2010 World Cup-Come to Africa & have some delicious authentic Cheeseburgers & Budweiser as you watch the world game- Huh? Many Africans & the world at large should be puzzled by that idea but according to a recent article from the Daily Beast, colonization & its fruits & treats still reigns in Africa even though 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of Independence from colonization for 17 African Nations. The much hyped world cup that was to put a new face to Africa in its new decade beauty & glory seems to be showing the same face with just heavier make-up. Until we hold our leaders accountable for ill conceived business deals on behalf of Africans/African nations which most often have no benefit to everyday Africans, the idea of being independent sovereign nations means nothing.

“Africans and African businesses haven’t felt welcome at the 2010 World Cup.Much of the immediate profits from what will be Africa’s largest-ever sporting event will go to the world’s largest multinational companies and the international soccer association, FIFA, rather than to the world’s poorest continent. FIFA alone is due to take in more than $3 billion, up from the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Sponsors, almost all of them Western corporations, expect billions of dollars more…When you look at the companies getting the most exposure, the bulk of them, many of them, are multinational companies that don’t work in Africa. “ Read More here

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah with his Pan-Africanist ideology was the catalyst in bringing the wind of change which opened the flood gates of independence for many African nations after he declared the black star nation of Ghana independent in 1957.

“It is said, of course that we have no capital, no industrial skill, no communications, no internal markets, and that we cannot even agree among ourselves how best to utilize our resources for our own social needs. Yet all the stock exchanges in the world are pre-occupied with Africa’s gold, diamonds, uranium, platinum, copper and iron ores. Our CAPITAL flows out in streams to irrigate the whole system of Western economy. Fifty-two per cent of the gold in Fort Knox at this moment, where the USA stores its bullion, is believed to have originated from OUR shores. Africa provides more than 60 per cent of the world’s gold. A great deal of the uranium for nuclear power, of copper for electronics, of titanium for supersonic projectiles, of iron and steel for heavy industries, of other minerals and raw materials for lighter industries – the basic economic might of the foreign Powers – comes from OUR continent.
Experts have estimated that the Congo Basin alone can produce enough food crops to satisfy the requirements of nearly HALF the population of the whole world and here we sit talking about regionalism, talking about gradualism, talking about step by step. Are you afraid to tackle the bull by the horn?”

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah -Address to the Conference of African Heads of State and Government, May 24,1963

“Something in the nature of an economic revolution is required. Our development has been held back for too long by the colonial-type economy. We need to reorganize entirely, so that each country can specialize in producing the goods and crops for which it is best suited…..We have the blessing of the wealth of our vast resources, the power of our talents and the potentialities of our people. Let us grasp now the opportunities before us and meet the challenge to our survival.”

Economic independence is by far one of the biggest factors in truly being able to say one is independent & every truly independent & super power nation has proven that. How can we allow a historical moment on African soil to be tainted & bought by the wand & scars of colonization. Would a world cup held in America or Europe ever allow African made goods & companies to shut out American & European made goods & companies in representing their nations/continent on a world stage? I highly doubt that would ever happen even if the African companies had the highest bids for any particular contract. The whole idea of having the World Cup in Africa for the first time in history is not just about a stadium  & a game, but more so about recognizing, showcasing & giving the world a taste of Africa- which means culture, cuisine & most of all African people in their freedom of African self expression.

If South African & other  African leaders had stood up for Africa & Africans just based on the principle of giving Africa & Africans a fair chance on our own soil, we would not be eating cheeseburgers & drinking Budweiser as we root for our favorite African teams in South Africa. This is a travesty that says a lot about the type of leaders we have in Africa & how they continue to sell out their own people for mere coins, tobacco & alcohol as it was done during the slave trade. How does a sovereign & independent nation allow the economic shut out of its people particularly in South Africa with Apartheid less than 2 decades behind us & after signing the BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) Program into law, which was to redress the inequalities of Apartheid by giving previously disadvantaged groups economic opportunities previously not available to them? It also shows the lack of respect for Africa in general from FIFA who has acted as if they were giving Africa a gift by even allowing the World Cup in Africa & the disingenuous talk by FIFA saying:

“We aim to leave a legacy in Africa for Africa that will last long after the final whistle of the 2010 FIFA World Cup blows,” Read more here.

I guess the legacy that will be left is- Dear Africa even though you may see yourself as Independent, you are still under the colonial thumb of the Euro & the $, so shut up & be happy for the scraps you are given because at the end of the day the former colonizers still run things!

“Africa must wake up the sleeping sons of Jacob. For what tomorrow may bring may a better day come. Yesterday we were kings can you tell me young ones. Who are we today? ”