Everywhere you see black people, we struggle for acceptance and recognition as members of the civilised and progressive world community.
Black people are despised everywhere because of our dark skin colour, criminal propensity, mental laziness, prostitution and lack of identity. Remember the question from the British royal court: how dark will Archie be? The question was posed because one of their sons married a black woman and it raised concerns that the blue blood of Windsor would be polluted by the inferior black colour.
Yet, like it or not, Britain is now a multiracial society.
From the same royal court,a lady from Nigeria,Ngozi Fulani, was asked: where are you from? Fulani, a black woman, was the odd person in the exclusive gathering of white folks in the palace.
Credit to Britain for being liberal enough to appoint a man of Indian ancestry as Prime Minister. More nations are opening up to other racial groups, especially those who are proving themselves to be valuable contributors to the global economy. The world is changing. It must change because change is the only constant in history. You either flow with it or are swept away by it.
Now, the big question: where is the place of the black man in the world today? Every racial group has evolved positively but black people tend to remain the footnote of civilization, the relics of the past, unable to develop or cope with the demands of modern development. No black nation is in the First World category. There are black superstars in movies, sports and music. A negligible few make their mark as inventors, statesmen, business moguls, scientists and philanthropists. But these isolated accomplishments are not enough to change the perception of black people as a failed race.
Black women bleach to get lighter and conform to the Western standards of beauty; our youth copy the lifestyle of white folks, prefer their food, fashion, music, dance, speaking style, habits, sexual perversions such as LGBTQ, cunnilingus, anal sex, blow jobs, nakedness and everything good, bad and ugly.
We’re always struggling to catch up with the white race just to prove we belong. We have been brainwashed to believe that we are second class citizens, poor, weak, idiots, good for nothing; forever groping in the dark.
Our black leaders steal our wealth and hide it in western banks. Once they gain political power, they destroy our economy and send their children to Ivy League schools abroad. Having gained political power, they ruin our health infrastructure and then go abroad to treat malaria and common cold.
We blame western colonisation and the slave trade for the backwardness of the black race, but India and many Asian countries were also colonised yet they have turned things around and attained the level of development that threatens the technological, economic and political dominance of the West. Every other racial type has produced powerful First World nations, except blacks.
The Japanese (brown), Chinese (mongoloids) and Indians (yellow) have all taken their places in the advanced nations’ group; Nigeria, the flagship black nation, is not in that class. We’re still struggling with corruption, ethnicity, religious bigotry, bad leadership, criminality, etc. All other black nations are no better.
South Africa and Zimbabwe now have majority rule, but what have they done with it? Black leaders who took over have damaged those nations, once considered models of development in Africa. Under white minority rule, Zimbabwe and South Africa were better managed; though apartheid rule was evil, the racist leaders of those countries were clearly efficient managers who ran their nations effectively with transparency and high standards of governance.
We must admit that we are our own worst enemies. Our black rulers are the modern-day colonizers and oppressors who are not better than the European colonialists they replaced. Robert Mugabe totally ruined Zimbabwe and left a legacy of corruption, misrule and division. His one-man rule was a disaster for Zimbabwe, a shame to the black race. Apart from Nelson Mandela and, possibly, Thabo Mbeki, every other South African President of the Rainbow nation has been a disappointment. All they did was to help themselves, not their own people.
It’s clear that black leaders have to take the blame for the sorry state of the black race. Their irresponsible leadership has undeveloped black people and made us the wretched of the earth.
The Muslim Arab nations used their oil wealth to build modern infrastructure and improve the welfare of their own people.
Their billionaires are buying up European football clubs and investing in hitech businesses all over Europe and America. Even, little Qatar forced FIFA to adjust the world soccer calendar to stage the World Cup in the Middle-eastern nation during the winter break. That shows how influential they have become because of good housekeeping at home.
Black people must wake up to the reality of a fast changing world where respect is earned by achievement, not sentiment. We should be realistic about our problems. Black people should change their mentality and be proud of their skin colour, even if others think they are inferior.
Let me pause for now, because of space constraints.
The struggle to get the black man to wake up to reason continues
•Ayodeji, author, pastor and life coach, can be reached on 09059243004 (SMS, WhatsApp and email: [email protected] only)