Africa—A Battle for Men’s Minds

“The Negroes possess some admirable qualities. They are seldom unjust . . . There is complete security in their country. Neither traveler nor inhabitant in it has anything to fear from robbers.”

Thus wrote world traveler Ibn Battutah, who visited West Africa over 600 years ago. His comments were about the black Africans that lived in part of the great Mali Empire ruled by King Mansa Musa.

How pleasant it would be if such reported conditions of justice and security could exist today, not only in Africa but in the whole world! Obviously, if such an account was basically accurate, there must have been forceful influences affecting the minds of those Africans.

Did you know that this period in African history, called the Golden Age, was marked by many intellectual developments among black Africans? One of the cities in this great Mali Empire—Timbuktu—was world renowned as a center of learning, of mental accomplishments. Sixteenth-century traveler and historian Leo Africanus described the city during his day:

“In Timbuktu there are numerous judges, doctors and clerics, all receiving good salaries from the king. He pays great respect to men of learning. There is a big demand for books in manuscript, imported from Barbary (North Africa). More profit is made from the book trade than from any other line of business.”

Many feel that such teachings and intellectual accomplishments were responsible for the reportedly high level of civilization and morality. Consequently, a number of persons today look to education, or to reaching the minds of Africans intellectually, to bring about a solution to some of the serious problems now plaguing Africa. So there is a battle on to reach men’s minds in the so-called “Dark Continent”!

Serious Problems Plague Continent

Most knowledgeable Africans will agree that much of the continent is faced with many distressing problems. Spectacular economic progress in some places is contrasted with the vast majority living in poverty.

Crime is rife in one African city after another. The town of Soweto, in the suburbs of Johannesburg, is reported as having “outrageous crime. Indeed, few cities, if any, in the world have a higher crime rate than Soweto.” In one month 145 murders were reported there!

As in other parts of the world, inflation, inexperience, greed and corruption have made progress difficult. In a special issue about Africa, Ebony magazine noted that “400 million human beings . . . are waging a total war against poverty, ignorance, disease and neo-colonialism.”

African Problems—World Problems

The problems of one tenth of the human family, housed on a landmass second only to Asia in size, are certainly going to affect the world community. This is especially so since that “landmass” is teeming with vital natural resources, including nearly all the world’s known supplies of gold, diamonds and chromite.

Nigeria is second only to Saudi Arabia in exporting oil to the United States. A third of the world’s reserves of uranium, 15 percent of the natural gas, along with 10 percent of the oil, are to be found in Africa. In an energy-conscious world, such rich deposits are not to be overlooked, and the shortage of such resources could have grave repercussions in industrialized countries. It could affect you!

To solve the problems, many black leaders recognize the need to reach the minds of the masses. Extensive educational programs have been launched in numerous African countries. Even the leaders have endeavored to convey the idea of such a need by calling themselves by the titles “The Teacher” and “The Guide.” Yet, education is not easy. Why?

Many Forces Vie to Dominate African Thinking

“Tribalism is the scourge of Africa,” remarked President Felix Houphouet-Boigny of the Ivory Coast. Tribalism is a strong mental force that breeds conflict. It is a fervent loyalty to the tribe of one’s birth. While a person may manifest kindness and honesty toward a member of his own tribe, he often feels distrust, perhaps even animosity, toward someone of another tribe. An Associated Press release from one African country reports that “tribalism has become the main complication in virtually every African conflict.”

Similarly, many have strong feelings against persons of another race. Racial tensions mount throughout Africa. One white businessman living in a racially strained area thus described the situation: “It’s like having a bomb in your backyard.”

Also, the surge of modern materialism into African society cannot be ignored. Many Africans have, for the most part, abandoned old customs and now build a culture around the benefits of modern technology. Their whole quest in life is to enrich themselves with all the conveniences of a new age. In many sections of Africa, money rules as an unfeeling “king,” and persons will resort to almost anything—stealing, killing, cheating, and so forth—to get it! So the flood of materialism also assaults the African’s mind.

Another powerful force that vies for control in African thinking is nationalism. Black political figures have endeavored to unify their countrymen by creating a sense of loyalty to the nation. Many African countries have just recently obtained self-rule, and many persons are filled with an inner pride because of the accomplishment.

So the forces of tribalism, materialism and nationalism have not solved Africa’s problems. Why not? Because, as many discerning Africans realize, minds need to be trained in other areas, if ever there is to be a semblance of genuine peace and unity.

Proper Instruction Needed About What?

“WANTED: A CODE OF CONDUCT FOR ALL NIGERIANS.” This headline glared in a recent newspaper from Africa’s most populous country. The article that followed deplored the lack of high morals or proper ethics among many in the nation. Despite the advances in education and technology, it commented: “All Nigerians must think again. A country must live by a minimum code of ethics if it is to survive as a nation.” Why so?

One African journalist bemoaned:

“We have spent enormous sums building roads and highways, but we can no longer travel on them with much hope that we will reach our destination in safety. The walls of our homes are even less likely to protect us. . . . All of us live in fear for our lives and lives of our loved ones. That is what it means to be a Nigerian today. And what manner of life is this?”

What is recommended as a solution? The above-quoted newspaper urged: “Consequently developing nations have to make more cautious attempt to change the mentality of their people.” (Italics ours.)

Yes, the “mentality” of people needs changing so that they can develop a proper “code of conduct.” But such education is not easy. Persons can be taught to read and write. But to teach morals requires reaching not only the mind but also the very heart. In attempting to legislate such morals, government officials, battling to reach African minds, have viewed the project as trying to “attempt the impossible.” Yet, such instruction is crucial.

Strong families create strong towns and cities which, in turn, create strong nations. For this reason, one Black Muslim leader urged “the restoration of the family as the basic unit of our society.” (Italics ours.) So instruction is needed to help strengthen the steadily eroding African family. Especially is there a need to train children, for 45 percent of the African population are under 15!

Critically needed is proper instruction about the right attitude to have toward a person of another tribe or race. As we have seen, tribalism and racism have splintered much of Africa. A report about conditions in one country concluded by expressing this hope: “May black hand clasp white in friendship and give Rhodesia peace to match the beauty of the land.”

For a land or nation to be truly beautiful, people must get along with one another. But minds would have to be reached into very deeply to bring about such fellowship. Love, along with proper morals, cannot be legislated. So the most important instruction must effect proper morals, strengthen the family and develop real love between people of different tribes and races.

“An impossibility!” exclaim many. Yet such instruction not only is possible but is actually being successfully accomplished by persons in at least 41 African countries along with the neighboring islands. Who are doing this work? How successful are their methods? Why were the closing months of 1978 of outstanding importance in this massive teaching program? Read with interest the answers in the following article.

A Teaching Program That Succeeds in Africa

CAN you imagine an international educational program—with instructors, textbooks, school buildings and using effective teaching methods, even personalized home services—operating in at least 41 African countries? This international program includes counsel about morality, family life and how to display real love toward all persons.

It also is a teaching program made up entirely of volunteers, yes, almost a quarter of a million of them! These spend many hours teaching others, without any salary for their services.

Such a program seems impossible in today’s world. Nonetheless, this is exactly what Jehovah’s Witnesses have been doing in Africa for over 50 years. Just last year they devoted over 40 million hours to this public service. This averaged out to six minutes for every man, woman and child on all the African continent and neighboring islands! The populace of very few places in Africa is not familiar with their warm desire to help individuals on a personal basis.

The primary textbook, the basis of the “code of conduct” they teach, is the Bible. The Witnesses had weekly Bible discussions during last year with over 200,000 families, in addition to the meetings for instruction arranged weekly at their Kingdom Halls. Not only did they teach thousands to read and write (77 percent of Witnesses are literate, as compared with 20 percent of the population in some African countries), but, more importantly, they taught them the principles of right conduct.

“Victorious Faith” Conventions Play Key Role

Large conventions, or assemblies, are a vital part of this teaching work. During the closing months of 1978 and the early part of this year, 72 conventions were held throughout Africa and the neighboring islands. An astounding 524,571 were in attendance!

A very prominent king in Ghana, accompanied by the queen mother and the king’s chiefs and elders, attended one of these assemblies. “I have been impressed, enthralled, by your convention arrangements and your orderly conduct,” he exclaimed. Why were he and thousands of others so “enthralled”?

Not merely because of the orderly conduct, but principally because of the program. The practical talks, along with new supplementary textbooks like Making Your Family Life Happy, genuinely helped families cope with rising domestic discord.

Does the Program Really Work?

Among the conventioners in Nigeria was a former political-party thug. He had engaged in acts of violence against political opponents. He had burned down some of their homes and even cut off the limbs of some! So notorious was he that some people even feared to attend a certain cinema house because he was known to go there. It happened that the caretaker of this movie theater is a Witness. He began to discuss the Bible with this man and the result was that the man changed his way of life and became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

This formerly violent man began to teach others about the Bible. When he first started going into the field teaching work, many people took to their heels when they saw him approaching! It required some effort to persuade them that he had changed. But he had changed! He is now helping others to make similar transformations in their lives.

An isolated case? Hardly! Prostitutes, thieves, drunks and drug addicts have been helped to change their lives. Others, noting the remarkable changes, have been so impressed that they also have become Witnesses.

For instance, a Witness approached the white owner of a large farm in Rhodesia and, as is the custom, asked permission to speak to some of the man’s field workers. “Just what are you going to teach my employees?” the man pointedly asked. “The Bible and its principles,” replied the Witness. “Such as?” queried the owner. “The Bible’s view on honesty, cleanliness, being moderate in habits, and attitudes toward work.” At this the landowner was amazed, as he often had problems with some of his workers over those very matters!

Now, upon realizing that some Witnesses were among his employees, he pressed the visitor, asking: “Just who are Jehovah’s Witnesses on this farm?” You can imagine his surprise when the Witness related the names of his very best and most trusted workers! Deeply impressed, he and his wife had to find out what form of teaching had reached these African minds and created such a change. Soon both were baptized Witnesses themselves, helping to teach still others.

The honesty of Jehovah’s Witnesses has become almost legendary in some parts of Africa. Visitors to the assemblies are often amazed to see a “Lost and Found Department.” “Lost money is considered gone forever to most Africans; the thought of returning money found is foreign to most African minds,” noted a native Kenyan Witness. Yet money—in large and small amounts—is turned in by finders and frequently is reclaimed.

Families Strengthened

What about family life? The mayor of the South African township of Mdantsane made this remarkable public statement:

“Over a period of six years, I have never heard of a single case of Witnesses failing to pay the rent, fighting with their wives, or applying for a divorce. It is for this reason that I have a high regard for them.”

To note the profound influence of Bible instruction, all anyone has to do is attend such assemblies and observe the thousands of obedient children that accompany their parents. After departing from the convention at Abidjan, Ivory Coast, one world traveler, who has seen scores of assemblies, remarked:

“And what children! You have never seen children as disciplined and well-behaved at assemblies as you will find here in Africa. Hours on end they sit with their parents, oblivious, it seems, to the heat and humidity and hard seats that are constructed for these temporary pavilions.”

An 89-year-old member of the New York headquarters staff of the Witnesses was warmly greeted by the African Witnesses. Upon her return after a month attending one assembly after another, Grace DeCecca was asked, “What impressed you the most about your trip?” Without hesitating, she said: “It was the tenderness of the people, especially the menfolk. You saw whole family units coming to the assembly together and the fathers were so considerate in helping out with the children.”

Imagine if all Africa were filled with families and people who are orderly, tender and honest! Would not any rational individual appreciate the security this would bring?

Tribal and Racial Unity

How would you feel toward someone of a different “family” who drove your relatives from their home and killed many of them? Do you think you could love that person?

This is precisely what happened between the world-famous Watutsi (Tutsi) tribe and the Hutu people. Their fighting goes back over 400 years! In 1963 the fighting exploded into all-out war with over 10,000 Tutsi killed and the rest of the tribe forced to wander as refugees. Yet, a report concerning the assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, contained the following details:

“From Rwanda, male and female Witnesses from the renowned Tutsi tribe were worshiping side by side with others from the Hutu tribe. While there yet exist grave differences among these people in general, it is happifying to note that those who have become worshipers of Jehovah have put such differences behind them and now see each other as ‘brother’ and ‘sister.’”

Black and white worship together in areas where there are strong racial tensions. South Africa’s first completely interracial large assembly was held in racially segregated Cape Town. The 6,959 in attendance were noticeably thrilled to be able to associate with those of other races. A report from South Africa said: “The Witnesses acted as if they had been doing this for years. There was a lovely spirit of peace and unity.”

This racial unity is not mere “surface toleration” but is deeply rooted in the feelings of the Witnesses. For decades many white Witnesses have labored as missionaries with black local Witnesses. A bond of genuine love has been developed. Illustrating this, one missionary serving in Africa for over 30 years had become very sick, even being confined to bed for three months. He was asked by a traveling overseer if he wanted to return to his home country of Canada. “No!” he firmly replied. “This is my home, with these people, and I desire to remain here as long as I am alive!”

The visiting Witness official was somewhat taken aback by the response but concluded his report by writing:

“It is this wholehearted devotion to Jehovah that binds the brotherhood of Jehovah’s Witnesses together into an unbreakable unity that is not weakened by international boundaries, different races, customs or languages.”

Instilling the “Mind of Christ”

Hundreds of thousands of individuals have become persons governed by a firm moral code, resulting in strong families that display love for all persons. Would you not enjoy having such persons as your neighbors? They have had instilled in their minds the “mind of Christ,” in that they pattern their thinking and conduct after the example and teachings of Jesus Christ.—1 Cor. 2:16.

These have achieved a success such as is desired by the world. Noting this, Oxford sociologist Bryan R. Wilson, after making an extensive study of the Witnesses in Africa, stated:

“Witnesses . . . have been uniquely successful in getting their following to keep high standards of moral rigour and self-discipline.

“They instill the values of hard work, punctuality, sobriety and self-respect. Their members reach a quality of family relationships that is highly exceptional in East Africa. Their techniques of instruction and indoctrination are extremely effective. . . .

“The stock rhetoric of African politicians is the condemnation of tribalism. Paradoxically, the Witnesses are perhaps more successful than any other group in the speed with which they eliminate tribal discrimination among their own recruits.”

Those with the “mind of Christ” also find that their lives become meaningful and as happy as possible amid the distressing world conditions. Additionally, they eagerly contemplate the Bible-based hope of a whole world without injustice, wherein “righteousness is to dwell” and all persons will enjoy total security. It will be an order of God’s making, replacing an old system built on selfishness. Those living under such perfect conditions will be there because they allowed a massive Bible educational program to mold their lives successfully.—2 Pet. 3:13; Ps. 85:8-13; 145:20.

[Box on page 26]

What Africans Said About Conventions

“I have never seen people who worked so hard! You really live your faith; especially so your youth.”—Club grounds caretaker—Senegal.

“After observing for two days, I am moved and impressed by the orderly manner in which your convention is drawing people of all races together.”—Moslem watchman—Ghana.

[Picture on page 25]

An African family enjoys vital Bible instruction