They were all there. They sat at a corner inside the illustrious Garden Restaurant. It was a place people came to discuss serious matters. Its serene and quiet nature and atmosphere are what attracted the people who came here to talk serious matters.
No loud music. No rowdy people. No noise. Only soft music could be heard in the background.
It was a warm day. There were not many people at that evening hour. Al-Ghazzal was wearing a brown coat and a checked shirt. His feet were firmly protected by the loafers he wore.
Esau wore his black jeans and white shirt. Gloria was in her navy blue skirt and pink blouse. A young lady, one of their colleagues at campus, sat at the table with them.
Her name was Monica. She was born and raised in Nyanza Province and had struck a good rapport with Gloria. They were friends.
Monica wore brown baggy trousers and a white blouse. She stood at five feet and seven inches and had a light complexion. Her feet were tightly anchored in her black stilettos.
Three glasses and a cup stood on the table. Gloria, Monica, and Esau preferred soft drinks while the professor was taking his usual coffee.
"Professor Al-Ghazzal," Gloria began. "As I told you when I met you in your office the other day, we would like to share with you some of our problems or questions. We have concerns about the paper on African politics. You've already met Esau and I. It's only Monica whom you haven't met until now."
Al-Ghazzal touched his red beard and looked at Monica, "It's true I have not met her. But it gives me great pleasure to know her. I meet so many students, some of whom I can not even remember. She's also in your class?"
"Sure. That's why we invited her to join us," Gloria said as she stared at Al-Ghazzal's brown eyes that seemed to be smiling.
"We can now begin," Esau joined in. "Political Science is quite an interesting course. It's so inspiring, but I wonder whether one who studies politics can be a good politician. I say so because our politicians, as compared to those in the Western world, tend to be so petty and myopic. This leaves me wondering if we truly have real politics here."
Gloria chipped in, "Our politicians only seem to be evolving and are in the early stages of development. Can we really talk of politics existing in Africa when our politicians seem to be aping anything from the West?"
Al-Ghazzal smiled. His passion had been aroused, and he said, "Gloria and your friends, your views seem to resemble those of the European scholars of the past. These often argued that there was no politics in Africa until the arrival of Christian missionaries and colonial governors."
"What a biased view! Why did they reason and argue that way?" asked Monica, who joined in the discussion.
"They saw politics as being non-existent in Africa. Their studies were mostly based on primitive societies," Al-Ghazzal replied and added, "As you rightly noted, these scholars who were mostly anthropologists were too ethnocentric since they couldn't understand that pre-colonial politics in Africa was categorised into two subheadings: state and stateless societies."
The waiter came and filled their glasses and Al-Ghazzal's cup. Then he retreated to the counter.
Soft music continued to entertain them as they paused to sip their drinks. Then Esau cleared his throat and rejoined the discussion, "Professor, that's the part we had problems grasping during our maiden lecture. What exactly do you mean by state and stateless societies?"
Al-Ghazzal cleared his throat and then replied, "In state societies, we see clear formation of society along centralised patterns of government. Thus, the state societies in Africa were those founded along hierarchical structures, and there was even parliament."
Gloria came in turn and asked, "But aren't you just talking in general terms, Professor? Someone may pose the challenge to us and ask which were these state societies with hierarchical structures of government in Africa?"
Al-Ghazzal laughed, revealing clean white teeth, "You're right, Gloria. Sceptics are always there in society. But this is what you should always remember: the state of Buganda in present-day Uganda evolved a bureaucratic form of government under a king called Kabaka. There was also parliament known as Lukiko under the prime minister, the Katikiro."
A brief pause as the scholars reflected on what was said. Each was trying to get points to raise for discussion. Then Esau suggested, "Don't you think we should order for our supper too?"
"We can do that later. It's better we discuss the issues first before taking our supper."
"Sure." Gloria agreed.
Monica, who had been silent for some time, unexpectedly asked, "Are there other examples of state societies apart from Buganda?"
"Absolutely. There were many old kingdoms in West, Central, and South Africa that evolved centralised authority. The Zulu kingdom under Shaka Zulu in Southern Africa, the Mwene Mutapa kingdom in Central Africa, the kingdoms of old Ghana, Mali, and Songhai in West Africa are further examples. In most of these cases, where state societies existed, there was a large standing and powerful army to protect the citizens," replied the professor.
"We only focused on other parts of the continent but ignored our country," Esau observed and asked, "Do we also have examples of state societies in Kenya?"
"Oh, sure. There was the Wanga Kingdom in western Kenya, led by the Nabongo, the king, who maintained a trained army of soldiers. The king and his soldiers often went on terrible onslaughts against their enemies. At the coming of the Europeans, the nabongo was Mumia, whom they only recognised as a paramount chief. Imagine a king reduced to a chief," Al-Ghazzal suddenly laughed as he joked.
Gloria joined in the laughter as she saw the joke. The Nabongo, a king in the eyes of his people, was made a chief.
"We have so far looked closely at only the state societies," she said. Then, looking at the humorous professor, she asked: "What about the stateless societies? What were these like?"
"Stateless societies were those which had no centralised patterns of government. In stateless societies, the affairs of the people were merely conducted by a council of village elders. There was no overall head of society, but village elders governed the society..." Al-Ghazzal suddenly coughed and paused.
Gloria said, "These appear to be many in Africa." Then she asked: "Can we cite any examples here, professor?"
"Why shouldn't we? There are examples everywhere in Africa. The Nandi, Giriama, Kikuyu, Luo, and many others in Kenya. With the exception of the Wanga kingdom, the rest of the societies were stateless. In Sudan, there were the Nuer and Dinka."
Monica abruptly came alive. "This looks quite interesting. Now, we are beginning to grasp. You've really simplified the facts, and things are beginning to fall in place."
Silence fell over the room. Everyone was busy reflecting on whatever the professor had said. Only soft music could be heard coming from the background as more patrons kept on streaming into the Garden Restaurant.