Going Back To Our Roots  

Going Back To Our Roots

By: Emmanuel Phillips

During the slave trade era, the world witnessed the greatest denigration of man ever recorded in the history of humanity. Records have it that majority of black men and women were taken against their wish to foreign lands. Nigeria was not spared from such inhumane acts – the battering of children, men, and women. It was the highest order of impiety of man to man.

Today, The Black Jewels Network is not out to bring back the memory of the Yoruba race of those horrific and atrocious days to cause unnecessary friction or to apportion blame to the initiators of the slave trade. But rather, for our black folks wherever they may find themselves under the heaven (the Caribbean, United States of America, South America, United Kingdom, Africa, and name it) to remember their root. No matter the achievements made, Africans in Diaspora should remember their original root – Africa; we need to be connected and make a positive impact on our place of origin.

When destiny is the subject of discourse, diverse interpretations and reasons are attributed to it. In most instances, it conjures up an aura of mystique, a realm beyond the comprehension of the ordinary human. As a result of this conceptual view, it is not unusual for matters on destiny to be regarded by many people as an act of God. Therefore, all manners of the situation have now been attributed to destiny. Misfortunes, calamities, wars, famines, business went sour, deliberate of malevolence, and even poverty or underdevelopment of human capacities or nations or continent, have found places within the confines of destiny. This perception of destiny has been fostered by one single phenomenon, and that is ignorance. Destiny indeed is movable, malleable, and adjustable, and can be changed. Using the words of Shakespeare, the great legend, “It is not in our stars, but ourselves that we are underlings.”

We should give kudos to International organizations like the United Nations and other regional organizations for all their supportive roles and contributions in alleviating poverty and underdevelopment. The greater bulk of the aid and assistance are directed to the third world, predominantly the “Black race”, most especially to people in the continent in Africa. The resultant effect is that this good gesture has always made our identity that of an underdog. We have always been pitied or tolerated as beggars. And until we can take the bull by the horns, the stigma will not be removed. As a race, we must be able to take responsibility for our destiny. We must begin to look inwardly as individual persons or nations or as a corporate entity, sourcing solutions to our present situations and circumstances, rather than looking endlessly for external handouts or redemption.

Other races – Caucasian (white) and Mongolian (yellow) have made significant contributions to civilization. They have changed and improved their physical environment and communities. Individuals among these races had made, and are still making great inventions and discoveries. They have sought and found solutions to critical problems, especially those that lead to a better standard of living for their people. On the other hand, Africa and the black race are inferior to other continents. This is a result of our uncaring attitudes and failure to use our resources (natural and human) effectively to improve the continent and the welfare of our people. Thank God for having many of our folks all over the industrial nations. Despite the overt and covert racism and unbridled exploitation to which blacks had been subjected in their host nations, our folks have shown ingenuity in making the best of their environment to bring out great achievements in science, music, sports, religion, politics, academics, and in other areas of human endeavors. Today, many black Africans are now making headways in their chosen human endeavors, and their names are making waves in a strange land. They are making positive impacts in their host nations and having breakthroughs in sciences, architecture, education, politics, and engineering. They have made considerable progress.

Many black folks have been integrated into the public sector – Federal, State, and Local Governments, in their countries of abode. Many black professionals have attained recognizable positions in strategic industries. In the United States of America, black Americans constituted an appreciable percent of the nation’s security – Police and Army. Presently, one of our brothers - Barrack Obama, is the leader and former President of the supposedly greatest nation of the world. Today Kamala Harris is the Vice President of, the United States of America.

With all these great achievements by our folks in the strange land, there are no corresponding reflections in their place of origin. This tends to portray part of our attributes. An average Blackman loves to enjoy good things of life like modern appliances, goods, and services, which other races had for centuries worked hard to invent and attain. This trait is the bane to the greatest socio-economic problem of Africa. For selfish reasons and self-interest, my people sold out their fellow kinsmen or tribesmen and women to white strangers for consumable goods like beads, wines, and second-hand clothing.

It is a known fact that the consumption pattern of my people in this continent is towards the finished goods from the developed nations. As a result, governments in African nations use the meager resources from their subsistent economic activities to settle bills and to service debts on imported consumable goods. This has posed a great problem to the socio-economic development of the African continent.

Up until date, our leaders allow for the greater percentage of the syndrome of brain drain in Africa, because of their self-centeredness. These self-motivated leaders siphon the hard-earned money in the land to waste on frivolous spending on their foreign trips, while the citizens, even members of their immediate and extended families are living in abject poverty. They spend huge sums of hard currency for birthday parties, acquiring estates in a strange land, and lodging their loots in foreign banks. This in effect affects the economies of their nations, thereby causing hardships for the people. Moreover, the fortunate ones travel out of the continent and live as refugees in a strange land. What a vicious cycle!

Finally, I want to confront fellow folks with this poser: How many African American or Afro Caribbean scientists, engineers, and technicians have come in recent times to establish their industries in Africa? Thank God, for these patriots of old:

• In 1858, Martin R. Delany, a black physician-led an expedition of black Americans who wanted to settle in Africa and signed treaties with many African traditional rulers.

• Paul Cuffee, a rich black American shipowner, transported at his expense, a group of 38 blacks to Sierra Leone in 1815.

• In 1858, Benjamin Coates and other leading black Americans formed the African Civilization Society intending to foster social and economic ties between Africa and America. Fortunately or unfortunately as the case may be, the urge to achieve these great moves by these patriots waned or died down with the emancipation and the granting of citizenship rights to blacks in 1863. No wonder why many of our folks today forget their fatherland immediately after they received their “GREEN CARDS”.

Today, many industries are being established in Africa by other races – Caucasian (white) and Mongolian (yellow). They do this neither for the interest of our people nor the black continent, but for profit maximization. Worse still, they repatriate their profits to their fatherland, thereby making life more comfortable for their people at the detriment of Africa. Folks, let’s wise up!

The story was told of a great patriot, Nehemiah, a Jew who found himself in a strange land by circumstances beyond his control. He was a cupbearer (the equivalent of the present Special Adviser) to king Artaxerxes. While Nehemiah no doubt enjoyed a position of great trust as Special Adviser to the king and flourished in the affluence and luxury of the palace, his heart was in Jerusalem, his root. He was disturbed when he heard that his people were in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem was broken down, and the gates thereof were burnt with fire. Listen to the words of this great patriot:

“And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.” Neh, 1:4. King Artaxerxes observed a remarkable change in Nehemiah’s countenance. The king inquired from him, “Why is your countenance sad, seeing you are not sick?” Nehemiah replied the king, “Let the king live forever; why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my father sepulchers, lies waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?” There and then, Nehemiah took his leave to the plight of his people.

O Lord, how long will it take YOU to give unto us in the “Black race” and this generation, men like Nehemiah, the son of Hachaliah?

Folks, the present plight in the African continent urgently calls for patriots and leaders whose hearts will be moved like that of Nehemiah. Fellow brothers and sisters, here we are soliciting the support of Black Africans in Diaspora who will come and build our continent that “lies waste with its fallen walls and burnt gates”.

The Black Jewels Network looks forward to the contributions of the black folks in Diaspora on this page. You can send your articles to my mail: phillipsemmanuel@info.com.