Africa Can Learn From China

Does China give Africa hope for the future ?

I must point out that I am writing this piece on my way to Beijing China. The closer I move to Beijing, the more I get fascinated by think tanks that drive China's machine. It is simple; China figured out the strategic importance of writing its own rules of the game as opposed to playing other people's games.

In Africa, especially Sub-Sahara Africa, think tanks, academicians, elites and political leaders all struggle to fit into existing systems that were designed by a few Western nations to meet their own (Western) interests. It is sacrilegious to think of the world without the International Monetary Fund, The World Bank, and the paternalistic Western countries that have for centuries imposed their on values on the continent. It is interesting to observe how China is methodically pushing its own agenda in such a controlled system. China is happy to kick out Google and control its on cyber world; it is pushing to have its own currency, the Yuan, to become a global trading currency. The Chinese are keen to land on the moon and interestingly, they too are on environmental frontline for clean technology.

What can Africa learn from China? The biggest lesson is that, the continent needs Africans. It is difficult, almost impossible, for Africa to tap into its vast natural wealth for the benefit of its people as long as we have citizens cast in a mold that shies away from the continent.For us to learn from the West, China, India and Brazil among others, we must start by being Kenyans by extension Africans.

The current set up is such that, we destroy the “Africanness” in us for something else and then seek to yell about Pan Africanism. At the same time, we have surrendered the responsibility of facilitating the molding of Africans to westerners, and may be soon to the Chinese!

It may still appear far off, to have the presence of Confucius rival that of Christianity and Islam on the continent. What is most definite is that all these frontline philosophies of world powers facilitate the loss of Africa's natural resources under the veil of “virtue.” The African gets converted, looses his/her sense of identity, and willingly hands over the wealth that God gave the continent. In return, the African becomes a beggar on the queue for goodies from nations that would ordinarily be begging for resources from continent.

Let us start at home, drive to have Kenyans, East Africans and Africans. We will never develop this continent if we do not invest in the African person. African countries should push to have their own regional banks that can help cushion member states from shocks. We must urgently evaluate all the tools in use today, be it judiciary, governance, information and communication technology and education among others to tweak them to serve Africa's interests.

It may not be easy to rally African youth to be proud of the continent if we do not offer inspiration and direction that our continent ought to take. Africa has 54 countries, it is not impossible to draw on the common denominator of primary goods production that relegates us to consumers of third hand products to inspire action.

China does offer lessons for Africa, if we take time to study how they are wrestling dominant global systems. The Chinese push for their interests; if we do not learn to push for our own, we will simply find ourselves in a new era. An era that will simply remold westernized Africans into a Chinese Africans. In both cases, Africa still cries for its own baby.

James Shikwati [email protected] is Director, Inter Region Economic Network