Patriotism is an essential ingredient for state’s success. Continent is a mere geographical boundary; it takes patriots to shape it. No continent thrives on high without sacrifices and those willing to sacrifice their personal possessions, aspirations and even lives – are those a continent is built on.
For any continent to rise to the demanding occasion of this new millennium, continental men of valor must rise like a phoenix and stand their grounds. They must alter the status quo and dare the tails of living and healthy lions. Like a wolverine; the decision to never retreat should crown the heroic acts championed by patriots.
Patriots end up giving everything, and in most cases, they fall for their continent to rise. Patriotism starts with belief that often ends up with ultimate price. They are those that are willing to be given a bad name for the right ethics, morals, value system and beliefs that have kept the continent going. They are those that are ready to put in a zealous shift for the progress and advancement of the continent. Africa lacks such men.
But in Africa; inferiority complex supersedes. Time without number, Africa has seen her greats championing foreign policies and agendas. Even Africans with that touch of global fame end up teaching Africans how to be like Europeans because they see Africa as damned continent.
They have been bred to believe that Africa is a third-world country that can never rise above the category. These greats eventually succumb to the condemnation of Africa, and deprived of that trigger to pull Africa out of the mess she found herself. They fail to try; instead, they end up in the West, counting their gains.
Yet; in Europe, these greats are used to further technology, research and inventions. Africa’s greats do well in Europe but cannot try, let alone replicating their success in Africa. The West has systematically severed any means Africa could go beyond her third-world category.
An inventor like Philips Emeagwali cannot confidently give account of his continent. He has been given everything he wanted in life and systematically made to forget Africa. No African child can benefit off his ingenuity, and neither can he start from Africa and break the yoke of African dependence.
In literature; Chimamanda Adichie came back to Africa after a long time in the West only to start a campaign aimed at promoting feminism instead of seek a way to impacting Africa to organically triumph.
World trade leader Okonji Ngozi Iweala; her ingenuity took her to the apex trade office, but she can only serve the West. Those that would have stood in the gap for Africa are in the West making names on the world stage and impacting the West. They see Africa as a third-world country and their class now further beyond the continent.
Africans work hard every day to exit the continent. They abandon their homes and go through hell migrating to Europe, where life is bearable, but African children have not critically looked inward- to know what made Europe a paradise is naturally deposited in Africa. African children struggle to go to the finished arena, abandoning the plentiful raw field.
Like Emeagwali was picked up and taken to the West where he today flourish; many African children with technical know-how are quickly taken to the West to develop. A couple of years ago; an American university offered to take an African child that built extra-ordinary equipment. The purpose of inviting the child is to invest in him and improve their technology. African leaders look away.
There are no patriots to stand in the gap for African children and no one to influence Africa to organically compete. Being Africa has become a thing of mockery. One is labeled a local champion for being Africa. Those that found their way to West or other advanced countries end up enjoying the hard work of the patriots in those advanced countries. They are not good enough to think Africa and lay down a marker for Africa’s advancement.
Indeed, Africa needs proud patriots.
