Dry Tears of Fading Hope: A call For Dredging The Past

This is a dialogue with the lamenting African youth, who looks very disturbed, very confused, very nervous, and has almost written off her future. She is complaining about the dearth of anything and everything in her world. And in my effort to douse her fears and stir up her spirits, I took her on a fascinating trip to the foul-smelling dungeon of procrastination, dependency, self-pity, and self-worship in her world, and unveiled its devastating effects on the forward march of her people.

I, as well, dived with her into the foxhole of ineffective leadership in her world and explored the role it is playing in unmaking her continent. Our search for excellence for her people, further took us to the commonplace of the sterling virtues of life, where we discovered the heightened manner unity, hard work, love, faith, and truth are economically dispensed in her world.

Throughout our exploration, we realized that the present generation of her people does not own themselves. They are owned and controlled by the past handed down to them by their forbears and colonial lords, a past clogged with mediocracies, suspicions, and beliefs that undercut human development.

During my heart-to-heart with my African friend, I did not disclose my identity as an African. I presented myself as a citizen from another orb conversing with a pal from the African planet. The importance of hard work in human advancement was the theme that ran through our conversation. I concluded the one-on-one with my dejected African friend by urging her to stop looking up unto the skies in search of heaven, for God had installed heaven in her; she should discover it.

Dry Tears of Fading Hope: A Call For Dredging The Past is the newest edition of the African story addressed to the lamenting African youth. You may call it the Epistle to the African Youth. However, it is not intended for only the African youth. It is a "must read" for all Africans, Africans in the Fatherland and Africans in the Diaspora: old and young, male and female, politicians and soldiers, people in commerce and industry, students and teachers, farmers tilling the tired African soil under the scorching African sun, and men and women on the holy altar of religion. It is even a prescribed textbook for hardened criminals sharing booty under the cover of darkness. This is an epistle of Africa to all Africans. This is the African story told with dry tears concealed in humor. Read it.