Mutumwa Mawere

On 1 October 2011, the most populous African state, Nigeria, turned 50.  As we look back at the journey travelled by many of Nigeria's sister African states, we have to pause and reflect on the beliefs, values and principles that informed the struggle for civil rights and why it is the case that the war against poverty, disease, corruption and many other vices that have come to characterise rightly or wrongly the post-colonial African experience has not produced the desired outcomes.

During the colonial era, many native Africans were prepared to pay the ultimate price to make their countries free.  Indeed, they were prepared to go down standing up for the values of freedom, equity, justice and democracy.  No force or propaganda could stand in the way of a people determined to create a better society founded on universally acceptable principles and values.

To the extent that we can count 54 African states that now define what the world knows as Africa, we must congratulate the few men and women who made it possible.  However, the post-colonial experience has regrettably produced different and nihilistic beliefs in which the majority have been reduced to beggars and spectators of history.

The post-colonial African story is dominated by the actions and choices of a few wise men and women.  For anyone to make the choice of dying on one's feet rather than on one's knees, we must accept that the starting point must necessarily be an investment in values and principles.

In the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt who said: "We and all others who believe in freedom as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than on our knees" it is instructive that he chose freedom as the variable that inspires men and women of conscience to choose to act today rather than tomorrow in the defence of a commodity that has no market price or can be traded.

Free societies capture human imagination and inspire human beings to scale the opportunity ladder.  If freedom is important to secure prosperity for all, we have to understand its value in advancing the human cause.

The role of fear in reducing free Africans into modern day slaves cannot be understated.  The future that we all as Africans seek to make secure has to be founded upon what Roosevelt described as four essential human freedoms.

The first is the freedom of speech and expression which has become an expensive commodity in many societies.  After more than 55 years of independence, we are compelled if the majority of Africans feel free to express themselves let alone to feel like they are welcome to add their voices on the critical issues that help shape and define the character of post-colonial Africa.

The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his or her own way.  We often take for granted the toxic effect of religious intolerance.  In societies where such intolerance exists, then we ought to see people of principle standing up for what they believe in.

The third is freedom from want.  I remember some years back when I visited Libya and what struck me at the airport were a number of sayings written on the wall one of which read as follows: "In need freedom is latent".  We all know that when one leaves in another person's house the visitor can never be free.  More significantly, a person who cannot negotiate in the market place can never be free.

After 55 years of independence, the majority of Africans are not free from want.  There is an expectation that a neighbour or even state actors will invest in the economic freedom that we all want for ourselves.  The reality is that we have to fight for the space that we wish to occupy in life.  Independence brought with it civil rights and not economic rights.

Can political actors be trusted to engineer social and economic outcomes that improve the economic condition of the majority?  State actors can play their part but it is important that we invest in financial literacy so that we are all possessed with the kind of understandings that will secure to every African citizen a healthy life in peace.

The fourth is freedom from fear.  The post-colonial order that has been characterised by injustice, tyranny by a few, and economic exclusion has regrettably instilled fear in citizens to the extent that the prevailing vision in many African states is to invest in safety nets whereby people constructively exclude themselves from the social contracts by emigrating or choosing to remain silent even if they have something to say.

If freedom was worth dying for, why is it the case that the post-colonial constitutional order has produced cowards who choose to look nostalgically at the rear view mirror and celebrate the victories against the tyranny of yesterday and not confronting the tyranny of today.

Notwithstanding, many would rather be subservient to the beliefs of others than die fighting for what they believe in.

In order to advance the African cause, it means that more people have to fight for their freedom than in live in fear of someone else, however, politically or economically powerful.

By electing to remain silent, that choice is more destructive to Africa's future than doing something about the actions that produce unintended consequences.