The Work Of The 'Concerned' Writer

“I would say that no African who writes about society in present day Africa can avoid being committed and political, not in the sense of party-politics but in the sense that every attempt to reorganise society in Africa is a move which affect everybody, the figures at the top and the bottom. I would think that the African writer who condemned colonialism because it made for social and political systems which prevented real contact between individuals of different races, because it led to exploitation and a loss of human values, is hardly likely to be satisfied if the old systems are retained with the only difference that Africans have replaced Europeans.” - Peter Nazareth, Modern African Poetry And The African Predicament by R.N. Egudu, 1978.

The concerned or empathetic human being cannot function wholly as an individual, satisfied within a system that incapacitates others. Perhaps we should rephrase that statement a bit and specify just what type of human being is implied here.
The kind of being we are dealing with here is the Black African personality, one that has been dealt so many destabilizing blows that s/he can no longer be fully convinced that s/he is still considered human. Yet many of us do consider ourselves human.

One of my favourite Rock bands sings “Just because you feel it doesn't mean its there” - (Radiohead)

Human beings exist within a certain standard of dignity, cultural and socio-economic sovereignty. Whenever these basic prerequisites are taken away or deformed to such an extent that that being no longer has control of their own mind or means of production, surely that person is no longer fully human, let alone a citizen. Citizenship means that each individual has certain degree of power, franchise and a voice in the government of their day.

A citizen has specific rights which are protected and secured through various laws that relate to the values system of that place or era. The Black person living in the post-colonial and post-apartheid era is not yet a citizen, although s/he may enjoy certain constitutional rights and particular paper freedoms, the true emancipation from foreign powers is as yet unattained.
The least we can say is that we are working on it and thus we can keep on monitoring and evaluating our situation, not according to any alien standards, but within commonsensical reasoning or Humane-Nature.

The concerned African then has even a tougher job ahead of them if they happen to be artists, writers, public servants and engaged in any type of social contact. One cannot simply do as one pleases; they must consider the needs and wants of others.
This is not to impose any type of religious or moral obligation upon the individual, but it is simply an acknowledgement that we are social beings and therefore we are responsible for each other.
A responsible writer can definitely write for pleasure or sport, she can enjoy the successes or the challenges that come with publishing or languishing in fame, infamy or obscurity, or she can belong to organisations or fraternities which influence her work.
All this can be done without being necessarily over mindful of the social impact or role ones work plays in society, one may simply be expressing oneself and doing it because its just one of their talents or even as an occupation.

The world is not so simple though, the African world and world-view even more so. Africanism
suggests that one is oneself because of the other ones, Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu (I am Because We Are) applies in so many ways it is almost inescapable.

The moment that one opens their mouth or does something in public, the scrutiny of the other ones and the impact that their action has on them is palpable. Many artists, sportsmen, public figures and writers of fiction have experienced the severe backlash or the public.
At face value this can be judged as merely the overzealous reaction of a predominantly traditional or customary society, but the reality is that every society has its communal mores, ideals and taboos.
When the Nigerian author and professor Ben Okri wrote that “The freeing on one vision is the freeing of all.” He did not just imply that the will of the individual should be imposed upon the many, what the whole book … connoted was that each person should be able to have their individual voice, vision and freedoms respected.

This is similar to the socialist saying that “An injury to one is an injury to all”.
Nothing in this suggest that the will of one human being is more important than the other, it simply means that each one must be seen as as equal and that we all deserve to be free and we also should live for one another and not be selfish.

tbc