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Whose Report will you Believe?

 The Western media for has decades depicted Africa as a continent synonymous with genocide, disease, corruption, poverty, ignorance, deprivation, banditry, brigandage, slaughter fields, child soldiers, gang-raped girls, harassed mothers and wasted children. The continent is even at times referred to as the ‘dark’ continent.  Surely, we are plagued by some of these challenges as a result of our own attitudes and leadership but also as a result external forces.

Nevertheless, such one-size-fit-all description is irresponsible, to day the least Some countries and sub-regions have made significant strides but these are never reported and the western media doesn’t seem to be interested even if they can get this news for free.

It will take a lot of energy and time to expunge this mindset about our continent and people. I have a role to play and so do you. We’ve got to graciously but aggressively challenge people when we know they are wide of the mark. But this requires that we arm ourselves with the best facts and figures about our people and continent.

How many times have you heard someone recounting African as a country that is in a civil war? Both are false. The truth is that Africa is not a country and Africa is not in a civil war. Perception becomes a reality if it is not confronted.

How long do you think it should take for us to let people know that:

  1. Africa is a continent of 54 independent countries with nearly 1 billion people (about 3 times population of the US)
  2. That the size of the African continent (30,3 million km²) is larger than the combination of China (9,6 million km²), the US (9,4 million km²), Western Europe (4,9 million km²), India (3,2 million km²) and Argentina (2,8 million km
  3. That African’s population consists of blacks, Arabs, whites, and Indians?
  4. That Africans abroad remit back home about $40 billion annually and still manage to pay their mortgage and credit cards.
  5. That English, French, Arabic, Portuguese are used as medium of instructions right from kindergarten in most countries.
  6. That like Brazil, Peru, and Australia, the Democratic Republic of Congo has one of the richest ecosystems in the world (have you ever heard something good about the DRC?)
  7. That Africa is not a parasite on the western economy but rather make significant contributions to the global economy, with an estimated combined purchasing power of more than $2.5 trillion [source: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)].
  8. That Africa has the only street in the world to house two Nobel Peace prize winners. It is Vilakazi Street, Soweto, South Africa. Both Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have houses on the street (that’s significant, I think).
  9. That Africa is not all slums. From Johannesburg to Dakar, Dares Salaam to Nairobi, Accra to Cairo many African cities boast of towering skyscrapers, complex infrastructures, 21st Universities and a sizzling nightlife that will amaze any first time uninformed tourist
  10.  That the continent can boast of some of the most talented athletes on the planet. Every major club in Europe can boast of a couple of African athletes and most European stadiums are empty (permit a little exaggeration) for the 4 weeks African athletes leave for the African Cup of Nations.

The more we’re able to communicate some of the positive values, customs, cultures and achievements, the more we will see tourist choosing Zambia or Tanzania for their vacation. The ripple effect is that hotels and places of attraction will cash in, hire more people who will then spend more.  It is time to uncover the Africa they don’t know. I take pride in that and benefit from it too, and I think you do also.

So whose report will you believe?

 

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Good African Leaders

Who are they and how do we get them? By Dr. Wafula Okumu.

 African leaders

For forty years or so, African leaders have played a pivotal role in derailing the economic and political stability of the countries under their stewardships. In half the period of colonial rule, they have indulged in a reckless game of financial profligacy and violated human rights with impunity. It has now been universally acknowledged that bad leadership has a direct correlation to development of a nation. The root cause of Africa’s endemic problems has partly been traced to the continent’s coterie of bad leaders. African leaders are generally known to have created intractable conflicts, misused and abused of power, violated human rights abuse and driven their people further into the bowels of poverty. It is now generally believed that for Africa to reclaim its rightful position in the international system it must do something about its “bad leaders.”

But who exactly is a “good leader” and how do we get one? If use of patterns and trends could provide a useful guide in determining good African leaders we could simply pick Mandela, Nkrumah and Nyerere as the most respected African leaders and then anoint anyone with names starting letters ‘M’ and ‘N’ as good leaders. Unfortunately, this is not possible since these great African leaders also share the first letters of their names with some of Africa’s most despicable dictators: Moi, Mobutu, Mengistu, Mugabe, Nguema, Numeiri, and many others.

A distinguishing characteristic of almost all African countries is that they have been or are still being ruled by thug-like leaders. Their despicable behavior notwithstanding, the present crop of bad African leaders will have to be replaced one day whether they like it or not. When their time comes, the most important task will not be simply replacing these bad leaders but finding the right people to replace them. It is in view of this gigantic task lying ahead that the Congolese, Kenyans, Liberians, Zimbabweans, Malawians and other Africans must now focus their keen attention on picking replacements of the bad leaders who are running down their countries.

Before defining who a “leader” is and is not, we should first establish the fact that politicians usually do not make “good leaders.” As the British scientific journal Nature Today once pointed out in a study on leadership, politicians are uniquely simple personalities. In layman’s terms, that would mean they lack personality. The question then is: if we are to look for leadership qualities or inculcate them, what will they be? We often hear that leaders are born, not made. Although this opinion has been widely accepted for centuries, many experts are now rethinking this assumption. Most experts now believe that the ability to lead is not limited to the few born with exceptional talent. Even though an inborn potential doesn’t hurt, leadership is now viewed as a set of skills that, with proper training, can be learned. But what is leadership?

Leadership is getting other people to follow you towards a common goal. A leader feels that he or she has something to offer or that he or she can make an existing situation better. Initiative and vision are the pillars to leadership. The desire to lead, though essential, is not enough to make a dynamic leader. One has to have a firm grasp on knowledge, a well-horned and appropriate skills, and relevant experience that makes one almost a “philosopher-king.” Having the skills and know-how in a particular field makes one an obvious candidate for leadership. But this is not enough, particularly in the African context. For instance, someone may be a successful guerrilla leader, but a sadistic head of state once in power. Having knowledge is one thing, but putting it to use in the interest of the people is another. One’s knowledge is then only useful if it is used to enhance a common goal.

There are many other qualities of leadership. Inner qualities include fairness, impartiality, character, strength, and ability to recognize one’s limitations. Additionally, a leader is also one who is peace loving, faithful, kind, obedient to God, and serves his or her people. Other qualities include outspokenness, decisiveness, proactive, wisdom, strength, love for the people and the work, and honesty. Today people have also picked their leaders on the basis of their good looks, wealth, popularity, and the willingness to do anything to get on top and stay there.

According to the Book of Proverbs, the qualities of good leadership are hard work, reliable communication, openness to new ideas, capability of listening to both sides of the story, wise planning and common sense, ability to stand under adversity, standing well under praise, knowing the facts before making decisions, and not penalizing people for good behavior or rewarding evil people. In other words, leadership skills can be used for the great good or great evil. Unfortunately, most of our African leaders have chosen the later.

There are many African leaders who possess leadership personality traits but lack the spiritual character. Many of them have ignored the importance of a spiritual character to effective leadership. Moral and spiritual character takes years to build, and it requires continual attention and patient discipline. Many African leaders think that they are spiritual by merely proclaiming their faith or making appearances at places of worship or being in the company of opportunistic religious leaders.

Intemperate events in Africa have provided its leaders with golden opportunities to exercise their leadership skills. Unfortunately, many of them have chosen to use them against their people’s interests. Even those who have recognized their mistakes have been unwilling to admit them. None of them wants to bear the blame when confronted. It is a wonder that even those who claim to read the Bible have never learned from Judah, Jacob’s fourth son, that, it is not wise to wait until our errors force us to admit wrongdoing. And that it is far much better to openly admit our mistakes, shoulder the blame and seek forgiveness. It is a rarity in Africa for leaders to ever own up to their mistakes, leave alone take the blame and seek forgiveness.

Like King David, many African leaders have abused their positions of authority to get what they want. There is rampant abuse of power in Africa. These leaders are verse to exploiting, manipulating and compromising those under their authority. Africa has many Absaloms: these are leaders who use their charisma as a mask to cover craft, deception, and hunger for power. Underneath their style and charm, these leaders have been unable to make good decisions and handle the affairs of th

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Unexplained Mysteries

Fiifi Anson
A Zimbabwean man has been killed by a pride of lions while having a shower in a safari camp near the Zambezi River, a conservationist group has said.

It happened last Friday afternoon, but details of the attack in the Mana Pools National Park are still emerging.

Johnny Rodrigues of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force blamed a spate of wild animal killings on poaching.

“Usually you hardly hear of anything like this, but these animals are being traumatised,” he told BBC News.

Peter Evershed was on a fishing trip in the remote Mana Pools area with three people, including his brother-in-law, when he was attacked.

Zimbabwean man eaten by lions while having a shower

“These fishing camps don’t have security fences, but that’s why people go there – and you go there at your own risk because it’s a wildlife area and they’re trying to keep it as natural as possible,” Mr Rodrigues said.

Eight villagers were attacked by lions earlier in the year – but 200km to 300km (125 to 185 miles) further down the river, he said.

Last month, a South African tourist was killed by an elephant who attacked him as he approached a houseboat on Lake Kariba.

“There’s been a lot of snaring and shooting of animals in the area so it’s upset the animals,” he said.

‘Hogwash’

He dismissed reports that lions were being lured into camps with meat by tour operators.

When there is no food, people resort to snaring the wildlife”

“You’re going into a wildlife area, you should be aware that it is risky but no hunter or anybody entices lions to come near the camps – that’s a lot of hogwash.”

Zimbabwe’s wildlife has been severely affected by the country’s economic decline over the last decade as people turn to poaching and illegal hunting for food.

“When there is no food, people resort to snaring the wildlife,” Mr Rodrigues said.

The coalition government that came to power 20 months ago with the promise of turning around the economy has not eased the situation, nor has tourism picked up, he said.

“We don’t have the tourists – if we had the tourists it would actually work.”

Source:BBC

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I Escaped a Living Hell

The Paarl teen still has nightmares. Photo: Patrick Louw

This 19-year-old has survived a living hell after her own father was sentenced to 50 years for raping her.

The soft-spoken Paarl woman still has nightmares of her 37-year-old father who was sentenced in the Paarl Regional Court two weeks ago.

She says the attacks began when she was only 13.

Today, she feels victorious although she was not present to see her father being sentenced.

“Ek voel verlig (I feel relieved),” she said.

“I feel that I escaped a living hell.”

Nervously, she recalls how her nightmare began.

“He would lay in the middle and my mother and me on either side on the bed,” she said.

“He would rape me… and my mother would be sleeping but she would never wake up.

“I don’t know if she ever heard anything and why she didn’t say anything if she did… I will never know.”

50 years imprisonment is fair justice. Thumbs up for this teenager for letting the cat out of the bag. This is a recurrent problem in Africa. Young girls are constantly abused by family members, yet, they have to deal with it for the fear of losing their family to the police. In her case, I suppose she endured this nightmare for 6 years for the fear of disrupting her parent’s marriage. The most intriguing part of this story is the fact that the father laid in the middle of mother and daughter, raped this poor girl without her mother noticing.

Do you think her mother was oblivious of this incident?

(source IOZ)

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Akosua Agyepong, The woman known as Ghana’s Janet Jackson

Akosua Agyepong, known as Ghana's Janet Jackson
Akosua Agyepong, known as Ghana's Janet Jackson

  Who is Ghana’s Janet jackson? in skill and in looks? Even a child on the streets at Adum, Kumasi, will tell you its Akosua Agyepong.

Akosua Agyepong was born in Accra. She is a half Ashanti and half Akyem. She started her education at Harrow International School and later attended Holy Child Secondary in Cape Coast.

Akosua started composing songs as a child indicating that, music was an inborn passion for her. She was subsequently discovered by legendary Nana Kwame Ampadu and subsequently came out with her first album ‘Frema’ which was released on January 1, 1990. The ‘Frema’ album had songs like ‘Me ye Obaa’, ‘Born again’, ‘Anan tuo’, ‘San be hwe wo mba’ among others.

Her second album was entitled ‘Esiwa’ had the hit song like ‘Kokokoo’. Her third was with music group NAKOREX which was made up of herself, Nat Brew and Rex Omar. She later turned into doing gospel music.
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Akosua is married to Rev Daniel Asamoah-Larbi. She is a mother of six (can’t believe that!), . She also an entrepreneur and owns a restaurant, ‘Ye Kum Kom’ at Rawlings Park in Accra Central.

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Mugabe hijacks Big Brother craze for political gain

Zimbabwe's big brother loser

 Zimbabwe’s representative in Africa’s Celebrity Big Brother reality TV show landed in second place, but took home a prize bigger than the official jackpot, a date from President Robert Mugabe’s family. Reports from Harare say the Zimbabwean loser was whisked away to State House to meet Mugabe immidiately he landed.

Uti Nwachukwu from Nigeria won the official 200,000-dollar prize from the show. The celebrity Big Brother reality show locks up contestants from around the continent in a house.

Munyaradzi Chidzonga just lost out to Uti received a 300,000-dollar cheque from President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday, $100, 000 more than the winner.

Mugabe, who probably did not watch the show, also declared the voting as ‘not free and fair’. Really?

Zimbabwe teachers and nurses are on strike every other week in Zimbabwe so one wonders whether this is not a misplaced priority.

 

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Early Marriage Problems are not Unique to African

A 10 year old has given birth to become one of the world’s youngest mothers. It is still being decided whether or not to let the girl and her family keep custody of the child.

The young mother and the baby are healthy, however medical experts warn that because the girl is still growing, she was at a higher risk of a number health risks during the pregnancy.

 The baby’s grandmother, who is a Roma gypsy says she can not understand the interest in the case as 10 years old is the average age girls are married in Romania. She identified herself only as Olimpia and appeared to be in her 30s but did not give her age. She doesn’t see any problem with early marraiges

 ‘These things are normal in our country. Girls get married at 10 so we don’t understand why people are so surprise”.

 The father of the 6.4 pound baby is only 13 years old and had remained in Romania, and is described as her daughter’s former boyfriend.

Local authorities are debating whether social services should take charge of the girl and her baby.

 An official with the Spanish Justice Ministry in Madrid said that, under Spanish law, having consensual sex with someone under age 13 is classified as child abuse.

 The world’s youngest mother, Lina Medina from Peru, gave birth at 5 years old, seven months and 21 days in 1939.

Souces (Healthjackal, Huffingtonpost, Ecochildsplay,Yahoo news)
Early marraiges are common in some African societies
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Inspiration: The “?&^#@”(curse) word & and more from sister Temi

Inspiration

Hey Dear,
Today is the 2nd Day of November 2010… Let’s thank God for letting us see yet another month: 11th month of the year 2010. As we celebrate “thanksgiving” this month – may we have a cause to rejoice and be glad each day of this month.Today, I feel we should look at the scripture in the book of Jeremiah 29:11 again. I believe God wants to encourage us with these Words (see 5 translations below) —
God says: For I know the plans I have for you,”. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope (NLT)
God says: I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. (MSG)
God says: For I have known the thoughts that I am thinking towards you — an affirmation of Jehovah; thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give to you posterity and hope (YLT)
God says: I say this because I know what I am planning for you,” says the Lord. “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future. (NCV)
God says: I will bless you with a future filled with hope–a future of success, not of suffering (CEV)
God is telling that He has a plan for us and this plan is to eventually give us a hope and a good future i.e. hope & good future is the final outcome God has in mind with the plan He has for us. God’s plan for us is to give us an expected end i.e. a future that is filled with hope – success, prosperity, blessing, peace etc.
As I meditate on this scripture – the thought that comes to mind is that for God to say that His plans for us is to give us a future and a hope. This means whatever we are going through at the moment is actually part of that great plan God is talking about here. This means – that seemingly difficult situation is actually going to help to bring out this good plan. This means –  all those disappointments are actually part of the process to get us to that expected end. This means – that misfortune is actually part of the blueprint that God has put together for our life. This means – that problem is actually part of the plan of God as He takes us to our destination.
My dear! We have to be encouraged and be full of smiles JJJ — because God’s plan will eventually enfold… this plan will eventually come to pass in our life as we keep on believing God as you wait….
 
Be full of smiles each new day of November.
 
Loving Regards,Temidayo

DOITRIT2DAY!!

Hi Dear Today the 11th day of October 2010… Let’s thank God for 10/10 = 10th month of the year 2010 — Let’s rejoice and be glad in this great day that the Lord has made. Last week we started talking  about a word which people think is a “?&^#@”(curse) word – a curse word because people don’t like to hear the word: WAIT!! No one really likes to wait for anything. We all prefer thing to happen fast. But the Word to us this season is that even after we have P.U.S.H.ed – after we have done everything we ought to do, we might still need to wait. Waiting  is a “?&^#@”(curse) word as a lot of us don’t like to hear it because waiting is far more difficult than working. . . .waiting requires strength. The waiting we are talking about  demands absolute/total surrender of our life to God. This kind of waiting requires us to confess that we are at the end of our own understanding of things.  This kind of waiting requires us to say that we really do not see our way and do not know the way to go. This kind of waiting is the one where we can say: “until God speaks we dare not move”. This is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. It’s a part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be. Hmmm! This kind of waiting can be really difficult so I understand why people don’t like to hear the word “Wait”. But let’s be encouraged today because we have a Father who always comes to the aid of those who wait on HIM as Isaiah said in Chapter 64 verse 4 “For from of old no one has heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who works and shows Himself active on behalf of him who [earnestly] waits for Him” My dear! I believe many of us are waiting on God for that “one thing” – for that specific promise God has made to us – let’s be encouraged knowing that this “?&^#@”(curse) word (WAITING) is part of the plan of God in order for us to get to our destination.   Have a blessed “cursing” (waiting) time!   Loving Regards, Temidayo

Some “moves” may be necessary….

 Today the 6th day of October 2010… Let’s thank God for 10/10 = 10th month of the year 2010 — Let’s rejoice and be glad in this great day that the Lord has made. Yesterday we said just like a pregnant woman is induced into labor i.e. assisted into labor by using some external means so also we might have to seek external assistance as we P.U.S.H in expectation of the delivery of our destiny. And we looked at some kind of ‘spiritual’ induction that we may need to do. Thinking about this, even though we are to walk by faith and not by sight. But in reality, we might also need some ‘physical’ induction. This may require us to go out of our comfort zone. It may require us to do something out of the ordinary.  My dear! The Word to us today is that: We may need to make some ‘moves’ for us to fulfill our destiny. We might need to apply some wisdom. We may need to make some important connections i.e. link up with the right people (“helpers of destiny”). For example, someone believing for a job in a specific field/company may need to connect with someone who works in this field and find out what they did to get their job. Someone believing for a new business may need to research on what (people’s need) and where (location). Someone believing for a new career may need to ask someone in that field the process they went through to get there. Someone believing for a property may need to ask another 1st time buyer who helped them with all the different steps. Someone believing for good health may need to ask people what they do to stay healthy. Someone who’s believing God for a child may need to seek expert advice from a reproductive specialist.  Someone believing God for a spouse may need to make themselves “findable” — make effort to look good,  go out to events, volunteer in their local church etc. Someone believing God for breakthrough in life may be required to relocate i.e. change – town, church, job, friends etc.   As we continue in this new month — may God open our eyes to see and understand the moves and connections we need to make to take us to our destination (Destiny).   Loving Regards,   Temidayo

Fix your eyes…

Hi Dear, Today is the 26th day of October 2010… Let’s thank God for 10/10 = 10th month of the year 2010 — Let’s rejoice and be glad in this great day that the Lord has made. We are still looking at Waiting – the fact that even after we have P.U.S.H.ed i.e. after we have done everything we ought to do — we need still continue to Wait on God. Let’s continue to look at the life of Hannah who had to wait on the Lord for the fulfillment of a promise — 1 Samuel Chap 1 vs. 7 – 8: 7 Year after year it was the same—Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat.  8 “Why are you crying, Hannah?” Elkanah would ask. “Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me—isn’t that better than having ten sons?” (NLT) We saw yesterday that: Year after year Hannah was always downcast as she went with the family for their annual festival. And Elkanah seeing her in this state asked her: why are you crying? Why aren’t you eating? And he goes on to encourage her saying: Am I not more than ten sons to you?” God’s Word of encouragement to us today is similar to what Elkanah said to Hannah in vs. 8. My dear! God is saying today: Don’t you know you have Me? Don’t you know that: I am the “I AM that I AM”? Don’t you realize that I’m greater than all your problems? Don’t you know there is nothing I cannot do? Don’t you know that I am bigger than everything? Don’t you know that I am greater than the greatest – bigger than the biggest – mightier than the mightiest? Don’t you know that I am the One in whom ALL things exist? Don’t you know that I am the One who gives hope to the hopeless – help for the helpless? Don’t you know that I am the One who is able to perfect all that concerns you? So my dear! Why are you worried and concerned about that situation? – why not do as Psalm 42: 5b & 11b says …HOPE in God and WAIT expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my countenance, and my God (AMPL)… FIX my eyes on God soon I’ll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He’s my God (MSG) As you continue in this waiting season –you got to “Fix your eyes on God” – the creator of all things. Hope in God! Keep on waiting expectantly for God!                                                                                                               Have a blessed day!   Kind Regards, Temidayo