OPINION: Africa, Wake Up, Shine Your Eyes
Good old days are coming back in America. I watched a 58 seconds of the video clip, “Spare the rod, spoil the child.” The same white folks who introduced a lot of laxity in the discipline of our children; such as “don’t spank a child on her buttock, no frog jump, no kneeling down and raising up your two hands, no yelling or raising up your voice on a child” etc. All of these kinds of punishment are stigmatized by the white folks as corporal punishments and child abuse. They are now rethinking bringing back the old ways of punishing students in their schools. Methinks, they are getting to realize that education, devoid of discipline, is counterproductive. The fundamental reason for academic knowledge is for nation-building, and it will be shattered in hopelessness and despair if there is no discipline. “Education is discipline and discipline is education.”
There are now new laws in many states in the United States, including the State of Illinois, to permanently outlaw the use of cell phones by any student in school. These white folks condemned and trashed what we originally believed were the best ways to discipline our children and introduced their kind of laxity and ways of discipline students in their so-called western education curriculum as the best way. But today, the same white folks are now re-introducing and embracing what they condemned decades ago as not the best of ways to discipline our children.
Even our traditional religions like Ifí Olókun A sòrò d’ayò (god of divinity), Òsun Sèngèsé (the goddess of the sea), Obàtálá/Òrìsà nla (the god of creator), Sàngo (the god of thunder), Ogun (the god of iron) that they have condemned and being considered to be fetishes are what they are now embracing across the world as the best ways to communicate with the God of the whole Universe.
Wake up Africa to see and appreciate the value and originality of your culture, tradition, religion, and custom. Be contented and develop your own spirituality and culture for nation-building. White folks are not better than you. They are stealing and repackaging what you have, to sell back to you for their own abundant gains.
Note: Google as an analogue was developed from the concept of Ifá, there are 256 binaries of Google. Similarly, there are 256 Odù Ifá. Yes, Ifá as a science is the analogue of Google. The white folks stole the idea from the Yorùbá tribe and translated the 256 Odù Ifá into 256 binaries to develop Google. Who owns Google? White folks. Do they call it Ifá again? No! Who makes great profit from the selling of Google to the whole world? White folks! Where are the great profits they are making from Google domiciled? Western world, particularly the United States of America.
Again, Africa wake up and shine!! Shine your eyes!!! We can do far better. GBAM! I cry and pray for Africa as a continent that the Almighty God will touch the hearts of our leaders or have mercy to cause a tsunami to sweep away all of our bad and wicked leaders and give us great leaders that will have a heart of selfless service to humanity.
One of our best fathers of Pan Africanism, Dr. Nelson Mandela of blessed memory said; “If Nigeria as the single most populous black country in the world gets it right, the other countries in Africa will move in the same direction. Nigeria as a country will be the haven of all countries in the world. Suffice it to say, the many knees of neo-colonialists, including China on our necks will not let us breathe. They all understand the fact that the day Nigeria is liberated from the shackles of wicked and Shylock foreign interests, they will be coming to Africa for foreign aids and loans. They killed Basorun Mko Abiola because he asked for well-deserved reparations (slave trade) for the continent of Africa. Did the Jews not get compensated with reparations because of the Holocaust to resettle and rebuild a new nation in the Middle East? Why not Africa as a continent that was for centuries, ruined in both human and mineral resources due to slave trade? Yes, Nigeria must get it right. Amen.
Did the foreign interests not connive with some Africans to kill Mamman Gaddafi for spearheading the unification of Africa’s economy, single currency for all African countries? Yes, he was killed like a chicken for daring to have Africa as a continent taking its rightful place in the comity of nations. Gaddafi, rest in peace, the true son of Africa, and may your blood continue to haunt those that killed you and water the tree of freedom for the continent of Africa. Let us follow the footsteps of Captain Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso to fight to rescue our destinies from the hands of the so-called imperialists, including China, and tell them enough is enough!
Africa as a continent owns approximately 30 percent of the mineral resources in the world. Could you imagine, there are seven continents in the world and Africa already has 1/3 of the world mineral resources, leaving the rest of the six continents to squabble for 70 percent. Africa only has 18.83 percent of the world population. When you calculate the 30 percent of the mineral resources in Africa to the proportion of 18.83 percent of the world population in Africa, Africa remains the most resourceful and abundant continent. Resources such as gold, diamond, oil, copper, natural gas, uranium, among others, are mined in different parts of the continent.
Enough is enough! We do not need foreign aid or “a suffocated high-interest rate of IMF and World Bank loans” and foreign military base to protect our sovereign countries. What we need are great African leaders to control the resources of Africa for the interest of the people of Africa and to be the police of our own borders as sovereign countries. GBAM! Yes, Africa as a continent is in dire need of purposeful and visionary leaders like that of Captain Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. Yes, we need natural leaders indeed! GBAM! Time will tell.
David Adenekan is the Editor of Shekinah International Magazine and a Media Consultant. He is also the Secretary of Afenifere Diaspora. He writes from Chicago, Illinois. Davidadenekan5@gmail.com.
Disclaimer: This article is entirely the opinion of the writer and does not represent the views of The Whistler.
OPINION: Africa, Wake Up, Shine Your Eyes is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
