Needed: A cultural revolution

The life of any nation is analogous to the cycle of learning, growth and transformation that heralds a better life for posterity. One of the ingredients of this actualization is culture. One might ask: does the average African develop cognizance of time management skills, scientific and vocational interest skills, job excellence skills, craftsmanship, productivity skills, family values, spirituality, heritage skills, etc?

These can with patience and exemplary leadership be learnt and cultivated. Everyone needs it from the rowdy motor pack tout to the ranting professor. About a century and half ago German products were ridiculed in Europe and USA as quite inferior until one German engineer developed an organization that reoriented all Germans to only produce the best products from carpets, brooms to machine and automobiles and thus the Germans now manufacture the best products today.

Japan went through the same learning cycle of excellence and proficiency, China went through an arduous Cultural Revolution in 1960 and today they lend money to the Americans and the west. The list is endless. One might again ask: Since African problem is spiritual and psychological, can Africa change? Can it develop a culture of production instead of corruption, become an aid giver instead of receiver, develop openness instead of crippling secrecy, and entrench meritorious leadership instead of irresponsible pariah claims to endless power; cultivated service and intellectual skills instead of crave for all titles under the sun?

Let us take a typical African president. He orders his suits from Switzerland, his presidential limousine is from Germany or Japan, his jet plane from America, he does his shopping’s at London’s Harrods, his tooth-brush from Norway or China, his water-bed from Europe, his eye-glasses from France, his shoes from Italy, his chicken sauced rice dish from Thailand, his television sets from Japan, his convoy jeeps from Korea, his bank account is at Switzerland, his children study at England. I even bet his new under-aged wife is imported from Egypt. Another endless list: He attends an international conference and speaks but the equally mysterious western leaders silently wonder at this caricature of a human being and yet the African leader is not perturbed.

He often speaks a lot but hardly delivers, he never learnt a culture of service delivery and excellence. He thinks politics is the only job one can do without training. If you look at most performing leaders today you will realize they are gentle men that painstakingly developed an analytical, orderly, logical, philosophical, dynamic and articulate mind frame culture and most often than not they are lawyers but this does not make all lawyers people oriented achievers.

Home training is also a factor. We then need a peaceful cultural re-orientation to help achieve self-sufficiency, technological skills, time skills, service skills, democratic and accountability skills, environmental and ecological sustainability, civic and leadership competency skills, intellectual skills, philanthropic skills, freedom and responsibility skills, parenting skills, productivity, etc.

The butterfly can only become a soaring eagle with training. As to how we can go about all these and what organizations and media facilities (community, public and private) are needed, I leave these to our individual and collective developmental and transformative conscience to work out for the benefit of posterity and as our contributions to the march of modern civilization as we did in far distance forgotten pasts.