My AU Day Message: "The Africa The Black Race Deserve"

From the office of Sir Article, a Pan-African teenager...

Today; May 25, 2016, is an African Union (AU) Day, and it is expected of the black race to celebrate it. However, AU Day appears to have lost its significance in contemporary Africa. Why? The AU has failed to ensure an incredibly transformed Africa over the years as a politically independent continent. And the teeming youths of Africa seem too enervated to resist our self-imposed troubles.

A chunk of these young Africans are somehow ignorant of the unadulterated African story to help them forge ahead with their commitment to develop Africa. No wonder Kofi Annan once opined that, "You need a sense of history to know how to handle the future." Yes, Pan-Africanism, a panacea for the general progress of Africa, needs to be our preoccupation as a united people bound by a common black culture.

Unfortunately, the supposed "dark continent" has been plagued with a myriad of common problems which are actually avoidable and solvable. My goodness, why should poverty, ignorance, conflicts, diseases, and the like, be seemingly insurmountable? Oh are we so dumb to find lasting remedy for these old problems? Well, "Africa's inability to identify its developmental problem and design an appropriate development programme is the reason for the poverty that has engulfed the continent" (Asare-Bediako and Asare-Bediako, 2007). Above all, black folks have a disgusting attitude of always lamenting our sickening challenges without applying problem-solving techniques to fix them. That is why our dear continent continues to lag behind the rest of the world in global progression.

In fact, the fortunate continent of Africa, the true pride of planet earth, cannot afford to be stuck in stasis even in the midst of a plethora of economic opportunities. Freedom: economic freedom, not political freedom, is Africa's greatest need. This is the Africa the black race deserve! A continent which will be flowing with milk and honey in everyday African life. A continent where poverty, ignorance, conflicts, diseases etc. will be brought to the barest minimum. A continent where its people will enjoy the fullness of prosperity in peace. A continent where many young African champions will be making a huge impact on the global stage in diverse ways. A continent which will be regarded as a world power anywhere on planet earth.

So how can we do it? First off, "As Africans, we need to share a common recognition that all of us stand to lose if we fail to transform our continent," as Thabo Mbeki, former South African President, warned. Africa is for Africans - at home and abroad, as Marcus Garvey declared. Indeed, Malcom X did not mince words when he uttered that, "Help Africa in its struggle to free itself from Western domination. No matter where the black man is, he will never be respected until Africa is a world power." Therefore, African youths in every nook and cranny need to empower themselves and build their capacity to innovatively pursue a variety of change oriented initiatives. Forget bad African leadership; let's wise up and solve our own problems with all priceless wisdom.

God bless mother Africa...
Source: sirarticle.blogspot.com