In the past, a lot has either been written or discussed why Africa is a back bencher amongst other continents of the world despite its glaring potentials. Infact in the most recent time it  has been described as mare consuming entity and offering nothing positive to the world despite its potentials. Agreeably African is endowed by its unique geographic location, topography , fixtures , moderate conducive climates and different manners of resources- natural , manpower and evenly distributed population. Factually is the only continent that has both equator and  meridian passing through it. Therefore placing it uniquely within the center of the globe. By extension also, Africa is in the center of  milky- way galaxy.

Throughout history, Africa unique spatial location , resources, uniform moderate climate have impacted its historical experiences, developments, contributions and dynamic relationship with other continents. Its global proximities and accessibility, hospitality, moderate uniform climate and resources accounted for its enviable initial cross regional  visitations , partnership and participation in global trade, education, technology, religion,  and migration. Over the centuries, due to these attributes, it was exposed to the mechanism of conflicting interest of an unfair world  who were jobbing  to  control, exploit and manage it’s resources.

First , was the Arab migrant traders through the trans-Saharan  route, then the European explorers, who were allowed to navigate African water ways and landscapes without restrictions or limitation. Armed with the findings and mappings of the  explorers , comes the inhuman traffickers that ushered in slavery. Which lasted over 400years, supplying needed manpower for the plantations.

 African unique hospitality , central geographic location exposes its ancestors to diverse multi-cultural and multi- religious dispositions that later harmed or compromised its existence or development.

The  emergence of industrial revolution became an impasse to slave trade and slavery for there was increasingly less demand for slaves. This created a window for social- political conveniences and enabled slave abolition activist to step up agitation for its abolition. The  industrial age ushered in greater need for  more natural resources for the expanding industries that led to quest for colonization of Africa and also infiltration of Arab influences geared toward  easy exploitation, exportation and administration of resources and labor.

For administrative conveniences, several treaties were signed amongst the colonial occupants without ancestral African participation to delineate Africa into various components. To achieve this, the adopted  principle  of divide and rule. Through this principle , various and varied  traditional, multi-cultural and multi-religious communities that were living separately in peace, tranquility with high sustainable growth and abundant resources, that attracted the explorers up to  the colonizers were coerced into complex fragments  that started to generate discord.  A previously  homogenous entity was fragmented into mixtures of minorities and majorities. This is the origin of the ordeal of present day mother  Africa. Africa in twinkle of an eye, turned from a land of hope, peace, tranquility,  sustainable growth and abundant resources  to land of pessimist, crisis, wars, waste and unending corruption.

This is the bottom line , that possess the question, “Is Africa a Black or Dark continent ?”.

However, to get answer to this question , I have considered  dictionary meaning of Black which is defined as an entity attracting or absorbing light energy and remitting little, while on the other hand, Dark is defined as a lightlessness entity and that emits nothing. The Ancestral Africa, having had an unimaginable abundant resources ,  peace , attracted  and absorbed global explorer, migrants, traders, scholars, administrators and had  little need to seek ,explore or conquer other region for the purposes of exploitation. Considering this natural analogy , Africa will bounce back to its God ordained position-A Black continent not a dark continent because, dark connotes; lightlessness, visionless and nothingness.

Having laid out in brief these undeserved predicaments that were visited on mother Africa , the next step is to  suggest possible  solutions. How- be- it,  the in-human slave trade and slavery; colonization and illegal exploitation have since ended. Africans and other descendants in Diaspora  should forget and forgive and move forward. By so doing , they must reflect on  their shared history, that made their ancestors great; the cradle of civilization. These attributes I believe were hard work, excellence,  sincerity, love of humanity, hospitality and peaceful co-existence amongst the various  multi-cultural and religious environments that led to sustainable human development and growth.

To achieve this peaceful co-existence for sustainable growth like the ancestors, without any majority or minority dominance , but near homogenous entities, the geo-political delineations of modern day African countries have to be re-appraised. However, political un-feasibility this may sound,  the fact remains that, the present status quo  has failed and was conceived without ancestral participation for the administrative conveniences and exploitation of colonization, which has enabled neo-colonization to this date. And had encourage  perpetual wars, un-patriotism, corruption, poverty, forced migration, neo-slavery, low human development index, increasingly declining GDP and un-attainability of millennium development goals. Now African can be said to offer nothing to the outside world and also attract or absorbs nothing into it - A Dark Continent.

For Africa to  truly attain it’s prospect in near future and limit its negative burden impacted to other regions of the world especially the western nation in areas of Grants, Aids, Security, Migration, Crime, Poverty, Diseases, Wars, Crisis prevention and eradication. A multilateral,  multi-sect oral and multi-phases approach have to be adopted to reverse this malicious geo-political  delineation.

Africa and Africans have always been a serious concern to successive governments of the western and civilized world, with its hydra headed social-political problems. A quick scroll of these troubled spots include: Sudan, Zimbabwe, Congo Kinshasa, Kenya, Algeria, Morocco and the Gulf of Guinea- which covers in  parts- Nigeria , Cameroun and Equatorial guinea. With the increasing restiveness of Niger-deltans  and the non-violent MASSOB movements that  engulfed  these territories seeking for their self determination to actualize Niger-delta and Biafra Republics out of Nigeria , Ambazonia Republic from Cameroun and Bioko islanders of  Equatorial Guinea .

Understanding the importance and strategic nature of this region with its huge oil, reservoir, ocean route and population ,  allowing it to degenerate into failed states will undermine its importance and upset global oil distribution and crude oil price equilibrium. Presently, despite huge oil revenue accrued by these countries in Gulf of Guinea ,their human development index continue to be low, infant mortality rate high, unemployment above 60%, corruption, high crime rate, kidnappings, poverty, diseases, low life expectancy , human right abuses and lack of democratic culture leading to more hostilities.

Judging by enormous resources deposition in these region, if harnessed effectively, it will automatically seize hostilities  and enable sustainable growth and development that will not only carter for the immediate people  of that region but will begin to attract other Africans who ordinarily will be seeking greener pasture in developed countries oversees and also genuine foreign investors that will enjoy the peace  and tranquility of that region at no risk to their investments.

Therefore, to permanently address these problems, the international communities, united nation, Africa union , should as a matter of urgency set up a mechanism that will usher in peace, justice and true democratic principle in that region. Thus ensuring that legitimate groups seeking for self determination in the gulf of Guinea, Sudan and else where are recognized and dialogue initiated to avoid continued violent and social economic degradation.

In doing this, fragile peace, violence will give way for permanent peace  and renewed prospects. Thus ensuring that these region follow other viable countries of the world to attain the millennium development goals by 2015.