President Obama Urges young Africans to Revolution

By Innocent Chia

It will not be giants like Nkrumah and Kenyatta who will determine Africa’s future…it will be you, the men and women in Ghana's Parliament, and the people you represent. Above all, it will be the young people, brimming with talent and energy and hope, who can claim the future that so many in my father's generation never found."

There it is; silent words on paper. From the seat of Ghana’s parliament in Accra on Saturday July 11 2009, Ghanaians, Africans and indeed the world, listened attentively to their author, US President Barack Obama, reverberating a familiar message that the wealthy and well connected don’t want to hear. My postulation is that Obama’s most important message was to the youth of Africa; the message in the highlighted excerpt above.

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It will not be giants like Nkrumah and Kenyatta who will determine Africa’s future…it will be you, the men and women in Ghana's Parliament, and the people you represent. Above all, it will be the young people, brimming with talent and energy and hope, who can claim the future that so many in my father's generation never found."

There it is; silent words on paper. From the seat of Ghana’s parliament in Accra on Saturday July 11 2009, Ghanaians, Africans and indeed the world, listened attentively to their author, US President Barack Obama, reverberating a familiar message that the wealthy and well connected don’t want to hear. My postulation is that Obama’s most important message was to the youth of Africa; the message in the highlighted excerpt above.

Comments

[Ras Tuge]

Innocent,
Obama neither said anything that we don't already know as Africans, nor did he incite the youth to any kind of revolution or rebellion. He simply admonished the utterly fraudulent status quo that beggared description, and that has inexplicably been maintained by an egocentric, cruel, mysterious, idiotic, and insane African political elite.

Obama also signalled to the peevish, desperate and lackluster African youth by way of advice, of the urgency for them to embolden themselves and consider exploring every avenue in the search for workable answers now, or they just might have to make the supreme sacrifice later. In this manner they can be able to redirect the course of history in their shamelessly embattled continent.

Hopefully, the speech shall awaken in the youth a spirit of dire activism at different levels of
society, and would arguably spur them into a thorough rearguard action against the malicious plans of the notoriously callous leadership to plunge the continent into the eternal abyss of greed, lawlessness and misery.

Nonetheless, for the speech to be meaningful, the various parliaments, and hence governments shall need a complete overhaul, or be dissovled altogether. This way, the ultimate will of the people, as well as the integrity and glory of the various African nations must be regarded as paramount.

Lastly, i want to reiterate that as Cameroonians, we must not wait for the government and its frivolous policies to wither away before we can embrace unquencheable calls to reshape the destiny of the country. Our shrewdness in the willingness to contribute our various skills, as well as confronting the odds and creating avenues for investment back home shall make a whole lot of difference.

By the same token, we must not wait for Barack Hussein Obama, Janet E. Garvey or any non African goodwill preacher to tell us what we need to do. The African youth must learn to believe in themselves, to prioritize fairness, and to hunger for progressive change in Africa.
Again, as Africans, there's nothing Obama said that we don't already know. However, we thank him for his endeavour.

[Totalsuccess]

Ras...Greetings Brother,

A few things to say here:

"The African youth must learn to believe in themselves, to prioritize fairness, and to hunger for progressive change in Africa."

Sounds like a fair assessment here. Now, who will teach them to learn and to hunger or progressive change?

It is fair to think that we can learn from others. We can learn from what they have to say about us.

All great civilizations have been open to influences beyond their shores to survive and thrive through time.

May be it is our turn to learn...just may be.

"Again, as Africans, there's nothing Obama said that we don't already know"

We don't as Africans know(Understand) what Obama said. We think we know or understand. And that is the problem.

If we already knew what he said we will not be where we are.

To know something forces you to practice it. Without practice your claim to knowledge of that thing becomes null and void.

A little humility here will do us good. Water always flows downhill.

We are in need of an awakening. The world is not served by our slumber.

This young and dynamic African son is calling on us to act. Don't trivialize his words or time in Ghana. History is on the move.

Presidents (especially US Presidents) are movers of Human destiny. Their words are filled with veiled and coded messages.

The tide has turned. A new wind is blowing. History is on the move.

This man did not just come to Ghana because he had no where else to go.

His visit is pregnant with symbolism and promise.I think the author of the article got it right.

Barack Obama called for a renaissance in Africa...a revolution if you will from her failing ways.

This was why he came. He is banking on us to make the change.

[Ras Tuge]

Totalsuccess, simply i'd say:

EMANCIPATION is the master of liberty, and the unchallenged lifeblood of the Free world.

Emancipation and revolution are not mutually exclusive. But it is emancipation that induces any kind of change, and that was the very essence of Obama's straight word.

Now, i notice easily that you are yet another obviously educated African who has not yet learnt that Western leaders know what is right for Africa, but bizarrely they mastermind the ludicrous policies that have unfortunately plunged the continent in darkness.

Well, i don't know about you brother man. But Obama or any other Babylon hypocrite can't teach me anything about Africa that i don't already know. Nevertheless, Obama's rallying call for emancipation hit home. But don't forget he clearly cautions that the burden of responsibility on the task of change shall be shouldered by Africans themselves. And this is hardly news to me man.

[UnitedstatesofAfrica]

Africans have been saying this over and over again. From the woman roasting fish by the roadside to Wole Soyinka to Chinua Achebe to the taxi driver. What Obama is saying isn't a novelty or something astounding. Knowing the nature of Africans, we tend to pay more attention to foreigners than to ourselves. It's a shame really. Whatever gets the job done I guess.