In 1963, just as many African countries were getting independence, the African Union- AU, was formed. It was made up of visionaries and progressives who wanted to see Africa move forward. However, soon after, this was not to be. The AU crumbled.
How can your headquarters be constructed by China and yet claim to be independent? How can your budget be funded by the European Union yet you pretend to fight for African issues. How can the Presidents that constitute the AU be dictators who only look out for each other? How can they abuse human rights and jail opposition members? Just look at what is happening in Southern Cameroon. The army is butchering the English speaking Cameroonians and the AU is silent. The Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is silencing opposition leaders like Bobi Wine and Kizza Besigye, and yet the AU is silent.
The AU must change tact. It is a toothless bulldog that is unable to fight for the rights of Africans. The European Union has already negotiated a rescue package for European Union citizens and businesses affected by Corona virus, and yet our African Union has not even thought of a rescue package for African economies. When will the AU stand up for us. When will it be the continental body to unite us, and fight for our interests? Read More Articles. Click Here
Saturday 25 April 2020
Friday 24 April 2020
Africa must Reclaim It's Place in the World
Who will lead the change in Africa. Africa needs a complete overhaul of its leadership if its to reclaim its place and sit on the high table of the world. Currently, we are the most hated race in the world.
We go to America, we are hated. We live in the worst neighbourhoods. We get the most lowly jobs at MacDonalds or in old people nursing homes. We are the ones on food stamps and other government related aid. Admission officers in college always expect a sob story from us.
We go to China. We are evicted from apartments. We are barred from shops and restaurants. We are told that we are the reason why Corona Virus is spreading in China. How dumb can this be. I mean, China was the epicenter of the virus, in Wuhan to be specific. How then can Chinese authorities turn round and say that we are the ones spreading Covid 19? African leaders and politicians won't do a thing because we are in their pockets. We took loans from them. Loans which haven't even been able to build substantial projects to improve our lives, but loans which have only gone to make our politicians rich.
We go to the middle East. The only jobs we can get is to be a domestic worker. Our passports are confiscated as soon as we arrive at the airport. Our Saudi or Qatar employers oppress us and give us backbreaking work, and even kill us when they deem it right. We return in coffins yet our governments can't do a thing because we are in their pockets.
For how long will this go on? For so long as Africans will be poor and depend on the rest of the world for handouts, we will never be the masters of our own destiny. We must rise up as a people and reclaim our place in the world. Read More Articles. Click Here
We go to America, we are hated. We live in the worst neighbourhoods. We get the most lowly jobs at MacDonalds or in old people nursing homes. We are the ones on food stamps and other government related aid. Admission officers in college always expect a sob story from us.
We go to China. We are evicted from apartments. We are barred from shops and restaurants. We are told that we are the reason why Corona Virus is spreading in China. How dumb can this be. I mean, China was the epicenter of the virus, in Wuhan to be specific. How then can Chinese authorities turn round and say that we are the ones spreading Covid 19? African leaders and politicians won't do a thing because we are in their pockets. We took loans from them. Loans which haven't even been able to build substantial projects to improve our lives, but loans which have only gone to make our politicians rich.
We go to the middle East. The only jobs we can get is to be a domestic worker. Our passports are confiscated as soon as we arrive at the airport. Our Saudi or Qatar employers oppress us and give us backbreaking work, and even kill us when they deem it right. We return in coffins yet our governments can't do a thing because we are in their pockets.
For how long will this go on? For so long as Africans will be poor and depend on the rest of the world for handouts, we will never be the masters of our own destiny. We must rise up as a people and reclaim our place in the world. Read More Articles. Click Here
Thursday 23 April 2020
Corona Virus- 3 Key Lessons for Africa.
The Corona Virus has taught us many things. Here are the most pertinent lessons for Africa.
1. We need to develop our public healthcare system.
When our leaders get sick, even catch common cold, they rush overseas. They neglect our hospitals, and eat the money meant to develop those hospitals. Robert Mugabe died in a Singapore hospital. Nigerian President Yaradua died in a hospital in Saudi Arabia. The current Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, jets in and out of London Hospitals. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's daughter went to deliver in a German hospital. Why couldn't these leaders trust the healthcare system in Africa? Can't they trust our doctors and nurses, and the facilities in our hospitals?
2. We need to rise up as the African race.
Two French doctors suggested that the Corona virus vaccine be tested on Africans. This is plain racism, why not test the vaccine in Europe and America where the vaccine has caused untold number of deaths. It is time for our professionals to rise up to the challenge and come up with world beating solutions to the problems that ail us. The French doctors said so because we are always in need of help, even to the simplest challenges that ail us.
3. We need Social Protection for the Poor.
The Corona virus may not kill many Africans. What could kill us could be the ensuing hunger. About 80 percent of African population depends on daily wages, not monthly wages. This means that they fend just enough for the day. A lockdown thus means that this vulnerable group will not be able to fend for itself. This is may be why we also need socialism. While capitalism has been known to generate untold amounts of wealth, it has not been able to ensure a fair distribution of that wealth. This means that the Western form of of capitalism may not be the panacea to all our problems. China was able to enforce a lockdown and thus curb the spread of Corona, because it was able to cushion the most vulnerable members of the society. China is a quasi socialist country, and thus we need to relook at the economic systems of Africa. Read More Articles. Click Here
1. We need to develop our public healthcare system.
When our leaders get sick, even catch common cold, they rush overseas. They neglect our hospitals, and eat the money meant to develop those hospitals. Robert Mugabe died in a Singapore hospital. Nigerian President Yaradua died in a hospital in Saudi Arabia. The current Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, jets in and out of London Hospitals. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's daughter went to deliver in a German hospital. Why couldn't these leaders trust the healthcare system in Africa? Can't they trust our doctors and nurses, and the facilities in our hospitals?
2. We need to rise up as the African race.
Two French doctors suggested that the Corona virus vaccine be tested on Africans. This is plain racism, why not test the vaccine in Europe and America where the vaccine has caused untold number of deaths. It is time for our professionals to rise up to the challenge and come up with world beating solutions to the problems that ail us. The French doctors said so because we are always in need of help, even to the simplest challenges that ail us.
3. We need Social Protection for the Poor.
The Corona virus may not kill many Africans. What could kill us could be the ensuing hunger. About 80 percent of African population depends on daily wages, not monthly wages. This means that they fend just enough for the day. A lockdown thus means that this vulnerable group will not be able to fend for itself. This is may be why we also need socialism. While capitalism has been known to generate untold amounts of wealth, it has not been able to ensure a fair distribution of that wealth. This means that the Western form of of capitalism may not be the panacea to all our problems. China was able to enforce a lockdown and thus curb the spread of Corona, because it was able to cushion the most vulnerable members of the society. China is a quasi socialist country, and thus we need to relook at the economic systems of Africa. Read More Articles. Click Here
Wednesday 22 April 2020
Corona Pandemic offers an opportunity for Africa to decolonise.
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the inefficiencies in the West. Europe and America simply didn't prepare for this crisis. When it ravaged China, they simply roughed it off, instead of making urgent preparations to combat it.
Now, Donald Trump is accusing The World Health Organisation -WHO, of mismanging the crisis. It has even withdrawn funding to the organization.
If there ever was an opportunity for Africa to decolonise, then it is now. Our leaders now understand the importance of developing our countries first. Now, they can't access their favourite hospitals in Europe, America, and Asia. They also can't access the loot which they have banked abroad.
Covid 19 has debunked the notion of the white man's invincibility. Now, they claim that the reason Africans are not getting sick in large numbers is because there is not enough testing.
The wife of Bill Gates, Melinda Gates has said that we should prepare to see dead bodies in African streets. Such premature conclusions are uncalled for.
Now that Western invincibility has been debunked, our leaders must now proceed to create a new Africa. An Africa where they won't have to go outside for healthcare, but they will be treated right here in African public hospitals. An Africa where the path to riches will not be politics and stealing, but through investments and hard-working. When we create an Africa that works for all, then our children will not be risking their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, or spend endless amounts of time applying for the American green card. It would be a day to behold. Read More Articles. Click Here
https://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/2/pub-6308403411955937/sites/my-sites
https://africashine54.blogspot.com/2020/04/covid-19-offers-an-opportunity-for.html?m=1
Now, Donald Trump is accusing The World Health Organisation -WHO, of mismanging the crisis. It has even withdrawn funding to the organization.
If there ever was an opportunity for Africa to decolonise, then it is now. Our leaders now understand the importance of developing our countries first. Now, they can't access their favourite hospitals in Europe, America, and Asia. They also can't access the loot which they have banked abroad.
Covid 19 has debunked the notion of the white man's invincibility. Now, they claim that the reason Africans are not getting sick in large numbers is because there is not enough testing.
The wife of Bill Gates, Melinda Gates has said that we should prepare to see dead bodies in African streets. Such premature conclusions are uncalled for.
Now that Western invincibility has been debunked, our leaders must now proceed to create a new Africa. An Africa where they won't have to go outside for healthcare, but they will be treated right here in African public hospitals. An Africa where the path to riches will not be politics and stealing, but through investments and hard-working. When we create an Africa that works for all, then our children will not be risking their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, or spend endless amounts of time applying for the American green card. It would be a day to behold. Read More Articles. Click Here
https://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/2/pub-6308403411955937/sites/my-sites
Tuesday 21 April 2020
Africa has to be united to conquer the world.
Picture this. Africa has the most mineral resources in the world. It has arable land that could feed the whole world. And it has a population of one billion people. And yet, it remains the laughing stock of the world, accounting for the majority of the world's poor. It continually relies on aid, even if evidence shows that this aid has curtailed, rather than enabled development.
Africa needs a paradigm shift. It must unite and consolidate together. Sure, the stumbling blocks are many. For one, we speak too many languages- nearly 2000. We are so divided ourselves, how could we ever unite?
The great Pan Africanist, Ghana's founding President Kwame Nkrumah had a vision of one united Africa. He famously said that 'Seek ye first the political kingdom, and everything else shall follow'. He did not live to see his ideals. He was rapidly overthrown in CIA led coup. The West does not want a united Africa. This would pose a threat to its hegemony. This would stop the natural flow of wealth from Africa to Europe and America, that continues despite slavery and colonialism having ended.
The West has to divide and rule Africa in order to continue it's growth. A united Africa poses a grave threat to this continued oppression. If we had one President, currency, passport, and military, we would be able to solve the myriad conflicts in the continent that are too big for any individual African country. Militia groups such as Boko Haram and Al Shabaab would become a thing of the past. Military presence of the French, British, and American forces would cease.
The economic exploitation would stop. Did you know that France requires that each of its 14 former colonies in Africa deposit 50 percent of their reserves in the French Central Bank. French President Jacques Chirac said that without Africa, France would be a third world country. Nothing could be further from the truth.
A slow and gradual integration is what our leaders are calling out for. But what they are not telling us is that they do not want to lose the previledges they currently enjoy. Their countries are their small fiefdoms, where they reign supreme. Since our leaders have failed us in agitating for continental unity, it is up to us as common citizens to take this conversation forward. Read More Articles. Click Here
Monday 20 April 2020
China must not be Africa's new coloniser.
For the past 500 years, Europe and America have oppressed Africa. It started with slavery where our most able bodied were shipped to the West to offer free labour in European plantations. This formed the basis for industrial revolution in the West. Then, as if to that was not enough, colonialism followed. Here, African kingdoms were toppled and a new European establishment took over. We have since never recovered from the twin sins of slavery and colonialism. Our mineral and human resources were not just taken away, our culture, dignity, and way of life were also profoundly affected, and we have never recovered ever since.
Enter a new imperial power in Africa. China. China has grown by double digits in the last 30 years. It is now the world's second largest economy, and if recent economic projections are to be believed, it could well overtake the United States in the foreseable future. It has fashioned itself as the manufacturing center of the world, and the brand 'Made in China' is visible around the globe.
China needs resources. And Africa has those resources. China doesn't care about good leadership or human rights record. It does business with all and sundry. This has been godsend for African leaders. Dictators who were cash strapped certainly have a new source of income. However, this is detrimental to African citizens. Our resources are being auctioned cheaply. China is saddling African countries with debts that even our grandchildren will not be able to pay. What's sad, key national assets such as ports are attached as collateral to these loans and failure to service the loans, China takes over the key national assets. This is a huge disservice to Africa and must stop. Our leaders were puppets of the West. Now, they are puppets of China. This must stop. Read More Articles. Click Here
Enter a new imperial power in Africa. China. China has grown by double digits in the last 30 years. It is now the world's second largest economy, and if recent economic projections are to be believed, it could well overtake the United States in the foreseable future. It has fashioned itself as the manufacturing center of the world, and the brand 'Made in China' is visible around the globe.
China needs resources. And Africa has those resources. China doesn't care about good leadership or human rights record. It does business with all and sundry. This has been godsend for African leaders. Dictators who were cash strapped certainly have a new source of income. However, this is detrimental to African citizens. Our resources are being auctioned cheaply. China is saddling African countries with debts that even our grandchildren will not be able to pay. What's sad, key national assets such as ports are attached as collateral to these loans and failure to service the loans, China takes over the key national assets. This is a huge disservice to Africa and must stop. Our leaders were puppets of the West. Now, they are puppets of China. This must stop. Read More Articles. Click Here
Sunday 19 April 2020
Let's empower African Inventors and Innovators.
The Covid 19 has had a new reawakening in Africa. It has spurred a spirit of innovation in this great continent. For example, students at Kenyatta University in Kenya successfully made prototypes of ventilators, and hope to scale this to produce ventilators on a wide scale. In Ghana, masks, ventilators and other devices needed to fight Covid 19 are now being mass produced.
Even for the simplest of things such as a matchbox, we rely on China. Chinese goods have flooded our markets and rendered the African manufacturing sector as null and avoid. And yet everytime we purchase a commodity from China, we are exporting jobs to China.
Worse, we believe that anything that is foreign made is superior to our own. We must protect our nascent industries if we are to rise as a continent. Did you know that Google is banned in China. Instead, they use a local Chinese search engine, baidu.com. Did you also know that twitter is banned in China. Instead, they use a local Chinese micro blogging app, Weibo. This has improved the local technology scene in China, and now China is raring to go to the world.
Our leaders do not have a plan in place to make us a great economic power. We don't know what the conditions are for the loans they sign for. Perhaps, one of the conditions is that we allow the Chinese to flood the African markets. This must stop as a matter of urgency. Read More Articles. Click Here
https://africashine54.blogspot.com/2020/04/lets-empower-african-inventors-and.html?m=1
Even for the simplest of things such as a matchbox, we rely on China. Chinese goods have flooded our markets and rendered the African manufacturing sector as null and avoid. And yet everytime we purchase a commodity from China, we are exporting jobs to China.
Worse, we believe that anything that is foreign made is superior to our own. We must protect our nascent industries if we are to rise as a continent. Did you know that Google is banned in China. Instead, they use a local Chinese search engine, baidu.com. Did you also know that twitter is banned in China. Instead, they use a local Chinese micro blogging app, Weibo. This has improved the local technology scene in China, and now China is raring to go to the world.
Our leaders do not have a plan in place to make us a great economic power. We don't know what the conditions are for the loans they sign for. Perhaps, one of the conditions is that we allow the Chinese to flood the African markets. This must stop as a matter of urgency. Read More Articles. Click Here
https://africashine54.blogspot.com/2020/04/lets-empower-african-inventors-and.html?m=1
Africans must restore their identity in order to conquer the world.
If Africa is to rise up, we must reclaim ourselves. We must uplift our culture. We must project our names. Look at China. It doesn't speak English. Yet it has risen from abyss to be the world's second largest economy. If projections are to go by, it is set to overtake the United States anytime now. Yet, it hasn't been westernised in order to develop. Chinese language is the medium of instruction in Chinese schools all the way up to University.
Now, China knows that in order to conquer the United States, it has to spread its culture also. It is now building Confucius Institutes all around the world. In the institutes, Chinese language, Mandarin, the most widely spoken Chinese language is taught.
And yet, in Africa, our elites are essentially European Africans. They are African on the outside, but European on the inside. Development does not equal Westernisation. Our elites have embraced European culture, songs, movies, way of life, education, and this has broken the traditional fabric of society.
In Africa, until we get our identity right, we will be at the mercy of Europeans, both economically, and culturally. There is no shame in being educated and yet stay true to our culture. This is something we ought to think about. Read More Articles. Click Here
https://twitter.com/cmabinda
https://africashine54.blogspot.com/2020/04/africans-must-restore-their-identity-in.html?m=1
Now, China knows that in order to conquer the United States, it has to spread its culture also. It is now building Confucius Institutes all around the world. In the institutes, Chinese language, Mandarin, the most widely spoken Chinese language is taught.
And yet, in Africa, our elites are essentially European Africans. They are African on the outside, but European on the inside. Development does not equal Westernisation. Our elites have embraced European culture, songs, movies, way of life, education, and this has broken the traditional fabric of society.
In Africa, until we get our identity right, we will be at the mercy of Europeans, both economically, and culturally. There is no shame in being educated and yet stay true to our culture. This is something we ought to think about. Read More Articles. Click Here
https://twitter.com/cmabinda
https://africashine54.blogspot.com/2020/04/africans-must-restore-their-identity-in.html?m=1
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