The AU has taken inspiration from the UN and has announced Advisory Councillors and Peace Ambassadors to help bring about stability around the continent. The list is impressive and diverse, from former presidents and powerful businessmen appointed as Councillors to sports personalities and musicians named Ambassadors, including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, President F. W. De Klerk, Mo Ibrahim, Graca Machel and Professor Wangari Maathai, as well as Micheal Essien, Maria Mutola, Angelique Kidjo and Youssou N'Dour.
The BBC's Africa Have Your Say has started a debate about it. People are predictably skeptical. It always irritates me when people provide diatribes, lamenting the state of Africa that completely ignore any positivity in the situation, instead of insight and ideas for change.
Without hope there is no way for progress.
Instead of shutting every idea down and being skeptical, try a little faith my fellow Africans and be proactive to to find a way to a better tomorrow. Passive aggressiveness, anger and spite are not helpful really: They are debilitating - they poison the mind and dishearten the soul. I think it is great that we are taking the initiative to use Peace Day as a way of reinvigorating dedication to bettering Africa, using our own accomplished and prominent figures, both on the continent and globally, to lead the way. Homophily is a powerful thing. As much I am a fan of the Angelina Jolies and Bonos in the world, them turning up to a village to help perpetuates the notion that an outsider has to come for us Africans to be saved. Having someone African coming to our aid sends a profoundly potent message - that we too have the initiative to change our fates for the better :)
What will you be doing on the 21st of September?
Good stuff. Can't blame the pessimists anf their diatribes though, everyone gets that once in a while when you view how "far" we've come as a continent (and as our individual nations). As our dear Chinua Achebe described what it means to be a Nigerian: abysmally frustrating and unbelievably exciting", one can't help but oscillate between the positive and the negative when it comes to our dear Mama Africa. Thanks for a dose of the positive this week mate! And thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAgreed. What I am saying though is that don't just keep pointing out the negative, offer positives too otherwise we will be bogged down forever. Even this blog has highlighted negativity on the continent. However, this should not make us complacent and resigned. We should be fired up to try and learn and grow in a positive direction. The "frustration" should not drown out the "excitement"
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