure. Small scale classified advertising

which in the aggregate fills as much space in some
newspapers is a useful form of communication about the
employmentmarket,betweenlocalsmallbusinessesandtheir
customers and between individuals and their various needs.
Just flipping through or perusing the classified section of The
Herald, The Sunday Mail, The Chronicle, The Sunday News, The
Daily mirror or The Sunday Mirror (now defunct), one notices
the advertising of luxury goods such as phones, cars,
situations vacancies (jobs), houses for sale, building material
and other consumables. But this is as far as business values
areconcerned.

Advertisingraisesseriousethicalquestions.First,itpromotes
consumerism a way of life centred on consumption and
assigningconsumptionthepriorityinthesetofhumanvalues,
whichleadstothechampioningofaproductionratherthana
consumption ethos (Domatob, 1987: 286). Second, much as
advertisingisoverwhelminglydirectedtowardsthesellingof
goodsandservices,whichcanbevaluedinmonetaryterms,it
tends to promote attitudes and life styles, which extol
acquisition and consumption at the expense of other values
(1987: 286). As Fink sums it up, advertising creates
unnecessary materialistic consumer desires psychological in
origin and it is thus manipulative and wasteful (Fink, 1988:
124).Third,advertisingpermitslarge,financiallystrongfirms
todominateanindustrybecauseonlytheycanaffordthehigh
cost of advertising with small firms thus effectively barred

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
104

Africana

fromaninfluentialrole,theoligopolisticfewcanraisepricesat
will(1988:124).

Not only that, advertising by MNCs mostly produce

unnecessaryoverpricedandsometimesharmfulgoodssuchas
alcoholic spirits in the category of breakers international,
Skippers and other alcoholic beverages together with tobacco
which, when advertised in both the print and the electronic
media,areaccompaniedbyawarningmessage,Alcoholmaybe
hazardous to health if consumed to excess. Not for sale to people
under the age of 18 or Tobacco causes cancer. Isnt this a moral
contradiction? For instance, on their front pages, American
newspapers report the latest study linking use of tobacco to
cancer.

On their editorial pages, they (American newspapers) sound

the alarm, calling for massive research into cancer and its
causes.ThroughouttheirpagesAmericannewspaperspublish
advertisements for tobacco products including cigarettes,
whichareadeadlyproduct(Fink,1988:132).Itis,however,
encouraging to note that calls for tobacco ban have, of late,
beenintensifyinginAmerica.ButwhenMNCsinsubSaharan
Africaintensifytheiradvertising,aretheysayingAfricansare
resistant to cancer? Or is this some form of a racial prank,
salientkindof?

Theseadvertshavenegativeimplicationsastheymayleadto
both physiological and psychological reparcations. Social
vicessuchasviolencemayalsoresultfromtheconsumptionof
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
105

Africana

these products and yet a lot of time and space is devoted for
theiradvertisingattheexpenseofrealnewsorentertainment
value. Quality news and entertainment value are not given
more prominence as more space is allotted to advertising
material. I will continue to reiterate that this has serious
ethicalimplications.

TheWayforward

1. A media ethics regulatory board needs to be

established to provide checks and balances on what
should be advertised in terms of the quality and
quantityofmaterialtobeadvertised.Morallyoffensive
material such as those involving the use of condoms
must not be allowed in our newspaper pages and
television screens as these promote sexual immorality
andothersuchvices.
2. Media organizations need to find other means of
generating income rather than only through
advertising.Theyshouldalwaysaimatimprovingthe
qualityofthenewsthattheydisseminatetothepublic
soastogeneratenationalinterestandhencemaximize
onprofitthroughsales.
3. Virtues of truthfulness, accuracy, fairness, objectivity
andhonestymustbecultivatedandvicessuchaslying
and deception must be avoided, as these will create
disinterestamongthereaders.

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
106

Africana

Conclusion
Theprojectofzeroingintomediasethicalresponsibilitiesand
the profit motive was preceded by the semantic discourse of
media,mediaethicsandadvertising.Issuestodowithmedia
ownership and control were also considered to provide
background information to the research. The work then
looked at the place of sensationalism and advertising in the
media. The work maintained that advertising had serious
ethicalimplications,particularly,inZimbabwe andthatthere
was need to look for other alternatives sources of income
whichwouldnottakeawaythemediasethicalroletoinform,
educateandentertain.

Bibliography

Baran, S.J. (2002) Introduction to Mass Communication, Media

Literacy and Culture (New York, McGraw Hill and
Companies).

Barnet, R. J. (1980) Global Reach: The power of the Multinational

Corporation(NewYork,SimonandSchuster).

Day, A. L. (2003) Ethics in Media Communications: Cases and

controversies(Melbourne,ThomsonWardsworth).

Doghudje,Chris(1987)Policyguidelinesforthedevelopment
andregulationoftheadvertisingindustryinAlgeria(Apaper
presented at the National communication policy conference at the
administrativestaffcollegeofNigeria,Lagos).
Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
107

Africana

Domatob, K. J, et al. (1987) Africa Media Monograph Series

No. 4: Mass Media and the African Society (Nairobi, African
CouncilonCommunicationEducation).

Fink,C.C.(1988)MediaEthicsintheNewsroomandBeyond(New
York,McGrawHillSeriesinMassCommunication).

Kaba,B.D,andRayapen,L.(1990)RelevantEducationforAfrica
(Yaounde,PWPABooks).

Mangena,Fainos(2007)ConfoundingForcesintheEradication
of Moral Poverty in Higher Learning Institutions of Southern
Africa: A Case of the University of Zimbabwe Students,
ZimbabweJournalofEducationalResearch,19(2),p.127137.

Patterson, P. (1998) Media Ethics: Issues and Cases (New York,

McGrawHillCompanies).

Retief,J.(2002)MediaEthics:AnIntroductiontoResponsibleJournalism
(Oxford,OxfordUniversityPress).

Yermoshkin,N.(1984)SpiritualNeoColonialism(Moscow,Progress
Publishers).

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
108

Africana

BiographicalNote
Dr. Fainos Mangena is a Journalist and a Senior Lecturer at the
UniversityofZimbabwesdepartmentofReligiousStudies,Classics
andPhilosophy.HeiscurrentlyaPostDoctoralResearchFellowat
theCentreforLeadershipEthicsinAfrica(CLEA),UniversityofFort
HareandamemberofthePhilosophicalSocietyofSouthernAfrica
(PSSA). He has written a number of articles related to Moral
Education,MediaEthicsandDemocracyinZimbabweandhismost
recent publication is Platonic Justice and Zimbabwes eight dark
yearsofpoliticalpolarization:IsMeritbaseddemocracytenable?
He can be contacted at the Centre for Leadership Ethics in Africa
(CLEA), University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, King Williams
Town Rd, Alice 5700, South Africa. Tel: +27 (0) 40 602 2687. Cell:
0027732403069.EMail:fmangena@ufh.ac.zaorfbvuma@yahoo.com

Vol. 3, No. 1
2009
109