The Gulf of Guinea: A Bantu Origin Viewed from the Top

Louis Egbe Mbua

A recent debate in http://groups.yahoo.com/group/camnetwork/, has given room for thought as to the origins of the Bantus in Africa and, subsequently, the origins of man. The first part of this argument will dwell on the genesis of the debate; while the second part will dwell on the origins of the Bantus and life as opined by the diverse and able participants.

It all began with the author suggesting that there is no smoke without fire; and therefore the Chariot of the Gods may indeed be eponymous; and that the natives themselves believe that there are gods living on the volcanic massive. While the native Bakweris may not have complete evidence of this supernatural belief, there are indications that the mountain erupts to announce an important event or to foretell a possible arrival or departure of non-natives for good or bad.

In 1909, the German Kamerun was in its full colonial gear, conquering and subjugating from the Chariot's of the Gods to Garoua and Lake Chad, the most Northern point of Cameroon. Having subjugated the native Bakweris, they made a point by establishing their capital in Buea. Living in a vantage mountainous point, they sure dreamt of the new Roman empire until 1908 when the Mountain erupted, spewing lava through Buea and on to the coastal City of Victoria, where they originally began their colonial pursuit.

The incident so unnerved the new masters that they had to hurriedly transfer their Capital to Douala, present day economic hub of West Africa and economic power house of Cameroon; and renaming the city Kamerunstat -- they possibly thought this will either appease the gods or most probably escape further punishment. This turned out to be a misplaced move. They never returned to Buea because eight years later, in 1916, they were driven out of the territory.

1922 was the period of reconciliation between the World Powers after the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. The former German Kamerun has now been partitioned and mandated to the League of Nations: the West was mandated to the United Kingdom while the East was a French mandate. While the French amalgamated their former colonies into the French Equatorial Africa, the British were busy dividing their own share of the British Cameroons into: the Southern Cameroons and the Northern Cameroons. The Chariot of the Gods again reminded them of her power. Before this decision was executed, the volcanic giant erupted again in 1922 pouring lava into the sea at the west coast of Cameroon as Hanno had described 2500 earlier.

The Southern Cameroons and the Northern Cameroons were to part for ever. After a doomed administrative co-habitation with Nigeria, it was time for the Southern Cameroons to become autonomous. After this was achieved in 1953, a government was set up in Buea with Dr. Endeley, a native Bakweri, as Premier in 1954 when the Fako Mountain again erupted.

In 1959, elections were held to choose a new Prime Minister. The Chariot of the Gods again roared, erupting. The most intriguing aspect was that Dr. Endeley, and indigenous to Buea was defeated in a democratic election by Dr. John Ngu Foncha: a victory many today have come to consider as heralding the suffering of the people of this region of Cameroon; both the natives and the entire English speaking Cameroonians.

In 1982, there was an earth tremor and a mild eruption at the Chariot of the Gods which was followed by the sudden resignation of Cameroon's first President, Ahmadou Ahidjo; and the death of the Chief of Buea thus paving the way for the present President of La Republique du Cameroun, Mr. Paul Biya, to begin his long and questionable rule in Cameroon.

In 1999 the Cameroon government attempted to privatise and sell the Cameroon Development Corporation complete with the disputed Bakweri land which caused a war with the Germans in 1891. After international pressure and the rallying of the Bakweris the world over: opposing such blatant land theft, the Fako Mountain again erupted in 1999 -2000. Fearing reprisals, the Biya government experimented on co-opting the Fako elite into high positions in government to obviate militant actions that might follow. He reneged on this shameful policy of land theft but began a systematic abuse of the land by stripping it piece by piece, with the Cameroon Development Corporation as partners in crime, and selling the partitions to non-indigenous people especially people from the French Cameroun. The received wisdom is that this is a pre-meditated action founded on greed, evil and the insanity of unaccountable and absolute corrupt power: designed to drive the natives out of the land to be replaced by non-indigenes from his own part of the country.

The conclusion of the matter is that the Chariot of the Gods appears to have proved itself as a harbinger for the arrival of significant events to come and persons-- good or bad-- arriving or leaving its venerable vicinities; and that when it begins to smoke with fire, it is time for malevolent intruders with evil intent to leave the people alone; treat them with respect; sue for peace and integrity or return to where they came from so that peace might reign since the gods may be preparing their chariots for their appointed task as guardians of the Gulf of Guinea.

In addition, the mystery of the Chariot of the Gods is that it is further linked to the birth place of the Bantu tribe of Africa; and the beginning of their relentless and unstoppable match and subsequent settlements from the deepest point in the Gulf of Guinea to Cape Town in South Africa: spreading their language and culture throughout East, Central and Southern Africa. This will be the subject of subsequent exploration in the Living Lights.

Chariot of the Gods and The Den of Thieves

Louis Egbe Mbua

When the Carthaginian -- from Carthage (Tunis) with exactly the same geographical longitude as Theon Okhema, Mount Fako -- explorer, Hanno, arrived the Gulf of Guinea in 600 BC, he recorded a frightfully amazing scene while he was at sea. There have been disputes as to exactly where he actually stood to witness the present day Mount Fako, Cameroon, erupting, pouring lava into the sea. It was surely not in Buea or even Victoria, Cameroon, as the peak of this volcanic giant cannot be seen from these locations since they are part of the Mountain. As Equatorial Guinea could be seen at any vantage point from these cities and coastal areas in Cameroon, one must assume that a view from Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, would reveal the power of this Mountain; and that the most likely location of Hanno's observation of lava pouring into the Atlantic ocean was just off Malabo's waters.

The awesome power of Mount Fako, Chariot of The Gods, Theon Okhema, Cameroon, as viewed by Hanno, the Carthaginian (Tunisian), from Malabo.

Hanno, watching red hot Lava pouring onto the Atlantic ocean while the peak was exploding with fire; and feeling the unsustainable heat, was so frightened that he ran away believing that the gods (It is still the belief of the Bakweri natives of Fako to this day) were living on the summit of this Mountain: he was aware that it was the Chariot of the Gods and immediately left without looking back.

Almost 2500 years later, the Germans also arrived the scene, climbed from Victoria and reached Buea so as to take this Mountain for themselves. They failed because the natives put up a fight, routed the German army, and sent them parking. The Germans, having been humiliated mobilised their forces from Germany, and parts of German Africa, rounded up the natives into concentration camps, killed a large number and then seized the lands of these brave natives to create plantations for themselves without any consideration of who actually owned these lands -- The Bakweri natives. The Germans were then sent parking from the land after their defeat of the World War 1 at the hands of the British -- and the French. The British acted sensibly, amalgamated the German owned plantations; and seeking permission from the indigenous Bakweri leaders, who actually regained the land, they formed the Cameroon Development Corporation in 1947. After Independence, a new kind of administration arrived these lands -- They came from French Cameroun. This administration is so cruel and corrupt that they do not even acknowledge the natives as being present in their own land.

The corrupt regime of Mr. Paul Biya and other right wing members of his government, mostly, from French Cameroun natives, East of Mount Fako, Cameroon are in the process of carrying out the worst kind of subjugation, massive theft and the most frightening land grab from the natives since the Germans left. The problem here is that these people are Africans with so much greed that surpasses understanding. The Cameroon government, in tandem with the Cameroon Development Corporation, continue to grab these lands; dividing it amongst themselves and thieving government officials in clear violation of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights' ruling that the land belongs to the ancestral Bakweris; and that the Cameroon government must not touch it. The first scenario is that they have expropriated nearly all lands at the coastal regions from Victoria, where Mount Cameroon rises suddenly from the sea; and now they have reached the Mountain itself. All recent indications are that their insidious objectives will not spare even the Mountain with all its awesome power.

Recently, February 2009, the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope was organised in Buea, the City on this Mountain. Reliable reports reaching us state clearly that corrupt officials from Yaounde, French Cameroun, used this race to embezzle funds, ruin the race by massive dishonest officiating; and refused to hand in running materials to genuine registered athletes but gave French Cameroon natives the required materials; and that the person who won the race cannot provide enough evidence of his full ascent to the visible summit of Mount Fako. We must, therefore, conclude that the theft has now reached the peak. When a man is pushed so that his back is on the wall and has nowhere to run, the author believes it the time to strike back on the intruder with enough force as to send him packing without delay. We must recall that it was at this Mountain town of Buea that the native Bakweri began the fight to take back their land from the Germans; and all indications are that this is where the fight will end. Hanno, while watching from the Atlantic coast about 30 miles off Cameroon, wrote :

"Sailing rapidly, we passed by a fiery region filled with vapours, from which great torrents of fire flowed down to the sea. The land could not be approached because of the heat. We sailed away very quickly, being struck with fear."

Hanno came and left hurriedly. He was a very sensible man indeed. Only a complete fool will tempt fate. The corrupt Yaounde regime has tempted fate; and they will receive their comeuppance for poetic justice will prevail at the Den of Thieves.

God, Man and the Universe: The Darwinian Cosmos

Louis Egbe Mbua

While Darwin cannot be credited with the Big Bang Theory or was he aware of such a concept, his "Origin of Species" has had a far reaching influence to human thought in all aspects of human observation and wonders. When I was a boy I used to wonder why the stars twinkled in the skies at night; and why this short popular school poem:

Twinkle twinkle little star,

How I wonder where you are.

It is generally accepted in human nature that curiosity is part of our trait; and then we may ask questions to find solutions to mysteries later. As a result of these mysteries, we have had to contend with fellow humans as to who has the correct answers on the origin of the universe and hence man. In the modern era, scientists and other pseudo-groups arrogating themselves the title of intellectuals, now claim that the Cosmos began by a super explosion of an infinitely dense particle, the size of a pin head; and that this explosion happened about 13.7 billion years ago.

Now, the theory goes, the entire "young" universe was full of disorganised dust and matter including "unseen" or "dark" matter; and that it took an incredibly 13.7 billion years of accidental gravitational evolution for the universe to reach its present arrangements. Meanwhile, the theory confounds critics all the more because it predicts that the earth and the moon are both 4 billion years old. On the other hand, if we examine these figures, we must reach the logical conclusion that it took at least 9 billion years, from the Big Bang Explosion, for the earth to evolve from dust and "dark" matter into its present spherical shape in time and space: meaning that the earth didn't exist for 9 billion years.

Which brings us to the question: what exactly was in existence during this 9 billion year lapse? More worryingly, it is known that the universe is arranged in Mathematical laws. Mathematics has to be done by a person for results to be manifest: as it is impossible to know the speed of light or the speed of the rotation of the earth on its axis without mathematical calculations based on universal laws. Additionally, we know that man never created Mathematics or any of the laws of nature. So who, exactly, created these physical and mathematical laws? These questions have never been answered by man.

If we examine the same theory propounded on the Sun, the lone star in our solar system, that it first appeared around 9 billion years ago; about 5 billion years after the Big Bang. Now, suppose we agree, as estimated by this theory, that there are at least 100 billion galaxies, each containing at least a 100 billion stars. This would mean that it would take up to 100 billion x 100 billion x 5 billion years for the universe to evolve by means of Darwinian natural selection and mutatative energy pulses from the Big Bang. The only logical explanation for this incredulity, is for us to conclude that all stars were created, approximately, at the same time for the Big bang theory to hold. Since the theory assumes that the universe came to being by accident, and that there is no Creator, then we must dismiss the idea that the Big Bang theory supports the synchronisation of the appearance of the stars and galaxies in the universe appearing at once.

It follows that, the universe is not 13.7 billion years old nor is it 100 billion x 100 billion x 5 billion years old. Consequently, no Big Bang occurred at all as chaos cannot result into order. The most likely and acceptable explanation is that given in the Bible: In the Beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth in six days; using water as an agent. Water is chemically composed of Oxygen, the element of life and breathing; and Hydrogen, the most abundant and fundamental element in the universe. The Energy of the Sun is produced by converting Hydrogen to Helium in a nuclear process at its core. The energy released was the original light used to energise the earth and not a Big Bang super explosion. Furthermore, no scientist or man of this day and age or of ancient of times was present, as an observer as wont of science, at this theoretical Big Bang explosion; and so the superexplosion theory must be rejected as scientifically unsound: and that it can never be proved -- time travel or not.

God, Man and Animals: An Examination of Darwinism

Louis Egbe Mbua

The survival of the fittest ideology or theology or both, invented by Charles Darwin 150 years ago, continues to cause consternation and disbelief within the ranks of commonsensical wisdom lovers. While a vast number of scientific thinkers have drifted into this mode of thought, in this day and age, a new wave of debate is raging: challenging the validity of Darwin's theories. The most contentious issue is that Darwin himself did not actually propound or did not know or both: that an animal cannot transform itself into a human being without the prompting of another living being but that there were natural varieties amongst the same specie. Thus, over the last two centuries, the new faith of evolution appeared to have won the battle against those who believed that man and animal were created by God; and that they were created separately according to their kinds on the same 24-hour day. When Darwin published his highly controversial book " The Origin of Species" in 1859, he was immediately challenged by his tutors at Cambridge and other eminent scientists of the day. His Geology tutor, Adam Segwick, at Cambridge wrote to him:

"I have read your book with more pain than pleasure. Parts of it I admired greatly; parts I laughed at till my sides were almost sore; other parts I read with absolute sorrow; because I think them utterly false & grievously mischievous -- You have deserted -- after a start in that tram road of all solid physical truth -- the true method of induction -- & started up a machinery as wild I think as Bishop Wilkins Locomotive that was to sail with us to the moon. Many of your wide conclusions are based on assumptions which can neither be proved or disproved"

Objectively, it appears that Adam Segwick was overwhelmingly right in his fierce scepticism and outright denunciation of Darwin's unorthodox scientific methods. On closer examination, we realise that Segwick went further to deride Bishop Wilkins "Locomotive to the moon". Since we know that Niel Armstrong has actually sailed to the moon with a rocket in 1969, 110 years after Segwick's fearsome attack, we may argue today that Bishop Wilkins was a visionary; and was correct to suggest such an idea.

However, the difference here is that Segwick was criticising Darwin's method of induction and not the idea of "origin of species" or "sailing to the moon". Furthermore, he was more interested in practical proofs than theory. It follows that the fundamental difference in views, I believe, between Bishop Wilkins and Darwin is that, at least we can actually see the presence of the physical moon; but nobody had or has ever seen an animal evolving into a human. This is because the art of procreation for humans and animals is clear: the mating of male and female; and then the combined fertilisation of the same specie to produce the progeny.

Since this process continues to exist today, we have no alternative but to believe that this is the origin of species; and not a product of accidental evolution. A lion can only find another lion of the opposite sex attractive to procreate. As a result, the entire evolutionary theory of man evolving from animals is fraudulent because this implies that animals and humans have wilfully and naturally mated together at one point in time. This is not happening today; so we must agree that it has never happened in nature. Now, suppose we assume that this most unlikely of events happened. The question is this: why has this act stopped and at what precise time did this most unlikely act stop? As long as these questions cannot be or have not been answered by evolution faithfuls, then the theory appears to fit the egos of the thoroughly irreligious or the religiously misplaced depending on one's philosophical point of argument.

African-Americans: The Power and the Glory (I)

Louis Egbe Mbua

Saying zero to hero: will grossly underestimate, if not demean, the spectacular rise of people of African decent in the United States of America; moreso if we apply that phrase as a qualification for the phenomenon. That there are no appropriate words to phrase these remarkable achievements means that it must be classically -- though not the same -- as biblical as the story of the Israelites.

The election and then inauguration of an African-American complete with his African-American wife as the first family of America is an achievement that compares well with that of Joseph being appointed the Prime Minister of Egypt straight from slavery almost 4000 years ago.

The African-American story is one of the most amazing events to have come to pass since recorded history began. Not only is the rise meteoric but was covered in blood; and then power and glory. Just how they managed to carve such a shinning and promising destiny for themselves remains a mystery which has to be demystified: so that other oppressed peoples of the human race may emulate and master these strategies to benefit and free themselves from the vice-grip of tyranny and terror.

While it is evident in historical records that slavery was officially abolished in America by law in 1865 under the watchful eye of the great Abraham Lincoln Presidency, it can be clearly induced that enslavement of African-Americans; and all its symbols and implications was spiritually and utterly destroyed in all its forms and remnants the world over on the 20 January 2009 when Barak Obama was inaugaurated the 44th President of the United States of America . Today, all Americans are free regardless of race.

It has been a long and extraordinary story that will outlive history: for the story is history on its own. When the first captured Africans arrived Jamestown, Virginia in 1619, never did it occur, by any stretch of their imagination, that it would take 390 years for their time to come in the new world. Nor did the pioneer slaves envisaged the despicable cruelty and the unimaginable suffering they were to endure under their new masters. How they managed to survive physically and spiritually in the face of such unceasing attack on their dignity and physical being is a mystery; and a subject that should be explored.

For a people to effectively determine their destiny, there has to be a powerful leadership in place to meet the challenges of the defining moments. A poor leadership structure at a time of epoch-making events may set back the course of a people several hundred years back. The author believes that after the abolition of slavery, powerful African-American leaders quickly emerged to wrestle with the newly found freedom; and meet the challenges of poverty, psychological trauma and civil rights abuses but with no material resources.

It would seem that one of the first institutions the leaders created and established in rock was the African-American church. As much as a human law can destine a man's rights and being to be three-fifth of a man it is agreed that in a free world, we cannot deny a man the right to worship. Again, a solid Christian base will expose a people to moral values, high expectations on accountability, forgiveness of a fellow man, theology, spiritual strength, knowledge, love and education. Foremost and ingrained within these values in the rise of the African-American is the knowledge of the God of Justice.

The African-American Church base gave them the knowledge of social justice and its anti-thesis: gross social injustice and violations of human and civil rights. Thus, just within 100 years after slavery was abolished in 1865 entered Dr. Martin Luther King, a firey baptist minister of the church, pioneer fighter of modern American Civil Rights and an African-American leader of outstanding leadership qualities. Dr. King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

African-Americans established a strong leadership structure, found a power base in their churches and delivered themselves from the shackles of oppression when Lyndon Johnson guided the passing of the Civil Rights Bill envisaged by the assassinated American President John F. Kennedy so that all Americans could be free.

Academic Achievements: Passport to Success in Life?

Louis Egbe Mbua

A controversial discussion is brewing in Cameroon’s most popular yahoo group, camnetwork, as to whether it is right of a child to walk straight into a vocation at 16 or to follow the conventional path to Further and Higher education ;attaining University degrees. In one corner of the argument are the extremists on both sides who take an antipodal stand against their respective foes: believing that one or the other is a complete idiot for not attaining a degree while the vocationally inclined claim those with degrees in “worthless” subjects such as History and possibly literature are the total fools. And there are those, on the other corner, who stand in the middle believing that both parties are right in one way or the other (how they arrive at their conclusions nobody knows.) The writer believes that this kind of arguments are misleading and of little relevance. However, to allow some light into the darkness of “who is who” in the world, it is of consequence that one puts forward an opinion as to clarify points of interest on this particular.

There is the fundamental birthright at play here because every human being is born free. While one’s ancestors, parents, relatives and siblings have a say as to how we turn out to be in the future; and possibly what one may become in life, this fundamental law of choice remains. It is a child’s right to go on to Further and Higher Education if they feel this will enhance their chances of the future success (career) in life. The trouble here is that as a teenager, future achievements are not a priority in life: the most important aspect being to live and let’s live.

While some are sensible enough as to work hard (or apply their talent wisely) and excel with flying colours in either the academics or sports or music, it would still be early to apply the full laws of choice in this instance. The following is that a significant majority of young people follow the advice or foot steps of their family: chances are that one goes into higher education when an uncle or a parent or sibling or close relative has been to University. Furthermore, the teenagers usually, wittingly or unwittingly, follow the professions of one of their university educated parents. Consequently, if there is a medical doctor in the family, there would be at least three more in the next generation. This means that although we are free to exercise the power of choice, we are also influenced by those closest to us. Given, what about children who have no such advantage?

There lies the crux of the argument: as the disadvantaged child has no role model, they would have to start exercising their power of choice very early in life to get ahead. Although the child may have excellent upbringing and sound home guidance, the child is already disadvantaged by their inaccessibility to knowledge relating to the vocations and professions in life. On the other hand, this disadvantage may serve to bring out the strength of the child who may decide to act on the power of choice to enter into an occupation that fully fits their talents hoping to work their way to the top. This scenario is commonly seen in the areas of music, the art, and sport.

Generally, they usually reach the top of their respective professions at a young age. The problem with this socially-induced arrangement is that one’s lifetime achievement is totally dependent upon one’s unending performance; and that one has to be of youth, almost certainly be of good looks; and always physically fit. This is also a disadvantage as using one’s mind as in the academia to earn a living is not as dependent on youth and physical prowess as the early developer who choose the vocation rather than obtaining a degree.

Furthermore, a Higher Education beneficiary will continue utilising their knowledge gained at University until the end of their lives while the vocation can be short-lived, generally-speaking due to an unforeseen misfortune. In addition, there is no reason why a child may not attain Higher education while following his dreams in sport. To add to the disadvantage is the factor of luck. While one would never obtain a university degree by pure luck, the vocation post-16 years old is riddled with danger. Consequently one’s achievements would hang on the unpredictability of chance and luck.

While the University graduate has these advantages, it is true to say that there are certain areas in life and profession where a university degree may be a redundant qualification as a passport to greatness. Such areas include: leadership including Presidents, parenthood, and entrepreneurial fleur, show business, music composition, Poetry, languages, artistic design and Astro-physics. This requires but extremely high intelligence: which can never be taught in a University. Nobody teaches naturally High Intelligence because it cannot be taught although Artificial Intelligence can be taught.

President-Elect Obama and Africa

Louis Egbe Mbua

So far, President–Elect Barack Obama has been tight-lipped about his African Policy he is to follow nor has he attempted even to define them through an aide. Whether this is a wise strategy or not is open to debate. But when one watches helplessly, from the sidelines, the head-strong octogenarian Robert “Bob” Mugabe, a man who used to command international respect as an African statesman, being ridiculed in the Western press and himself refusing to go quietly for the sake of his country, the lack of policy statement by Obama seems unappealing.

One should not in any circumstance expect Obama to treat Africa differently from the rest of the world; at the same time one expects fairness as he represents the superpower of the world. Consequently, it was right for Obama to come out directly against the brutally savage attacks on civilians by deranged religious terrorists in Mumbai, India last month; and his arguments put forward to support his proposed continuance of the “war on terror” against those who “come against America”. While it would be interesting to “wait and see” how his policies unfold, it is a matter of concern and urgency that one can carry out an analysis of the situation on the ground which may serve as a guide on what problems need fixing in Africa.

The problem in Africa are two folds: Mass incompetence that has wrecked havoc on the economic, political and social front dragging the entire continent several decades back and eroding some of the gains made after independence; and economic paralysis the latter dependent or independent of the former, further depending on the school of thought. This surreptitiously malevolent incompetence has permeated the entire civil life of the continent; and as a result this malaise must be the first vice that has to be eradicated in the continent since an incompetent continent cannot compete in the international scene or even against itself. The cause of this mediocrity is not quite clear. However, there are many fingers that are pointing to the top of governments in both the civil and the political arm. Stories about wholesale looting of the continent’s treasury with a total disregard of responsibility to the people; and the shamelessly and obscene blatant overlook of the rule of law by men in “suits” need not be repeated. On a sounder note of reason, this seems to have degenerated into a clichéd art for writers; but this writer believes there is deeper cause to Africa’s problems: unqualified leaders – not necessarily corrupt for the latter vice emanates from the former.

Africans tend to qualify, rather mistakenly, their leaders wholly by academic qualifications. While the academia may be important, most prominent is the personal quality to serve the people rather than oneself – personal qualities take precedence over technocratic crammers for it is better to have a leader who can differentiate between good and evil as applied to his people and himself than to have a fool who went to university but believes he was born to rule by divination from the celestial realm. Consequently, a highly qualified individual in the academic sense, but who does not understand the passion of the people is totally worthless as a leader: the result being that he will neglect his duty with incompetence to follow. This mediocrity and lack of leadership qualities will evidently and eventually lead to inappropriate acts such as constitutional fraud, wholesale mortgage of a country’s resources, naked theft of money, laziness, neglect, oppression, assassinations of his people, subterfuge, nepotism; murders and other acts of entrenched turpitude, insanity and power madness.

Any seasoned diplomat will surely give an honest advice that this incompetence is slowly killing the continent: with diseases threatening to wipe out the entire youth population in some nations while wars, political oppression and poverty are driving millions to Europe and America. On this count, therefore, President-Elect Obama, after receiving his oath of Office in January 2009, should move swiftly and decisively, to seize the moral high ground by denouncing such acts of corruption in African countries that have instituted oppressive and incompetent regimes that are causing great suffering, terror and depravation to the people while the politically and professionally incompetents ride rough and shod over those who are more capable. He should refuse to talk to such corrupt regimes or have anything to do with the protagonists of such untold mismanagement while at the same time supporting institutions that are geared towards democratic reforms, rule of law and social justice. He should refuse to invite them for a visit; and he should frain from accepting invitations from African tyrants and thieves with blood in their hands.

Once the political front has been cleaned, the economics must take precedence. Africa needs massive injection of international finance. This writer is of the opinion that international finance was misdirected to the wrong region in the last ywenty years; thus causing the present global financial melt-down. For want of bluntness, one can say without reservation that Africa needs her own “Marshall Plan”. The African economy may be growing at an average of 4% per year but this is commodity-led growth; whose prices are always open to variations in industrial out put in Europe and of recentl the Bric countries. Thus, African states have moved very little from the colonial economy they inherited – rubber, cocoa, coffee, gold et.

To move from this dependence, the African economy needs capital – a joint international venture between the United States government, African entrepreneurs, all African governments in a united front, and the African Union as an overseer. Industrial giant marches in Iron and Steel that are the mainstays and fundamentals to industrialisation should be one of the main areas and so too with Green energy. Obama’s promise of confronting climate change and the immensely important energy transition from the dependence on oil and other fossils is a bold and sensible policy; and it is evident that Africa has almost all the raw materials and adequate land for the manufacture of bio fuels; the many rivers and rugged terrain bathed in 12 hour sunlight make the continent the potential front runner for Green energy: harnessed from wind, sunlight, geothermal. Since African entrepreneurs have no access to capital at a large scale, an Obama policy of a joint American-African venture will benefit both continents; and as a result, improve living standards in Africa, and may serve as part of a catalyst and stimulus for his economic recovery plan for his own country – the United States of America.