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Truly Africa: Restoring the Afro- Potency
By:Uche Onyekwelu CCEINSIDE AFRICA
The African continent is a whole which embraces abilities, potentialities, initiatives, creativities, novelties and expertise. All theseare tools which the creator of the continent has lavished on her. Thesetools are left on the hands of the (at least) 53 sovereign states in Africa toturn into usefulness those seemingly useless materials which negativelyaffected, but should positively affect the life and destiny of millions of Africans. But something happened. What actually? A privation. This privation wears a dual involvement; (i) The African involvement and (ii)The European involvement. On the one hand, the early Africans failed to put her prowess in motion in view of posterity and not just for immediateself-satisfaction. They closed themselves up in cultural and traditional beliefs, thus giving no room for modern scientificity. On the other hand,the Europeans imported marginalisation, slavery, treachery, in thedisguise of colonization. They introduced the ideology of “
the whiteman knows it all”.
This was imbued on the African mind, the outcome of which was the psychedelism of Africans. These privations brought-incrisis in the ‘African identity”, such that, what the black man knew of thewhite man was what the white man wanted him to know; also what the black man knew of himself was what and how the white man wanted himto know. The African man was paternalistically brainwashed andfuturistically left uninformed. Infact, “the white man controlled his mind,his heart, his will, his self- image, his aspirations, his thoughts and everymovement” (cf. Laurence Lucas,
 Black Priest White Church”,
 N Y;Random House press, 1970, p. 13f.). To this effects, the African man losttheir identity and were termed by some unbreded imprudent Europeans as‘’les pauvres noirs – the wretched blacks”. However, I refuse to acceptthis notion since it was founded on mischief, tricks, falsehood,inauthenticity and malformation by the Europeans. But the fact remainsthat these nuptial (initial) European ills, brought in the identity questionas a whole, the outcome of which was the millipede movement (slowmovement) in the development of Africa. But our concern here is torestore this dwindling African identity by aiding some solutions. Yes, itnow falls to every African to seek to clarify issues and remove this falseimpression about Africa; not by brutal means, but by developingly andcreatively being an inclusive African in restoring the true African identity.
 
FROM AFRICA
;Let every living African mind hear this – “a good and balanced portrait of Africa is therefore a good and welcomed starting point for boththe African and the Africanist” (Izu M. Onyeocha, ‘’Africa; the country,the concept and the horizon”, Owerri; Imo state University press, 2007, p.xiii). Having known the mistakes of the past, this is now our opportunityto make things happen – from Africa. Africa is a viable land of development. On it has been deposited the largest quantity of “gems” of intelligence by God. That is why Africa has been known as, and remainsthe cradle of civilisation. From Africa therefore, other continents drewtheir knowledge, to their own development. But some basic questionsremain extant; in this contemporary situation, what can Africa offer to theworld? Of what level of rating and gradation are things got from Africa?At what frequency and regularity do Africans patronise African products?It is my pride to inform you that many good things are in Africa and alsocan come from Africa. Africa enjoys the highest number of naturalresources. Great intellectuals of the world are from Africa – Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (Zik of Africa), NelsonMandela – Medical Doctors (Dr. Akinboboye- best heart doctor in NewYork), best world. All these come from Africa. Inspite of these, theAfrican identity suffers still. This is seen as products from African are noteasily patronized by Europe and Africa. By products we mean bothindustrial products and human personalities. Rather they prefer their own production, as well as Africans trained by them, with less knowledge thatthese are African brains, from Africa. This work therefore calls on everyAfrican to put his best in good action, to heat-up those latent qualities inhim/her, to transcend all determinisms, so that our huge African abilityand worth will extend development beyond Africa to the largest humancommunity. With this the name Africa becomes synonymous with success – from Africa.
BY AFRICA
Inasmuch as much as western ideology and civilisation is wide-spreading, it becomes no fertile ground for the loss of African identity.This is said because every nation has her pride rooted in her identity. Thisidentity show their original configuration, which extends to the ebbs andflow of their individual experiences. Here is the African case, the Africanidentity suffering from crisis, seeking for solution. The solution is at our  beck and call. Yes, westernization has played down on African identity;this is a fact. But westernization has also enriched Africa, seen - in thedeposition of universal language (English), architecture, automobiles,mass media, medication and others. Yet still, it lies on Africans to restore
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