Sakonfa, the mythical bird in Akan folklore...Look back.
The African story from time immemorial has always been a very, very sad one begginning from the Arab invasion of the continent in the 7th century spreading violence and mass blood-letting in the name of jihad through its chance encounter with Eurorpe between 1870s-1960s, consequent upon slavery and later colonialism which led to Europe using the Bible to plunder its resources and stealing her artefacts, which today are still in museums all over Europe.
In each epoch, the predators, plunderers, usurpers, marauders from the desert and across the Atlantic recreated Africa in their own image, distorted among many others, for want of space, its history and diluted its values, social, economic, political, cultural, juridical, architectural, languages, etc, with many, many African languages becoming extinct including its systems of naming, worship, branding them as paganistic and superimposing their own ways on the Africans', thereby promoting cultural ethnocentricism leading to racism.
Arabism, occidentalism and lately, orientalism did not only conspire against Africanism to deny Africa's origin of civilization, but waged sustained psychological warfare on the African mind to make every generation of Africans see themselves as inferior to other races by trumping up colour politics, the malady which to my mind is not biological, but climatic or weather-induced.
In other words, every colour/skin of every person on the surface of the planet earth including their temperament is determined by the nature of the prevailing weather condition of the region, hence I have categorised all persons in the various regions of the world into what I call expressive and inexpressive cultures, with people from the tropical/desert environment who usually are full of warmth and dynamism falling into expressive category, whilst those living in the temperate zones who are usually cold and passionless as inexpressive.
Lamentably, after the abolition of the ancient slavery and the end of colonialism, African leaders past and present failed to evolve an indigenous/continental philosophy of education taking into account the African reality with the sole aim of first decolonising the African mind and making successive generations of Africans see themselves as co-equal as well as co-owners of our planet earth by seeing themselves on the same pedestal as other inhabitants of our collective God-given planet. Seeing themselves perpertually in the grip of inferioty complex, each generation of Africans despite their superabundant natural resources till this day walk the earth as victims, with the majority of them playing subservient role in order to survive instead of fighting as others do for their rightful spaces. And for most of them on this side of the Atlantic, they have to act on daily basis to fit into the westerncentricists stereotypical world view of their race, if they must get what they want with little or no obstacle.
It therefore, becomes the more agonising when you look from this side of the Atlantic to the other half expecting to see Africans at home walking tall without cringing for any body and without selling themselves cheap in any way whatsoever, you are disappointed to discover that those back at home do more "Yes, Maser" than their brothers and sisters living in multi-cultural, multi-racial-mult-lingual West!
This is the only way I can explain the obsequiousness to other world leaders and their deification by African rulers, mind you, not leaders, but rulers in their relationship with their counterparts in other parts of the world. The situation is so saddening and sickening that not only the ordinary Africans, but those at the commanding height of the continent's politics, economy and diplomacy consider it as a very great achievement to have a caucasian or oriental as a friend or marry one. Let's hope that these grasshopper-complex-stricken Africans will not one day reflect it on their resumes that they have European or Asian friends.
In every least way, the continent's rulership have sold themselves and their people very cheap in all international negotiations and diplomacy, ever compromising when they should embrace and imbibe the Putian confidence in dealing with the rest of the world.
Vladimir Putin with his Gasprom (gas) and other resources from Russia has always had the upperhand in dealing with Western Europe, the USA and the rest of the world, but Africa, the most endowed continent in the world in terms of natural resources and human capital, have always played the second fiddle in all negotiations, just as it was in the past when African chiefs sold their people into slavery for mere mirrors and bottles of gin from the West. The truth is, since the nations of Africa obtained their flag independence from the colonialists, successive generations of African rulers have done worse, selling their people and resources cheaper than their largely illiterate and ignorant ancestors.
Natural resources of African origin are bought by the West in raw forms, processed and resold to Africans at exhorbitant prices, instead of processing or refining as in the case of petroleum and only sell them in processed/refined forms to whoever needs them.
With all their best learning and intimidating credentials from the world's best universities, doing businesses with the so-called experts from the West who in most cases are drop-outs, roadside mechanics, capenters, ordinary bricklayers paraded as constructions engineers, plumbers, college graduates, they do them so nervously and you see Africa's so-called ministers of various port folios conducting such businesses on behalf of their countries nervously and in fear. Before their Western counterparts could say "Em...they have said "Yes, boss or Yes, Maser a thousand times!
Whist writing for the News Agency of Nigeria from here as a stringer, any time there was need for me to get any of the African High Commissioners to comment on issues of international importance which were germane to the continent, I would end up getting no one to comment as they would all be gripped with fear saying: "I don't want them to come and say bla bla...and I would tell them they merely see their missions as comfort zones once they have been appointed as High Commissionsers and they have succeeded in bringing all members of their families down here.
As my contribution to the Gleneagles Summit of 2005, I wrote an article entitld: "When will Africa leave the Beautiful Gate? Incidentally, the truism expressed in that article was such that it was widely quoted by the Western media including the BBC and it enjoyed world wide publication, comments and was published by the frontline press in the continent.
But nine years later, rather than obtaining its salvation at the Beautiful Gate as the beggar did and began to feature actively in the economy of his country and by extension that of the world, Africa within that period has relocated to the leprous zone of the Beautiful Gate, for in my reckoning the Beautiful Gate consists of three zones - namely: the zone of Salavation, the zone of Comfort, where self-pity, do-nothingness and complacency reign supreme and the leprous zone, where the continent is currently, suffering endemic political, economic, social and cultural leprosy called corruption, ably aided by the West, which never wastes a moment to be pharisaical about corruption in the continent, for all the monies stolen from Africa, since the 1960s have always found their ways to Western banks, and also lately, the Arab Emirate. And if my knowledge of basic law has not failed me, and if I'm not suffering any senility, the receiver of (a) stolen good(s) is/are as guilty as the thief!
But come to think of it, where do the African - rogues males anf females do their shoppings - Western citities such as London, New York, Paris, Madrid, etc, they also spend the stolen monies lavishly in Hong Kong, in the UAE, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qartar, etc, etc, etc.
Have you ever seen persons running after Noah's Ark? The thieves, worms, rogues, their Excellencies, the so-called First Ladies and other smelly rats from Nigeria, my country, shop with such haste at the various shopping centres in the West. Come to Harrods, come to Brent Shopping Centre in London and watch them and their aberrant manerrisms when on the shop floor in London, call it Nigeriatainment if you like, is very well known to shop owners and other shoppers here in the United Kingdom.
Only last week a man of great means, a Briton told me: Said he, "I was at Harrods with my wife recently and for a while I left her as she was paying on the till for the purchases we had made and when I returned to join her, I saw two sets of televisions - each 100-inch costing £100, 000.00 and when I sought to know from her as to who owns them she said a Nigerian had just bought them." He said other shoppers were derisively amused by the Nigeriatainment - the sensation it had caused. The Brit, a man of means living in a 14-room mansion which he told me he had inherited from his father bought the same televison model - a Canadian make 42-inch at £8, 000.00, but a Nigerian from a country, where more than 110 million live on less than a dollar per day could embark on such crass obscenity!
Unfortunately, the press and the so-called men and women of God which I'd like to call men and women of mammon preaching their gambit prosperity gospel have become complicit in the mess in Nigeria and indeed, Africa generally. Jesus' wise advice of old to His followers: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteoness and all other things shall be added unto you has been altered by the rogues in cassocks to read: "Seek ye first jetdom and its prosperity and all other things shall fall in place." Pray, who really owns the business centres they deceive the ever gullible Nigerians by calling them MIRACLE CENTRES including the private universities built with monies they had extorted from the Brethren?
When African governments and their polifraudsters who go seeking miracles for everything including elections/re-elections from the jetrogues cannot jail them, African pastors, I mean your so-called Daddies and Mummies are being jailed here in the West as they are busy using the name of God to defraud their brethren who toil day and night over here in Europe. They are busy extorting money from their brothers and sisters, none of which can be repatriated to Africa, thus helping the economy of Europe by 'taxing' their gullible brothers and sisters who are ever looking for miracles - this is 'double taxation' or what do you think? Don't forget, the money they are extorting from their brothers and sisters can never, ever leave the shores of Europe for Africa!
Jesus did tell his disciples: "The Kingdom of God is within you."
So dear readers, if you ask me wherein then lies the kingdom of Africa? My simple answer will be - neither in China, Europe America nor UAE, but in Africa lies the kingdom of Africa. So whether Africa-China Alliance or Africa-America Alliance/Summit or whatever, it's the usual ritual, Africa's destiny is in the hands of Africans and it is only Africans who can dream the African dream. So neither North, nor South, East nor West, but in Africa lies its total salvation.
They say foreign direct investment, fair trade, AGOA, building of infrastructure, helping Africa to fashion the way forward, helping Africa to stop corruption in Africa, haven't I heard about all these before, haven't you too heard all these before? Where have they all led Africans and their continent? When the hawks first came to Africa they came with the Bible, whilst the missionaries were asking Africans to kneel down, close their eyes and pray the prayer: O' Lord our heavenly father...with Africans responding: "Holy" to their deceptive prayers, the economic and political colonialists entered the inner most chambers of the African groves and carted away their precious resources and artefacts. Chinese are Africa's new colonial masters, carting away its resources, polluting everywhere - manufacturing and exporting sub-standard goods to the continent - a thing they dare not try in the West.
A begi, tell me no further about fair trade, because it does not exist, it's just a myth and at once fiction; tell me not about AGOA, whereas, farmers in the West and other citizens enjoy subsidies in many uncountable ways, African farmers do not. When goods are comming from Africa to the West, they scream tariffs and they are so prohibitive that the average African exporter cannot export. On the other hand, when goods are coming from the North to the South, they shout GLOBALIZATION.
Aren't the likes of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and other African Finance ministers there to help them echo their dear REMOVAL OF OIL SUBSIDY? An English pastor of mine once said to me in a conversation on a church premises: "We don't want any one who will come and tell us what to do?" So why then will China, Ameria, Europe, UAE then tell Africa what to do to the point of iniviting 50 African rulers to Washington to tell them how to conduct their affairs in the name of bilateral talks. Don't get me wrong, I'm a believer in bilateralism, consequently, internationalism, but such co-operations should be on equal footings - and not Master-Servants ones.
Unfortunately, African rulers, past and present do not have any sense of shame and race integrity, it is incongrous for any one nation to invite 50 heads of State and Government to its capital city and then like robbots, puppets and marrionettes and fools that the so-called African leaders should want to honour such invite. When China did that in 2006 under the aegis of Africa-China Summit with about 48 African rulers in attendance I had thought that common sense would prevail afterwards such that Africa is not sold cheaply any more by its rulers, but with the toddlers embarking on the same type of inglorious journey to Washington, courtesy of Barack Obama, who is thoroughly disdainful of them in the first place, and more disdainful of his roots as a son of Africa. But Obama should be told J. F. Kennedy was proud of his Irish roots till the end.
Ridiculously and embarassingly too, Obama's aides were mouthing their President will shake hands with them, but will not meet them on one on one, only to change it later that the US Vice President Joe Biden will meet African tots on one on one. What arrant none sense!
Would Obama have treated any European, Asian and Arab leaders thus, asking his Vice President to be holding talks on one on one with duly elected and substantive Presidents from these nations? Were Obama to do business with Europe, would he have conceived the idea of inviting all Europeans Presidents/Prime ministers to Washington in the first place or go over to Europe at an agreed place? Had he ever thought of such an idea, wouldn't the European leaders consider such an invite as insulting and totally disrespectful? But to the shameless toy-hunters and Obama-hand shake-seekers from Africa without self respect, anything goes! If Africa's rulers allow themselves to be so disrespected, why does anyone think persons of African ancestry, wherever they are found on the planet earth should be treated with respect?
But why does a man who has been avoiding his people - his brothers and sisters and his roots suddenly want to buy them over with a hand shake, toys, pap, milk and chocolate?
The simple answer is, because China has led the way in the 21st century scramble for Africa, where the dragon, the hawk and the wild donkey who always does its own with violence and blood-letting are now competing fiercely. What really I'm against in the whole of these jamboree is the fact of 50-51 rulers of nations in a continent leaving their seats of power for Washington - an exercise fraught with grave security risks, especially in this Age of Terror and unpredictable untowardness.
Methinks the sensible and decent way to go about such is to invite Barack Obama home and tell him the whole gospel truth that the tall tree in the village arena was born by Mother Earth. Hence a meeting such as this ought to be held in Addis Ababa at the AU Headquarters or in any chosen African nation and certainly not in Washington!
So who next will summon these tots and fools to their land? Britain, Germany, France, Russsia, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, Iran? Shame on those babies going to Washington and for not leading Africa to do business with the rest of the world on equal terms.