Sylvester Oluoch
Kabul, Afghanistan is back in the hands of the Taliban. It took season after season the United States and allied forces bitter campaigns to push the Taliban out of Kabul. It has taken merely days after the USA pulled the troops out for Taliban to reoccupy Kabul. So, what is instructive in all these?
The systems of Afghanistan could have failed due to different reasons. The biggest one is that the Afghans are neither committed not ready for peace times. The majority is either helpless against the oppressive rule of the Taliban or are sympathizers of the persecutors. Either way, the people of Afghanistan have not earned their way to true freedom. They have divided themselves into the oppressors and the oppressed.
The takeaway from the outcome of the exit of the coalition forces is that Afghanistan did not work its people to a level of freedom, so they remain bound. The work is in the mental attitude. If a people abdicate their chances at peace and progress, as did the Afghans, such people are at the whimsical will of the aid bearer. Success lies in the hands of the one who DESIRES that end and pays the price.
We could be contrite about the Afghanistan situation. However, Africa remains in a fight so subtle that it is degrading our society by eroding the confidence of our people and corroding the faith of the youth. It is the fight to change the poverty mentality and the “dark continent” narrative.
From the two-decade Afghan war, these lessons abound:
- Take full responsibility. The Afghan forces have for a long time counted on the fire power, propaganda, and the “progressive agenda” of the West. This alone exposes the system to weaknesses that are hard to stem. Africa should see that this similar weakening of systems is happening with our entrepreneurial spirit because we count too much on alms, which are given or withdrawn at the whims of the paymasters.
- Fight your own wars. The war with the Taliban was largely a Russian proxy war. The kind of intelligence and resources that Taliban required to sustain a concerted effort could only have been made possible by Russian KGB spy empire. So even as Africa receives that aid, let us ask the question: “what is this aid coming to mask?” Then we can begin to master our own affairs.
- Avoid proxy wars. When we ask the right questions, and we get to know “whose war it is” we can begin to prioritize on what we focus on. In the past few decades, there has been an intense clamor for various rights in Africa. This is the antithesis. We have the cart before the horse. Africa needs to pivot from rights to responsibilities. If each of us learns to take responsibility, then no one will need protection of rights. Protection of my rights preexists in your responsible actions.
- Understand the motive. We live in a motive driven world. I doubt the coalition forces fully appreciated the motive of the Afghan government in these sustained battles. Probably they were in bed with Russia to bleed America out. If this be the case, as it may, then Africa needs to fully appreciate the motive of every investor, but more importantly, every aid. It is by understanding motives that we can fashion fair bargains for Africa.
- Our true war is with our mindset. The general predisposition for Afghans is that they are not ready. Just like in learning where, “the teacher only shows up when the student is ready,” there is no redeeming an individual who is unwilling to move forward. Our key duty now is to work on what we habitually think and what we believe. And we better believe we are as good as any other God’s children.
- Your solutions lie within. No external solutions work because no one knows your situation better than you do. Lasting success is an inside job. Therefore, we must strengthen SACCOs. Community-based organizations and homegrown startup business financing.
