Africa’s Dependency Drapes Over Africans Everywhere

African Diaspora’s Destiny is linked to Africa’s Global Relevance, which depends on her level of Self-Sufficiency and Self-Reliance. The purpose of this article is to continue the discussion and to seek understanding of Self-Sufficiency and Self-Reliance in regards to the African Global Community. It may not be a revelation to most, that Africans globally have an image problem in regards to ability and capacity, that affect their honor, respect and dignity.  This problem stemmed from a perceived culture of Africa’s dependency on her former Colonial European Masters and their North American Cousins and a history of slavery that continually haunt Africans progress globally.  

However, it may be a revelation that Africa’s problem also belongs to its Diasporas (Descendants of African slaves in the New World) and Africans scattered world-wide.  If the African Diasporas are conscientious of their dilemma, they would comprehend that they are covertly being judged and being treated as Africans across the Globe, although they have been citizens of nations in all the other continents for centuries. The world is more eager to share Africa’s failures with all Africans world-wide than Africa’s contributions.

This is a call to all Africans, whether you are an African in part or in whole to embrace the cause of African Relevancy through Self-Sufficiency and Self-Reliance actions to “Build African People to Build African Nations”.   African Diasporas’ relevance is linked to Africa’s destiny!

The African Diasporas role in this malaise is their inability thus far, to develop a common narrative based on their collective history and to quantify in an impactful way their contributions to the Present Dominant Civilization.  The African Diasporas contributions to the dominant cultures of Europe have been historically significant, especially to the present powerful nation on earth, the United States.   The New World Africans failed to develop their contributions into a body of knowledge, to share and uplift themselves and others, through their narratives embodied in history, poems, songs and theology to demonstrate their relevance through their contributions to the society. 

The Religious Psychological Operations imbedded in theology that kept Africans in line during slavery are still in effect.    There are very few African Religious Leaders today that have made the efforts necessary to re-examine their theology and retool, to teach and preach Self-Sufficiency and Self-Reliance as “God’s Will”.  Most of the African Religious Leaders are still preaching “Wait on the Lord.”   This theology often mal-practiced discourages an already dependent mindset of Africans, that suffered five hundred years of slavery, and Africa from colonization; which forbade Self-Reliance and Self-Sufficiency actions.

African Preachers are frequently trained in Euro-centric seminaries, where European Spiritual needs are secured and nested within their own pillars of national power, to further their dominance.  Until, African Preachers and Theologians acknowledged their theological dependencies, to expand their efforts and energies to be theologically free; they will continue to be de facto threats to their own people’s consciousness, that their own God’s given abilities are reliable and sufficient.   African Preachers and Theologians can start by building their own seminaries, with African history as part of their core curriculum. History of a people, from a theological perspective is their collective testimony of God’s work in their lives. This would be a major theological Self-Reliance and Self-Sufficiency action.

Slavery has been the Diasporas’ moniker at the expense of their contributions. Their contributions have been neglected as the engine of economic power and builders of nations in the New World. They are in an unwarranted situation to gain honor respect and dignity across nations that they have helped build, especially in the New World; the Americas and the Caribbean. 

The Diasporas’ problem is conditioned primarily to Africa’s irrelevancy, demonstrated by their dependency on Europe, North America and now Asia, mainly China and Japan.  African countries made themselves dependent upon these powers to sustain and maintain Africa’s weak structure of security, economic, diplomatic and informational pillars of their existence.   

Africa does not project power that its vast natural resources suggest that it could employ and deploy to protect and defend herself and her children scattered worldwide. African Leaders can certainly use as models what the United States, England, Germany and France represent to Europe’s children scattered worldwide.  Instead, Africa has projected inability and incapacity through a steady flow of poverty and misery events, that have not been self-corrected by visionary leadership that anticipates, plans and acts decisively and self-reliantly. Their powerlessness elicits fake pity and compassion from exploitative nations from Europe, Asia and their allies. 

Since, the Diasporas’ destiny is linked to Africa’s relevancy through Self-Reliance; China now presents the biggest threat to both. Africa’s dependency places her right into China’s vision of expansion. China is moving like water, following the path of least resistance across Africa. The emergence of China is quickly becoming apparent in Africa. China is using the exact blueprint that the Europeans have used for centuries to exploit Africa’s natural resources. Except China could not use the obvious inhuman brutalities and other malfeasance used by their European predecessors to achieve their aim. China is using softer approaches but long term will prove to be a more destructive existential threat to Africa’s demography. Thus, the quest of Africa’s Self-Reliance from Self-Sufficiency to impact Africans world-wide will be extinguished.

The Africans seem to learn very little from their history of being colonized. The same vulnerabilities that have subjected Africa to colonization still exist for China to exploit. Thus, China aims could possibly include space to expand her population outside of Asia, as the Europeans have expanded in the Americas and other places a few centuries ago.

China’s calculation to expand in Africa is disastrous for Africans world-wide.   African’s status will further diminish across the globe!  The African People will be treated as strangers within their own continent and countries and the disrespect will deepen across the globe. Africans in Africa will end up, as the indigenous people in the Americas, the Caribbean and Australia. Africans will continue to exist world-wide but irrelevant. 

The vision of the African Union is: “An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in global arena.” This is a good vision statement that embraces Self-Sufficiency and Self-Reliance.  If the AU vision is implemented with courage and fortitude it would yield transgenerational success, not only for the continent but for the Global Community of Africans. 

This slice of the African Diasporas; the New World Africans (descendants of slaves in the Americas and the Caribbean) need to organize under a banner to be represented in the African Union (AU). They would serve as a counter force to Foreign Powers, that are motivated only by their own self-interest and retard the development of Africa’s self-reliance, which impact the African Diaspora. Africa’s development is a crucial element of the Diasporas’ honor, respect and dignity as they are the face and the genetic materials representing Africa Worldwide.

Berthony Napoleon LTC USA and DOD Civ (Ret)