Today I have reason to rejoice. I published a new book, Chickens in the Bus: More Thoughts on Cultural Differences.Ever since I published Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences, readers have been asking me whether I was thinking about writing a sequel. I had been thinking about that, and for the past fifteen years had been writing short articles intending to compile them into a book. Today, that dream came true.
I feel that Chickens in the Bus adequately complements my earlier book. I am relieved and I can now focus on other writing projects.
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Today, August2, 2021, Dennis J. Bugumba made history as the first person to comment publicly on my new book. This is what he has written on his Facebook page:
THE "CHICKENS IN THE BUS" IS A STRAIGHT SHOOTER
"The day might come when Africans will be carrying dogs in their cars while frowning upon chickens in the bus." - Joseph L. Mbele.
I have finally got Prof. Joseph Mbele's new book. I am chuffed! As soon as I got it, I went straight to Chapter 4, the "Chickens in the Bus" chapter, and on that chapter, I found the above view by Prof. Mbele absolutely pedagogic.
That view strikes at the heart of the complex nature of the residues left behind by colonialism, including the haughty colonial attitude of the ruling class imposed on the ruled, often dubbed "wanyonge."
The inferiority complex bit is also telling. I think that those who suffer from it due to colonialism are not only prone to the original colonizers; they are also prone to those currently in positions of power and the current structural levers of power. They treat them how they treated the colonizers. Thus, they are effectively still in "colonialism," albeit psychologically.
These are the things that we grapple with, and I have also talked about them in the past. Prof. Mbele's new book unravels a lot more issues like these, and as I anticipated, it is absolutely fascinating. I love reading books like these - liberating and yet enjoyable.
This book is a "straight shooter" - I like that about it. I am still reading it, and I am sure I am bound to bump into more fascinating stuff. But I was very keen to read the "chicken" bit first, and so I went straight to it, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed.
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