IS AFRICA CURSED

                                                               IS AFRICA CURSED

Africa is the second largest continent on earth – second only to Asia. Her land mass cover 30,212,000 square kilometers, which is 22.3% of the world’s total land area.

Africa is the world’s richest continent in terms of natural resources. It has been said that Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe have the potential to feed the entire continent.

Africa is the home of some of the greatest rivers in the world. The Nile, which is the longest river in the world and several others. Many African nations are leading suppliers of particular minerals to worlds markets. The D.R. Congo contains 90% of the world’s cobalt, and 85% of its platinum. Sierra Leone has the world’s largest supply of titanium. Africa mines produce most of the world’s diamonds, half of the world’s gold and a fifth of the world’s copper. The largest repository of columbites and tantalite, used in the manufacture of circuit boards for such modern electronics pagers, cellular telephones and laptop computers are found in the D.R. Congo. Similarly, the Congo has the largest supply of radium used in the treatment of cancer.

Africa has 40% of the world’s hydro electric potential and is home of 7% of the world’s proven oil reserves – more than north America, Europe and the Asia-pacific region combined. Libya, Nigeria and Angola are among the top ten oil producers.

Despite her vast material wealth and human potential, Africa is the most materially impoverished continent on earth. Her people are among the destitute. A child   born to African parents on African soil has a greater likelihood of dying before his or her fifth birthday than a child elsewhere in the world. African children are less well-nourished, poorer, and less literate and have a greater possibility of contracting AIDS than children elsewhere in the world.

So the question is; what is happening to Africa? What has made Africa impoverished the more? Or is Africa really cursed?

All too often, African leaders have failed to squarely face the facts of Africa’s brokenness. Many people are of the view that this results is in reflective of rampant tribalism, inadequate foreign aid, corruption, poverty, bad leadership, and other excuses. But then, what are the root causes of these aforementioned problems.  The way you define a problem is critical because it determines how you are about solving that problem. Those who see Africa as poor are blind to her vast riches and abundant blessings. Those who see the problem of Africa Primarily as lack of material resources seek to transfer resources from the west to the problem. But neither outside money nor technical knowhow will solve the problems of the continent. Recent history more than proves this to be true. To those who locate the root of Africa’s problems in such things as the problems listed above, the responds is this: these are indeed serious problems, but you have not gone deep enough in your assessments. What you are describing are symptoms, not root causes. The root causes are not material nor is it primarily located outside the continent. The root causes of the problems are in the minds of the people in the continent. Their worldviews.

Worldview is the total set of beliefs or assumptions that comprise the mindset of an individual and determine how they view reality. African worldviews are associated with some false beliefs with spiritism and ancestors-worship throughout the rest of the continent. These pillars of Spiritism have formed a worldview category known as Animism (false worldview which is the distortion of the truth). This has made Africans believe in some SERIOUS LIES. Some of these lies include;

WOMEN ARE INFERIOR TO MEN. Women have been let down completely in African societies. They are not respected and treated well. They are only seen as sex objects, people of the kitchen and house wives. But it is clearly understood in respect to research conducted that, wherever women have been let down poverty reigns. Surely, most Africans hold wrong perspectives as far as creation of man is concerned. Some even believe women were not created, but rather were merely made after man has been created. To illustrate for instance, in some parts of Egypt, women are seen as properties. Their husbands do whatever at all they like to them. They Maltreat, cheat, bully and persecute them. Also in Uganda, is where the best way to express your love to your wife is by beating her. Some men beat their wives mercilessly and even sometimes the women beg their husbands to beat them. This is a big lie in African culture. Women are made in the image of God and have equal worth with men. While the roles of men and women differ, their value before God is the same. We need to respect our women and also empower them to rise to the call of leadership.

FATALISM is also one of the lies in African traditions. Fatality is where people think they cannot do anything. What they say is “we are poor and there is nothing we can do about it. History is something that happens to us”. This leads to a “dependency” mentality that is outward looking to solve our problems. We don’t struggle or work hard to earn, always expecting someone to provide. This has also sunk into the mentality of our leaders. They have no absolute believe that something better can be made within our nations. So they don’t sit to employ strategies as to how best we can fully utilize our resources and materials. They only travel day-in-day-out with their baskets to the developed countries begging for money. What is happening? Because of this same fatalistic mindset, people who are eager to do something to help the nation develop, spirits are killed. Simply because we always throw cold water on them and top it up by assuring them double that they cannot do anything. Created in the image of God also mean creativity. We were made to create history, not history as something to happen to us. God created human with freedom and responsibility. Yes, we can do it. We have all that it takes to develop so let’s all of us be wide awake.

FALSE RELIGIOUSITY is also a hindrance and a lie. Most African people behave as if they are second to Christ. They sing and dance in churches as people from heaven and they always claim to be Christians. But within them are full of evil. They hate one another. They are corrupted, wicked and misers. They are always found praying in tongues, prophesying and performing deliverances. Indeed these people are always found praying instead of sometimes being in their workplace working. They exhaust their time throughout the day at church killing, booting and binding Satan. Is this possible, and if it so, then this Satan and witches should have been done by now and that our nation should be free if like under the manipulations of witchcrafts as they believe.  These people apportion every single problem in their life to Satan, even simple financial mismanagement which leads their businesses to collapse; they believe it was caused by Satan. As said in Matthew 9:20, “that by their fruit you shall recognize them.

Also in churches, people are told to be the head but not the tail; meanwhile they are not trained to live as to how to become heads. People always want to jump into success without climbing the ladder of hard work, reap without sowing and by faith they are asked to receive blessings while they are full of evil. All these are lies wrestling against the growth of Africa.

COLONIAL MENTALITY; in Africa People believe white people are better than blacks and all what they think is that “once you are a black man, America is heaven. They also think once you are black, nothing better can you do to surpass a white man. But it’s not true. You see, God has disposed potentials within the spirit-man of everybody on this earth and that he who works hard will successfully exhibits his. Most Africans lack knowledge as to how to exhibit their potentials and even in most cases, how to identify it.  Instead of setting institutions or strengthening them if any available to cater for such menace, we conclude undervaluing our gentle nature. Most Africans belittle themselves to white people, even including our leaders. Let’s observe this critically, under normally circumstance, in a country the president needs to attend to only presidents or highly executive personalities from different countries as foreigners, ministers and others also should attend to their equivalent class. This should only be contradicted with an exclusive permission.  But then, what is happening in Africa today.  Even a renowned footballer from say Brazil who intends to visit Ghana shall be received by the president. Why? So can we also say face all walls of the fact that Michael Essien, being a renowned player in Ghana having travelled to America shall be received by the president? Surely, not even a minister.  This attitude of us has encouraged the white people to write a different (negative) story about us. Seeing us as nothing to write home about and wanting always to take an advantage and cheat us. There is only one difference between a black man and a white man and that is the body complexion. My brothers and sisters in Africa, in times of doubt and worry as to why we are down, let’s just comfort our heart with the fact that a black African man (Barrack Obama) reigns over the Americans now. This means that our hopes are not mute and even if they are with hard work and determination we can tune them up.  THERE IS HOPE FOR AFRICA.

What Africa needs above all else is neither money nor outside resources – or even new technologies and technical knowhow. What is desperately needed is for the root problems to be addressed. The Animistic assumptions discussed above need to be replaced by a worldview that comport with reality as God has made it – a worldview where truth, beauty and justice penetrates the very fabric of society. When this happens, Africa will be transformed.

 Notes written and compiled by: Richmond Mensah (Richie. you)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Richie_you99@yahoo.com (+2332462