As self-centered as many Africans are becoming especially in this era of “self-promotion where everyone wants his fellow to know he or she is someone’’ unbeknownst to us, we are gradually wearing down the cohesive force of unity, which is bonded by the aspiration for total independence, that defines our unity as a nation and as a continent. Impliedly, if we are wearing down the cohesive force of unity, we are gradually perishing as a nation through economic woes borne out of the discord of selfishness and if we cannot notice this, it is because we are blind.
A notable observation across almost of all the democratic African states over the years , has shown that most of the ambitious long term development plans set out by their own governments for the future generation of continent have failed primarily because every successive governments believe their own plans should be carried out instead of those of their predecessors thus abandoning long term projects set by preceding governments. The old colonial and early post-colonial social and infrastructure plans and projects left to the African states fifty, sixty years ago is what holds their country together.
Moreover, jobs are not being created because intellectual prowess and individual resources cannot be put together to create sustainable jobs through joint venture as a basis for industrialization. The jobs mostly available are from the state-owned industries and public administration. Unfortunately, those ones are intermeddled by mismanagement and incompetence of state officials thus inhibiting that industry’s growth to absorb the high demand for employment. The result is the exodus emigration of human resources of Africans primarily to the western lands.
Not only are our human resources lost to the western countries daily, but the African political leaders are also adding more insult to injury by rampantly selling all our natural resources to the west in return for personal gains (political expedient). With the deprivation of all these resources, human and natural resources we are reverting back to slavery as we have become more dependent on aids and loans from those very people our forefathers (the early Pan-Africanists) fought with their blood for our independence. The foreseeable end-results are the accumulating harsh terms and conditions from the foreign loads and aids being laid on the heads of the future generations of African like a heavy load, so heavy to support that they would eventually give up the only independence we have that is political independence. A consequence which is not far-fetched from the final destiny of the continent as many African Heads of States are unbeknown to many are secret puppets of the west used as conduits to further their imperial powers.
Written by: Lord Fiifi Sampson
[1] 10 abandoned projects in Nigeria you should know about - Punch Newspapers (punchng.com)
