Up to the 1860s Japan was a very poor and backward economy compare to the then powerful European powers namely Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, spain even Portugal owing to Tokugawa Shogunate’s regime decision to abolish the country’s relationship with the outside world. Shogunate was deposed and emperor Matsuhito later known as Meiji took over.
Meiji did not want to repeat Shogunate’s mistake. He took Japan to the world by sending his people to UK, Germany and other countries to learn their secret of success with a view of revitalizing Japan’s socio-economic and political growth.
Africa has a lot to learn from this from its relationship with the West and the new suitor, China. How Africa will come out will depend on how decisive Africa is going to play. Africa has two suitors. This makes her valuable and gives her the opportunity to set rules for the game.
African countries currently dealing with China should not use their desperation to enter bogus treaties that will end up making Africa changing one jinnie for another. Instead of looking at China’s fat purse, we should trade in technology. Our people should go to China and learn while Chinese companies invest in technology in our countries. We should embark on investing on light industries in our rural areas where much produce comes from. It is sad to find countries like Yemen and Dubai buying our fruits, processing them and selling them back to us. Africa’s policy-cum-slogan should be: “Industrialization’ in lieu of producing raw materials.
We need to build reliable communication infrastructure such as railways roads and waterways to connect African countries so that regional trade can grow and boost up our economies. We need to produce what we can consume instead of banking more on colonial cash crops.
We need to use our professionals when entering agreements. The mining industry is not helping the economies of African countries thanks to entering absurd and exploitative agreements. Tanzania leads in this calamity. Endowed with a lot of gold, Tanzania still depends on begging while its gold is siphoned out due to signing tomfoolerical agreements.
We need to listen to our elites and professionals instead of using them politically. It is sad that much of Africa’s brains are used abroad while Africa dies for them. Why? Our politicians are given much power to even abuse or ignore such wanted people. We need to change our constitutions to see to it that power rests in the hands of the majority instead of a cabal of greedy and myopic persons. Instead of having the Tokugawas of today, we need the Meijis.
Although China seems to present solutions to our problems, there still is a danger. China wants to benefit. As any shrewd business entity, China will use whatever weakness available to do what western countries have always done since slave trade. If we don’t open our minds and eyes, chances are that we are going to commit a bigger sacrilege to Africa.
If China and Japan used western knowledge to make it out of poverty, why can’t Africa? We need to embark on true democracy that will empower the people. This will help them to kick out any leaders they think do not fulfill their expectations and inculcate accountability. We need to collect taxes. No country has ever advanced without collecting taxes. Currently Tanzania is losing over $ 2,000,000,000 in tax avoidance which is equivalent to the money it spends annually to pay its debt. This amount is even bigger than the whole financial aid the country gets annually.
In sum, we need need to probe and redefine our strategies if we have to redeem our image and become players in world affairs.
By Nkwazi MhangoA Canada based Tanzanian and author of Saa Ya Ukombozi.
