African Liberation Day: A new approach

In spite of all the efforts to promote pride in our African heritage, there is still, overwhelmingly, a prevailing negative image of that continent and its peoples. Our continued reliance on the western media for information and perspectives on Africa leave us vulnerable to distorted images. Thus, for most of us, Africa is all about starvation, hunger, and ‘snotty-nosed’ children.{{more}}

These images make no attempt to connect with the underlying causes of these sickening symptoms of poverty and underdevelopment. Hunger and starvation are even viewed in some quarters as natural consequences of being black, without any examination of the geographic, social and human factors which bring about that despicable state. Africa’s geographic reality is that in a continent so naturally endowed, the uneven distribution of water resources is such that there is a shortage of water where it is most needed and oversupply where it cannot be fully utilized in more than 90 per cent of the vast continent. To add to this is the tragic legacy of underdevelopment, caused by external domination and pillage of Africa’s precious resources.

In contrast to these stereotypical backward images of Africa, there is another side to the continent. How many of us, in thinking of ‘big’ cities in the world, spare a thought for those in the ‘dark continent’? Yet, both Cairo, in Egypt, and Lagos, in Nigeria, have populations bigger than those of London, Moscow, Beijing and Paris. Cairo, with a population exceeding 15 million is ranked 15th in that category in the world, with Lagos (11 million plus) in 16th place.

Economically, even the World Bank, not renowned for being partial to Africa, has expressed the view that “Africa could be on the brink of an economic take-off, much like China 30 years ago, or India 20 years ago”. Countries like Ghana, Uganda, Ethiopia, Angola and Botswana are leading Africa’s economic upsurge with growth rates of more than 6 per cent annually on a consistent basis. Ethiopia, a country about which most of us think little but Rastafarianism and drought, is now the 10th largest livestock producer in the world. And if we are inclined to measure progress in individual terms, it is useful to know that a black African, Aliko Dangote of Nigeria, a self-made billionaire, dubbed the “cement king”, is considered to have a fortune of over US$ 10 billion.

There is a downside to all of this, and this is where the matter of African liberation is relevant. It deals with the uneven distribution of wealth in Africa, the continued rape of the continent by foreign interests, and the resultant inter-connection with corruption, bad governance and the lack of democracy in all too many of Africa’s countries. These underpin the tragic stories of poverty, disease, suffering and starvation. They give rise to the many armed conflicts, whether in Sudan, Congo, the Horn of Africa, Ivory Coast/Liberia, and the prevalent military coups, making political instability an unwelcome feature of African reality.

So, when we talk of African liberation today, we must face up to these realities. It is not enough to proclaim our African heritage, we must also address the deficiencies in governance, the inequalities in income distribution, the endemic corruption encouraged by western nations which benefit and then slam Africa and African people, and the lack of democracy pervading so much of the continent.

For me, these are equally relevant in our quest for respect, dignity and human rights. They form the essence of African liberation in the 21st century.

Renwick Rose is a community activist and social commentator.