Africa, The Sleeping Giant?

China has woken up. India has woken up. The question remains, when will Africa wake up? When will Africa realize it is the wealthiest continent in the world in terms of natural resources? When will Africa wake up to the fact that it is its raw materials that fuelled the industrial age in the western hemisphere?

I dream of a new world order. Not one with any particular country or continent dominating the rest of the world. Not where any one race sees itself in a class above the others. I dream of a new world order of a fair and just system where the survival of one does not mean the disintegration of the other.

I see an opportunity in the 21st century for Africa to rise above its colonial and slavery past. An opportunity for Africa to hold as much significance in the world stage as the US and Europe. An opportunity for Africa to be a partner and not a charity case. An opportunity for Africa to be the centre of global commerce and not the recipient of aid.

To achieve this Africa must first realize that its strength is not in the individual countries. Its strength is not in the colour of the skin of its people. Its strength is the continent as a bloc. Individually we do not have the strength but collectively we are a force to be reckoned with.

We need the people to set aside the differences created by the artificial borders set by forces a thousand miles beyond our shores. We need leaders to fill our hearts with hopes and dreams and aspirations rather than their pockets. We need love to unite us and not faith to divide us. We need to build more than we destroy and that means an end to unnecessary conflicts and civil wars.

If indeed Africa is a sleeping giant then the time to wake up is now. Let us not let this opportunity pass us by because it may never come back around for decades maybe even centuries to come. Let us now fulfill the prophecies of our freedom fighters who bled for our struggle for independence. Let us fulfill the Pan-African dream of Mwalimu Nyerere, Kwame Nkurumah and others who sought to create a United States of Africa.

All of this might sound like the words of an idealist rather than a realist. But believe you me we have the power to make the impossible possible. What we lack is the will but the way has already been paved for us.

I will end this with an African proverb that rings true today more than ever. "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."