Just a few thoughts on the mother land. Not to long ago I was at a BBq and me and this cat were chatting about Africa. The conversation was about opportunity, and possibilities. We discussed qutie a bit and he was suprised about my knowledge of Africa, not just history but current events and how all of this relates to our advancement as a unified people. My friend from Cote D' Ivoire is working on his masters and plans on returning home upon the completion of his studies. What really hit me is that he said they need people like me, people who want to make moves. So I really started thinking, how come our African sisters and brotha's always come here get some knowledge and go home, yet we seldom go to Africa? In a land full of Hustla's, ballers, players, etc. you'd think these cats would see some opportunity for some serious moves. I'm talking global moves, real hustla moves, working with your people type moves. So I came up with a few thoughts on makin moves in Africa. Now alot of this has been discussed, is being discussed but I think we as African Americans, need to take a good look at our options, stay here and hope for the best, or go home and make it happen.Infrastructure:
A. Transcontinental Rail System, build the largest rail-transport system in the world. I know a little bit about transportation, with roads you get more oportunities for commerce. How come every oil company that works in Africa can build a tight ass port to ship out the oil they take from the country, yet the same country has 70 percent of their roads limited to dirt or gravel. New rules need to be put into effect, you want something then you need to contribute and help my people out, Lets take the Chad export project for example, ExxonMobil is making a tight ass pipeline from Chad through Cameroon to get the oil to the rest of the world. Sounds like some good ol' situational philanthropy, Collectively the resources of Africa would be better suited to building a better nation than making a few Exgoon execs stupid filthy rich.
B. Continental Educational System, linking education centers private and public, to form a Trans African educational data base. All that history, our history, has to be tapped, theres just to much knowledge in a land like Africa, and I know we got enough teachers over here so what?
C. The establishment of a Single African Currency. Every body else in the world is geting the whole money situation right. One unit of commerce for the whole land. Half the cololnial powers dont even use the currencies they left in Africa anymore! Gotta get one spending unit, then you can think about dealing with the global market. 50 plus countries with just as many currencies, the monetary unit has to be centralized. I think that is written some where in the hustlers handbook somewhere, gotta get the paper right.
Communication:
A. Establish the worlds largest wireless communication system. This is already going on but why is it that other countries are cashing in on Africa's growing use of wireless technology? If you are going to set up shop then you gotta come correct. Your system, no prob, just as long as I am going to run it. Have you seen Black Hawk Down? Wireless technology goes a long way...
Mass Media:
A. Continental mass media content with a wide range of services. This is about globalizing the African message. AGNN the African Global News Network, this can ride on top of the communication piece. There a millions upon millions of Africans, look at India they have a thriving movie production industry. Media for your people by your people. Just Imagine selling a hundred million records, and owning the factory that makes the cds! Now thats ballin.
International
Relations:
A. An aggressive posture in promoting vigorous, non evasive global partnerships expanding the opportunities for African development.
China has been poping up all over the world, if you take a look at Africa its no different. I welcome interest but it has to be to our mutual gain. If you can roll with that I can roll with you, shit China has some pretty ambitious projects going on right now in their own counrty, some of those projects could do Africa pretty good, I'd be like ok China you wanna do some business, then why dont you come and assist me in building our own Yangtze river project, something that helps Africa help itself.
B. Countries who do business in Africa, need to do so on a mutual benefit basis. No more pimping, if you plan on taking you need to give back. It dont make no sense being the worlds fourth or fifth top oil producer with no refineries, no gas stations, no nothing, that dont even sound right!
Modernization:
A. The effective combination of mentioned practices to facilitate a leveraged modernization of the African continent.
The next section is for those who may be a little lacking in the Africa history department. I put this in here so you can get a perspective on the things that took place in African and how the time lines are very similar to some significant events in Afro American history, especially the parallels with the Civil Rights movement and the struggle for African Independence. Funny how the one person (MALCOLM X) who was trying link to two pieces together and take it to the global arena was assasinated before he had the opportunity to do so...
A quick historcal look at the continent:
"The Berlin Conference was Africa's undoing in more ways than one. The colonial powers superimposed their domains on the African continent. By the time independence returned to Africa in 1950, the realm had acquired a legacy of political fragmentation that could neither be eliminated nor made to operate satisfactorily."
"The Berlin Conference was Africa's undoing in more ways than one. The colonial powers superimposed their domains on the African continent. By the time independence returned to Africa in 1950, the realm had acquired a legacy of political fragmentation that could neither be eliminated nor made to operate satisfactorily."
In 1884 at the request of Portugal, German chancellor Otto von Bismark called together the major western powers of the world to negotiate questions and end confusion over the control of Africa. Bismark appreciated the opportunity to expand Germany's sphere of influence over Africa and desired to force Germany's rivals to struggle with one another for territory.
At the time of the conference, 80% of Africa remained under traditional and local control.
What ultimately resulted was a hodgepodge of geometric boundaries that divided Africa into fifty irregular countries. This new map of the continent was superimposed over the one thousand indigenous cultures and regions of Africa. The new countries lacked rhyme or reason and divided coherent groups of people and merged together disparate groups who really did not get along.
Fourteen countries were represented by a plethora of ambassadors when the conference opened in Berlin on November 15, 1884. The countries represented at the time included Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway (unified from 1814-1905), Turkey, and the United States of America. Of these fourteen nations, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal were the major players in the conference, controlling most of colonial Africa at the time.
The initial task of the conference was to agree that the Congo River and Niger River mouths and basins would be considered neutral and open to trade. Despite its neutrality, part of the Congo Basin became a personal kingdom for Belgium's King Leopold II and under his rule, over half of the region's population died.
At the time of the conference, only the coastal areas of Africa were colonized by the European powers. At the Berlin Conference the European colonial powers scrambled to gain control over the interior of the continent. The conference lasted until February 26, 1885 - a three month period where colonial powers haggled over geometric boundaries in the interior of the continent, disregarding the cultural and linguistic boundaries already established by the indigenous African population.
Following the conference, the give and take continued. By 1914, the conference participants had fully divided Africa among themselves into fifty countries.
Major colonial holdings included:
• Great Britain desired a Cape-to-Cairo collection of colonies and almost succeeded though their control of Egypt, Sudan (Anglo-Egyptian Sudan), Uganda, Kenya (British East Africa), South Africa, and Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana (Rhodesia). The British also controlled Nigeria and Ghana (Gold Coast).
• France took much of western Africa, from Mauritania to Chad (French West Africa) and Gabon and the Republic of Congo (French Equatorial Africa).
• Belgium and King Leopold II controlled the Democratic Republic of Congo (Belgian Congo).
• Portugal took Mozambique in the east and Angola in the west.
• Italy's holdings were Somalia (Italian Somaliland) and a portion of Ethiopia.
• Germany took Namibia (German Southwest Africa) and Tanzania (German East Africa).
• Spain claimed the smallest territory - Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni).
As of late Liberia has elected the worlds first
African Female Head of state Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.Another example of an African sister doing her thing getting her knowledge on then taking it home. She recently beat George Weah soccer star for the opportunity to lead the country. Not that having a soccer star for a leader would be a bad thing, but we have seen first hand over here how things go when actors and atheletes start running for office... Props to the IRON LADY hope we can finally see some peace in Monrovia. This may be the start for a new type of leadership in the counrty as well as the continent. People who want to make Africa all that it can be. I dont know where cats got they heads at today, but things like this are important, important to us, important to the world. I am sure President Johnson-Sirleaf would love to chat with some of our African American movers and shakers, it's only logical. I think it goes without saying that America has developed some of the most outstanding Black talent in the world. Why not bring this talent to a venue with over several hundred million strong of our own people. I'm sure alot of Africans wanna hear from us, would like to hear from us.
Time to holla back...
NARO%
