Follow Us On:
1) During the harmattan of 1884, as the Africans were busy mending their houses and barns, the European powers gathered in Berlin, round an oak table, to discuss how to launch the mayhem that will for a long time haunt the body and soul of every child that would be born in the continent of Africa.
2) They divided Africa without the consent of the people and without regard or recourse to its demographic constitution. Africa was divided not according to people but according to its natural resources. Which means where they were looking for gold, every region that had a deposit of gold would come together as a nation. Arbitrary lines were drawn. Families were separated. Homogeneous communities were dislodged. Non-homogeneous folks were forced together with utter disregard to organic historical negotiation between peoples.
3) The effects of all these are what we are experiencing today across Africa: insecurity, poverty, wars, corruption, nepotism, sickness, joblessness, high mortality rate and so on. If European nations were to be divided arbitrarily without minding their demographic makeup, I tell you there would have been no peace, progress or any sort of development in Europe today. Every European understands this. That is why many of them still wonder why we have kept the colonial lines alive more than 60 years after the end of colonialism.
4) The fact is that the erstwhile colonial masters believe that they can only maintain their control and influence in the nations they created as long as the colonial lines remain the way they made them. That was why Britain had to fight alongside Nigeria against Biafra during the Nigeria-Biafra war. So, for any politician to remain relevant, he or she must have the intention to safeguard these colonial lines or maps. In other words, those we call African politicians are nothing but guardians of colonial lines.
5) In Nigeria, in order to retain this British lines or map, over 3 million people had to die in Biafra (today’s South-east and South-south) between 1966 – 1970. For the sake of the same line, the python had to dance twice (operation Python Dance 1 and 2) in the South-east, at the end of which the land was covered with blood and tears. For the sake of this line, Boko Haram and ISWAP have continued to devastate the entire North and insecurity consumes Nigeria while the incompetence at the center is cheered on. Ever since the existence of thse arbitrary lines, it has been killings and massacre. For how long, is the question?
6) If Africa must enjoy lasting peace, justice and development, we have to destroy the colonial lines. Simple common sense tells you that you must change the password of your phone that was set up by an outsider. We must decide by ourselves the nature of the new lines/ map(s). We must renegotiate that paradigm of unity that works for us. This means that the people should only vote into political power selfless politicians who love their people and not political merchants. Until we do this, we shall continue to be slaves in our own land and hungry in the midst of plenty.
7) But how can we vote rightly when electoral reform bill is yet to the passed by the corrupt legislators? It is time for people to rise up and demand for the right things to be done. Darkness should not be allowed to triumph over light. The blood is enough!
