Times are changing...
Never in the history of humanity have we had at our fingertips the opportunities we have today, and the liberty and ability to leverage them to rewrite our history and the reputation of our home continent. What an incredible time to be alive, to experience this thing called life through this remarkable perspective, courtesy of the beautiful yet oddly similar experiences we share as fruits of our beloved continent, Africa.
I write in particular today to the young Africans, starting with the youths of my esteemed nation, Nigeria.
Considering the sequences of fortunate and unfortunate happenings that brought us to where we currently stand, as a nation and continent, the glories and the gores, we stand at a phenomenal moment in history, armed with all we need to retell the stories of our heroes past and create new triumphant moments that become the new history of our sublime nation and continent to the generations yet unborn.
Nigeria and Africa, albeit epitomes of strength, culture, and glory, is imperfect. However, in the words of Vusi Thembekwayo, “If we seek perfection, we miss the opportunity for improvement”. As we strive for improvement, we must be deliberate with our efforts, and our passion for improvement must reflect in our hard yet, smart work.
Excellence and success have never been products of time and chance, nor random coincidences, but a compendium of intentional, deliberate efforts geared towards a defined goal. A wise man once said, "Never have I seen a man who became successful by accident". The demands of excellence and success as a nation and continent place a call for unity, joint effort, critical thinking, multidisciplinary knowledge, and innovative problem-solving.
If we must build the Africa of our dreams, we must be intentional about what we want it to be.
Today, unlike the many moments in history when Africa was left out in technological revolutions, we have, at our beck and call, access to opportunities, platforms, and technologies themselves that create sustainable development which changes the trajectory of Africa's destiny. We are not only spectators who tell history from the sidelines, but privileged participants of disruptive innovations, like blockchain technology and artificial intelligence, with Nigeria and Africa taking the front lines in these historic times.
Despite our inefficiencies in governance, economy, commerce, finance, and international policies, we must not let these opportunities go to waste. In the words of Vusi, “We need more youths who bemoan less the state of imperfection, and bask more in the opportunities for improvement”. One day of implementation is more effective than a thousand days of planning and strategizing.
Reputable for our dauntless, hustle spirit, it's the hour to code our revolution and restore the prosperous destiny of Africa. We've been too stuck in the gores of our past to our detriment. The onus of rewiring the patterns that code our future is on us. The longer we sit in pity parties that keep us stuck in the lowest strata of life, the further the possibilities of reaching our highest potential.
We've sat on the sidelines for too long. Now, we get a front-row seat with hands-on participation that we didn't have to fight for. It's time to bring our imaginations to life; to create indispensable solutions to global problems with all we've got, while meeting our own needs.
Do not let the euphoria of this post delude you into mental masturbation. Rather, seek the deficits and create value from the loopholes. Nurture your creativity, awaken your sixth sense, and strengthen your critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The future of Africa lies in the hands of you and I.
Life is gifting you a blank canvas now, and it’s the hour to code your own revolution. Forget the picture-perfect technological distractions that seduce you to scroll blindly. Leverage technological advancements as your launchpad to build empires in the ether. Don’t merely exist. Live.
I am Munachimso, and I’m leading the history of innovation in Africa.
