There is nothing wrong with the black race (1), By Sunday Adelaja

My aim of writing this article is to address what has been a major factor in the lack of economic development and breakthrough that the African people have so long waited for. Because I have lived in Europe for the past 30 years, I can clearly see the difference between developed countries and developing countries. There are reasons why some countries are more developed than others. These reasons are many. I wish to only address one of such reasons today.

I want to address the fact that lies and deceptions have been a factor which has held Africa in bondage for so long. The Bible says you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Instead of the truth about the gifts, endowments and capacities of the Africans, we have rather been fed with lies and deceptions.

It is my desire to debunk the lies about the inability of Africans to rule and manage their affairs. There have been a lot of theological and philosophical arguments on why the African continent is backward. Some of them are clearly untrue. When we believe lies and deceptions, we are enslaved and captivated by them. Instead of being set free by the truth, we end up being enslaved by lies and deceptions. When people know the truth, they are set free, but when they know lies, they are captivated and enslaved.

Our continent has been under the captivation of lies and deceptions for so long. Other people have used lies and deceptions as a weapon to enslave us. Many of us have too many lies and deceptions of our own. Unfortunately, Africans are now spreading the lies about our inability to do anything good. Some have gone to the extent of buying into the lies of some European theologians about Ham and the African continent.

If we wish to understand life, we must pay attention to the laws of life. One of such laws tells us that there is no effect without a cause. If anything has happened, it means there are reasons for it. So, if there are countries that have attained economic independence and freedom from poverty, there are factors that have helped them to attain that height.

On the other hand also, if we on the continent of Africa have not been able to break away from the deadly grip of poverty and hopelessness, it means there are some things we are not doing right. If these things can be identified and corrected, there is a big chance that we too will be able to attain some form of economic and political renaissance.

One of the things that we must get right as a people and as a continent is that Faith is a major factor of progress. For us to break loose of our bondages, we must begin to believe in ourselves as a people. Yes, Africans believe so much in God. We are not an atheistic continent. That is a good foundation to begin our journey of faith. When it comes to development and civilisation however, it is not enough for us to just believe in God. Apart from faith in God, we must also have faith in ourselves. Faith in self plays a decisive role when it comes to life realities.

Since it is we humans and in this case Africans who are the ones to build our countries and continent, we need that faith in our ability to do so. The truth my friends, is that every continent and every nation’s development is tied to their belief systems. What a people believe in will go a long way into influencing what they do and how they act in their daily lives. For example, if we believe the story that Africans are not capable of ruling themselves, then that is what we get. We would always fail ourselves in the area of governance, because of that kind of belief.

If we believe that Africans are not capable of doing anything good as some often say, that we are not even capable of inventing a bicycle, then that is the place we will remain. On the other hand however, can you imagine us believing so much in ourselves that we can do anything? Can you imagine all Africans attempting to bring about inventions, explore the cosmos, space, land, ocean and the sea? That believe will bring about attempts and efforts that will eventually lead to inventions and discoveries.

That is one of the great stories of Japan. Japanese were raised in the tradition of incredible faith in their own abilities. A case at hand is the lifestyle of the samurai. They were specially groomed to face any obstacle even death, with the faith that they will rather die than suffer defeat. We Africans need to arise with similar faith at this hour. We need to shun and throw away all stories that put us down. We need to begin to have faith in ourselves that we are capable of doing great things.

The Bible is a big encourager and support in this situation. The New Testament talks about two categories of people to whom all things are possible. First the Bible tells us that all things are possible to God. That seems to be so obvious and none disputable. But on the other hand, the other category of people to whom all things are possible, according to the Bible: “all things are possible to them that believe.” The only qualification in this case is to believe. Believe that you are able to do what you have set before yourself to do. Once you believe, all things shall be possible to you. But if you don’t believe it, you will not be able to do what you yourself didn’t believe you could do.

We need to turn Africa into a continent of believers instead of doubters and skeptics. We must get ourselves to a place of being fanatically addicted to the idea that no one is better than us. We must convince our youth that they can be as good as anyone else in the world. It is that faith that would spur the growth in industry, because people who believe in themselves become industrious. It is that faith that will provoke the birth of the millions of enterprises our continent so badly needs.

This is because, people who believe in themselves are enterprising. When you believe in yourself, you are enterprising, you are proactive and you go forward. Enterprise is a product of faith in self, so also is industry. When we believe in ourselves, inventions, discoveries will become a common place among us.

My fellow Africans, this is a major factor that we must deal with if our continent is to come out of the darkness we are presently in. faith can move mountains. Faith can change situations. Faith changes circumstances. Faith can raise up a continent from its present state of quagmire.

I wish to declare here categorically, that there is no truth whatsoever to the assumption that black people and Africa as a whole, are underdeveloped largely because of the curse that was placed on Ham and his descendants. According to this school of thought, some people have disseminated the information that the black race come out of Ham. Since he was cursed by his father Noah according to the biblical story, then that is the reason why the black race is enslaved and under a curse.