Oh Africa! We are poised
at the edge of a new era of governance in Africa. We stand in present-day
Africa that is the culmination of the massive sacrifices of our past heroes. We
are at a crossroads and the path we choose will determine our legacy to future
generations.
We look up to our heroes
with pride and admiration. Let not our grandchildren and their children look
upon us with shame and disgust. The choice is ours and our time is now. What we
do today and tomorrow will determine the legacy we bequeath our children and
theirs.
We stand on the present
that is carved from the vision of historical greats such as Jomo Kenyatta,
Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba, Nelson Mandela, Sam Nujoma and Mwalimu Julius
Nyerere. We have been devastated by political catastrophes such as the tribal
clashes in Kenya’s Rift Valley, the Rwanda genocide, apartheid in South Africa
and the wars in the Sudan, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),
and currently the social upheavals in Africa’s Arab states: Egypt, Libya and
Tunisia. As if those were not enough, we now add HIV/AIDS and Ebola to our
socio-economic ills. Our hopes for economic development have vanished in the
oil debacle of Nigeria, the massive devaluations of the currencies of Zimbabwe
and Zambia as well as the collapse of the cocoa industry of Cote’ de Voir.
We are less than we
could be because our political landscape is characterized by violence, distrust
and mistrust, a lack of patriotism, self-indulgence, individualism and
political shortsightedness. Our political visionaries mentioned above passed on
the torch of political freedom, economic self-reliance and the spirit of
brotherhood. Their vision became ours for a little while after independence but
then it became clouded by selfishness and greed. These ills have become more
chronic and more devastating to our continent than any disease known to man. We
started on a path to economic independence but somewhere along the way we
strayed. We got lost in the wilderness of political pretense, corruption, greed and a labyrinth of
lies.
Our continent hurts
today because we substituted the “we” with “I”. Our people hurt today because
brother fights against brother. Our nations hurt today because we have stronger
alliances across the seas than we have across the rivers and borders. Today we
hurt and hurt and hurt and do not seem to understand that the cure lies within
the very same hands that took the torch of political independence and snuffed
out the flame.
Well, enough of the
melancholy. Africa, we as a people are destined for greatness. This was the
vision in the dawn of the 1960s. This must become our vision today. There was
so much hope then that the air simply rang out with it. There can be much more
today; so much more hope that our hearts pound with it; that our music beats to
it and our horizon shines all the brighter because of it.
It is not too late. We
can get back on track; we can still realize our dream; we can attain our
utmost. So where do we start? Perhaps at the beginning! We were brought up, our
generation that is, to serve our nations and our people. We were brought up
with a sense of gratitude and responsibility as the very basis of our
existence. You and I will serve our people, not only because we want to but
because we must; that is our mission in life, the very reason for our being. We
will serve because we believe in ourselves; we believe in our people and we
believe in Africa.
The difficulties we have
experienced as young nations, the sorrows and the scars must serve us well.
They are growing pains that were, perhaps, unavoidable. However, we must now
come of age; our maturity in the socio-economic as well as in the political
forums must be seen by the world that thought we would remain the “dark
continent” forever. We must overcome the unflattering labels such as the “Third
World”. We must underwrite the vocabulary that defines us as “underdeveloped”.
If tomorrow is to be
brighter than today then we must invest unreservedly in education. We must
equip our people with the professional tools to run our industries and meet our
needs in every aspect of the economy. Secondly, we must eradicate disease. I do
not mean talk about it or present papers at world conferences and seminars
about Africa’s ailments. I mean take steps to cure the prevailing illnesses;
promote preventative methods and anticipate problematic situations and deal
with them as they arise.
Africa must unite in
reality. The Europeans did and so can we. This unity means that we enjoy
multilateral and bilateral agreements between ourselves that will make us the
envy of the rest of the world. Africa produces everything you could possibly
need. Africa is, by herself, a market for all that Africa produces. Together we
can negotiate any terms with the rest of the world. As an economic giant we
would have the voting power to be heard at all and any world forum. As an
economically self-reliant people we would not rely on the G8 for
we would be the G6 (the group of six zones: east, west, north
and southern Africa, central Africa and the contiguous islands).
Above all, our political
leadership must be characterized by training, diligence, discipline, diplomacy,
sacrifice and focus. Great leadership leaves behind a trail of fulfilled
promises; of hope that dreams are achievable and of earned trust and respect.
To achieve all of the
above our joint efforts must be greatly enhanced and multiplied. The multiplier
in this equation is you and I. The multiplier is our presence; our persistence,
our perseverance and our participation. I believe that together not only will
we make the difference; together we are the difference!
