Confronting the cages that shackle Africa
It begins with climbing them
“Do you want to change this world? Then climb your cage until you are so high no one can catch you. Break its bars and make them your weapons. Nothing is sharper. You cannot accomplish anything in this world without power.”
That’s an excerpt from my weekend read—The Serpent and the Wing of Night by Broadbent Carissa.
It got me thinking about all the cages that have shackled Africa and turned the continent into an aid-dependent and poverty-stricken afterthought.
Africans are subject to politician-induced cages made up of unfavorable policies. Politicians in the continent often forget that the most valuable resource for economic growth is the people.
They hamstring their citizens at every juncture by refusing to implement favorable policies that would allow Africans to lift themselves out of poverty. It is not because they cannot do it. No. They do not want to relinquish the power of desperate and dependent citizens.
Africans are manacled by self-limiting cages caused by an internalized inferiority complex. A complex that has convinced a lot of Africans that there is a ceiling beyond which they are not supposed to break.
The continent is bound by the cages of colonialism, whose legacy is still evident today. A legacy that has seen the continent trade more with former colonial masters than with each other. A legacy that has relegated Africa to a producer of raw materials and never a manufacturer of complex goods that generate more revenue.
Cages of scarce opportunities chain Africans because of the lack of an enabling environment. A lot of Africans are forced to endure an environment that does not nurture the talent and ideas of those who would be this continent’s saviors.
Who can forget the now-immortalized quote by PLO Lumumba?
To top it all off, Africa endures exploitation cages from a world that has always thrived on exploiting Africa. Sure, African countries can increase trade among themselves. They can even implement Pan-African policies, but if they dare to stop using the dollar, oh well, that is a no-go zone.
One can go on forever. The cages are never-ending—cages caused by poverty, climate change, and inadequate access to education and resources.
Do you know the most exciting thing about a cage, though? There is always a way out.
So, dear African, climb your cage. Climb until you are so high no one can catch you. Break its bars and make them your weapons. Nothing is sharper!
We will attempt to do the same and maybe then, the continent will fulfill its fullest potential.
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Good article -Thought provoking