By David Maillu
Published September 11, 2023
It is over a century since colonized African states got their
independence. They got it and celebrated the acquisition with the hope
that, from then onwards they would be in charge of their destiny. Time had
come for them to save themselves from colonial culture, build pride in
their identity and move on economically. Why not?
What country in Africa, out of the 54 independent countries, has succeeded
in achieving that identity and pride? What is the shape of the African
continent socially and economically today? Which is the most
socio-economically developed country in Africa? Which is the least
social-economically underdeveloped African state? Why should African
continent be termed as the poorest continent at this stage? What is the
future for Africa? Will any African state grow up to compete with other
non-African states?
The African is a unique human species. In the human sea of non-black
beings, he is black. The Blackman’s population is nearly 15 percentage of
the world population. His black pigmentation makes him stand out sharply.
He is the black sheep among the herd of white sheep. Unfortunately, the
black skin is only pleasant to the Blackman. It is a scare to the white
population. The Blackman doesn’t look right at all outside African
continent. He is a sore in the Whiteman’s eye. The only continent where
the Blackman is appreciated is the African continent. The white world
would feel better if the black population disappeared from the globe; a
reality which the Blackman can take to the bank and cash.
The historical background of the Blackman brightly coloured by slave trade
and colonialism has established the Blackman as nothing else but a burden
donkey. He is a serviceman who is dependant, without any vision, without
ambition, uncreative, unthinking and an excellent commodity for
exploitation. Is the Blackman fully in charge of his world? NO! The iron
of it is that the Blackman hasn’t come out of the colonial cage. He still
has the gut of thinking the Whiteman can help him out of his economic
dungeon.
The Blackman is properly held firmly for exploitation in the colonial
paddocks – the so-called African states. The boundaries were created by
Europeans during the scramble for Africa, specifically for the benefit of
European colonialists. These paddocks serve the Whiteman’s economic
expansionism to the detriment of Blackman’s economic development. They do
not serve any good purpose at all for the Blackman because they make Black
people disunited for better exploitation. Each paddock is ruled by a
person called president in fragmented Africa. Then each paddock is
described as sovereignty identity.
Panafricanism was created to address this fragmentation and socio-economic
vulnerability of the Blackman. How far has Panafricanism moved towards
unity and success from where the Nkrumahs left it decades ago? The
elephant in the house is that the continent is the richest in untapped
natural resources, this time round, demanding the Whiteman’s Second
Scramble for African natural resources. The Whiteman is returning full
swing and with seductive goodies for the Blackman through the back doors
but for kill. Where are the Blackman’s patriotic brains to address this
grave fate?
