What Future for Africans?

By “Awake!” correspondent in Liberia

THE world today is constantly changing, and nowhere is this change more rapid or profound than on our continent, Africa. In the past fifteen years we have seen dozens of new nations arise as colonial empires disintegrated. What is the motto of these new African nations? Development! Accordingly, in many parts of Africa agriculture is giving way to industry. Many of us have left village life to seek employment in growing cities. We have seen tribal cultures and values dissolve in these urban melting pots.

In view of these changes, many of us ask, “What will the future hold for Africa and Africans? Should we continue to imitate the industrial nations of the Western world, or should Africans strive to maintain age-old traditions?”

The reason that these questions arise is that when some of us went abroad to study, we had opportunity to taste the life of material plenty, comfort and leisure enjoyed by people of the “first world.” Others of my fellow Africans were exposed to these luxuries through movies or by observing persons from other parts of the world who are working here. The reaction of many of us was: “We want these things too!”

Some have achieved them. From almost every village some young man has succeeded in the struggle to obtain a high school education, earned a scholarship to study abroad, and returned to a prestigious, high-paying job. Now these individuals have become part of the elite and they enjoy the affluent way of life typical of Americans and Europeans. But for every one who has succeeded, there are a dozen who have failed.

Sadly, for many this results in a desire to escape their frustration through alcohol, sexual immorality and, more recently, drugs. All too often money sorely needed to feed and clothe families is squandered on these excesses. Thus African cities teem with youths endeavoring to eke out a living​—often by crime.

Observing these problems firsthand makes some of us ask: “Will pursuit of an industrial way of life on this continent result in a secure and peaceful future for Africans?”

Can We Succeed Industrially?

First of all, if industrial development of Africa is to succeed, we will have to solve many challenging problems. African nations are striving to achieve in a few years what it took Western nations centuries to accomplish. Even with the benefit of sharing in their knowledge and experience, it will be difficult to catch up.

One serious problem is that of locating sufficient competent personnel. In many areas there is a surplus of clerks, but a critical shortage of technicians. Technical schools are desperately needed, but where will we find qualified instructors and money to buy necessary equipment? Further complicating matters is the fact that many Africans who go abroad to study stay there. Also, the hot climate and many parasitic diseases often sap our strength, making necessary a slower pace.

Other factors that may inhibit progress are tribalism and selfishness. Our tribal laws prohibit lying, stealing and murder within our own tribes, but generally do not apply in our dealings with members of other tribes. These other people may be viewed as potential enemies. Living in cities together with people from many tribes requires a new set of values. Where will these come from? The rapid transformation of our perspective from a tribal to a national and worldwide one has resulted in considerable instability and disorder.

Additionally, population growth and inflation consume most of the benefits of development, so that the average African is not much better off than before. Traditionally, we have desired large families to help with farm work, to care for us in old age, and to ensure that our name is carried on. But things are different in an urban society. Simply providing the basic education essential for that type of life can be a financial burden to those with large families. With the population shifting to cities and the emphasis on industry, agriculture has been unable to keep pace with population growth. This, coupled with increased demand for Western consumer goods, has fanned the flames of inflation.

What Future from Industry?

But what if we overcame all these problems, and if Africa succeeded in developing industrially? Would that guarantee a peaceful, secure future for us?

Well, how has it affected the Western nations? True, the industrialization of the “first world” nations has produced material abundance for many. But do not others within their boundaries still suffer from poverty and unemployment? The high rate of crime, divorce, drug addiction, suicide and similar social ills in those nations does not commend the “leisure life” as a genuinely happy one.

Medical advances in the Western world have cut down cholera, malaria and worm infections. However, in their place have sprouted up cancer and heart disease nurtured by the stress, pollution and eating habits prevalent in those nations. Moreover, the economies of industrial nations are shaky.

But where else is there to turn? Few Africans wish to revert to subsistence agriculture and tribal superstitions. On the other hand, we do not want our culture and customs to be swallowed up totally by materialistic Western ways. What we do want is to retain the beneficial aspects of African culture, to improve the quality of our lives, and to find stable moral values to guide us in these critical times.

Can the Bible Help Africans?

Can the Bible help us? Many Africans doubt that it can. Why? Because Christendom’s missionaries who spread the Bible throughout Africa spearheaded the way for its colonization and commercial exploitation by Western nations. Those missionaries, administrators and businessmen imported Western culture. But they did not provide sound moral guidance for Africans. The failure of Christendom, however, does not mean the failure of the Holy Scriptures. The Bible both foretold and condemned the greedy materialism, conceit and love of pleasure that exist in the world empire of false religion, Babylon the Great, of which Christendom is the largest part.​—2 Tim. 3:1-5; Rev. 18:2, 4-8.

Furthermore, the Word of God depicts that false religious empire as a “harlot” who has committed fornication spiritually by mingling religion with politics. (Rev. 17:1-5, 15, 18) She is responsible, not only for permitting and encouraging the spiritism (such as juju and African science) and superstition that have enslaved Africans, but also for much political and commercial exploitation of them. (Rev. 18:3, 23) According to the Bible, execution of God’s judgment upon Babylon the Great approaches rapidly. God’s liberating call urgently rings forth: “Get out of her, my people”!​—Rev. 18:4.

Thus the doubts of my fellow Africans as to whether the Bible can assure them a secure future are ill founded. The Scriptures actually condemn Christendom for the mistreatment that she has meted out to people throughout the world, including Africa. Moreover, the Word of God contains time-tested principles for a happy life now and sure promises of a future of peace and security for all mankind. Obedience to these principles has resulted in great numbers of Africans abandoning polygamy, with its many problems, to build clean, happy families through a loving monogamous marriage arrangement.

I know what I am talking about, for I am one of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses. I associate with hundreds of thousands of other Witnesses right here in Africa, persons who have made remarkable transformations in their personalities in order to harmonize their lives with Bible principles. We sincerely call one another brother and sister, for we have forsaken Christendom’s churches and discontinued traditional spiritistic practices. As to the effect Bible principles have on our lives, Oxford sociologist Bryan R. Wilson writes in an article entitled “Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kenya”:

“[They] do inculcate a very rigorous ethic of personal integrity [and] its effects are perhaps more impressive than the formal codes and inconsequential rhetoric of churches . . . In insisting on punctuality, honesty, sobriety, good appearance and scrupulous dealings, for instance, they inculcate dispositions which have consequences both for work and civic involvement. In refusing to take bribes, an African Jehovah’s Witness manifests a standard of behavior quite uncommon in African countries.”

As for political rivalries, Jehovah’s Witnesses order their lives according to Jesus’ statement that his followers would be “no part of the world.” (John 15:19, 20) We remain absolutely neutral with regard to this world’s politics. Here in Africa this has brought terrible persecution upon tens of thousands of us, even death in some cases. But we cannot break our neutrality, for we know from the Bible that a secure future can come only through God’s heavenly kingdom. This will soon remove all human kingdoms and cause divine rule to spread earth wide.​—Dan. 2:34, 44.

That heavenly government will unite all mankind under one Head, Jesus Christ. It will restore this earth to a paradise and uplift mankind to perfection. Gone will be sickness, crime, violence, even death. (Rev. 21:1-5) Among those who will enjoy that happy future will be billions of the dead, who will return to life in a resurrection. (John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15) Then, by putting the worship of Jehovah God and the principles of his written Word first in their lives, people of all races and cultural backgrounds will continually improve the quality of life on earth. This is the future that the more than 300,000 of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Africa eagerly anticipate. In fact, it is the only hope for the future of Africans and of all mankind.