To my fellow advocates who have been reacting to my mails and those who have always taken their time to read, I say a very big thank you to you all
The focus of my piece this month “Call to the rescue” is to call on fellow advocates to be more responsive or proactive in the rescue mission to salvage the continent of Africa from its many challenges ranging from education, empowerment, agriculture development, gender equality, democracy and good governance, environmental issues, conflict management, among others.
Nigeria, we all know, celebrated her 48th anniversary on October 1st and is said to be among the first 21st countries in Africa to gain independence. Among the countries that got independence before Nigeria are; Liberia 1847, Ethiopia 1946 Morocco 1956, Togo 1956, Tunisia 1956, Sudan 1956, Libya 1957, Ghana 1957, Guinea 1958, Cameroon 1060 01-01, Togo, 1960, 04-27, Madagascar,1960, 06-26, Somalia,1960, -07-01, Benin 1960, 08-01, Niger, 1960- 08-03, Burkina Faso 1960, 08-05, Gabon 1960-08-17, Chad 1960, 08-11, Congo 1960 08-15, Senegal,160 08-20, Mali 1960, 09-22.
Still after about five decades of independence in Nigeria, Africa not just Nigeria alone is still wallowing in the tumble and rumbles caused by the colonial master. In the community of nations, we are said to be backward, not progressing and worst still, underdeveloped, even when it is known that presently we represent the hub of brains in the world. Western media has not spared and have always reported our bad sides which they themselves are not immune to.
Congo, the worst country with respect to sexual violence statistics, UNICEF reports
Five million starving in Zimbabwe, Mugabe alleges, The Sun, London
10 Million Children out of school in Nigeria
More than 1 million die of Malaria, most of them children under the age of five living in sub-Saharan Africa Voice of America (VOA) NEWS
I million died of HIV/aids pandemic in Africa, 2007, Science daily, October 2, 2008
However for the record, I will not want to argue for or against, as we all know the truth. But despite some of the demeaning reports we have heard of Africans, some dead others still alive, who have contributed immensely to abate some of the myriads of challenges facing the continent. People like
Nelson Mandela of South Africa
Sam Nujoma of Namibia
Dr Kwame Nkrumah,
Muritala Mohammed and Chief Obafemi Awolowo of Nigeria
Capt Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso
Sonny Okosun, Prof Wole Soyinka, Prof Pat Utomi among others.
This people like what the founder Africa foundation For Peace and Love Initiative Rev Titus Oyeyemi said “have helped give peace as alternative, to violence and war, love as alternative to ethnic hatred, hope as alternative to despair, and wholeness as alternative to diseases and decays”.
However this is a clarion call to all of us to join in the rescue team if it is just for a soul that is perishing in ignorance, drowning in the sea of despair and disappointment, dying and calling for a helping hand. I dare said they are all around us but we need to be more proactive in rescuing them.
I believe Africa can be safe and will be one of the major continents to be reckoned with in no time in the comity of nations but we need to join in the rescue team starting from our: neighborhoods, streets, market places, motor-parks, communities, campuses, churches, mosques, states and I tell you Africa will then be safe.
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