Opinion
Africa: The changing perceptions of the continent
By Ali Bongo Ondimba
What is your perception of Africa today? Do you see Africa as the “dark continent” of old, with famine, wars, poverty, tribal conflict and corruption? An Africa whose relationship with the world is anchored in pity fed by images of round-bellied children with flies around their eyes, the proliferation of which has fed the generous provision of aid to which the continent is perceived to be addicted?
Or do you see the same Africa as I do: A continent that is emerging into its rightful position in the world, with enormous potential. A continent whose time has come, leading global economic growth rates at an average of 5.5 percent, with the fastest growing middle-income population in the world. A continent conceiving and leveraging technological innovations like mobile money transfer, to deliver new areas of growth while it remains home to most of the world’s natural resources. A continent that is now delivering on its economic potential, to complement its long-held cultural and environmental wealth.
This debate around perceptions of Africa has been raging for many years, but it perhaps avoids a more fundamental question: How do we, as Africans, see ourselves, our countries and our continent?
Do we spend too much of our time worrying about, reacting to and trying to change the perceptions of others, while neglecting the need to fundamentally alter the reality of Africa. Do we hesitate to seize the opportunities that we are presented with today to build the Africa that we as Africans want? To take ownership of our future, rather than relying on the actions and perceptions of others?
Let us change Africa and the change of perception of others will follow naturally. But most importantly we need to influence the perception we have of ourselves. We need to instill the confidence to dream, the drive to plan and invest, the capacity and strength to be true to ourselves and believe that we can define our future, mindful of the challenges, but fully aware of the rewards.
(More: Africa to the world: “Your Pity is No Longer Required” – The narrative changes)
It is up to us to tell our own stories in our own way, to project the image of our continent that we know is right, and true, to own our destiny.
We need to sit confidently at the negotiation table, sure of our value proposition and of our strength. The need for Africa to take ownership of our collective destiny has never been greater because the opportunities we have surpass those at any moment in the past. It is our responsibility to ensure that the policies and decisions that we implement today allow us to create a sustainable future for our continent.
Our demography, and its structure, around youth and middle class, our aspirations, our natural resources create the need for a new approach to our land use and to the social contract we are proposing to our citizens, learning from the Arab Spring and ongoing social issues in Europe driven by economic decline.
About 60 percent of the world’s virgin arable land is in Africa.
Africa is home to the world’s largest reserves of various mineral resources. The exploitation of these resources offers great potential to create employment for our people, as well as value for our countries.
These are the resources the world needs today, so it is our responsibility to leverage them in order to create value for all, while planning the spatial development of our countries in order to safeguard the harmony between man and nature.
As the world is increasingly looking at Africa, at our resources, and as our children are now more than ever empowered to build our economies, it is crucially important that Africa takes its own destiny in hand.
We have a unique opportunity to do so, and we need to be very conscious of the terms of the choice. Do we want to be forever beholden to others, struggling to catch up and with no hope of ever achieving the independence that engenders self-respect? Or do we have the courage to define our own criteria of success, our own criteria of self-esteem?
Do not misunderstand me. I do not adhere to the culture of blame that some use to project responsibility on others and make excuses for Africa’s performance.
I believe that we need to build a successful Africa and that by doing so we will earn the respect of the world. International opinion should never be the yardstick by which we measure our success. A new generation of young, enlightened leaders is emerging across the continent.
Our democracies are catching up and growing stronger. Despite the challenges we face, we are in a position to develop new models that will enable the development and the rapid growth required to position Africa at the forefront of the global economy.
Ali Bongo Ondimba is the President of Gabon. This article is excerpted from his May 25 speech to the London Business School on the occasion of Africa Day