I am your friend, Dr. Charles Apoki. I wish I didn’t have to talk about Nigeria and African politics. I would rather focus on developing one million African entrepreneurs, which is the primary purpose of this platform. However, entrepreneurship cannot thrive in a vacuum. You cannot tell people to go to the farm when herdsmen attack them there. You cannot motivate a hungry person to practice frugality. Until Africa provides a suitable environment with aspirational income, regular electricity, water, and security, no matter what you teach about entrepreneurship, people will not take it seriously.
A classmate of mine from medical school, now in the UK, recently reminded me of a statement made by P.W. Botha in 1988. At that time, I had already graduated and was transitioning into private medical practice. Botha, the South African leader then, made a controversial statement when Africans were agitating for the end of apartheid. His words angered me, and I believed we would prove him wrong.
Botha claimed that:
Black people cannot rule themselves because they lack the brain and mental capacity to govern a society.
If given guns, they will kill themselves.
If given power, they will steal all the government money.
If given independence and democracy, they will use it to promote tribalism, ethnicity, bigotry, hatred, killings, and wars.
After 37 years, his words seem prophetic, as they apply to nearly every African nation. Many African leaders and societies act as if they lack the mental capacity to govern. They kill themselves with guns, steal government money, and misuse democracy to promote division and conflict.
I want to ask you: Was P.W. Botha right? Have we, as Black people, proven him right? Look at your country—are these things happening there? If so, why? And most importantly, how can we prove Botha wrong?
I am waiting for your comments in the comment section. Please do not make thoughtless or offensive statements. I want an analysis.
For me, Africa is a prismatic society, as described in Fred Riggs’ theory of prismatic society. That is why things that work elsewhere do not work in Africa. That is my perspective—what is yours?
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God bless you.
