Voice from Africa

A continent of diverse people co-existing in relative peace with occasional warfare. Each season for a reason. Wars were not fought during the raining seasons as everyone would, as a matter of rationalism go back to the farms. No Lakhdar Brahimi to negotiate a truce or seek a ceasefire. No failed attempt by a Kofi Annan at that time. Africa was traditionally pragmatic; a reasonable diversed whole. As a King no matter how powerful you were, the will of the people once it was a unanimous whole must prevail over you. When African women were so famous; German women had locks on their private parts (around the 16th century) placed there by the men to prevent them from having sexual affinity with other men; barbarism.

Then came the transfer of the able-bodied down to Europe. An exploration and exploitation by the Europeans corroborated by African Kings and Chiefs though the Tarikh and many accounts not excluding Western accounts have proven that many of the slaves were got through raids and kidnappings. These too had African mercenaries anyway. The continent was depopulated and the best account of this can be got from nowhere else than Walter Rodney's 'How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.' Then came colonialism which finally launched Africa into the web of the International Economic Cabal; ably and jealously guided by the IMF and IBRD (World Bank) and guarded by NATO. Some Africans resisted colonialism but those successfully bribed came to protect the mission as in the slave trade.

All these are just background knowledge. The most nauseating and atrociously nauseous in all is that, African Kings and Chiefs were bribed with rums majorly and many demanded that more rums should be brought in exchange for slaves; their own people and blood. The same Africans and the newly created half-baked and half-literate ones also began drinking massively profusely during colonialism. During these two eras, the body exploitation of chastised 'holy skins'; the African women were launched. Rums and prostitution were ubiquitous. Suddenly, colonialism came crashing and power was transfered but 'The Rum Theory' never ended. Leaders became drunk with alcoholic power while followers became immersed and drunk in beer. Go to any little space; the people are drunk with either ethnicity and tribalism, religion, power or beer.

The youths who are meant to rise now at this critical time are more than drunk with all these. They have been co-opted into the system and relegated to the background to always dream backwards; to how their continent was formerly powerful. Almost none dream into the future. Drunk memory in ethnicity and tribalism, power, greed, corruption and beer is now the order. If we refuse to unite now, we will be remembered as a generation with most facts at its disposal but with myopic thoughts. We will be fulfilling the aphorism; children of smart phones but stupid brains and acts.