THE CONFICIUS INSTITUTE 'CRUSADER' ON RISE

 

Confucius Institutes are partnerships between Chinese entities and schools in other countries, arranged and funded in part by Hanban, which is affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education. There are more than 500 Confucius Institutes worldwide and 96 located at colleges and universities in the United States as of December 2018. Some researchers, government officials and others have raised questions about whether the institutes are sources of undue Chinese influence. 

The stated aim of the institute is to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally and facilitate cultural exchanges. The organisation has been criticized because of concerns regarding increasing Chinese influence in the countries in which it operates. However, many programmes have renegotiated their contacts to promote the academic freedom of host universities. School officials, researchers and others in many countries describe the benefits and concerns related to the Confucius Institutes and suggests ways to improve the institutes. Officials have cited increased resources for Chinese language and programmes as among key institute benefits. On the other hand, critics have raised concern that the presence of an institute could constrain many campus activities and lecture room content. For example, several researchers stated that schools with Confucius Institutes might avoid hosting events on topics that could include criticism of China, such as Taiwan or Tibet, so as not to offend Chinese partners. 

How can I tell a story we-Africans know too well? Her name was Alkebulan. His was France. He colonized her, exploited her, rapped her freedoms, silenced her, and even decades after it was supposed to have ended, still acts with a strong hand in resolving her affairs in places like Mali, Burkina Faso, Cote d' Ivoire...You see, to be colonized is to become a stranger in your own land and culture. Decades after regaining independence, still we are burdened by the colonial history on our shoulders. It is our continent that is still called with linguistical terms; 'AngloFone, Francophone... And it is today that some brothers of ours in Cameroon are fighting because of this issue. It is time we come together as just like founding Fathers of African Union like Kwame Nkrumah, Julias Nyerere and Haile Selaise did in Addis Ababa; May 1963, with a unity of purpose. 

Our goals are clearly stated in the AGENDA 2063. It is organisations like Confucius Institutes that can be used to colonise us again. If we remember well our history, Nigeria was colonised in the name of a company- Unilever, Zimbabwe under British South African Company  (BSAC). The question is, can't Confucius Institute be used for the same purpose- considering the influence China is having on our continent and the world over. There is nothing wrong with learning about other cultures and civilization, but you have to be careful of what you wish for. At this moment African leaders should be finding ways to 'silence the guns' and pursuing the goal of finding a local dialect as the medium of communication. A language that they can relate to. To be frank, there are things and actions that can be expressed in our local or mother tongues only.

We know most of our African leaders will actually ignore such a threat because it doesn't concern their personal interests. But there is reason to pay more attention to-the Africa youth. With 200 million people aged between 15 and 24. Africa has the youngest population in the world.  The current trend indicates that the figure will double by 2045, according to, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). So, that on its own makes this matter, an issue of the African future generations to ponder. Would you want to be speaking Mandarin or KiSwahili as your language in the next 50 years? And many African youths questions organisations like Confucius Institutes like this; you think you are smarter than us, you think your brains are bigger, you think we can't learn our local languages? We have stories and songs, we have art and culture. What do you have? 

In summation, I quote Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o saying; “Our people think: I, Wangari, a Kenyan by birth - how can I be a vagrant in my own country as if I were a foreigner.” (Devil on the Cross). You see, to be colonized is to become a stranger in your own land and culture.