Africa is not a country, it is a continent. If Africa was a country it would have been wiped out by now. For centuries some western media and pseudo-African experts have sort to create the impression that Africa is a country.The continent has perpetually being associated with diseases, hunger, poverty,famine, aids, slavery, genocide, corruption, etc. It is not just this negative connotations which is synonymous to Africa, it is also common to hear questions like: are you from Africa? What kind of food do you eat in Africa? Is it true that you live on trees in Africa?………..Even at a point someone asked me if there were windows in African houses.
In a heated debate, a friend made an attempt to explain a point to buttress a certain argument but ended up explaining that India, China and Africa are developing countries. I told him his argument could not have being true because Africa is not a country like China and India.
This phenomenon is not just with ordinary people. Sarah Palin, the 2008 running mate to John McCain also thought Africa was a country. And former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, one of the candidates for the republican presidential slot said during a debate that Africa was ”a country on the brink”. If people at this level of their political careers still see Africa as a country, then there is something fundamentally wrong.
All the myths, tales, and fictitious negative associations are perpetuated mostly on the premise of ignorance. If people slept on trees where did Obama, Clinton, Tony Blair, and many European leaders sleep when they visit countries in Africa?
Why Africa is not a country!. The continent Africa has 54 sovereign states/countries with over 1 billion people and growing; it is the second largest populated continent in the world after Asia. Africa is also the second largest continent in the world with over 2,000 languages and dialects. In fact, Nigeria alone is more than twice the size of American, hence Africa can not be a country.
There are different cultures in different African countries with unique traditions and value systems. Just as there is West, East, and Central Europe. Africa is also divided into North, South, East, West and even Central regions. There is more than 100 ethnic groups in Africa numbering about 10 million people spread across the continent.
Yes, some countries in Africa have experienced tumultuous changes both past and present, yet, that is not a yardstick to cluster all African countries into the same category and used that as a benchmark to evaluate all African countries . There are colossal economic, social and political changes taking place in most countries in Africa. Certainly, there have being challenges just as there are everywhere in the world. And not recognising these is tantamount to saying the past does not matter. It does. What countries in Africa ought to do now is undertake serious nation branding efforts to distinguish and position themselves strategical, and stress the strengths and opportunities that exist in each of these countries.
It is important to point out even further economic reasons that exposes people who think that just because the economic indicators of a certain African country is toxic, it is the same with the rest of the continent. That can not be true. Many countries in Africa has undergone tremendous transformations and this successes need to be touted to the outside world.
At a time the world is experiencing volatile economic crisis and credit squeeze, most African countries are actually growing. Economy Watch projected that Ghana was the fastest growing economy in the first half of 2011 with other African countries such as Ethiopia, Mozambique, Angola. This economic growth coupled with an upsurge of infrastructural development in the telecommunication sector are but a few positives. In Countries like Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa giant strides have being made in this sector. Though people maybe invariably poor in some African countries, yet the telecommunication industry is a huge investment opportunity in most African countries because there is a demand for it. Therefore, for people willing to invest, there are many opportunities. Africa is not a COUNTRY! The investment opportunities are in the 54 different African countries.
Most African countries have also received credit ratings which shows their ability and willingness to pay back debts. This ratings are used as tools by investors to evaluate the credit worthiness of a country. There are about 16 African countries with these credit ratings. The only country that has not got a credit rating is the COUNTRY AFRICA, because it does not exist.
It is time to change the paradigm and tell our own stories. The stories of some African countries are uniquely painful, and not synonymous with the rest of Africa. The time to act is now; there are so many good things about many African countries, yet there seem to be no voice to tell them. We must stand up for our interests, we must shake-off the upheavals and portray Africa as a continent surging with opportunities, great energy and a strategic partner in world affairs. The time is now!
kamaramakama 