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

Intra-African Trade Is Possible, But...

Intra-African trade is the way forward

By Honourable Saka

“As far as I’m concerned all of them need to go back and read Osagyefo’s (Kwame Nkrumah’s) speech in 1953 and 1955, that all because it’s so prophetic that everything the man said in both speeches and Africa is the worst for it. A president of a country that goes begging even for 1 million dollars is not a country worth being a part of, and that is Africa’s story. -Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa

There is no doubt that the African people can generate huge  investment opportunities for their various countries if they were to focus more on trading among themselves rather than having to travel several thousands of kilometers outside the continent for their business and economic needs. Apart from the huge employment opportunities that would come with this initiative, Africa will also have the opportunity to retain the huge amount of money that usually flows out of the continent to elsewhere.  

Over the years, many African countries have taken their precious resources and raw materials to the “global market” where unfair prices are imposed by the West. In many cases, either they’re forced to accept these unfair prices or the raw materials would rot on the world market.

After the high shipping and transportation costs, the cost of dollar-to-local currency exchange (currency conversion) and many other unnecessary costs, our various governments are often left with no choice but to comply with these unfavourable prices.

With such a system in place, there is no doubt that Africans stand to benefit more if they were to take it upon themselves, the challenge to address such a system once and for all. Intra-African trade would be a very useful approach. However, there is the need for certain key measures to be put in place before such an idea can be implemented for the benefit of future generations.

1.      Industrialization

Currently, Africa still remains the number one supplier of raw materials to the entire world. Yet, where are the industries? Strange isn’t it?

There are certain simple issues that the African people must understand. For instance, if Nigeria and Zimbabwe decide to supply Ivory Coast and Botswana (respectively) free uranium for electricity, one should ask: where are the industries that will convert this uranium to the electricity? Is it a wonder that many are living without electricity in Nigeria? The sad part of it is that, these African countries which have the uranium (Nigeria, Zimbabwe, etc.) do not even have the industries that will produce the electricity themselves. How then can they trade uranium with other African countries?

This problem is the same with copper and bauxite (aluminum) which Zambia and Ghana have in abundance (respectively). But it is sad that these African countries do not have the industries that can convert the raw materials to the needed finished products in substantial quantities for export. This explains the reason why intra-African trade is currently difficult. We all have plenty of raw materials but we have no industries to process them.

For decades, Ghana and Ivory Coast have been the leading producers of cocoa. Yet, as we continue to ship this precious material to the world market, no steps have been taken to establish the industries that will process the cocoa right here in Africa. Therefore we will always expect to produce the cocoa beans as much as we can. But then, when we take the raw cocoa beans to the market and we do not get anything out of it, we continue to blame others for our lack of foresight.

In his book “Towards Colonial freedom”, Nkrumah states the following:

“It is the aim of colonial governments to treat their colonies as producers of raw materials, and at the same time as the dumping-ground of the manufactured goods of foreign industrialists.”

Immediately after independence, Kwame Nkrumah laid down the industrial framework for the future of Ghana. He established the Akosombo Dam as a reliable source of energy to power the industries. He laid the various motorways that connect the cities to the main Tema Harbour. He set up the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission to carry out research to produce nuclear energy in the future. He also established several industries for the production of rubber, textiles, shoes, and many more

After the military coup which overthrew the Nkrumah’s government, successive leaders sold all the industries and closed many of them down.

Today, Instead of building industries, the government is building democracy, while majority of the ordinary people focus on building churches. Warehouses and industrial sites in Ghana are being converted to churches while the majority of the youth walk the streets with no jobs. 

Therefore anytime the politicians fail to deliver on their campaign promises, they play the religious card to cover their incompetence.

2.  Too Much Visa and Border Restrictions

In today’s world, time is money, and the African leaders need to understand this: If time is money, then speed should be seen as profit. The faster one can transact business without unnecessary delays, the more profit one can make within the shortest possible time. This is how businesses grow.

Therefore why would the South African businessman, allow himself to be delayed for two months before he can acquire a visa to travel to “Ivory Coast”, “Ghana” or “Malawi”, when he can just travel the next day to Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Hong Kong or Malaysia without the need for any visa?

Can somebody now understand what is basically wrong in our diplomatic relations with our own African neighbours?

In my recent letter to the African Union, I highlighted the urgent need for African leaders to immediately take steps to remove the long visa routines that have restricted the African people’s ability to explore the continent for business and cultural purposes. Doing business in Africa has become frustrating because of the long visa queues and the cross-border restrictions.

For over 40 years, successive African leaders have been gathering in Ethiopia and elsewhere in the name of “African Unity”. Yet, how many Africans can travel to Ethiopia without the usual visa queues? Isn’t it ironical for Africans to accept Addis Ababa as the headquarters of the AU, when the majority of them cannot travel to that country without going through tough visa routines?

Recently, the AU, during one of their usual tea-conferences declared: “we’re going to have free trade by 2017”. With such a declaration, one would expect that certain political decisions would immediately follow to ensure the free movement of goods and services across the continent to make the declaration feasible.

Instead of removing the thick boarders, Zambia (a country I admire so much) is rather tightening its visa rules for many African nationals.

Meanwhile the time taken for cargoes to successfully cross over our borders is another headache. Just take a trip to a typical border crossing area even within the so-called “free border zones” and find out how long it takes the cargo drivers to cross over to the other side. Yet we continue to hear our politicians chanting “economic integration” and “intra-African trade” at their various summits/forums while this problem remains unresolved. These talks must stop. We must begin to see real actions.

We have consistently been reminded that Africa is 500 years behind the “developed” world. But I want to remind the African leaders that in the “developed” world, such restrictions are not imposed on their citizens. All those visa restrictions are imposed on Africans and the so-called “third world”. Therefore the earlier we remove many of these time-wasting procedures on our people, the better it would be for us to develop the continent we so love.

3.      Transportation and cost

Transportation is a very useful instrument in all the major economies worldwide. Goods and services cannot be conveyed from one point to the other without a reliable system of transportation. The challenge posed by poor transportation networks in Africa is very enormous. Currently, the most reliable system of transportation across borders in Africa is by air. There is however more limitations on how much goods can be conveyed by air as compared to road and sea transits.

Additionally, the cost involved to travel by air is too expensive. In many cases, travelling by air within Africa is even more expensive than from Africa to Europe and other parts of the world.

 

Meanwhile road transports are more ideal for the conveyance of large amount of goods from city to city and across borders. This is one of the reasons why African leaders must focus on the Trans African Highway project so that they can establish the necessary foundation to offset the current deficit as soon as possible. 

African governments led by the AU, must come together, put resources together and establish a team of professionals that should be tasked to oversee the swift implementation of this project. The project can be initiated from the various regional levels, and then connected to the continental level. It is said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. Therefore the leaders of our current generation have a responsibility to take the initial steps so that future generations can have a sound foundation to build on.

4.      A Change of African mentality towards African products/innovations

For decades, many Africans continue to develop the mind-set that anything produced (in Africa) by an African is not good. Africans with special talents are therefore struggling for attention.

In today’s Africa, even though many individuals/institutions have made some technological breakthroughs in their various fields, it remains to be seen whether the African people will patronize these services. Thanks to Apostle Safo Kantanka, today the people of Ghana can make cars. There are also many African companies such as Alltell Ghana Ltd, rLG Ghana Limited, and tens of others who produce laptops, smartphones, digital notebooks, smart TV (Akasnoma), in the country. While Ghanaians produce the K-Pad Cameroonians are producing the Cardiopad, a digital medical tablet to save lives. Nigerians are coming out with the 'INYE', also a table that could soon to be unleached onto the African market. These are all set to compete with the iPad and other similar forms of innovations. In Kenya, Uganda… the list is endless.

Yet, it remains to be seen whether these efforts will attract the attention of the African leaders and the people as we continue to look elsewhere for similar “inferior” goods.

Some Recommendations

·         Ideally, it would be more appropriate for African leaders to abolish the visa restrictions altogether so that all Africans can travel easily to any African territory without having to acquire a visa. This would make economic integration and intra-African trade more realistic, reliable and profitable since all the waiting times would be eliminated altogether.

·         In the meantime, African leaders must also consider the issuing of Regional Visas (Ecowas Visa, EAC Visa, SADC/COMESA Visa, etc) and abolish the individual country visas. This would also enable foreign investors/visitors the opportunity to visit many African countries on a single visa while avoiding all the long visa queues at the various African embassies. The European Union currently has such a system in place where citizens of the “third world” can acquire the Schengen visa and travel to as many EU countries as possible.

Until this is done, the dream for African economic integration will remain a mirage. Time is money. Let us take these measures so that we can our business investors the unnecessary delays as a result of many visas queues.

May God bless Africans to overcome our inferiority complex and to resolve our differences once and for all. For we will have nothing to loose but our chains!

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. 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