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We Never Gave Them Invitation
They came
without invitation, they arrived noticeable but
without our approval, they were not documented
immigrants. Europeans were no different from the
biblical illustration of the messiah whose arrival
at the dead of the night will be unnoticed and
without invitation. The messiah was deemed to
salvage his believers, put to rest their troubles
and ultimately ascend them to the pedestal of
heavenly bliss. The European plunders refused to
take lesson from this redemptive life of the
redeemer (Messiah) rather our traditional,
socio-political, economic and cultural heritage was
mystified and scorned. Perhaps we are facing a
cultural genocide as many of us lack the proficiency
of our mothers’ tongue
Europeans banditry of the continents of Africa and
Asia has no level for justification; it was a
gluttonous adventure for these continents’ human and
natural resources. Both resources have historically
facilitated development of Europe and its brotherly
northern hemisphere. Human and natural resources
were their thirst… I found it extremely difficult to
comprehend the rational behind the racial and
restrictive migration laws now rampant in Europe and
America. Immigrants are often shouldered with blame
of proscribed behaviours; their ghettoes tagged as
haven for anti-social doings and they are sources of
effluence behavioural patterns within the society.
The certainty of these claims and allegations can
only be authenticated by pro-objective researchers.
The imperative question coming to the minds of many
immigrants is why the refusal of residence when we
helped build your economy. At the outset of European
imperialist adventurism, immigrants’ forebears were
used on the farms and plantations. At a juncture of
their servitude, their services merited little
demand due to industrial revolution, thus Europeans
collapsed their evil edifice of slavery. It is
implicitly understood that the current wave of
immigration laws would not be the very first time
when Europeans turn back on immigrants (foreigners).
You taught us lesson of various kinds, you even
tutored us in the act of sit-tight power structure
in hope to continue your legacy of surrogacy.
Decades after your departure many of the colonized
countries were still haunted by the shadow of
colonialism. Your surrogates channelled national
wealth to their personal purses, our economies
became stagnated by your financial hegemonic
structures that shapes the bearing of the world
economies. You created the financial institutions of
cheat yet you expected our graduation from grass to
grace. Yet ordinary citizens live from hand to
mouth, little could we boost of sound educational
system, infectious diseases become daily contentious
problem. We sleep and dream of a brighter tomorrow,
knowing full well that grace have ceased to descend
from heaven. Heaven helps those who help themselves.
Your influence and hand in our domestic
socio-political and economic affairs contributes
immensely to the poverty level, civil strife and
political instabilities in the continent. Hence what
do you expect than migration to where our forebears
have worked diligently, assiduously and have
contributed to Europe stable economies.
The surrogates you left with power took after you;
they usurped power and wealth and bequeathed such
legacy to their successors. Many of these stooges of
yours often try to outwit your design and you
automatically label them. Appositely, little or no
value lies in the aid you claimed of dishing out to
poor countries of the African continents.
Deductively it is just the profits from a long
journey of servitude to your nations. You continue
to compensate victims of the holocaust yet nothing
is done to recognize the evil of colonialism and
whenever people-centred governments seek reparation
you mount army of resistance against such
governments then anti-western interest becomes the
propaganda.
You preoccupied yourself with restrictive
immigration laws that could cease the migration of
those whom you subjected their existence to abject
poverty through your economic structure. Why drive
away those that noticeably contribute to your
advancement. You see us as undocumented, illegal and
uninvited guests while you laid the foundation;
pillaged our resources coercively during your
unwelcome colonialism. Europeans are obviously the
pacesetter of unwelcome immigrants.
Your new laws tell how much you detest our presence;
evidently the laws cannot survive but collapse in a
predictive future. Your countries are accosted by
imperative social problems that can only be bridged
by immigrants. Your economies are at our mercy, your
unskilled labours are to certain extent of our
choice because you planned our destiny in your own
fashion. Our economies were stationed at
mono-economies; our technological deficiency was out
of your fashion, creating continuity in dependency.
Your classic quintessence of double standard makes
you vulnerable to these blames
- One fact is known that you never wanted our
improvement rather a continuous servitude and
dependence on your economies, then to what extent
you want to reduce exodus migration from poorer
countries.
- The existence of debt equals economic bondage and
perpetual loyalty to your dictate which evidently
have its reflection on our economic instability.
- The unimaginable or perhaps the continuous
tradition of exploitation by your patent
multinationals is full grown evidence that your
economic buoyancy rest on our exploitation.
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All these claims however do not point to the fact
that African leaders are excusable from their
mal-administrative practices. Colonialism has always
been the scapegoat which many African nations
shoulder the blame for their underdevelopment, but
many of these nations have long been independent yet
no changes are seen.
The formerly colonised regions of Asia and Latin
America are incomparable with the African continent
in terms of development. Although, some still
clinched the problems to post-colonial arrangement,
many third world nations with which Africa in
enlisted were made to rely and depend economically
and technologically on their former masters, though
political independence has been attained.
The dictum of third worldism has become a phenomenon
and a stigma that obviously demand critical
assessment. Leaders in this part of the world should
start wiping their faces from long inspired slumber;
mercy has ceased to descend from heaven. The
conspicuous political display of the western world
is that of a realist, whose ontological principles
lies in conservatism, pessimism and in the Darwinian
mantra “survival of the fitness”.
Do it yourselves is the ironic melody played by the
west yet not understandable to our leaders, you have
to clean your house and put your socio-political,
cultural and political structures in order. Doing
that would cease the progression and trim down the
strength of immigration, positively could weigh down
the brain drain issue and bring back home experts
from the world of so-called whitemen.
Bakare A. Najimdeen, a research associate faculty of
Social Science, dept. Politics and International
Relations. IIU Islamabad.
(olaaayo@gmail.com)
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