Reclaiming Eden

INTRODUCTION

It looks as if Africans have been made like the ostrich which lays eggs and forgets about them, leaving them to be hatched by themselves. She is unaware that a foot may crush them or a wild animal may break them. She acts as if the eggs were not hers, and is unconcerned that her efforts are wasted. God said it was HE who made her foolish and did not give her wisdom (Job 39 vs17). But when an ostrich runs, she can laugh at any horse and rider. This sums up the position or the ability of the African.

Why do we Africans throw wealth away and descend to Europe, America and Saudi Arabia? Africans are the blessed humans on earth. We have everything on our land, yet we leave everything the Heavenly Father has blessed us with and travel to an unknown land.

The Europeans, using the Third World Approach to International Law (TWAIL), made themselves superior to Africans. TWAIL is defined as a predatory system that legitimises, reproduces and sustains the plunder and subordination of the Third World. This goes back to the time of imperialism and the decolonisation movement that swept the globe after the Second World War.

The African presidents formed a union well before the European Union. The whole idea was to promote peace, security and stability on the continent, as well as democratic principles and good governance. It was entitled to promote cooperation in all fields of human activity, to raise the living standards of African people, to start adult education where necessary and to promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies.

It is true that most Africans blame the interference of the Europeans who think the colour of his skin makes him more superior. That is not acceptable because if Africans did not allow such interference to happen, it would not happen. Imagine an African paying mercenaries from Europe to go and overthrow the government of the day. That is very pathetic.

We have a land that can give us food and water, but we rely on water aid from Europe. The plants in Africa can heal any disease on earth. That is how lucky the continent is. The wind can be accessible to wind turbines to give Africa free energy. Even the rubbish surrounding the shanty towns can generate power for us.

Let me pick one country and talk about it. Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This country lies between South Sudan and Central African Republic in the north, Tanzania in the east and Angola in the south. A vast country with heavy economic resources and civil war has made the country Africa’s world war three. The country has over seventeen thousand United Nations troops living there, at the expense of the government, to keep peace.

The civil wars in the country have had an economic and political impact. Fighting has been fuelled by the country’s vast mineral wealth, with all sides taking advantage of the anarchy to plunder natural resources.

The history of this African country has been one of civil wars and corruption. It is very shocking to see the quality of life in such a rich country in the heart of Africa. The saddest part of the stories I learnt was the government relying on the Chinese to excavate diamonds and other mineral resources before building their own roads. It is unfortunate that a country whose literacy rate is 67.2% acts like an ostrich. We need prayers for wisdom.

The influx of men, boys, women and children coming to Europe can be resolved with a little bit of wisdom.

Most people are enticed to come to Europe by the fact that they will get free education, unemployment benefit and national health services.

When I was about fourteen years old in the sixties, someone who was close to my family and had been in the United Kingdom for a couple of years said that education was free and they were being given free exercise books and pens if they go to school.

At that age, the idea of coming to Europe one day was planted in my mind.

THE WEALTH OF AFRICAN NATIONS

The problem of economic migration, a term commonly used by the UK government, can be stopped not only by Europeans but by African leaders themselves.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) believe by attacking the African leaders and making them responsible for the problems in their country, things will be resolved.

I see the organisation as a failure, because for over ten years they have just been able to apprehend and deal with only Thomas Lumba from DRC and charge him with recruiting child labour.

They managed to get Charles Taylor and put him behind bars for fifty years, but that happened because the former president of the United States, George Bush, was going to meet with a former Nigerian head of state, Obafemi, and he was instructed by Bush to apprehend Taylor otherwise the meeting would not happen. And that was the reason for Taylor’s arrest.

The ICC has been chasing El Bashir of Sudan for years and no African country would cooperate to arrest Bashir and hand him over. Because African leaders see the ICC as the animal farm – two legs good, four legs bad. (At the time of writing this book, El Bashir has been arrested.)

Almost all the African countries are very rich and they can implement free education, free unemployment benefit in their country as well as free hospital treatment for the sick.

Botswana

Let us talk about Botswana, a country of about 2 million people. Botswana is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa and bordering Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Botswana has a stable democratic government and a market-based economy. Since independence in 30 September 1966 from the British government, Botswana has had the highest average growth rate in the world. This impressive economic record had been built on a foundation of diamond mining, prudent fiscal policies, international financial and technical assistance and a cautious foreign policy.

The gross domestic product per capita is $11,400. Although mineral wealth has made the country one of the wealthiest nations in Southern Africa, it has high unemployment.

Botswana is the world’s largest producer of diamonds and it protects some of Africa’s largest areas of wilderness.

Such a country can be in the position to provide its inhabitants with free education to university level, free healthcare and unemployment benefit. What are the authorities doing to help stop the swathes of their people from leaving their country to travel on boats, which in most cases do not even reach the shores of Europe?

As I said, all the countries of Africa are very rich and the following are a large percentage of the countries with a list of mineral resources.

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso gained independence as Upper Volta in 1960 from the French. The country has significant reserves of gold, but cotton is the economic mainstay, even though a poor country by West African standards.

Central African Republic

Central African Republic has had several coups and has been unstable since its independence from France in 1960. Diamonds are prevalent in the Republic and are an important source of income. It is endowed with virgin rainforests and has some of the highest densities of lowland gorillas