At the same time, the continent is faced with a plethora of socio-economic maladies and political bushfires than any other continent. On the other hand, this is a continent of great potential and such potentialities are seldom covered by the media.
In actual fact as Dr Cesar Chelala has realised, there are two Africas: one, normally portrayed in the media, a land of poverty, disease, and war. And another Africa: a vital, energetic continent of hardworking men and women, a continent of beautiful children and young men and women, a continent of humour, and a continent of hope. In fact, Chelala asks a very pertinent question on how can one explain that a continent so rich in natural resources and people of entrepreneurial nature is in such dire straits? Even though I fully agree with Chelala that the reason why the continent is in this quagmire can be attributed to the political rascality and inept attitude of African leadership, one must also acknowledge a history of predatory colonialism that has caused the continent to stagnate. As the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu said: “When the missionaries came to Africa, they had the Bible and we had the land. They said ‘Let us pray.’ We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land.”
