Africa has since time immemorial been referred to as the “dark continent”, which is predominantly the western view. Time and tide has changed and Africa needs a new dimension and level of thinking to erase the negative and outward looking solution seeking ideology that has for many years characterized how Africa tackles its problems.
People of Africa have been indoctrinated by the western media and made to believe that the solutions to Africa’s problems lies in external solutions in the name of western, IMF and world bank experts who have no connections to Africa whatsoever.
What Africa needs is massive adjustments in changing the existing social, economic and political belief that the people of Africa bear. Africans need to believe in their capability and capacity to perform and in working out solutions to their problems without having to rush to the western world for help, yes there is a need to maybe, consult when it is necessary and learn from the west but not to let the west make decisions for Africa. The disbelief of most African societies in the ability of one of their own is a product of the colonial legacy, whose effects are being felt to date despite it happening almost five decades ago. I will give an example of my high school which had a white principal before I joined and the white man had to leave and an African one had to take his place, the reaction of the society then was one of skepticism and doubt in the ability of the African principal to perform and many parents opted to take their children to other schools ironically headed by Africans, a year latter the school achieved results that were the schools highest from its foundation. The need to believe in the African capability can help Africa realize development and end its problem.
The Kenyan politicians rejected a local tribunal to prosecute suspects of the 2007 post election violence because of the belief that a local tribunal wont be as effective as the international criminal court and instead recommended that the post election violence suspects be tried at the ICC in Hague.
This is not a simple implication as it seems from its outlook, it’s a multifaceted solution in the sense that despite what history has on African leaders and politicians, Africans need to believe in the capability of their leaders to drive Africa to a ‘REFORMED AFRICA’ instead of creating a new Africa typical of the western idea of the solution to the African problem.
On the economic front this means that Africa doesn’t need “aid” to help end the hunger, poverty and helplessness manifested in most African societies, Africans need to realize that no aid is free. Why for example does the US borrow money from a state like China and redirect it to Africa as aid? Why don’t they settle their own debts? It is because Africa has created a belief in the west that Africa can not stand on itself without support from the western world.
Chinua Achebe in a little book “THE TROUBLE WITH NIGERIA” addresses very pertinent issues in Nigeria’s social conditions, forty years latter issues like tribalism, corruption, social injustice, the cult of mediocrity, indiscipline and a false image of ourselves that Achebe found to be an impediment to Nigeria’s development is very evident in African states to date and the solution to these social moral decay lies in a change of the “moral deficiency syndrome” to a “moral integrity syndrome” where people are guided by ethics and integrity in all their daily undertakings, this lies in the hands of Africans and does not cost much to make the transformation.
Peoples of Africa need not take up arms against each other; they need to be in a fight against social decay and a fight against corruption. People of Africa need not to listen to divisive politics from mediocre political leaders but instead replace all such leaders with those who are capable of delivering results.
Solutions to Africa’s problems lies in African solution.
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