nelson mandela Archives

August 22, 2015August 22, 2015

Africa and the Current Issues, by Adrian Joe

by Adrian Joe

Africa is a continent in the world map. It is the second largest and the second most populous continent in the world. Africa is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea in the North, the Indian Ocean to the South East and the Atlantic Ocean to the West. The continent is blessed with 54 fully recognized sovereign states which include countries like Namibia, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Eritrea, Madagascar, Algeria and Morocco. The word AFRICA originates from the word AFRI-KA, meaning “a sunny place”. According to Wikipedia, it is believed that Africa, particularly the Eastern Africa is the origin of humans. Africa as a continent suffers a great exploitation from the Europeans. The continent was firstly partitioned by the European powers such as Britain, France, Belgium, Portugal e.t.c at the 1884/85 Berlin conference which subsequently paved way for them to take full occupation of the continent. The European powers established different steps in order to capture the Africans, for instance, France introduced policy of assimilation and association in their various colonies while British introduced indirect rule. Faced by this exploitation, Africans although benefit from the policies these Europeans introduces because it gives African citizens the opportunity to be educated but at the receiving end, the Africans are the major losers in the sense that most of their natural resources were been taken abroad to develop the industries of the European powers.

After a long and terrible experience of colonization and the independence of India in 1947, nationalist movements erupted and they embraced the spirit of independence. This action was also spear-headed by Resolution 1514 adopted by the United Nation which could see the end of colonization. Nationalist like Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, Nelson Mandela of South-Africa and Julius Nyerere of Tanzania exhale and started the crusade of independence. The year 1960s were regarded to be the years of African countries because 17 countries (with Ghana been the first in 1957) got their independence, though political independence in nature, and later that year 16 of them joined the United Nation. Furthermore, since the end of the cold war and the appreciation or practice of capitalism and globalization making up a Unipolar world, African continent has witnessed a great number of turbulent actions ranging from ethnic crisis, terrorism, deadly disease and politically motivated violence against the state. These issues need to be tackled in order to make the continent a peaceful and conducive environment for its citizenry to fully participate in the development of the continent. However, there have been many issues which are not satisfactory or needed to be addressed urgently within the African continent. Africa as of today is regarded as a “backward continent”, not because they can’t think or implement good and reasonable policies that would move the continent forward, but because of problems such as sit tight syndrome, corruption, and lack of technological knowhow put them in this quagmire. Some of the contemporary issues facing the African continent include:

Bad, corrupt and autocratic leadership
Xenophobia in southern Africa
Migration in Northern Africa
Terrorism and Ebola epidemic in West Africa

Let us now examine them one after the other: Continue reading “Africa and the Current Issues, by Adrian Joe”

December 13, 2013

If Nelson Mandela was a Nigerian

By Darasimi Oshodi

If Nelson Mandela was a Nigerian

Was Nelson Mandela a man from our clime? Was he truly African? He definitely did not think or act like an African. He looked like he came from another world. He exhibited characteristics that you would hardly find in an African leader and that is why he is respected the world over. He was a true statesman, a man of integrity, a man of peace, the father of a nation, a bridge builder, a visionary, a selfless personality, a man who knew how to connect with the people he led, a man who lived for the people and who will continually be in the hearts of people the world over.

This post is a tribute to this extraordinary person. It is my own way of showing how much he was different from the rest of us in Africa and particularly, our politicians in Nigeria. The following, therefore, are my thoughts on how he might have acted if he was a Nigerian.

If Nelson Mandela was a Nigerian:

He would have spent more than one term in office as president.
He would have tried (and might have succeeded) to tinker with his country’s constitution to elongate his time in office perpetually.
He would have found a way to get back at a particular ethnic group for the years he spent in incarceration.
He would have set up a sham truth and reconciliation commission.
He would have made himself the life patron of the African National Congress (ANC).
If he eventually left office, his home would be the venue of different political meetings where fates of election candidates would be determined.
He would have installed his crony or a puppet in office as his successor.
He would have spoken against the administration of succeeding presidents.
He would have denied his health condition or the cause of his son’s death (when he died of AIDS in 2005) but instead would have provided various cover-up stories.
His children would have been made ministers.
He would have asked to be flown out of the country for medical treatment.
An expatriate company would have built a palatial mansion for him as a retirement gift.
He would never have retired from public life (that’s actually a strange concept to Africans). He would be seeking relevance by all means. Ironically, the great Madiba was relevant till death and still is even in death. He never sought relevance but he could not be ignored. He was venerated. He was loved. He was celebrated.

Continue reading “If Nelson Mandela was a Nigerian”

August 21, 2013

The Law of Connection: Nelson Mandela’s Example

By Darasimi Oshodi

I saw a movie sometime last year. The movie was released in 2009 but I saw it for the first time last year. The title of the movie is Invictus. The movie is about Nelson Mandela’s handling of post-apartheid South Africa. He is portrayed in the movie as a leader whose major desire for his nation is to see his nation recover from the evil inflicted by apartheid. He preaches and exemplifies the need for forgiveness and reconciliation, and he is keen to keep the nascent nation from being polarised along ethnic/colour lines. The movie is also about the rise of South Africa’s Rugby Team, The Springboks, from obscurity to prominence and this is largely due to the personal efforts of Nelson Mandela. Madiba – as Nelson Mandela is fondly called in South Africa – recently celebrated his 95^th birthday. During his 94^th birthday celebration last year, his influence on sports in his country was brought to the fore.

What had the most profound effect on me in the movie was Nelson Mandela’s remarkable ability to connect with the people around him. He knows them by their first name – this is one laudable attribute of great leaders. At a point in the film, Morgan Freeman, who acted as Nelson Mandela in the film, is seen asking one of his security agents about the agent’s child who is sick. Mandela is portrayed as a thoughtful and caring leader. He is a leader who connects with the people around him. He is touched by the condition of those working with him. I do not know how you see this: a country’s president is not only aware that the child of one of his security aides (security aide not personal secretary or cabinet member!) is sick, he even has the presence of mind to inquire about the child’s condition. This for me is an extraordinary act of leadership. Continue reading “The Law of Connection: Nelson Mandela’s Example”

February 26, 2011December 22, 2012

CREATEing IDEAs for AFRICAn Development

Even though poor leadership is primarily responsible for the slow and epileptic development of the African continent, in my view, another factor responsible for Africa’s marginal position is lack of creativity and idea generation. Economically, African countries are known to be ‘consuming nations’, absorbing products or goods from Asia and the West for local consumption. Products ranging from automobiles, electronics, shoes, beverages and so on are shipped in tons annually to Africa countries. This is the reason the currencies of African nations are at the mercy of their foreign counterparts such as the dollar, the pounds sterling, and the yen. Moreover, developing economies are usually at a disadvantage economically with respect to the balance of trade and payments. Paradoxically, most African countries produce what they do not consume and consume what they do not produce. It is high time Africans and other developing economies learnt to proffer scientific, economic and social solutions to our challenges.

How can you revive the yearning for creativity?

To this end, I would like to share what I feel can spark up a deep yearning for creativity. I would like us to look at what we can learn from the letters in A.F.R.I.C.A, C.R.E.A.T.E and I.D.E.A.

AFRICA: A Land, Full of Resources, Intellectuals, Committers, and Achievers. The African continent is endowed with resources such as oil, gas, minerals; intellectuals such as Kofi Annan, Nelson Mandela, Wole Soyinka; committers as demonstrated recently by the people of Egypt in the ousting of the 30-year dictator Hosni Mubarak ; Achievers such as Barrack Obama, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and so on.

CREATIVITY: Conceive, Reflect, Expound, Articulate Think, In-depth, Visualize, and Establish. Regardless of your particular undertaking, your status in life or age, you must learn to be creative and the way you do this is by conceiving an idea, reflecting on the idea, taking time to expound on the idea, articulate on the idea, think on the idea in-depth, visualize the idea and finally establish the idea.

IDEA: I– in depth Deliberations, Endears and Actions. Ideas have been the basis for many creative writings in the world. Phrases such as ‘Ideas rules the World’ are commonly used by speakers and writers the world over to emphasize the pivotal role of idea generation in the development of an individual and nations.

As stressed earlier, it is important that as a people, we embrace ideas and creativity for the development of our continent. The development of the West and other regions of the world were built on IDEAs and CREATIVITY. A call goes out to African leaders, especially the African Union, to leave up to the expectations of the African people. Around the world, Africans are known to be exceptional people. However, the structures and the enabling environment required for this to thrive at home are hardly in place and this is the reason most African ‘brains’ end up in the Diaspora. The A.U and sub-regional bodies such as ECOWAS, SADC must formulate long-term developmental policies, especially in the areas of science and technology that are necessary for the development of the continent. We can take a clue from what the European Union and the Asian Tigers have been able to achieve in their respective regions. If they can do it, we can also do it with sheer determination and commitment. Similarly, the private sector, the media and NGOs must stand up to play their role. It is our collective responsibility as people to join hands and move the continent to where we would like to see it.

I resent a common school of thought that expects the government to do everything to meet the expectations of the people. It is imperative that we as individuals give serious thought to what we can give back to our nation and continent. Individually, we owe our respective countries our quota towards their development. Developments in the big economies around the world were built on the creativity of their citizens who believed in their countries and invested their ideas and resources in the development of their countries. It is time for all of us to rise up and wholly embrace the concept of IDEAs and CREATIVITY for mutual development. Long live Africa, Long live our Mother Land.
[ad#Adsense-200by200sq] [ad#Adsense-200by200sq]

February 1, 2011February 15, 2011

My African Dream

‘Dream’ is a natural phenomenon of the human species. This natural process which usually occurs when a person is at deep rest or sleep has a ‘dynamic’ way of relating with humans. Dreams could reveal to an individual a course of event in the future, bring a past memory to light, mystically warn of an impending danger, fills one’s subconscious world with imaginations, and sometimes, dreams could be a reflection of one’s hopes, aspirations or desires in life.

For the purpose of this piece, the last role played by this natural phenomenon will be the focal point; that is, a dream’s role as a reflection of human’s hopes and aspirations or desires in life. My African dream is about my hopes, aspirations and desires for the African continent.

Contemporary literary works have undeniably traced civilization to Africa. Egypt has historically and scientifically been confirmed to be the source of human civilization. Down the ages, the African continent lost its amiable glory to colonialism. Undoubtedly, today, the foundation which laid the glory of modern development in the Western hemisphere, was built by Africans and of course people of other races who labored tirelessly for centuries as slaves under servitude.

Ironically, even after centuries of post–slave trade or colonization, most African states are still under the influence of imperialism. Policy formulation and implementation of African nations are subject to national and international treaties and conventions. This is a major reason several nations in Africa today are either economically or politically challenged.

My African Dream examines my hopes, aspirations and desires for the continent under these three parameters: LEADERSHIP, HUMAN RIGHTS and VALUES.

LEADERSHIP– Poor leadership this has been identified by political commentators, the media, academics and individuals as the root cause of Africa’s present position in the global community. Take an analogy of Nigeria, the acclaimed giant of the continent, the sixth-oil producing nation in the world, and an active and leading member of OPEC. Today, an average Nigerian still ‘hunger for water while in the middle of the sea’. Needless to state that the proceeds accrued over the decades from oil have had little or no effect economically on the people.

Leadership in the political arena, especially, has been abused in Africa. An ex-president of an African nation was once quoted in the media as referring to politics as ‘a do or die affair’. That in itself is the driving force or mentality of politicians, especially in Africa. Public office has now become a platform for greedy individuals to enrich themselves to the detriment of the masses. Political office is exploited to abuse and intimidate others and as a lifetime career.

Eschewing the words of Martin Luther King (Jnr.)…

‘I Have a Dream’…………………..

I also have a dream……. ”that Africa will soon experience a revolution that will bring about leaders of national interest, integrity, patriotism, selfless service, amongst other virtues. I dream of an Africa that will produce notable leaders as exemplified by Barrack Obama (an offspring of Kenya), Nelson Mandela (S/Africa), and Obafemi Awolowo (Nigeria).

I dream of an Africa that will prove that blacks are no different to other races in terms of knowledge, potential, abilities, and expertise. I have a dream of African with leadership that is seen as ‘idea and philosophy’ globally, and who believe in service devoid of corruption and abuse of power. An Africa that will take the Comity of Nations by surprise, emerging strong in human and infrastructural developments. Leaders who believe that change is the only constant thing in life which must be wholly embraced. An Africa that will live up to the dreams of her founders.

I HAVE A DREAM……………………

HUMAN RIGHTS– Closely associated with leadership is Human Rights abuses in Africa. This comes in various forms; from sexual harassment and molestation, lack of regard to human life and human dignity. Mostly, during civil wars, as was the case in Darfur (Sudan), African women have been victims of sexual abuse in the hands of those meant to protect them. Similarly, those perpetrating the heinous crime of human trafficking have handed over young women to foreign ‘contactors’ to be sexually abused. Innocent and defenseless civilians have been repeatedly assaulted by law enforcement agents due to money not ‘exchanging hands’, or not showing ‘due regard’ to the agents of the government.

I have a dream…………. ”that Africa especially those vested with power and authority will see their privileged office not as a means to exploit and abuse their fellow, but as a means to serve their motherland and fellow Africans in the spirit of Love and Unity”. I HAVE A DREAM…………………………

VALUES– Most of Africa’s treasured values has been lost in recent times to western culture. Values are simply the embodiment of our principles, standards, mores, cultures and believes, entrenched in all spheres of our lives; from religion, education, family, politics and so forth. Values define an individual or group of people from another as much as color differentiates one race from another today. In Africa, for example, our values are expressed in the way and manner we dress, our multilingual languages and dialects, our diet, our cultures and traditions. However, as noted earlier, most of these are best known to be penned on paper about Africa but not expressed in their best to the world. Reasons for this are not far-fetched: African societies are becoming increasingly westernized. The media have also in recent times promoted more of foreign programs to the detriment of locally produced ones. Especially in this age where information is easily available and abundant, the youth population in African societies is increasingly spending time on websites that expose them to information that may not be helpful to them and actually may turn to be harmful.

I have a dream…………….” that African value system will be restored and upheld with pride by Africans home and abroad. That the values with which we are defined as people will refine us. That with our joint effort as Africans, we can take the continent to the point of global recognition

I HAVE A DREAM…………………………

December 30, 2010January 16, 2011

THE OBAMA IN YOU

As the preliminaries for the 2012 US presidential election approaches and with several presidential elections taking place in Africa next year, it is a worthwhile engagement to examine the first African leader of the United States in relation to the great potentials of Africans in general. For it is still the case that Barack Obama emerging as the President of the United States of America in 2009, remains, to a large extent, a ‘mystery in disguise’ to millions of people – particularly black people in general regardless of our nationality, location, religion, interests or status in life.

Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States of America

An article in the Economist described the Obama phenomenon as ”GLOBAMAISATION’‘. According to the author, Tunde Oseni, ‘‘Globamaisation is both an idea and a process. As an idea, it refers to a set of principles that in a developed and deepened democracy, like the United States, the lines between politics, culture, color, creed and history are happily collapsing. As a process, ‘‘Globamaisation’ is the beginning of a new dawn whereby techno-democratic forces will drive silent revolutions across the globe.’’

An inference from the concept on Obama above clearly indicates that the world is gradually moving towards a position where individuals with potent capacity and will power can actualize their dreams and aspirations in life regardless of race, skin color, language and other relevant factors. Obama, in his book, THE AUDACITY OF HOPE, fervently addresses issues of his life. Despite all the challenges and difficulties he encountered while growing up; Obama believed that the fruit of the years of struggle laid in making his dreams come true. That is the reason why Obama, in a ‘deepened democratic’ system as the U.S, won the prestigious position of Presidency.

That this is a spectacular achievement derived largely from sheer determination need not be mentioned. What needs to be considered is whether the platform that was provided for him can be replicated elsewhere, particularly Africa. The first thing to say is that Obama’s intellectual potential indicates that Africans are as equally gifted as any other race and that humans in general, regardless of race or creed, have incredible reasoning ability. The significant difference between continents, countries and cities, however, contribute in enhancing this attribute. This question of nurture over nature applies deeply in Africa as many factors such as corruption and all elements of avarice negatively impact on people – particularly young children and adults. The depletion of resources through greed and the consequent mountainous struggle to attain a better life, particularly in comparison to what similar struggle can deliver in Western countries; have resulted in many not believing in the African continent or themselves.

My view is that Obama has successfully set the pace for Africans to aspire to positions which decades and centuries ago were never believed to be achieved by Blacks. However, if African governments can eradicate corruption, attempt to invest consistently in world class education systems, infrastructures and healthcare provision, they will reduce the present gap between ‘‘nurture and nature’’ in the development of human capabilities and provide the platform for unborn Africans to compete successfully on the global stage. That is when the Obama in all Africans can be seen in all spheres of life all over the world.
[ad#Adsense-200by90]

November 4, 2010January 24, 2011

Good African Leaders

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

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