“Many people purchase beef and chicken from stores in my country, but it has never dawned on them that these animals are slaughtered. As a result, whenever they witness actual slaughter, some quit beef eating while others turn to animal rights activism,” a friend from one of the wealthy nations of the World told me recently. This is not strange to many people who follow international news especially those that cover wars. To some, wars do not involve death, save for specific families that lose their loved ones. Welcome to the World of sanitized media in the wealthy nations, but the reverse is true when it comes to coverage in Africa. If it is not streets littered with bodies because of some rebel onslaught, it will be a dying malnourished African child, a woman giving birth on a tree, or a worm and fly-infested child.

My recent article on Foreign experts killing the African dream drew sharp reactions from both the developed countries and Africa. Sample: ‘Why are you promoting the blame game instead of bashing your poor leaders in Africa?” one asked. “There is no such thing as an African intellectual!” another reacted. “You need our money,” retorted yet another.  These are not new arguments. We are all aware of bizarre allegations that have gained acres of space in the written World of alleged Africa’s economic impotence, ranging from the curse of minerals in Africa to questioning the rationale behind investing in a continent full of walking corpses, courtesy of HIV-AIDS.  

A recent article published by The Economist under the title African Poverty: the magnificent seven best illustrates how foreign experts view the continent. Without indicating causes and players in the corruption industry, the article depicts African governments as corrupt, hence more money ought to get to the people at the bottom (the poor in rural areas). Sauri, a dream village run by committees of “competent and resourceful” elders in the lake region of Kenya is identified as a good example where mosquito nets have reduced malaria incidence by 50% and school feeding programmes have dramatically led to improved exam performance. The story concludes with a pointer to the load of worms that children in this village carry which, with the cost similar to that of one cup of coffee in New York, a child can get de-wormed!

Close to the miracle Sauri village story in the same magazine is an outright attack on Eritrea’s rejection of help from the Western World in the quest for self reliance in food production. Under the title of A myth of self reliance, the writer, who acknowledges that there is no starving yet in this tiny country of 3.6 million, questions the government’s competence and intention on its own people! True, Africa has had incidences where governments starve their own people to make them toe the desired political line. This ought to be investigated in the Eritrea case. Instead of outright condemnation however, such a government ought to be given an opportunity to spell out its options.

Unlike beggars who have absolutely nothing to sustain their lives hence attracting charity, Africans are not poor. The myth that Africa is poor is being propagated by those who benefit most from the industry of ‘help’. One can only measure the success of Sauri village when the free money pipe stops flowing. We are witnessing a ‘honeymoon.’ Eritrea’s intentions are certainly not clear given its recorded low productivity, but if well intentioned, we might as well witness a sustained and dignified agitation against poverty in that part of the World.

If one offered the developed nations ‘sanitized’ images of Africa, little in form of aid would trickle in. A true image of the continent will entail answering the why question more than merely reporting for the sake of it. One will have to write about why there is war in Darfur, why Eritrea invests in bullying a giant such as Ethiopia, why Congo is unstable, and why the African finds it difficult to market refined coffee in order to de-worm his children.

The ‘real’ images as marketed by aid agents is what breeds underdevelopment in Africa. Instead of aid agencies and foreign experts investing in getting Africans productive; they invest in spoon feeding them. If for instance, citizens in the developed world whose taxes are sent to Africa discovered that their money ends up in local politicians’ pockets, and three quarters goes back in the name of international consultants; and that they turn productive populations into beggars – that they inadvertently sustain the very bad images of emaciated Africans they purport to support; they would revolt.

You need not go far. A stroll in the sprawling Kibera slum reveals some of the most enterprising people on earth shackled by bad government policies that do not allow them to own title to property. The Kibera people produce and sell to up-market community. Some work in the industrial area as casual laborers. Take another stroll with a white person: the scene changes! Several able bodied men and women with photo albums spotting the projects they do to alleviate poverty in the slum will mob you. They will be keen to market the needy story of slum dwellers. ‘We are the forgotten city of 800,000 residents,’ is what you will hear.

What do we exactly need in Africa? Not handouts whether to the bottom or to the top! The African problem is a cash flow problem. Get banks that are sensitive to this great opportunity to get money flowing in the pockets of African entrepreneurs. Hold the African politicians and elites accountable for the ongoing economic quagmire. Let Africans interact with businesses from other parts of the World. Invest in getting Africans agitated against their present predicament. Do not measure immediate success by focusing on actions taken today but rather on the long term.