I was very gallant and eager one evening, awaiting the long advertised documentary of one of the most vociferous and credible television stations
I was very gallant and eager one evening, awaiting the long advertised documentary of one of the most vociferous and credible television stations in West Africa on an issue of corruption in the West African sub regions.
The shock I had that faithful evening was very little as compared to the perplexing of Ann Maria, my lovely kid sister who could not fathom the content of the documentary that was airing that evening as the harsh, visionless, clueless and heartless governance system of some West African countries began to unfold. She asked heart breaking and thought provoking questions that need the best brains and the human encyclopedia to offer appropriate answers to.
In the build up to the fight against colonisation and the liberation of Africa, the African Continent was well to do under the administrative rulership of our colonial masters; France, Germany, Britain, Portugal and so on, notwithstanding the intimidation and racism.
Ghana and the Federal Republic of Nigeria are the most intertwined regions in West Africa who share a very synonymous international traits such as rich natural resources, economy, the Queen’s language (English) and above all, governance.
In the full glare of the ascendancy of poverty, poor health, insecurity and joblessness especially among the youth, politically elected and appointed leaders in these two countries have notoriously branded themselves the “pigs” of George Orwell’s (Animal Farm), breaking the seventh commandment of “Animalism” and forgetting that the same reason why Africans were charged to champion the independence of their Continent is very minute in the face of recent portray of greed, arrogance, wickedness, cronyism, negligence, nepotism and “legal thievery” (corruption) in some of African countries, especially Ghana and Nigeria.
The youth of Africa need cogent responses from the leaders of Africa as to why they have suddenly become the “pigs” of the “Animal Farm” when they activate their usual political chicanery, soliciting our votes with hope inducing and juicy promises during electioneering campaign seasons.
African leaders are so “wise” that, they make financial investments in foreign countries, boosting the economy of those countries and subsequently making U turn to go and borrow from the economic gains of the countries they have “made” with the “looted” funds of the African soil.
It is indeed a very popular saying that “what is sauce for the goose, is sauce for the gander”. But I tell you honestly that here in Africa, what is sauce for the ordinary citizen, is poison to the politician. This is so because, in the light of all the economic crisis bedeviling the African Continent, the politicians with a little feeling of malaria will quickly be seen junketing the globe to seek medical attention while there exist hospitals and other health facilities that are in infrastructural, bed and pharmaceutical deficit.
Relative to the philosophical system of Niccolo Machiavelli, the African system of governance narrows the opportune doors for the active involvement of the youth, making way for the aged whose conscience are as dead as the saprophytes of the Sahara desert, notwithstanding the sage contribution of the aged in nation building.
Cluelessness of the African system of governance has since independence, been an incubator in Africa, hatching unemployment and brooding corruption at the expense of the future leaders and the vulnerable African.
If my composition seems to be cooked, I dare our African leaders, especially the Federal Republic of Nigeria to pinpoint the number of youth employment opportunities created to absorbs the need of the teaming unemployed in Nigeria.
Africa is blessed with intelligent, competent, goal oriented matured and experienced young men who has what it takes to offer the requisite solutions that confronts the Continent.
The likes of Kofi Adjei Ntim of Ghana, Hon. Ojukaye Flag Amachree, Barr Azubuike Ihemeje, Mathias Baba Tsado, Mr. Greene Ndume, Adamu Garba of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are a bunch of young repositories of vision and development whose competence can turn the Ghana – Nigeria – Africa story around but where are they at the front line of leadership?. Their competence and high spirit of nation building have seemingly been dampened and swept under the carpet while the supposed “coaches” are rather on the field of play. The question is; who substitutes a poor performing coach who is on the pitch himself. Are we not just funny in Africa as a Continent?
When it comes to warding off the perturbing malevolence of corruption, perhaps there can be no recognized charm, renowned enough to uproot the canker than entrusting the affairs of the African Nations into the hands of the competent and the quintessential because we cannot continue making hyenas the shepherds over our sheep and continuously make noises we could have rectified.
The United States of America and France have an economy worth over $20 trillion yet America and France have been able to trust the Administrative affairs into the hands of youth Clinton, Barack Obama and Manuel Macron, whose ages are all below 50.
Are we insisting that the youth in Africa cannot steer the ship of the African Continent whose economic worth put together is less than $1 trillion?
If technology and the youth are the pillars of social and economic development of a country or Continent, then Africa is yet to find its feet on the rail of speed growth and prosperity because the only natural resource that Japan can boast about is FISH, yet Japan’s economy is better than that of Africa put together. WHY?.
Rwanda is attempting an alteration, let us support them and see how that move conflagrates the African Continent at large.
I, today, challenge the youth of the African Continent to rise above the tide of sabotage and intimidation and to meddle in leadership roles in the African society.
I modestly pray the leaders of Africa, to model the young men and women to be fast abreast with the crisis of their Continent and develop a mindset of problem solving while they simultaneously make way for the youth to take part in the front running of our Continent.
“Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African Continent” – Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
But I say that our independence is meaningless unless the African Continent begins to recognize the motive of the independence and what it stands for.
May God continue to bless the Black Star; Africa and make the youth great and strong forever.
*#The youth of today today, are not too young to LEAD.*
*#OUR TOMORROW IS NOW.*
Written by
Nana Boakye Dankwah Budu
☎+233542446617
?dhesmondenanabudu@gmail.com
? P. O. Box 45, Kadjebi, Volta region – Ghana.
Facebook.com/DhesmondeNanaBoakyeBudu
COMMENTS