|
"Ignorance of the history of one's people is a form of servitude."
Seex Anta Jóob
Centenary of Seex Anta Jóob's birth: an invitation to revisit his visionary thinking on society
The year 2023 marks the centenary of Seex Anta Jóob's birth. Thirty-seven years after the passing of the man known as the Pharaoh of Cayor, his legacy continues to be debated, both in Senegal and internationally.
The literature extolling his scientific work is more abundant than that on his political contributions, despite the fact that his actions in this field span more than four decades. Yet it is necessary to consider an interconnected reading of his scientific and political discourses. What's more, questioning his political ideas opens up possibilities to place his prospective thoughts in a spatio-temporal perspective: in relation to Senegalese current affairs and, from a transnational point of view, to the political history of the continent and pan-Africanism.
Seex Anta Jóob was a tireless activist in the "struggle for decolonization, not only political, but above all cultural, of Africa". He called for cultural historical reappropriation, notably through language. He took part in various congresses and meetings to advocate for the independence of African countries, and was one of the main instigators of the democratization of political debate in Senegal. His work is illustrated by the creation of organizations including three political parties: the Senegalese Mass Bloc (BMS), the Senegalese National Front (FNS) and the African Democratic Rally (RND), an opposition newspaper (Siggi, which later became Taxaw) and a farmers' union.
While Seex Anta Jóob is not unanimously agreed on some of his conclusions, all agree on the visionary nature of his thinking as a reflection on society: its past, present and future, as well as his talent for both historical initiative and critical thinking. He is at the origin of anticipatory political analysis of the issues confronting African peoples and states in the aftermath of decolonization.
Independence gave rise to a political imagination based on the mythology of the founding fathers and an ideology of "development". In the face of the shock of structural adjustment, the 1980s plunged African countries into a period marked by an absence of perspective, resulting in political imaginaries devoid of hope or ideals.
According to Paul Nascimento, when emptiness is not invested, it tends to be recuperated: by binary, demagogic and populist discourses.
Seex Anta Jóob's approach to politics calls for the mobilization of constructive struggles to reclaim the social and political consciousness. What is the scope of his political action today, and the impact of his parties? Who are its leaders? Where are they and what have been their paths? What does it mean to inherit and pass on? What are the parallels between Seex Anta Jóob's thought and actions and what is currently happening in Senegal?
"Elements don't come into being by force of circumstances, but because there are men who act".
Seex Anta Jóob
1. DIAGNE, S. B., In the Den of the Alchemist, XIBAARU, Supplement to the Chimurenga Chronics n°13, April 2018, pp 12-14
BERTHO, E., Un universel comme horizon. Entretien avec Souleymane Bachir Diagne, in Seneplus, 08/08/2019.
DIOP, B.B., Bachir, tu permets?, in Seneplus, 08/09/2019.
DIAGNE, S. B., L’or et la boue, in Seneplus, 10/09/2019.
2. DIOP, D., Cheikh Anta Diop. Recueil de textes introduits par DIalo Diop, Coll. Pensées d’hier pour demain, Ed. CETIM, 2022.
3. DO NASCIMENTO, J. La pensée politique de Cheikh Anta Diop, Coll. Etudes africaines, Ed. L’Harmattan, 2020.
*A Reading Room is an interactive and evolving installation that opens up an immersive space based on in-depth documentary research into the arts, knowledge and societies. Through the sharing of programmatic archives and resources of various kinds (audiovisual retransmissions of conferences or public assemblies, selected publications, writings or artistic breath), it addresses current societal issues in a contextualized way. It also opens a window on initiatives in order to highlight, bring together, link and map them. In this way, contemporary actions are placed in dialogue with those of the past. |
