Amanda Edinam Ahiadormey

A Ghanaian musician by the name A Plus once said in his song titled “A letter to the West”, and I quote, ‘Africa, where I wanna be, life for be easy as ABCD, the leaders demma greediness plenty plenty, make the whole thing dey look like horror movie.’ A Plus was simply saying that Africa would be a good place to live but for the greed of our leaders. A Plus may not be the smartest man on earth, but he was certainly right about a lot of things. The Africa we want is an Africa we should have, but for greed and misplaced priorities. In the time it took to write this essay, a pregnant mother and child somewhere are being shot like animals hunted in the forest by men who have lost every bit of their humanity, and a gun just got thrust into the hands of a young male to kill or be killed. The Africa we want is an Africa of peace, where nobody is the victim of war, and everybody can go to sleep without having to watch their backs. It is a place where democracy is a reality that counts, and there is no bloodshed or violence. The Africa we want is not infested with high crime rates and smuggling of ammunition. The Africa we want is an Africa where living is as easy as saying the letters of the alphabet. Unfortunately, some African somewhere does not know the letters of the alphabet. She does not know how to read or how to write. The Africa we want is an Africa where even the girl child can be educated, one in which there are functional schools, so that we can be up to international standards. The Africa we want is a continent which can produce the brains at the helm of international affairs. The Africa we want has a practical educational system unlike the mostly theoretical one we have, such that the youth graduate fully qualified and not half-baked. Imagine a primary student being taught the parts of a computer with pictures and being examined on it even though he has never actually seen one in his life. The Africa we want is a place where people can move freely without the threat of illness hovering over their head like a dementor in some Harry Potter movie. The Africa we want is not the one where patients cannot have access to hospitals because of unmotorable roads, and even those who do are treated on the floor. It is a place where there is good health, and none of those plagues that are strong enough to render fertile land barren. The Africa we want does not have to sell her soul and lose her pride by stooping to conform to the traditions of ‘the white man’ just to receive aid. The Africa we want is independent enough to stick to her values of peace and unity. In the Africa we want, the 42.3% Sub-Saharan Africans do not have to survive on less than $1.90 daily which causes the youth to take up crime to feed themselves. To get the Africa we want, the African Union has to rise up and organize a meeting of the minds (consensus ad idem) where we come together as one and say enough is enough, and actually make an effort to get the Africa we want. We need to remember that the AU is a Union and not just an organization – it was founded based on unity. To get the Africa we want, we need to begin with peace talks with all nations, because without peace, we will be divided, and we will fall. As a united front, the two main things we have to focus on as Africans who have a picture of the continent we want in mind, are how to tackle corruption, and after that, arranging our priorities. Corruption is undoubtedly the cankerworm in any African society. No wonder no African country made it to the top 10 of the Corruption Perceptions Index List 2017. Leaders who we would expect to steer us towards development are instead stuffing their pockets and stomachs in the mad rush to amass wealth. To get the Africa we want, we need to put our foot down and crack the whip on all corrupt practices. We need to task our best brains to investigate and fish out all these power-drunk leaders and let them face the music to serve as a deterrent to all others. The idea of bribing or receiving a bribe should not even cross the minds of our people, and we need to go as far as teaching this to our youth instead of handing them guns and inciting them to be rebel leaders. The best way to win this fight is not with guns, but with brain power. We need to put money into investigating corruption, and take advantage of treaties to prevent corruption. If all embezzled funds in Africa were covered, I have no doubt Africans would walk on streets of gold and drink wine in place of water. We have however left such people to pass on stolen money as inheritance. How pathetic. To get the Africa we want, we need to identify our priorities, and arrange them in order of necessity. Why should leaders be bent on channeling state funds into building cathedrals when the sick lie on the floor to be treated in hospitals? The Union needs to sit together and discuss our priorities together, so that we channel our efforts into one goal at a time, which is also very cost efficient. Why should we produce cocoa and coffee in our land and buy chocolates made in factories abroad from the product of our sweat and toil? Africa has to focus on exploiting our God-given minerals to benefit the continent instead of handing our spoil over to foreigners and then sitting back to cry like babies. Africans have proven to be very good at talking, and very bad with acting. To get the Africa we want, we must not just sit and utter cheap words, but we must follow them with actions. We complain that the leaders are the problem, yet, every election year, we stand in the comfort of the right to a private vote and cast our ballots based on tribal beliefs. To us, it is ‘to hell with’ whatever ideologies the politicians propose. Once our families have supported a particular party for years, we must vote for them even if they are not helping. Africans need to be conscious of who we vote for. The Africa we want depends on it. It is true that some of these politicians are chronic liars, but it is up to us to make them accountable to us. How else do we expect to see the Africa we want? To get the Africa we want, we must be ready to speak up, and speak the truth without fear. We cannot get the Africa we want if everyone who speaks the truth is silenced. If our lips are sealed by greedy hands, let our hands write words on paper that scream out. Let us be loud on paper. Patricia Moreira, Managing Director of Transparency International rightly said that no activist or reporter should have to fear for their lives when speaking out against corruption. The Africa we want requires free speech. We should be able to work at our development without fear of anyone in power. The youth has an undoubtedly huge role to play in acquiring the Africa we want because we form about sixty percent of the population. It is not enough that we know there’s a problem with how our development is going and complain about it. We must do something about it, no matter how little. The African youth need to play an active role in decision making, bearing in mind that whatever ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ is said today, will affect us in the long run. We need to be able to earn our spots on committees that are making the decisions that matter and bring on board fresh ideas. In an era where all that is taught in schools is theoretical and not practical, the African youth ought to take advantage of our access to social media to engage in knowledge sharing with the entire world, instead of using it to merely copy foreign cultures. There should be the creation of a special Youth Unit of the African Union tasked with brainstorming and partaking in governance in whatever way possible. It will be hard to ignore a unit formed under the umbrella of the African Union. As such, brilliant ideas from some of the best brains around the continent can help with the formulation of development policies. Let us see some fresh ideas in the walk towards the Africa we want. We also need to create spots in our development projects for the youth to volunteer towards making the continent a better place. Africans around the world are dying to have a say at what is done to foster development without even receiving any kind of payment for it. Creating vacancies for the youth to participate actively in development not only brings a fresh outlook on things, but also enables the youth to be more supportive considering the role they would have played in making things happen. Whether it is opportunities requiring man power or opportunities requiring brain power, there are people out there like myself who are ever ready to help. All it takes is giving us the chance. The Africa we want is not just a dream. The Africa we want is a possibility. If only we would realign our misplaced priorities, we would have the Africa we need. -Ahiadormey Amanda Edinam, Ghana. Name: Amanda Edinam Ahiadormey Bio: A Law Student, Award-Winning Writer and Author of theloudonpaper.wordpress.com Country: Ghana Email Address:-Phone Number: -