Afrika, where are you today?

It has been a year since I really began looking closely at what is going on in Afrika. I listened to conversations, read articles, watched the news and what I saw really hit hard. I looked within my circles, in my home and even in my heart and whether I wanted to or not I had to admit all wasn’t and still isn’t well in and with me or with my people.

I ask myself over and over, what is wrong with us? Why are we so focused on ourselves and what others think of us? Where is the love for a brother and sister? How did we become such a selfish people? Where did our sense of community go? Have we forgotten ourselves in the pursuit of recognition at any cost? Are we so committed to living as others say we should, that we forget who we are? Are we so disinterested in caring for our home, brothers and sisters that we make it hard for them, causing them to leave the continent in pursuit of a better life, thus making space for us to eat more? Aren’t we concerned about the lives lost in pursuit of the dream and recognition?

Surely Afrika…Alkebulan, where are you today?

I can see that many things have happened through the course of time that have affected our people. Our history is full of challenges and situations that changed us and broke us many decades ago. We were captured, shipped out and sold as slaves. We were conscripted to be front liners in wars that had nothing to do with us. We were exploited for our resources and denied our rightful pay. We were told our belief systems were barbaric and we believed it. We were convinced our names were archaic and must be changed. Our natural habitats were ‘discovered’ by newcomers and gifted to their leaders. Now our brothers and sisters in the diaspora are subject to levels of depreciation that make us angry, but we feel stuck and lost because we are seen as less.

The state of mind: Many children of this continent believe that we are not enough.

We ‘have to’ become like those outside us to be accepted. We are still caught in the thought process that all our ways are backward, so we pursue the ways of others. We are caught in thinking our people didn’t and largely don’t know much, so we take up ideologies and ways of life that aren’t ideal for us. We have matched our lives, farming practices, belief systems, hopes, dreams and everything else according to patterns that aren’t designed for us in the heart of God and cannot be wired into our DNA.

You can’t see it? Believe me when I say that all these things are embedded in the subconscious mind and are well hidden within us. They have become an underlying state that’s very difficult to pinpoint, let alone speak about. They raise many questions: What are the most common thoughts when one needs to apply for a job? Simple! Who do I know who can hook me up? How can I get as much as I can in the shortest time possible? What must I do to get ahead at all costs? Have I asked for enough money? Oh! The list is long and super endless, yet it isn’t identified as a culture that defines societies, albeit subconsciously.

The disconnect: our experience changed us.

The vast majority of the people live in squalor, with little to no hope of rising out of it. The levels of injustice are insanely high and the options of getting out are so full of obstacles that shut the doors for growth. Those who have something are so hungry for much more that nothing will stop them from amassing it. Access to important services isn’t equal or equitable, yet there is a lot of chatter about equality.

Our experiences, socialisation, belief systems and education have mingled to make us see ourselves as less then God sees us. We have bought into the lie that we cannot do anything without outside intervention, thus we depend on others for our sustenance. We are blinded to the intrigues, manipulation and brazen looting of our resources and we often defend the looters as caring for us, even though our experiences showcase how much we have been mistreated.

Our reality: we are more than enough.

We are the children of God, children of the ‘Mother of mankind’, destined to change the world. We need to adjust to how we really are, walk away from the image portrayed for us by the colonialists and our leaders, and rise into who God says we are. Many are caught in the downward spiral that says we are less than, too little, too ugly, confused, incoherent, unintelligent, less than stellar and many more things, but deliverance is coming. A new breed of people, called by God, reconditioned in our walk, refocused in our perception of ourselves, is rising. A people who know that they were born in the right place and there is a reason for their existence above making money and getting fat with luxury.

The solution: we must totally reset; reboot; recalibrate.

We do not drift to goals and success but must work consciously and deliberately for them. We would be foolish to try and solve the current situation with the same mindset that created it. The lasting solution to find our land, people and hope is in reset and that isn’t easy for many. To reset is to honestly look at where we are, what got us here and chart the way out. The first challenge to overcome is to accept that there are key things we have accepted as our identity that aren’t right or useful. It means looking back at the beliefs and choices of our people before, cataloguing and understanding the challenges they created and avoiding them. Reset your belief system, leadership, economics, social setup, patterns, hopes, dreams, focus, connections, engagement…everything. Reset, reset, reset and change the world

A reset is often hard because it demands that we accept that things aren’t working and we don’t know how to change them, so we seek a new source of answers. Our reality is that only God can change the narrative we have lived by, to His narrative. He desires that we understand that His ways are higher than ours, as are His thoughts, and that we can fully depend on His word for success. Recalibration is all about priming our lives to fit the word spoken about us regardless of the daily changing situations around us. It is demanding a deepening in our walk with God, that His word would find a place to bear fruit.

Life as we know it will never be the same yet so many layers aren’t even uncovered. Afrika where are you today? The world needs you in your fullness. Afrika where are you today? Your leadership is key. Afrika where are you today? Nothing will move without you.