I cannot imagine what more we need from God for Africa to be where it should be. I think the only thing missing in this puzzle is leadership! Leadership, 1 word, 10 alphabets but very profound and a very germane ingredient for building a great nation. I look everywhere in Africa and it is so clear that God truly blessed us with natural resources, wonderful climate, minimal hazards, good vegetation, e.t.c. Sometimes I wonder if God was not too kind to us, thereby making us lazy; but then I remember the kind of leaders we have unfortunately had to cope with and I change my mind. From Mobutu to Idi Amin, Abacha to Eyadema and even to Uncle Bob who has turned Zimbabwe into what it is today. I will focus more on the Zimbabwean dilemma because that is what it truly is.
Zimbabwe was once a pride of Africa, with Mugabe who was a major factor in the independence struggle. This was a man who gave hope to his nation and indeed grew the economy of his country. It is of note that Zimbabwe was very close to being what South Africa is now in the SADC region. So what happened? The same scourge of leadership seems to be the recurrent factor in the story of the African continent. A man starts well but later gets himself into a mess that will never be washed away for generations to come and it baffles me that this so called leaders are so selfish and stupid that they do not even realise when the drum stops to beat.
Once upon a time, the Zim dollar exchanged for 5 to 1 US dollars. Today, you cannot even do a conversion again because 50 Million Zim dollars will buy you 3 loaves of bread and that is even if you are able to get the loaves to buy. How sad? And all Mugabe and his cohorts could think about is import weapons from China, wow. And it is also sad that the Chinese government allowed the ship to leave the country knowing fully well the implications. These are the days when I wonder why their is a United Nations. I wonder if it is not really true that this due -licking organ of scarce funds from developing countries is not merely a puppet of the United States as it is claimed especially after the Iraqi debacle. By now I think the UN should have a stance on the ship issue but no, in our dreams.
Is it also not strange that a whole President Thabo Mbeki cannot have a real stand on this issue? He seems unperturbed by the happenings in Zimbabwe and I am wondering if this is not as a result of the help given by Uncle Bob during the apartheid struggles in South Africa. Remember that the ANC had a training camp in Zimbabwe.
I am really afraid for the future of our continent and more so for the new generation as they might also not be better than their predecessors. The examples being laid down by our elders stink and it might slip into our mentalities without any resistance. I just pray and hope that we understand what it truly means to be a leader.