Is Africa ready to copy the European model?
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Some argued that the baby cannot be thrown away with the bath water and others argued that now Africa was being led in the right direction after a long period of exploitation. Whether that is true or not shall not be the main focus of this contribution.
It is the argument position held by the Nigerian state under the leadership of Umaru Yar'Adua that raised such writing.
The Nigerian State believes and remains adamant that the European Union is the right model to follow towards achieving a federation of African governments. Whilst it is evident that there is much to emulate from the EU, there remains the nagging question: 'Do conditions in the African political environs allow the continent to follow that path, or do they allow for a federation of such a nature at all?
It is not uncommon in this part of the world for parents to actually punish their children when they show signs of depression associating it with issues of indiscipline, and as a result, the poor child will be lashed or given some kind of punishment. We have had many suicide cases in the country and sadly some of the cases included children and young adults. We need to start looking into issues of mental health with the seriousness it...