“The mental conditioning of the African must change in orientation towards themselves and towards their countries. This should be the focus of all Africa’s development enthusiast.
Series of essays, talks shows and seminars on Africa’s unity and development continue to emerge from the academia, intelligent influencers, the African politicians and bureaucrats on a daily basis.
Some very encouraging and inviting, while some are mere political rhetoric of campaign promises that are scarcely delivered as African young populations continue to struggle for scant basic amenities that should primarily compel them to stay and join forces to build the nation states of Africa.
Amenities that expand beyond physical infrastructure, amenities that provides security and hope to the hard-working people of Africa in the continent.
In my few years on earth, living in Nigeria and traveling across Africa and other part of the world, I noticed some of the pressing problems of Africa, although regional but it shares a lot in similarity, of weak institutions, lack of self-worth and a psychological leaning to oppressors whom are now hydra headed.
It used to be the colonialists and the homemade District Officers. The D.O’s wants to please his masters and earn some favours, he torments his own people, disclose all communal secrets to the master from France, the UK or even Portugal until entire region is completely subject to the wishes of the colonial lords. Anyone who raise up his heads to speak for his people or question any form of anomaly is taken out in a gruesome manner. Blaise Campaore and the Great Thomas Sankara remains a classic example. The memory of late Mobutu Seseseko’s loyalty to the United States and how they praised him to high heavens despite the glaring atrocities against his own people in the defunct Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo remains a disturbing scene and coming down to Paul Biya of Cameroon and his unalloyed loyalty to France till date, so much that even when he encountered a slight headache or hurt is foot, he will be flown to France or Switzerland for treatment.
“This will be the first and primary task of Africa, to deal with its internal oppressors through the doctrine of self-reliance and pride for your own
The same France that has been holding the national reserves of fourteen African countries since 1961without anyone raising an objection even when each of these countries are obliged to keep at least 65% of its foreign exchange reserves in an “operations account” that must be kept at the French Treasury, as well as another 20% to cover financial liabilities.
I sit down to take count of every Nigerian political elite from the President down to a director in the government parastatals, and I found out, they either chose to treat their malaria in London and die there only for their corpse to be flown back to the rot they have generated in the disorganized society.
I was not surprised at sights of supporters of the current Nigeria head of state, President Mohammed Buhari hailing his return from London for medical checkup under a social media banner titled “The Eagle has landed, Woe to the wailers.”
This is happening at a time the Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) is on strike for salaries ranging from 4 months to 19 months in some states of the federation.
If we go ahead taking role calls of African leaders in this category, we will have a handful yet they continue to enjoy the support of their region and whosoever they owe their allegiance to, whether UK, France or America. You may consider them as selected few.
However, I will rather describe them as One bad apple, that spoils entire bags of apples.
The weak institutions of governance. Judicial system and security were not automatic, they are man-made so only the Africans could put this right to their own advantage.
Its over 50 years, the colonialists have all deserted the continent, yet Africa is still debating on how to develop the continent, provide quality healthcare,
People have been so mentally oppressed that there is this existing idea, you either play along or die in your poverty. This cuts across from Zimbabwe, DRC, Uganda, Nigeria, Central Africa Republic and Somalia. In the midst of heartbreaking poverty and misery, you will see a group of elites clothed in flamboyance, luxury and power, so much that you will rather join the throng of admirers or you will be crushed for joining any dissenting voices against this level of injustice.
Now the problem is; how do you separate the bad apples, the chaffs from the wheat, the foxes in sheep clothing parading as Africa’s leaders, the products of that colonial-master-servants mental state that makes you lose every sense of self-worth, that continue to propel the African to take pride in choosing to take medication in London, holiday in Paris, Shop and Party in Dubai, buy up properties in Europe rather than sit down to equip his hospitals and provide quality healthcare to his people, provide decent accommodation to his own poor people living in shanties and filth.
The weak institutions of governance. judicial system and security were not automatic, they are man-made so only the Africans could put this right to their own advantage.
Its over 50 years, the colonialists have all deserted the continent, yet Africa is still debating on how to develop the continent, provide quality healthcare, build the roads and electricity and provide dependable political structure that do not have to be strewn alongside the wishes of your colonial leanings, the British, the French and the so called American Presidential system which Nigeria has been struggling to replicate amidst so much abuse of its administrative policies. This is shameful I must admit.
How would Africa and its managers isolate these cases for specific treatment, this should be a recuring headache of all, including Diaspora Africans. Let us take it from the grassroots away from the luxury of conference rooms, elitist debates where eloquence is measured by the degree of English language and rhetoric you are able to spew at the audience.
From experience, I have found out the African masses are not mobilized for development as the elites and intelligentsia are largely mentally colonized, seeking comfort and approvals of their colonial leanings in order to be identified as successful. This is not possible.
Continual affiliations to the dictates and demands of your colonial masters that has left you long time ago to put yourself in order can never make you successful.
Whether it is the aids and baits named ‘soft loans’ or having your aged body flown to London on frequent Medical Checkups, this will rather contributes to your underdevelopment and keep the conference speakers, academia and political elites talking about Arica’s development but always doing everything wrong to achieve development in their respective countries.
This is 2021, the media in Nigeria still celebrates every political elite that flies to one insignificant London hospital to treat malaria or chill out for medical check-up.
Every day, headline news are announcement of huge sums of ‘Audio Money’ siphoned by one political elite, that will keep the masses jiving on social media – By ‘Audio Money’ I mean, monies you only hear the sounds on radio and television but you do not see it anywhere, not even in the villages of the man that stole the money, he rather choose to acquiree assets overseas, holiday overseas and have very little commitment to the country he calls his own.
Africa can never develop with the likes of these bad apples that should be taken out by every means necessary. Ghana did it, Rwanda did it, Botswana did and more but on one condition; The African must believe in himself and pursue his own goals not under any form of manipulation.
“The first requirement for success, individually and as a collective entity is belief. Not ability but mentality, a belief rooted in mentality. The mental conditioning of the African must change in orientation towards themselves and towards their countries. This should be the focus of all Africa’s development enthusiast.
The African leadership must champion the cause of Self Reliance.
Until Chairman Mao Zedong emerged, the great potential of China remained unlocked and torn apart by internal political rivals of fiefdoms. China never rose beyond rhetoric of cultural ideologies that proved unreliable when Japan came upon them.
Chairman Mao mobilized the people and installed belief in themselves, their food, their medicines, their economy and environment and today everyone is flocking to China begging for money, everyone is singing and praising China for what they have done for themselves. This will be the first and primary task of Africa, to deal with its internal oppressors through the doctrine of self-reliance and pride for your own
If Paul Kagame of Rwanda can get it right, Africa can get it right, the late John Magufuli of Tanzania has proved it.
