By Bernard Bwoni
Mr Obama’s recent remarks that Africa should not
make ‘excuses’ for the continent’s economic woes based on history of
colonialism were not only unfortunate but quite insensitive. Not sure if Mr Obama has
deliberately developed selective amnesia to realise that the wealth accumulated by the country he
now leads has been through the blood and toil of those from the cradle of
mankind. Here is the leader of the free world who has been mum to the
unrestrained bombardment and culling of innocent civilians in Gaza yet wants to
walk the moral high ground and lecture the historically and perpetually
traumatised Africans on morality and righteousness. Africa’s socio-political
and economic problems are a direct by-product of slavery and colonialism. The
African generation post slavery and post colonisation is a traumatised one with
equally affected and arrested prospects for development. The generation pre
slavery and pre colonisation was the continent’s most innovative and progressive.
This is a generation that did not live on borrowed values, borrowed traditions
and borrowed existence, a generation that smelted and forged iron. What we are
left with is an educated bunch whose greatest invention is a dusty path towards
the nearest Aid Agency assembly point. The African continent has no choice but to
completely divorce itself from the disastrous construct of dependence on aid
and firmly root itself into the tangible Mugabe-inspired trajectory of economic
emancipation. It is only via total economic emancipation
that Africa is going to upgrade the lives of its permanently deprived citizens.
Whilst at it Mr Obama should have a look at the contents of ZDERA 2001 and if
he is so concerned about resolving the continent’s economic difficulties the
first step is to not to slap an African country with sanctions for addressing
historical inequalities through redistribution of land and wealth. The
continued day-in-day-out struggle for basic survival is just not acceptable in
this resource-rich continent. Africa is extraordinarily blessed with abundant
natural resources. Africa has a cause, a just cause for that matter and downplaying
colonialism and slavery is not going to address the multifaceted problems that bedevil
the continent but merely mask them. Mr Obama should know better that forcing
the biased neo-colonial model whilst equating slavery and colonialism to ‘excuses’
is not going to develop Africa.
Africa is ready for its re-ignition, its
reorganisation and justified and dignified re-emergence following the twin
evils of slavery and colonialism. The idea of the African re-ignition and
reorganisation has continually been frustrated and countered with colonial
coercion and more recently neo-colonial craftiness. It seems Mr Obama’s remarks
were aimed at containing the African quest to free itself from the one-sided
and overly dependent relationships and move towards mutually favourable and
respectful development partnerships.
Africa is not going to benefit from neo-colonial point-men
camouflaged in the Dark Continent pigment but from the visionary flame of the
Mugabe-inscribed people orientated policies of land reform and economic
liberation. The people of Zimbabwe, the people of Africa subscribe to this
vision. Africa is on a journey, an African journey and a journey that requires
Africans and them alone to carry them forwards and no charitable champion is
going to command the survival of the continent with no motive of their own. Not
even Mr Obama. No selfless knight in shining armour is going to descend from
lands afar and rescue Africa from this permanent predicament that has continued
to stall the continent’s long overdue development. Mr Obama, Africa does not
make excuses but suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder following years
abuse and misuse by the very country you lead today.
bernardbwn@aol.com/ bernardbwoni.blogspot.com
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