LIFE IN AFRICA AND THE WAY OUT. – By Dotun George

One of my life's visions is deeply rooted in the African vision. Leaders after leaders from across Africa have longed passionately for a new continent. We saw that in Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Nelson Mandela, Obafemi Awolowo, Herbert Marcurly, Albert Luthuli and others. They have imagined and envisioned a continent imbued with visionary leadership, capable of mobilizing and harnessing Africa's enormous human and material resources towards social, economic and political peace and stability. In the actualizing that, they came together to form Organization of Africa Unity. Since then, was Africa united? It was at the face of this Organization Africa continent was tore apart through racism, segregation, war, genocide and what have you.

Presently, this vision looks far-fetched. It perhaps looks more far-fetched today than it was yesterday. Almost all the negative indices are up. Political instability. Poverty. Corruption. Ethnic wars and the worst of it is the xenophobic attack on foreign national especially Nigerians in South Africa. Africa's rapid population growth rate falls far below its economic growth rate. Saddled with heavy debt burdens, visionless leadership and the all-pervading corruption, the continent - with its 600 million plus people - has become a laughing stock and the object of international concern.

Africa has always been in the news. At one time the continent was the theatre of the heinous crime of slavery between the 16th and the 19th centuries. At another time, it was at the receiving end of a big scramble that led to the partitioning of the continent into colonies. The road to freedom from colonialism was paved with blood. The misuse of that freedom paved way for neo-colonialism. The cold war led to a second partitioning of Africa into the communist and capitalist camps. Africa became the bride wooed by two powerful forces in a battle for supremacy. That battle bequeathed to our continent corrupt and inept governments that were propped up by their masters and were more concerned about their personal survival than the survival of their people. The cold war had hardly ended before globalisation of trade became the vogue. Trade globalisation has exposed the African economy as weak and non-competitive.

One of the latest sobering news coming out of Africa shows that AIDS, the world’s most dreaded disease, has gotten its foot-hold in the continent. Of the global total of 34.3 million people infected with the deadly virus, 24.5 million (or 70%) of them are Africans. In the year 2000 alone, the Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 3.8 million new cases of HIV/AIDS!
Ebola virus has done devastating havoc most especially to the people of West Africa. Thousands of lives were claimed by Ebola in Liberia, Serea Lone, Gambia, Garbon and few in Nigeria.

Good news, but…
But it is not all bad news from Africa. Obviously the most cheering news is that Africa today is the most Christianised continent in the world!
My thinking is that Africa can use what she has got to get what she does not have. Our cathedrals are bursting at their seams. Sunday after Sunday, African Christians throng the churches for worship and spiritual guidance. Our leaders openly request for prayers and attest to their faith in Christ. But this massive outpouring of the Spirit is yet to translate into new habits and lifestyles that are capable of bringing our continent out of the pit of despair. Corruption has not abated.

Observers have noted that this seeming piety is directed to 'An Unknown God' who has remained a mystery to a lot of Africans. Like the Athenians, Africans are known to be deeply religious people. But God has become a mere tool of worship to achieve a selfish end rather than One to relate to and obey in all things. It could be said of a lot of African Christians as "having a form of godliness but denying its power….” Profession of faith is hardly matched with the practice of faith. The yawning gap between profession and practice has brought the African Church into a state of disrepute and has given the impression that she is an accomplice to the corruption and ineptitude that characterize Africa rather than the Light that she claims to be.

Church as Agents of Change
Even then, the African Christians remain the most potent forces to counter the darkness that has overwhelmed the continent. If adequately mobilized, reset her priority and stop fooling herself because of fanciful edifice of their place of worship,  that is. This is because the Church remains the only Body of Christ and the Pillar of Truth on earth. Not only that, the Christian faith is a revolutionary faith. It calls believers to a new life (new creation) and the submission to a Biblical worldview through discipleship. Believers are advised to develop a radical mind that is in conformity with the new creation realities and to firmly resist the temptation to be conformed to the world standards.
Church supposed to be non-conformist, anti-corruption crusader, a new breed without greed, a radical opposition to corruption and usher in a new order of life, norms, system, structures and attitudes that will dignify man.

"Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude]…"

ECONOMIC WOES: CAUSES AND LIKELY SOLUTIONS....... By Dotun George

Nigeria economy is gradually sliding into recession because of the mismanagement of the nation's wealth and resources by the past regime. Over the years, we refused to invest, diversify our economy, we run only mono economy that is solely dependent on oil. We refused  to think ahead, we are not proactive in our approach to all our national issues, unfortunately, the repercussion is now catch up with us a d hitting the entire country badly.

A recession is a decline of economic activity, more specifically, a decline in gross domestic product (GDP) for two or more consecutive quarters. GDP is the market value of all goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time.

There is outcry everywhere and agitations are rising day by day for a better and prosperous nation. It seems government is helpless and the whole country is confused. I have stopped to disturb myself because my mentor, who is also a watchman over this country said before now when the whole nation was preparing for the last general election and early this year, he made reference to it again in one of his nation wide live broadcast made in the month of January 2016. He said, Nigeria will go through a transition period before revolution, transformation and desire change comes. Obviously, it seems every approach of government is not yielding the required result and everything seems to be stagnated, yes it will be because change by nature are not microwave and it does not happen over night. To change a rotten and bastardized system and country comes with a lot of difficulty, at the beginning, the whole exercise and attempt might looks impossible and futile but if the government and the citizens do not relent in the attempt to birth change, in no time, the desire change and transformation will come.

Many who are ignorant of the economic cycle will blame it on the current government, no. Nigeria has been showing symptoms of recession for a long time, but but now the reality was dawn on us. In the past we are given bogus economic figures and whitewash GDP figure that does not reflect in the economic lives of Nigeria.

Recession is an opportunity for a nation and the people to rise higher provided we can see what lies ahead. What need to be done as government is to change the strategy, reposition the institutions and structure of governance. Let us a create accurate database of our population, employed and unemployed populace, students in school and those out of school and those did not have the opportunity of stepping into the four walls of formal schools. Proper and accurate population database will aid our economic planing. The citizens must position themselves accurately and take hold of the opportunities and begin to create economic pathways, that is what change the fortune the Indians and Chinese.

A productive country and serious minded government leverage on everything and every situation and turn it around for their advantages. In 2008-2009 when there was global recession, Germany was not in recession because they have a system and structure that can mitigate such natural occurrence. In Germany 30% of their students goes to University and 75% of the students goes to polytechnic and technical colleges. During recession they are able to rise above it because average workers are technically and technologically skillful, what that means is that, they prioritize human capital development. A productive citizens will produce a productive country but a lazy country like Nigeria where everybody is busy looking amnesty, handouts and crumbs of bread from government is country already programmed for poverty, economic woes and recession.

To get out of recession, we must focus on power generation and equilibrium distribution of power. Power is imperative to meet local demand, to drive economy both at micro and macro level. We need to decentralize the source of power generation. Why giving me power from Kanji Dam when the cost of getting power from Kanji have already killed the economy. It does not make any economic sense.

One of the major disservice the pass regime did to us was that, the privatization of power they did and transferred to this regime was faulty and it can't deliver desired results. Nigeria government in the past privatized distribution of power instead of power generation, we can't make progress that way until we rewrite the wrong of the past this country will continue to grope in the day as if we are in the dark.