When my son started high school l went to meet his teacher with the intention of finding out what l could do as a parent to improve his grade in history. She responded in a very unexpected way! She informed me that she hoped that l would encourage my son to listen to the news to help him gain a deep understanding of the current issues!
On seeing the surprised look on my face she explained that all current issues can be linked back to our history. She further alleged that all human beings behave the same and history enables us to predict future human behaviour!
In order for us as Africans to understand ourselves, we need to study our history. Studying our history will empower us and direct our steps in the future. Most importantly we will discover that Africans are all one?
When the colonisers descended on Africa they started by deviding us,they then split our land into small parts, imposed borders on us and told us that we were no longer the same. We became different countries with different nationalities! Prior to that we were one big happy family (ok this last sentence is an exaggeration but you get the gist?).
For the countries that got devided and still maintained peace they took it up a notch and instigated tribal wars. This is all in our history.
Referring back to the horrors of South Africa…..the current Xenophobic attacks going on in South Africa right now on immigrants are the 2nd round of attacks. They did this before!
When l got sent footage of the horrors happening in South Africa, I threw down my phone in shock. l could not bear to watch the rest of it. I deleted the whole clip without passing it on. It was so graphic l struggled to get it out of my mind!
A man was on fire, obviously an immigrant. He was stumbling about in pain and suffering as he tried to run he was pushed back to the ground by the people surrounding him who stood watching him. They taunted and spat at him, when the fire appeared to die down they threw card board on top of him to reignite the fire.
This has happened in the past in other African countries. Remember Rwanda?
What about the black on black crime in London.
Understanding history isn’t about laying the blame. Unfortunately blaming people who by the way deserve to be blamed does us no good. It simply relieves us of responsibility. It makes us become victims who can’t help themselves. We need to claim back our power let’s educate ourselves let’s understand that we all one people in Africa. If you derive joy from killing one who looks like you then you hate yourself. Look in the mirror and ask yourself where those thoughts came from ? Could you replace them with the truth ?
Nobody can do this for us empowerment means understanding who we are for the purposes of becoming someone better.
Only when we love and understand ourselves will we be able to solve our problems.
What is happening in South Africa is evil and it should never have continued.
However when Nigerians respond by looting South African businesses it demonstrates how deep rooted our issues are in Africa. Two wrongs will never make a right.
Let’s address the issues that we have brushed under the carpet for too long. Let’s talk about it, let’s do something about it. Let’s tell our children our history, they need to know that all who are in Africa and those who came from Africa are brothers and sisters. Our minds were conditioned to hate each other but we can recondition our minds in the same way they did it.
Positively Swayed 
“Only when we love and understand ourselves will we be able to solve our problems.”
Thank you for saying this at such a time as this. When Africa especially the South is going through a very unfortunate stretch of time.
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