The Dream Each African Should Dream
When I look at Africa today, deep within my heart I just say, No. This is not it. This not all we can accomplish as Africans. I believe we can do much more than this and I believe we can build a better Africa. We can overcome our history and create a new destiny for Africa.
Looking back in history and seeing what Africa has gone through - the slavery, colonization, wars and epidemics - it’s understandable why Africa is struggling now, but we cannot allow this part of history to define who we will be in the future. It is hard for me to believe that in spite of attributes such as soil rich in natural resources or a significant number of universities throughout the continent, the level of innovation in Africa remains low. Why is it that many African countries cannot even satisfy their annual budget without the help of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — help in which even the IMF does not believe? (See the 2005 IMF report Aid Will Not Lift Growth in Africa.)
Why is it that many African countries cannot manage their health care systems without the help of international non-profits, like the one at which I am serving now? My heart really cries every time I ask myself these questions, because they reveal how much we Africans are not in control of the destiny of Africa. The continent’s destiny lies in the hands of people who will not even suffer the consequences of the decisions they make.
This is not it. This not all we can accomplish as Africans. I believe we can do much more than this and I believe we can build a better Africa. We can overcome our history and create a new destiny for Africa.
One of the lessons I learned from the history of slavery in Africa is that the black man is strong, brave, hard working and can be productive even in hostile conditions. You can enslave a vulnerable population lacking in resources; certainly you cannot enslave a lazy population and achieve results. The fact that so many slaves were constantly being imported from Africa proves that their masters were achieving economically productive results.
The success of slavery in increasing the productivity of Europe and North America led me to ask myself this question: Why aren’t we achieving the same productivity for ourselves, for our families, for our countries and for the next generation — especially now that we are “free,” educated, and resourceful? The problem lies in our mindset.
The African continent is a lion but Africans have developed a sheep mindset.
We are told we are sheep. We are told we are vulnerable, inefficient, lazy, that we can’t make it ourselves, that we need help and are not self-sufficient. We are told our education is not enough, “our technology” is dead, our health care systems are limited, and so on. Many researchers present findings that paint Africa as dying, pitiful, and hopeless.
The African continent is a lion but Africans have developed a sheep mindset. How many times have I felt like achieving a goal, but my mindset tells me I need to go to study in American universities to do it? How many times do we Africans have solutions but are afraid to propose them for fear of rejection? We have become the victims of our own silence. We do not even trust ourselves: a local innovation will be more likely to be rejected if the innovator is not from a Western country or did not study in a Western university. This is our current situation, and I am concerned about what we can do about it. Are we going to remain sheep? Will we remain a vulnerable people who need help? Are we going to remain as the black continent with high rates of poverty, wars and disease, the home of thousands of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and few successful industries? My answer is NO.
I invite you to dream, to start dreaming about change, to start embracing the dream of living in a prosperous and peaceful Africa, an Africa without poverty or diseases.
Now is the time for Africans to change our mindsets and start dreaming about a better Africa — an Africa unique in its beauty and splendour, an Africa that our children will be proud of, an Africa that nations will envy, an Africa that is attractive, the first destination of foreigners. I invite my fellow Africans to have this dream wherever they are, including in schools, politics, NGOs, and business, in Africa or outside Africa. I invite you to dream about change, to dream of living in a prosperous and peaceful Africa without poverty or diseases.
I am not talking about MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) or SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), though this dream may sound the same. I am talking about a personal initiative of making Africa a better place. I am talking about a personal dream that weighs on your heart, influences your choices, and controls your destiny. I am talking about that dream that lives in you and pushes you to work hard day and night to make sure that one day you will live it. Dream of building Africa — the Africa you make it your personal responsibility to achieve.
You do not have to be an African to have the dream, just as you do not have to be HIV positive to fight against HIV. If you have a passionate love for Africa, a good sense of humanity, and a heart for taking action and making the world a better place, you are more than welcome to have the dream.
The dream to me is a poverty-free Africa with dynamic and productive youth.
I made my first step towards achieving this dream after finishing graduate school when I created Ihuriro Innovators and Investors Company, LTD — a youth and business incubator that helps new graduates take their first step into social entrepreneurship.
What about you? What is the dream to you — as a student, doctor, humanitarian, politician, businessman, athlete, or wherever you find yourself right now?
Let us dream as Africans and friends of Africa. Let us embrace the dream for our beloved Africa.
