Africa’s mockery of sounding negative and accumulating acclaim

Not all is well in Africa, as anywhere else. However, Africa is a special case. In many ways, it is a continent of yoked mindsets. We pride ourselves in displaying foreign philosophical culture, measure our abilities on the basis of knowledge of foreign languages, and are generally proud to accumulate foreign perceptions around ourselves.One of the tragedies of our times remains the yearning for foreign approval by the Africans. This will apply to the student, as it will apply to a popular leader as well as to a media commentator like me. To realize foreign endorsement of one’s commentaries is a big deal. From a straightforward view, this would not be a problem.The more one appeals to a wider audience beyond one’s locale, the better. It would mean that one is relevant to a wider audience and possibly more useful as a result. The only problem arises when this wide appeal is largely driven by a specific narrative, and even more dangerously so if the narrative must be pessimistic. This appears to be the case for Africa.When I started writing newspaper commentary a few years ago, my first article examined the case of oil exploration in Uganda, against global trends in renewable energy and related innovations. The article touched on some of the likely outcomes of trends in the energy sector, on the oil sector and the adversity it could imply for the latest investments by countries in the same.This commentary was quickly picked up by others and resounded as an alarm against Uganda’s investment in oil exploration. A foreign news site picked on it as well and put it up in a way that gave the impression that I was highlighting a state of hopelessness around the subject matter. In reality, though, I was not interested in eroding hope in Uganda’s oil prospects at all but simply bringing a perspective of contextualising threats and benefits around the country’s oil sector programs.I guess there was not much in my subsequent commentaries to reinforce the perceptions that this first article I wrote might have set. The article has since been pulled down from the said foreign site, or I am unable to see it for some reason.It is widely known that foreign media has, in the past, largely portrayed Africa as a poverty-stricken, war-ravaged, disease-ridden, chaos-driven continent. This kind of narrative continually blows an air of despair and loss of hope across a continent that is already grappling with real issues. It also keeps African hopes pegged to foreign sources.As a result, it keeps the African mindset in a kind of prison on voluntary, albeit induced, terms. When the voices of despair can come from Africa herself, it then legitimizes the foreign narrative about the continent – and there is no better way for foreign media to maintain the status quo than to have the horse herself neigh the message.  Our practical challenge, to be realistic, is that horses neighing from African stables about African hardships do not have to tell lies. We have enough problems to fill volumes and build numerous archives of the same about what is not going right in Africa.As such, one can build an exclusive career out of the vocation of sounding out these problems. Some should indeed dedicate themselves to this vocation if they can ably put the relevant wide scope of African interests in perspective while doing it.It helps to keep all of us reminded that we have a long way to go before we can claim comfort for ourselves. Sadly, it appears like only a few are able to locate the said wide scope and simply fall prey to the shallow appeasements of acclaim that comes with the whole venture.There can be extensive social media spread, endorsements, and related motivators around the affair. The relevant approval is not even always foreign. To be exclusively negative about Africa generally generates resounding applause from fellow Africans.One can sell one’s voice and ideas by packaging an exclusive negative perspective of Africa’s situation. There can be personal significant dividends. These days, those dividends are amplified by enhanced social media visibility, huge crowds of virtual moral support, and possibly subsequent tangible benefits.What many may not realize though is that it is dangerous to continually drive a message of hopelessness and drum it in, especially into our young people, who are still discovering themselves and shuffling their feet for a firm hold.Our people need hope as much as they need to be woken up, where they slumber. We need positive energy as much as we can use discomforting truths. We need to liberate African mindsets.Raymond is a Chartered Risk Analyst and risk management consultant[email protected]