As the spot light shines away from the 115 youths from the African continent that were recently hosted by President Obama, it is not only prudent but also timely to remind ourselves about our roles in the continent’s development as well as our goal as Africans living abroad.

As Africans living abroad, our role in Africa’s development is none different from that of those on the continent, which is to take ownership of our continent’s problems and leadership for the continent’s development through every facet of our endeavors abroad. We must think of ourselves as soldiers of the continent who went on a retreat to reflect, to learn, to grow, to meet new people and to expand our horizons for the ultimate goal of being able to contribute the best of both worlds to our individual countries.

Hence, as we create a new life for ourselves abroad while pursuing an education or a career, our minds and eyes must remain fixated on the continent’s development. The reality of the world that we live in today is that no one else will fix Africa’s problem apart from Africans themselves. The world is tired of passing handouts to us; we too ought to be tired of receiving handouts and of being the main issue facing the world. Moreover, we are capable of creating the Africa that we all yearn for. As President Obama said in his address to the 115 African youth leaders, “the future is whatever we make of it”, as such this is the time especially as seventeen African countries turn 50 this year for us to come together in whatever circles of influence that we have to reflect and plan for what the future of our continent must become. Several political heroes and heroines fought for our emancipation from colonialism and set us on the political path that we currently are on, the question then is, what political path are we going to be creating for the unborn generation? What type of future are our unborn children bound to inherit if we continue on the path that we are currently on? Whether we like it or not, we are indebted to the future generation of our continent, it is our responsibility to ensure that they inherit a brighter future than that which we inherited. It is our responsibility to ensure that our unborn children do not have the same complains that we have today. It is our responsibility to ensure that our unborn children are proud to be Africans and that they do not have to contend with the misty African identity that we are faced with today.

It is no longer fashionable or cool to complain about the ills of the continent without proffering solutions. If you cannot offer solutions or be a part of the solution, please keep your mouth sealed and consider the advice of George Shaw that says: “People who say that it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it”.

As Africans in Diaspora, we have a formidable advantage in the aspect of making a great difference on the continent because of our dual perspective on issues, leverage of global resources at our service abroad and access to other global youths that have similar visions. We must continue to make a nexus between these three leverages that we have and instill consciousness and purpose into the work that we do abroad.

One of my favorite quotes from Oprah Winfrey is: “I do not know what the future holds but I know who holds the future”. Do we hold the future of our continent? We must be able to say a resounding yes to this question.

While you are away, here are a few suggested things to do to keep you engaged and plugged into the mission of making a difference at home:

Help your fellow Africans and the community

They say Charity begins at home, your fellow Africans that move to your town need all the help to settle into their new home. Please give all the help you can to them. In assisting new students, you can sign up with your international center to pick them up from the airport, or have a welcome dinner for them, or a welcome to town 101 session to help answer questions and provide advise. For new Africans that come as skilled workers, you can help by connecting with your local immigrant society to learn about ways in which you can assist them. Simple ideas that can be implemented includes organizing a meet and greet, creating a network of community members that are willing to help new immigrants to settle in and pairing them up accordingly, creating an information/used household item bank which can serve as a medium to communicate information as well as pair people that are willing to donate their household items to people that need them.

We must learn to help and appreciate ourselves while also creating value within our own community. Being able to show love and appreciation to each other at a grassroots level will enable us be of greater service to our nations when we get to the level of political leadership.

Honor the community that is hosting you

There is nothing more disrespectful than not honoring your roots or the land that gives you a platform to become an active participant in the world. So as you make your self temporarily comfortable in your new home abroad, please endeavor to learn about the culture and the people you are sharing their home with; that is the least you can do. Try to volunteer for any local organization in whatever way that works for you, attend local events and make it a point to go out and make new friends. It is astonishing how amazing people can be and how easy it is to find a new family in this seemingly strange new home.

Keep your eyes fixed back home

As you get comfortable abroad, please do not forget your roots. You cannot know where you are going to if you do not know where you are coming from. No matter how comfortable you may feel in your new home abroad, the truth is that it is still not your home. Your only home is where you came from. As much as possible, remain plugged in to the issues and the progress of your country and continent. Sign up for news from several vibrant news organizations that showcase issues as well as the progress in the continent. Some news agencies include BBC Africa, allafrica.com and CPAfrica.com. You may also visit www.unveilingafrica.org/resources for a detailed list of news outlets in different regions of Africa

Join a group

Join an association or group that fosters community spirit amongst Africans; discusses and acts on global issues as well as African issues. If there are no groups in your area, consider forming yours. Do not limit your scope of influence on the continent to reading about and listening to the issues, consider volunteering for an African country to work on a development project. There are so many organizations and institutions that offer study and volunteer abroad opportunities for people, but the problem is that mainly non-Africans end up volunteering in African countries. This has to change! We need to be leaders of our own problems; it is not enough to complain about issues, we must also act!  Please include that in your career and study agenda abroad, in fact, you can make this exciting by planning a year ahead with a group of friends in your school to go volunteer or study abroad in an African country.

Get involved with non – African groups

Take sometime to look for other non-African associations, student and youth groups existing in your area and try to see what they are up to. In the world that we live in today where the global is local, we thrive by working together. There are so many amazing people out there that are extremely passionate about their countries and global issues. Associating yourself with them is a way to keep you on a continuous path of learning and development while also helping you maintain focus on what is important in this journey of leading our continent to greatness. Moreover, many of the active youths you meet today are most likely going to be in the group of people that would be leading the world in the next 10 – 20 years. Meeting and working with other global youths today is like investing in relationships that could help accelerate your future endeavors.

All together, as Africans, the future of the continent is in our hands and will become whatever we make of it today. The quicker we internalize this fact, the better for us all. Are you an African living abroad? Are you engaged with an African community abroad and the continent’s progress as a whole? If so, are there other things that you are doing to keep your self engaged and connected to the African community and issues?  If not, what are the obstacles and challenges preventing you? I would love to hear from you!

WE have not been able to tap the huge resources and utilize them because of greed, love for materialism and quest for wealth…Unless Nigeria retraces its steps and take the right steps very soon, the system will collapse”. These were the words of Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday July 26, in Niger State’s capital city. The occasion was the opening of the 4th National Diaspora Conference, in Minna, where the President was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed. The message becomes more poignant as we approach the fiftieth anniversary (the golden jubilee!), on October 1, this year, of our Independence from the British colonial rule.

The President’s dire warning brings to mind similar cautions and remarks, a few years back, first by the United States Government, about the possibility of this country becoming a failed state within fifteen years from 2005, and secondly, our inclusion on the list of states that might break up sooner or later by reason of their refusal to do the right thing. It is appalling that fifty years after political freedom, the Nigerian nation-space remains a mono-cultural economy, still relying solely on income from oil, which we are now unable to refine, even though we have four (redundant) refineries. Fifty years on, we hold the singular record for being the only oil-producing country in the world which imports finished petroleum products. It is sadder when one considers a country like Singapore, which produces no oil whatsoever, but has invested in multiple refineries as a way of shoring up their relevance and revenue.

Nigeria consists of 36 states and a Federal Capital Territory; every one of those States has resources it can harness to reduce reliance on the “no-hassle” monthly sharing of oil money. The overwhelming majority of the States never bother to tap the resources within their borders, and, which is a pity, the proceeds from the oil wealth go into private pockets, the pockets of elected and un-elected office holders. No State makes any effort to become financially independent of the centre, in spite of scary statistics of the ordinary Nigerian living on less than one dollar a day. We recall, with agonizing nostalgia, the cocoa in the West, the groundnut pyramids in the North, rubber plantations/palm oil from the Mid-West and the coal/palm oil from the Eastern Region, proceeds from which were used judiciously then to develop the various Regions. Since Independence, particularly since the end of the Civil War, the situation has changed: corruption now holds sway. Today, at the end of every month, when sharing has taken place, there is noticeable movement of large sums of money out of the country. It is sad that Governors have no discretion to exercise in terms of using resources that come naturally within their boundaries. How facile is the act of governance made to look like when State Governors merely wait till the end of every month to collect cheques from the Federation Account, in Abuja!

The President was also right when he said, on the same occasion, that “It is quite obvious that all sectors of the economy would require rapid developmental changes if we are to attain our target of becoming one of the 20 most industrialized nations in the world in the year 2020”. In this regard, the World Bank had also warned that Nigeria should diversify her economy. A nation without industries and industrialization cannot and will never be among the top 20 economies of the world, in 2020, 2090 or after. We produce nothing comparable in terms of price or quality with similar imported products in the market, hampered as we are by an unfriendly economic environment. Even drugs as simple as malaria medicaments, produced by Nigerian pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria, are more expensive than those manufactured abroad. We believe that government officials should divest themselves of all their undeserved perks until they can give the citizens the basic needs of life ─ health, constant energy supply, good roads, quality education, shelter and employment opportunities.

The President should lead in the foregoing directions, and others will follow. He should not expect hapless Nigerians to fall over themselves to pay taxes when they see widespread corruption by elected and selected government officials. We do not believe that any citizen would need to be coerced into paying taxes if he or she could see what government expends its funds on. Lagos State has proved that as a fact. Why should the President blame our reliance on oil money on refusal of citizens to pay taxes? We know that some oil-producing countries either exempt their citizens from tax payment as their benefit from oil wealth or provide free health, education etc. What is our profit in Nigeria?

This seeming attempt to heap blames on ordinary citizens misses the point. Who is to blame if Nigeria deceives herself by feeling comfortable in a situation of non-productivity and compulsive importation? We think the President should concentrate on providing an environment that would be conducive for Nigerians to produce. He must back his rhetoric with REAL action, now. Attracting investors to the country cannot be declared by fiat. One cannot force attraction; people will be attracted by what they see on ground, and not by brainwashing. What has the Federal Government done, for instance, to ease those areas that continually put Nigeria on the list of countries where it is difficult to do business? A situation where an importer must have contact with over 70 desks before his goods can be cleared at the ports, for instance, will not endear us to any serious businessman.

We do not believe anyone can legislate corruption out of any system. The former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, once said that corruption also existed, on a large scale, in developed economies, adding, however, that the developed economies had been able to enforce systems and legislation that made it extremely inconvenient for the fraudulent. When will corrupt people in Nigeria be made to explain the sources of their sudden, non-inherited and stupendous wealth? Why would former United States President, Bill Clinton, be unable to afford a home after two terms as President and a Minister or Assemblyman/woman in Nigeria lives in clover after a four-year tenure?

Yes, Mr. President, “change is a must, the time is up”, but please, let the changes start from the top; let the changes start with you at the top. The last “Honors List” certainly did nothing to dispel the notion that corruption pays!

By Mayowa Micheal Adeleye