If you have been following my articles this past few days, you will notice that I have been talking about Africa and the numerous setbacks that have bedevilled the continent. It is not because I wish to but it is because of the glaring fact that points my mind to all the unending sufferings and darkness that overshadows the entire continent each time I turn on my television. I am not in any way insinuating that other continents do not have their unique problems and challenges but in the case of Africa, one can categorically say that the darkness is synonymous with the name Africa. I won’t let my emotions distract me from wishing you all a happy new month since we have stepped into the first of this blessed month of June. I pray that all our endeavours will be crowned in success as always Amen…
Back to the article
It may interest you to know that Africa is and will always be a wonderful continent blessed richly with the natural endowment. It is the home of millions of animal species that are almost extinct in the world today. One cannot overlook the hospitable nature of the African people this is why there has been an increase in the number of tourists who visit from year to year although the outbreak of covid19 brought a significant decrease in the number of foreign visitors, there was still a record of tourists who defiled the lockdown due to the hospitable nature of the African environment. Should we talk about the heavy and well dense forestry housing a lot of wild animals both flying, crawling and walking animals or should we talk about the mighty oceans, seas, streams and even lakes that house every kind of aquatic life? You will agree with me that Africa was created for wonders which were why the ancient civilization was known to have started in Africa precisely Egypt. The heartbreaking question is; how did we get to this point where everything seems to have fallen apart?
It may interest you to know that most of the world philosophers studied in the best universities in Egypt where philosophy and logic were thought in a way to understand the hidden truths of nature. This was how Africa became the mother of civilization and a visit to the continent will convince you even though this has happened over 500 years ago but the issue is that merely looking at Africa today, one will find it hard to believe that this continent was once where the world civilization was given birth to. Most African scholars have studied Africa and all that has been happening to the continent and they have deduced that African’s problem cannot be separated from the issues of colonialism. It won’t be an oversight for me to state in this article that Africa has been in existence before the coming of the colonial masters but today, it may seem to the younger generation that it was the colonial masters that formed Africa.
What is the way out from this darkness?
If you have witnessed the sunset in Africa, you will understand that nature has greatly gifted the entire continent of Africa. From the high lands of the mountainous regions to the plains and seas of the African countries, you will notice that African has all that it takes to become the greatest amongst the world continents but its greatest challenge is African. Are you surprised? This is the painful truth that must be told because we have slowly held onto the belief that the ways and lifestyle of the western world are superior to that of Africa. Although Africa was colonized by most western powers in the olden days, we shouldn’t have thrown away our heritage in its totality just because we wanted to copy the western lifestyle. How can we teach our children about the ways and lifestyle of Africa? This question has become the greatest challenge of our time because most of our schools do not teach the local dialect or even the traditional lifestyle of Africa. Instead, these schools spend times teaching the children about the ways and lifestyle of the western world.
Conclusion
A people without heritage will end up not only losing their identity but there will also be a time when the younger generation will no longer know their root. My submissions to the way forward are:
· There should be a conscious effort towards improving the study of African history both at the continental level and to the individual countries.
· Africa must come together to fight a common enemy known as timidity.
· There should be a reduced dependency on the western world for Africa to become what it was.
· The heads of state and government of Africa must come together to achieve unity of purpose which will strengthen developmental strides in the continent.
Looking at all the submissions I have reeled out, you will understand that there is a great need for us to take that bold step towards regaining Africans dignity. I know that there may be an issue arising from these submissions but what Africa needs at this time are unity, love and peace. Can you imagine an Africa with a unified currency, a currency which can be used around the world just as dollar, Euro and all other currencies of the world which are accepted all around the world? I believe that the economy of Africa will improve drastically when Africa develops its currency which will be used all around the world. It baffles me whenever I look at the stock exchange of the world and I notice that not even a single African currency makes it in the market table. This and so many other factors have limited Africa from growing into what it should be.
I love you all.
