While taking a keen interest in matters of unity and organization, Africa has yet another challenge to confront: The rate of Poverty in Africa is still adamant, and our remote lands and communities are still challenged by under-developments of all sects, little access to social amenities etc.
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| Poverty index. credit: AFD Atlas Africa |
Where Africa Ought to Do Better In Matters of Development
The task ought to start from the top leadership of the
race be it a republic, federation or state, and then trickle down to
the masses. African leaders are the tip of the spear, the people must be
inspired by leadership and governance. Another situation is that the masses especially those in poverty-stricken and underdeveloped regions of Africa don’t have much time to see or
even project their voices to influence decisions that affect their livelihoods.
Some of the many factors that drag Africa so behind
development-wise despite a ‘bitter colonial hangover’, a lesson to learn from is the incapacity of its leadership to fully uphold their citizens’ interests,
to fully improve our societies and mobilize our resources to significantly
eradicate mass poverty that rests on the continent-wide front.
After several sessions of debating and exchanging
thoughts with fellow African youths across the continent and considering the
many factors noted, the continent’s leadership is an issue of key interest.
The four factors include;
#1. The decline in The Number of Pan African Motivated Leadership
Africa seems to be missing a Marcus Garvey, Kwame Nkrumah or Thomas Sankara kind of leadership. Dr John Henrik Clarke taught us that "there is no European solution to African problems."
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| Hon. Marcus Mosiah Garvey |
It is therefore critical for our leaders to fully
understand the concept of Pan-Africanism as taught and practised by the great
Marcus Garvey. With the growth and development of our cultures, we must insist to be
Afrocentric and not shunning away from international cohesions.
Our leaders must be patriots who serve the people they lead, setting practical examples as showcased by the great Thomas Sankara
of Burkina Faso. Every Pan African noticed and appreciate the work and example
laid forth by the late Dr John Pombe Maghufuli of Tanzania and another example set by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.
The loss of Africa's great civilization along the Nile
River and North Africa occurred over a thousand years, over which the
invaders were systematically installing their kind of leadership to uphold
their interests among the majority. Chancellor Williams illustrates clearly the loss of great African cultures and civilizations in his book The Destruction of Black Civilization.
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| Africa's history in a nutshell as presented by Chancellor Williams. |
Leaders who value and love their people won’t oppress them, incite them against each other, sell them out for personal gain or let them languish in poverty while they accumulate more riches. Patriotic leadership will work to improve African societies for the sake of the next generation. That is if the goal is to uphold our independence.
#2. African Politicians Taking Advantage of Wretched Societies
The world witnessed the catastrophes of the 2007 post-election violence in Kenya, the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda and the 2017 Anglophone crisis in Cameroon when communities slaughtered their fellow brothers in the name of fighting for ideologies and political parties
People and Politics in
Africa is an industry that must be run with humanity, policies must be made
with integrity and patriotism since they affect many people, the first division
of a society and a potential cause of tribal conflict is the disagreement in
the top leadership and politicians.
Hate speech in politics
is a like bullet to the ordinary person who doesn’t have time to study the game
of politics. Political leaders who instigate conflicts and escalate tension
among communities are enemies of unity and organization, such leaders are the
accomplices of the colonial regime.
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| the AU panel of the wise report on Election violence. |
Politics of this kind
threaten the stability of our societies which seems to be confronting many enemies,
poverty being one of them. Desperate people are easy to incite and use,
politicians from regime to regime have utilized this fact and created tribal
wars, genocides and massive instabilities in regions of Africa.
#3. Africans Are Infested with The Plague Of Corrupt Leadership
African states lose way
too much revenue through corruption and embezzlement of state resources. It is no use if we mobilise our resources only for them to be siphoned to benefit a few people, creating a large gap between the poor and rich.
There is no single
African state that has not been hit with massive corruption scandals since the attainment of self-rule in the 1960s. Scenes like Goldenberg and Anglo-leasing in
Kenya are a representation of many events in Africa where funds were embezzled.
It is with no doubt that
such events have been integrated into several sectors of Africa’s modern
societies. Corruption has caused Africa much revenue and it contributes to one
of the deadliest factors hindering Africa’s full development.
Pan African Proponent Professor Patrick Lumumba expresses his concern on such matters when he says;
We elect hyenas to take of care of goats and when the goats go missing we wonder why.
#4. Africa and Its Leadership's Inability to Fully Explore, Exploit and Utilize Its ’ Resources ‘Talents
“A race is like a man, until he uses his own talents, take pride in his own history and love its own memories, it can never fulfil itself completely.”
~John Van der Cook
In Africa, resources and raw
materials are not limited. In fact, Africa is one of the richest
continents in terms of valuable minerals reserves, agricultural capabilities and
cultural activities. Unfortunately, Africa still depends on the outside world to
eradicate mass food starvation, looming food insecurities etc.
The continent rather
exports its raw material to the outside world only to import fully finished and
furnished products. Africa is one of the biggest cotton producers, yet most of
its young men and women wear used garments or mitumba
from across Europe, America and Asia.
The process of
manufacturing or even processing to obtain the final product is lucrative and could
create several job opportunities, improve our industrial capabilities, and put the
continent at the world's top spot.
Africa’s leadership have
left crucial matters, sensitive sectors of our pillar strength to the external world, our ports have foreign control and influence, we have got foreign
military bases occupying our countries and most of the mining rights are owned by some foreign companies.
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| foreign military bases in Africa |
Africans, in general, suffer a colonial hangover and are yet to fully get their head out of Europe
or America. The black people still suffer the mental institutionalization that
compels them to feel inferior and therefore act like so. Thus it has grown to dependency on foreign entities to save them.
Thomas Sankara
transformed Burkina Faso into a fully functional, independent state in the
shortest period possible, for only four years Sankara did the unthinkable and
he acknowledged that “he who feeds you controls you.” it cost him his life!
Africa must use its talents and therefore resources to satisfactorily develop itself. It must use what it has to acquire what it needs. It must engage in win-win business partnerships and more than its leadership must take a keen interest in the matters influencing its people’s dignity. Dr John H. Clarke foresaw and advised “we must stop apologizing, stop imitating and start to innovate.”
Contact via meta/call 0741377074 to grab a copy of the book POLITICIAN X (World Problem) and read more on factors influencing Africa in matters of History, Politics, religion and other sectors. You can also send an email today via kisaofidel.writer@theafrikanshujaa.com
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