Africa Must Produce or Perish

“Imagine that it is May 25, 2063, the 100th anniversary of Africa Day, a day for reflecting on Africa’s successes and failures. The newspaper headline announces, “Last Remaining Oilfield in West Africa’s American Territory Dries Up.”

The article continues: “The last patch of rainforest will soon be empty land scarred by oil pipelines, pumping stations, and natural gas refineries. Wholesale pollution will be the environmental legacy for future generations.

“Africa’s offshore oil reserves will ebb away. Abandoned oil wells could well become tourist attractions, and oil-boom settlements will be transformed into derelict ghost towns.

“In a world without oil, air travel will disappear, and people will voyage overseas on coal-powered ships. Farmers will use horses instead of tractors, and scythes instead of combine harvesters. As crops diminish and populations soar, famine will grip the globe. With no means to power their vehicles, parents will be housebound, without jobs, and children will walk to school.”

This scenario could become a reality, because we no longer have an abundant oil supply. We know oil exists in limited quantities and that most oil wells dry up after 40 years. It is as certain as death and taxes. Rather than debate the exact year when we will run out of oil, I prefer to imagine that we have already run out. It may come sooner than any of us expect. Our heirs will thank or curse us for how much oil we left for them. Instead of asking, “When will Africa run out of natural resources?” we should ask, “When will Africa be unable to export raw materials, either for lack of our own oil or because foreign markets have themselves dried up?”

A $100 bar of raw iron is worth $200 when forged into drinking cups in Africa, $65,000 when forged into needles in Asia, $5 million when forged into watch springs in Europe. How can this be? European intellectual capital – the collective knowledge of its people – allows a $100 raw iron bar to command a 50,000-fold increase! It could be said, therefore, that a lack of intellectual capital is the root cause of poverty.

Without African intellectual capital, iron excavated in Africa will continue to be manufactured in Europe and exported back to Africa at enormous cost. To alleviate poverty, Africa needs to cultivate creative and intellectual abilities that will allow it to increase the value of its raw materials and to break the continent’s vicious cycle of poverty. Poverty is not an absence of money, Rather, it results from an absence of knowledge.

In oil-exporting African nations, multinationals such as Shell (selling rigs for a 40% royalty on exported oil) are getting rich, while the oil rig workers remain poor. Instead of addressing the underlying causes of poverty – minimal productivity resulting from a lack of intellectual capital – Third World leaders have focused on giving false hope to their people.

We need less talk about poverty and more action to eliminate it. So how do we do this? Education has done more to reduce poverty than all the oil companies in the world. So it is disheartening to realize that few leaders believe that their people’s potential is far more valuable than what lies beneath the soil.

Intellectual capital, not higher wages, will eliminate poverty in Africa. If we all demand higher wages, we will end up paying the higher wages to ourselves. Intellectual capital will result in the creation of new products derived from new technologies. The end result will be not just a redistribution of wealth, but the creation and control of new wealth.

And Africa’s power to reduce poverty will open the floodgates of prosperity for millions of people. One catalyst for such prosperity could be telecommuting. If 300 million Africans could work for companies located in the West (just as millions of Indians do), then both regions would benefit. The strategy would be to recognize the labor needs of the global marketplace, and enable Africa to fulfill those needs.

For example, tax preparation experts living in Africa, where labor is cheaper, could fulfill the needs of US-based accountants. Furthermore, the time difference could allow for a fast turnaround in service. It is clear that knowledge and technology is crucial to alleviate Africa’s poverty.

Africa will perish if it continues to consume what it does not produce, and produce what it does not consume. The result will be a depressing cycle of increasing consumption, decreasing production, and increasing poverty. We are missing a golden opportunity by not using the trillion dollars earned by exporting natural resources to break Africa’s cycle of poverty.

We are at a crossroads where one signpost reads “Produce” and another reads “Perish.” We risk becoming like the driver who stops at an intersection and asks a pedestrian,
“Where does this road lead?”
And the pedestrian replies, “Where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know,” the driver replies.
“Then it obviously doesn’t matter which road you take!” replies the pedestrian.

If we adopt the same attitude as the driver, Africa will have lost its chance to “choose” its future.

For decades, power in post-colonial Africa rested in the hands of those with guns, not those with brains. We were not always at war with our neighbors, but we were always at war with poverty. And we spent more on guns than on books and bread.

Africa’s choice is clear: produce or perish. However, it is important that we do not blindly choose the lesser of two evils – producing what we cannot consume or consuming what we cannot produce. We can avoid this. My wish is that by the end of the 21st century high-end products in New York City will sport the label: “Made in Africa.”

We cannot look forward to our future until we learn from our past. Five thousand years of recorded history reveal that technology was ancient Africa’s gift to the modern world. Forty and a half centuries ago, geometers in Africa’s Nile Valley region designed the Great Pyramid of Giza, the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. That man-made mountain remains the largest stone building on Earth. It is an icon of engineering, and testifies that Africa was once the world’s most technologically advanced region.

It is absolutely imperative that Africa regain its technological prominence, which will enable it to produce what the world can consume. When we do that, Africa will finally be eating the fruits of its own labor. When Africa has regained its technological prominence, the world’s leaders will seek it out. And, like a rainforest renewed, Africa will flourish again.”

Philip Emeagwali has been called “a father of the Internet” by CNN and TIME, and extolled as “one of the great minds of the Information Age” by former U.S. President Bill Clinton. He won the 1989 Gordon Bell Prize, the Nobel prize of supercomputing.

When asked by a reporter why he was choosing to speak out now, at such a critical time, he responded by saying that he was “playing the dozens” and that he would not sit still while people were trash talking his momma (or the black church). This seemed to be a general thesis, as he framed all of the negative press directed at him as an “attack on the Black church.” At the beginning of his speech, Wright stated “the reality of of the African American church will no longer be invisible.” This makes it seem as if he’s using the recent controversy surrounding his comments to shine light on a serious problem. However, I believe he’s going about it all wrong. You can’t move the Black religious tradition “from the status of invisible, to the status of invaluable” through the National Press Club! He should have known better than that. But at the end of the day, as Wright reiterated repeatedly, he only has to answer to God. Unfortunately for Obama.

On November 25, 2006, Sean Bell was murdered on the day before his wedding in a barrage of 50 bullets. Bell and his two friends Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield were unarmed. Bell was killed on the scene having been struck 4 times in the neck and torso. Joseph Guzman was hit 19 times and Trent Benefield, who was in the back seat, was hit 3 times - both men survived. All victims, including Bell, were handcuffed after the assault. For the full story check out MK’s post: The Destruction of the Black Family… by the NYPD.

This is a travesty.

Hundreds of protesters in New York have rebelled against the decision and are planning demonstrations, vigils and acts civil disobedience in response to the injustice. I’m personally at a loss for words. I was 23 in 2006, I have a wife and a child (on the way). This could have been me coming out of the club, unarmed - or my brother or any one of my friends that live in NY… or Durham or LA or Baltimore or Philly. How do we defend ourselves/take action against institutionalized racism? After the verdict was announced, one outraged New Yorker yelled the question, “When was the last time an unarmed white man was killed in New York City?” That’s a good question. What are our thoughts on this?

Rest in Peace, Sean Bell.

As young voters are coming out to vote in record numbers, WireTap magazine parterend up with Rock the Vote to support the work of five emerging reporters for Rock the Trail project. These young reporters will rock their local, state and presidential campaign trails to deliver blogs, articles and videos from the communities they live in, reporting on young people’s top issues. Rock the Trail reporters will help make this election relevant, fun and meaningful for new voters.

The issues and voices of Rock the Trail reporters will be posted on RocktheVote.com, WireTapMag.org, BET.com, WashingtonPost.com and will also be available for viewing on AT&T mobile phones.

Entries will be judged by the young staff of Rock the Vote and WireTap, as well as an advisory panel of distinguished journalists including:

–Jeff Chang, award-winning author of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation
–Sian-Pierre Regis, producer, BET News
–Peter Rothberg, associate publisher, The Nation magazine
–Jose Antonio Vargas, political feature writer, The Washington Post.

Rock the Trail reporters will be paid a $500 monthly stipend and supplied with a laptop, cell phone and video camera to rock the 2008 campaign trail. Rock the Trail reporters will work approximately 10 hours a week from May 15 to November 30 interviewing candidates, elected officials, campaigners, young voters, youth organizers and Rock the Vote artists discussing everything from the Presidential race to mayoral elections and anything in between.

So, if you’re a U.S. citizen between the ages of 18-29 and interested in reporting on one of the most exciting times in U.S. politics, please visit http://www.Rockthevote.com/rockthetrail to complete an application by May 7th (not a minute after 11:59pm).

Rock the Trail project is sponsored by AT&T.

Part 1

Part 2

***UPDATE***

Army attendance at Uganda conference stirs recruiting rumor

The United States Army is not looking for a few good Ugandans.

An Army recruiting spokesman said Wednesday he was working to squelch a potential influx of interested applicants after an African news agency incorrectly reported the U.S. military planned to recruit Ugandan citizens during an Orlando convention.

“I’m relatively certain that there is no one working to get non-citizens (living abroad) to join the U.S. military,” said Douglas Smith, spokesman for the Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, adding only noncitizens living in the U.S. with a green card are eligible to serve.

Army recruiting officials have discussed plans to attend the Ugandan North American Association 20th Annual Convention starting Aug. 29 at the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort, Smith said.

Annette Kironde, spokeswoman for the association, said the publicity spurred dozens of e-mails to her organization, most saying they would do whatever it takes to join. “They’re desperate to get out of Uganda,” Kironde said.

[…]

“There are a lot of myths and misinformation on this topic,” he said of the U.S. military recruiting foreigners.

Not all Ugandans who heard about the bogus recruiting were interested.

“Ugandans, especially northerners, are too traumatized by 22 years of war that joining the U.S. army would not be therapeutic but rather a psychological trauma on top of trauma,” according to a comment Kironde received that was signed “A concerned Ugandan!”

This is all very confusing…if they are not recruiting then why are they attending the annual conference? And what is this business about cheaper flights…?

Uganda: U.S. Army Set to Recruit Citizens

The Nation (Nairobi)

NEWS
6 April 2008
Posted to the web 7 April 2008

By Angelo Izama
Kampala

Ugandans who want a career in the United States military, can sign up at the annual convention of the Uganda North American Association, organisers say.

American military recruiters will set up a booth at this year’s UNAA convention in Orlando, Florida, and seek out professional Ugandans, said Lt. Frank Musisi, himself an officer in the US Army.

Lt. Musisi, who comes from Kalangala District on Lake Victoria, is the current president of UNAA. He said the US military would also advise Ugandans on the “proper channels” to follow in enlisting. The announcement, which is also on the UNAA website (www.unaa.net), is set to cause a rush to this year’s convention that takes place from August 29 to September 1.

UNAA is encouraging interested Ugandans to book flights to Orlando and take a shot at joining the US military. The organisation says it has made a deal with Kenya Airways/KLM for a discounted return ticket at $1,200 (Sh74,400). The conference fee is $190 (Sh11,700).

“All registered Kampala travel agents have been authorised to book intending members,” Lt. Musisi said in an email interview.

The tour firm Let’s Go Travel confirmed to Saturday Monitor that UNAA had circulated a notice of the discounts. Applicants are being asked to carry their curriculum vitae (CV) suggesting that the recruitment exercise will be a main attraction at the convention.

Public interest in jobs abroad in Uganda is intense. Recruitment and job placement companies which advertise are often flooded with thousands of applications.

Many of you may be aware of the Absolut Vodka advertisement campaign theme, “Absolut World.” These advertisements use the slogan “in an Absolut World” to describe one’s ideal circumstance. One “Absolut World” ad shows a pregnant couple that consists of a slim, smiling mother and a strait-faced father with a bulging belly. Another personal favorite shows a politician standing at a podium delivering a speech with his nose stretched out like Pinocchio. Clearly, in this world these circumstances are impossible, but Absolut Vodka gives us a glimpse into an alternate world where pregnant mothers and disenchanted voters see justice. One recent advertisement from the “Absolut World” campaign has been the center of intense controversy. The ad, shown above, depicts a map of the United States, which places a significant portion of the American south-west within the territory of Mexico.

The map is a throwback reference to the Mexican-American war which took place between 1846 to 1848 after Texas seceded from Mexico. In the ensuing war the United States sent troops to Mexico City and forced her southern counterpart to relinquish half of her territory, thus forming the states of California, Nevada, Utah and parts of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Wyoming. As the above advertisement suggests, in Absolut’s ideal world this acquisition would never have taken place.

Critics have lambasted the Swedish Vodka company for running the advertisement, with one blogger writing “I have poured the remainder of my Absolut bottles down the sink.” Many more disgruntled Americans and anti-immigration activists are calling for boycotts. The main critique of the advertisement is that it endorses “Reconquista” (reconquest) - an ideology that many Mexican immigrants use to justify their presence in the United States. The idea behind “Reconquista” is that immigrating Mexicans are simply taking back what was stolen from them in the Mexican-American war. Absolut tapped into this prevalent ideology, by creating their “Absolut World” advertisement to fuel profits in a Mexican market. The ad never ran in front of a United States audience.

“In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues,” a spokeswoman wrote on Absolut’s Web site said. “Instead, it hearkens to a time which the population of Mexico may feel was more ideal,”

Absolut has since pulled the controversial ad. What do you think about this controversy? Was Absolut justified in running the campaign or are the angry Americans justified in their disgust over what they see as propaganda?