According to Chinua Achebe (in the introduction part in his book, there was a country), "The rain that beat Africa began four to five hundred years ago, from the "discovery" of Africa by Europe, through the transatlantic slave trade, to the Berlin Conference of 1885. That controversial gathering of the world's leading European powers precipitated what we now call the Scramble of Africa, which created new boundaries that did violence to Africa's ancient societies and resulted in tension-prone modern states".
The images of Africa in the international focal lenses are war, poverty, hunger, sicknesses and diseases . Our economy is in shambles, our development is stunted our political system is made up of recycled leaders who are not innovative in leadership and governance. Diplomacy and Human relationship etiquette is gone into oblivion since we are surrounded and governed by wolves in leadership whose appetite for blood can never be satisfied. The victimization that Mama Africa has been facing is grossly engineered by her sons and daughters negligence to beautify her with the resources divinity has bestowed upon her. Ill-Personal concern with self-interest , greediness and insane accumulation of un-needful wealth deludes vast number of Africans from the implementation of the collaborative efforts and synergy to build a great continent few of our founding fathers envisioned. Every nook and cranny of Africa is infected with nepotism, corruption, tribal sentiment, religious conflicts and power tossles.
Africa is not poor because of the Europeans. We are poor because our mindsets is poor. We are underdeveloped because we refused to grow. We are at war with ourselves because we have forgotten our common identity. Our pigmentation is never our problem, it is not the reason we are far behind. Our mentality is. Our refusal to embrace the dignity in labor is responsible for lagging behind. Patriotism is no longer in patronage. Loyalty is not in place so we have lost our royalty. We soil in mud our integrity and expect our dignity to be intact? We can't eat our cake and expect to have it back. The solution now is to go back to the bakery and bake a new cake. The Image of Africa needs re-branding but her foundation needs reconstruction too. It is very obvious that the foundation of most if not all African nations are faulty. We need to build a new Africa from the grassroots.
* Former American President, John F. Kennedy in his historical speech said, "It is time we stopped thinking of what America can do for us; rather, let's start thinking of what we can do for America". Everyone has direct and indirect qouta to add to the system for national development. Thus, we need to inculcate National-values into our systems and institutions starting from every home and family, religion and tribe. This can be achieved by promoting and modifying our cultural heritage and products. With National-values is National-belief developed. When National-belief is developed the erroneous thoughts of escaping to western world in the guise of searching for greener pastures will be curbed. And when this is achieved, rapid development foster by huge innovation from different corners of Africa will begin to surface.
THERE IS NO GREENER PASTURE ANYWHERE. THE GRASS IS GREENEST WHERE YOU WATER IT
Whatsoever that is happening in America and Europe can happen here in Africa too. Through Africa's input in America's sugarcane plantation as labourers was part of what helped in revitalizing the economy of America. No longer should Africans rush abroad to continue the slavery of our forefathers; we should all remain at home, and with our individual vision and mission, begin to make contributions that will move the continent towards economy recovery. With us pulling our resources together, very soon we will cause an eruption that the world cannot ignore. Very soon, like China, Africa will start causing same and even more positive concern to the world. Like President Barack Obama also said, which has become the motto of my organization; "We are the Change we seek". So rather than running to abroad, in our own little ways can effect same positive impacts in Africa. Majority of the resources harnessed in developing those countries in abroad are gotten directly from Africa. What we need is in our pockets.
Pan-africanism should be encouraged. The spirit of brotherhood goes beyond any political organization. We need to value our Bond. When Africans begin to see themselves as one, then we will understand that what affects one affects all. Dr Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Mahama Ghadafi of Libya among others, were strong advocates for this cause. We are the ones wearing the shoes so, we should know where it pinches us the most. I am not against Westerners and Europeans, but I feel that most of African affairs can be handled by Africans in an African way. We are not as helpless as the World paints us. There are a lot we can do within ourselves to redeem our image and Illuminate the seemingly Dark Nation called Africa.
The unity of Africa is no longer found in African Union (AU) within that Union there is disunity, greedy and self-interest that has neglected and abandoned the very fundamental aims and objectives of the organization. A lot needs to be looked into and correct there. Pan-africanism is dormant, redundant, inactive and trampled because of several misconceptions about it. One strong message and clarification I want to make here is that, Pan-africanism is racial friendly. It doesn't repulse European or American positive impacts on Africa. Rather, it is against the exploitation of the continent by foreigners.
THE UNITY OF AFRICA IS NO LONGER FOUND IN AFRICAN UNION (AU). ALOT NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED THERE
*Tapping the juice of mixed economy as a system. As many African countries gained independence during the 1960s, some of these newly formed governments rejected the ideas of capitalism in favour of a more afrocentric economic model. Advocates of African socialism claimed that it was not the opposite of capitalism nor a response to it, but something completely different.
Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Modibo Keita of Mali , Léopold Senghor of Senegal, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Sékou Touré of Guinea , were the main architects of African Socialism according to William H. Friedland and Carl G. Rosberg Jr. editors of the book "African Socialism."
These leaders brought the practical implementation of socialism to the Africa economic system. Hoping this can hasten the development of Africa and put her in the same realm with the ‘super nations’. Though this seemed to be an effective system at the beginning but later turned out to be the start of our woes in Africa.
Capitalism on the other way seem to be our best shot to quick recovery in Africa but also came with its own pivotal frictions in the political and economical system of Africa.
Arguably, mixed economy should be the system Africa needs to practice if we want to see the changes we want in our economy. Believe it or not, socialism is responsible for a portion of our woes. We need to begin to adapt some form of capitalism along with some African system. Reason been that, socialism gives fish but capitalism teaches how to get one for yourself. Our founding fathers pampered us (well, every child needs that from their parents). But over pampering is wrong. And I must say, at the beginning of independence in Africa, our fathers over pampered us. Maybe they felt it is a way to treat us right as a relief from the countless years of colonial burden on us. But the children got it all wrong. When we were enjoying was when we supposed to be working so that we can enjoy today but unfortunately, the reverse is the case we are experiencing now.
Africapitalism is the solution to African economy recovery. Africapitalism is a term coined by Tony Elumelu, the Nigerian -born banker who transformed a struggling Nigerian commercial bank into a $2bn Pan-African financial services organisation, spanning 20 African countries. Africapitalism is described as an “economic philosophy that embodies the African private sector’s commitment to the economic transformation of Africa through long-term investments that create economic prosperity and social wealth.”
As an economic idea, Africapitalism requires efficient coordination by government, civil society and markets, tapping into human behaviour and needs, rather than self-interest. Its purpose is to benefit the wider community and prioritises the common good over pure profit motive. This perspective is different from other forms of capitalism. The world is moving increasingly towards mixed models of capitalism and what is certain is that Africa needs one that both caters for its unique advantages and addresses its equally unique challenges.
The good news is that Africapitalism puts Africa, its culture and its people front and centre of any development in the region. Arguably, it is an inventive way of delivering the best of capitalism in a continent where its effects have previously had little influence on its people.
Economic nationalism is at the core of Africapitalism and unashamedly prioritises what is best for Africa. The challenge is applying it in a continent of so many nations. It is a laudable entrepreneurial pursuit and mind-set, to create shared value in, and more importantly, for Africa. It is not to be mistaken for philanthro-capitalism, usually applied by global supranational bodies trying to “solve the African problem” from the outside but risking undermining the innovation here on the ground that can potentially be accessed if the relationship between government, business and society can be remade.
I strongly believe that in my lifetime and very soon, it will be Africa's turn for industrial revolution. The dignity of this continent will be recovered. You may choose to be part of It or be somewhere else on a slave trade trip and be hearing of what is happening back home. It is a choice you must make. But as part of my advocacy, "value-driven lifestyle" is a state where what to add becomes your concern, not what to take from the system. And I challenged every African especially the African youths to develop a value-driven lifestyle if we must make our continent great. Mama Africa has shared enough tears.
Author Jimoh Olaniyi Samuel
Comments
Post a Comment