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Article: The truth about African nationalism; Black elites have sought to enrich themselves by exploiting the patriotism of their countrymen, and, in so doing, have damaged their countries, writes Moeletsi Mbeki.(News)
- Article from:
- The Mercury (South Africa)
- Article date:
- August 14, 2009
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NATIONALISM in Africa has always paraded itself as a movement of the people fighting for their liberation.
The reality is, in fact, rather different. African nationalism was a movement of the small, Westernised black elite that emerged under colonialism.
Its fight was always for inclusion in the colonial system so that it, too, could benefit from the spoils of colonialism.
The colonial system was not designed to develop the productive capacities of the colonies.
The driving motive of colonisation was to extract the continent's mineral and agricultural raw materials to be shipped to the mother countries for processing into manufactured ...