Africa is the motherland of all black races in the world, just as Europe is for the white race and Asia for the yellow race. This law of nature holds as long as mankind consists of different races. Therefore, it follows that any attack on blacks anywhere in the world is an attack on Africa, and any assault on Africa is an insult to blacks worldwide. Just as the creator intended for Europe to defend the white man and Asia to defend the yellow man, Africa is meant to defend the black man. For a long time, we have witnessed the white and yellow races ready to use their last coin and shed their last drop of blood to defend the dignity, honor, and respect of their race. Can the same be said of Africa today?
The black race in the world experienced the greatest humiliation under colonization, as the nation supposed to defend them was reduced to a mere colony of the races that oppressed them. Africans were thus rendered orphans of their defender, predisposing them to the evils they have experienced and continue to experience in the world. For the Chinese, their greatest humiliation was not the fall of the Chinese empire but the loss of their territories and the occupation of their land by Britain and France. The greatest humiliation for Germans was the loss of their territories and occupation by allies after the First World War. Colonization, therefore, is the forceful occupation of people's land, the seizing of others' territories, and the destruction of their culture.
Throughout history, Africans have been defended by strong empires that fought to uphold their honor. We remember the Mali Empire under Samouri Toure, which fought against the French colonial army; the Ghana Empire, which continuously fought the British against slavery and colonization; the Kongo Empire, which fought Portuguese colonialists against the slave trade and colonization; the Matamba Kingdom, which fought continuously against Portuguese slave trade and colonization, and many other African kingdoms.
From early times, European nations realized that the only successful way to dominate Africans was by splitting their empires into small colonial states for their rule. They also realized that under African religion, Africans thrived and prospered, hence sought to destroy it.
Africa, the mother of the black race, was divided into different colonial states and occupied by the white race. As a step towards achieving this, missionaries were first sent to spread the colonizer's culture under the guise of religion, forcefully teaching Africans to ignore and despise their culture. Over time, Africans began to ignore the fabric that held them together, leading to the decay of society. Africans began to associate their culture with darkness, while European culture was seen as the path of light. It is from these early shifts that the seeds of domination were sown, as even the mighty African empires began to split under European culture.
Despite the continuous resistance African societies offered to colonization, they later succumbed to the heavy weapons used by colonialists. The history of Africa was altered from that time onwards. Each nation of the white race had its portion in Africa and began to occupy it. African kin were separated by boundaries imposed by another race that never cared for the plight of Africans. Under colonization, Africans were forcefully relocated, their lands taken over by the whites, made to be labor workers on their own land, forcefully recruited into colonial armies, and later used to undermine the struggle of their brethren to regain independence. Africans were forced to change their African names for the colonizers' names.
Under colonization, tremendous changes occurred to the African people. Africans, for the first time, came to know that an individual could benefit from the sweat of many others, own large tracts of land to the detriment of others, that their kin could betray them, and began to be embarrassed of their skin color. The Euro lifestyle became a sign of modernity. Africans were given demeaning names like "kaffir," aimed at superimposing Euro supremacy, and were addressed by the whites as children, regardless of their age. It is from this that seeds of individuality, societal decay, corruption, and betrayal were sown among Africans.
During the fight to regain their independence, Africans were constantly betrayed by their fellow Africans who were part of colonial armies. Homeguards, the colonial African army, were used to inflict torture and great atrocities on their African brethren. Due to these traitorous actions, African freedom fighters were very much disappointed with their black Europeanized brethren, and to some extent, it was a mental trauma for them. Neighbors sold each other out for the benefit of the colonizer.
After regaining independence, the very homeguards became incorporated into the police and army units, despite themselves causing havoc to Africans. It is this painful and traitorous spirit that characterizes Africa even today. Africans have inherited mental trauma from the previous generation that fought for independence due to their sufferings under homeguards who were their neighbors. With the exit of the colonizers, a new Europeanized black bureaucracy emerged, which filled the exploitative gaps left by the colonialists.
Africans under black rule continue to witness similar oppressive occurrences as when the imperialists were around. The police and the army are continuously used to terrorize and kill harmless African citizens for demanding their rights. Africans demanding transparency and accountability are still being assassinated and imprisoned. African resources are being used for the benefit of a few elite classes. Africans are still landless, with the majority being squatters and living in camps. African youth continue to suffer from unemployment, good health services are still inaccessible to ordinary Africans, and corruption and embezzlement of African finances by African elites continue to be seen.
It is from colonization that this exploitative system was established, but I blame my fellow Africans with whom we have comfortably sought to maintain the colonial systems, falsely believing that if improved, they will benefit us. Africans, it is disappointing that we have never realized this. These systems were meant to ensure our continual domination, whether by the colonizer or by Africans against Africans. Inheriting exploitative systems, despite who is at the top, still results in exploitation.
I call upon you, Africans, let us change the present state of things. Let us put Africa above self-interest. Let us demand transparency, equity, and accountability from our leaders. Let us denounce systemic corruption, which is eating up Africa, and advocate for a united Africa guided by the best interests of Africans.
