BY JOSEPH SOBOKA
The word scramble, as a concept, contains a negative sentiment of greed where each individual struggles to get something, that does not belong to him, as much or more than the others. In such situation, equal share based on the common consensus of the parties is least considered; it is each for himself regardless the interest of the others. Conflict lurks waiting for the right time to explode.
Similarly, the European powers(the conceptual west) are bent on carving up the African continent for their own imperial needs because of this Africa is undergoing a new wave of resource and strategic exploitation and we can call it the new scramble for Africa.
Even though the African continent since independence has been looked down on for centuries, there appears a youth that is willing to make a change. Be it hate or greed, from the West or the United States, he will not give up on his home. He has made it clear to his people that he is not running away from it like so many people did; he prays to God to give him the years and strength to make a difference. Based on such firm commitment, the young Ethiopian leader Dr. Abiy Ahmed, has gone to the war front in north Ethiopia to fight the junta terrorist alongside the army and the militia there and thus to prove to his people that he is not the type of a leader who comfortably sits in his office and eager to get hourly and daily reports of the outcome of the battle. In this manner the history of Ethiopia repeats itself!
Similarly, the young African population has so much matured politically and that they are determined to rise to stand up to the belligerent neocolonialism! As of late, they are not willing to give up their inheritance! Pan-Africanism will soon see the light of day! Enough is enough! No more!
Thus, to safe guard their natural resources and their national pride, African states should determine to make a serious and strongly binding union without any compromise. This new goal-oriented union, cannot be given to them, on golden platter, by those who strive to decide their economic and political destination from distance. To be frank, Africa has never been in a favorable business position with the West and the United States; she has always been exploited of her natural resources, and most importantly her human resource – cheap labor. Obviously, the whole scenario of the colonizers and African relationship is apparently a holistic exploitation: resources and human.
The African people, particularly their enlightened leaders, should focus and unreservedly invest in their greatest resource, the productivity of their people, then; nobody would be concerned about who is doing business in Africa. Educationally well-equipped people definitely know how to go about with their business. Thus one way of investing in the people is primarily based on adequate educational curriculum that produces productive and united people.
This is exactly the issue the West and the United States do not want to take place in Africa the haven of their prosperity. The analogy of the situation is in which the guest feasts alone on the food prepared for all while the host goes starving. It should have been the vice versa. Therefore, it is a high time Africans reclaimed the ownership of their resources and the people.
As a matter of fact, Africa could have been the only continent which can totally live on its own without seeking the assistance of any foreign country. But due to the exploitive scheme and pressure of the colonizers the picture is now entirely different.
Unfortunately, until three years ago depending on the new development in Ethiopia, the problem of Africa is its leaders, they don’t believe in themselves or in Africa. Their minds are imbued with the modern colonial thinking and interests. Selfish motives of accumulating wealth, at the expense of their citizens, pervaded their thinking. But now the time has come to say no to the insistence of the modern colonizers. For certain, Africa is going to disappoint the irrational colonial masters who seem not to flinch a bit. Based on such new approach, to the disappointment of the colonizers, the world could write a new encyclopedia on this imperialistic scramble for the resources of Africa.
Ethiopia has taken the lead in the great venture, thus, all countries in the continent should and must unite or compromise their differences and augment love to stand together. If they fail to do that, Africa will never reach its full potential. How much longer will they let the outside world control them like slaves? They are the ones sitting on wealth and prosperity that they ought to have enjoyed. What has happened to Africa? They should be dropping food, grain and commodities on other countries. The assistance that the so called wealthy countries make for Africa is originally drawn or exploited from Africa; this means from Africa and back to Africa for a shocking and unfavorably enslaving purpose.
I think especially the young intelligent, university educated people in Africa, should understand that colonialism is not a thing of past, and there is always a colonial power to be blessed, or blamed, for the continuous inability of African nations to get their act together. This continuous blame instead of taking action is part of the reasons why African nations are stuck in a mode of regression instead of progress. This makes the writer’s heart happy and sad at the same time. Happy that Africa is seeing development from the east better than when the west was in charge, and sad because in some instance the foreign investors bring in their ‘workers’ and the infrastructure is of advance whereas the public is left behind.
The other concern is that Africa must drastically reduce the exporting of raw materials to other countries that will use them in their manufacturing process, to in turn sell the finished products to the African themselves very expensively. Africa must become a manufacturing continent, rather than export raw materials. Thus, by shaking off the yoke laid on her by western countries, Africa must advance to industrial development and export finished products.
This is exactly the main reason why western nations have deliberately failed to develop any sustainable infrastructure in Africa. They do not want a competitive Africa for they are afraid that their one-sided lucrative business will come to an end. The joy of standing shoulder to shoulder with Africans is what they do not allow to happen. As they have the upper hand in everything, they do not want to assist or be assisted by an African for one to protect their backward white supremacy for the other they do not want the African enjoy the fruits of his labor.
This is the malicious democracy of the neocolonialism that the West and the United States tirelessly preach in vain. The United States interferes in any election, particularly in that of African states in the name of democracy, yet, when Ethiopians held democratic election, the first of its kind in the history the country, she, together with her allies, declined to bless it with her recognition.
Nevertheless, her position did not change the course of the event as Ethiopians have unanimously accepted and supported the first democratic government in the country. In fact, the United States, the staunch supporter of the TPLF, is witnessed to recognize the illegal election in Tigray regional state of Ethiopia. Far beyond that, the United States and her allies noisily and roughly labored to attract the attention of the international community through their dishonest media that are bent on destroying the sovereign nation of Ethiopia.
The point here is the United States is not really concerned about Tigray. Her major concern is to bring TPLF back to power so that she can achieve her geopolitical interest in the horn of Africa the subservient government. For that matter, Ethiopia is up to fending off the blow of neo-colonialism once and for all come what may.
The Ethiopian Herald December 11/2021
