Our peoples have grown strong and accustomed to the rugged lifestyle which our environment demands. Thousands of years of struggling have led us to perfect our societies and cultures, enabling us to survive on the land and use it best for our needs. In associating and interacting with ourselves we have formed powerful unions and relationships with one another, advanced cultures and societies, and powerful kingdoms and empires.
Our ancestors laid the bricks with which fabulous cities and villages were built, forged the swords and spears with which thousands were conquered and subjugated, and formed the rituals and practices which have guided our spirituality ever since.
However, where are we today?
Today, the world mocks us as the "most backwards continent"; we are known for being poor and diseased, and our countries continue to play second fiddle to their more-powerful and influential Western "allies". Abroad, our peoples face harassment, embarrassment, and violence, and unfortunately those at home do not fair any better.
In the name of unity and togetherness we have sought to exterminate one another. In the name of political interests we have sought to deny one another the very instrument which validates their humanity: their freedom. In the name of wealth we manipulate the poor and powerless, taking from them what little they have. We steal milk from the thirsty, food from the hungry, and opportunity from the ambitious.
Our political systems, modeled around that of Westerners, have continue not only to slowpoke our progress, but also catalyze our destruction. In the political sphere, corruption and ethnocentrism reign supreme; in the economic sector, manipulation and outright subjugation are the rules on the game; and in the educational world, millions of our children struggle to go to school and gain qualification for jobs that don't even exist.
Africa why? O ngen mere?
How are we to help ourselves when we are part of the problem? How are we to usher in a new era of economic and social development in our continent when we continue to view ourselves and our cultures as inferior to those of the world? How are we to return to the "good days" if hundreds of thousands of our sons and daughters have forsaken our shores?
These are the questions that rumble through my young mind. Although a sound solution to our problems will surely take time and effort, I suggest we begin with solidarity. The late Igbo highlife musician, Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe, said "nke onye kwulu ibe ya kweta nu; onye kwuo nma anyi ewelu; onye kwuo njo anyi aju". Translated, this means: let us agree with one another and wholesomely accept good and reject bad. Osadebe, and many like him, urge us to seek solidarity in whatever we do for it is the first step in changing the state of our beloved Africa. It doesn't take a Nelson Mandela to contribute to the bettering of our continent. Rather, each and every one of us, whether servant or master, is capable of doing his small part in order to contribute to the greater picture. The truth remains that no matter how many billions we receive in foreign aid, if we continue to war amongst ourselves, progress shall remain a distant and forever-unattainable mirage.
By Odumchi.
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