Africa Rising: What Does It Even Mean?
There are a whole lot of events going on across the globe, ranging from the supposed climate crisis to the possibility of a next pandemic, to the gold rush in Zimbabwe and many other great things.
One of the most popular narratives right now around which lots of concepts, thoughts and ideas have been created and shared is the narrative of a rising Africa. Everywhere you turn, in conferences, in business meetings and even at African leaders’ summits, there is one story or another going on about the reality of a new Africa. Somehow, it seems a door of new thoughts and a reawakening of the minds of Africans and the global community just suddenly opened for the possibility of a better Africa. And most of these narratives speak about Africa rising to her true place of influence. So, you hear conference themes like “The Rise of Africa Through Innovation”, “The Rise of Africa Post Pandemic” etc. But are these narratives really new? Especially when we all are aware that it’s not today that the very same Western powers that create proxy wars in Africa, local crises for resource control, and coups to topple African governments have been talking about the rise of Africa like it’s some kind of spell cast on the minds of the people before the pillaging of their resources begins. It’s all mostly sensational talk backed up by chaos, to say the least.
Personally, I think that all these thoughts, narratives and ideas are not really new nor do they really mean much if close attention is not paid to two things that have informed the mindset of the African people for a long time in order to correct them. I speak of firstly, the general global narrative of a backward, poverty-stricken, war-ridden, savage Africa that the world and mainstream media like to paint the continent with and which has, in turn, created a weak, subservient Africa and then secondly, the unending narrative that speaks of the glorious past of Africa’s ancient achievements that the current generation of Africans likes to talk about but which does not make much difference in the face of a changing global narratives. I will explain these as I go.
The concept of sunrise and sunset
I personally love morning walks, however, morning walks for me are not just fun or even exercise, but deeply spiritual. These are moments when I take time to have conversations with Divinity, reflect on things going on around me or in the world generally and also when sometimes I get new ideas for a song, an article or a pearl of wisdom. That early morning cold wind, the fresh smell of flowers and the beautiful symphony of chirping birds create this feeling of life and bounce that is both creative and exhaling. It gets even more beautiful when the clouds decide to allow sunrise to paint a perfect glow of gold art on the horizon. But one lesson I have learnt is this. Beyond the beauty of sunrise in the morning is also the wisdom of sunset in the evening. Meaning that for every sunrise, there is a sunset. And for every sunset, there is certainly going to be a sunrise. But how does this relate to Africa rising?
Caught in the past, broke in the present
The story of Africa both as a people and as a physical continent is rich, deep, ancient, spiritual and awe-inspiring. It is the story of the beginning of life on Earth and the sustainability of that life. But there is a problem.
The modern African man is caught between two dream states. He is caught in the dream of the juicy, glorious past of his forefathers; the reality of the grandiose technology and human mind-power that it took to build the pyramids of Egypt, the magnificent Sphinx and the other grand architectural masterpieces scattered all over Africa. He loves the story of the uncorrupted African spirituality and the pure connection to cosmic energies that created such mystique about his forefathers. He loves the sound and the picture it all paints in his mind. And like a child who was told of how great a warrior his dead father was, he won’t stop talking about it to anyone who cares or does not care to listen. He even bullies them with the story if they don’t seem to pay enough attention to him, making enemies of those who think contrary to what he believes. In comparing those days to the days in which he now finds himself, he longs to go back to the days of his forefathers. What a loyal and lovely son he tries to make everyone believe that he is.
Also, apart from snoring in the dream state of the glorious past, the African man is also caught up in another dream state; the dream of the future that is so bright and beautiful that he is rendered useless in the now reality. The African man is caught up in the dream of hope in the future and how, in foresight, he sees and believes that great things will happen again. He is so happy looking at that future he sees in this dream and not wanting to break the chills and the goose bumps his dream creates in him, he won’t wake up to the reality that he is sandwiched between two dreams he has no ability to control. He has refused to realize that it is what he does today, the decisions and choices he makes daily that will both salvage the past he so wished for and also create the future his soul longs for. So, he remains a dreamer and never an achiever. For the reality is that, that which he so longs to go back to, has also become a dream state from which he needs to wake up from somehow. For those days are gone and will never return. The sunset of life had set on those days. But here is hope, for when there is a sunset there is also a sunrise.
What is Africa rising from and what is she rising into?
When we speak of Africa Rising, does it mean that Africa will suddenly become a nuclear powerhouse that will be so powerful that it will challenge some of the most powerful militaries in the world? Or does it mean that Africans, who by the way are already doing amazing things across the globe will suddenly find a new spot on the hill of life to begin to shine a new light on the various sectors of life that they find themselves? Or does it mean that the warped global mainstream media will suddenly stop painting Africa in a bad light because we have suddenly got our acts together and have dealt with the issues of poverty, violence, corruption, etc. in the continent? So, the question still remains, what is Africa rising from and what is she rising into?
The truth is that the rise of Africa cannot be divorced from her realignment back to her identity and true purpose as given by the Creator. Meaning that we cannot boldly speak about Africa rising without first understanding the meaning of the name Africa and what Africa should be doing as part of her grand rising.
The name Afrika is a combination of two words Afri and Ka. Other indigenous people of Africa used the name “Afri” or “Ifran”. The ancient language of Mizraim/Kemet (Ancient Egypt) called Africa “Af-Rui-Ka.” It means the opening of Ka. Afri like Afro means black and Ka means soul or spirit. It also means the place of birth. Technically, Afrika means the land of the blacks which is the womb of spirit or soul. From the creation story of the bible and even archaeologically, it is clear that Afrika is the cradle of humanity and thus the place where the womb of creation was opened to give birth to the first man. However, the original name was not Afrika or Africa but Alkebulan. Alkebulan in itself means “The Mother of Humanity”, which matches with the name Eve which means “The Mother of all Living”.
Having put into perspective the meaning of the name Africa or Alkebulan and how both point to “Motherhood” and the birthing of life on earth, we will now see how it fits into the narrative of what is Africa rising from and what is she rising into.
Africa as the mother and cradle of humanity, through her hard work and dedication has taken care of the whole world with her natural resources, knowledge and wisdom systems and everything she could give as a natural mother does. And because of her unwavering dedication to such greedy and ungrateful children all across the globe, her milk of motherhood was sucked dry through slavery, resource exploitation, colonialism and neocolonialism and her sun which was the bright morning light of creation, went into the dark season of sunset. However, Africa the mother of all living things, having gone through her season of sunset must now rise from the sunset of her pain, degradation, shame, exploitation, poverty, backwardness etc into her glorious place of Motherhood again. But what does this motherhood look like?
Before the coming of foreign influences to the space now known as Africa, the means of justice in society went deeper than just punishment and the imprisonment of people. It was mostly about the return of an errant person to balance and harmony, which is the reality of Ma’at or the principle of as above so below. It was about reminding an individual caught in wrongdoing who they are and what their true identity is and by that, helping them return to balance and harmony with self and others. But somehow, we have succeeded in creating not only a physical prison system for the “correction” of wrong in society, like we have correctional facilities for those facing jail terms, but the entire system of the world has become a global prison where non-conformists to brainwashing ideologies of the globalists, or the system, are seen as rebels and worthy of mental, physical and spiritual jail time. So now we have a messed-up family system steeped in gay agendas and the madness of multiple genders confusion, a broken educational system that brainwashes more than it passes on true knowledge, a very greedy financial system that puts most of the masses in a rat race while getting nowhere, a corrupt banking system that thrives on the blood of the masses etc. Life on earth has become a form of mental prison for mass control and global manipulation of human minds. It is the correction of this global disease and the nurturing of humanity back to truth and sanity that Africa as the mother of all, must rise to. Not a rise to become an artificial intelligent giant, or a collection of the best global bankers, or best SME organizations like most people are envisaging that Africa should be and which is not wrong by the way. For she who gave birth to all people of the world must also bring them back from their wayward and prodigal ways, nurture them in the nest of her bosom and bring all back to the principle of love, truth, harmony and real growth.
What should Africans be doing
There is an African saying that “when brothers are busy fighting themselves, strangers take their lands”. And this is true and we all can see the reality in our various African countries. So, while we are busy insulting one another and creating narratives that cast shame on ourselves, for whatever reason we think we have, outsiders are busy using our distraction to their own advantage. While we make senseless debates online about which African countries are most corrupt or from which African country you can get the best women to marry, the Chinese, Americans, Europeans etc are busy buying out ancestral lands, wreaking havoc on forest covers, building industries through which the resources of the continent are taking out. Africans are not dull of mind or spirit; we just need to learn to work together to create the required solutions for our continent.
And talking about creating solutions to the problems of Africa, I think the problem with that is that, most of our African professionals who are supposed to be creating solutions for the African people are not doing so because their target is not solutions for Africa’s problems but how they can work hard enough to remove themselves from the group of people (Africans) having that problem. So, it’s a self-serving and self-preserving narrative almost all the time. But that should change, especially now that the world is going towards another evolution-The AI regime.
There is a truth, way and life of the mind of the Creator that only Africa can show the world and which the world needs now and will need in the coming years. And that is what Africa must rise into. Any other rising that does not factor this in as its primary priority, will just be another veil of blindness leading to more failures, frustrations and a broken continent.
In conclusion, for me, the concept of Africa Arise is not just an idea that helps us conceptualize the revealing of the true Africa from behind whatever veil she has been hidden, or some play on words to tickle the fantasy of the audience of a conference. It is a command for all Africans within and outside the continent to take a stand for truth, love, justice and creativity. It is a command to take a closer look at solution-driven innovative thinking and prioritize production instead of consumption. Do all to create more industries that process our raw materials within the continent instead of importation of finished goods. Relook at our educational system and curriculum and see where we are miseducating our kids about their continent. Work together to use our diversity of regions and resources to our advantage and in no time, Africa will rise not only into her Motherhood but also into her place as a power continent.
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