Has the pandemic taught Africa anything? 🤔
“We can no longer continue to make policy for ourselves in our continent on the basis of whatever support that the western world can give us.”Hello Venturer,Today, I decided to start this newsletter with a quote that you may or may not be familiar with, but one that rings true. I believe that even without giving away the identity of the speaker, you can guess that the person is African. A dissatisfied African; one that is fed up with the status quo of a continent blessed with abundant resources, albeit underexploited and mismanaged. A continent so rich, yet so poor and dependent on charity and foreign aid. Let me give you the background of the quote.At a joint press conference between French president Emmanuel Macron and Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo in Accra, November 2017, a local journalist asked President Macron if France would strengthen its support for African countries like Ghana that were not former French colonies. President Macron gave a standard rhetoric response, but President Addo surprised everyone with his response, part of which is the aforementioned quote. He went on to say that Africa needs to ditch the ‘dependency mindset’ and focus on working towards a continent free of aid, charity, and handouts.As expected, President Addo’s response went viral to the critical acclaim of young Africans on social media. That was a little over three years ago. Fast forward to today, when Africa and the rest of the world battles a once in a lifetime pandemic that has killed and pushed millions into poverty, with the continent lagging in the vaccination drive due to supply issues and a lack of international solidarity, does President Addo still believe in a self-sufficient and self-reliant Africa? I know what his answer is. I know what my answer is. What’s yours? Do you (still) believe in a self-sufficient and self-reliant Africa?Hadassah EgbediWriter & Multimedia Content Editor
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