FEATURED STORIESAfrica s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>in</strong>dependence and what makesthem different now? <strong>The</strong> challenge for me istwofold. <strong>The</strong> first is the attraction of foreign<strong>in</strong>vestors who would like to take part <strong>in</strong> thepositive development <strong>in</strong> the cont<strong>in</strong>ent. Thisis not bad <strong>in</strong> itself, but <strong>in</strong>vit<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>vestors withno check and balance <strong>in</strong> place to guaranteethe <strong>in</strong>clusion of the mass <strong>in</strong> shar<strong>in</strong>g the profitmade from the economic development,would only graven the burden of the mass.And such is the reality that would challengethe stability and security of the cont<strong>in</strong>ent.As seen <strong>in</strong> many of the land grab trends <strong>in</strong>various counties <strong>in</strong> the cont<strong>in</strong>ent, the frontl<strong>in</strong>e bearer of the harsh burden of huge <strong>in</strong>frastructuredevelopments as well as evictionsare the disfranchised mass. <strong>The</strong> people whoare be<strong>in</strong>g taken out of their farms are not theelites <strong>in</strong> their palaces but the poor.With the positive t<strong>in</strong>t that had been unheardof <strong>in</strong> the media coverage on Africa, and thedevelopment drives on the ground acrossthe cont<strong>in</strong>ent a great causation and maturityand above all leadership is required to avoidthe pitfall of the euphoria <strong>in</strong> to the tide ofgalvaniz<strong>in</strong>g unity through matur<strong>in</strong>g andleadership from the AU that promises to leadthe next half century with a vision focusedon and owned by the people of the cont<strong>in</strong>ent.I say the <strong>in</strong>volvement of the peopleshould take a naivety that has never beentried <strong>in</strong> the past half century.Diorama of AfricanexperiencesOne of the new developments dur<strong>in</strong>g theAU celebrations <strong>in</strong> May was the announcementof the African Vision 2063. <strong>The</strong> visionpromised to be owned by the peoples ofAfrica at all of its stages. <strong>The</strong> strategic plan<strong>in</strong>cluded priorities such as Growth and transformation,regional <strong>in</strong>tegration, peace andstability, gender equality and agriculture.In l<strong>in</strong>e with this ‘people led’ Vision 2063, I believethat the AU should start to lead the cont<strong>in</strong>ent<strong>in</strong>to soul-search<strong>in</strong>g. But what sort of soulsearch<strong>in</strong>g do I mean? I mean a grassroots,committed and honest Pan-Africanism drivethat could be spearheaded by the AU thatdepart from the gradualism and mediocrity ofthe past. A roar<strong>in</strong>g lion kills no game.Africa should not set her sail us<strong>in</strong>g someoneelse’s star and thus the experiences on whichthe design<strong>in</strong>g of the vision should be basedshould come out of Africa. For the Vision tobe, a vision of the mass, the tone of renaissanceshould be reframed with a take on thecont<strong>in</strong>ent’s history. <strong>The</strong> AU should launchdrive that commences from exam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g ametaphorical diorama of the experiencesAfrican nations that portray the dreamsthat the AU should live up to. As clearly<strong>in</strong>scribed <strong>in</strong> the AU anthem that goes:“Let us all unite and toil together,To give the best we have to Africa,<strong>The</strong> cradle of mank<strong>in</strong>d and fount of culture,Our pride and hope at break of dawn,the native vision, I propose should havethree chapters that represent our cont<strong>in</strong>entsaspirations. <strong>The</strong> chapter should be named<strong>Ethiopia</strong>, Ghana and Congo respectively.Chapter one <strong>Ethiopia</strong>:If renaissance is rebirth, the rebirth that Africaseeks to have is an <strong>Ethiopia</strong>n reality. AUshould start the renaissance by reclaim<strong>in</strong>g<strong>Ethiopia</strong>. I don’t mean a reality only of thecurrent <strong>Ethiopia</strong>, but the <strong>Ethiopia</strong> of the ancient,the word that means Africa grace andgreatness. <strong>Ethiopia</strong> that represented the greatAfrican fortitude, and civilization and thepride of civilization, religion and defiance.By it, I mean that what Africa had and lostdue to the great misfortunes of <strong>in</strong> humanhistory such as slavery and colonization,has left its h<strong>in</strong>t <strong>in</strong> <strong>Ethiopia</strong>. <strong>Ethiopia</strong> is theonly surviv<strong>in</strong>g African nation that exhibitsto the world what colonization and slaveryhas done to the rest of Africa. If the restof Africa was not subjected to slavery andcolonization, culture and language shouldhave been ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed.Chapter one Ghana:Though the worst crime <strong>in</strong> human slaveryperpetrated on it and prolonged dehumaniz<strong>in</strong>gcolonization practically left the cont<strong>in</strong>entwith noth<strong>in</strong>g to start herself as a cont<strong>in</strong>entready enough to compete the communityof nations that has deprived her, Africa canpo<strong>in</strong>t at Ghana as phoenix the cont<strong>in</strong>ent hasgrown out of the ashes and Freon noth<strong>in</strong>gstated to deal with democracy and system ofgovernments that the rest of the world tookcenturies to exercise.Africa should have Ghana <strong>in</strong> the vision tosay that despite the pitfall of coups that ragedthe ris<strong>in</strong>g freedom <strong>in</strong> the cont<strong>in</strong>ent, Ghanahas proven that too could be put beh<strong>in</strong>d andmake strides to development and progress.Africa could rise above all her problems.That is Ghana.Chapter one Congo:Despite the great promises <strong>in</strong> the natural resourcesand the potential to change the faceand fate of the cont<strong>in</strong>ent, the Congo rema<strong>in</strong>sone of the great samples of <strong>in</strong>efficiency ofthe cont<strong>in</strong>ent that clearly put the prophecyl<strong>in</strong>e of Franz Fanon who said “whoevercontrolled the Congo bas<strong>in</strong> controls Africa”.And the Congo is the greatest challenges ofthe Renaissance. What the AU and the peopleof Africa should do is to make sure theyare the masters of their own fates and theowner of their own resources and the arbiterof their own conflict and the designers oftheir own futures. But is Africa <strong>in</strong> control ofthe Congo bas<strong>in</strong>? That is the summary ofthe three chapter vision 2063.22 www.theethiopianamerican.com
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