Thomas Mapfumo: Let’s Use the Black History Month to Help Restore African Dignity
25 January 2015
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The Black History Month kicks off this coming February in the USA. Among the notable black community members in American History, are figures like William Du Bois, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King (Jr), Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, President Obama and various other men and women who have fought hard for the civil rights movement to spark fire and re-establish the rights of the Black people in America.

Alive, well and kicking...Thomas Mapfumo
Let’s Not Forget Who We Are…Thomas Mapfumo

While this month is celebrated in the USA, the history of Black America cannot be complete without a mention of Africa where their ancestry had roots. As the cradle of mankind, Africa was the home of all black folks that wound up in the Diaspora due to some selfish and inconsiderate policies of that era. Related policies (now under a free Africa) would, centuries later, trigger another Diaspora movement as people would be driven out of Africa because of bad conditions. A search for freedom, peace, livelihood and better healthcare would see many Africans becoming refugees making some not even want to return home. Most of our African leaders today are trapped in dangerous pursuit of power and self-enrichment. They forget their duties and their people because they want to rule and amass wealth.
Many African people live in poverty. Many have no jobs or decent housing. Many have no food, clean water or good healthcare. In their midst, Africans see lots of potential and yet their leaders simply see the potential of their immediate families and cronies on how they can deepen their power grip and expand their wealth empires. Most resources in Africa continue to be exported and the profits are kept outside the country as the ordinary people at home continue to suffer. Besides people complaining and protesting about the need for leaders to see the problems affecting the ordinary person, our African leaders look the other way.
Before the world, our leadership continues to lose trust and respect because they do not care about the welfare of their people. In response to calls for jobs, food and good infrastructure, normally leaders have used force to suppress street protests. That has brought more problems to Africa. Even African regional organizations like ECOWAS, Africa Union or SADC are now seen as ineffective or mere talking shops because they do not help Africa in any meaningful way since they mainly appear like an old boys’ club. It is hard to see any tangible problem resolved by these organizations for the benefit of the ordinary person. People continue to suffer through disease, violence, tribal wars, genocide issues, poverty, and resource exploitation by foreign companies that also cause environmental degradation leading to endless famines. Besides abundant resources like oil, ground minerals and great tourist destinations, poor leadership in Africa has remained a big challenge in converting that potential into real life benefit for Black Africa.
The biggest issue is that the African leader remains not interested in improving the conditions at home. For any sickness, instead of re-building home hospitals, the African leader prefers to fly into Europe or America for  better treatment. That has compromised the respect for the African leader before the global community. 
As Africans, we demand exemplary leadership that presses for the dignity of the African black person. We demand democracy. At times, the world over takes Africans for granted because our leaders live in high towers where they feast away from the suffering people. The Black History Month in America should open eyes for anyone with African roots to help restore our dignity. Let us be proud of who we are. Let us have better leadership and be focused. The month of February must also ring bells to the Motherland. Our leaders must put us people first and act responsibly. As Africans, we must unite and demand democracy as we also fight poverty, ignorance, power hunger and heavy-handedness. People deserve better lives at all times. Last of all, we must have dignity. If we can’t respect ourselves, no one else in this world will.

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