All glory to God almighty for my emergence as the 1st prize winner of the just concluded 2015 Essay Competition organized by Campus Life-The Nation Newspaper and powered by Network For A Free Society.
Writing the essay was really an eye-opener for me, because I was spurred to further research on ‘How Government Regulations and Controls are Threatening Jobs in Africa’. Trust me, this topic would certainly not have come at a better time. When we look around Africa today, the negative repercussions of government regulations and controls are obvious, and its effects are increasingly giving birth to poverty in our land. This is evident in the case of Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Kenya and many other African countries.
It was indeed a great odyssey to have been selected to attend Liberty and Entrepreneurship Camp this year, at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, Bondo, Kenya from August 12 - 16, 2015 with the theme: Fundamentals of a Free Prosperous Africa. Apparently, the objective of the Liberty and Entrepreneurship Camp is to train and inspire talented young people to become successful entrepreneurs/managers that will effectively advance the vision of a genuinely free Africa. Thanks to Language of Liberty Institute and African Liberty Organisation for Development for putting this great programme together.
The camp gave resourceful insight on salient topics like: ‘Myths about Africa’s socio-political and economic history’; Why freedom, principles of free markets economics; The call of the entrepreneurs; History of classical liberty; Origin of rights and proper role of government; Sustainable agriculture development through private initiative; The power of the market forces in economic and growth in Africa; Startups – From where, to where; Africa rising for whom. We were also taken through various video discussions to complement the aforementioned topics. Big ups to our wonderful facilitators for availing us the opportunity to tap from their wealth of experiences: Glenn Cripe, Adedayo Thomas, Andy Eyschen, Walter Akuno, Gilbert Nyandeje, and Sarah Kawala. You all are the best.
One of the camp sessions I will always cherish is the workshop on ‘The Adventure of Jonathan Gullible’. The session which lasted for three days, effectively explained Africa’s present situation through a short play. The participants were divided into four groups and were asked to study the play script, and the summary of our understanding was presented at the end of the programme. This inarguably fostered intellectual discourse between youths from all African countries represented at the camp. In the cause of listening to deliberations from different perspectives, I personally learnt a lot about Africa. You think you know everything about Africa, without hearing from other Africans? I can bet you don’t.
My account will be incomplete without acknowledging my fellow cheetahs: Belinda Odek, Charles Udoh, Salome Nthenya, Joyce Nawiri, John Mugabi, Oseluese Akhimien, Justin Vasco Allan, and Benjamin Mwendwa amongst others. I will never forget those things my Kenyan friends taught me in Kiswahili language, and likewise the taste of the Kenyan delicacies I was opportune to eat. As the Cheetahs Generation of Africa, you all should remember that it is our mandate to empower ourselves and liberate the continent from the shackles of poverty and underdevelopment. I implore us to continually seek for knowledge as much as we can, to make the cause of liberating Africa an accomplishing voyage. Remember the words of Jimmy Lai “Information is choice and choice is freedom”
Asante kila mtu, na Mungu akubariki (Thank you everyone, and God bless you).
Babajide Oluwase,
Federal University of Technology Akure,
Ondo State, Nigeria.