Africa Left Behind: Goals Kill Countries & Children Future

Infanticide maybe in the past, political expediency achieves the same goal when the weakest members of our communities are not provided for, to grow and nourish future generations. Our children are left to die in the deserts and seas, like in junk yards. It takes village to raise children cherished everywhere, regardless of political parties. Otherwise capitalist or socialist countries would not provide centralized aid to nurture young brains, create jobs, education or healthcare.

If Africa was crawling on its own since Independence, it could have learned how to walk by now without dangling foreign aid to discourage indigenous survival skills and take it away to punish Umoja in Tanzania or Zimbabwe. African political parties are unique in formations or ideologies. It suffices to note that it was bastardized for years after the fight for independence to political economy; lately hijacked by ethnocentric leaders modeling us after Rome was not built in a day.

Countries that failed to survive on its own remain stuck in reverse. Debate in capitalist countries is when to reduced subsidies on agriculture, health and education; if ever. Chicken in every pot promise in America did not come as cheap as it is today. Yet, African capitalists are miseducated. Some understanding of the morphological aspect may lead to reasons cunning politicians find it more convenient to invade established parties, kill or take them over to gain power to Treasury.

Greed is real, love or hate it. Ideologies matter less; economic survival not foreign fair trade has overshadowed our inspirations for survival of the fittest. We had some established parties after Independence, most transformed from revolutionary parties to reactionary parties, guerrilla parties, heavy-weight parties, you-chop-I-chop parties and neo-colonialism parties.

When was the last time we elected a party based on its goals? Call it what you want: African political dexterity, treachery or chicanery. The results have not been favorable to our masses. In their pursuit of political into economic power for a few individuals, Africans have been left behind. We could not have predicted that Jomo Kenyatta, the leader of Mau Mau Party could become leader of a capitalist Country like Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana or South Africa in our lifetime.

The scenario is a little different in Nigeria and Ghana. One person that did not stand out in Nigeria was Herbert Macaulay. His boys, Awolowo and Azikiwe overshadowed his pioneering effort as one of the foremost leader of youth political movement that turned into parties of Independence. Nkrumah stood out because riot of 1948 changed Ghana. But today we can't distinguish which parties actually exploit Nkrumah's ideas or principles after 1965 election.

Joshua Nkomo was the well-known leader in Zimbabwe that most of us thought was going to be Prime Minister. We were wrong because there was another leader that was the “bush guerrilla” fighter little known to the outside world by the name of Robert Mugabe. The rest is history. We have seen this lesson not only in East Africa, but in South and West Africa. Many people today only remember the subdued Nelson Mandela while acknowledging Walter Mbeki, Thabo Sisulu.

Sir Ahmadu Bello did something different in Northern Nigeria. He was stunned by the result of an election as his Party was beaten by Peoples Redemption Party underestimated community worker like Barrack Obama of today or “bush guerrilla” fighter of Robert Mugabe. In 1951 a diminutive leader by the name of Amino Kano coalition surprised Sir Bello. It was only until he could form NPC. Members of NEPU crossed carpet into NPC to form the Northern Government.

Aminu Kano, is not probable in Africa! Like our Aminu of those days, Obama not only surprised the Democratic machine, he wrestled the Republican Party to the ground twice, and he will never be forgiven. Please note, new African politics are goalless. Looking for parallel outside, it was amazing how David Cameron became Prime Minister in Britain with the help of Liberal Party. A masterful stroke we predicted that Liberal Party would be worse for it, as in Nigeria.

NPP was formed by Waziri Ibrahim in 1978 but was taken over after disagreement by old NCNC chiefs Adeniran Ogunsanya, Akinfosile, Solomon Lar and Paul Unongo: invited retired wary Zik to lead them. History is repeating itself: APC and PDP have been taken over, for better or worse.

We have to ask ourselves if either communist or capitalist principle has delivered to our people and if we do not know where we are going, at least we know where we were coming from. There must be some good in African Continent that produced the ancient Zimbabwe, Ghana, Mali and Songhai form of governments. We must be careful not to get tied up with the glory of the past but to see what was working for us then and what is working against our interest now.

Africa still look at Nigerian politics wondering if they are going to get their act together, emerge from political tumults and move Africa along to self economic determination. We must wonder what our children would read in history about Nigeria today if it would be similar to what we read about our African great grandfathers selling gold for mirrors. We're too consumed by now.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) were transformed into new organs already by those that invade as parasites, other parties started with high principles. It is still difficult to predict how these parties would turn out. Those in control of PDP today are not the founders and the controllers of APC rose from the ashes of devoured founders of AD. Nigerians are known to invade parties and turn them into their own wishes: short term goals.

Who is going to invade Labor Party and neutralize it for the masses to deliver us from vultures? Africans have a great deal to learn from one another. While we see ourselves differently, others can hardly tell a difference, even when they want to exploit our economic weakness. We are so similar and predictable. Not one country has a commodity taken from raw material to finished product developed together or individually that we can sell or fairly trade in world market.

Talking about goals: not even sugarcane that can grow anywhere at any time throughout Africa! We envy Brazil as the major producer of sugar. In 1929 Aba women rioted over unfair trade and taxation. When Nkrumah tried to form cocoa cartel producing countries, he failed by sabotage. The same cartel was formed years later by Arab oil producing countries. Since Nkrumah days, how many economic thinkers has Africa produced that got close to being a national President.

As we watch PDP and APC in Nigeria, all we see are a bunch of opportunists that have risen from the ashes of their victims. They have abandoned or killed the parties that brought them from the shadows of ignoble to the richest men by virtue of being in politics. Ask them where they got their money from, they all claim businesses that have never benefited anyone in their Country but their cronies.