CREEPLING CRADLE

I read with soaring disappointment, the reaction of Mr. Femi Falana to President Barack Obama’s choice to not stop by Nigeria when he visited Africa. He poured fury at the President, questioning his reason, which was by the way, “in support for countries with legitimate and true democracy”. Mr. Femi expressed volumes of dissatisfaction particularly at President Obama’s choice of words which disguisedly berated Nigeria and cited also, the fact that his lengthy speech was empty of words like “reparation and Western apologies, for their connivance in slave trade”.
At this point, I became quite livid at this legal practitioner’s course of thoughts. I’m no supportter of the slave trade era nor do I regard the chief perpetrators of this landmark heinous crime, any less than criminals. However, I have also refused to support the idea of pampering an entire continent.
From achievements to blunt refusal at maturity, Africa can be sadly referred to as the last born of the seven continents- Antarctica inclusive. We have practically waxed numerous albums of how we were the cradle of civilization. It looks from where I stand now, that the cradle got too comfortable and we stayed put. Our whiter siblings grew, advanced and came to ask for our services, with offers to pay our wages on the skin of our backs rather than be dropped into our palms.
I wonder now why anyone should blame ‘Jacob’ when ‘Esau’ gladly swapped his birthright for a pot of porridge that didn’t even come with a bottle of chilled Coca-Cola.
Africa remains the pathetic concern of every gathering of advanced nations. Decades after slavery, we have only reinvented ourselves at best to be free-slaves. Should we still blame the slave drivers? If we have refused to maximize what has been in our custody for countless decades, should it be the fault of those who knew better, earlier?
We dare not compare a country like Germany to ours in the light of natural resources. How heartrending it would be to liken “the sleeping giant of Africa” to a once-barren country like Singapore, whose independence was only a few years shy of ours. Who should we really blame?
The disturbing issue is simply this: No one is a failure until they fall and blame the ground for not being steady enough”. That is why Nigeria has remained on its knees- either begging for forgiveness of debt, or for foreign assistance or seeking seats in UN that would shed more light on our plight.
We seemingly like this position and when are reminded of our latent greatness and potentials, we as a continent and more as a nation, claim that we would have been better had slave trade never existed. It is downright appalling!
Specialists in fabrication of sympathy and exportation of excuses- that’s what we have become. If we seize to see ourselves as the last born of the bunch and undeserving of global sympathy, we will be well on our way to ‘rebranding’. John Maxwell once said that it is easier to move from failure to success than it is to move from excuses to success. I agree, with Nigeria as a reinforcing case study.
Mr. Femi Falana did well to dish a portion of blames to the West for their input in our set back, he however failed in serving Africa the Lion’s share they deserve. And that’s the problem- everyone has excuses, Nigerians just seem to use theirs all too often.