Have
you ever wondered where some troubled and indebted developed
countries get money to aid developing or underdeveloped +
'refusing-to-develop-countries like Nigeria? I have this gut feeling
that Greece will want to contribute something to the war in Mali or
Nigeria election in 2015 despite being in the throes of total
economic collapse. Where do hungry people get food to feed those that
owns all the food? Africa is one continent with so much resources at
its disposal that you'll expect the world to come begging at its
gate, plate in hand. Rather we are the giant that stays outside his
own gate to beg for his own belonging.
On
Monday, the Economic of West African States (ECOWAS) decried
the global trade imbalance against Africa as the continent’s share
of the global trade stood at a paltry 3 per cent. Three percent
(3%)!!! Don't we export crude oil, cocoa, timber, tea, cassava and
all? We feed the world for Christ sake! Or does it imply that we feed
the world for just 3% of all its earning?
While
trying to figure out why Africa is so backward in trade, a conception
comes to my mind. It is the concept of space and its content.
The earth, the world and life. The earth as David described it, is
the Lord's and the fullness thereof. As such, every drop of crude,
every seed of cocoa, every plot of land, every tuber of yam is of the
Lord. The World on the other hand is the economy of the earth, the
monetization of the fullness that the earth holds. The clamour for
the power to control the fullness of the earth give rise to politics
and governance. The world is callous, the world is canal, the world
is of the 'devil'. We are in the world but not of the world! The
third conception is of life. Life is that singular possession of
breath that a man possess. It is man's greatest asset that must be
protected at all cost. A recourse to the Bible still tells us that he
who loves his life will loose it and he who looses it will find it.
I
hope someone is seeing the interrelationship among these three
concepts and the position of Africa in the world trade. Africa is
blessed with the fullness of the earth but we are not of the world so
we don't care what the 'sons-of-the-world' like USA, Germany, and
Russia do with the affairs of the world, all what we want is a morsel
or two to our keep our life, body and soul together. At most, a fleet
of bullet proof BMW cars or some funds stashed in a Swiss account for
no other purpose than, eat, wine, dine and keep staying alive as long
as we live.
The
evil of life, when viewed from individual point of view is
selfishness and desperation. As individuals realise the need to
survive, albeit selfishly, we join the world, not for a balanced
trade, rather for a barter. Less than 50, 000 teachers are on
6-months strike for a rise in pay, keeping millions of students at
home. Less than 500 legislatures will share the fortunes of millions.
Those that feel alienated would take to the guns and arm-twist the
government. Some would turn to each other in terrorism, just to make
sure that the world is wrestled from the 'devil'. In all of these,
the sons-of-the-world are wise in their ways. Since we are less
concern about the world, we don't know how much oil we produce, we
expect an international organisation to tell us there is corruption
in our oil industry. We call on foreign investors to develop
everything from power, governance to water and to lauder our
ill-gotten wealth. They trade our oils for guns and our cocoa for
grants and aids. We get loan to make them do for us what we can do
for ourselves. The new ruse is that we are not close to the debt
ceiling, when indeed we are far far above. But how does the world
trade balance if Africa gets more than the paltry 3%.
The
fault, if any, is not totally ours. We never had the Bible and knew
little of the Quoran when the great Oyo empire flourished in trade or
the trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt and other precious commodities
championed by Mali, Ghana and other kingdoms that realised the need
to take charge of the fullness the earth possess. Now we have 'known
God' and things of the world seems not to fascinate us any more, or
so it appears. Our singular concern is of our life here on earth and
possibly the realm beyond; so we go spiritual. God MUST provide the
food we refuse to farm, He must give us light even with no
transformer, He MUST employ our half-baked or burnt graduates, He
MUST prevent flood while we block the drainages, He MUST make us rich
though we make trillions from oil. Shebi He is God that made the
heaven and earth? Then he must do everything for us. The only
responsibility we owe as Africans is to go to church, mosques, Mecca,
Jerusalem and hope that the devil takes a good care of the world to
favour us, or better still, our lives.
