AFRICA ON THE RISE, BUT TO WHERE? A 3-POINT INSIGHT FOR AFRICANS

Many people I speak to seem paralyzed by the sheer magnitude and scale of the challenges that face our continent - Africa. The fascination with debt instead of development is becoming untenable, tiresome and boring. The historians of today know different, that given time, the narrative of debt and the cardinal necessity of beautiful statistics will not fill the stomachs of the hungry, give jobs to the unemployed or house the homeless.

The current total worth of Africa, with all its 54 countries, is US$2.4 trillion. Whereas Apple company is worth US$2.56 trillion. Clearly, Apple is wealthier than the entire continent with all its resources put together. In other words, all of Africa’s national incomes combined do not match up to Apple company.

Over the past years, poverty reduction has been accelerating in the poorest countries of the world, but not so fast enough in the so-called continent of wealth, AFRICA. According to recent estimates, the number of deprived people in the region has grown from 278 million to 413 million in the last 25 years, while the average skyrocketing poverty rate of 41% makes Africa the poorest of all time. What is more depressing is that the continent is blessed with some of the rarest minerals on earth and yet more than 300 million Africans are living in extreme conditions with daily wage less than $1.90. Despite the fact that few sub Saharan nations are showing signs of improvement, most are stuck in scarcity.

Does Africa have an excuse?

Japan emerged from the devastation of the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to become an industrial giant, dominating the auto and electronic sectors. China, India, South Korea and many countries in Asia and South America are now economic giants claiming a fair share of the world's wealth. Where is Africa's share in the global trade? Or is ours to provide the raw materials to make others rich? The past can be a guide but not an excuse for what or where we are.

As the world emerged from COVID-19 in 2022, the Russian-Ukraine war erupted, then inflation, gas price hikes and now a looming recession in 2023. But in the midst of a chaotic world, it is argued that Africa with a current population of 1.4 billion appears to present the next set of blue ocean opportunities. What is the right mindset which will enable Africans to navigate the maze?

Point one: Those of us who seek to be the midwives of an African Renaissance beyond the “easy headline”, the “catchy soundbite” or social media activism, must accept the responsibility to create the condition necessary for Africa to rise. Our inaction will inevitably result in Africa faltering. That means we must, in the words of Albert Arnold Gore Jr., “come to believe in hope over despair, striving over resignation and faith over cynicism.” We must not get trapped in inaction; we must choose to play a meaningful role in line with our skills, capabilities, interests and value system.

Point two: A great Ivorian proverb says: “the outsider does not know the path through the calabash trees.” In order words, we know our continent better than others; it is our responsibility to be the primary movers in the rebirth of our continent, with help and support from others. The future we create must and should be a future of our own making. The inescapable fact is that this is our responsibility; no-one else’s. This time, this moment in Africa’s history, requires what Robert F. Kennedy described in his seminal speech at a Nusas seminar in Cape Town in 1966: “This world demands the qualities of youth; not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease”.

Point three: Robert F. Kennedy reminds us of the timeless words of Archimedes: “Give me a place to stand, and I will move the world.” He also pointed out: “The reality is that few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.” Each one of us, in our spheres of influence and in line with our capabilities and interest, can play a meaningful role in our families, communities, societies, countries or across the continent to bring about change. Such change will not come from heroic action by one individual or a chosen few brave souls, change across our continent will come because “it is from numberless diverse act of courage and belief that human history is shaped.

Conclusion

We are nowhere near where we should be, and where we all want to be, but there is a feeling we are all in this together, and we shall get out and prosper together. I urge all those of you who, like me are moved by the plight of our continent, but may feel that your effort would be futile, to start today and focus on one or few areas of change that you can influence.

My name is Kofi Anokye, a development enthusiast, and I write you this in the spirit of purpose, passion, performance and perseverance.