“…We must end this modern slavery by any means necessary. The only way we can break from this cycle is to rise as United Africa…” says Tibebe.
Tibebe Samuel Ferenji
Follow him on Twitter : @tibebesamuel
Our forefathers believed in the strength of unity; their lives were community-oriented. They elected their own leaders democratically and leaders were respected enormously. There was no coup d’etat and assassinating leaders to grab power. Africans know how to democratically elect their leaders; we don’t need any lecture from the West about democracy. Our fathers practiced democracy before, the now powerful nations, were even a country. In fact, it is the west that needs to learn about the value of democracy because the West is practicing hypocrisy, not democracy. The power of people’s voices is now replaced with corporate money and corruption. You have to be either rich or surrounded by rich to hold any office in the so-called “democratic West”. The people no longer have a voice; the elected officials no longer serve the interest of the people. They serve the interests of special interests and powerful corporations. A government for the people, by the people, to the people no longer applies. The American democratic experiment has failed long ago. Therefore, it is laughable when an attempt was made to lecture 77 countries about democracy in the recent “democratic Forum” organized by the United States.
In the past, it was in the name of Christianity and modernization that Africans’ way of life was altered. The division among various ethnic groups was fomented by the Western countries in order to create conflict and weaken Africa. The old peaceful order was replaced by a violent and greedy new order. Our community-oriented leadership turned into self-serving brutal and greedy leadership. The poison pill planted in Africa has been the source of misery and hopelessness for millions. The West created this misery and this hopelessness; yet, the western media has the audacity to call Africa “a hopeless continent”. Our hope and fate failed at the hands of greedy westerners. The west wants our resources; they act as if they care about Africa, but they don’t. They send their so-called aid agencies to spy and recruit weak Africans who become subservient of the West.
Now it is in the name of democracy that the West puts its stooges in power. African leaders who dare to stand for the interest of Africa are painted with a dark color and labeled as brutal dictators and removed from power, assassinated or detained with the deliberate and meticulous planning by the western countries’ intelligence agencies. Yesterday leaders like Patrick Lumumba and Thomas Sankara were assassinated because they dared to care about Africans. Unless you are a puppet of the West, it is hard to survive as a leader of an African country. If you think the West cares about democracy, ask Egypt’s Mohamed Morsi, Hamas, or Venezuela. Mohammed Morsi was elected by the Egyptians in a free and fair election; the west did not approve of his election; therefore, he was deposed by a western puppet. The west did not condemn the coup d’état because the person that replaced Morsi is subservient to the west. In 2006, when Hamas won a huge victory in Palestine, the west was upset. The west stopped all aid to Hamas-controlled Palestine and imposed sanctions. In Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro was elected in a fair and free election. However, because he refused to bend over for the will of the US, the US made an enormous effort to undermine Maduro’s administration. According to Nacla media, in August 2017, the US was contemplating using its military force to topple Maduro from power by claiming he is “a brutal dictator is starving the population and quashing all opposition.” Where did we hear such allegations before? The US and other western powers use such narratives to intervene in the internal affairs of other countries for a regime change and put their own puppets in positions of power.
According to the Washington Post December 23, 2016 report, the U.S. tried to change other countries’ governments 72 times between 1947 and 1989. These reports are compiled from unclassified documents of the aforementioned years. Obviously, the current numbers are much higher than 72. Even by this count, it is staggering for a country that called itself democratic and a country that is supposed to stand for due process of law. During the Cold War, the US in particular, and the West in general, justified their actions with the guise of countering the Soviet’s influence. Now, they are singing a different tune and designed their policy with the guise of countering “China’s influence in Africa”. Although the United States and its western allies are acting in the name of spreading democracy, the fact indicates democracy is a mask used to promote and protect the economic and political interests of the United States and its allies.
Africa has been a primary target of neo-colonialism since the 1960s because the west lost control of Africa after colonialism was defeated. The West still needed Africa’s resources; thus, it put corrupt leaders in positions of power and created a perception that African nations are led by Africans when in fact the so-called African leaders have been serving the interest of the west. According to World Atlas “Africa has the richest concentration of natural resources such as oil, copper, diamonds, bauxite, lithium, gold, hardwood forests, and tropical fruits. It is estimated that 30% of the earth’s mineral resources are found in the African continent. Additionally, Africa has the world’s biggest precious metal reserves on earth. Despite the wealth of natural resources, Africa still lags behind in development due to corruption and resource mismanagement.” If Africa has the richest resources in the world, why do we have the poorest people in the world? The answer is simple and complicated at the same time. The simplest answer is the west wants Africa poor and barefooted. If Africa becomes a master of its own fate, it would be the West that will bend over for the will of Africa. Fortunately for the west, there are enough useful idiots in Africa who chose to profit from the misery of their own people. Africans have suffered a great deal for decades because we handed our fate to the Westerners whose intention is to keep us poor and poverty-ridden. Most of our elites who are “educated” by the west are trained propagandists who echo the “value of the west” instead of developing African values and designing an African-based solution for Africa’s problems.
We must end this modern slavery by any means necessary. The only way we can break from this cycle is to rise as United Africans. Our elites must work towards strengthening African Unity and find a way to break the shackle that the West has imposed on Africa. We must unite Africans to establish African aid organizations and get rid of all Western-based aid agencies from Africa. We must develop the necessary methods to process our own raw materials into finished products and put it in the market instead of selling our raw material for $1 and buying it back for $100 as a finished product. We need to help AU grow a backbone to stand for African interest instead of being a do-nothing organization. We need to help the AU demand for Africa to have a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to have a “veto power”. Africa’s 1.3 billion people have no representation in UNSC.
One of the institutions used to serve the interest of the powerful dehumanized Africans is the United Nations and its various agencies. WFP and WHO are not in Africa to help; they are there to make sure Africa continues to live in poverty and disease-ridden nations. They are there to make sure Africa continues to be nations of beggars. Africans must begin to think out of the box and find a solution to get Africa out of the quagmire it is in. African intellectuals need self-examinations and self-examination. They must take the initiative to educate Africans to stand for the unity of Africa and unite African leaders to stand for the interest of Africa.
The first and quickest step is for Africans to demand Africa to have a permanent voice in the United Nations. Africans must speak collectively when any country in Africa becomes a target of the West. As Africans, our fate is intertwined and inseparable. What happens in any one country today will happen to another country tomorrow. Thus, we must say No more and stand United. The west has not just robbed our natural resources, it has dehumanized and belittled us using its media outlets. It wasn’t just the Economist magazine that called Africa a “hopeless continent”, but the president of the United States called Africa “shithole” nations. But we tolerated such ignorance as if nothing happened. If these people can utter such ugliness in public, what do you think they are saying in their board rooms? These ingrates use our resources to get rich off of us by depicting Africa and Africans as less-humans.
We can’t just blame the West for all ills Africa suffered and continues to suffer. Our division opened the door and our selfish interest allowed for the West to have a foothold in our continent. Corrupt African leaders must no longer tolerate. This generation of Africans must work with those who yearn for justice and freedom in every continent to break the cycle of violence and poverty in Africa. Only if we are united, only if we act collectively, can we defeat neo-colonialism and break the West’s foothold in Africa. African intellectuals must play a leading role and should work on a road map to make Africa a truly independent continent that could use its potential to lift its people from poverty. Africans should no longer suffer and live in misery by following the dark caves that the West dug to bury them in deep poverty. We must unite and say no more. We are serving the interest of the west when we are divided, we are prolonging the suffering of our people when we are divided, our legacy will be poverty and violence when we are divided; the West prey on us when we are divided. Only if we are united, can we be a force capable of defending the interest of Africa. Only when we are United, can we bring the best solution for Africa.
Young leaders like Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia are leading the way to pave the road for a united Africa. The question is who will follow? Africa’s prosperity can only take place when Africans take the bull by its horn and say No more to division, violence, poverty, corruption, and neo-colonialism. Let me conclude this piece with an African proverb “Our ancestors were community-oriented and believed in the power of “all over one”.” This proverb holds true in almost every aspect of life. This proverb is appropriate when Ethiopia, the beacon of hope and symbol of freedom for Africa is being challenged and threatened by Western powers. This challenge may be directed to Ethiopia; however, we must understand it is the entire African continent that is tested. What Africa does in support of Ethiopia will determine the fate of Africa. Are Africans going to stand with Ethiopia and lead the way towards an independent Africa or succumb to the will of the west and live in servitude and shame? That is the question we have to face. We must understand that there is strength in unity. Let Africans say no more in one voice and free Africa from its masters. It is time for African intellectuals to lead Africa out of misery. Please, don’t sleep on the wheel.
May God bless Ethiopia and the rest of Africa!
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Yes Africa is and should be the only solution for Africa. Colonizers are still colonizing many Africa countries in various economical ways. Those who exploit Africa are not expected to be the solution but the problem.
Even the UN is the main body that is unfair and exploitive tool for Africa and many small countries around the world.
If European’s want to interfere in African affairs then let Africans have as say in the UN on European countries that are abusing Africans and Arab refugees, discriminations and exploitations.
France and Britain must stop internal affair interference and post colonial bleeding economical exploitations from many African counties.