In this hard economic period, countries, corporate bodies and individuals around the world are devising new strategies to crawl out from the danger zone.
Some countries have become paranoid about the global economic situation, while others are getting to grips with it. Policies and procedures are being revised and recalibrated. And if I may hazard a guess, this period has also awakened many minds to the need to always plan for the future.
During a chat with a friend over the impact of the credit crunch, I asked how it is affecting his people back home. From our discussion, I understood that some people in developing countries are not really worried by the global recession due to their own history of hardship. They never benefited in times of plenty, so they don’t have much to lose now.
But regardless of what they think, the recession will affect them sooner or later. So how can one make a difference, especially in Africa?
First of all, Africans must understand that the call for foreign investment in human and material capital has to start with them. Charity, they say, begins at home. Because we understand where we came from, it is imperative that we champion the flow of investments back home, for reasons that we all know in our hearts.
This economic hardship is a good mirror for all to see the importance of saving for a rainy day.
This is a great period for Africans in the diaspora to canvass for investments and trade so that opportunities might reach people on the lower rungs of the societal ladder.
For instance, small-scale entrepreneurship should be encouraged, not made impossible by ridiculous costs. Smaller enterprises make a lot of difference, especially in areas where larger companies are afraid to tread.
Opinion leaders in the diaspora have a duty to encourage our people to look towards investing back home for job creation. Doing so could help many countries in Africa escape the damaging spirit of rapid development and transformation at the expense of the social and cultural fabric of the nation. The march towards realising the African dream should be encouraged.
The time has come when African capitals should be alive with opportunity, and connect with each other for the greater good. Imagine what things could be like if business dealings increased within the continent, especially between Lagos, Accra, Abidjan, Kinshasa, Nairobi, Tripoli, Cairo, Addis Ababa, Johannesburg, Harare, Maputo to Lusaka.
People need to realise that trade connections within the continent need to grow if Africa is ever to rise.
Now that I have proffered this suggestion, let no one think I do not know the impediments that hinder such cohesion. However, these barriers can be dismantled by the courage to take issues head on, and by a unity of purpose.
I firmly believe that if things begin to move well, those countries that do not want to create an enabling environment for African prosperity will be left out in the cold.
Ukachukwu Okorie is originally from Nigeria and writes weekly for Metro Éireann. Visit his website at www.olumouka.com
