To Black Africans: It’s Not The Responsibility of African Americans to Rebuild Africa
I am sick and tired of Black Africans who blame Foundational Black Americans for not wanting to rebuild Africa. I can’t stand the stupidity that comes from many members of my own community. Let’s grow up and stop acting like failures. Wake the fuck up, Black Africans!
As a Frenchman of Congolese origin, I am sick and weary of fellow Black Africans who feel that African Americans in the United States and Africans in Africa have an obligation to build Africa. Furthermore, I am sick and tired of Black Africans in the United States looking down on African Americans in their own country: Listen, Black Africans: if Black Americans had not stood up and fought for their rights to be considered equals and human beings in the United States, I can tell you that mainstream White Americans would not have treated you differently in the 1910s/20s/30s/40s/50s/60s/- believe me.
I’ve never been to the United States, but I am the author of a U.S.-based platform; take a look at this platform; it will tell you everything you need to know. It is your responsibility as a Black African or anyone else to adapt to the American mindset and mainstream American society; this also includes respecting Black Americans, who had played various roles in the development of the United States despite being treated as second-class citizens when some idiots out there called them “Colored people”, “Negroes”, “the other N-word, besides the word Negro”, and so on. I’m not sure what kind of an imbecile came up with these racist terminologies, but fuck them all anyway.
Now that I’ve called out every single imbecile, fool, and loser who came up with these racist words you just read in this blog that are used to denegrate Black people. I’m also going to tell you that it is not Black Americans’ job to rebuild Africa; Black Americans owe nothing to Africa or Africans. Furthermore, Black Americans are citizens of the United States; there is nothing wrong with them looking out for their own interests as well as the interests of the United States — because it is their nation, just as it is for other Americans.
Furthermore, in this case, I’d want to point out that Africa is not a country; anyone who believes otherwise is stupid. Africa is a continent made up of 54 countries, each with its unique history, culture, and identity; while having endured colonialism, their paths are not the same. At some point, the average individual in Africa and their government must wonder why most Black African societies have failed; I am going to say something that will make other Black people hate me, but as far as I’m concerned, I don’t give a shit because I have been known for being straight to the point when it comes to dealing with uncomfortable issues that are holding us, Black people, back from being our best selves and creating societies that are worthy of respect.
Now, I’m going to say something that will make some people hate me, regardless of race, but as I previously stated, I don’t care — so here it is: the problem that we Black Africans face is that we have been hypnotized into believing that all of our failures in life are the result of colonization, slavery, discrimination, and unequal opportunities on the continent. Even if those circumstances are true; something I would never dismiss as a Black man, with roots in the central part of the continent; it would be strange of me to do so — let’s face it, we are the biggest culprits of the situations Africa finds itself in, from those in charge of the countries to the average citizen from various African countries.
It is apparent that the problem is not with Whites, Indians, Chinese people, Pakistanis, Vietnamese people, Black Americans, West Indians, Lebanese people, Coloreds, or any Mixed Race people in Africa; while some of them are big problems; we could address and discuss, the problem is with us, Black Africans! But how many Black Africans in different African countries and other countries outside the continent are willing to admit and acknowledge it? While we as Black Africans live together for any length of time, whether in Africa or elsewhere, we begin to learn that we are frequently our own worst enemies, causing our own calamities, and many refuse to listen and reason until it is too late.
We are responsible for governing more than 50 countries on the Earth, and each one is a virtual catastrophe zone. Various politicians from various Sub-Saharan African countries have stolen money from their own countries to enrich themselves and their surroundings, even to the point of favoring their own tribes, while leaving the rest of their populace in abject poverty. Why do you believe it would matter if Black Americans choose to invest in the continent? These are the same politicians who would steal money from investments made by African Americans, good-hearted Russians, good-hearted Ukrainians, Germans, Italians, Japanese, Swedes, etc.
On the one hand, it relates to our attitudes and ideals: It is ridiculous of us to put on the shoulders of a group of individuals simply because we have the same skin color — give me a fucking break. As a Black African, I completely agree with Black Americans who do not want to invest in the other motherland.
The Black diaspora does not bear responsibility for Africa’s development, and they owe us nothing. Africa must stand on its own and begin to man up. African politicians have repeatedly demonstrated in several Sub-Saharan African countries that they are incapable of self-government; corruption and financial mismanagement must be addressed first. African Americans who decide to invest in Africa are tired of hearing about taxpayer money being flushed by society and their respective governments.
To be more controversial; if this offends some of you, I couldn’t care less; as far as I’m concerned, one of the fundamental factors in the emergence of European, Asian, Oceanian, and American domination in the globe has been the importance placed on individual achievement. Individualism is suppressed in Sub-Saharan Black African societies, and people are forced to comply in the names of traditions, culture, religious norms, tribal norms, etc.
This makes us vulnerable to being herded like sheep and unwilling to stand up as leaders who are willing to go against the grain; we are extremely tolerant of undesirable things. African Americans are among the demographics in the U.S. that have huge issues with poverty; especially in Ghettos and they mustn’t get themselves into fights they will never win. Foundational Black Americans have to focus on rebuilding their neighborhoods, improving their standards of living, and focusing on the U.S. Fuck Pan-Africanism; I have said it…Fuck Pan-Africanism! Because I don’t have time for this shit. A culture of begging doesn’t work; this is what destroys many Sub-Saharan African countries. Black Africans have stopped begging and rebuilding their own nations, instead of thinking idealistic thoughts about building Africa.
The problem with many native Black African societies is that we’ve been acting like children and groups of people who can’t self-govern for decades, which has contributed to us being disrespected, mistreated, and looked down upon by others, as well as ourselves and the diaspora. We never challenge our ideas, customs, or ways of life, and we always find reasons to justify everything rather than improve ourselves at any cost.
We talk about African politicians being corrupt and reckless, but should we ask ourselves about their upbringings, attitudes, actions, and mentalities? Where have they come from? They originate from our way of thinking, our ways of seeing the world, our limiting beliefs, and our impoverished mindsets; if you don’t like what I’m saying, look at some of our poorest nations. For decades since many of our nations in Africa have received their independence, we have been acting like we are not accustomed to identifying problems and dealing with them at their core.
What irritates me the most is that we prefer to disregard all of our societal problems, as well as the living conditions in various Sub-Saharan African countries, in the hope that they will resolve themselves. We allow small problems to grow, ferment, and become big problems; this is why some people who don’t look like us believe that our way of thinking is a typical “Black” or “N-word(Negro)” attitude, which reflects precisely the type of outlook on life that causes them so many problems. The messages we convey to ourselves and those who don’t look like us are that we, as Black Africans live without a thought for tomorrow.
It’s not like Africa was a developed country before colonialism; does that bother you? I do not give a flying potato. Life was difficult enough for us, Black people on the continent, in pre-colonial times. We fought a lot with each other over territories and tribal affiliations; it’s not like anti-Black-on-Black racism didn’t exist in Africa during pre-colonial times, and we as Black people did not dwell in some mythical peace across Africa during pre-colonial times. To this day, there is so much tribal animosity in Africa, especially within various nations within Sub-Saharan Africa; we, Black Africans from various Sub-Saharan African countries, have failed to stand up to racism among ourselves and make it illegal to be racist toward one another and people who look different. Yet some of us expect Black people from the diaspora to help us develop Africa. Let’s grow up and act like reasonable people for once.
When I was 12 years old in 1993, I realized that decolonization had been a positive thing everywhere — except in Africa! I’ve been pointing out that the Pacific, Asian, and even South American countries did significantly better following independence than Africa. Most of Africa has regressed for more than 60 to 70 years, but Asia and other continents are progressing. Japan now lacks natural resources, while being one of the world’s wealthiest countries. Singapore was a developing country only a few decades ago; there were even African countries richer than it; today, it is a fully developed country; how did they manage it despite the lack of natural resources?
Most countries that are managed by us Black Africans are backward. We are responsible for the conditions that plague many of the societies we control — yes, this includes poor governance, chaos, low life expectancies, inadequate healthcare systems, political instability, crime, civil wars, corruption, rubbish on the streets, failed educational systems, tribal enmity, and xenophobia among ourselves. Colonization and oppression played a role in our pain, self-esteem, and humiliation, but there comes a time when we must accept responsibility and admit that some of our mentality and mindset, as well as our ways of interacting with one another, contribute to our downfall — even in countries that do not have a history of colonialism, such as Ethiopia and Liberia. Liberia was home to former slaves from the U.S.; since 1848, the country has not developed.
Each African must look after the interests of their own countries: Uganda for Ugandans, Nigeria for Nigerians, South Africa for South Africans, the Congo DR for DR Congolese nationals, the Congo Republic for ROC citizens, and Cameroon for the Cameroonians. If you’re from Cameroon, you’re first and foremost a Cameroonian, and then an African. Another thing that irritates me is how many Black Africans prioritize Africa over their own countries, making us appear foolish in the process. A Chinese will always prioritize China over the Asian continent; an Indian will prioritize India over Asia.
I’ve never seen a Brazilian prioritize Latin American interests above his own country, nor have I ever seen an Australian prioritize Oceania interests over Australia. This mentality exists only among us, Black Africans and it must be stopped! If we don’t like ourselves, maybe each of us should be nationalistic and put our countries first. If you are Senegalese and you are not a naturalized South African citizen, in South Africa, you are a foreigner in that land. As long as we, Black Africans, continue to fail to understand what makes a country a country, its identity, its sets of rules, its history, and its constitution, we will continue to create failed states, and we will continue to be mocked by those who don’t look like us and some within our own communities.
To summarize my blog, I’d want to state that I have nothing to apologize for; if other Black Africans are reading this blog and are upset by it, I couldn’t care less. It is not the job of Black people in the diaspora to restore Africa; let us stop looking at these issues from an emotional standpoint and become rational. We must dig deep within ourselves and accept personal responsibility for the patterns and beliefs that have prevented us from attaining great things. Our greatest enemies are not outside; rather, they are within and among ourselves. As long as we, Black Africans, don’t change our collective conditioning, nothing will change in Africa, and many North Africans will continue to dissociate with us, denigrate us, look down on us, and call us vicious names. The next generations of Black folks will never forgive our stupidity and incompetence — so, let’s stop acting like failures, and let’s implement mindsets that have made other societies successful.