By Kayode Emola
As the world leaders of powerful economies gather in Hiroshima, Japan this week to strategies on how to grow their economies and possibly strengthen alliances; one would ask what African leaders are doing to empower their people economically. The G7 world economies are formulating policies to advance their economies for growth and contain Russia’s influence in world affairs. Yet in all of these, it seems African leaders are satisfied with just being told what they need to do for their people by the economically advanced nations.
Africa leaders seem to be silent and bewildered on what is going on in the world around them. For a continent where at least half of the world’s mineral resources are mined, one would have expected that at least one African country will take centre stage in world affairs and be among the top five leading economies in the world. Perhaps, it seems that African leaders are more interested in themselves and their immediate family than their wider community.
These leaders are happy to squander the wealth of their people on frivolities just to show off what they believe their countries are worth. They do not believe in putting the hard work needed to build their population to a place of wealth where the country will grow for many generations. For a continent that was once the jewel of the world now reduced to a third world continent, all because our leaders fail to plan on how to better the lot of most of our people. One may be forced to ask; where did the African wealth go?
No doubt, the advance countries like America, and Western Europe have built their economies at the back of Africa’s resources whether mineral or human. They continue to use it till date, yet the African people and their governments feel helpless and hopeless in a world often referred as a global village. For the average African who knows nothing order than poverty, it is difficult to see how the concept of a global village helps their economic situation.
The average African is one who still must face enormous hurdles just to get the opportunity to experience what the world has to offer. S/he must queue up for hours if not days to apply for visa that may or may not be approved depending on his economic standing. Indeed, it is worth asking where the African wealth is hidden to ensure that the average African can access that which truly belongs to him or her.
There is the fear among the advance countries that Yorubaland and its people are the glory of the Black/Brown race. This glory can be said to have been tamed by the present configuration of the African countries, grouped together not necessarily by ideological or cultural beliefs but by the colonial master’s convenience.
Therefore, for the African person to witness true transformation, the present configuration of countries arrangement across Africa needs to be broken down in order to bring development to the people. The African people needed to be given the opportunity to determine their own future outside of external influence. This is what the independence freedom fighters were advocating for after the second world war. Unfortunately, many of them that took over from the colonial empires themselves became the new overlords of their people.
If most African people living in the continent will stand any chance of meaningful progress, then we must embark on serious discussions among ourselves on how we want our nation states to be configured. The present arrangement set by the colonialist must be broken down. People should be free to disengage from the present country they were forcefully tied to or be free to merge with any country they might have been broken down from in the past if they so choose.
I believe the Yoruba people stand a big chance of seeing that this happens in our geographical space, especially since the consciousness of our political arrangement do not allow for real development. We need not be shy of demanding for this as it is our legitimate rights. We must however be conscious not to infringe on other people’s right to choose as we embark on this.
Whilst many people believe that reparations are what Africa needs for its material prosperity to be achieved. I believe the call for reparations as a basis for wealth transfer may not necessarily bring the desired change that we want. We need to focus our energies on developing the young African minds on entrepreneurship and sustainable development goals.
African nations need to stop looking for foreign investors to invest in Africa, rather they should look inward on how to develop the economic potential of the people. This must start from the type of governments that we instal to govern over us. We need to make sure they are not ravenous sets of people who do not think of the progress of their countries but themselves and their families. As this is the antithesis of the progress Africa truly needs.
I hope that in the nearest future, trade between African nations will be more than trade outside of Africa. The present system where we believe wealth seats abroad is the reason for the poverty ravaging most African nations. True wealth seats on the African continent, and we must do everything we can to highlight it to our people and how it can be of great benefit to them.
