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Friday 31 August 2012

The Cost of Africa's Inferiority Complex (1)

Mental enslavement: African woman misguided by
foreign fashion to abandon her natural hair. 

By Honourable Saka

According to one estimate, African girls of today spend more money on fashion than what they spend on books and food combined. From pedicure to manicure, skin bleaching cosmetics, hair relaxers, wigs, weaves, eyelashes, nails, among others. Many women in the universities even go to the extreme: they blow part of their school fees on items that will make them look sexy.

Take Nigeria for example, it is estimated that Nigeria has a population of about 155million with about 56% between the ages of 16-54 years old. Out of these age group women are more than 40million. The details are as follows: Male = 44,296,228 Female = 42,534,542.

Therefore with over 40 million women in Nigeria, if each one of them spends at least $ 1 a week on any of the above items, how much will that be? At least that is $ 40million dollars per week; making it about $150 per month. Mind you this figure just applies to Nigeria only. What about the women across all the 54 African countries combined?

Every day, Korean and Brazilian families thank black women for giving their countries $ 16.4 million dollars each. The low self-esteem of African women is making them very rich and they’re happy about that.

Throughout Africa, women spend billions of dollars every week, to import Brazilian hair, Peruvian hair, Korean hair, Asian hair, European wigs, weaves, eyelashes, artificial nails and many other stuff, all because the African woman does not appreciate her God-given natural beauty anymore. She bleaches her skin and spends so much on her hair because she wants to look Asian, a European or American. She believes that is sexy! The result: cancer and other numerous untold consequences.

This is so because the African woman has been brainwashed to look down upon her identity and to boycott her natural beauty for someone else’s. Our women have disposed their natural beauty and are rather paying so much for Asian and Western fashion. In fact, it costs African women hundreds of billions of dollars every year to keep their artificial make ups, their artificial hairs, the nails, and all the fashion they have blindly copied from other societies at the expense of their God-given beauty.

At the same time, the African fashion has been thrown to the dogs. Africa therefore spends all this money to create jobs for Asia, Europe and the Americas, whilst unemployment and poverty is becoming the destiny of the African people. Most African relationships are unstable because African women of today would demand all that their partners may not be able to afford. Africa needs  a mental revolution.

Bob Marley warned Africans to emancipate themselves from mental slavery, yet Africans wouldn’t listen.

If African women are throwing their pride, natural beauty and their culture to the dogs, whom do we expect, to cherish and to promote the natural beauty of the African woman?

By  Honourable Saka.

Honourable Saka

The writer is a political analyst on African affairs, and a well-known social commentator in Africa. As a strong Pan-Africanist, he is currently seeking to establish the "Project Pan-Africa" (PPA) to create a mental revolution across Africa. He is the editor of “The Doctor’s Report”, your most reliable source of critical analysis on African issues. Please visit his blog at: http://www.honourablesaka.blogspot.co.uk and Email him at: honourablesaka@yahoo.co.uk. Also visit PPA at: www.projectpanafrica.org

Tuesday 21 August 2012

YOU LAZY INTELLECTUAL AFRICAN SCUM!

Africa: plenty intellectuals but no practical solutions

By 
Field Ruwe         



They call the Third World the lazy man’s purview; the sluggishly slothful and languorous prefecture. In this realm people are sleepy, dreamy, torpid, lethargic, and therefore indigent—totally penniless, needy, destitute, poverty-stricken, disfavored, and impoverished. In this demesne, as they call it, there are hardly any discoveries, inventions, and innovations. Africa is the trailblazer. Some still call it “the dark continent” for the light that flickers under the tunnel is not that of hope, but an approaching train. And because countless keep waiting in the way of the train, millions die and many more remain decapitated by the day.
“It’s amazing how you all sit there and watch yourselves die,” the man next to me said. “Get up and do something about it.”
Brawny, fully bald-headed, with intense, steely eyes, he was as cold as they come. When I first discovered I was going to spend my New Year’s Eve next to him on a non-stop JetBlue flight from Los Angeles to Boston I was angst-ridden. I associate marble-shaven Caucasians with iconoclastic skin-heads, most of who are racist.
“My name is Walter,” he extended his hand as soon as I settled in my seat.
I told him mine with a precautious smile.
“Where are you from?” he asked.
“Zambia.”
“Zambia!” he exclaimed, “Kaunda’s country.”
“Yes,” I said, “Now Sata’s.”
“But of course,” he responded. “You just elected King Cobra as your president.”
My face lit up at the mention of Sata’s moniker. Walter smiled, and in those cold eyes I saw an amenable fellow, one of those American highbrows who shuttle between Africa and the U.S.
“I spent three years in Zambia in the 1980s,” he continued. “I wined and dined with Luke Mwananshiku, Willa Mungomba, Dr. Siteke Mwale, and many other highly intelligent Zambians.” He lowered his voice. “I was part of the IMF group that came to rip you guys off.” He smirked. “Your government put me in a million dollar mansion overlooking a shanty called Kalingalinga. From my patio I saw it all—the rich and the poor, the ailing, the dead, and the healthy.”
“Are you still with the IMF?” I asked.
“I have since moved to yet another group with similar intentions. In the next few months my colleagues and I will be in Lusaka to hypnotize the cobra. I work for the broker that has acquired a chunk of your debt. Your government owes not the World Bank, but us millions of dollars. We’ll be in Lusaka to offer your president a couple of millions and fly back with a check twenty times greater.”
“No, you won’t,” I said. “King Cobra is incorruptible. He is …”
He was laughing. “Says who? Give me an African president, just one, who has not fallen for the carrot and stick.”
Quett Masire’s name popped up.
“Oh, him, well, we never got to him because he turned down the IMF and the World Bank. It was perhaps the smartest thing for him to do.”
At midnight we were airborne. The captain wished us a happy 2012 and urged us to watch the fireworks across Los Angeles.
“Isn’t that beautiful,” Walter said looking down.
From my middle seat, I took a glance and nodded admirably.
“That’s white man’s country,” he said. “We came here on Mayflower and turned Indian land into a paradise and now the most powerful nation on earth. We discovered the bulb, and built this aircraft to fly us to pleasure resorts like Lake Zambia.”
I grinned. “There is no Lake Zambia.”
He curled his lips into a smug smile. “That’s what we call your country. You guys are as stagnant as the water in the lake. We come in with our large boats and fish your minerals and your wildlife and leave morsels—crumbs. That’s your staple food, crumbs. That corn-meal you eat, that’s crumbs, the small Tilapia fish you call Kapenta is crumbs. We the Bwanas (whites) take the cat fish. I am the Bwana and you are the Muntu. I get what I want and you get what you deserve, crumbs. That’s what lazy people get—Zambians, Africans, the entire Third World.”
The smile vanished from my face.
“I see you are getting pissed off,” Walter said and lowered his voice. “You are thinking this Bwana is a racist. That’s how most Zambians respond when I tell them the truth. They go ballistic. Okay. Let’s for a moment put our skin pigmentations, this black and white crap, aside. Tell me, my friend, what is the difference between you and me?”
“There’s no difference.”
“Absolutely none,” he exclaimed. “Scientists in the Human Genome Project have proved that. It took them thirteen years to determine the complete sequence of the three billion DNA subunits. After they
were all done it was clear that 99.9% nucleotide bases were exactly the same in you and me. We are the same people. All white, Asian, Latino, and black people on this aircraft are the same.”
I gladly nodded.
“And yet I feel superior,” he smiled fatalistically. “Every white person on this plane feels superior to a black person. The white guy who picks up garbage, the homeless white trash on drugs, feels superior to you no matter his status or education. I can pick up a nincompoop from the New York streets, clean him up, and take him to Lusaka and you all be crowding around him chanting muzungu, muzungu and yet he’s a riffraff. Tell me why my angry friend.”
For a moment I was wordless.
“Please don’t blame it on slavery like the African Americans do, or colonialism, or some psychological impact or some kind of stigmatization. And don’t give me the brainwash poppycock. Give me a better answer.”
I was thinking.
He continued. “Excuse what I am about to say. Please do not take offense.”
I felt a slap of blood rush to my head and prepared for the worst.
“You my friend flying with me and all your kind are lazy,” he said. “When you rest your head on the pillow you don’t dream big. You and other so-called African intellectuals are damn lazy, each one of you. It is you, and not those poor starving people, who is the reason Africa is in such a deplorable state.”
“That’s not a nice thing to say,” I protested.
He was implacable. “Oh yes it is and I will say it again, you are lazy. Poor and uneducated Africans are the most hardworking people on earth. I saw them in the Lusaka markets and on the street selling merchandise. I saw them in villages toiling away. I saw women on Kafue Road crushing stones for sell and I wept. I said to myself where are the Zambian intellectuals? Are the Zambian engineers so imperceptive they cannot invent a simple stone crusher, or a simple water filter to purify well water for those poor villagers? Are you telling me that after thirty-seven years of independence your university school of engineering has not produced a scientist or an engineer who can make simple small machines for mass use? What is the school there for?”
I held my breath.
“Do you know where I found your intellectuals? They were in bars quaffing. They were at the Lusaka Golf Club, Lusaka Central Club, Lusaka Playhouse, and Lusaka Flying Club. I saw with my own eyes a bunch of alcoholic graduates. Zambian intellectuals work from eight to five and spend the evening drinking. We don’t. We reserve the evening for brainstorming.”
He looked me in the eye.
“And you flying to Boston and all of you Zambians in the Diaspora are just as lazy and apathetic to your country. You don’t care about your country and yet your very own parents, brothers and sisters are in Mtendere, Chawama, and in villages, all of them living in squalor. Many have died or are dying of neglect by you. They are dying of AIDS because you cannot come up with your own cure. You are here calling yourselves graduates, researchers and scientists and are fast at articulating your credentials once asked—oh, I have a PhD in this and that—PhD my foot!”
I was deflated.
“Wake up you all!” he exclaimed, attracting the attention of nearby passengers. “You should be busy lifting ideas, formulae, recipes, and diagrams from American manufacturing factories and sending them to your own factories. All those research findings and dissertation papers you compile should be your country’s treasure. Why do you think the Asians are a force to reckon with? They stole our ideas and turned them into their own. Look at Japan, China, India, just look at them.”
He paused. “The Bwana has spoken,” he said and grinned. “As long as you are dependent on my plane, I shall feel superior and you my friend shall remain inferior, how about that? The Chinese, Japanese, Indians, even Latinos are a notch better. You Africans are at the bottom of the totem pole.”
He tempered his voice. “Get over this white skin syndrome and begin to feel confident. Become innovative and make your own stuff for god’s sake.”
At 8 a.m. the plane touched down at Boston’s Logan International Airport. Walter reached for my hand.
“I know I was too strong, but I don’t give it a damn. I have been to Zambia and have seen too much poverty.” He pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled something. “Here, read this. It was written by a friend.”
He had written only the title: “Lords of Poverty.”
Thunderstruck, I had a sinking feeling. I watched Walter walk through the airport doors to a waiting car. He had left a huge dust devil twirling in my mind, stirring up sad memories of home. I could see Zambia’s literati—the cognoscente, intelligentsia, academics, highbrows, and scholars in the places he had mentioned guzzling and talking irrelevancies. I remembered some who have since passed—how they got the highest grades in mathematics and the sciences and attained the highest education on the planet. They had been to Harvard, Oxford, Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), only to leave us with not a single invention or discovery. I knew some by name and drunk with them at the Lusaka Playhouse and Central Sports.
Walter is right. It is true that since independence we have failed to nurture creativity and collective orientations. We as a nation lack a workhorse mentality and behave like 13 million civil servants dependent on a government pay cheque. We believe that development is generated 8-to-5 behind a desk wearing a tie with our degrees hanging on the wall. Such a working environment does not offer the opportunity for fellowship, the excitement of competition, and the spectacle of innovative rituals.
But the intelligentsia is not solely, or even mainly, to blame. The larger failure is due to political circumstances over which they have had little control. The past governments failed to create an environment of possibility that fosters camaraderie, rewards innovative ideas and encourages resilience. KK, Chiluba, Mwanawasa, and Banda embraced orthodox ideas and therefore failed to offer many opportunities for drawing outside the line.
I believe King Cobra’s reset has been cast in the same faculties as those of his predecessors. If today I told him that we can build our own car, he would throw me out.
“Naupena? Fuma apa.” (Are you mad? Get out of here)
Knowing well that King Cobra will not embody innovation at Walter’s level let’s begin to look for a technologically active-positive leader who can succeed him after a term or two. That way we can make our own stone crushers, water filters, water pumps, razor blades, and harvesters. Let’s dream big and make tractors, cars, and planes, or, like Walter said, forever remain inferior.
A fundamental transformation of our country from what is essentially non-innovative to a strategic superior African country requires a bold risk-taking educated leader with a triumphalist attitude and we have one in YOU. Don’t be highly strung and feel insulted by Walter. Take a moment and think about our country. Our journey from 1964 has been marked by tears. It has been an emotionally overwhelming experience. Each one of us has lost a loved one to poverty, hunger, and disease. The number of graves is catching up with the population. It’s time to change our political culture. It’s time for Zambian intellectuals to cultivate an active-positive progressive movement that will change our lives forever. Don’t be afraid or dispirited, rise to the challenge and salvage the remaining few of your beloved ones.
Field Ruwe is a US-based Zambian media practitioner and author. He is a PhD candidate with a B.A. in Mass Communication and Journalism, and an M.A. in History

Thursday 16 August 2012

When Will “Modern” Africans Free Themselves From Mental Slavery?

Photo: An African woman throws her dignity to the dogs
  
as she embraces so-called “modern fashion” 



By Honourable Saka

“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery. For none but thyself can free your mind”, -Bob Marley.

For many years, this has been the cry of Bob Marley, an African reggae legend who was eliminated by the usual mafia which doesn’t want the African people to be free.

About 200 years ago, many Africans were forcefully sold into slavery across Europe and America, where they suffered all forms of torture and brutalities. Today, even though many falsely believe this kind of barbaric slavery to be “over”, mental slavery, which is even more dangerous than the previous one, is currently starring at us in the face.

First of all the African people must be told the truth. Colonialism didn't end 50 years ago! Slavery is not yet over either! We are still trapped MENTALLY, PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY, SPIRITUALLY, SOCIALLY, CULTURALLY, ACCADEMICALLY, TECHONOGICALLY, and many more.
This is one of the reasons why Patrice Lumumba had acknowledged many years ago, that indeed the liberation of the minds of the African people (the war on mental slavery) shall even be a much tougher battle than the eradication of settler /colonial regimes. How correct he was!

But what makes a mental slavery much more dangerous than the slavery of the 19th century?
The truth is that, unlike the slavery of the colonial era, the our forefathers knew for sure that they were in slavery. They also understood that they were living under colonial rule. By understanding their problem, they were able to work out a solution. This explains why they were able to chase the colonial regimes from power.

Unfortunately, because today’s slavery is a mind-set, many Africans do not even realize that they’re still under the yolk of “modern” slavery. This is what makes it very dangerous. It is even more dangerous when one has a problem but hasn’t even realized it yet.
Even more dangerous is the fact that our politicians themselves do not realize that we’re still under colonial rule. We have many puppet governments in place, most of which are directed and controlled from abroad. All decisions are made by the IMF/World Bank and imposed on our governments for implementation. This is what Kwame Nkrumah referred to as “noe-colonialism”.

a laptop made in Ghana by rLG Ghana Ltd
Currently, the entire African generation have been brainwashed to disregard our culture, our fashion, our identity, even our own technology (African innovations) and our society as “out-dated”. Cars, machines, electronic gadgets and all such products made here in Africa are considered to be “sub-standard” and “unsafe”. Meanwhile we spend millions of money to import similar products of less quality, from abroad. I have for the past few months been lamenting about the gradual collapse of African industries, as we continue to import from elsewhere.

Isn’t it a shame that some African women are being manipulated by “modern” fashion to the point where they walk the streets almost naked, yet they don’t even realize it?

Even though many signs are recently pointing to the conviction that more African women are becoming proud of their natural African beauty and fashion, the major question that still remains unanswered are:

 When will the ‘modern’ African woman manage to free herself from mental slavery?

When will the African consumers, free themselves from mental slavery?

When will the African understand that none but ourselves can free our minds?

Only time will tell whether the modern African woman, will give dignity a chance and go back to her root, or whether she will continue to throw her dignity to the dogs in the name of so-called modern fashion. At the same time, only time will tell whether the 21st century’s African will also be able to come out of slavery and to overthrow his bunch of colonial rulers.

Honourable Saka
Photo: An African woman throws her dignity to the dogs as she embraces so-called “modern fashion”
   

 “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery. For none but thyself can free your mind”, -Bob Marley.

For many years, this has been the cry of Bob Marley, an African reggae legend who was eliminated by the usual mafia which doesn’t want the African people to be free.

About 200 years ago, many Africans were forcefully sold into slavery across Europe and America, where they suffered all forms of torture and brutalities. Today, even though many falsely believe this kind of barbaric slavery to be “over”, mental slavery, which is even more dangerous than the previous one, is currently starring at us in the face.

First of all the African people must be told the truth. Colonialism didn't end 50 years ago! Slavery is not yet over either! We are still trapped MENTALLY, PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY, SPIRITUALLY, SOCIALLY, CULTURALLY, ACCADEMICALLY, TECHONOGICALLY, and many more.

This is one of the reasons why Patrice Lumumba had acknowledged many years ago, that indeed the liberation of the minds of the African people (the war on mental slavery) shall even be a much tougher battle than the eradication of settler /colonial regimes. How correct he was!

But what makes a mental slavery much more dangerous than the slavery of the 19th century?

The truth is that, unlike the slavery of the colonial era, the our forefathers knew for sure that they were in slavery. They also understood that they were living under colonial rule. By understanding their problem, they were able to work out a solution. This explains why they were able to chase the colonial regimes from power.

Unfortunately, because today’s slavery is a mind-set, many Africans do not even realize that they’re still under the yolk of “modern” slavery. This is what makes it very dangerous. It is even more dangerous when one has a problem but hasn’t even realized it yet.

Even more dangerous is the fact that our politicians themselves do not realize that we’re still under colonial rule. We have many puppet governments in place, most of which are directed and controlled from abroad. All decisions are made by the IMF/World Bank and imposed on our governments for implementation. This is what Kwame Nkrumah referred to as “noe-colonialism”.

Currently, the entire African generation have been brainwashed to disregard our culture, our fashion, our identity, even our own technology (African innovations) and our society as “out-dated”. Cars, machines, electronic gadgets and all such products made here in Africa are considered to be “sub-standard” and “unsafe”. Meanwhile we spend millions of money to import similar products of less quality, from abroad. I have for the past few months been lamenting about the gradual collapse of African industries, as we continue to import from elsewhere.

Isn’t it a shame that some African women are being manipulated by “modern” fashion to the point where they walk the streets almost naked, yet they don’t even realize it?



Even though many signs are recently pointing to the conviction that more African women are becoming proud of their natural African beauty and fashion, the major question that still remains unanswered are:

When will the ‘modern’ African woman manage to free herself from mental slavery?

When will the African consumers, free themselves from mental slavery?

When will the African understand that none but ourselves can free our minds?

Only time will tell whether the modern African woman, will give dignity a chance and go back to her root, or whether she will continue to throw her dignity to the dogs in the name of so-called modern fashion. At the same time, only time will tell whether the 21st century’s African will also be able to come out of slavery and to overthrow his batch of colonial rulers.



Honourable Saka
The writer is a political analyst on African affairs, and a well-known social commentator in Africa. As a strong Pan-Africanist, he is currently seeking to establish the "Project Pan-Africa" (PPA) to create a mental revolution across Africa for the freedom of Africa. He is the editor of “The Doctor’s Report”, your most reliable source of critical analysis on African issues. Please visit his blog at: http://www.honourablesaka.blogspot.co.uk and Email him at:honourablesaka@yahoo.co.uk. Also visit PPA at: www.projectpanafrica.org

Sunday 12 August 2012

WARNING: American Bombs Ready To Fall On African Wedding Ceremonies


Photo: Slavery and the re-colonization of Africa officially begins in Botswana






By Honourable Saka     
“Africa must be an end in itself. It must not be towed like a vessel by any political, military power or bloc. It must enjoy relations with all the other states on an equal footing”, -Dr Cheikh Anta Diop, a great Pan-Africanist.
A few years ago, Kwasi Pratt Jnr, the chief editor for the Insight Newspaper (Ghana) was one of many Ghanaians who came strongly against a plan to establish a US military base in Ghana. In a strong language, Mr Pratt decried:
“…The United States is planning to establish military bases across West Africa including Ghana. And I am very worried that at a time when we are celebrating our national independence we are going to tolerate the establishment of foreign military bases, especially American military bases on our soil. The great Osageyfo Dr. Nkrumah, Malcolm X, Kwame Ture, and all of them emphasized that Africa ought to be free from foreign military bases and weapons of mass destruction. We cannot allow that dream to die.
That is why, it is important for us to resist all attempts to establish foreign military bases on African soil especially forces of the United States, must be prevented from establishing on African soil. Clearly because they are not in Africa to protect our interests, they are on African soil to facilitate the exploitation of our resources for the benefit of the tiny minority that controls the wealth of the American people and who are sitting on top of this world exploiting the Chicanos, exploiting the African Americans and exploiting all of the other independent and healthy forces in the United States of America. We have to resist all attempts to build U.S. military bases in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa”.
This is a very good reason why Africa should not align itself with NATO, AFRICOM, SCO (Shanghai Corporation Organization), the West nor the East. Africa must continue to remain neutral in all aspects of international relations. If any conflict were to arise between the East and the West, Africa should be the neutral player that will help resolve such a conflict. Unfortunately some of our current batch of African leaders are not listening to the advice of our founding fathers for the sake of their own selfish gains.
In the light of this, Nana Akyea Mensah, a proud son of Ghana made a similar comment:
“This is something that no one among us has the power to do with our sovereignty. It amounts to the attempted robbery of the nation by the force of arms. In a fundamental matter such as this, that has serious implications on our status as an independent nation, that could even mean life or death to Ghanaians, as we have seen in the bombs that continue to fall on marriage ceremonies in Afghanistan, the minimum expectation ought to be an open democratic national debate and not secretive and conspiratorial manoeuvres”.
Today, African leaders are quick to embrace anything called “AID”, with no consideration whatsoever for their long term consequences. After all, by the time the negative implications of such ‘AID’ arise, many of these leaders would be long dead and gone, living future generations to suffer the consequences.
For decades, the ordinary people in the Congo, Sudan, Somalia and now Libya among others are still paying the price for the decisions taken by some selfish politicians who took their country on military adventures leaving the entire region into chaos up to today. Botswana is currently embarking on a similar dangerous adventure whiles its neighbours remain unconcerned. If this move is not checked, soon, American bombs could be falling on wedding ceremonies across the Southern African region as usual.
According to The Guardian newspaper in Botswana, former President Festos Mogae had approved of the US to establish a military base in the country before leaving office. In plain language, he said: “the U S was welcome at any time to establish a military base”. Botswana's Vice President General Mompati Merafhe was however angry about the news and was quoted to have said that the people of Botswana ware not approached nor informed about the whole idea of having a US military base in the country.
Under the usual so-called humanitarian missions like we recently saw in Libya which led to the murder of tens of thousands of civilians and the summarily execution of hundreds of Blacks in Libya, America’s quest for military adventure in Africa, currently seems to be shifting into full gear.
It is now confirmed that Botswana has officially allowed a US military base on her soil.  A ceremony was recently held to that effect. It was reported that the US military will be holding military exercises in the near future. This means one could soon see the deployment of all forms of WMDs, surface-to-air missiles and possibly nuclear weapons in the southern African region all in preparation for more deadly wars to come.
Gradually, Africa is becoming the “New Middle East”. There are many in Nigeria who also seeks the establishment of US military bases in the country under the guise of containing Boko Haram, despite the fact that many analysts (myself included) and informed sources have already exposed the current Boko Haram as a covert operation by Western Intelligence.
The Botswana Defence Force and the U.S. Embassy announced that Botswana will host a joint military exercise known as Southern Accord 12, August 1-17, 2012. Joint exercise activities conducted during Southern Accord 12 will enhance the capabilities of military personnel for both countries in a variety of areas, including ‘humanitarian assistance’ and ‘disaster relief’, anti-poaching, ‘peacekeeping’, and convoy operations, as well as aero-medical evacuation”, the report claimed.
This was recently followed by another report posted on AFRICOM’s website. The report reads:
“More than 1,200 military personnel from the Republic of Botswana and the United States attended the opening ceremony for Southern Accord 2012 on August 1. Southern Accord is a joint exercise intended to enhance both countries' capabilities in the areas of humanitarian assistance/disaster relief operations, peace keeping operations and aeromedical evacuation”.
Photo: Hillary Clinton poses with Al-Qaeda rebels as they plan to terrorize Syrian children
Of course the same thing was said before they went to the Middle East. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. The reality on the ground today is different from what the world was told before they went there. Terrorism has spread across the entire Middle East despite the presence of heavy NATO forces. Shockingly, NATO is now working with the rebels to overthrow President Assad, just as they did in Libya. NATO’s leaders are shamelessly supplying weapons to Al-Qaeda rebels to cause more chaos in Syria. This should be an indication of what they will be doing in Africa in the near future.
For many years, American military officials have been trying to explain on a number of occasions their worst blunders during the nine-month “humanitarian mission” in Afghanistan after several fighter jets “mistakenly” targeted some houses full of wedding guests, killing at least 30 in each case.
With this in mind, Sam Ditshego, a South African analyst writes:
The US therefore cannot be allowed to establish a military base anywhere on the African continent let alone in Southern Africa to undermine the sovereignty of the African continent. We want to permanently ban war on earth. Therefore the African people will not allow President Festus Mogae of Botswana to render Africa as a playground for the America’s wares of war.
Step-by-step, the re-colonization of Africa is gradually unfolding upon our very eyes. Sadly, there are many African leaders who still do not understand that the West seek to re-colonize Africa under the guise of ‘Aid’ and humanitarian mission. Therefore only time will tell whether the African intellectuals and all those with foresight, will sit down unconcerned and allow a few selfish, corrupt, puppet politicians sell off Africa’s sovereignty to their colonial masters.
The African people must rise up and say no to the militarization of the continent. We must endorse programs that seek to build Africa; rather than those that come with bombs and weapons (WMDs) that will destroy the little we have struggled to build over the past years, and to ruin the future of our unborn children.
I am appealing to the governments of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to impose sanctions on Botswana if it goes ahead with the measure and ignores the position of the SADC community.
This way, all the regional countries: Angola, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia should impose an air blockade on Botswana and see which country's air space it will use to carry out their defiant mission. These countries all have a collective responsibility to act in order to defend the future of their children and Africans as a whole.
It is time for African leaders to collectively use sanctions as effective tool to target the traitors in their midst, to defend our collective interest. If not, any WMDs that will be used in the region will have a devastating consequence on the entire community just as we currently see in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and other places where more babies are being born with disabilities on a mass scale. This cannot be the destiny of Africa’s future generation.
Today, the whole world bears witness to the legacy of NATO in Afghanistan Iraq and Pakistan where American bombs are falling on wedding ceremonies, mosques and community markets, despite promising otherwise. Will the African leaders act or they will as usual remain quiet for this nightmare to become a reality in the near future?
African leaders must for once act in a manner that will reflect our political independence from colonial rule. Africa is not a colony. Our leaders must show some responsibility and put our security into our own hands; not into the hands of those who seek military adventurism as a means to exert political pressure on Africans in order to loot our natural resources on a much larger scale. Unity is what we need; not military adventures.
I rest my case.


Honourable Saka
The writer is a political analyst on African affairs, and a well-known social commentator in Africa. As a strong Pan-Africanist, he is currently seeking to establish the "Project Pan-Africa" (PPA) to create a mental revolution across Africa for the freedom of Africa. He is the editor of “The Doctor’s Report”, your most reliable source of critical analysis on African issues. Please visit his blog at: http://www.honourablesaka.blogspot.co.uk and Email him at:honourablesaka@yahoo.co.uk. Also visit PPA at: www.projectpanafrica.org

Tuesday 7 August 2012

Comedy: Nigeria’s Economy To Overtake South Africa By 2020


By Honourable Saka

At a time when Boko Haram, some foreign-backed rebels and other sophisticated terrorist gangs are terribly destabilizing the peace and security in Nigeria, it is very interesting to hear various economists, consistently making countless predictions about Nigeria’s future economic prospects while the problem of security remains unresolved.

From the front pages of the dinosaur media to the editorial contents of the alternative media, the minds of poor Nigerians are being shaped for an impending “economic boom”, despite the existential threat posed by Boko Haram and other terrorist gangs spreading across the country.
But one may ask: how many countries have been able to develop economically, amid terrorism, conflicts or civil war?

Recently, many economic forecasts have predicted that Nigeria, (despite all the corruption and the bomb explosions) is on the path to overtake South Africa by the year 2020.
Nonetheless, it appears as if all those forecasts failed to look at the other side of the coin. The forecasts are all good. They create a sense of hope for the ordinary Nigerian. However, these forecasters seemed to have overlooked some key variables: peace and security in Nigeria.

During a recent African Summit organised in Lagos under the theme, “Africa in the Super-Cycle”, Mrs Razia Khan, head of Research Africa, Standard Chartered Bank, was highly optimistic:

“Assuming normal GDP growth rates in line with post crisis trend; our simulation suggests Nigeria overtakes South Africa’s GDP size by 2018. Our own analysis suggests that Nigeria will overtake South Africa to become Africa’s largest economy.” –the report explained.

Khan repeated this prediction at the Nigeria Development and Finance Forum (NDFF) conference held in in London.

Again, Renaissance Capital (RenCap), a global investment and research firm in its report, also suggested that Nigeria’s economy will surpass that of South Africa sooner than previously expected, placing the actual date in 2014.

Similarly, a senior British official, Lord Mayor Alderman Michael Bear, also waded into this debate when he suggested last year that Nigeria's economy may surpass that of South Africa within the next 10 years.
In a related report, Morgan Stanley, an economic think tank, confirmed in its research projections that Nigeria's economy may reach about $400 billion by the end of the decade and could overtake South Africa by 2025.

“High oil prices, the ‘decisive’ election of President Goodluck Jonathan and ‘buoyant consumer spending’ will all push Nigeria’s economy into the front in the next 15 years”, - the report claimed.
It appears these economic forecasters, haven’t learnt lessons from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, the Congo, the “New Libya” and many other countries where terrorism, civil war and ‘democracy’ have destroyed similar economic prospects, despite having plenty of oil and gas and other strategic mineral resources.

Of course oil and gas have remained key elements in Nigeria’s economy despite its low oil revenue. In a country where oil remains about 80% of  GDP, there are strong indications which add up to the conclusion that Nigeria continues to sell its oil at $9 per barrel, at a time when many oil producing countries sell  oil for a whopping $100 and beyond. How does this happen? The answer is not far-fetched.

In his article: “The Looting of Nigeria: BIG OIL's $140 Billion A Year and Counting”,

Thomas C. Mounting made the following analysis:

 “…As western oil companies loot some $140 Billion a year of Nigeria's black gold, two thirds of the country's population live on less than $2 a day. “Official” oil production figures show about 3 million barrels a day being pumped from oil fields into western tankers. However, informed observers have estimated up to one-third of all Nigerian oil is actually ‘stolen’, secretly loaded onto oil tankers after bribes are paid to corrupt government officials. If 4 million barrels of oil are being shipped out of Nigeria daily at $100 a barrel, times 30 days a month times 12 months (4x100x30x12) you arrive at almost $150 Billion a year in potential oil revenues for Nigeria, he explained.The problems is not just theft of the oil but the fact that the western oil companies are literally looting Nigeria's oil, paying as little as a 9% royalty. Do the math: 9% of $150 Billion (is about $15billion) minus the one third oil that is stolen (5billion) thus, the Nigerian government only receives about $10 billion a year of this amount. Simply put, at $100 a barrel the western oil companies get $91 and Nigeria only gets $9. Or more shockingly, Big Oil makes $140 billion a year vs. Nigeria's $10 Billion”, he concluded.
With the above calculation, it is clear that the oil is becoming a curse to the ordinary Nigerian rather than a blessing. The foreign companies are looting Nigeria’s oil on a mass scale while economic forecasters continue to give the people a false sense of hope based on oil reserves.
In order for the Nigerian people and the Federal Government to be able to fulfil this dream of overtaking South Africa economically; there are certain key issues that must urgently be addressed. Until then, one could reflect on those economic forecasts for a sense of humour.

1.      Security
Having plenty of oil and gas and other strategic mineral resources in itself is not a guarantee to becoming economic giant. Iraq, Afghanistan, Congo, Sudan, New Libya and many other countries are clear examples. For Nigeria to overtake South Africa economically, she will need a very peaceful political atmosphere where economic growth can thrive.

This is the area where the threat of Boko Haram and all the other militant groups in Nigeria come in. The government must resort to negotiations and dialogue rather than issuing mere empty threats that provoke these rebels to strike. The Federal Government must find a more convenient way to address the concerns of these militants, if indeed they’re not foreign-backed rebels but true Nigerians who have issues with the government.

There are many of us today who have reasons to believe that the current Boko Haram in the news, are not Nigerians but a covert operation of certain foreign countries that seek to create the atmosphere to pave the way for NATO or AFRICOM to be invited to the region under the guise of humanitarian mission. Many analysts foresee the splitting of Nigeria as the only means to loot the country’s resources on a larger scale.
If the members of Hoko Haram are truly Nigerians, then the government should invite them for negotiations and do everything possible to find a peaceful settlement for them, so that the Nigerian people can leave in peace. Together, they can work to ensure the development of the country. Without security, Nigeria may soon become the “New Sudan” which could split into smaller and weaker states, making her economic aspirations impossible.

2.      Corruption
Photo: a son of a prominent Bauchi state Politician displaying
the wealth his father must have drawn from public funds.

Yet pupils in some part of Bauchi state are still studying under the tree.
Fighting corruption in Nigeria is another important milestone towards becoming Africa’s economic giant. Politicians and the banking industry are looting millions of taxpayer’s money whiles the ordinary citizen lives on less than $2 a day. Africa’s educational institutions and the media especially those in Nigeria must work hard to expose corruption in the oil and gas sector and the banking sector. Investigations must be conducted into all the money that is flowing from Nigeria into foreign banks. Investigative/undercover journalists must conduct secrete investigations and expose crimes such as bribery and corruption in government and in the oil and gas sector. This could help bring corruption to the barest minimum.


3.      Industrialization
Any African country that seeks to become economic giant cannot succeed by merely supplying raw materials to the outside world. Nigeria must therefore focus on building more industries that will create more jobs to put the youth to work. This will help reduce the crime rate in the country that is getting out of control as a result of huge unemployment among the youth. Also, Nigeria must have its own refineries in the country, to refine its crude for both domestic use and export. This will bring down the high refinery cost and also create more jobs in Nigeria.

Conclusion
With the current challenges posed by Boko Haram and other rebels in the country, there is no doubt that Nigerian politicians may squander the oil wealth on corruption or mismanagement and turn the blame on terrorists for their inability to meet the targets predicted by these economists. This is the reason why every effort must be made to address the problem of insecurity in the country to lay the grounds for the projected economic prospects.

I urge all Nigerians: northerners, southerners, Christians, Muslims, etc to unite and work hard for the development of their country. To the youth, I say never allow any politicians to use you in any way to achieve their own selfish ambitions. Think about your country and your people. If Nigeria were to succeed and become peaceful, it will be for your own good.

Long live Nigeria!
Long live Africa!!

Honourable Saka
The writer is a political analyst on African affairs, and a well-known social commentator in Africa. As a strong Pan-Africanist, he is currently seeking to establish the "Project Pan-Africa" (PPA) to create a mental revolution across Africa for the freedom of Africa. He is the editor of “The Doctor’s Report”, your most reliable source of critical analysis on African issues. Please visit his blog at: http://www.honourablesaka.blogspot.co.uk and Email him at:honourablesaka@yahoo.co.uk. Also visit PPA at: www.projectpanafrica.org