TELLING THE STORY OF A BOLD AFRICA

 

Today, on the occasion of African Day, we applaud the grand assemblies, the polished speeches, and the diplomatic handshakes. Yet beneath the ceremonial fanfare, we must ask ourselves whether our finest achievement is the art of lamenting old injustices of colonialism or imperialism. Are we still masters of our own story, or have we become poets of pain, singing the old songs of sorrows like a worn-out drum?

We can let bygones be bygones and get focused. We can tell the stories of one of the beautiful mornings in Accra,  where young inventors bring dreams to life; stories of Ugandan farmers planting trees whose cool branches will shelter children not yet born.  We can tell the stories of the grandeur African Free Trade Area, stories that don’t paint us as beggarly, but a rising continent that is ready to manage and handle its own affairs. These are the stories we should tell. Stories
of hope, not tales of endless hurting past.

We cannot continue to lick old colonial wounds as if they were precious beads. Enough with the weariness of past wrongs. Instead, let us celebrate the bridges we build; the rail tracks stretching from Cairo down to Cape Town, the village solar lamp lighting up a child’s smile in rural Mali, the mobile bank in Dakar that puts power in people’s hands.

Leaders and neighbours, it is time to plant seeds of action, not weeds of regret. Let us learn the craft of planting trees that will stand tall, long after we have gone, teaching future voices to also tell stories of  progress under their shade. Let our stories carry the drumbeat of confidence.

 Here’s to every African! A sentence a day to tell the positive story of Africa will go a long way to spark the fire of positivity on our continent.  Happy African Union Day!