Observing Africa

Africa- the second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. I set aside some time a few days ago to listen to my country's former presidents annual Lecture: the "Thabo Mbeki annual Lecture" in which he hosted the former Tanzania president Benjamin Mkapa to deliver the lecture this year. Mr. Mkapa surely followed on the foot steps of his late mentor also former Tanzania president Julius Kambarage Nyerere: his analyses being that Africa is faced with three enemies/indignities namely: POVERTY, IGNORANCE AND DISEASE.
President Mkapas' speech

Although his analyses was based much on the Sub-Saharan Africa! yet i find them still relevant to most, if not to all other African countries today. Africa is currently in it's worst state in all aforementioned elements.

While Understanding that it would be of great difficulty to fully analyze Africa in one content as it is a continent consisting of countries within, governed by different legislations or constitutions yet the prominence of these three indignities within each of the countries within this continent strongly suggest that there is a common mistake or an element of error that is being practiced by these governments within this continent.

By the look of things Africa has become the center of Global poverty and one is faced with asking himself why has things turned out the way they are when it comes to Africa?, while pondering this questing I developed a quest to listen to a number of Analysts, Authors and the news looking for answers, yet it seems that people have come up with quiet the same reasons as to why Africa is poor? In a recent book by Greg Mills entitled WHY AFRICA IS POOR? The conclusion is that Africa has become poor because of its Leaders/governments in the book Greg urges that African governments are responsible for the poverty in Africa because of the policies they set and the other reason being that they are corrupt, but I would like to share my own view/Observation as to why things have turned out the way they are for Africa...

I grew up in Sub-Saharan Africa during an era of major political transitions in most of African countries and when I was growing up, the is one element of which I believe was a Burton which our grandparents did not pass on to our parents or should I say The Burton was not passed on to them by their fathers. This Burton being the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock (Husbandry)

In those early years this agricultural practice was considered the source of living an occupation or way of life by our grandfathers. In my hometown back then each and every Household owned vast lands where they planted all sorts of plantations as the wished, the whole community had vast farming lands in 4 to 6 Hectors per family and families had plenty of cows, plenty of horses, plenty of chickens, plenty donkeys, plenty of sheep’s and everything was just plenty, my grandparents would plant millies and on the harvest season we would collect the crops/millies store it in tanks and while growing up there I never knew of the word poverty and as during those years there was just plenteousness

There is a short story in the bible about two brothers namely: Esau and Jacob. What’s fascinating about these brothers is the event that took place between them which clearly depicts Africa, Esau according to the story was the first born and Jacob being the second born and an incident took place between them that records Esau ending up selling his birthright to Jacob his younger brother for a bowl of soup he despised his birthright and ended up selling his birthright and later we learn that Esau cried or sort after his birthright with tears when founding out that by trading his birthright he was in fact trading his blessings in life.

Jacob as we all know ended up being rich and having plenty, yet my point is not much on the aftermath, my point is much on Esau and the fact that he Despised His birthright, this short story according to my Observation clearly depicts what has taken place with Africa; that Africans have sold their birthright, as Africans we have despised what we have been given; the gift of been husbandry producing our own food. As a result Africa is in such state of poverty, Lack and not being able to sustain itself. And keeping in mind that statistically Africa still has enough Lands, enough resource to be self-sustainable yet the Burton the birthright of being Husbandry is lost. An average African can not even sustain a square miter spinach farm within their yards, simple because they have lost the skill of being farmers.

Africans I still insist have sold the birthright for a bowl of potage. This bowl of soup being the glamorous life/statuses, achievements that the western culture has promised or laid on the table and we all know that the consequences of selling our birthright have constituted to us Africans ending up being a dependent continent

We have traded our birthright for western practices characterized by greed, selfishness and exploitations, which give birth to Revolutions, Economic recessions, Food shortages and Global warming all these at the expenses of the African continent because its this continent which turns to surfers the most on these occurrences. It’s safe to say indeed we surfer the most because we are the adopters of these western practices, it’s not our birthright

I would like to also quote the words of Sir Chinua Achebe author of the Novel called “Things fall apart” on his opinion concerning this matter, he said “This blindness to the African reality was not natural but a consequence of an Ideological Legitimation of the colonial project” His statement suggests that It’s the colonial project that is responsible for Africa’s current state, yet according to my observations one thing that these projects did not hinder  was the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock (Husbandry). Yes the colonial projects, apartheid projects and any other projects imposed upon Africans were diabolical in their true aspect, yet the responsibility of passing the Burton still relied upon our forefathers to make sure that in spite of the changes that were taking place their children would still be self-sustained.

While on the element of change, it’s also surprising to see that in each and every African country upon receiving our independence we gradually stop the practice of cultivating our land or raising stock (Husbandry). The former Tanzania president Mr. Mwaliwu Julius K Nyerere addressing the people at the Quinquennial General Conference of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. Ottawa, Canada: 17th August, 1998 he said that “Change has, throughout history, been a constant part of human experience. But today change is more rapid than ever before; its implications are very
comprehensive, and yet its first approach is often imperceptible.” that “For any society, and for every individual, adapting to change at the present speed is very difficult; yet avoiding change is impossible.”

He continued to say “Decades ago, as President of my country, I told Tanzanians that the choice before them was to change or be changed. I was wrong. There was no choice. They had to change, and would still BE changed.” Yes it’s true we are living in a changing world, the trend of Change has been around ever since the beginning of creation, yet Africa seem to have began to experience conditions of being an un-sustainable continent recently in the twentieth century the century of African political independence and political transitions. It is in this century in which I Observe that a major trade took place, in this century also in which a major Olympial relay-race stopped the Burton fell…

I THANK YOU!!!

EL Thelejane