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NGUGI WA THIONG'O
CLARKE

and his observation of the system of exploitation that has been transferred from European hands to African hands without the Europeans losing control of it.  No matter whose hands manipulate this system, he still sees it as being bad for Africa.  "Today, in Africa," he says, "we are harvesting the bitter fruits of capitalist and colonialist policy of divide and rule, and those of the colonial legacy of an uneven development.... There has been no radical change in the inherited structure and in our priorities."

Ngugi calls for the discarding of old assumptions in order to look at Africa with a new frame of reference.  He reminds us that some of the old myths have died and new ones have been created.  He further reminds his readers that, "Tribe is a special creation of the colonial regimes."  He insists that, "Now there are only two tribes left in Africa: the 'haves' and 'have nots'."

Ngugi points to the fact that the conquerors of Africa were not completely defeated, and that a new and more sophisticated form of colonialism has taken over the Continent and its resources.  He mentions that the headquarters of the big corporations who control the wealth in Africa are still in New York, London, Brussels, Paris, Bonn and Copenhagen.  Africa's institutions, he says, are still being manipulated from the outside and the Africans who belong to what is sometimes referred to as the "clerk elite" are still the servants of these manipulators.  He has no illusions about Africa's liberation.  He knows that liberation is ahead of and not behind the African people.  In dealing with what Jomo Kenyatta has described as the "professional friends and interpreters of Africa," he is also dealing with the new arrogance of assumptions where the Europeans are still predominant.

The title of his book Homecoming is more than symbolic.  It suggests what he and his book are about.  It could have easily been called "awakening," because in a direct way that is what he and his writing are about.  He is looking at the African world, through its literature and its politics, as that world moves into the second decade after the "independence explosion."  He has no illusions about what independence is and he knows that, in most cases, African nations do not have true independence.  He knows that freedom is not a gift from the powerful to the powerless.  Freedom is something you take with your own hands.  It is not secure and real until then.

The broad base of Ngugi's vantage point, looking at the non-European world, in transition, from an African window, has justified his new position as one of the spokesmen for African nationalism

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Transcription Notes:
Reopened for Editing 2024-02-26 18:00:24 corrected first line. Sent message to feedback regarding page 72 so it could be fixed. "ism," is part of "nationalism," that was left hanging on previous page. per instructions this page should start with ..and is . Fixed typo in 4th paragraph. He has no illusions, not, he has "not" illusions. back to review w/fixes. ---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-26 17:17:09 ---------- ---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-26 18:27:47