Development in Africa – Is it nearly non-existent

Africa as a name was assigned to this great continent. A continent that shelters and barricades the strongest ever known race in history.

The name Africa according to some researchers may have been a derivation from the Greek word “aphrike” meaning land free from cold and horror( which vaguely translates to Utopia).

To Others, it is a variation of the Roman word “aprica” meaning sunny, or the Phoenician word “afar” which directly translates to dust.

Combining the three, we realize that Africa, true to the definitions is a sunny dusty land free from cold and horror. Or at least that is what it used to be, the embodiment of Utopia.

For Africans living abroad, nothing is as antagonizing and demeaning than the constant negativities usually associated with Africa.

Africa, which is the second-largest and second-most-populous continent on the globe, sadly is lagging at civilization.

One is usually tempted to wander why civilization in Africa is invicible yet some of the most ancient civilizations sprung up in the borderline of our mother Africa?

Why is Africa in the 3^rd world? Why didn’t Africa colonize Europe? Can it be that Europe is better than Africa?

But again Africa could have not been in a position to colonize Europe.

Africa the cradle of mankind and a land that is laden with minerals both organic and inorganic which are and were quite critical in development right from the first to the fourth industrial revolution.

The novel Heart of Darkness by Conrad Joseph a Polish- English novelist depicts the attitude most whites have towards Africans or rather people of color.

“Who here comes from a savage race?” Professor Shapiro shouts at his students before making fun at Africa.

The lousy attitude they have for us is what we sometimes translate to racism and direct all our focus on who said what.

We as Africans need to get back to our drawing board and trace our treads. We also should accept and as they say move on.

The lousy attitude may be there to stay irrespective of whether we take to the streets or not.

The answer to whether Africa can be developed is not in black and white as it seems.( Pun intended)

I long for the day we would open our pineal glands wide and see beyond our proboscides that some or rather most of the challenges we undergo are our shortcomings.

The day we would realize that the rampant and sporadic political upheavals have since time immemorial cost us advancement.

I long for the day we would like a plague flee from the sentiment that politics is for the aristocrats.

Buy Africa, build Africa and revive Africa should be our slogan henceforth.

Rich Africans should believe in our mother continent and invest in her for sustainability.

In stead most if not all opt investing in the developed countries this Africa’s capital is not ploughed back in the economy.

Africa is where most ancient civilizations sprout from but we need to identify where the tables were overturned and we unfortunately threw in the towel.

Ancient Egyptian civilization saw the invention of The pyramids, The Great Sphinx, the hieroglyphics , Algebra… If our ancestors could wake up and see where we’re they would be greatly disappointed in us.

A study that was conducted proved that of all the races in the world, Africans were the best in yielding and throwing in the towel.

It was also discovered that they were easily pleased and best their chests after little accomplishment. That sounds like typical Africans.

It is therefore the duty of all of us as people of the black race to individually get over the cocoon of comfort we weaved for ourselves and like fully formed larva break free and metamorphosed into beautiful butterflies.

To pen off, development in Africa will take a long time to be realized but with a determined attitude, all mountains will be leveled, and though we may not reach where the developed countries are we’ll not be in the same situation.