Conscientize!

From President Museveni's seemingly unending reign in power, to the emergence of a new face for opposition politics in Robert Sentamu Kyagulanyi with his NUP vehicle, to the nature of our 11th Parliament — this episode offers a critique through a historical analysis of the moving parts of Uganda's politics.

Political commentator Surumani Manzi approaches these intricate topics through a balanced examination of history. Together, he and host Olemo Gordon Brian delve into the significance of key historical events — from the 1966 Kabaka Crisis that was a major turning point in Uganda's political history — that have shaped the ethos and modus operandi of the current regime. They tackle the challenges that threaten the stability of Uganda, including the balkanisation of the country and the deepening of ethnic consciousness. This episode also makes sense of the November killings featured in the BBC documentary linked below, as well as the recent attempt on General Katumba Wamala's life. A case is also made for a shift of focus to preparation for a Uganda post-Museveni — effectively a transition.

Featured Resources

1. BBC Documentary — Uganda's November Killings

Ending Song

Dr. Wangaala by Simon Kaate Nsubuga

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“The present generation of Africans is thirsty, searching for where to draw the moral, intellectual and spiritual courage to effect change. The waters to quench the thirst, as other continents have already established, lie fundamentally in history – in Africa’s forebears, men, women and children who experienced much of what most Africans currently experience, but who chose to toe a different path” and we dare add that Thomas Sankara was such a man (preuxeastafrican).

In part 2, we continue our discussion on Sankara's legacy and his relevance to politics and leadership in Africa today. The episode is punctuated by Gil Scott-Heron's "The Revolution will not be televised" and Didier Awadi's "16 La Patrie Ou la mort / Thomas Sankara".

“Few young Africans have ever heard of Thomas Sankara. In reality, it is not the assassination of Thomas Sankara that has dealt a lethal blow to Africa and Africans; it is the assassination of his memory, as manifested in the indifference to his legacy, in the lack of constant reference to his ideals and ideas by Africans, by those who know and those who should know (Preuxeastafrican).”

In this 2-part series, show host Brian Olemo is joined by Siyabonga Michelle Hadebe for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the legacy of Capt. Thomas Sankara. The discussion is facilitated by University of Chiekh Anta Diop alumna Thomas Lesaffre who teaches Politics and Governance at the African Leadership Academy. We go into the nitty-gritties of Sankara’s politics and policies, his revolutionary struggle and his foreign policy including his unprecedented stance on women and youth in the state. We speak to his moral uprightness, his crackdown on corruption as well as increased government expenditure. We can all agree that in an epoch where role models are scarce in the political realm, Thomas Sankara is a leader worth studying and emulating.

If you have only heard of Sankara, seen his face at a protest or by any gathering of especially leftist political parties but you have no concrete knowledge of the man - this is the episode for you.

Resources

Watch this documentary on Thomas Sankara the Upright Man by Afrikanews on YouTube.

You can also read: "Thomas Sankara Speaks" & other resources on Sankara here 

Articles; 

Justice for Sankara: https://thewalrus.ca/thomas-sankara-tried-to-liberate-his-country-from-the-west-then-he-was-murdered/

Role Model for the capacity of African transformation: https://www.thomassankara.net/role-models-for-africain-capacity-for-transformation-thomas-sankara/?lang=en

In this 2020 interview, host Olemo Gordon Brian speaks with Obakeng Leseyane — South African youth activist, public service fellow, and aspiring politician — about why young Africans are disengaged from formal politics, and what it will actually take to change that.

Obakeng makes a sharp and practical case: no one is going to make a seat for you at the table. Politics is not panels and speeches — at its core, it is a vehicle for driving change on the issues you care about, and if you are serious about getting into that vehicle, you sometimes have to think about building your own. He speaks candidly about his decision to run for political office, the challenge of finding a political home that matches his values, and why voting is not optional but also not enough. He also addresses ageism — what to do when people tell you to know your place — and the question of whether young people on international platforms are genuinely being heard or simply being used as tokens.

He closes with a charge that captures the spirit of the entire conversation, drawn from Cornel West:

"If your success is defined as being well-adjusted to injustice and well-adapted to indifference — then we don't want successful leaders. We want great leaders, unbound, unafraid, and unintimidated to tell the truth."

This is essential listening for any young African who wants to move from advocacy to power.

This interview was originally conducted for News Decoder's youth podcast strand "They Are Hearing — But Are They Listening?" and later featured on The 4th Generation Podcast.

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In this 2021 episode — the first session of The 4th Generation Book Club — host Olemo Gordon Brian is joined by Marouane ElBahraoui and Siybonga Michelle Hadebe to unpack Muammar Gaddafi's The Green Book: his Third Universal Theory and what it offers as a framework for understanding politics, economics, and society.

Together they work through all three parts of the book. First, Gaddafi's critique of parliament, party, class, and plebiscite as false democracies, and his proposal for Popular Congresses and People's Committees as the true instrument of self-governance. Second, the argument that the wage system is a form of slavery, the case for partners in production rather than workers for hire, and the principle that whoever feeds you controls you. Third, Gaddafi's theory of nationalism, the family, the tribe, the nation, and the world, and his controversial positions on women, minorities, education, and sport.

Further Reading

1. What Did Gaddafi's Green Book Really Say? — The New York Times

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A November 2020 interview with Trevor Lwere — author of Visions at Dusk, speaker, and ALA alumnus — then a student at the University of Notre Dame majoring in Economics with a PPE minor and a supplementary major in Global Affairs.

Host Olemo Gordon Brian quizzes him on a speech he made during ALA's decennial celebrations in which he made the case that even if we do not take an interest in politics, politics will always take an interest in us. Trevor reminds us of the why we need to participate actively in the struggle for the emancipation of our continent — through seriously shaping and taking up our generational mission. Just like the cathedral builders, he locates our generation in the larger struggle that has been and is still going on for generations, capping with a powerful line: "to be an African in this day and age is to be in a state of perpetual resistance." He also makes a prediction of the Ugandan election concluded a few months after recording, and validates his predictions.

Featured Resources

1. Trevor Lwere: Youth, Politics, and Apathy — Trevor Lwere's speech at the ALA Decennial Celebrations
2. A Crisis of Courage: Africa's 21st Century Challenge — Rachel Nyaradzo Adams, TEDx Talk

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"A soldier without any ideological or political training is a potential criminal," said Revolutionary Captain Thomas Sankara. As Africa's fourth generation of leaders, we are all soldiers fighting for the emancipation of our continent. As such, we need the training — the political orientation — of which Sankara speaks. This podcast aims to play a part in providing that training by equipping us with the right ideological tools to effectively analyse and thus change political leadership in Africa.

This is the original trailer for The 4th Generation Podcast, which has since been rebranded as Conscientize! — a podcast by The 4th Generation Initiative. The mission has not changed.

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