Africa is a continent blessed with a great people and beautiful expanse land. We have minerals, oil and water. We have a rich and diverse culture and history. In fact we are capable of using all of these to realize any goal we set to achieve. So where do we go wrong?
It is the way we are brought up. We are meant to believe that we are weak, corrupt and evil. First, the religion of our forefathers was branded as demonic, our culture as foolish and barbaric, and Africans considered sub-humans. That, though the considerable attempts to enlighten Africans, is one of the contributing factors to the evils that bedevil this great continent-the Dark Continent.
You may be wondering that perhaps due to the outpouring of information such concepts would seem so irrelevant to any well-educated human being. In the light of scientific evidence that puts every human being at almost equal capacity in intelligence, which is true for every society, apart from some few exceptional cases; you would think that the world would be free from prejudice and false stereotypes. There is a wise African saying that goes that you can take a man out of his village, but you cannot take the village out of him. There are many people who still believe that Africans are still lesser human beings. There are also some Africans who are of the opinion that they are inferior to other people of other races. Who is to blame for this? Everybody and nobody is to blame for this predicament. I shall examine this below.
Africa is at a stage I would call the 'confirming stage' after it passed the 'labeling stage.' The labeling stage refers to the era of discovery and colonialism. In this era, Africa was being labeled names such as 'the dark continent' or' under-developed', 'land of the savages' e.t.c. Which was based upon the opinions of explorers during that time. Africa was considered lacking in civilization by the explorers who found nothing noble or ‘civilized’ in our elaborate systems of chieftain-ship and clan-ship. At this stage the way of life of Africans was branded 'barbaric', and our religion 'backward and demonic.'
After independence African countries entered what we would term as the 'confirming stage.' In this stage we confirmed the earlier suppositions of the colonialist-that we are poor, corrupt and barbaric. It is only independence, when African leaders took over from colonialist, when the evils that are common among African states began to immerge. African governments became corrupt, tyrannical and poor. Africans massacred fellow Africans in Rwanda and Burundi like barbarians. True, the colonialist was right when he called us barbarians. The picture that captured a vulture waiting for a child to die in Sudan drove the point home that Africa had sank to its lowest point. There is still widespread corruption among African countries.
So you see, the colonizers and the Africans themselves created a monster in Africa. However not all hope is lost. Hopefully I hope Africa will usher in the 'self-realization stage.' In this stage Africa will realize its potential as a rich continent capable of taking care of itself and others. With the increase in knowledge through a free-flow of information; with the increase of press freedom and freedom of expression, Africa will be able to fight corruption, poverty and ignorance- the three big plagues that is the root of war, disease and starvation.
What Africans should be fighting for now is press freedom, free and fair elections, a good constitution, a transparent and accountable government, empowerment of women and the youth, education and healthcare. Africans should do this through writing, speaking out loud, voting rightly, awareness programs and right living.
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