Dipo Olowookere
By Nneka Okumazie
Whatever is working in Africa is likely because the purpose to make that thing work was achieved. Whatever is not working in Africa but working elsewhere is either because the purpose was not followed or because Africa lacks the capacity to make it work.
There are several situations in Africa where people say the reason something is not possible is because of something else, but when the parameters are changed, many of the things still remain unachieved, showing that most of the common excuses of why things are not working are wrong.
The problem of Africa, to an extent, could be a purpose, but there are purposes with what people do every day on personal levels and in groups that get done. However, the overall development in the continent seems difficult.
If the purpose is not just the problem, could it be capacity? The reason capacity can be considered is that several people seem to know what is wrong or that something is wrong, but then it seems the ability to make a difference may not be there.
For Africa, capacity seems to be beyond just education, intention, lack of corruption, projects, etc., but what it actually takes to at least achieve what has been achieved elsewhere as a people or society.
What it takes to have a society of order may not require force, but how can the people be directed to do so, using potent alternatives that they can come up with?
The capacity problem of Africa could be that the people there cannot come up with effective ways to solve their problems. Solving problems is beyond vague talk, or one solution or this for that, but having a problem and throwing multiple solutions at it, including those with depth, against different strands of possible challenges against the solutions.
There are many Africans with sharp knowledge in major areas who know the best of what is available from elsewhere and then suggest a cute solution, cut from what they have seen elsewhere, insisting that if applied, it would work. But there are several countries in Africa, none is developed; even if they don’t share the exact same problems, what the people there have applied have not worked for industrialization.
Corruption is bad for Africa and must be solved, but with what solutions? How does Africa engineer high employment within? How can Africa solve its poverty problem? How can Africa solve poor living conditions in most of its rural areas?
The answers and projects for these problems that have not been solved indicate some angles of lack of capacity. There are several kinds of things going on attacking problems in Africa; they are something, mostly not good enough.
If Africa develops, it may also be because of an encompassing capacity against its problems. Most of what they have or commonly suggested or talked about often makes little difference.
[Nehemiah 6:15, So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.]
