Mansa Musa, Sundiata, Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba, Nelson Mandela, Malcom X, Martin Luther King, Marcus Garvy, Yaa Asantiwa, Kunta Kinte, Emperor Silasi, Bob Marley, Tupac, Gadhafi, Aesop and the names goes on and on.
All these aforementioned names were great men and women of black origin. They were revolutionaries and contributed a great deal to the peace of this world and brought honor and dignity to the black race.
The history of the world we live will never be complete without the above names and many others.
Africa is a great continent with strong, intelligent, capable and able men and women. With all the atrocities that have befallen on the continent namely slavery, colonization, neo-colonization, poverty, HIV and now Ebola, one would have expected our dear continent to be in a total annihilation. However, against all odds we still remained resolute.
We have also made strides in our democratic dispensation a system which was introduced to us. I wonder if any other continent and its people would be able to withstand our divine trials.
Africa just as any other continent has its share of challenges. The root course of these challenges can be traced down to slavery and colonization. The slave trade era saw a great deal of our illustrious men and women shipped out of the continent.
Colonization raped us off of our natural resources and this is still happening till date. More to this, we have been defeated mentally. The African no longer believes in him/herself. Our pride and dignity both stolen from us.
The African child grows with an illusion that he is a second class citizen of the world. This phenomenon has reached its apex.
A time has come for the African to regain his/her pride back. This time has to be now and there need not be procrastination on this discourse.
The African must realize the urgent need to salvage our continent from these vultures that have besieged our progress from all spheres. The simple questions for every African are how can we produce 70% of the world’s natural resources yet remain the poorest continent? Could it be a problem of leadership? If yes who make the leaders? From which society do they come from? Do we demand accountability? Or are we just in a ship in the middle of the ocean without a compass to navigate on the right course? In the words of Tony Blair Africa still remains a scare in the conscience of humanity. I say it’s a pity.
The post-independence euphoria in many African countries was as a result of the thinking capacities of great men. These men believed in themselves and their agenda which was to liberate our continent from white rule.
They put aside their personal motives and acted on an agreed agenda. The political freedom we are enjoying today is as a result of their selfless and dedicated efforts. I wonder what their mood will be if they were to rise up from their graves. Would they be confronted with an Africa they wished for or the vice versa.
All hope is not lost. The broom must serve as an example for the leadership and people of Africa which is Unity in strength. That is the way forward. Change comes with a lot of pain and sacrifices and the African must acknowledge and be ready for change. America’s power doesn’t come from Washington but from 51 states.
Europe is a strong economic block because 23 and more states have signed to it. Yes we have African union but are we even committed to its agenda? Let’s be serious as a people. We need honest and patriotic leaders. The future is bright and if we have a vision nothing can withstand our strength because the source of it will be from God. The cemetery is full of great men and women who were never great because they failed to give their ability some responsibity.
Thank you
–
By: Adnan Mustapha