Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
IF WE want to understand what’s happening now in Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and other places in West Africa that are rising up against colonialism, we could do worse than starting with the work of the great Walter Rodney.
Rodney argued that core colonial activities such as the mining of resources for the benefit of the colonial powers sped up the erosion of “traditional” African life.
Not only did the colonial powers steal the natural resources by ruthlessly exploiting the labour of colonised people, they also stripped away the connection of those people with the past.
As the Alliance of Sahel States and southern African nations advance pan-African goals, the African Union must listen and learn rather than parroting the Western line on these positive developments, writes ROGER McKENZIE
ROGER McKENZIE reports on the west African country, under its new anti-imperialist government, taking up the case for compensation for colonial-era massacres
On the centenary of the birth of the anti-colonial thinker and activist Frantz Fanon, JENNY FARRELL assesses his enduring influence


