At UNGA, Ghana's Mahama unleashed stark warnings that Africa's resources are not up for global grab. But isn't it a bit late?

By Ike Mgbatogu
Staff Writer

It is deeply paradoxical and sobering to watch Nigerians flee the very land that foreigners are joyfully rushing to embrace, settling in and having a blast with Naija life.

Onumba.com,USA ——— As members, African nations routinely take part in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) gathering.

They secure speaking slots equivalent to their more notable peers, but whether anyone is actually listening is a story for another day.

Recently, a parade of African leaders delivered a mix of sparky and compelling speeches at the United Nations General Assembly, but the one that truly grabbed my attention was given by Ghanaian President John Mahama.

The president spoke eloquently and forcefully, pulling no punches on a smorgasbord of critical issues bedeviling the continent. But foremost among these is the real danger of Africa becoming a global resource engine ——– the mother cow feeding, nourishing and sustaining global economies to the detriment of its own development.

Mahama’s speech reminded us that we have travelled this path before, only that all too often, we care about the storm only when it hits our own roof. Remember? Africa suffered systemic pillage and ravage unleashed by the one – two punch of slavery and colonialism, which extracted, exploited and exported its free labor to serve as the foundational catalyst for the development of modern western economies.

Therefore, fellow Africans, let us not sleepwalk into the same historical traps we fell into before.

President Mahama expressed parallel worries.

“But Mr. Speaker, let me warn,” he said.

“Africa will not remain a passive arena for a new scramble for resources.”

What?

But sir, actually, a widespread perspective holds that the scramble for Africa is not a future possibility, but a current reality. It is already underway and Africa has once again defaulted into a passive theatre for global abuse and exploitation.

Worse still, nobody is up in arms over this. It seems nobody even cares.

Yes, though at a measured pace, the global rush for Africa’s resources is well under way ——– with China, India, Lebanon, the United States and a host of others swooning all over the continent —— stepping all over each other’s toes in the mad dash for critical Africa’s resources. As with so much of what foreign investors do, the stampede is ferocious and the agenda is strategic as these countries establish sprawling presence in the Africa by gobbling up seismic gobs of real estate.

“Pay close attention to me. Africa is the new definition of industry,” was how one White American billionaire described Africa being the looming beehive of global investments.

But while that account highlights one American businessman’s perspective, a more important curiosity seeks to know how the issue is being framed by leaders within Africa. For Africans leaders to disregard this destructive trend would be profoundly shortsighted, reckless and deeply irresponsible. Responding with a raspberry would be showcasing their out of control ignorance spiraling into a grave error in judgment.

Of course, the working theory fueling government appetite for these predatory foreign deals is often just a cop-out dressed up as attracting foreign investments to grow the economy. But in fundamental terms of profit and loss, these are essentially sophisms and raw deals, period, and if left unchecked may even undermine homegrown development efforts —— pitting deeply pocketed foreign actors against struggling indigenous startups and ultimately spell doom for a continent not even on economic and technological par with the rest of the globe.

One of the greatest African leaders, the late Thomas Isadore Sankara of Burkina Faso (the Che Guavera of Africa), was a revolutionary icon way ahead of his time. He established a visionary, proven blueprint for authentic, African-centered development. By our hand, with our resources, for our people: we should build and control our own future.

Haba. My people dey beg too much.

President Mahama continued:

“Critical mineral extraction in Africa must not replicate the colonial era exploitation.”

Of course, it must not. But why then is Africa drifting dangerously toward that position?

It would be breathtakingly stupid and a severe dereliction of duty for African leaders ——– perhaps in their state of oscitancy and panglossian naivety ——- to watch silently as gluttonous foreign corporations and governments systematically buy up Africa’s sovereign territory ——- handing over its most valuable resources: land.

Oh, and please don’t even try to sell me the hogwash that these foreign entities are only investing in industries churning out jobs for dangling, jobless Africans, unless you can do a good job explaining to me just why we Africans are not able to build these industries ourselves.

Mr. President, it is regrettable that your worst-case scenarios ——- your deepest fears, your bellyaches and anxieties are actively unfolding right now, even notably under your own watch in Ghana. That is why I frequently ponder the dilemmas our children and grand children will invariably inherit.