For a good number of years now, a lot of money has been pumped into Africa but despite the billions of dollars and thousands of aid workers, the situation in Africa has gotten worse than ever before. The level of poverty has reached its highest peak. African leaders too, have their way of siphoning billions and in turn, stash this money in foreign banks.
You cannot pop your nose into Russia-Ukraine’s affairs unless you have solved corruption and massive poverty in Africa. For Russia, they have got only one last chance, to let go of Ukraine and they face the devastating consequence of it all or they have them regret their decision to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Russia has already dragged poverty against the shattered glasses and Ukraine has the same story, but the two countries had a battle they have been secretly fighting. And there are forces adding fuel to the fire and they keep telling the warring parties to put out the fire. The African continent standing on the skulls of their people just watching the match with ecstasy. Don’t forget that Africa has been in a senseless war, and it is not that, the war against poverty and corruption has always been unsuccessful.
Of course, we can blame the corrupt African government, but we cannot close our eyes to the failure of rich countries to direct its aid to the people on the ground who need it. The West has been very generous, but it will do a much better job if they give better opportunities instead of patronizing the African people.
On the other hand, the African people believe that the solution to African problems would be from the news political leaders. In fact, the biggest problem of Africans is this illusionary belief that they could change their countries by voting a different person into power.
It is this belief that all problems of a country start and stop with the President. That if you could just have the right man in power, then all of a sudden, Africa would transform. This is what they call chasing the wind, imagining some kind of better world. Unfortunately, such places are never realized in life.
The actual problem of Africa is not the presidents or political leaders. Where do these presidents come from? From within. The problem of Africa, the problem of South Sudan is its citizens, their shared values and poor mentalities. The day Africans wake up and stop looking for an external enemy and realize that they themselves are Africa’s problem is the day we shall get closer to finding an African solution.
We decry the corruption in the country, yet we bribe to get better paying jobs. What about the killing, whoever gives you a gun to kill and the one who pulls the trigger are the same. I now suspect that our anger, our rants, our grievances about the system are all because this system is a daily reminder of our own incompetence, our own weaknesses as a people. What this government has done is hold a mirror up to African society and we are not happy about our own reflection.
There is something deeply wrong with Africa and how societies are constructed. Africans promise so much and deliver so little. Our shared beliefs, mindsets and values have been constructed in such a way that regardless of the president in power, we shall always produce substandard results. It is no wonder that all over Africa, we complain of the same problems. Littered cities, corruption, failed government institutions, name it all. You could fly from South to Burundi and not notice a difference. Because it is not a problem for presidents. It is a problem for African citizens. But they are too scared of self-criticism; they have dabbled in escapism and found scapegoats in their leaders.
The leaders too don’t care no matter how bad you talk against them. They can even eliminate you by all means if you choose to be a mosquito in their nets. The African leaders have got a business that is very flourishing. It is a business of robbing the poor to become rich. It is now true that the rich are rich because there are people who are poor. This business has bled Africa dry.