Chiedza Vol 8 No 2 Can Poverty be made History?

Abstract

Humankind has come of age! Or so it seems! It has now dawned on us that we have the capacity and means to make poverty history. That poverty is a result of human actions and omissions is not news. What is novel is that people today look forward to a future where material poverty is no longer an inevitable part of the human condition. We have, however, to sound a note of caution. The phrase "Make Poverty History'' has in recent months been so freely, and at times, so vacuously used, that it runs the risk of becoming one more cliche. Reading the speeches and pleas made at Gleneagles, one was left with a sense of wonder on the one hand and a feeling of increasing disquiet on the other. That wonder arose at the fervour with which the participants at the Gleneagles conference in July 2005 described the urgency of this project of making poverty history and the passion with which they sought to implement it. The_..disquiet arises because commitments made at Gleneagles seem to have been superficial leaving us with a feeling that 'make poverty history' was another talk show where pledges were made and forgotten as soon as the participants left Gleneagles. This issue of Chiedza interrogates, from various perspectives - philosophical, anthological and sociological among others, the campaign to 'make poverty history'. Prosper Batinge, in an interesting and insightful article in which he draws insights from the ancient thinkers through to the Medieval, Modern and Post-Modem thinkers, grapples with the question ' Is Philosophy Relevant to the Campaign "Make Poverty History"?' Brydon Nkhoma argues that the campaign to make poverty history, especially in Africa, will remain a dream if the malaise of corruption is not immediately addressed. Raymond Tangonyire accepts that the need to abolish poverty is as pressing as it has always been but history itself is against that project. Poverty is part and parcel of how human societies develop. Instead of deluding ourselves that poverty can be made history, we should be true to ourselves and accept that any victory against poverty is at best partial. Jean-Claude Havyarimana, takes the words from the Holy Bible that the 'poor will always be with us' (John 12:8). Though he arrives at the same conclusion as Raymond, his approach is m?re philosophical and anthropological. Lawrence Kyaligonza takes us back to where, according to the Bible, it all began: the Garden of Eden. His major concern, however, is the irony that foreign aid to Africa has invariably contributed to the increase of poverty on the continent. Corbinian Kyara is less pessimistic about foreign aid and sees the need to for African governments to accept what the donor nations offer. He argues that given the weak financial reserves of many an African state, external funds are indispensable to achieve the desired economic development. He argues that Africans should swallow their pride and acknowledge that they cannot achieve concrete results without some sort of aid from outside. Eric Wanyonyi discusses how HIV and Aids continue to upset efforts by many African governments to realise their own development objectives. Enyribe Oguh unravels the tragic situation in the Niger-Delta. He poses the question "Is the Niger-Delta the Devil's Inferno or a People's Paradise?" Sadly it seems, the
situation in the Niger-Delta resembles Dante's inferno and Oguh offers advice as to how we can begin to take a tentative slip towards the paradise of his title. David Kaulemu argues that NEPAD is been challenged by the 'make poverty history' campaign. NEPAD should rise to the occasion and make a difference for once in the lives of millions of Africans waHowing in poverty and misery. Benedict Ebogu makes good use of the theories of justice proposed by John Rawls and Michael Walzer. These theories on the one hand should make African states and governments examine their own practices and on the other hand they provide timely insights on how greater levels of justice and better standards of living can be realised. It is not our intention to arrive at final conclusions, or to score points, or to win a philosophical, theological or sociological argument: the poverty of millions of people in Africa and the world at large is too serious to allow for such intellectual indulgence. Ours is an attempt to go beyond the glamour, euphoria and rhetoric of cliches like .. Make Poverty History" that tend to blind us to the many vicissitudes that characterise the human condition and suggest practical solutions that are informed by intellectual rigour. I take this opportunity to thank, on behalf of Chiedza editorial board, the contributors to this edition for rising to the occasion by responding to our call for papers. The board wishes to bid farewell to former members Elaigwu Arneh SJ and Steven Clegg SJ. We express our gratitude to Fr. Stephen Buckland SJ for his invaluable contribution to Chiedza during bis tenure as staff advisor. The board thanks Anthony Chennells for agreeing to be staff advisor. The board welcomes several new members and I should like to introduce: Aondoakula Aza SJ, Isaac Fernandes SJ, Lawrence Kyaligonza SJ and Joseph Wabwire. Thank you gentlemen for accepting to be part of Cheidza. We wish our readers a Merry Christmas and a fruitful 2006.

Happy reading!
Nicholas Hamakalu SJ