When will Africa wake up from economic slumber?
THE Chinese bamboo is an amazing tree. Its seed stays underground for five years without germinating, but when it does, it grows considerably big in one week.
What is important is not how long it delays, but how fast it grows.
Don’t give up on your dreams for Africa no matter how long it stays underground. It’s a matter of time; you need staying power.
The Chinese bamboo seed lies underground, waiting for the right time to sprout. Africa, once dubbed a dark continent, has started emitting light.
No situation is permanent. Africa needs its citizens to keep focused. Who is going to stand up and say “I am ready to rebuild Africa?”
Previously, Africa failed to realise economic growth. This was mainly due to inaccessibility of information to the Africans who are supposed to effectively take charge of their economies.
Now, an average African can access vital economic information through the increased use of technology in economic and business affairs. This has closed the gap between African economies and the rest of the world.
Ten years ago, it was almost impossible for an ordinary African to communicate with the rest of the world. These ordinary citizens are now empowered and have become drivers of their own economies.
Without a doubt, such massive economic participation by ordinary citizens is a guarantee of a huge economic turnaround in Africa.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame once said: “In Africa today, we recognise that trade and investments and not aid are major pillars of development.”
Ordinary Africans have, for long, been seen as people in need of donations. This was mainly because of Africans' passive participation in economic issues.
However, people in Africa are now active in the economy; they are now entrepreneurs and not charity cases.
This, therefore, supports and explains what Kagame meant when he said: “The way to go is to believe in our capability and strategies for economic growth. Before laying the foundation, the first key to unlock is to believe.”