The African Excuse of Blaming The Whiteman

I sat stone cold at a train station on my way home from work. Not that it was cold but because I had no words to answer to what I was hearing from a group of youth that were just behind me. For once in my life I didn’t want to be recognized as a Christian because “these foolish Africans like us had abandoned their traditional beliefs to embrace the religion of the white oppressors” – I heard them say. According to them, Africa was a lot better until oppressors and colonialists came with their Book that they used to brainwash innocent Blacks so they could control and take them away from their gods and the African way of doing things. 

Is there a God of the Africans only?

Yes, there are gods of the Africans, they are called the ancestral spirits, however, there is only one true God and Creator – the Almighty. It is Him who is, therefore, the content of the Bible, and because He deserves all glory alone, far be it from Him that He shares the glory with the so-called other gods of the nations. They are all regarded as dumb and useless idols in His sight (Psa 96:5).

Therefore, it is true that the Christian faith tells us to abandon our traditional gods; the ancestral spirits or let’s just call them by what they are – idols, and follow the living God of heaven; the only One who can save. He is the Holy One who lives in unapproachable light (1 Tim 6:16), therefore He cannot be approached by mere chanting and dancing but only through that anointed One He chose to die for sinners, Jesus of Nazareth; the only go-between God and man. That is the Christian message. The reason why the good Apostle commanded the Ephesians to abandon their Zeus and Diana gods is the same reason why Africans must repent from their ancestral gods and serve the true God. There is no special God of the Brazilians, Chinese and another one for Africans, but there is one God, one Creator, one salvation, and one Redeemer. All nations are therefore commanded to repent and trust in Christ because there is a coming a day when all shall stand before Him and be judged ( Act 17:30-31).

Is colonialism and slavery to blame for African troubles?

Good question. Let us answer that with another question; is the holocaust to blame for Israeli problems today? Is the Japanese oppression of China to blame for China’s troubles now? The first answer is yes, because the one who oppresses you will definitely affect your future one way or the other. The second answer is no, because the Jews did not spend their lives dwelling on Hitler and the Holocaust, folding their arms and crying but they rose up and rebuilt themselves and their economy. As of today, the nation of Israel is one of the most prosperous countries of the world which still produces the world’s best engineers, doctors and scientists. The same can be said about China, Vietnam and a whole lot of countries who were once oppressed before but have long succeeded out of it. In the history books, Africa is not the only continent or people that have suffered persecution, yet Africa is the only people that still use apartheid and the white man as an excuse for its own failures. Do you know that all African states have been independent for decades already yet Africa is now poorer than it was during colonialism? Why is this so? Certainly, the Whites are not to blame but ourselves! You see, whenever you fail, it’s not hard to blame something or someone. It is no secret that the colonialists did not finish the mineral resources of Africa, these are now under complete black management yet they still do not benefit the fellow poor black man. It is no secret that the black African leaders are dictators and power mongers who are shameless to abuse their fellow men even denying them basic human rights. It is no secret that Blacks in Africa still view white-owned companies as better paying than fellow black-owned firms who only hire their relatives who bribe them. In all this, guess who is to blame; the white man and his Christianity.

The hypocrisy of rejecting the Whiteman’s religion yet embracing the White man’s technology.

Admittedly, Africa has suffered a lot of brutality at the hands of the man from overseas; from slavery to colonialism to a whole lot of evil you can name. Yet no one will ever thank that bad heartless white man for bringing technology, development, fashion and a whole lot of good ideas that continue to empower our families in many ways today. Think of it this way; we don’t want technology because it came with the oppressors. Let’s shut our borders from overseas and do our own things. Will that make us better? No! 

The final lesson is this; whether we like it or not, there is a lot of good that came with the white man. One such is the message of salvation that is contained in the Holy Book. Just like we embraced technology, let us embrace Christianity and believe its message to the best benefit of our souls. With that, I take my seat.

Special thanks to Brother Artkins Mhlahlo for his contribution towards this article.

Sinothi Ncube