Emmanuel Michael | Leadership & Career Coach

Back to Basics: "Democracy” In Service of Who? 'The Rhetorical Ethic of the Yurugu' is a concept popularised by anthropologist Professor Marimba Ani, which describes the innate ability of the European to wield words as subjective and movable weapons of war, instead of instruments of communication with a single fixed meaning. Under this system, the word "Democracy" like many other words, has been weaponised by European imperialism, and is now used as a narrative weapon for controlling thought, scholarship, and political outcomes in the parts of the world that are dominated by imperialists. While the word itself may have a dictionary meaning that most people think they are familiar with, its actual on-ground effect and the downstream consequences of its control by European imperialists are far more sinister than most people would ever imagine. As 2027 looms for Africa and with it, national electoral rituals in Nigeria, Kenya and Angola among others, Sannario dives into this topic with a timely analysis of what exactly "Democracy" is and why the western-dominated ideas surrounding it today are generally not helpful or relevant to Africa.