by Hilary Afeseh Ngwa
Poverty thrives so well in Africa; I wish it were a cash crop with high commercial value. The paradox of the situation is that African soil-despite its fertility- seems to be the most cursed. In this regard, Africa needs a radical revolution which is going to address and redress the situation right from its roots.
The problem lies, revolves around and is deeply rooted in the cultivation of low esteem to reap poverty and all its brothers, cousins, far and near relatives.
Take HIV/AIDS for example, a near relative of poverty, causing untold damage in Africa, eroding the very human resources which they need to catapult out of the cesspool of economic malaise.
The west put the African countries on a marathon for the poorest and most indebted countries in the world – see how they energetically and unstintingly ran for and vied for the ‘prestigious’ position in the file of Heavily Indebted Poor Countries. What a shame! The African has a very low self esteem. The African child grows up learning about a white God and a black devil, black water fever, black market and a dark African continent.
They grow up learning that everything dark and black is associated with evil, then they learn that they are the race called black – What a seed!! Who can count the apples in the seed? This life choking seed, rather weed is sustained and nourished by a black history written by a white/western man, portraying the west as saviors of a lost black race, who before their arrival were primitive and lived like animals. Small wonder -the meanings of the words civilized or primitive came from the West though.
The West has no interest in seeing the African developed and industrialized because it will then dry up the raw materials which they so much depend on as it feeds mills in the industries back home in their stead. Because the African grows up knowing that he has little or nothing to offer to the world, he grows up looking up to the West for salvation. The west does not and will never help Africa, it only invests, not in but from Africa.
Wake up Africa and shock yourself out of complacence and a blindness which fails to recognize that the west will always deal with Africa only because they have a vested interest. The regimes which get the most financial aid in Africa are the repressive regimes! Why? Arms industries need a ready market. Let the scales fall from the eyes.
"Under World Bank and IMF programs, African countries have been forced to cut back or abandon the very provisions which helped rich countries to grow and prosper in the past. Even more significantly, the policies of the World Bank and IMF have impeded Africa’s development by undermining Africa’s health.
Their free market perspective has failed to consider health an integral component of an economic growth and human development strategy. Instead, the policies of these institutions have caused a deterioration in health and in health care services across the African continent.”— Ann-Louise Colgan, Hazardous to Health: The World Bank and IMF in Africa, Africa Action, April 18, 2002
"In theory, the fund supports democratic institutions in the nations it assists. In practice, it undermines the democratic process by imposing policies. Officially, of course, the IMF doesn’t “impose” anything. It “negotiates” the conditions for receiving aid." Joseph Stiglitz, What I learned at the world economic crisis. The Insider, The New Republic, April 17, 2000
They have failed to help Africa and they have persistently reinforced their commitment only to serve the countries which control them, living in the seclusion and comfort of the western world.
In essence, the subordination of social needs to the concerns of financial markets has, in turn, made it more difficult for national governments to ensure that their people receive food, health care, and education—basic human rights as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: How the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Undermine Democracy and Erode Human Rights, Global Exchange, September 2001.
Put on your thinking cap Africa!
Africa needs a fresh sense of patriotism injected into their veins. They need a novel sense of self esteem radiating from the very essence of their existence. They need to be reminded that God is spirit and God is truth and that the African is made in the image of God.
Let the African realize that almost every aid from the west comes in the form of slow poison, maiming and sapping the very life of the very most beloved African continent.
Let the African shake off and free itself from the manacles of dependence on foreign aid. Let the African know that aid in fact comes with the latent potency of AIDS. Aid helps not the receiver but the giver. Aid charms and aid maims. Let Africa keep the charity organizations out of business. Let love be the motivation. Exceptions make the rule. God save Africa!
Great post Hilary.
ReplyDeleteIt is also worth noting that the Breton woods institutions have conveniently ignored the much trumpeted "Green Revolution" in Africa and the development of human resource skills in order to perpetuate their dependency theory.
I'm looking forward to the day when one brave African leader will cut of his/her country's relationship with the hydra headed serpent called the Breton woods.
Never have their policies benefited Africa in any way. The SAPS of the 80s/90s that Afeseh talks about and the HIPC initiatives of the 2000s looked pretty in the books/ for the purpose of fiscal discipline but did nothing in terms of production or "putting bread on the table"
Actually i think the failure of the free market is a cue for African countries to realize that piggybacking western theories and economic systems will do as no good. I’m not so sure how self esteem fits into this but it looks like you had something going on there…you mean confidence?
By the way next time I’ll also like to see some concrete alternative suggested and a line or two talking about the role of those inane African governments who have contributed as much to their nation’s downfall as any western institution.
...very incisive thoughts. thanks for sharing. I have always maintained that western aid (just like welfare) takes away man's greatest incentive to be productive: survival. Once African nations have enough aid to service debt and survive their budget deficits using western aid, they'll be content; and not innovate.
ReplyDeleteWe need to take take a higher approach and look beyond survival. Great empires thrived in Africa long before any contact with Europe, and the trajectory of these empires were poised for greater dominion. Europeans did not rescue us from anything. Rather they interrupted our civilization. The rest as they say, is history.
Let's snap out of this "hangover" (Nii Ayi, 2009) and look to the shining example of Eritrea's Isaias Aferweki and Libya's Al-Gaddafi and start taking the high road of self-sufficiency. Otherwise, we'll continue going in circles until we become completely irrelevant in the world. What happened to the Aborigines in Australia and the Cherokees, Navajos and Incas in the Americas cannot happen to us, but we've been a sleeping giant for far too long.
Hello, Hilary, I will like to see Africans and African countries take some responsibility for their countries instead of always expecting handouts from the US and other western countries.thank you.
ReplyDeleteI will like to commend the author of this article for a very good work done. He has obviously done some research and i will not call this a rant. Very refreshing i must say. But this is the point where i'll ask you to go beyond delivering a summary of the reasons why Africa is on its knees to actually saying something we can hang on it. Saying we need to put on a "thinking cap" or that "we need a fresh sense of patriotism" is no more useful than Wolfowitz breathing on the necks of African finance ministers.
ReplyDeleteFrom now on i hope i don't hear or read about anyone saying that Africa's problems should be blamed on the west.
ReplyDeleteThe primary intent of the author was to write something which will serve like a gadfly, to goad a sleeping giant which is still very drunk in the stupor of distortions of her full abilities into wakefulness ... If it can begin to change the way Africa sees itself, the author would have achieved his purpose as he believes without a spec of doubt in his mind that the change which we all seek, will start with true knowledge trumping the parochialism engendered by ignorance and forging a path to recovery... more knowledge about the Sokoto, Benin, Zulu empires, about the Asantehene and you name it... The article seeks in part to resurrect that indomitable spirit which once inhabited the African, that quest to expand and rise... something happened to that spirit along the way... we want it back... afeseh.
ReplyDeleteanonymous, i don't think anyone can say that Africa cannot blame European colonists for their current predicament. That is a very myopic, ignorant and ill-informed statement. I think you need a history lesson.
ReplyDeleteWhile Africans themselves are as much to blame, I think that European colonizers and slave traders had a lot to do with it.
I'm not even sure, where to begin my history lesson for you, anonymous. But before, Europe rudely interfered with our civilization, I think we were doing fairly OK. For 400 years, Europeans exploited and plundered Africa and met in 1888 at the Berlin conference to figure out how to distribute their "African loot." You think Africans are to blame for that?
Belgium, cynically issued national ID's in Rwanda and Burundi to divide people that speak the same language into Hutus and Tutsis. Before these belgians arrived, there was no difference between these people. I can go on and on. Read, my comments on Colonial hangover and others on this blog, if you're interested in learning more.
Of course, our current predicament cannot be blamed on Europeans alone. We as Africans (or rather the lazy "Uncle Toms" that we have as leaders have failed us miserably. Mugabe, Eyadema, Mobutu, Al-Bashir are a complete disgrace and have been a total mess.
That's why, I am strongly against western aid from the IMF/World bank and others. Personally, i feel we should all follow the example of Al-Gaddafi and Isaias Aferweki of Eritrea. We are a huge continent, second only to Asia. If we all decide as on bloc to refuse aid from others and start on the path of self-sufficiency, we can begin to take our rightful place in the world.
But i don't ever wanna hear anyone say that European colonists/slave traders have nothing to do with the current state of Africa, because the truth is they have a lot to do with it. (anonymous, i hope you learnt your history lesson). They robbed our wealth (slaves, gold, land, etc) for 4 centuries. Centuries that we could have used to consolidate our dominion had they not rudely interfered with our civilization.
DK, I enjoyed reading your rejoinder... is it possible for me to get in touch with you privatey - if you may please contact me at anhilary@yahoo.com... we can collaborate on a paper or two sometime... I love your grasp of the history of our people...
ReplyDeleteafeseh.
The people of Africa do not appreciate our natural resources and let alone culture identity. Our educational institutions do not preach the message of social growth by self-initiative that has lead to an identity crisis. Our educated social role models (academicians, intellectuals etc) are dancing to the music of the white man. Example, in our classroom case studies is about the Western culture not local as we see local stuff as necessary evils to our growth. We grow up to migrate to western culture than to make local contributions.
ReplyDeleteLeadership is a gold mine in Africa not for the common good of mankind. Our leaders support concepts for the exploitation of the mass not for their welfare. Example, Ghana last parliament under the NPP administration is made up well-educated rich who had western education. What did they do… they increase their wealth first. With all these lifetime experience no social gain but increase in poverty.
I feel this is generalizing Africa too much. Perhaps narrowing the focus would be a better argument.
ReplyDeleteYou can't say that the every "African grows up knowing that he has little or nothing to offer to the world." Is this true about EVERY person on that land? No. Is it true about some? Sure. But the same goes in the US.
Lauren, I appreciate your concerns about making sweeping statements which do not envelope every person in a continent or country, but by and large some facts are true for the overwhelming majority. Of course there is an unwritten acknowledgement that there are exceptions which are like a drop of water in an ocean - they are not our focus... it is the sick who need a doctor...
ReplyDeletehear hear Lauren I will speak of my limited South African experience,definitely never raised to belive there's no hope for me and I can not make a change to thwe world I live in.Actually I feel the opposite, with so much progress that my newly independent country has made, there's a general feel of constantly wanting to improve upon, not dropping the ball which most South Africans both Black and White are growing up with.So I agree with he article that we need to take charge of our own destinies as Africans but will disagree with it in that some countries are already doing it and the fruit shall be borne with time. I see it in the counrty's next generation, amongst adversity there's a belief that tomorrow can be better and that is something that I will reward this government with, every child needs a sense of worth even in the most trying of times,so they can just belive.Im a testament to that, grew up poor but education was my card out and now I'm my own self made woman at 28 and many of my friends have similar stories to tell.So no Africa will not remain a beggar forever,as a South African at the most southern tip of of the continent, we just refuse to carry on with the status quo.
ReplyDelete...Finger pointing,blame game,'quest for a miracle'...are things of the past.We have come too far to be saddled with these yokes around our necks.Thay have been the very things that have slowed our developments.
ReplyDeleteThe Asian Tigers,have broken the their yokes and used the pieces as fuel for change! Today the world looks to some of these countries for help in turning the worst credit crunch in recent times around.
How much do we believe in ourselves?In a grocery shop or in purchasing items do we look out for local,regional or just go for items that have come many miles from western countries(though they will have same quality with local items)? How many times do we proudly pay fully for items knowing its an economic cycle.In my SIFE years, i learnt people support what they help create but its the opposite with the African economy..People destroy what they or others have hepled to create.
We might have the best resources,the most natural enviroments but how much do we appreciate them?How many of us have visited a local zoo in our native countries,yet we would pay comparatively 3 times the cost to see the same animal in a zoo in a western country.How many of us have ever thought of volunteering for activities, we are expecting to be paid for every movement.Africa does not need money! Africa needs strong minded people with INTUITION!!!!
Thanks for sharing your experience with Mr Baley Wene...it is really important to believe in ourselves now else no one will. By the way where do you come from?
ReplyDeleteI'll like to thank our contributor from South Africa, Michael, DK, anonymous,Afeseh,Lauren and everyone else for their very insightful post. Great points too Yayra. I definitely agree with you that more confidence and inter-regional trade is the way to go for African economies instead of holding up the begging bowl. Hope to hear more from you all.
ReplyDeleteAs a reader i really appreciate all your contributions and personal stories which have been very educational. This definitely attests to the fact that we can agree to disagree while exchanging our view points. Hope to hear more from y'all.
I believe half of the solution is in identifying and properly defining the problem. In that regard, I must commend to you for this article, Hilary.
ReplyDeleteWhile trying not to generalize...(note: 'trying'), the low esteem and lack of confidence in self you describe is a reality for the vast majority on the continent. I was recently completing a college application and found myself pouring out all sorts of life-long resentment and pain I had been unconsciously carrying inside me on seven pages. Reading it back to myself, I was beyond shocked by the bleakness of my tone and how little self-worth the essay seemed to portray.
One grows up in Africa in a world that would want nothing more than for you to seize to exist. It is almost like a constant, barely-visible load on one's shoulders. Everything you see, hear and feel tells you that you're not good enough, not equal to...
I see the problem to be more of an internal struggle than an external battle. What other reason for our leaders to stretch one hand to collect a sack of gold from a 'donor' while the other hand holds a knife to the throat of his brother? You may say greed, but then I ask what is greed? Is it not the feeling of wanting more, motivated by an 'imagined' idea of lacking? For greed for it's own sake is illogical.
So what is the African lacking? Certainly not the resources, either natural, mental, physical? (And do correct me if I am wrong)
We seem to have lost the drive to fight against the 'real' injustice against our race. Instead we have taken the easy route of bowing to the oppressor and in extreme cases self-hatred; turning on each other. In my opinion, this is the worst of all the crimes, us destroying each other and ourselves from within.
God Save Africa!
Great job!
ReplyDeleteIt is clear from your writings that u have a burden for the third world-Africa to be precise!You have alot of potiential within you.I would like for it to released!GO A STEP FURTHER to 'put in action' this potiential,be like Nehemiah in the Holy Bible. Discover the assignment and put action to it. God will take u places u've never dreamt of. Trust me! Rem
THE PROOF OF DESIRE IS PURSUIT.....Go for it!!!!!!