And the Brits got us by the big toe! Bit 1.

I am sitting waiting and wishing that I was one of the early world travelers who rocked the tabloids and still grace our books of history today. I know it is bad to wish to be someone I am not, especially with my talents and ambitions, I feel a tinge of betrayal of my own dreams but I entertain the wish and let it stay a little bit longer. The thing is, the world as we know it today, was not always like this. I though of Christopher Columbus and Cecil John Rhodes and many men who sojourned from their native lands to unknown lands and ended up making history out of it. Old Chris came to America, we sang songs about him coming in a 'saucepan', while our old chum Rhodes went on to pursue a dream to establish for him and the queen (probably) an empire that stretched from Cape to Cairo. There are still thriving capitalist establishments that revere this dream and from Cecil's ambitions, came a whole lot of dramatic changes ever seen on the face of Africa.

        I remember, when I was a little boy with no care in the world, running along the street after an old car tire with friends, seeing fathers coming from their jobs. Some wore overalls, others wore casual clothing while the proud ones strutted erect down the streets donning jackets and ties. These were like my teachers who emphasized that we all speak in English and be always on point; i.e. always have clean school clothes on, pressed and washed. We had to look like English school boys, complete with neat haircuts or properly combed hair. I was fascinated by the English themselves of which I though every Caucasian person was English. I was taken aback the other day when a teacher from overseas came to my school and she could not speak English very well. From there on, I knew that English was only spoken in some parts of the world.

      Well, back to the English, those daring fearfulness men who came into my forefathers' country or land, and convinced them that they had a smarter brain than any of them and also that their culture was more hip than theirs and so they had to dump it and take up theirs. That is when all problems began. The forefathers bought the propaganda and threw away their clothes and ululated at their wonderful discovery. While they did this jig, the European was busy rubbing his mustache that they never realize that his intentions were quite insidious.The European craze soon engulfed the entire region and soon enough, the resources that were in the entire continent were being siphoned till this day. The Brits did not only have my forefathers following, they had their land and they ruled them! Now imagine a turned around situation, if instead, the Africans were the adventurous ones, imagine if today we would be having for example, Zambian Ireland, Azania East Euope, Zimbabwe England Company or Zaire Belgium!  It wouldn't fun, wouldn't it? Instead of the queen owning vast tracts of land, the kings and chiefs of the motherland would be.

  Colonialism came and we heard about it, those who were born after it happened that is, and the fatal mistake that today's breed of African rulers make is to be played like puppets on strings by the mechanics of the old system. Many still go with the vibe of being Englishmen, or trying to act like them at least. It is evidenced by their lifestyles and everything they do and also by lack of reform to make life for their nation states more African. That would be the basis of an African development and competency because at the moment, the systems running the continent are tied to the former colonial masters in a way, therefore, we think we are freed, yet, we are chained to them, one way or the other!