By Nneka Okumazie
There is no exam anywhere in the world that Africans can’t ace. There is no profession in the world or office position that Africans won’t excel at. There is no pass mark required for any certification that Africans cannot surpass. These directly discredit the notion that Africans are not as intelligent or smart.
It was assumed that intelligence is developedment, but education has gone around the world, yet development is not everywhere.
What exactly is development, and why is Africa not developed? There are often government projects, international efforts, private enterprises, etc., yet no development.
Development is more about attitudes and values than about information because the power of information is propelled by attitudes and values. A new housing project, school, bridge or hospital will be defined by the attitude of the people, in just a few months.
In the second half of the twentieth century, several nations used the opportunity to develop. There were places where lands were offered to the public for farming and no issues yet about deforestation or climate. There were forms of credit available, the population was lower, and the opportunity to grow was there, even with an average attitude. Africa, with much fresh off independence, could not take much of that opportunity, in part because of low attitude.
In recent times, with climate, state debts, and then conspiracy theories, it is more difficult to develop, even where there is a great attitude. Everything is now subject to conspiracy theories, with several contrasting pieces of information making it more difficult to get people to agree towards working on progress.
Development is not democracy, it is not human rights, it is not religion: local or foreign, it is not education, it is not healthcare, it is not the government, it is not business, it is not employment.
There are pockets of changes in different countries in Africa, but the attitudes in general, from the top and across, do not indicate anything resembling what can germinate development.
Government is not the problem of Africa. Corruption is a byproduct of a lack of selflessness as an attitude. The question the people of Africa should keep asking themselves is this, where did these attitudes come from? Lack of courage, no selflessness, easy satisfaction, trouble with sincerity, rejection of fairness, intense hypocrisy, treating trust casually, money first and forever, façade of being a good person, weak curiosity, passion over nonsense, disregard for the future, etc.?
Education is useless because the change it should inspire and the advancement it should seed do not happen if money is all. Africa needs an attitude project for their people everywhere, but it is uncertain if anything will happen because conspiracy theories await efforts. Without a new attitude, there will be no development; without development, Africa will remain backward.
[Matthew 13:7, And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: ]