SPIN BALL
There's an obvious automatic rooting for the African sportspeople, (as evidenced in the World Cup) that feature on the world stage with most of our people here. Africans connect with pride when El Haj Diof and Parick Mboma when do they're ticking. I've heard people express their joy that the Williams sisters are black. We are touched when we see Shaq and Kobe rock the courts as well when all the shining black spots do what they do best, elevating humanity not only in sports and entertainment but in the areas of technology, business and politics. Another encouraging development is we hear more African leaders speak along the lines of Africa our one country. We're taking charge of our Destiny.
President Thabo Mbeki is keeping his African Renaissance program on course. Currently, NEPAC is on the table. We hope the vision of a form of Marshall Plan for Africa comes true. Otherwise we'll all be justified in saying 'No wonder it's our very friends whose political and economic policies have kept us at the bottom, who are the most excited about that initiative.
While we're at it, we can't help but put in a word about Queen Elizabeth of Babylon's Jubilee and how it impacted on us here. She has a fine personality and many people feel a nostalgic, or rather, an emotional attachment to her when they remember the 'good ol' colonial days'. Well for some of us it slipped by with no particular significance. With others it was a most cherished emotional event, keeping alive the obsolete dream of living in a commonwealth. Who can't see that the Commonwealth has one main thing going for us: A rude reminder that we're still living in Lizzy's world and will probably be just as tied to Charlie's too. Now that the debate is hot in that very country regarding the irrelevance of the monarchy at this point in time, where do we stand lending our support to some commonwealth? We will not need to be hostile as long as the global playing field is level. But People stood up and were killed for an independent Africa. And this effort was all about Land and Freedom.
Memories of Dedan Kimathi take over when that phrase comes up. Do we have control over African land and freedom? Or does the effect of the touch of the Euro-American remote control button still have a spell on us? This question arises when we consider the Zimbabwe situation. Nobody can justify the bloodshed that mirrors what the European settlers unleashed on our peace-loving foreparents from whom they seized the land. It's also a bit tricky when the man leading the charge to right this wrong has clinged to power for over two decades. But the real problem lies in the deal-breaking nature of the former colonial master. They acknowledged the land had to be handed back to African and promised to financially compensate the hard working white Zimbabweans who were keeping the farming sector booming. After about 20yrs, 10 Downing Street still needed some convincing. Though it seems such an agrrement has once again been arrived at, we wish President Mugabe had not have left alone to move in that direction. If it was a clear national policy of all African micro-nations to support the active reclaiming of stolen land, he would not have looked that bad. But how could this possibly be when most of the heads of state have been so engrossed in their own local politics that the appetite for such matters has very little appeal. As we speak, not very many of today's leaders have as much as commented on this issue at all. Well, leaders will come and go; but the people will forever remain the real pilots in this quest for a more total control of African destiny as the globe spins in favor of those who exert themselves a little more.
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AFRICA OUR ONE COUNTRY
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