Earlier on, I had promised that I would write a
sequel to the blog entry African Solutions Part 1. Honestly, this was
not one of the best pieces, but nonetheless it was a subtle introduction
to this hard-hitting piece. By the end of this post, I am very certain
that quite a number of the so-called Pan-Africanists will hold their
barrels at me, firing salvo after salvo. By this I do not try to demean
Pan-Africanism by any account, rather, I am only purging the
misconceptions that be.
Well, earlier on this year I got an
opportunity to attend the African Union heads of summit meeting in
Malabo, Equatorial Guinea in June. It was a three-week training
programme for African Youth under the newly-formed African Union Youth
Volunteer Corps. This is a very noble programme, no doubt, and I was
more than upbeat to meet other African youth. The whole continent was
actually represented, and so the ‘integration’ began. On the first day, I
got into problems by terming quite a number of African leaders
‘stupid’. I was put on the spot by my fellow African youth; I thus chose
that opportunity to state my case. In hind sight, that was too strong a
word to use in such a context – or maybe even inappropriate? Sorry, I
really never fancy pretence, so I call it as it is.
So, what warranted that statement from me? As
you all know, the state of affairs in many parts of Africa is not so
awesome. Yes, problems are always there, but then these are avoidable
problems. Amassing their personal wealth, nepotism, cronyism, etc; you
name it all! But then that was not the total scope of my intimation.
There is strength in numbers, or so the adage says. 70% of the
population in Africa is below 30 years. Every one is a leader by their
own accord; therefore, this generation can effectively challenge the
status quo effectively (look at Egypt and Tunisia)…Libya is a very
complicated case which I won’t delve into now. That said, it hasn’t
escaped my mind that scores of young people in Africa have implemented
immensely awesome and hugely successful projects, be it civic reforms,
environmental conservation, HIV & AIDs reduction etc; very
commendable acts. My point is that many more young people need to take
the initiative and lead by example.
We are all most definitely entitled to
opinions; but this young lad from Zimbabwe, who shall remain unnamed,
really surprised me. He was demonizing the West throughout for the
pathetic state of affairs in the country. Now that is the Pan-Africanism
that Africa doesn’t need, honestly. True, there are many injustices
conducted in the colonial period, and neo-colonialism is rife up until
this day, but people, this is the age of globalization (now such
sentiments got me into trouble, and I will receive plenty more flack
from many Pan-Africans). But I hold my ground!
Whether we like it or not, ‘flattening of
walls’ due to globalization is happening faster that we can comprehend,
and this thus calls for visionary leadership. Africa is richly endowed
with natural resources and a hard-working and smart populace. These are
therefore the ingredients necessary for the real African renaissance. I
am not fond of comparisons, but how the Chinese turned around their
fortunes is quite enviable and interesting, although with its own
faults. For example, improving the economies of African states will
improve living standards, and Africa will grow into one of the best and
hottest markets. Also, embracing a suitably modified Green Economy model
for economic development – tying up natural resource and factoring it
in development projects – is one of the ways to go about it. This is
just but a drop in the ocean.
So, after this very lengthy discourse, what
is my point? My point is, simply put, we should come up with our own
solutions to our own projects, and plug into the global arena with
strong bargaining power. Strong leadership is what we need, visionary
leadership that transcends the me-first norm. Hating anyone for what
they have done has never solved any problems, but smart policies have!
Part 3, the final part of this African Solutions will be out shortly.
I am open to any comments, criticism, critiques and any form of feedback!
Be the change you want to see!