How Walter Rodney's legacy resonated on a Nigerian campus

The author's encounter with the legacy of Walter Rodney began not through his writings, but through ubiquitous posters at Ahmadu Bello University in 1980. "I kept seeing and meeting Rodney," the author writes, recalling images plastered across campus, bearing his picture, name, and a provocative quote: "This Act In Itself Will Not Delay Their Day of Judgment."

“

This Act In Itself Will Not Delay Their Day of Judgment.

These posters ignited a deep curiosity in the young student. Questions swirled: Who was Rodney? Why was his image so prevalent? What "Act" was referenced, and whose "Day of Judgment"? The lack of internet at the time meant answers were not readily available, leaving Rodney a compelling mystery.

Upon starting his studies, Rodney's name became a constant refrain in history and political science lectures. A Zimbabwean lecturer, affectionately known as "Dzimbo," frequently referenced Rodney, making it seem as though the course itself centered on him. Lecturers introduced students to Rodney's influential book, "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" (HEUA).

“

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa

HEUA, they explained, was essential reading for understanding Africa's history and underdevelopment. The book's core argument posited that Western Europeans and Arabs systematically underdeveloped Africa through invasion, resource plundering, and the enslavement of its people. This exploitation, the lecturers emphasized, fueled the development of Europe, the U.S., and Canada, while leading to the disarticulation of African societies, colonialism, and unequal trade.

“

Basically, that Western Europeans, and before them, the Arabs, laid the concrete foundation for the underdevelopment of Africa.

Rodney's work, according to his university instructors, offered a "condensation of African History." It shattered the "imperialist," "neo-colonial," and "bourgeois" historical narratives previously taught. They lauded HEUA as a critical, thought-provoking, scientific, and revolutionary account of the continent's past.

“

Rodney’s HEUA, Dzimbo and the other lecturers added, is a condensation of African History, which shattered and demystified the “imperialist”, “neo-colonial” and “bourgeois” history of Africa we were taught in secondary schools and the mass media.