Africa, learn to solve your problems!

Charity, they say, begins at home. This is one saying that Africans have to learn to employ today, more than any other day before. History has shown us that no one can come to your aid if you do not try to save yourself.



It is no secret that Africa is such a blessed continent. The untapped mineral deposit of DRC Congo alone for example, is estimated to be worth $24 trillion. This is the total GDP of the United States and almost half of Europe combined. What does this tell us? This clearly shows that Congo is the richest, or rather ought to be, the richest country on the face of the earth…this is not a myth, it is the truth and nothing but the truth! It is an open fact that Africa is becoming the biggest market for various continents; more and more countries from both the east and the West are fighting for a place in the African market. It is also true that Africa remains as the center of morality (positive morality) and the home of religion(s). Such is the story of a continent.



Yet, she is faced with serious dilemmas today. That Africa stands as the center of conflicts and wars is a fact you do not have to be a genius to know. Numerous countries today have internal conflicts and with the climate drastically changing, desertification and hunger seem to be encroaching very fast. The prospects of more wars are high and the life of an ordinary African seems to be at stake. The gap between the poor and the rich is increasing at an increasing rate and the level of morality and religious beliefs seem to be taking the reverse direction. Africa is faced with the dilemma of reconciling the progress in technology and maintaining her rich cultural values. She now has to face the problem of holding onto to her religious beliefs and taking up reason as a tool for progress in this new age. Many natives, young and not so young have been wiped away by the HIV scourge. The streets have become a home for numerous orphans who have to roam up and down in search of leftovers to call food. Africa, the richest continent on the globe, has turned into a den of beggars!



With the growth in technology and improved communication and transport systems, the world has seems to be turning into a global village: a diversified global village. The privacy of individuals is subliming into the demands of the new human community that is now growing from the new developments. The world is becoming small and smaller.



Yet it is a lesson from the previous experiences that without consciousness and unity in herself, her ordeals will never end. Learning from experience ought to be a basic human necessity! There are no greater lessons than the genocide in Rwanda, Darfu and Congo DRC. Over 800,000 people in Rwanda, six million in Eastern Congo and many more in Darfu died without the intervention of the UN or the west…and AU too. The fundamental objectives of AU today do not lie in fighting colonization and apartheid as it used to be in former times but in safeguarding the interests and the lives of not only the member states but more importantly, the citizens of the member states. Some of the objectives of this organization read in part that it will Endeavour ; “To achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and the peoples of Africa; To defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States; To accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the continent; To promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples; To encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; To promote peace, security, and stability on the continent; To promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance; To promote and protect human and peoples' rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other relevant human rights instruments;…”



If these rays of light can be made to penetrate into Mogadishu, a stable government can be established and piracy and other activities of terror will be things of the past. Piracy is only thriving at the coast of Somalia because there are no modalities on how that country can be run. Living in an organized and peaceful society is a basic right of the people. Responsibility for self and others is a fundamental necessity for any person(s). If the people who live in this country (Somalia), cannot be responsible, then it should be the work of the union in seeing to it that they are helped to become responsible, using all peaceful means necessary. If economy is the problem, then the Union ought to ensure that urgent measures are put in place to restore and protect an economy in that part of the world.



Failure in all the above attempts suggests that more and more young boys will be recruited into this trade and the region will continue becoming insecure. Since the Somalia water is necessary for the trade between the world and east Africa, her insecurity will paralyze the economy of other neighbouring countries; especially Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and Eastern Congo. The vision 2030, spelt out by Kenya, will sublime into thin air and their new constitution rendered rather sterile. The prosperity of this part of the world is dependent on the stability of Somalia, both politically, socially and economically.



Africa must learn to solve her problems, this is an urgent necessity!