Africa is a continent abundantly endowed with a plethora of riches. Yet, this blessing, over the course of history, has failed grossly to empower the people of Africa. If anything, this blessing has been the antithesis to the success of Africans. Poverty still reigns supreme in Africa at a frightening rate. But while African societies are still grappling with the long-lasting effects of colonialism and another ferocious era of neo-colonialism, the power to change never lies somewhere else except in the people.
The history and present nature of Africa reverberate painful elements of suffering, ignorance and poverty. The ideals that bound together the fabric of Africa society were eroded away due to colonialism. And years after colonialism ended, there seems to be no collective effort to reclaim what rightfully belongs to Africa.
Most problems still afflicting Africa then go down to a failure of drawing lessons from history, and a failure to empower one another with the necessary knowledge of navigating the rough terrains of existence. Propaganda is hurled at people with unabated zeal, and that does not exclude the mass foreign propaganda too. The majority of education systems across the continent still are teeming with colonial relics, with half-hearted attempts being made at reforming such situations. People are accustomed to corruption as if it comes deeply ingrained in their DNA. Warping information and history is an art that has been mastered by those presiding over governments across the continent. The gap between being armed with proper knowledge and being without it is one of the factors still holding the continent back.
A starting point in rectifying the fundamental issues affecting Africa is accepting that history is rich with lessons to learn. History has proved that relying on self-aid without setting up proper industries is shooting oneself in the foot. History has proved that class struggles define almost the entirety of society, and still does - and from this knowledge must be attained a strong political will to ensure that poverty is at minimal levels. There is so much to take from history - the issue is how this history is disseminated.
African nationalists, great authors, innovators and other pioneers must dominate education systems,. But this must be done in an objective manner so that at least the window to learn from the mistakes that these pioneers made is left open. With this in mind, the citizenry becomes better informed at individual levels.
The African leaders of today have failed their people beyond what words can describe. Natural resources like oil are still processed outside the continent. African countries import finished products made by Americans, the Chinese, Europeans and yet the raw materials are earthed out of African land. In this age, the capacity to refine oil is still eluding Africa. This is all man-made. The resources are all drawn from the land by foreign multi-nationals, with the bulk of the profits being moved outside Africa. African leaders rush to buy large fleets of Mercedes-Benz cars and yet local automobile firms are struggling for market.
The might that Africa possesses is not befitting of the current situation where the continent is bombarded with dictates from both the East and the West. Abounding evidence shows how much Africa has been disorganized, and this is one of the chief reasons poverty still finds comfort in Africa without actionable indignation. Consumer culture holds people hostage and the absent of good financial literacy means that the handling of money is still an overwhelmingly taboo subject. Which is why the situation continues.
Outlining the need for black enlightenment gives Africa the chance to re-model its priorities and make sure that the continent's riches are benefiting everyone. And the proliferation of black enlightenment can only happen at the instance of tremendous unity among African people.
Header image credit - World History Edu