PPA's Spotlight On Africa: Coming Soon….

Spotlight: A program to help expose corrupt practices in Africa

The current generation of Africa's youth are serious in our determination to end corruption in Africa and help make Africa a better place for future generations. We're therefore about to roll out in the next couple of weeks a program (Spotlight) that will enable us to completely eliminate corruption from our system in the next few years.

• Join us on Spotlight and help fight corruption in Africa!

• Send us your confidential information/documents about all corrupt practices at your work places, public institutions etc. Let us expose them all and build Africa without corruption.

About Spotlight

Spotlight is a series of programs that will in the next couple of years, focus on exposing corruption in Africa, from region-to-region, targeting one African region at a time (ECOWAS, SADC, EAC, etc.). We are tired of Africa's under-development that has been as a result of major corrupt practices in government and other sectors of Africa's economy. From now on, we will put our energies and resources together for the sake of future generations.

Each month we will be exposing all the corrupt practices in government, public offices and private institutions within a selected African region.

Our publications shall focus on corruption in government, the payment of bribes before contracts are awarded by public institutions, and all inappropriate behavior of key members of public institutions.

Corruption in the oil and gas sector, fraud perpetrated by the financial institutions, and all issues related to the pollution of Africa through irresponsible waste disposal in Africa by foreign corporations must stop. We will thus put pressure on all environmental officials to sit up.

We also understand that often, many young African ladies are sexually abused before they get job placements. There are many university students who also face such problems from unscrupulous lecturers before they pass their exams. This attitude must stop. We urge all whistle blowers to email us any evidences that will help us expose such corrupt practices at the working environment or the public institutions and help make Africa a better place for future generations. Let your video cameras and your mobile devices be of service to Africa.

In the next couple of years, Spotlight hopes to eliminate corruption completely from the African system. We however need your corporation to be able to succeed in this regard. We’re only concerned about Africa. All such evidences/information you intend to provide must be related to Africa. We however reserve the right not to publish any information that will not meet our specification.

Send all your documents or relevant information to:

info@projectpanafrica.org

Or visit: www.projectpanafrica.org

The Spotlight team.

Let The Revolution Begin!!

Perfect Scenario: More African Women Set To Go Natural

Natural hair campaign goes viral both in Africa and abroad

By Honourable Saka

For those of us who are passionate about Africa, perhaps the most refreshing news to break out currently, is the fact that African women are gradually becoming confident in their natural beauty, and are finally rejecting “artificial beauty” altogether. Many African ladies are saying bye-bye to foreign wigs, hair relaxers and the bleaching cosmetics, which are perceived to be dangerous to the skin.

In February 1994, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Cancer Society released an epidemiologic study involving 573,000 women. The researchers found that black women who had never used permanent hair relaxers showed decreased risk of all fatal cancers combined and urinary system cancers.

There is also a recent shocking revelation which warned that “many of the hair care products on the market affect black women’s ability of to have children. Consequently, women who regularly use these chemical/cosmetics, stand a triple risk of getting fibroids”.

Perhaps this explains the reason why cancer, infertility and fibroids are becoming rampant in the lives of many  African women both home and abroad.

Therefore it is refreshing news that black women throughout the world are gradually becoming aware of the above risks. This is an obvious reason why many campaigns are seeking to encourage black women to keep their natural hair and to “go natural” so that they can spare themselves the risks of cancer and many more terrible consequences.

In love with Africa: a proud African woman shows off her black beauty

It is now confirmed that, the “Black is Beautiful” and the “No More Chemicals” campaign that were recently launched on the various social networks, have all gone viral.

From Facebook to Twitter, YouTube, through Google, many African women are increasingly embracing the idea to go natural; a development that has been hailed as a step in the right direction.

By choosing to go natural, African women are now sending a strong message to the world that they have finally had enough with all those chemicals/cosmetics that have unleashed untold consequences of cancer and reproductive-related problems on the women. It is also an indication that at last the days of “inferiority complex” among black women could soon be over.

As the ‘black is beautiful’ and the ‘no more chemicals’ campaigns become bigger and bigger by the day, it will be perceived that any African lady who might still be caught dancing to the tune of “artificial beauty”, is probably one of  those who still needs help to overcome her “inferiority complex”.

“There is nothing as beautiful as the natural African woman (without chemicals). African women must shun their inferiority complex and keep their natural hair, their natural skin colour and of course their natural African fashion. These are the best ways to keep our pride as Africans”, a comment on twitter suggested.

Recently, in a report titled: “No More Chemicals: More Black Women Choosing to Go Natural”, the writer made some wonderful revelations as to why many black women have finally decided to go natural. They have found out about the danger that comes with the use of these chemicals to maintain their hair and their skin.

“I was pregnant and I knew anything I put on my body goes to the baby.” says Jimmere, a 29 year old woman who is now awake.

“Women are sharing information on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, everywhere. It’s endless,” says Espy Thomas, 31, of Detroit, who with her sister Jennifer, 29, hosts periodic natural hair meet-ups that attract hundreds of women, -the report explained.

The most important part of the report suggested the following:

“More and more Black women are opting to wear their natural hair and discontinuing the use of relaxers.”

This revelation was originally contained in a 2011 Mintel report which suggested that between 2006 and 2011, the sales of hair relaxer kits, have dropped drastically by 17%, an amount that translates into several millions of US dollars. The trend is “expected to continue,” the report concluded.

In an interview with some students at the University of Abuja, (Nigeria) Ufuoma, a lady in her early 20s made the following comment:

More African women now find pride in African beauty

“I feel very ashamed whenever I see my fellow Nigerian sisters/women trying to look like they’re from Asia or America, especially with those fake wigs here on campus. In my opinion, such African women merely suffer from inferiority complex. They don’t seem to appreciate that the African woman is much more beautiful in her natural form and even more respected by the real men out there. For this reason, I and a couple of friends have set out for ourselves the challenge to lead this campaign here in Abuja”.

Another woman in her 30s who identified herself as Uche, made the following comment:

“To be honest, even though I do not like the idea that some African women use hair relaxers and wigs to depict their confidence, I believe this trend is as a result of the impressions they get from watching TVs, movies and all these foreign fashion shows where such products are presented to them as ‘modern’ fashion/beauty. We seriously need some institutions that will put pressure on the media to educate our people because we are Africans and ‘they’ are not.  I think it will be a good idea to show our natural African beauty to the rest of the world too. Maybe if we do, they could also want to dress like us”.

When reached for his comment, Emeka- a fashion designer and a movie star in Nigeria explained further:

“Being a fashion designer in Africa used to be a very big challenge because the problem was not just about women. In fact many of our men especially the politicians never liked to dress the ‘African way’. It is very surprising to see men always in ‘suits and tie’ with heavy coats despite the hot African weather. However, I must admit that though this scenario is common in other African countries, here in Nigeria, our politicians dress the Nigerian way. I have never seen a Nigerian president wearing suit; rather they wear the Nigerian outfit even when they go on foreign trips. Our mothers also like to dress like African women. The major problem however has to do with the youth. Perhaps many of them were copying blindly from foreign fashion: a clear indication that the movie industry must sit up”.

Shifting the revolution into full gear, the role of the politicians

President Ellen Johnson of Liberia

The good news to us the African people is that this revolution has come at the most appropriate time. Fortunately, the African Union has recently declared a decade for women empowerment. At the same time, the AU itself is currently lead by Dr Dlamini-Zuma, a proud African woman whose African pride is reflected in her love for the traditional African fashion.

There are also many respectable women leaders in the likes of Her Excellency President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the president of Liberia. It is my appeal to these noble women of Africa to directly get involved and lead the revolution, so that we can together liberate the minds of every African woman especially the youth, to be proud of their natural beauty, and to portray the African fashion that reflects African norms and values.

Now is the right time for African women to free themselves and start their journey to healthy natural hair. This will enable us create a positive image about African identity to the outside world, to visit Africa, experience our values and appreciate our beautiful continent.

We at Project Pan-Africa (PPA) will be willing to cooperate with all the stakeholders, in this regard.

Long live the natural African woman!

Long live the Pan-African Revolution!

Long live mother Africa!!

Honourable Saka

The writer is a political analyst on African affairs, and a well-known social commentator in Africa. As a strong Pan-Africanist, he is currently seeking to establish the "Project Pan-Africa" (PPA) to create a mental revolution across Africa for the freedom of Africa. He is the editor of “The Doctor’s Report”, your most reliable source of critical analysis on African issues. Please visit his blog at: http://www.honourablesaka.blogspot.co.uk and Email him at: honourablesaka@yahoo.co.uk. Also visit PPA at: www.projectpanafrica.org

Attention African Leaders: Time Is Running Out

Photo: Dlamini-Zuma of South Africa is the newly elected chairperson of the African Union Commission

By Honourable Saka

The Chairperson

African Union Commission

Addis Ababa

17 July, 2012

Madam Chairperson,

A Pan-African Appeal

“African leaders must first and foremost recognize that unity in Africa is in our best interest and the only option we have if we want to attain peace, stability and economic development. We all must recognize that we can only make progress if North, South, East, Central and West Africa come together as one, act together as one and speak with one voice”. Lord Aikins Adusei

Madam Chairperson, before I proceed, let me first take this opportunity to congratulate you on your election into the office of the African Union Commission, the highest political office on the continent. The African people especially the women and children are proud of your determination to lead us to the promise land: a land of unity and prosperity where Africa’s vast resources will ultimately benefit the African people. The African people wish you all the best in your new job.

Introduction

African leaders, time is running out. The talk must be over. It is time to take real action. The business of the AU should NOT be about fighting malaria, tuberculosis and promoting sanitation. These should be the task for the World Vision, WHO and the USAID. The business of the AU should only focus on working towards the total liberation of Africa, promoting unity among Africans especially unity among our governments as well as fighting for Africa's economic independence. We must focus on removing the borders, ensure free trade among ourselves and promote the free movement of Africans on the continent. These should be our major focus. The talks and the distractions have been too much. It is time for real action. Some of these steps that require immediate action are as follows:

1. Industrialization and Economic Integration

“So long as Africa remains divided, it will therefore be the wealthy consumer countries who will dictate the price of its resources”. -Kwame Nkrumah (Neo-Colonialism, page11)

As a matter of fact, the whole of Africa’s economy is geared to the interests of the foreign capital that dominates it. Currently, processing plants for Africa’s resources are still held in Europe and Asia but not in Africa. This arrangement ensures that, Africans cannot at any time disrupt operations while they (the producers) continue to hold monopoly over the price for the finished products. This must change if we as a people are determined to exert some control over the price of our resources. It is very humiliating that, Africans continue to import a lot of soap, steel, iron rods, plastic, rice, sugar, chicken. But as you know, we have all the raw materials right here and a very fertile soil.

The 21^st century has no place for the African people if we continue to serve as the “producers of raw materials” for Western and Asian industries and the “dumping ground” of European, American and Asian commodities which often come at cut-throat prices. African countries must focus on industrialization. We must make all effort to produce what we use and use what we produce.

We must focus on building more industries, and expanding the power grid to sustain these industries. It is completely imprudent for Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Niger, Guinea, Mali among others to continue exporting ‘raw’ uranium and other strategic resources to power the nuclear reactors of Europe and Asia at a time when many African countries do not have reliable electricity. If nuclear and solar energy are good for Europe and Asia, then they must certainly be good for Africa. The African countries with these resources must also consider producing nuclear energy and exporting it overseas. We must not allow the future of our economy to be determined by decisions in Europe, America nor Asia. We must strategize so that we can determine the future of our own economy.

We must first pursue the technology by sending our youth overseas for training and also creating the platform for them to return and lead the charge. African leaders must unite and focus on shifting the industries from overseas back to Africa and get the African youth to work. We have all the resources. What is needed is for us to focus on putting the industries in place so that we can make the products right here and sell it to the outside world. The time when Africa was seen as the supplier of raw materials must end.

Today, Asia and Latin America are rising. Europe and North-America are in deep financial crises. Yet, Africa still remains a sleeping giant: very confused and doesn’t to seem to know the way forward. It is time for economic integration among African countries. Africans must begin to focus on trading among themselves. For instance, Ghana has a huge stockpile of salt which goes wasted every year. Yet, it is very sad that every year, Nigeria and many African countries, import salt from Brazil for their textile industries (which are gradually collapsing because African leaders themselves have abandoned African fashion for suits and tie all the time).

Oil producing countries in Africa are shipping their oil to Europe, America and Asia at cheaper prices, while many other African countries turn to the Middle East for oil and gas! West Africa has wide savannahs, ideal for the growing of cotton, with the right irrigation. Yet for many years we spent millions of pounds importing richly-patterned cloths from abroad. The whole situation in Africa is like waging trade and economic war among ourselves. Africans, please come together and protect your collective interest!

2. Movement of People, Goods and Services Across borders

Artificial borders were meant to divide Africans, making them weak and easy to conquer

Perhaps, the major challenge we have in Africa which affects our ability to trade freely among ourselves is directly as a result of the lack of trade agreements and also the current restrictions we have imposed upon our people. African citizens have been limited from travelling to Europe and America with tough visa restrictions. Unfortunately, travelling within our own continent too has become another burden. On the average, a Ghanaian visitor has to go through a period of 2 to 3 months visa routines, before he can travel to Zimbabwe or Uganda! Meanwhile, as a matter of fact, the Ghanaian can travel to Nigeria, Mali or even Kenya without needing a visa. Now the question we must ask the African leaders is: what are the differences between Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe? How can Zambians travel to South Africa without visa but this same people have to wait for a period of 2 months for visa before they can travel to Kenya, Togo or Ivory Coast? Why can’t we break these chains of visa restrictions which prevent the African citizen from feeling free on his motherland? Something seriously has to be done about these travel restrictions to allow inter-African trade. The African must be allowed to travel freely on the African soil so that we can experience our diversity in order to foster unity. The current visa restrictions must be removed and allow the African people the freedom to explore our beautiful continent.

Another challenge we face on this issue is the cost of transportation itself. It is very difficult to travel from one African country to the other due to the fact that Africa’s road and rail infrastructure still remains underdeveloped. Air transport has therefore become our major option. This is however too expensive. According to the current estimate, the cost of flying from Abuja to London is at least US$700. At the same time, the cost of flying from Abuja to Accra is more than US$800. It is even more expensive to fly within the ECOWAS region than to fly to Europe. Meanwhile, the cost of a flight from London to Paris or anywhere in Europe could be as cheap as US$100 and below. If in doubt, check www.easyjet.com and find out how cheap it is to travel by air within Europe. All these are happening to Africans because “our leaders” have not taken the issue of industrialization very serious. For how long can poor Africans afford to pay ten times the cost of the same services offered to their European counterparts?

The current exorbitant cost of air tickets in Africa is similar to what Africans had to pay for telecommunication and internet services few years ago. It is a fact that the charges for internet and mobile phone services in Africa were the highest on the planet. Today, thanks to Gaddafi and a few African leaders’ initiative. The introduction of RASCOM (Regional African Satellite Communication Organization) has paid off. This joint African project is expected to lower the continent's dependency on international satellite networks such as Intelsat, saving Africans a whooping US$500 million every year.

Consequently, telecommunication services are now affordable in Africa. This is a clear indication that if African leaders take similar bold steps and solve the challenge posed by the huge cost of transportation in Africa we can save more billions of dollars every year on transport. We only need the political will to do this and our burden will reduce.

Gervais Djondo, a former industry minister of Togo has recently set himself a mission to create a pan-African airline serving for the continent. Like other Pan-Africanists, Djondo believes the way forward is for African carriers, instead of trying to compete with each other and jealously guarding their national markets, should rather combine their resources and create a consolidated service/network of a strong African airline company owned and managed by Africans. This idea must be welcomed and supported by the African leaders. African governments must invest in this project to help ease the burden.

3. African Central Bank

"It must be understood that the less developed world will not become developed through the goodwill or generosity of the developed”. –Kwame Nkrumah (Neo-Colonialism, page xviii).

This is the reason why we must be determined to put Africa’s future into our own hands. The West may pretend to be helping Africa. But we must be ready to map out our own strategies to facilitate our own development. The future of Africa cannot continue to remain in the hands of donor countries, the European Central Bank, the World Bank and IMF.

The existing African Development Bank has finally been hijacked by the West.  African governments must come together and establish an African Central Bank or a Bank of Africa where all African governments will deposit part of their national reserves. I must however stress that; this bank must be under the control and management of Africans. Instead of Francophone African countries to deposit their foreign reserves in France to later loan this moneys to the Africans at a huge interest rate, all such moneys can be deposited in  the African Central Bank where it can be used for our own benefits. If each African country were to deposit about $2billion (or more) of our national reserves into this fund, we could mobilize for ourselves more than $100billion in a matter of months.

African leaders or the millionaires could also be encouraged to save with this bank. When this is done, the interest that will be generated on this money will belong to the African people instead of giving this lucrative opportunity to the Western banks year after year. At the same time, African governments and the AU itself could have this reliable source of funds to finance their projects without the need to depend on aid from the West all the time.

Money does not grow on trees. The West has always generated money out of thin air and is using this system to enslave African nations into debt. African leaders please wake up! Our destiny is not poverty. We only need to take these bold decisions today. The EU has got its central bank. Asia and Latin America are recently following suit. This has saved some of them from selling their sovereignty to the World Bank and the IMF. Currently, the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are also considering such an idea. Therefore what are the African leaders waiting for? How long must we continue to wait because we believe the time is not right? If the African leaders of today think they cannot do it, whom are they looking up to come and do it? Is it the youth they expect to be able to solve the challenges they themselves feel they cannot solve?

Our African politicians are piling up billions of African money in European and American banks while poverty continues to enslave our people because our own banks do not have the money to loan out to African business investors. Why can’t we set up these banks and encourage our politicians to deposit part of their moneys there?

4. Africa’s Security

Out of control: Careless security
personnel threatens national security.

Nkrumah held that, no single part of Africa can be safe, or free to develop fully and independently at a time when any other part is torn up in conflict; remains un-liberated or under the control of puppet regimes.

As a result, Kwame Nkrumah wrote:

"Unless we meet this obvious and very powerful threat with a unified African front, based upon a common economic and defence policy, the strategy of the imperialist will be to pick us off and destroy us one by one", (Africa Must Unite, page xvii).

African leaders need to establish a joint security force whose major responsibility will be to defend the African people from terrorism and foreign aggression. We must also commit needed resources to equip this security force to be able to defend our security and our sovereignty. We cannot continue year after year to put our security into the hands of the UN.  What happened in Libya and Ivory Coast recently, clearly shows the urgent need for such an idea.

5. African Court of Justice

Today, the whole world bears witness to the fact that, the current International Criminal Court is only a tool that targets African leaders. Many more serious war crimes have been committed by leaders of Western countries. Notably among them are George Bush and Tony Blair. Yet, for many years, the ICC has paid a blind eye to crimes committed by the West. African leaders must therefore take immediate steps to establish for ourselves a court of justice which will deal with crimes committed by our people. The current form of imported justice must end. We must boycott the ICC and set up our own courts. Time is running out because sooner or later, any of you African leaders could become the next victim of this “kangaroo court” which is seen by the African people rather as the “International Court of Criminals”.

6. The Educational Sector

According to Kwame Nkrumah: (Africa Must Unite, page 49):

“We were thought to regard our culture, our norms and values as barbarous and primitive. Our text-books are books that tell us about English history, English Geography, English ways of living, English customs, English ideas”.

These are past mistakes that must urgently be corrected. Instead of focusing on English customs, and Western ideas, our educational systems must be integrated with African culture, norms and values. We must begin to implement educational policies that harness our cultural heritage, be determined to sell African value to the outside world and to promote unity among Africans. We cannot lose our African fashion and our way of life for the sake of meeting the economic interest of the West. The current theory-based courses, with little or no practical models are not helping. Today, many Africans have all the paper knowledge but they lack the practical knowledge to solve real-world problems. We must create the conditions for the youth to learn to be able to build our industries. We must henceforth focus on technical education, science and technology and do more on practical courses.

“It is time for us to nurture our own culture and history if we are to develop that African personality which must provide the educational and intellectual foundations of our Pan-African future”. -Kwame Nkrumah, (Africa Must Unite page 49).

Therefore our educational system must also focus on training Africans in areas that will enable us to directly manage our resources and be able to resist neo-colonialism and the imperialists who often come in the form of “advisers”, “consultants” and policy makers, working at our expense. We must device educational systems that are aimed at fixing our political and economic challenges by ourselves instead of always taking orders from foreign capitalists.

“To allow a foreign country, especially one which is loaded with economic interests in our continent, to tell us what political courses to follow, is indeed for us to hand back our independence to the oppressor on a silver platter.” (Kwame Nkrumah, “Consciencism” pg.102).

Africa has invested so much to help develop the educational systems abroad while ours are falling apart. For many years, Africans have been paying so much money to European, Canadian and American educational institutions. According to a UNESCO report, more than 200,000 tertiary students from sub-Saharan Africa studied abroad in 2006. Currently, it is estimated that more than 500,000 Africans study abroad every year. The average African student pays more than $15,000/yr for his/her studies abroad. By a simple calculation, Africans spend at least $7.5billion to study abroad each year.

“…Today, an international student who leaves [the United States] with a good feeling is a life-long advertisement for the [U.S. business] community. For purely economic reasons, the U.S. should protect this market share. With over 500,000 foreign students and more than $11 billion per annum at issue, American education as export industry has become our chasse gardée”, -Robert Scott.

Europe and America are benefiting because our educational systems are not receiving adequate resources and infrastructure. But for how long must this cycle continue because we do not have confidence in our educational institutions?

There is no doubt that the Western educational institutions were one of the best in the world. However, it must be pointed out that they currently have their own issues which to some extent affect their integrity as well. Just visit: www.ukessay.co.uk and find out for yourselves how thousands of students in Europe have been buying degrees online with impunity. All they have to do is to pay some £300 to these agencies; email them their courseworks/dissertation topics and bingo, the work is delivered at their door steps as soon as possible.

I was very fortunate to have had my education (up to degree level) in Africa, and I must say by my practical experience abroad, I can confidently say that the educational institutions we have in Africa are very good. Though not perfect, they are not as bad as we’re often made to believe. African leaders must invest enough resources into developing our educational systems to the highest standard so that we can attract more students to study in Africa and reap its economic and the cultural benefits. We must encourage foreigners to study in Africa to be able to appreciate our culture and our society.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we must always strive to remember the struggle of our founding fathers and their dedication to Pan-Africanism. Pan-Africanism cannot be seen as irrelevant in our political future. For it is this pillar which forms the basis of our political independence, and gave us the freedom we enjoy today: freedom from slavery, and freedom from colonial rule. It is this same idea that can provide the key to our economic challenges in the 21^st century. We must therefore work hard to teach the African youth this concept. Copies of all books and speeches by our founding fathers such as Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba, Nelson Mandela, Thomas Sankara and many other Pan-African books must be provided to the African youth to study and be able to think and act in this direction. This will help create millions of of their kind, to take Africa through the next stage of our economic independence.

We at Project Pan-Africa (PPA) are willing to cooperate with the AU in this regard.

To succeed, we must seek first the “political kingdom” (African Unity) and all the freedom and the economic emancipation shall follow.  We need political unity to be able to fulfill the dreams of our founding fathers and meet the aspirations of our people. Time is running out. Every single day counts. We must act now.

I am therefore appealing to the African leaders to take immediate decisive steps to alleviate our people from poverty in order to avert any imminent revolution from the youth, which may ultimately target the AU itself.

“The great millions of Africans are growing impatient of being the hewers of wood, the providers of unskilled labour, the drawers of water, and being the dishwashers and the cleaners of Europe and America”.  Kwame Nkrumah, (Africa Must Unite page ix).

Long live Africa!

Long live the African Union that must be!!

CC/

All African Leaders

The President, Pan-African Parliament

Executive Secretariat, Africa Forum

The President, African Youth Union

NOTE:

• Kwame Nkrumah (1964) “Consciencism”. Panaf Books: London
• Kwame Nkrumah (1963) “Africa Must Unite”, Pana Books: London
• Kwame Nkrumah (1965) “Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism”. Panaf Books: London

Yours faithfully,

Honourable Saka

(Coordinator, Project Pan-Africa)

saka@projectpanafrica.org

About Honourable Saka

The author is a regular writer and a political analyst on African affairs, and a well-known social commentator in Africa. He is currently seeking the establishment of the "Project Pan-Africa" to create a mental revolution across Africa. He is the editor of “The Doctor’s Report”, your most reliable source of critical analysis on African affairs. He’s strong Pan-Africanist, a youth activist and founder of the “Leaders of Tomorrow”, a transformational and inspirational group of possible future leaders. Please visit his blog at: www.honourablesaka.blogspot.co.uk and Email him at: honourablesaka@yahoo.co.uk

Africa Needs a Mental Revolution; Not Aid

Patrice Lumumba, the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Congolese Republic, underlined the urgent need for a mental revolution to be created throughout Africa. This is why the CIA sponsored a plot to kill him 50 years.

"The liberation of the minds of the African people will be a tougher battle than the eradication of settler regimes". -Patrice Lumumba.

These words of Patrice Lumumba, clearly underscores the urgent need for institutions to be created throughout Africa, with the sole responsibility to liberate the minds of the African people. It is for this reason that the Project Pan-Africa (PPA), a Pan-African initiative that seeks to create a "mental revolution" throughout the continent and strive for a better Africa, is currently underway. Fortunately, a few African institutions have shown their desire to support this initiative. This is desirable because we seriously need a change of mentality to free ourselves from colonial bondage.

One major challenge that currently faces the African people is not that of poverty. Neither is it the lack of resources. In the 21st century, the major problem we face as a people is what Bob Marley has referred to as "Mental Slavery". Bob Marley acknowledged that “none but ourselves can free our minds”.

We have all the resources here in Africa. In fact it is estimated that Africa possesses more than 60% of the world's natural resources. Yet, Africans are brainwashed to believe they are poor. Our economies have been held hostage by imperial dictatorships. Prices are pre-determined for our natural resources neither on the basis of their value nor their quality. Rather, they’re designed to enrich the foreign capitalist’s interest. Africa's resources are been looted on a mass scale under the guise of ‘investment’ and ‘economic aid’. We accept this fate because we’re told we have no knowledge of how to explore these resources by ourselves.

“It is often said that the foreign ‘investor’ however self-interested he might be, would still be ‘doing Africa a favour’. This sort of argument reminds me of the man who, having found plenty of buried treasures in his neighbour’s garden, took it away and then told his neighbour that he was doing him no harm, because, until then, this fellow was unaware of the existence of such valuable resource”. –Kwame Nkrumah (Africa must Unite, page 20).

Instead of African leaders to unite and demand a fair price for the vast resources we have to benefit the ordinary African, we individually beg for aid and they take our resources barely for free. Africa needs fair trade; not economic aid with unfair conditions attached. The great millions of Africans are growing impatient of being the hewers of wood, the providers of unskilled labour, the drawers of water, as well as being the cleaners of Europe and America. What Africa currently needs are leaders who believe in Pan-Africanism. For it is because of Pan-Africanism we attained independence from colonial rule. We need leaders who will see the benefits that come with our determination to stand together, struggle together, grow together and unite in order to fight against imperial dictatorship and Western exploitation. Just imagine how the entire African leaders were ignored by the US, Britain and France who imposed their wish upon Libya, murdered Gaddafi with impunity and threw the country into chaos. Even though the UN Resolution 1973 on Libya was abused, you can be certain that the ICC: the International Court of Criminals will never find anybody in NATO to be guilty of war crimes nor crimes against humanity. As of now, even though many evidences have found Bush and Blair to be guilty of crimes against humanity, the ICC still remains blind to these evidences. It is always African leaders whose crimes are seen by the international community. It is time for Africans to establish their own judicial systems to deal with crimes committed by Africans. The current imperial systems have outlived their usefulness; they have been corrupted and are now tools that serve Western interest but do not serve international justice.

When Kofi Anan became the UN sec Gen, Africa was full of hope. When El Baradie headed the IAEA, Africa was full of hope. When Obama won the elections in America, Africa was full of Hope. A Gambian to head the ICC, Africa started Hoping. When Okonjo became the World Bank MD, Africa hoped and hoped. The new hope is that when African woman becomes the world Bank President, Africa will be better. My humble advice to all Africans is to end this illusive dream and take a cue from India, China, Brazil, Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea by putting their hopes only in themselves and working hard to develop their countries. Africans must stop putting hope in western puppets!! We must create our own institutions to deal with our own problems. This form of imported justice and imported policies must stop.

 How Long Can We Cope With Apathy?

Thousands of weapons were poured into Africa by France and Qatar, ignoring all international laws. When two Western journalists died in Syria, the whole western world was outraged. Yet, in Libya, many blacks majority of them Nigerians were brutally murdered by NATO's rebels under the watch of the UN, while the West cheered and jubilated, calling it a success. No one pointed out that indeed what happened to the Gaddafis was not death by accident but a premeditated murder. This had already been discussed in the Western media, with Hillary Clinton herself calling on the Al-Qaeda rebels to “capture or kill” Gaddafi.

Yet, there was not a single word from those who declare themselves as ‘world leaders’, human right institutions nor the international “courts of justice”, condemning  Hillary Clinton’s remarks and the killing of blacks in Libya. After all, the fall of Gaddafi and the oil contracts were all they sought after; not the security of Africans.

Shockingly, the African leaders, many of them Doctors and Professors, averagely beyond the age of 70yrs, were simply relegated to the status of “children”, whose views were side-lined by NATO as irrelevant.  This could only happen because there is no unity among our African leaders and as such they couldn't have been taken serious. Most importantly, the strong ones in their midst have been tainted by corruption to the point where their voices cannot be heard on such important developments for the fear of putting themselves in the spotlight. The challenges facing our individual countries are getting out of control. It is only with a concerted effort that we can contain these problems. It must be understood that no single African state can stand against the wrath of imperialism, without needing the protection/support of the entire continent.

In his book Africa Must Unite (page xvi), Kwame Nkrumah wrote:

“Imperialism is still a most powerful force to be reckoned with in Africa. It operates on a world-wide scale in combinations of many different kinds: economic, political, cultural, educational, military; and through intelligence (covert operations) and information services. …Just as our strength lies in a unified policy and action for progress and development, so the strength of the imperialists lies in our disunity. We in Africa can only meet them effectively by presenting a unified front and a continental purpose”.

Unfortunately, African leaders of today, many of them intellectuals still pretend as if they are never familiar with these words of our founding fathers. What happened in Libya and Ivory Coast clearly confirms the urgent need for African leaders to unite and be able to defend the interest of the African people. Africa needs leaders who see the need to work together bearing in mind the interest of all Africans, but not merely to seek their selfish interests nor that of their individual countries.

©PPA: a project to create a mental revolution across Africa

When commissioned, the PPA's major objective will focus upon unlocking African minds for the freedom of the African people as a whole. Our problems can be surmounted not merely by individual efforts but by a collective action with a common objective. Therefore the minds of the African youth must be empowered to take the future of our beloved continent from the hands of the current batch of leaders who continue to stab one another in the back for their own selfish gains. Some of them have blindly taken the imperial powers on trust, falsely believing that their selfish ambitions will be protected forever. They don’t seem to understand that imperialism has a permanent interest but no permanent friends/servants. Most of them fail to understand that the forces dictating to them are actually manipulating them against one another.

Security, Our Collective Responsibility

Nkrumah held that, no single part of Africa can be safe, or free to develop fully and independently at a time when any other part is torn up in conflict; remains unliberated or under the control of puppet regimes. Africans must be able to picture the continent as one human body. All the “states” together form the “organs” and the “systems” that must work together to make the body complete. No single part of Africa can succeed in isolation. Like the human body, any problem at any part of the body affects the entire body altogether.  This is why problems in Sudan should not be seen merely as a problem for the Sudanese, but as an African problem which must be tackled by our collective efforts. The problems in Nigeria should not be seen as Nigeria's responsibility alone but something that requires our collective input. Many of such problems can never be solved by the state in question alone.

Meanwhile there is also the danger of such problems spilling over to other neighbouring states if not properly contained. Today, the conflict in Libya which many African nations pretended they did not know about has had serious repercussions, with many of the weapons making their way to various corners of the continents. All the anti-aircraft missiles which landed in the hands of the rebels/terrorists currently pose a great danger not only to the Libyan people but to any African country where commercial airlines fly. It is the same with Somalia, Uganda, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and others. The problem of any single African state has to be tackled by our collective efforts as our problem. This lackadaisical attitude where certain African leaders behave as if they can leave in isolation, when their neighbour’s borders are in flames is unfortunate. It has been said that Africans must unite, for they have nothing to lose but their chains. The time is right for us to unite and fight for our freedom. For freedom is not given by consent but as a result of determination to attain it.

“Freedom is not a commodity which is ‘given’ to the enslaved upon demand. It is a precious reward, the shining trophy of struggle and sacrifice”, -Kwame Nkrumah.

African leaders need to establish a joint security force whose major responsibility will be to defend the African people from terrorism and foreign aggression.

On the security front, Kwame Nkrumah thus wrote:

“Unless we meet this obvious and very powerful threat with a unified African front, based upon a common economic and defence policy, the strategy of the imperialist will be to pick us off and destroy us one by one” (Africa Must Unite, page xvii).

We in Africa do NOT need NATO. We rather need unity. We do not need AFRICOM. At the same time, no NATO country, will accept African troops on her soil. The US will never allow any foreign troops on her soil. Therefore why must Africa be the testing ground for NATOs 21^st century missiles? We already know the track records of NATO in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Pakistan, Libya and other places. Apart from the huge untold deaths of millions of civilians which but for WikiLeaks, had always escaped the headlines, the effect of the depleted uranium bombs and the WMDs used in these countries has resulted in many babies born with disabilities and untold consequences of cancer. Africa must not allow our motherland to become the new ‘Middle East’. We must be ready to take the future of our continent into our own hands. Time is running out for Africa to unite. We will have nothing to lose but our chains!

"Divided we are weak; united, Africa could become one of the greatest forces for good in the world". -Kwame Nkrumah (I speak of Freedom).

NOTE:

Kwame Nkrumah (1963) “Africa Must Unite”, Panaf Books: London

Project Pan-Africa, www.projectpanafrica.org

Honourable Saka

The author is a regular writer and a political analyst on African affairs, and a well-known social commentator in Africa. Hes is currently seeking the establishment of the "Project Pan-Africa" to create a mental revolution across Africa. He is the editor of “The Doctor’s Report”, your most reliable source of critical analysis on African affairs. He is a strong Pan-Africanist, a youth activist and the founder of the “Leaders of Tomorrow”, a transformational and inspirational group of possible future leaders. Please visit his blog at: www.honourablesaka.blogspot.co.uk and Email him at: honourablesaka@yahoo.co.uk