Africa: A Sleeping Power

Luís Júnior"

It hurts to write this. But someone has to say it. Africa, that colossus of fertile soil, strong arms and ancient history, remains lying down, anesthetized. A power that snores loudly while others feast on its resources. A continent that has everything, but lacks everything. A place where the land yields diamonds, but the people chew dust. Enough of the soft talk. Enough of the grand speeches. Africa is asleep, not by chance, but because they put anesthesia in its breakfast. It doesn’t wake up because those who dominate it have learned to drug its leaders with crumbs of power, with upholstered chairs and conferences that don’t change anything. Wake up, Africa! You are being looted in broad daylight, and yet you applaud the thieves. There is no shortage of oil, gas or gold. There is no shame. There is no rebellion. There is no hot blood in the veins of those who govern. African presidents – with rare exceptions – seem more like ambassadors of foreign interests than leaders of their people. They sit on false thrones, while handing over their coffers to foreigners and asking for “humanitarian aid” as if they didn’t know that the world only helps where it profits. The Chinese? They have already built roads, hospitals, even parliaments. But what about the contracts? And the hidden interest rates? And the obscene concessions? The Americans, Europeans, Russians… all with the same appetite: minerals, land, geopolitical influence. And we, always with our hand outstretched. We are treated as the world’s backyard. And there are those who think this is a “partnership”. The African youth – that is the only hope we have left. People who think, who shout on social media, who risk their lives to flee across the Mediterranean because they can no longer bear living as prisoners in their own country. But is all that is left for us to do? Is all that is left for us to do is flee? Is all that is left for us to do is dream of Lisbon, Paris, London? Does no one dream of Maputo, Kinshasa, Luanda? Why? Because people don’t live here. They survive. A continent that exports raw materials and imports everything else. That sells cocoa but doesn’t make chocolate. That has lithium, cobalt, coltan, but imports cell phones. That has forests, but imports furniture. Where have you ever seen that? It’s economic suicide with an African signature. And no, it is not just the colonizers who are to blame. They left with the flags, but they left the chains. And instead of breaking them, we grease the chains. We wake up every day to serve systems that we did not design. We hold elections where the same group always wins. We create ministries that only serve to employ nephews and waste funds. All of this under the label of “development”. Where are the intellectuals? The teachers? The artists? The journalists who prefer truth to protocol? They are silent, tired, censored or sold out. And when someone stands up, they are accused of being radical, terrorist, divisive. Anything but patriotic. Because patriotism, for them, is to keep quiet and applaud. And the churches? More concerned with tithing than with the fate of the people. While hunger reigns in the neighborhoods, pastors parade around in jeeps. They promise heaven, but ignore the hell we already live here. They talk about miracles, but accept poverty as “proof from God.” What no one wants to admit is that Africa has everything it needs to dominate the world. Everything. But it lacks courage. It lacks strategy. It lacks self-love. We continue to see ourselves as inferior, as eternal apprentices, as a laboratory for political, economic, and health experiments. Until we stop being a mental colony, we will always be a material colony. And what’s worse: this lethargy has become a habit. We no longer get indignant. We no longer protest. We no longer feel surprised. Children without school? Normal. Hospitals without medicine? Normal. Teachers without salaries? Normal. Blatant theft from public coffers? Normal. Importing onions and tomatoes while fertile lands are rotting? Absolutely normal. But listen carefully: Africa is only asleep. It still breathes. It still pulses. There is still time. All it takes is a collective cry to tear away this cloak of mediocrity. An uprising of consciences, not of parties. An intellectual, cultural, ethical rebellion. The true awakening will not come from the elites or from multinationals. It will come from the people who are tired of being doormats. Africa’s future will not be imported. It will have to be built, sweated, thought out. Enough of copying models that have never served us. Enough of trusting those who only want to suck. We need leaders who do not fear the people. We need people who do not idolize leaders. Above all, we need shame on our faces. And anger in our hearts. Yes, anger! Because anger is the engine of change. Africa, you are a giant. You are the land of kings, the cradle of civilizations, the mother of the world. But you are asleep. And the world is stealing you in silence. Wake up. And when you wake up, wake up hungry. Hungry for justice. Hungry for respect. Hungry for autonomy. Because the day Africa wakes up, the whole world will tremble.

2025/12/3