Mutumwa Mawere

Africa is an extraordinary continent with a past and present filled of pioneers, persons noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, outstanding businesspeople, record-breaking athletes, creative artists and many other persons of distinction who have helped change the continent's character and brand forever.

Who are these legends, icons and superstars? The contemporary history of Africa has been dominated by political players principally because of the impact of colonialism whose rejection created men and women of courage and determination like former President Mandela and many others who belong to a special class of Africans that can be classified as "liberators".

The image of Africa has regrettably been battered. Notwithstanding, the continent's story has not been properly told and on own terms. The negatives continue to dominate the African story.

Although we may all not be happy with the African product there is a lot we can do to preposition it. The African brand is causally linked to our individual brand positioning. If we rebrand ourselves then it is possible that Africa can be rebranded.

What comes to mind when one says I am an African? Although Africa now has a multicultural and multiracial existence, its majority population is black. The black portion of the African brand has its own challenges and opportunities. Africa has produced many black and white remarkable individuals and yet its brand tends to be blemished by the actions of the few.

There are many good, noble and upright Africans whose lives provide a source of great inspiration and hope to many. Our own ignorance of events, persons and the past has often clouded our perception of what is possible in Africa.

The continent has its own personalities/celebrities who have risen from rags to riches as a result of hard work. The African story has seen persons rise from nothing to the highest office in their lands. The face of Africa has and continues to be determined by political players and yet there are many remarkable things that have been done by private actors in putting meaning to the African cause.

As a businessman who is a product of a struggle that was waged by many to restore rights to all of Africa's children, I am acutely aware of my responsibilities to help in building a new African identity.

As a member of Africa Heritage Society (AHS), I have been encouraged by members who believe that it is important to showcase and celebrate the achievements of Africa's heroes, icons and superstars; to rethink about how best the African brand can be repositioned.

An initiative under the general theme: "Banking on Africa's Future" ("BOAF") that we are spearheading aims to identify about 5,000 Points of Light ("POL") being the very best of personalities that Africa has produced in different categories such as entertainment, movies, sports, academia, civil society, business, politics, science etc.

Africa's 5,000 POL provides an opportunity to profiles lives and exploits of African's sons and daughters. We are enjoined to work together to reposition our brand through the sharing of knowledge.

We can only be effective bridge builders that connects our past with the present if we pause to think seriously about why we remain trapped in the past forgetting the remarkable progress made so far.

The first revolution involved the anti-colonial struggle that produced men and women of steel. Who are these persons? What occupied their minds? What motivated them to put country and people first?

This is, indeed, a special but dying class of Africans and yet very little is portrayed about them with the exception of a few icons like Mandela. Why is it that President Mandela has been accepted as a custodian of the kind of values that ought to inform post-colonial Africa's development and yet the reasons he chose to participate the liberation struggle have yet to be addressed? The poor of apartheid still remain locked in a world filled with less hope and promise.

We hear often that Africa's problems are causally connected to a drought of leadership. Africa's majority population continues to live in the valley with a few rising to the mountaintop. Those at the top have not invested in explaining how they made it to the extent that the people in the valley feel that there is no benefit in scaling the heights.

Africa needs to be a continent of opportunity and yet over the years has reduced its people to hopelessness compelling us to invest in the 5,000 POL that really should be regarded as our Hall of Fame.

If we were to come up with 5,000 points of light, we need to ask who should be included and who should be excluded? Can consensus ever be generated on who should be in and should be out of the list? The points of light need not be just 5,000 persons but can be more. However, it is important for us to start the conversation on why it is important to generate our own "Who is Who" library and archive.

Africa has produced many great faces or points of light and we need to celebrate our own celebrities.

To the cynical, Africa has no cause to celebrate but if the continent has to lift itself from its current condition, there is no better way to give hope than to chronicle and celebrate the remarkable women and men who have made an indelible mark on Africa's brand.

We have our own names and so do you. I do hope that working together we can expose Africa's best and in doing so inspire those who have lost hope to dream the impossible and reach for the stars. Africa belongs to all who believe in it. We need a social contract that is focused on exchange of value. A nation state is only as good as citizens contribute to its success and survival.

If you have a name of an African who inspires you, please help add to our bank of hope by giving us the name of the person and why you believe such a name is a point of light that not only Africa needs to know but the rest of the world. Let us not surrender but use our role models to give Africa a new sense of hope at this critical and defining moment in world history.