The Africa we want-2

*Most of the references are on Kenya, but the solutions are for the African continent because Kenya just like other countries is in this together*

Image by Duke University.

I wrote this as a follow up and reflection to my friends’ article; https://medium.com/@sitieneicj/reporting-on-africa-in-the-face-of-covid-19-70152dfc1d3c

The fight against the pandemic has been an eye opener of classism in Kenya, as a result of colonialism and the growing capitalism.The pandemic has exposed the failed systems in the continent and, It’s been hard to fight, especially because the ‘self-serving-educated-middle class’ has failed in playing its role. Most of the Kenyan middle class have been beneficiaries of the failed systems and corruption in the country. They are therefore in constant fear that they may be either exposed , or that others will be beneficiaries and take resources away from them (Anyways, that’s how capitalism works). Most of the Kenyan middle class are individuals, who mostly, have worked from low economic backgrounds and they are oblivious and would rather hoard resources instead of sharing them because they believe that if they share, they’ll lose. If these individuals were focused on bringing the corruption in the country down, the top 1% will fail in their mission to let the continent down. But it is a question of whether to kill the monster that fed you or letting the monster kill you.

But it is a question of whether to kill the monster that fed you or letting the monster kill you.

It’s quite evident that having basic human rights such as good education, good healthcare, among other day to day needs, during this pandemic is considered a privilege and not a right. Most Africans have failed to understand that the governments have not done anything special by providing what they should be providing. If they did, they wouldn’t have voted for them. Imagine if most if not all Americans had a good education, they wouldn’t have voted in a white supremacist as their president. 

Talking about how those in the slums and low income areas will survive during the pandemic is a tough discussion point. From the recent happenings in Kenya, It’s crystal clear that the government has failed to listen to their pleas and it makes sense if they are working during the pandemic to ‘survive’, when they rather would be working to ‘thrive’. 

Global monetary institutions; especially those in the Washington Consensus, have approved various aid packages for countries in the global south to deal with the pandemic. The IMF, for example, recently approved a $739 million in emergency financing to help Kenya respond to the sudden economic shock caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The governments in response, have started programs to support their low income citizens during the pandemic. However, with the failed, corrupt systems, reports from social media have shown bias in the distribution process and I fear that some people may only benefit once the pandemic is already managed.

The pandemic has taught the role of psychology and why it should be a basic requirement for most professions. For example, Someone born in low income estates, where affording dinner is a matter of chance,  has their brain conditioned  to put more resources into reproduction because they need quantity rather than quality to survive, because only the fittest survives. In a society where people have learnt empathy and understanding, the rich would be supporting these people because psychology is a discipline that teaches us to be empathetic, reasonable and understanding as to why people act the way they do. In fact all leadership institutions that don’t have this in their curriculums have failed us.

In fact all leadership institutions that don’t have psychology in their curriculums have failed us.

Africa has the capability to survive on its own; both the mental and capital resources to produce anything and sustain itself, and especially during pandemics such as this. However, there are various factors that have held us back; Firstly, we are held back by so-called morals that are quick to question a woman’s sexuality and not a man who stole public funds, yet according to African Business Daily article on November 9th 2017, there were more men involved in corruption scandals in Kenya. In addition, religion is also a major setback; The Kenyan president led the country in a national Prayer day while the Tanzanian president insisted the Muslim community to attend ‘Ibadah’ to pray for the pandemic during Ramadhan. Since the Scramble for Africa, religion has not only been used as a powerful tool to control the minds of people but has also drained a lot of poor people financially. It is saddening that despite all the number of years worshippers have paid their tithes, no church has launched a program to support their followers financially during this pandemic. The church in Africa has been a big player in determining the politics of the continent and it is during this period that we should question ourselves where all the money that the politicians have been donating to the church went to?

Since time, Africa has been a narrative to the west as the ‘dark continent’, It is evident from the way they have presented the continent during the pandemic. The Western media has always been at the forefront in purveying this discourse. The media have been more than ready to report when ‘small aid’ is offered in the continent to fight the pandemic yet they have failed to report about the exploitation that the west has done in the continent since time. This is the same media that will praise a Chanel raincoat from France without crediting the African country that made the fabric subsisting the narrative of European and American Imperialism. However, this time round, it’s transparent that people have actually seen the lies that the Western media has always fed us about the continent. With the realization, it is high time for the African media to stand up and change the novel about Africa. To start this off, Madagascar has been the first country to come up with their own herbal medicine to fight against Covid-19, African media should use the power of the media to push African countries to invest in the drug in order to reach the global standards for vaccines. This will help Africa to grow economically.

Africa needs proper civic education and more free minds

In conclusion, Africa needs proper civic education and more free minds. Let’s say for example, we didn’t have the kind of leaders we have, and they all were locked up in jail (because that is where they belong anyways); The only battle that we have is to change the colonialism in the African people. We need to decolonize 51% of the minds in Africa because that is enough to make the change that the remaining 49% need. It is time for Africa to stand up and decolonize their minds!!

Image by The New York Times.