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More Nigerian languages risk extinction In 2007, the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation organised a series of workshops to protect dying Nigerian languages. After the workshops, the organisation in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Tourism and Culture planned to embark on programmes which included mapping and documentation of indigenous languages in Nigeria and organising creative writing competition in the languages. The world body said that from August 2008 to December 2009, it would seek partnership among state
Two years after the workshops, investigations by our correspondent showed that many parents, particularly the elite, encouraged their children to speak English at the detriment of their indigenous languages. A resident of Ikoyi, Lagos, Mr. Solomon Akintude, narrated his encounter with a son of his friend. Akintude told our correspondent that he had visited his friend on the last Boxing Day. "We both hail from Ekiti State. It was over a month I saw him and I decided to pay the visit," the engineer said. According to him, both of them were in the man's sitting room, conversing in Yoruba Language, when his friend's five-year-old son came in. "After making futile attempts to understand our conversation, the boy said, 'daddy both of you are speaking a dirty language," Akintunde said. A civil servant with the Federal Ministry of Transport, Mrs. Tayo Sofenwa, whose two children, Tope and Lara, attend Kidsville School, on Odunlami Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, also said that the children were encouraged to speak English both at home and in school. When asked whether the children, whose father hails from Abeokuta, could speak Yoruba, the woman answered in the negative. Justifying the family's attitude to the indigenous language, the civil servant said, "English language is our official language. It will be wise to get the children as vast in it as possible to prepare them for a future outside Nigeria." Investigations showed that Nigerian indigenous languages were affected by negative attitudes of Nigerians. Last year, a member of Igbo sociocultural group, Ndigbo, Peter Umeh, urged the Igbo to preserve their language. He said that the lgbo language was gradually becoming extinct because some lgbo children could not speak the language following the failure of their parents to teach them. A lecturer at the Department of English, University of Lagos, Dr. Sola Osoba, explained what could have informed the engineer's son's reaction to his father's indigenous language. "Many of us have a negative attitude to our languages. We want to show visitors that our children can speak English," Osoba said. Osoba warned that at the rate Nigerians encouraged their children to despise their indigenous languages, some of the languages might cease to exist in future. According to him, a language dies when it has no speakers. He explains that death of a language is what is called language extinction. According to OnlineNigeria.com, out of 521 indigenous languages in the country, 510 are living languages, two are second languages without mother-tongue speakers, and nine are extinct. The dead languages included Ajawa spoken in Bauchi State; Auyokawa in Jigawa State; Basa-Guma in Niger State; Gamo-Nigi, Bauchi State; Homa, Adamawa State; Kpati, Taraba State, Kubi, Bauchi State, Mawa, Bauchi State and Tsehenawa in Jigawa State. One of the reasons Nigerian parents prefer use of English by their children is to enhance the competence of the young ones in the language, which is the formal means of communication in the country. A Lagos-based lawyer, who craved anonymity, said, "English is the official language in the country. The earlier a child is competent in it, the better. He can learn the indigenous language later." But Osoba described as erroneous, the view that inability to speak indigenous local languages would promote competence in English. "We learn English in a second language environment. We don't learn it in the native speakers' environment. The fact that your child cannot speak your indigenous language does not guarantee his competence in English," the lecturer said. Osoba stated that when one considered process of language extinction, one would know that it was possible in Nigeria because of inter-tribal marriages and attitude to local languages. He added, "For instance, in a family, the husband may be Yoruba and the wife Igbo. Both of them may not understand each other's language. The language that is mutually understandable to them is English. To such a family, the problem is not a negative attitude." According to experts, the common process leading to language death occurs when a community of speakers of a language becomes bilingual and gradually shifts allegiance to the second language until the speakers stop using the original language. Language extinction can also occur when their speakers are wiped out by genocide or diseases. Linguists also believe that a language can go into extinction if it is spoken by a few elderly people. If such speakers, for example, are 50 years and above, there is a possibility that the language will die. Some languages are endangered when there is a possibility that they may go into extinction, According to Herman Batibo, in Language Decline and Death in Africa, a language is endangered when there are fewer than 5,000 people speaking it; when the speakers are minority and they have negative attitude to their language; and when parents no longer teach their children the language. Advising Nigerians to protect their languages, Osoba said that more roles should be assigned to them. He suggested that the languages should be codified. The lecturer noted that some indigenous languages were not codified. Osoba also said that books and newspapers should be written in the languages. Also, a former Dean of Faculty of Social SciencesUNILAG, Prof. Lai Olorode, said those who discouraged their children from speaking their languages were culturally illiterate. According to him, such children are always alienated and lack confidence. "Inability to speak indigenous languages does not make a child intelligent," he said. Olorode disclosed that some Nigerians had been coming home to get teachers who could teach their children indigenous languages. He wondered why those who were resident in the country should have negative attitudes to their languages. According to him, with what is happening in the United States, particularly the inauguration of Barack Obama, every African should be proud of his culture and language. "We are in the era of globalisation. We should not allow our languages to die," he said.
''When you hear British government officials thunder about election malpractices these days, you think butter will not melt in their mouths. But in1956 and1959, the British deliberately influenced Nigeria's independence elections so that the Northerners would dominate the country following independence. ... Northern domination of Nigeria has caused so much angst leading to the coup of January 1966 and the civil war [1967-1970]. The Northerners never wanted the British to leave. They feared the Southerners more than the British. The British and the Northern elite worked so closely together that differences of policy could hardly exist. The British claimed that the Northerners must have 50% of all the seats in the Federal legislature. Whoever controlled the NPC controlled the North and the whole of Nigeria.'' -Harold Smith, former British Colonial Officer, New African May 2005 page10. ''The 1966 Coup plotters planned to hand over power to Awolowo. People were told that it was an Igbo coup but that is not correct. The plan of the coup makers was to release Awolowo from jail and make him their leader.'' -Odia Ofeimun Private Secretary to Chief Awolowo, on the 20th Anniversary of the Passage of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sunday Guardian May 6, 2007. "After the January coup, the head of my department Mr. N.V.Kirby {Territorial Controller, North] called me me up to take care of the personnel in the exchange and some other P&T installations in Kaduna. A few hours later, out of sheer curiosity I went to the Sarduana's house. I was amazed to find that all the Northerners there showed no signs of grief. Some Hausa friends told me me that the coup was Godsend, but that its only fault was that nobody was killed in the East.'' -Daniel Godo Princewill, January 15, Eyewitness Account, Kaduna. "The Major General had taken over the 4th Battalion in Ikeja and was in command of the southern forces. The northern forces seemed to be under the command of one Major Nzeogwu.'' -Col Victor Banjo on the afternoon of January 15, to Col.Ejike Aghanya [also see Behind The Screen, 2005 page3] "Until my final day, I will continue to regret my fateful mediation, leading to the capitulation Major Nzeogwu to General Ironsi. Under my helpless escort, after his surrender in Kaduna, Nzeogwu was arrested, humiliated and thrown into jail on arrival at the Ikeja airport. Ironsi failed to keep his words, his soldier's honor as per our agreement with the January 15 boys. I'm guilty and it is my eternal sin to have failed the young man and his very popular revolution.'' Brigadier Conrad Nwawor, only living Nigerian military officer decorated by the British for gallantry and leadership. Commander of the 1966 Midwest Fourth Area Command and War Commander, Elite Biafran 11 Division, with the author at Christmas in Onicha Olona, Umuezechime, 1994. They were only two known Nigerian soldiers to have been decorated with the Victory Cross by the British. While Brigadier Conrad Nwawor is the only living officer to be so honored, Colonel Adekunle Francis Fajuyi was infact the first to turn the page in the military history of the Nigerian Army. As a Major and serving under the United Nations, in the Congo, he became the first officer of the Royal Nigerian Army to be so honored. Displaying a high degree of leadership and ability he had on many occasions, personally beaten off attacks by hostile Katangese tribes men who in one dangerous instance, had ambushed and derailed the train that was moving his company back to base. The January 15 boys respected his badge and he was informed about the coup. His defense of the boys was not forgotten by Danjuma and his boys in Ibadan, on July 29th 1966, the night of the of the so called revenge putsch. The coup's primary aims according to Major Wale Ademeyoga was to release Chief Obafemi Awolowo and appoint him the Prime Minister of Nigeria. The other end games of the revolution were; To end the street bloodbath in the West. Since the rigged western Nigerian elections, lots of civilians were being buthered and roasted by party thugs. According to Lateef Jakande, in the Comet, January 15, 2000, ''the first coup by Nzeogwu was well intentioned. The situation in the country had deteriorated. As you will recall, there was violent reaction in the western region against the impositon of the NNDP on the west by the Federal Government.'' Elsewhere, we had discussed the Tiv invasion and the equally violent reaction from the the native Tiv rioters who were called the Temtios because they found pleasure in breaking heads to pieces. According to the Nigerian Headline, "The political situation in Tiv Division in 1964 and beyond was comparable to a volcano, that was always erupting. Even though, there have been violent disturbances in the Tiv Division in 1939, 1947, and 1960, the Federal Government in November, 1964 decided for something drastic and definite to arrest the deadly eruption in the Division that same year. The Government on the advice of the Kaduna controlled NPC poured in soldiers to replace the Police. The advent of soldiers resulted in more sadism and the savagery recorded unprecedented civilian casualties from Lafia to Gboko, Daudu and Makurdi, were the natives armed with poisoned arrows and charms confronted the trigger happy soldiers loaded with automatic weapons and machine guns. One of the officers sent in to restore normalcy by all means, was Colonel Yakubu Pam. He was appointed the Officer Commanding Army operations in the Tiv Division. A familiar name, Malam Tanko Yesufu was appointed Provincial Commissioner. As he continued his scotch earth, wipe out of the stubborn Tiv resistance, his recce commander Major Christian Anuforo, with a Bsc in Mathmatics was revolted by the sheer bestiality of the whole unprofessional operations. He refused orders to move his armored cars against the Tiv people adding that he was not trained to mow down civilians. He was recalled to Kaduna and was about to be decommissioned when he ran into January 15 boys. With his gory experience in Tiv land it was not difficult convincing him to join in seeking the death of the rabid Nigerian first republic. Overall, the perspective of Alan Feinstein's Biography of Mallam Aminu Kano, the late Nigerian politician provides an appropriate background to reconciling the impact of the January 15 event to the people of the North, considering the fact that he was the leader of the Talakawas [the masses in the street]. Mallam Aminu Kano was the bridge between the south and the north, men and women, the Muslims and the men of the book. Feinstein stressed that while ''his efforts at repair and rebuilding of political alignments were going on in Kano a region -wide effort was progressing simultaneously in the southernmost sections of the north, known as the Middle belt; the move toward an independent state had progressed even further than in Kano to the point where the disaffection with the dominating NPC super structure had precipitated riot among the Tivs in 1960 and again in1964'' The United Middlebelt Congress, led by Joseph Tarka eventually aligned with NEPU to form the NPF, which supported the break up of the monolithic northern region to give adequate voice to the larger minority.'' In uncovering the festering bitterness and near explosions between the conservative NPC, supported by the traditional northern elites, the Emirs, the top civil servants as was ordained by the British, on one hand, the NPF surge and portent alliance with the southern progressive [UPGA] led to the polirisation of the Nigeria political forces. The NPC sledge hammer descent on the northern opposition almost wiped out all the democratic and legally recognized institutions of descent in the north. In the north, opposition candidates were denied filing of nomination petitions and campaigns and party meetings were flagrantly prohibited . Political refugees flocked to Kano, as homes and farmlands were burnt, and many were thrown into prisons. By the close of 1965 elections, the NPC with the effective control of the regional state apparatus viz, the local authorities, the Emirs of the North, the Police, the party was no longer worried about the north but knew they can only dominate the country with the ability to sustain the unpopular Akintola NNDP in the west. Lord Acton , the liberal catholic scholar had posited that historian's first duty 'was not to debase the moral currency'. He believed that the historian must always point out the good and the evil in the actions that men took in the past. However, in order to do this justly, we must first establish what they actually did and also have an understanding of what was considered to be right and wrong in that particular era. Lord Acton maintained, we may decide that we are justified in condemning them, only after considering the ideals and actions as they are portrayed. Jumping to conclusion based on a study of only a part of the source of information, convicts us of intellectual dishonesty. That was the unchallenged dishonesty of General Danjumah when in an interview with Dr.Edwin Madunagu of the Guardian he attempted in futulity to justify his revisionist putsh of the July 29, 1966 by accusing the revolutionaries of ''killing my brother northern officers.'' Drawing on the intimate profiles of the major actors of the January uprising, we reveal the soul of soldiers who were Napoleanic in the faith for the country and were ready to sacrifice themselves to accomplish their mission. Signifcantly, the majors elected to lead and stay in front without employing any surrogates as was the case with the series of the other Nigerian coups that followed . But who are indeed these brother northern officers that fell on the night of January 15? We had expected the very respected Mathematician Edwin to press it on. Lt Colonel Yakubu Pam. The officer that was tainted by the Tiv operations. Lt.Colonel Aborgo Largema, commander of the Ibadan second battalion. A serously compromised commander who was accused of using the federal troops against the popular and violent anger in the streets of wild west. British intelligence according to Smith was aware that this commander had finalized plans with the conservative power bloc and with the understanding of Brigadier Ademelegun were to destroy the intellectual and human rights/ progressive movement of the west. These Ibadan school were the brain and the fuel of the violent resistance of the unstable west. On target to be eliminated were Wole Soyinka, Tunji Otegbeye, Christopher Okigbo, Tai Solarin etc. It is possible that as the chief of Nigeria Army intelligence Major Chukwumah Nzeogwu must have intercepted the thread and decades after, we confirm the singular reason the revolution was rushed to January 15. For according to Wole Soyinka , in 'The Man Died', he speculated on the belief that his Human Rights fighters were to be crushed and the west totally normalized by force by January 17, 1966. It was to be very bloody. Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari, Colonel Kur Mohammed very fine officers but were listed to be arrested on account of fact that the coup would not succeed if they were still in command of their units. These senior officers were not different from Colonel Shodeinde in charge of the Brigade headquarters in kaduna. The Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Major General Aguiyi Ironsi and Arthur Unegbe, Quartermaster General were also listed and targeted to be demobilized for the same reasons.Never a supporter of any type of killing, be that of civilians in Kano, Ibadan or Gboko. All the deaths were regretable but it will be disingenuous to pronounce that the blood letting was instigated by tribal motivations Like the Supreme Commander who managed a miraculous escape from his abductors, Arthur Unegbe like his other senior colleagues were all gunned down by patriots who were out to sacrifice a few of them to win the best for all. As was predicted, the survival of Ironsi led to the death of the revolution and the eventual martyrdom of Kaduna Nzeogwu who had in all his short austere life worried about Nigeria and even surprised Remi Obasanjo that he would not be getting married! In the many years that have passed, the young majors have been betrayed by the Awoists, the Northern masses, the Tiv nation, the Igbo senior officers led by Colonels Ojukwu, Madiebo, Major Obienu,Air force Captain Nzegwu, Majors Igboba, Okwechime, Awuna. These senior officers did more than any other group to frustrate the only true Nigerian revolution that was January 15. Three of them before the coke crew paid the supreme sacrifice for their misunderstanding of the Nigerian unforgivable feudal Leviathan. Major Obienu who was supposed to secure the January 15 Lagos operations, failed to show up with his armored unit from Abeokuta on the Zero Hour. Without any armored support the Majors were unable to consolidate their hold of the strategic Ikeja garrison and that was the distraught mind that began the shooting of the arrested officers and marked the beginning of the failure. In July 29, 1966, Major Obienu was one of the first officers to be shot in Abeokuta by northern soldiers. Under the orders of Ironsi, brilliant Col Igboba from Ibusa was the main officer who ruined the revolution in Lagos. As Commander of the Biafran Midwest operations Col. Victor Banjo did not forgive him for his role in January 15. He handed him over to Benin hordes who awaited Col. Muritala Mohammed and Ogbemudia'a retake of Benin, in September 21, 1967. Then they cut off his head. Captain Nzegwu immaculate former officer of the British Airforce was supposed to fly on the night of January 15 and release Chief Awolowo from Calabar prisons. Even if everything had failed but the Chief was released, there could have been an unprecedented earthquake from Ilorin to the Lagos Atlantic!! Nobody would have stopped the revolution for the people were already in the streets fighting and dying for their ballots to be counted. The Airforce Captain Nzegwu from the prominent Onitsha family never made it to Calabar. In July 29, 1966, he paid with his life as a northern NCO bludgeoned him to death. Finally, why did the very audacious western leader, Chief Awolowo never for one day made any commentary about Nzeogwu and the Majors' plan of making good the chief's lifelong ambition? In the many years that followed his death and the bastardization of his revolution why have we not heard from veteran politician, Anthony Enahoro and other well informed Midwesterners like Chief Bokolor? What happened to most of his trusted accomplices like Captain Sawntong and the other Middle belt officers who saw action in January 15, 1966? For one more thing. While others planned and executed coups for themselves to climb into power the January exercise was to uplift a man the Majors think can offer the best for Nigeria. Nzeogwu was not even to be heard from. If not for the Lagos disappointment the announcement was to be made by Major Ademeyoga . For whatever reasons he never made that announcement even though he was at the NBC station. As we celebrate another January 15, we are satisfied that time and history will be kinder to those boys. In one fell swoop the uprising restored normalcy to the burning cities and villages of the wild west. The revolution stopped the hidden and planned extinction of the Tiv freedom fighters. Aminu Kano and the Talakawas were saved from obliteration. The uprising postponed the emerging class warfare among the Igbo nation. Ojukwu's declaration of Biafra had sharpened the contradictions. In that experiment, the January boys returned as the commanders of the ill fated Midwestern expeditionary campaign. Still, impassioned by their unfinished mission and ready to sacrifice for a united but uncontaminated Nigeria, Col.Victor Banjo, Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Alile, Agbam as was the case in January 15, were willing to sacrifice Gowon, Ojukwu and his Biafra to get to Lagos and Nigeria. In the end, they were eaten up by the revolution. In his lamentation, Wole Soyinka in 'The Man Died', cried for the loss of his friends....''And Victor Banjo, if ever a revolution was lost to history, not now in one of those moments but by days! What kept him in Benin while the naked underbelly of Lagos lay in its gross inert corruption, waiting only to be pierced?...Banjo forgot that his was a nation of fence -sitters, that in crisis , established power begins by an advantage which exerts a psychological paralysis on all but the most uncompromising few. The revolutionary base, supposed to be consolidated by his continued presence in the Midwest began to crumble''. He paid with his life. And with him Alale, Ifeajuna, Agbam.
"Ndi Igbo should not allow the Civil War to depress indefinitely our adventurous spirit, which has led to the export of this precious human capital. Rather, we should galvanise our myriads of talents to develop not only the Igbo nation but also Nigeria." ... Achebe listed good governance in the Southeast, job creation, education, urban and rural development, abrogation of Osu caste system, and rejecting of religious fanaticism and ethnic intolerance, as his thoughts on the way forward for the development of Ndi Igbo...... "Ndi Igbo should organise pressure groups and insist that budgetary allocations to local governments and state governments continue to be published every month, as has been the practice in the recent past. If government refuses, Igbo institutions should seek out and publish such allocations. " .... "Ndi Igbo must diversify our economy and create jobs that are not based on the oil sector. The greatest importers of oil and oil products such as America and Europe are working feverishly to decrease their dependence on imported oil from countries such as Nigeria. We have no choice but to see the clear writing on the wall concerning the future of fossil fuels."..... . "Our young men are not attending secondary and post-secondary schools. If this development persists, it may cause a deep chasm in the intellectual and creative/innovative capability of Ndi Igbo. We must make education relevant to our youth and establish night schools for traders who work in the markets during the day. Let us encourage young traders to pursue business degrees, including MBA, and our government should provide teachers for this purpose and invest in professional teacher education.". .... "However, there is an ugly under belly of this great success. An endemic obsession for materialistic accumulation has taken a hold of Igboland and has the dire possibility of eroding, permanently, the moral and intellectual capability of an entire society." .... "Several studies have clearly indicated that when women are well educated, the entire society benefits positively in overall standard of living. The dehumanisation of our women through acts such as wife-beating, funeral rites that take away the dignity of our mothers, wives, sisters and daughters must be abolished,". ...... UNQUOTE My People: 1. I rise to hail Dede Prof. Achebe! In fact, there should be an Achebe in every Nigerian group, to be told some home-truths. 2. I welcome in particular his call for the abrogation of Osu caste system in all of its ramifications. Obviously, Prof. Achebe does not believe in statements by other people that that obnoxious discriminatory practice has already been abrogated. It is the elephant in Ndigbo's cultural room, in addition to the "endemic obssession for materialistic accumulation. " Outside of those two shortcomings, the Igbo society is a near-perfect one. 3. If someone else had written what Prof. Achebe wrote now, he would be called an "efulefu" (if Igbo) or Igbo-hater (if non-Igbo)! Abegi... Ndeewo nu! Igbo kwenu! Igbo Kwezionu! Nigeria kwenu ! Africa kwenu! America, Hi! Maazi Bolaji Aluko
Within the Internet lies Africa's clay of wisdom by Philip Emeagwali According to history books, gun-wielding European slave traders kidnapped one in five Africans and transported them across the oceans to the Americas. A less visible, but no means less drastic
It is a sad fact that the innocuous navigation tool originated during and was fuelled by the Atlantic slave trade. The technological development of the innocent compass, invented in China for religious divination 2,000 years ago, allowed Africa to be ravaged in unspeakable ways. It was the compass that created the Atlantic slave trade, enabling the early colonial navigators — and their blood merchants — to chart an accurate course from Gorée Island, off the coast of Senegal, to Brazil; paving the way for the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which began on August 8, 1444. This trade in human merchandise covered four continents and lasted four centuries, and serves as a shameful beacon for the depravity of human greed and conquest. The compass became the de facto weapon of mass destruction, which led to the de-capitalization and decapitation of Africa. It created the African Diaspora with one in five people taken out of the motherland. It was the largest and most brutal displacement of human beings in human history. Today, it is hard to imagine that such destruction and the wholesale abduction of a race could result from a tool as common as the compass. Yet, as a people who survived the slave trade, we must draw our strength from lessons learned from the past and draw our energy from the power of the future. And the power of the future lies in "controlling" technology and harnessing it for the benefit of mankind, not for his destruction. The people of Africa must take note that the Internet is our modern-day compass, and within it resides our own clay of wisdom. As we prepare for our great journey into the cyberspace of the future, with its technological promise — its clay of wisdom — we must understand the strategic value and potential of this all-important tool. Our image of the future inspires the present and the present serves to create the future. Africa's lack of substantial technological knowledge of the Internet and its potential may lead it to be assaulted or manipulated in unexpected ways, just as it was devastated generations ago for the lack of a simple compass. We didn't recognize the power of the compass then; the danger is that we don't recognize the power of technology today. While Africa merely contemplates the future, the West, the quickest off the mark to wield technology's weapons, actually makes the future. This fact, and how the power of technology can be wielded against the poor, was brought home to me clearly when I received the following email recently: Technology in the hands of others has been used to exploit Africa for centuries. But now it's time for Africa to grasp technology and finally embrace the modern age's clay of wisdom and advancement. Africa has the chance to show the world how technology can be used for good, not evil. And the people of Africa can use today's technology, not to mimic their own exploitation, but to right the wrongs of the past and empower themselves with the same tool that has been used to oppress them in the past. Africa can provide a shining example for the world in using technology for its own upliftment and the benefit of mankind. This time, it is our choice. Transcribed from a speech delivered by Philip Emeagwali at the African Diaspora Conference in Tucson, Arizona. The entire transcript is posted at emeagwali.com.
by Philip Emeagwali Imagine that it is May 25, 2063, the 100th anniversary of Africa Day, a day for reflecting on Africa's successes and failures. The newspaper headline announces, "Last Remaining Oilfield in West Africa's American Territory Dries Up." The article continues: "The last patch of rainforest will soon be empty land scarred by oil pipelines, pumping stations, and natural gas refineries. Wholesale pollution will be the environmental legacy for future generations. "Africa's offshore oil reserves will ebb away. Abandoned oil wells could well become tourist attractions, and oil-boom settlements will be transformed into derelict ghost towns. "In a world without oil, air travel will disappear, and people will voyage overseas on coal-powered ships. Farmers will use horses instead of tractors, and scythes instead of combine harvesters. As crops diminish and populations soar, famine will grip the globe. With no means to power their vehicles, parents will be housebound, without jobs, and children will walk to school." This scenario could become a reality, because we no longer have an abundant oil supply. We know oil exists in limited quantities and that most oil wells dry up after 40 years. It is as certain as death and taxes. Rather than debate the exact year when we will run out of oil, I prefer to imagine that we have already run out. It may come sooner than any of us expect. Our heirs will thank or curse us for how much oil we left for them. Instead of asking, "When will Africa run out of natural resources?" we should ask, "When will Africa be unable to export raw materials, either for lack of our own oil or because foreign markets have themselves dried up?" A $100 bar of raw iron is worth $200 when forged into drinking cups in Africa, $65,000 when forged into needles in Asia, $5 million when forged into watch springs in Europe. How can this be? European intellectual capital – the collective knowledge of its people – allows a $100 raw iron bar to command a 50,000-fold increase! It could be said, therefore, that a lack of intellectual capital is the root cause of poverty. Without African intellectual capital, iron excavated in Africa will continue to be manufactured in Europe and exported back to Africa at enormous cost. To alleviate poverty, Africa needs to cultivate creative and intellectual abilities that will allow it to increase the value of its raw materials and to break the continent's vicious cycle of poverty. Poverty is not an absence of money. Rather, it results from an absence of knowledge. In oil-exporting African nations, multinationals such as Shell (selling rigs for a 40% royalty on exported oil) are getting rich, while the oil rig workers remain poor. Instead of addressing the underlying causes of poverty – minimal productivity resulting from a lack of intellectual capital – Third World leaders have focused on giving false hope to their people. We need less talk about poverty and more action to eliminate it. So how do we do this? Education has done more to reduce poverty than all the oil companies in the world. So it is disheartening to realize that few leaders believe that their people's potential is far more valuable than what lies beneath the soil. Intellectual capital, not higher wages, will eliminate poverty in Africa. If we all demand higher wages, we will end up paying the higher wages to ourselves. Intellectual capital will result in the creation of new products derived from new technologies. The end result will be not just a redistribution of wealth, but the creation and control of new wealth. And Africa's power to reduce poverty will open the floodgates of prosperity for millions of people. One catalyst for such prosperity could be telecommuting. If 300 million Africans could work for companies located in the West (just as millions of Indians do), then both regions would benefit. The strategy would be to recognize the labor needs of the global marketplace, and enable Africa to fulfill those needs. For example, tax preparation experts living in Africa, where labor is cheaper, could fulfill the needs of US-based accountants. Furthermore, the time difference could allow for a fast turnaround in service. It is clear that knowledge and technology is crucial to alleviate Africa's poverty. Africa will perish if it continues to consume what it does not produce, and produce what it does not consume. The result will be a depressing cycle of increasing consumption, decreasing production, and increasing poverty. We are missing a golden opportunity by not using the trillion dollars earned by exporting natural resources to break Africa's cycle of poverty. We are at a crossroads where one signpost reads "Produce" and another reads "Perish." We risk becoming like the driver who stops at an intersection and asks a pedestrian, "Where does this road lead?" And the pedestrian replies, "Where do you want to go?" "I don't know," the driver replies. "Then it obviously doesn't matter which road you take!" replies the pedestrian. If we adopt the same attitude as the driver, Africa will have lost its chance to "choose" its future. For decades, power in post-colonial Africa rested in the hands of those with guns, not those with brains. We were not always at war with our neighbors, but we were always at war with poverty. And we spent more on guns than on books and bread. Africa's choice is clear: produce or perish. However, it is important that we do not blindly choose the lesser of two evils – producing what we cannot consume or consuming what we cannot produce. We can avoid this. My wish is that by the end of the 21st century high-end products in New York City will sport the label: "Made in Africa." We cannot look forward to our future until we learn from our past. Five thousand years of recorded history reveal that technology was ancient Africa's gift to the modern world. Forty and a half centuries ago, geometers in Africa's Nile Valley region designed the Great Pyramid of Giza, the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. That man-made mountain remains the largest stone building on Earth. It is an icon of engineering, and testifies that Africa was once the world's most technologically advanced region. It is absolutely imperative that Africa regain its technological prominence, which will enable it to produce what the world can consume. When we do that, Africa will finally be eating the fruits of its own labor. When Africa has regained its technological prominence, the world's leaders will seek it out. And, like a rainforest renewed, Africa will flourish again. Transcribed from a speech delivered by Philip Emeagwali to the African community in Valencia, Spain. The entire transcript and video are posted at emeagwali.com. Philip Emeagwalihas been called "a father of the Internet" by CNN and TIME, and extolled as "one of the great minds of the Information Age" by former U.S. President Bill Clinton. He won the 1989 Gordon Bell Prize, the Nobel prize of supercomputing.
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