KEYS for Africa

Like all the other continents in the world, Africa is not an orphan but an equal sibling with the other more affluent ones in the family. Like the proverbial black sheep, Africa always seems to have the raw end of the deal. From historical injustices like colonisation to self inflicted wounds like the Rwandan genocide, we have a tainted past. The present is not all bright with political upheavals, hunger and drought being synonymous to Africa. What ails us? Is this a malady that can be easily cured or is the stigma here to stay?

Like any other fairy tale, the beginning is always rosy for those with bad endings and vice versa. History has it that the land was blessed with bursting seams of minerals just waiting to be discovered and fertile land eager to bear fruit. Our ancestors subdued the land well enough for they never lacked in food or wealth. Ancient civilization can be traced back to Egypt even boasting of the pyramids way before architecture had the trappings of modern technology. Governance had an informal and natural chain that functioned flawlessly from family to kingdom. What they did not have they traded with neighbours, demonstrating the mutual benefit of quid pro quo. Children were a sign of wealth but they were born after careful and deliberate planning. This land was bountiful in all aspects.

Many centuries into the future, the fairy tale of the misfit has unfolded; a possible bad ending for most who are remnants of the good beginning. Africa is now a depleted shadow of itself. Its once bursting seams are now rubble after being subjected to greed. Carelessness of a few generations past and neglect by the current crop has degraded the land to barrenness. Governance has deviated from giving direction and providing leadership to populist politics with selfish agendas. It is almost second nature or a common feature in the African calendar to hear hunger, drought or floods. The number of single parent children and orphans makes one wonder what the motivation is or is it a missed internal memo?

The above problems are not homogenous to us though we seem to be the most adversely affected. As I stated earlier, we are equal siblings in the world. As is the case in human kind, family helps us up but not always. Africa has been the “poor child” of the globe with every other person giving us food to eat since our reserves are edifices of plaster and prayer. They even tell us how to run our affairs because we seem to be doing more harm than good. They are probably right; we are doing ourselves an injustice in a lot of ways. The worst part is our in built pride that holds us back from accepting blame and righting the wrong. So quick are we in pointing the blame to the rest of the world and coming up in arms against all critics.

Back home I have been privileged to be in a process called KEYS, the Kenya Youth Scenarios. I will echo their thoughts and consolidate them with a few of my own. KEYS were tasked to find the drivers that will eventually give credence to vision 2030 in the form of scenario building. Scenario building is a tool that can be adopted for disaster preparedness and also planning given a few variables. The eventual variables were good governance and demographics/ population. I not only think they will drive the future of Kenya but Africa as well.

Bad governance, for instance is the thorn submerged beneath the flesh in most of our states. Ironically most of the said states subscribe to a democratic process which in definition is for and by the people. It is common knowledge that public office in government is really about wealth accumulation and status. Few have the interest of their electorate at heart or even in mind. For instance, before every general election there is usually a rush of vote buying despite millions being invested in the voter education. Is it any wonder no work gets done in all the terms in office? Populists take the day instead of people who can deliver. So yes, governance will forever feature on our future’s menu.

Demographics by definition is a statistic characterizing human populations or segments of human populations broken down by age, sex or income etc. This encompasses the big divide between the rich and poor. This intrinsically means that the resource distribution curve is skewed to one side. It seeks to make others perpetual beggars and perpetuates ‘’carrot and stick’’ dictatorship. Given the age of the majority to be in the youth bracket of 18-35 years of age, we could say Africa is a young population. They are however tethered by the few richer older folk to be on their beck and call. Beside this, demographics affect such basic things as education, labour force of a nation and overall productivity.

The greatest hold that demographics have is ability to influence technology. Technology is invention and innovation geared towards making work easier hence reducing human effort while increasing productivity. The core function of technology was always to respond to problems or issues raised by the populace. From fire, the wheel, food technology, architectural breakthroughs of better housing, telecommunication, food technologies and social media have all been a response to a need from the people. After all, necessity is the mother of invention.

Given the above, we can attest to the potency of extremities for good or bad in either demographics or governance. Good leadership is like a good compass, points to the magnetic north and all other points fall into place. First, Africa should learn to embrace the power enshrined in a democracy starting with the voting process. As potential leaders, the candidates should be put to task to a public debate. Apart from entertainment value, a debate has been known to be very instrumental in attaining fair judgement. Imagine a sensible debate between candidates transcending populist mudslinging and crowd pulling gimmicks. I am of the opinion we would get more value and less suicidal mistakes like the past has recorded. Long gone will be rigged or flawed elections because the outcome would almost be pre- determined.

With a good team at the helm, reform agendas will not seem like such a pipe dream. Greed will be overtaken to give way to genuine patriotic push for a better land. Institutional strengthening will be automatic and weeds that have taken root will rot and wither out since such are the conditions that are acidic to them. Elected leaders will not cling to power like spoilt toddlers and cause unrest in their wake. They will practice enough maturity to relinquish power and support the incoming reign. After all, are they not serving the same purpose and the same people? People will not feel intimidated to vote in a certain way but do so freely for the best offer on the table. That is what democracy should provide as a bare minimum, a voice for the voiceless.

Given the earlier general statistic, the youth of Africa have the crystal ball and they determine what type of future awaits us. They can decide if the status quo will be retained or change can be realised for a better tomorrow. Food security and poverty are key in transforming Africa’s lifeline. Imagine manning the floods to cater for the drought and mitigating the loss of lives of hunger. It sounds like a stretch but it can happen. This is the new age of technology where someone saying it can’t be done is quickly overtaken by someone who is doing it. With the kind of technologies at our disposal, cant may as well be phased off from the vocabulary. All that is required is to embrace them and voila, a change in attitude leads into a bright future. It would be everyone’s desire if one day the hunger stories in parts of northern Kenya and Ethiopia become features of a horrible past and a caution rather than reality.

As long as there is a clear divide between dark and light, good and bad there will always be the rich and poor but they are nouns and hence are relative. As inevitable as it is, we do not write off the prospect of having a small gap between the two classes. If there is good governance and consequent vigilant population, ensuring that the “poor” receive the basic minimum in education, healthcare and shelter can drastically reduce the inequality gap. This will offer a fighting chance if not equal chance with those at the upper echelon. This will give rise to a better society.

The thing about fairy tales is that they have a defined story line, away from the normal trappings of reality. At times, there is invocation of supernatural beings and strange twists of unquestionable fate. Seemingly, Africa has been in that corridor for long enough and it is time to be an equal sibling as intended. We have the keys to unlock the future we want independent of the predetermined fairy tale. Question is, are we ready to change it?