Africa must rediscover identity
Africa appears to be the only continent that remains a dumping ground for other people’s ideas and preferences disguised as human rights.
For some time now, the West has been shoving their ideas down our throats in return for paltry donations and grants.
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From political beliefs to religious indoctrination, they have shifted to a sensitive issue such as same sex relationships and marriages.
My heart bleeds when I hear that we in Africa may not get treatment and drugs for human immune virus (HIV) for the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) if we refuse to endorse these extreme positions.
Where did HIV/AIDS come from in the first place? Africa needs to be independent in ideas and policies in spite of the challenges it poses.
History
History is replete with examples of how a few African leaders like the late Captain Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso and the later President John Magufuli of Tazania faced tough resistance from the Western powers when they refused to follow their dictates.
Interestingly, the African National Congress (ANC) and the Communist Party of China started in the same year – 1921.
The reason why the Chinese are so much ahead is that they did not allow anyone to interfere with their system and import their value systems into China.
This is partly because the Chinese had gone through a lot of humiliations from the West, including defeat in the Opium war.
As a result, they came out and said never again. Unfortunately, it is obvious that we in Africa, and Ghana in particular, have already fallen into the trap.
It partly explains why there is a spirited effort to defend and ensure the existence of homosexuals or lesbians in the country.
Bizarre
The appeal to human rights, for me is bizarre, given the impact on the individual, society and our economy.
For me, we can do better with our time and energies instead of spending so much time on things that will not move us forward.
The West are not worried about the Ghanaian who is not allowed to have control over his/her natural resources.
It is actually in their interest to keep us backward and the earlier we took this notice, the better. In all of these, the curious question is: How come the West is not promoting these values in the Middle East?
I respect the lawyers in the infamous list of human rights lawyers defending lesbians and homosexuals in Ghana, but I find their route to be disappointing and a challenge to the young.
The time is now for Africans to stand united and carve our cultural trait which will redefine our identity and fly high the continent’s flag.
The writer is a trader.
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