BLACK IS NOT LACK

Nothing guarantees freedom like the working knowledge of truth! Truth, when discovered in any area of human endeavour delivers sweat-free success, as it confers on the possessor the knowledge of what to do. On the other hand, misinformation or the perversion of truth snares the deceived into the cauldron of oppression; hence, until truth is known freedom remains a mirage!
It wont take a genius to figure out the extra alphabet separating black and lack. It would have been rather pleasing to know that the similarity between these two words ends in the stable of literary articulation and do not transcend into the human world of realism; but not only is it felt in reality, it is fast becoming an hydra-headed problem for the inhabitants of the world.

On the continent of Africa, where the major chunk of black people resides in the world, the phenomenon of poverty has become a limiting factor to the advancement of her course. Many families are bereaved of loved ones simply because anti-malarial drugs cannot be afforded; hunger, a corollary of poverty also accounts for the death of children in proportions not known in the western world in this 21st century. Report from a charity organisation [CONCERN INTERNATIONAL] shows that a child dies every 7 seconds in Africa due to poverty. With such alarming statistics, one is forced to think about the plight of the unborn and what the future holds for children growing in this region, and since no human is involved in choosing his/her point of entry into this phase of existence, it wouldn’t be out of place to describe children of Africa as victims of circumstances!
In contrast to the gory tale of poverty and lack ravaging the soul of Africa, the continent is endowed with vast amount of mineral and natural resources, with virtually no country in the African state being an exception. Why then is this abundance not expressible in the lives of the citizenry? An evidence that demands a verdict!.
Few decades ago, the economic index of some African states and their Asian counterpart were at par; in this 21st century, not only has the economies of these Asian countries flourished, they now compete on the global scale favourably with mega economies of the west, whereas African economies contribute a meagre 1.5% of the global trade. Maybe a case of negligence, bad governance or a phenomenon best described as sub-human capacity on the part of Africans [blacks]; but it would be rather parochial should we conclude the case of the black man based solely on the premise of blacks in Africa without considering other black communities living beyond the shores of Africa.

On the world scene, several super powers have emerged and submerged with time; kingdoms such as the old Egyptian dynasty, the Persian empire and almighty Rome; all held sway with a portion of history, influencing the world with their wealth, military power and political power; but none of them compares with the USA- ‘the land of opportunities’ in terms of global economic influence. After the abolishment of slave trade in the mid 19th century, scores of black Africans were already integrated into the western system of living, with blacks owning 1.5% in the economic stake. A recent survey indicates that the statistic obtained two centuries ago still stands in this contemporary age. Black communities in major western nations like England, are dominantly found on the lower rung of the economic ladder, struggling to barely make ends meet! Social vices are mostly associated with blacks in major western countries, which indeed is a fact and not a matter of racism! Blacks in the western hemisphere are better tagged the ‘bling-community‘; borrowing the money they don’t have, to buy the things they don’t need, to impress the people that don’t like them. Most have a penchant for unnecessary pleasure thereby truncating the importance of a sound work ethics in the mind of the growing generation and undermining the value of core principle like integrity and faithfulness[ I would be quick to add that a good number of black people have done exceedingly well in their chosen field of endeavour without cutting corners or manipulating the economic systems].

Two fundamental similarities would be noted if we juxtapose blacks in Africa with blacks in Diaspora:
• They live in the midst of abundance and opportunity
• They are confronted with the menace of lack and poverty
What a paradox, living in the midst of abundance yet living with lack! this compels one to ask, DOES BEING BLACK CONNOTE LACK? A question begging profusely for an answer. In an attempt to answer this question , it is imperative to source for reasons people would live with lack while abundance lurks around.
One important and basic reason is attitude. This 8-lettered word infiltrates all aspect of human live. From attitude to work, attitude to the rule of law, attitude to available resources, attitude to fellow human beings……the list goes on and on.

Majority of people in the world’s poorest nations are deficient of good work ethics. The values of integrity and accountability which forms the bedrock of a viable working strata in a society have been replaced with complacency and corruption; and when the work force of any nation is perverse it permeates into the very soul of such nation leading to institutionalised corruption and poverty.
Another attitude problem on the part of the citizens is that relating to the rule of law. It is rather saddening that in the 21st century, respect for the rule of law is often taken inconsequentially in many black nations. A nation or organization without a set of rules guiding it’s affairs is bound to collapse, since everybody is free to do as occasion serve them; but more tragic is the case where laws are easily perverted to the convenience of individuals. In most poor nations ,where the rich and powerful call the shots, laws are adjusted to suit their request since nobody can confront them and bring them to book, the ordinary populace can get away with issues as long they are connected to appropriate authorities. This kind of attitude further entrenches perversion in the mind of people and with perversion comes poverty. Also, the concept of Due process is often a foreign tongue in poor countries, instead what obtains is the phenomenon of short cut which results in an erosion of values; and when values are traded for short-cut, decadence is inevitable!
Another major attitude problem is the perception of fellow citizens and respect for human dignity. The me, myself and I concept is easily recognised in many poor countries; majority tends to be obsessive with their own immediate gratification and forgets about the collective fortune of the society; individuals proceed ruthlessly to achieve goals irrespective of what their neighbour suffers from it.

On the part of the government, attitude towards resources has being a major concern in poor nations. Many African nations abounding in natural and mineral resources are victims of poverty due to the mismanagement attitude of the leaders. Priorities are often misplaced, as a result paramount issues are often trivialised while less important becomes overtly hyped. Personal greed and obsession with material paraphernalia of office have lured many leaders into squandering their nations available resources. In a case where purchasing private jets and adding the latest model of armoured cars becomes more important than implementing the health and educational policy of the government, untold hardship is introduced by stealth in the polity. Crass examples of greed would be observed in many African dictators, where some of these self-proclaimed messiahs are often richer than their nations! While the citizens are left to face infrastructural degradation and economic instability. These kinds of attitude to available resources easily betrays the future of any people to the cruel hand of poverty and ultimately servitude in the committee of nations.

Having examined the principal source of poverty to be dysfunctional attitudes, it would not be out of place to suggest a way out of poverty based on the same platform of attitude. In order to win the war on poverty and lack in black nations, a critical appraisal of these fundamental attitude problem has to be done, and a socio-politico-economic re-engineering should be carried out. Using the outcome of the appraisal as template. Laws should be promulgated to enhance implementation of the re-structuring process and appropriate law-upholding unit e.g. police should be vested with considerable power to mandate and if necessary enforce the new culture of ethics among the people. The crusade against institutionalised corruption should not be faceless, nobody should be treated as a sacred cow and different arms of government should serve as checkers for each other when abuse of office seems lurking [not as a witch-hunting process though].

In conclusion, if this fundamental question of attitude gets sorted, black nations and societies would have been re-aligned and re-integrated to the path of greatness, global marginalization would be forced to stop, and the perception of the world about the ‘man of colour’ would be that of dignity and positive values.
Only then would we begin to sing to the tune of UTOPIA!!!!!!!!!

Written by Ayobami John Jato