AFRICA, ARISE (The Manifesto of the Awakened Mind)

Africa,

our greatest poverty is not land or gold or power, it’s the apathy of desire.

We have learned to settle,

to make peace with the average,

to go where the flow may go.

We tire too soon,

and call it fate.

But the world was not always developed,

it was curiosity, not comfort,

that carried men beyond their limits.

Someone dared to ask “what if,”

and the earth unfolded its secrets.

If you press long enough,

the universe yields.

Nature bows to resolute pressure,

to minds that refuse to rust in routine.

It is not the lack of talent that cripples us,

but the laziness of thought,

the fear of the unknown,

the habit of imitation.

All the force of this earth

first sparks in the mind.

Curiosity births Interest,

Interest births Observation,

Observation births Experimentation 

and from their union

come uncommon innovations.

Africans, arise!

Awaken your hidden genius!

GOD has planted infinite resources

not only beneath our soil,

but also within our souls.

Look within,

to that invisible realm

where possibilities are born,

The world is waiting 

not for our whisper,

but for our resounding voice.

So rise for impact.

Break free from the bandwagon crowds

that run downhill to convenience,

For within us all lies

a continent yet to be discovered.

Be the one who climbs,

who digs, who builds, who dreams,

Let unique creativity prevail,

Let the mind of Africa blaze again,

not in borrowed light,

but in the brilliance of her own becoming.