The CIHA Blog engaged in profound questioning during the first two months of 2016, especially around the theme of the Blog’s conference on the Biafran/Nigerian Civil War origins of contemporary religious and secular interventionist humanitarianism. Following Anthonia Kalu’s reflections (December 2015), Helen Chukwuma in “Notes on Humanitarianism in Biafra: Foundations and Implications” noted that arms humanitarianism and welfare humanitarianism are in conflict and that foreign aid comes with a price. In a similar vein, Philip C. Aka discussed humanitarian integrity, which he simply defines as “humanitarian wellbeing.” He proposed “Seven Practical Steps to Humanitarian Integrity in Nigeria,” which should be implemented in a synchronized, rather than a sequential, manner, emphasizing that human rights ideals be brought to the forefront of Nigerian politics.
Other themes to start the year coalesced around the Western ideology concerning humanitarian aid, albeit from varying sources. Cecelia Lynch opened the year contemplating the effectiveness of aid in “Reconceptualizing Charity: The Problem with Philanthropy and ‘Effective Altruism’ by the World’s Wealthiest People,” as donation requests flooded her email inbox. Sokfa John labeled the 2015 Valletta Summit on migration “problematic,” since it demanded that African leaders aid Europe in furthering their anti-migration policies. Instead, John suggests Europe should learn from and embrace North Africa’s open ideological stance on migration. Michael Perry Kweku Okyerefo examined Pentecostalism in Ghana in “The Gospel of Public Image in Ghana,” where he challenged the perspective that Pentecostalism is disengaged with societal problems and argued that there is an inclusive relationship between spirituality and development. Jackie Ogega analyzed the role the voices of women of faith play in peacebuilding, highlighting the three practices that women model to spur peace building: “deploying motherhood,” praying, and mourning at burial ceremonies.
The CIHA Blog also engaged in discussions of the relationship between education and humanitarian work. Albert Bangirana focused on paternalism in educational policy toward Africa. Similarly, Ebenezer Obadare examined the overlap between Western paternalism and the corrupt governance in Malawi. In the same series, Maneesh Arora criticized the Western self-proclaimed importance visible in much humanitarian work, including educational missions.
We kicked off March with continuing themes on inequality and aid, as well as posts coming out of speaker and film series at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the University of Ghana-Legon. Coming up, The CIHA Blog will be showcasing several more pieces from last year’s conference in Biafra, as well as reflections on how mental health is approached in Africa. As always, we appreciate your reflections, comments, and ideas on other critical investigations to post!