![]() |
Africa |
Pour
an ocean into a leaking basin, and you will be pleasantly fortuitous to have a
swimming pool.
The
abiding question that asserts itself upon our conscience is this: How much aid
will solve Africa's problems?
It
is probably in the spirit of brotherhood that some people and countries send
aid to Africa. This notwithstanding, for some, such is vouchsafed to feed their
superiority ideologies. However much, if people are drinking water from
polluted rivers, and barely scraping a single meal, giving aid to such must be
a commendable act, no matter what the motive may be. But would such morsels of reprieve
ever solve this deep-rooted issue?
What
if the government in charge of that country changed their hearts and started
doing what they ought to do? Is that not a better course we should be working
towards?
It
is a crystal truth, one very transparent for all to see through: Aid will never
solve Africa's problems until the leaders change their ways. This is a message
every donor should know. Turn a deaf ear to such truth, and after several years
of pumping aid to the continent, they will experience fatigue of epic
proportions, if they have not yet experienced such.
Africans
know this truth, even if we are not willing to admit it, that no donor could
ever solve the plethora of challenges we currently face. Sure, they can help,
but they are not the solution to our problems. The solution lies in our own
hands; in fact, the ball is right at our feet.
Failure
To Act
Our
present situation must go down as a painful betrayal of a people by the leaders
of the African continent. Indeed, without any hint of equivocalness, most
African countries have the resources needed for the crystallisation of
development; but do our leaders truly care to transform the continent?
We
are surely suffering by our own choice when we could eradicate our peculiar
problems. This is no fallacious statement. And even if it takes us centuries,
we will someday converge at this same fixed point of truth.
Why
have we bought into all the lies that we are poor and we cannot help ourselves,
and that it is somebody's responsibility to fix our continent? Why are we, who
should be enjoying life, considering all the resources we have, always going
cap in hand to solicit the generosity of those ready to offer us a few drops of
water? Will those few drops ever slake our interminable thirst?
It's
almost offensive seeing all the begging for aid, knowing that our countries
have the resources to tackle our challenges.
The
emphatic thrust of this piece is that change is what we need and not aid.
Consider that our leaders go to bed in luxury while the masses struggle. Where
is the fairness? Yes, it is not a fair world, we all know that; but shouldn't
our people have access to the basic necessities of life?
It
is 2015 and there are Africans still struggling for common potable drinking
water. The thought of such should make every concerned person's stomach churn.
How poor are we to the extent that such basic necessities have become almost a
luxury?
Our
portrayal in foreign media is almost sickening to say the least: emaciated
bodies, distended stomachs, flies all over, drinking from dirty rivers; you
name it. This is the way we are perceived and depicted.
In
fact, the life-draining poverty of our people shames the selfishness of our
leaders. But do they care? No, they don't!
Considering
the impact of globalisation and the interconnectedness of the world's
economies, we Africans, at this rate of progress cannot expect to find ourselves
in paradise. Anybody who thinks we will go to bed and wake up as advanced as
other continents, is surely lost in a contemplative revelry. Our development,
at best, will be gradual rather than instantaneous.
Nevertheless,
the lack of access to basic amenities for many on the continent can never be
justified. Yes, there is absolutely no sensible reason that placates such a
worrying turn of affairs. And why, for example, we need adverts to be shown on
foreign TVs soliciting for money to drill wells for our people to get clean
drinking water must cut any conscionable soul right to the bone. It is simply
unacceptable—not for those intending to help, but those who have failed to
ameliorate such disgraceful conditions.
A
Call For Change
What
exactly could we do to see a veritable change in the nature of our leaders? Is
the stainless truth that we can do very little; or could we do more?
Most
of the continent seems to have elected governments. However, ask yourself, why
do we vote for these leaders who continue to disappoint us? Election after
election, we only end up with bad nuts. If we were a girl interested in love,
who experiences a wake of broken hearts in quick succession, wouldn't loving
the next man be difficult?
Perhaps
we vote for these leaders because they are the people who show up on the ballot
paper. Or is it a case that the leaders that we have are only holding a mirror
before our face? Can we as a people say we are generally good but still get bad
leaders; or in real truth, our leaders are no different from us—simply a
picture of who we are?
Yet,
there remains an argument that what happens at the ballot box in African
elections is a farce. In most countries, it is virtually certain, if not a huge
probability that at every election, it is either one party or the other that
will come to power. And when both of these parties are corrupt, voting for
other parties appears to be a waste of one's vote. Thus, some of the electorate
have settled upon the choice not to vote at all. After all, every election
comes with promises that never get fulfilled. It is has become a cycle of
sorts.
So
what should be the correct course of action? Shall we refrain from voting
because we see no significant change in leadership? That has to be an
individual judgement. Shall we plead with our leaders to amend their ways?
Well, we have been pleading, and we will continue, even if such calls fall on
deaf ears. Have we run out of options? Surely not.
The
conclusion to this article (Part 2) will consider applicable solutions that
will help us see a change in African leadership. After all, until there is a
paradigm shift in leadership, our thirst for more aid will continue, without
any meaningful transformation of the fortunes of our continent. Yes, we may
gather all the oceans into a single leaking basin and still realise that our
swimming costumes are almost useless.
I
shall return with my talking drums in Africa Needs Change, Not Aid (2).
Angelina K. Morrison is interested in national development, true religion, and self-improvement. She enjoys thinking, and writes stories only when the muse grips her. Her first short story, Gravellatina is a breathtaking five-part series available now at Amazon. You can email her at angelinakm75@gmail.com, or find her at www.angelinakmorrison.blogspot.com or Facebook page.
Sign up here with your email
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon