There has never been a time in history were the NEED(S) places such a demand on us to throw off our mental crutches and find our SOUL as a continent. With the magnificent contrasts of people and cultures, wild beauty and stunning landscapes, second perhaps to no other region of the world, Africa is home to the greatest fortunes boasted by planet earth. If our history—our effectiveness as a people and capacity on the world’s stage—belies this truth, it certainly hasn’t been for want of resources, but for the spiritual and mental ingredients needed to activate this inherent value.
As the clock of this 21st century continually ticks away, we must come to the hard truth that Africa does not have a potential or merely ‘’leadership’’ problem; Africa has had inspirational or aspirational problem. Between our ears; you, me, the all of us, is the philosophies or attitudes that will see this continent rise to the full meaning of its endowments in the coming decades, or have it continue to flounder, holding to the apron strings of other regions of the world. It matters not what we think of ourselves or what others think of us, Africa does not have poor people; Africa has simply had poor aspirations.
But the moment now comes in this generation where a people must summon the domestic pride—and inspirational dissatisfaction—to awake to her inherent potential! Whoever you are, whichever segment of this 30 million square kilometers landmass you reside or come from, it is time to say for sure that we have had it! It is time to rise from the meshes of fixated customs, repressive systems, and self-defeating ideologies, and establish the fabric of social refinement and economic transcendence in our lands.
In every African mind is the seed and potential for astonishing creativity and transnational greatness—it is time to pursue the right ideologies that will enable us proliferate these ideals. Whichever level you are right now, it is important to note that your mind, your potential, your possibilities are your greatest asset. The answers to our massive current challenges in hunger, energy, infrastructure, unemployment, education, and other social issues, resides in your imaginative potential—your resourcefulness every day.
Never succumb to the mental trap that you, your potential, your dreams, don’t matter; because they do and our families, communities, our society, need them for [our] ultimate realization.
Africa has the potential to rule the world; but the key to this is for you to covet the right ideas, develop the right mindsets, and determine to become a person of exceptional value to society. Your thoughts, attitudes, your self-concept, are of more value than all the diamonds in South Africa, the oil fields in Nigeria or Sudan, all the gold in Ghana or Congo. The future of our continent—our social wealth, economic intradependence, and societal stability will be guaranteed—if you will sign up for excellence and determine to live out those possibilities of your imagination.
Whether you speak Swahili, Arabic, Yoruba, Mande, Zulu, Cushitic, know that the time has come for us to unite in one social, economic and cultural language of Afri-revolution—what I call Afritranscendence. I challenge you today to awake to the reality of your limitless potential—to prove this ideal of Afritranscence in your life—by doing your best to become all that you were created to be.