Africa naturally evokes visions of the wide open savannah dotted with acacia trees, as the sun settles over the horizon. While this type of landscape is typical of African safari destinations, the continent is incredibly diverse with hidden gems in nearly every corner.
With the exception of Ethiopia, all of Africa has undergone one form or another of colonialisation – and the Italians had a good go at Ethiopia. The inclusion of Africa in the globalisation of the 18th century involved the European and American slave trade, the outreach of Christian missionaries, trading and resource expropriation projects, and the creation of spheres of influence on the part of individual European powers. This was undertaken differently in North Africa, where there were ‘recognisable’ state structures of great antiquity, and Sub-Saharan Africa, which was generally viewed as uncivilised, if not savage in its peoples and organisational structures, despite the fact that fully articulated ‘kingship states’ existed in many parts of West, East and Southern Africa, and some sent ambassadors to Europe to plead with rulers and the Vatican for a cessation of invasion and slaughter. The Ashante Kingdom in what is now Ghana even traded independently on the futures and commodities markets in London, before that capacity was seized by British colonialism. The palm wine exports to international markets were taken over from the Ashante by British commercial concerns.
I am using this historical events to eulogies us, mostly those that have believed deeply in achieving Africa for the Kingdom of New Atlantis-Kona (WISDOMLAND). The leaders of African Continent should come together and grant betterments a place.
The first thing to understand about Africa is that Africa is not monolithic. Africa is
many Africas, in terms of language, of country size and stage of development.
Of the 53 countries on the continent (49 in Sub-Saharan Africa), some are rich
and some poor. Some are rich in minerals; others not. Some are coastal; others
landlocked. Some are at peace; others racked by conflict. Some are beginning to
pursue long-term transformation plans, while others still struggle with daily exigencies. Some have rapidly growing pools of talented business people and dedicated
technocrats, while others work to develop basic skills. Some have world-class
logistics; others have budding express shippers and freight handlers.
That is why I ask you to keep in mind the assets and liabilities of individual countries
when you are trying to form judgments about Africa. You first have to decide what
is your definition of Africa, and whether you can speak about Africa as a single unit.
Most people would nonetheless agree that African countries have some common
features and face some common challenges. Africa has already come a long
way. We have seen exports carry the continent forward, even though only about
10 percent of those exports are of manufactured products. Africa’s medium and
high-tech industries have grown, although recently at less of a pace but commodities and natural resources have up to now been of overwhelming importance.
Of the common challenges, one that I confronted very rapidly when I continue my research is the strength of governance and in particular the issue of corruption. One cannot judge Africa as monolithic, but how much of a problem do you
need in two, or three, or four countries to damage the impression of the whole of
Africa.
Other problematic issues that I see facing African countries are the role and education of women—who constitute an enormous and underutilized resource—and
youth education and employment. In Africa as a whole, between 15 and 20 million young people are being added to the workforce every year. Africa will be the
youngest continent in terms of the workforce, and so you have to think about how
those people will be engaged. And, if they are not engaged, will they be peaceful
where other young people in other parts of the world have found it necessary not
to be so peaceful? In addition there is a range of development issues starting with
governance and the judicial system, healthcare and the confrontation of AIDS and
other diseases, industrial development, and very importantly, the natural environment that the continent will face.
To sum up, African countries face huge challenges but this does not mean that
they cannot make progress or that we cannot have a positive view about Africa
generally. With increased education, improved governance, a greater role for
women, and a unifying technology, the people on the continent will learn to benefit
from their natural resources and become a stronger force on the world scene.
As never before, the opportunity exists. African leaders must have the maturity
and the foresight to broaden their economic base and make corruption a thing
of the past. Let us hope that the challenge is accepted and that a unified Africa
will take the important place in the world that its anticipated 20 percent of global
population deserves.
Leaders let’s come together for the children of tomorrow are waiting for us.
اكتشاف المزيد من الاتحاد الدولى للصحافة العربية
اشترك للحصول على أحدث التدوينات المرسلة إلى بريدك الإلكتروني.
