In the space of six decades, within which the wind of change swept across Africa; forcing colonial powers to withdrew while giving way for new states to be launched, the fortunes of Africa has changed from economic boom to destitution and despair. In sixty years, borders had been redefined; empire has crumbled; coup and counter coup has taken place; revolution upon revolution; nations have divided; democracy has come, go and returned; still, the vast majority of Africans are yet to know comfort, peace and happiness.
The woes of the days of colonialism followed us into independence and has since continue to multiply as government come and go. The top gainers of Africa’s independence are the same imperialists, their multinational companies, together with few African elites that feast on Africa’s resources as their own private inheritance. The state of Africa is what it is; as a consequence of the combination of imperialists’ interference in a bid to preserve and protect their economic and geopolitical interests, with the greed of the African elites riding on the back of Africans mandate to plunder resources without restraint and has deraiked Africa from its path of development and building of an egalitarian society.
Colonialism taught us to be wealthy and powerful for it is only through wealth and power can a man dominates and exploit million others, where as Imperialism has also influenced us to exchange our culture and history for greed, individualism, corruption and competition. In so doing, the newly adopted African attitude contradicts the age long African culture and ignore the very foundation upon which the African culture was founded.
This is the reason Africans uphold that the greatest accomplishment of man is not bringing himself into greatness but bringing his nation into greatness just as the greatest service of man is not to himself but to others. It is upon this background that the development of Africa and the rekindling of Africans’ hope in a new future that will guarantee comfort, peace and happiness; lies neither with the colonialists nor wih their updated version; imperialists, but with the rediscovering and emulation of the African heritage of culture and history.
It is only when we rediscover our culture, sieve through it, identify and remove all elements contained therein -that can limits our collective development- and dispose the elites among us who hold unholy economic power and are corrupt public officers, that we can truly undergo a genuine revolution that will aid the rebirth of nations and a new Africa. The wind of change is ever redefining and only the redefined can initiate such a wind. The people are slow to anger but the wise knows that they are great in power and when the time comes, they will never acquit the corrupt nor forgive the yam eaters.
When the people match in their numbers, the earth will quake, the mighty will melt and the guilty will be submerged in their anger. This moment of redefinition will come, this least I know of, but the opportunity this moment will present must be managed and utilised effectively. Another yam eater must not be allowed to come in the clothing of a shepherd for the food of the flock will be greatly endangered and it is only those that are redefined that the mandate of leadership must be given in a redefining moment like this.
It is in this redefining moment that today’s societal structure which enrich the rich the more and protects the rich but abandons the poor to the domination and exploitation of the rich must be taken apart, and in its place must a new structure founded upon the principles of African culture of adequately compensating for labour and developing collectively must be erected. In this newly erected societal structure, the wellbeing of all must be equally important as one’s own. None will be able to exploit others, equality will be audible to the deaf just as justice will be visible to the blind, and success will not anymore be the product of privilege but a reward of talent and hard work.
However, the old guard will never die peacefully just as the new order will not come into existence by mere happenstance. Firstly, there must be consciousness of taking one down and erecting in its place another. Secondly, there must be willingness and determination to execute this consciousness of collapsing and rebuilding of societal structure. Finally, there must be people who are redefined towards this purpose and are ready to take up the responsibility of arousing such consciousness and determination among the populace.
For Africa to leave this era of underdevelopment in its past, for Africa to experience collective development via collective contribution geared towards greatness, Africans must realise that it is not the imperialists that are the retainer of our woes neither are we impeded from breaking forth from shackles of underdevelopment by the colonialists, but our unpreparedness and unreadiness to put an end to those greedy few among us is the very barrier hindering development and collective prosperity. Until these barriers of self limitation are demolished, Africa will never develop and will remain the scar on the conscience of the world.
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Op–ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija
Abiola Akintunde writes from Ibadan and he is on Twitter as @AAbiolat
