I Weep For Africa: The Cry of a Worried African Youth

Father Africa has put himself in chains, yet he blames the Whiteman

By Honourable Saka

Africa is a lovely continent and the ordinary African is indeed one such nice person to discover. Africa is a continent of one people, though currently without a common vision, we still have a common destiny. The true African is always proud of his African identity. As a matter of fact, the African citizen, tend to cherish his identity even better, when he/she travels to Europe or America and all one can see on the streets are two colours: Black and White people all over. It is at this moment that he/she sees the Blackman as his true brother/sister.

As a proud African, when l walk on the streets of London, Paris, or Beijing and l see the Blackman anywhere, I feel proud to have seen my brother or sister in a foreign land. At that time, I care less about which African country specifically he might come from. I do not really care about his religion nor his ethnic background. I do not care whether he belongs to a political party or not. I care less whether he’s a Muslim or a Christian. At that moment, all l see and feel proud of, is my African brother/sister who shares my common identity. I shake hands and hug my African brother/sister with pride. Whenever Africans come together, it is a moment of joy and excitement.

For instance, during international sports competitions, the entire African people tend to rally behind any African team/country that is able to make it to the final stage against teams from other continents.

I remember during the 2010 world cup held in South Africa, when Ghana was left to carry Africa on her shoulders; the entire African continent came together in harmony. Many Africans across the world rejoiced in unity as they rallied behind Ghana.

In the end, even when Ghana couldn’t make it, Africans all over the world though they felt disappointed, they were proud. Such is the true taste of what it means for a people to come together, and live in harmony, rather than always having to fight among ourselves as the enemy wishes.

From Where Came All These Divisions?
Divide and conquer has always been the strategy the colonial masters often used to destroy a people. Imagine how lovely and wonderful this world would be, if the north, south, east and west were to live together in harmony, instead of wars and conflicts that often leave the innocent and the vulnerable suffering?

The whole world knows that it will be wonderful for a people to live together in harmony, yet why can’t it be so? Across the world, Africans are facing challenges in areas of racism and its discriminations.

Yet today, thanks to the lack of foresight from many of our leaders. Africa, a people who ought to be the most formidable force in the world, has been broken into pieces. From the north, the south, east the west, to the central Africa, Africans are fighting among themselves, killing our own brothers and sisters all in a bid to please the colonial master.

The colonial masters have succeeded in dividing the people into so-called “economic regions and countries”. Yet, within our own regions and countries, we’re still not free: we’re fighting for individual interests. Our people have been divided along political lines, ethnic and tribal groupings. Many of us are still struggling under the yolk of religious differences. Little regard is given to the fact that we’re all Nigerians, one Ghanaians, one Somalis or Sudanese, and that we are not different people, irrespective of our religious and political beliefs. But we have believed the enemy more than ourselves.

With this, Lucky Dube, the reggae legend who was eliminated by the usual mafia, shared his sentiments. Quoting Bob Marley, he said:

“Bob Marley said: how long shall they kill our prophets, while we stand aside and look? But little did he know that eventually, the enemy will stand aside and look, while we kill and slaughter our own brothers”.

Indeed it is a sad reality, because colonialism had it that, the African people were being suppressed, beaten and killed by the colonial masters. But sadly in today’s Africa, neo-colonialism has made it possible for Africans to be killing themselves and suppressing their own freedoms while the enemy rather sits somewhere and looks.

Why must the African people allow certain minor issues such as religion and political parties, to throw us into killing ourselves? Does it really make sense for Ghanaians, Nigerians, Kenyans or the Ivory Coast to be fighting and killing their brothers and sisters because of politics or religion; forgetting that we are all one people with a common destiny?
It is very sad that our African identity has been erased from our minds and our thoughts, to the point where instead of us coming together to solve our problems, we’re rather busying ourselves with how we can suppress one another for selfish gains.

Recently, the fact that we’re all Africans and come from one continent is not an issue that bothers our leaders. What happened to the spirit of living in a universal brotherhood? Where did we go wrong?

Many African leaders today are secretly busying themselves with how they can suppress the growth of their neighbouring African countries.

While some are secretly funding and collaborating with various terror groups in their attempt to sew chaos in other countries, others are equally busying themselves with how they can make life unbearable for the other Africans living in their country.

Then after all these distractions, African leaders shamelessly continue to gather at Addis Ababa, under the umbrella of the AU, as they hypocritically wine and dine on one hand, exchanging fake smiles and handshakes, whiles their governments continue to frustrate and intimidate the citizens of other Africans living in their countries on a daily basis. Why all these hypocrisy of a so-called African Union?

It is a big shame to our current African leaders that after all these years of drumming into our ears, unity after unity, Africa still remains more divided than ever.

At a time when we cheerfully welcome many of our Asian and European brothers into our countries; we shamelessly intimidate our own brothers and restrict their freedoms on their own motherland.

African leaders must change these habits and take immediate efforts to normalize diplomatic relations with all African countries. I am urging the AU to bring into discussion the urgent need to make efforts to remove these entire border and visa restrictions which the colonial masters have imposed on the African people through the colonial accord of 1844.

We the African people want the freedom to explore Africa and to interact with our brothers and sisters across the continent without being submitted to any unnecessary delays that comes with this visa queues and the long waiting times.

In this 21^st century where every continent is well integrated to facilitate the swift movement of goods and services that promotes economic growth and job opportunities, we in Africa have entangled ourselves in some colonial boundaries that were drawn centuries ago with our enslavement and suppression as the ultimate objective.

Yet, every year, our political leaders shamelessly celebrate independence as if to say Africa is independent from these colonial bonds. We are supposedly claiming political independence, yet, we have allowed some 19^th century’s colonial bondage to continually bind our freedom of living in a continent of universal brotherhood.

Until this colonial bondage is broken, Africa shall continue to remain impoverished, wretched and chained for another century to come. At the same time, our Asian and Latin American colleagues would have freed themselves from this bondage and become one of the most formidable forces at a time when Europe and America might have collapsed. By freeing themselves from the shackles of colonial bondage, the emerging economies will be doing business among themselves, creating more opportunities for their people, when we in Africa would be looking everywhere, fighting among ourselves and blaming the white man for our lack of foresight.

I weep for Africa, my beloved continent. But I won’t give up, because there is still hope for our current leaders to do what is right.
Long live Africa, our only home.

Honourable Saka
The writer is a Pan-African analyst and the founder of the Project Pan-Africa (PPA), an organization that was established to unlock the minds of the African youth to take Africa’s destiny into their hands. The PPA seeks to provide the biggest platform that will give international exposure to all hidden but exceptional talents in Africa. Please visit us at: www.projectpanafrica.org and support the project. PPA is grateful to ITech Plus and all media partners that support our vision for Africa. Email me at: honourablesaka@yahoo.co.uk

Africans Will Remember Gaddafi For One Important Achievement

Brother Leader Muammar Gaddafi, our hero

By Honourable Saka

Gaddafi connected the entire African continent by telephone, television and radio broadcasting.
 

“Gaddafi's creation of the African Investment Bank in Sirte (Libya) and the African Monetary Fund to be based in Cameroon will supplant the IMF and undermine Western economic hegemony in Africa.”

—Gerald Pereira, an executive board member of the former Tripoli-based World Mathaba

The good people of Africa  will remember Gaddafi, for  least one honest thing he did: he laid a strong foundation for a viable and affordable telecommunication services across Africa at a time when Africans were completely disconnected from the world with exorbitant cost of telecommunication services. At least, for those of us who appreciate the value of communication in today's businesses, in keeping relationships and families alive and as the basis of our technological revolution, we believe Gaddafi gave to the African people, all it takes to keep up with today's modern life and to make it in the 21st century as a people.

Hate him or Like him Gaddafi is a true African hero. Don't get me wrong. I am not by any means suggesting that Gaddafi was a saint. He was a human being and like any human (yourselves and myself included), he had his shortfalls. The same thing can be said about Kwame Nkrumah, and many other great revolutionaries who ever lived in human history.

We are dully aware of countless of Gaddafi's shortfalls. But we cannot allow this to blindfold us completely to many of his kind gestures and the positive implications such gestures is having on the live of the entire African continent today in our modern technological revolution.

In case you didn't know it was Gaddafi’s Libya that offered all of Africa its first revolution in modern times – connecting the entire continent by telephone, television, radio broadcasting and several other technological applications such as telemedicine and distance teaching. And thanks to the WMAX radio bridge, a low cost connection was made available across the continent, including in rural areas. Because of this, Africans of today can also watch TV in HD (high definition), communicate with people anywhere in the world with high tech telecommunication satellites, browse at a reduced price and to enjoy the services of modern telecommunication devices at a highly reduced price.

It is an established fact that, before Gaddafi brought this revolution to the African people, telephone calls made to Africa and out of Africa were the most expensive in the entire world! Many couldn't make international calls that could last for more than 5 minutes. The bill for such a call was really expensive.

Just imagine having brothers and sisters, parents and friends anywhere outside your  country, who cannot keep a close touch with the family because of exorbitant cost of communication. I remember when mobile phone services first came to Africa, to my country (Ghana to be precise), it was too expensive to make local calls. People were not even allowed the opportunity to beep or flash for free. There was nothing like free calls or free browsing.

If it was too expensive to flash/beep a local number, how could one dare to make an international call that could last?

Those were the days when it was only a few wealthy Africans living in Europe and America who could make calls to Africa. It was completely impossible for the ordinary African to make phone calls that could last, because Africa did not have our own communication satellites and we had to rely on using the services of European satellites. Since we had no way of escape, our European masters were charging Africans too much (hundreds of millions of dollars) for this services.

But today in Africa, many people including the young ones are using two or three smart phones and can make free local and international calls that can last over 30 minutes in most cases. As for browsing internet, it is now unlimited! Young Africans can now stay on the internet, browsing the social networks for a whole day. They're are the first to hear of breaking news from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Today Africans are using the internet and telecommunication services like never before to stay in touch and get connected. Has anybody taken the pain to even consider how many Africans could enjoy this opportunity if it was not for Gaddaf's bold contribution?

It began in 1992, when 45 African nations established RASCOM (Regional African Satellite Communication Organization) so that Africa would have its own satellite and slash communication costs in the continent. This was a time when phone calls to and from Africa were the most expensive in the world because of the annual US$500 million fee pocketed by Europe for the use of its satellites like INTELSAT for phone conversations, including those within the same country.

An African satellite only cost a one-time payment of US$400 million and the continent no longer had to pay a US$500 million every year to Europe. Which banker wouldn’t finance such a project? But the problem remained – how can slaves, seeking to free themselves from their master’s exploitation ask the master’s help to achieve that freedom? Not surprisingly, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the USA and Europe only made vague promises for 14 years.

Gaddafi was very helpful in the fight against Apatheid in South Africa

Gaddafi put an end to these futile pleas to the western ‘benefactors’ with their exorbitant interest rates. The Libyan guide put US$300 million on the table; the African Development Bank added US$50 million more and the West African Development Bank a further US$27 million – and that’s how Africa got its first communications satellite on 26 December 2007.China and Russia followed suit and shared their technology and helped launch satellites for South Africa, Nigeria, Angola, Algeria and a second African satellite was launched in July 2010. The first totally endogenously built satellite and manufactured on African soil, in Algeria, is set for 2020. This satellite is aimed at competing with the best in the world, but at ten times less the cost, a real challenge.
This is how a symbolic gesture of a mere US$300 million changed the life of an entire continent. Gaddafi’s Libya cost the West, not just depriving it of US$500 million per year but the billions of dollars in debt and interest that the initial loan would generate for years to come and in an exponential manner, thereby helping maintain an occult system in order to plunder the continent.

Youths in Kenya protest the murder of Muammar Gaddafi by NATO

This is the major reason why European and American leaders hated Gaddafi and were therefore looking for any opportunity to murder him at all cost. They therefore resorted to terror tactics, they tried to assassinate Gaddafi on many occasions but they failed. Like they're currently doing in Syria, these heartless European and American leaders decided to supply weapons to rebels they have trained to cause chaos in Libya whiles their dishonest media heartlessly blamed it on Gaddafi.

They sought for a UN resolution to then go and protect civilians, when their actual hidden intention was to go and murder Gaddafi. Surprisingly many of the then African leaders, because of their greed and selfishness had secretly accepted bribes from the European and American politicians to betray Gaddafi.

Many of them were personally invited to travel to America and Europe where they held secrete meetings with the leaders, by which they agreed to at least stay quiet and allow their puppet masters have their way in Libya. They sold out Gaddafi for a few secrete dollar and Euro accounts, accounts that are loaded with the blood of their own African brothers and sisters. Gaddafi was murdered without any single one of them (with exception of President Robert Mugabe), saying a thing. Just like Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus Christ, African leaders have now regretted their actions, while the African people pay the price (with their lives) for what happened in Libya.

Tripoli before NATO's invasion

But to us the African youth, we will not be ungrateful. We will remember Gaddafi, not because he was a saint, but because we know it was him who helped us to be able to fully enjoy the sweetness of the 21st century's unlimited telecommunications services at highly reduced prices. Any time our mobile phones shall ring, anytime we connect to the internet, we will do so with Gaddafi in our minds.

To our Libyan brothers and sisters who are still caught up in this war which is aimed at stealing your oil resources and to completely destroy Gaddafi's legacy in the county, we want to assure you that you have not been forgotten. We are still praying for peace to be restored in your country for you to enjoy the resources of your motherland

Unfortunately, it is our leaders who have failed you. But we the African people love you and we pray for the day when you will receive all that truly belongs to you.

Long live Brother Leader, Muammar Gaddafi

Long live the Libyan Jamahiriya revolution

Long live Africa!

Note: Some expressions, facts and figures in this article were culled from the article:

"Why the West Wants Gaddafi's Fall" written by By Professor Jean-Paul Pougala

Video: Why The West Want Gaddafi Dead

Honourable Saka

The writer is a Pan-African analyst and the founder of the Project Pan-Africa (PPA), an organization that was established to unlock the minds of the African youth to take Africa’s destiny into their hands. The PPA seeks to provide the biggest platform that will give international exposure to all hidden but exceptional talents in Africa. Please visit us at: www.projectpanafrica.org and support the project. PPA is grateful to ITech Plus and all media partners that support our vision for Africa. Email me at: honourablesaka@yahoo.co.uk

Ghana's President Speaks on Disaster Scene, No Safety Helmet; No Safety Shoes

Negligence and the guilty: President spotted on accident site without helmet

By Honourable Saka

The Question of Negligence: Everyone is Guilty

Corruption will not allow Ghanaian officials to do the right thing, not even for once. As I write this, my heart is seriously bleeding for the future of Ghana, my beloved country. Today, negligence and the disregard for the law has become too common that almost everyone in the country especially those in authority are more guilty that the man in the street. Instead of leaders to lead by examples, they’re rather good at making speeches, whiles they look up to the ordinary citizen to do to obey the laws. Little or no attention is paid to health and safety. In fact, it looks like even those who have been given the authority to enforce these regulations are do not even seem to understand how the system must work.

Blame The Politicians

On the early morning of Wednesday, at about 9:30hrs GMT, MELCOM, one of Ghana’s shopping malls located near Achimota in the capital city, had collapsed due to negligence and the usual poor maintenance culture in Ghana. Due to its large size, about 50 people were trapped in the collapsed building and there were many who were feared dead at the time.

On hearing the news, immediately, the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), the Ghana National Fire Service and some selected members from the Ghana Arm Forces, were deployed to the accident scene to help with the rescue mission.

Because the incidence is a national disaster, one would expect that, those tasked with the rescue mission would be well abreast with Health and Safety issues on site, especially since the incidence involved a collapsed building structure, with falling debris here and there. In fact the whole atmosphere was smelling disaster, requiring the Safety officials to be on high alert at the scene.

As expected, the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama appeared on the accident scene, cladded in red t-shirt, with his large entourage. As usual, the president made a speech which touched on Health and Safety issues. He highlighted the poor maintenance culture in the country and the people’s complete disregard for the Code of Practice in the construction industry. “Those whose negligence led to the tragedy will pay a price”, said the president.

When the president of Ghana was speaking on the accident scene, one would expect that he and his team would guard themselves in some kind of health and safety boots, with safety helmets and some high visibility jackets and possibly some goggles especially since his speech touched on the code of practice, negligence and the need to pay attention to safety in the construction industry in the country.

However, what did Ghanaians see on their TV sets? The president and his team were in their usual t-shirts, slippers and shoes. No safety boots, no helmets, not high visibility jackets no goggles! No regard for safety even on the accident site! But this is our beloved president telling us about negligence when even his own team did not demonstrate how it must be done on an accident site/scene. This is an absolute disgrace to the Health and Safety teams on the scene especially those who led the president on tour the accident scene. All the construction experts in the country as a whole must bow their heads in shame for allowing such a thing to happen in the country.

Even though I cannot entirely blame the president for this “negligence” which he himself has been found guilty of, I think it is time for the people of Ghana to realize that their tax moneys are not properly being utilize. Especially when we have such a national disaster, to the point where the safety of our beloved president and his team could not properly be taken care of.

What would have happened if the president had treaded on some broken bottle, or some sharp iron rods upon his arrival on the site? What would have happened if there were some falling debris elsewhere on the site? Can the people of Ghana truly trust that the safety of our president is in good hands?

As the government intends to hold those found guilty of negligence accountable, I am appealing to the president to hold accountable, the Health and Safety officials on the site, who displayed such level of negligence in regards to the safety of the president and his entourage.

We do not want to hear of our president visiting an accident scene only to find himself in another accident due to the negligence on the part of some incompetent officials somewhere.

We the youth in Ghana mean business when we say we love Ghana and we do not want the negligence on the part of a few people in authority to jeopardize our happiness.

Ghanaians as a whole need attitudinal change and this must begin from the top to the grassroots. Holding ourselves accountable must follow a top-down approach because many of our leaders in authority are guiltier than the ordinary citizens, when it comes to blatant disregard for our laws and the rules of engagement.

In the meantime, let me take this opportunity to express my sincere sympathy to Ghanaians all over the world in this troubled times. I also send my message of condolences to the bereaved families and all those who might have sustained some injuries due to the negligence of our leaders. Corruption will not allow the metropolitan/district assemblies to do the right thing in our communities. As long as bribes are collected, these authorities will approve of anything. Right now, it appears the Health and Safety regulations are only enforced on those who do not have the money to buy their way through. No wonder more buildings are continuously sighted along power grids and many more such dangerous places in the country.

I weep for the future of Ghana, my beloved country.

Long live Ghana.

By Honourable Saka

The author is a proud Pan-Africanist and the founder of the Project Pan-African (PPA), an organization that was established with the sole purpose to unlock the minds of the African youth to contribute positively to the development of Africa. Please visit PPA’s website at: www.projectpanafrica.org. You may email him at: honourablesaka@yahoo.co.uk