Don’t sell Africa back into slavery

The Chronicle, Ghana

Don’t sell Africa back into slavery

By Peter M. Onumah, Accra

25 May 2012

Europe has been knocking at the door of Africa in the last decade for Africa leaders to sign the so called Economic partnership Agreement. The partnership Europe has been touting substantially means perpetually subordinating raw-material producing Africa to the economic demands of hyper-industrialized Europe. This is consistent with the euro-America design formulated and religiously pursued since the 16th century.

Euro-Americans pursued the trans-Atlantic slave trade to buttress the economic development of the western world. The profit of the slave trade provided the financial facility to build the capital and accelerate the industrial revolution. When the slave trade was no longer profitable after three centuries, the euro-Americas advocated its abolition. The robust youths of Africa should rather stay in Africa to work the groundnut and oil-palm farms for the production of oil which euro-Americans needed to lubricate their industrial machines and manufacture soaps. The slave trade was abolished not because the euro-Americans had been made captive of the spirit of philanthropy, an off-shoot of the enlightenment philosophy of the 18th century, but because the abolition would maximize their economic interests.

The growth and expansion of the industrial revolution ushered in the quest for and control of spheres of influence for markets and raw materials. The sequel was the scramble, partition and colonization of suited to the primary purpose of their coming to Africa; that is to exploit the human and natural resources of the continent. The alien systems they set up have over the years been so pervasive in African societies that the beneficiaries, particularly the educated people, conceive of themselves as Lusophone, Anglophone or francophone. In effect, they are saying they’d rather forget about their own culture. It is not surprising that a minister of state in the last administration proclaimed that Africa had no option other than to accept the EPA. A minister of trade and industry in the current administration is also advocating Ghana’s acceptance of the EPA. Ghana’s acceptance would irreversibly deepen her dependence on Europe to the stagnation of her economic development and attrition of her sovereignty.

Europe and America are very apprehensive of a truly independent Africa. They are now hyper- industrialized and they still need the raw materials:-gold, manganese, cobalt, diamonds, timber, cocoa, ivory and many others. They still need the African market; so Africa should continue to remain hewers of wood and drawers of water. It must be clear to all Africans that the euro-Americans are still hanging onto Africa where they are exploiting its human and natural resources. The true African patriots are always demonized by the western media through their propaganda machine and eventually eliminated. Patrice Lumumba, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Muammar Gaddafi and Laurent Gbagbo all became victims of that propaganda machine and were systematically eliminated.

Africans should re-think their historical perspective and fashion out systems of education, administration and governance with an ideology and philosophy rooted and grounded in their own culture. It is going to be a huge challenge; but with determination and the fundamental ideology of “know thyself” a radical outlook can be achieved. The economic partnership agreement means nothing else than perpetual subordination of Africa to Europe. Any Africa leader who signs that agreement will be selling Africa back into slavery. Already our ancestors are turning in their graves, for they see us still fundamental cause of our under-development.

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