Imagine Africa: Home Hope Harmony

By Lazarus Takawira

Imagine Africa, is a book written from the heart of a young African man who desires to see a better Africa. The book highlights some of the current social and political issues that shape the present day Africa and how it affects the future of the continent. To the outsider, Imagine Africa aims to give a fresh perspective and image of Africa and to the African person this book intends to trigger something fresh in the mind to begin dreaming and imagining a better Africa and not just dreaming but working towards it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Sep 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781483456508

Book preview

IMAGINE

AFRICA

LAZARUS TAKAWIRA

Copyright © 2016 Lazarus T. Takawira.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-5651-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-5650-8 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 08/25/2016

CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

1 Headlines

2 Yesteryear

3 Ceasefire

4 One Village

5 She’s a Jewel

6 A Colonised Mindset

7 Leaders and ‘leaders’

8 Poor ‘millionaires’

9 School bell

10 African Diaspora

11 ‘Frenemies’

12 Hammer and Nails

Acknowledgements

Bibliography

About the Author

FOREWORD

It was a beautiful Wednesday evening sometime in 2010. I was in my second year of University in Malaysia pursuing my undergraduate degree with Oxford Brookes University. That evening I decided to attend a Christian fellowship meeting at my campus. I met a young gentleman who was very enthusiastic and active. He was full of life and had a big smile on his face. He seemed to have influence over many students in the room. I later spoke to him and from the conversation we had that evening, I could tell that, this man is one day going to change the world for better. That man was Lazarus!

Lazarus and I developed a very strong bond of friendship over the next course of years in University. We worked together in both minor and major projects at University level and outside. Lazarus is an enthusiast in what he does, very passionate, energetic and meticulous.

I remember in July 2012, we organized a Christian fellowship camp at the chilly highlands of Genting, Malaysia. The organizing team was led by Lazarus who was also the vision bearer. Working with Lazarus was one experience I will never forget. His charisma as a leader is one any leadership enthusiast would admire. In all his amazing leadership lifestyle, one character that really stood up for me was Lazarus’ ability to maintain his peace and composure when put under immense pressure, to an extent where everyone around him will feel the peace and tranquillity in the atmosphere. Organizing an event that requires a lot of planning, coordinating and executing, is not an easy task. I am speaking this from many experiences of organizing and planning big events. There is a lot of pressure and responsibilities that come with being the vision bearer. One of which is the ability to influence others successfully to grasp your vision, fully understand and carry it out. Lazarus handled this with uttermost sophistication and skill. He understood people and could easily relate with anyone from all walks of life, with love and respect.

In 2014 I embarked on a journey of writing a book. The book was to inspire young people from all walks of life to work and live with others diplomatically. This means working tactfully and skilfully uplifting love and respect as the most important values. My vision is to revolutionize how young people think and behave. The book was launched in December 2015 and touched thousands of lives. When I shared about this journey with Lazarus, he was astounded.

I can vividly recall a Skype call I had with Lazarus on November 2015 at around 2300hours (Malaysian Time). Lazarus was in the UK and I was in Malaysia. We had a very long constructive conversation of which I told him about the progress of my book, the launch and post-launch activities. He was very inspired and moved. I also shared with him the challenges and the struggles that I was facing at the time in the journey of writing. In the midst of my distress and discouragement, Lazarus said ‘Jon, the challenges and difficulties you are going through are real, and so is our God’. That statement was very simple yet extremely profound. It transformed my life completely, gave me the energy to carry on and propelled me to greatness as put my trust in God alone. Then in that very moment, Lazarus also shared with me the desire that had been burning in his heart to put together into a book and express the burden he had for the African continent and its people. I simply told him ‘Go for it, man’, to encourage him to pursue the writing.

A few months later, this desire has come to a complete manifestation. Now, you have the privilege of reading an amazing, life changing and mind transforming book about the beautiful continent of Africa. Imagine that. Then Imagine Africa!

I had the privilege of going through the manuscript in advance. I must say, I was thrilled by the depth of the content and its uncompromised educational value about the African continent. I unravelled mysteries about the continent that I never knew before. Truly, there are some things one cannot fathom when talking about the rich beautiful history of the African continent. As I was reading the manuscript, I could feel and relate to Lazarus’ long time burden for positive transformation. I was moved by emotions and the love for my continent so much so that I started to imagine a Mama Africa without civil wars, terror, famine, hunger, poverty, greediness, corruption and other images that are often associated with Africa. It’s high time for Africans to wake up and make this change. I am reminded by the words of the President Barack Obama of the United States of America in one of his addresses to Africans where he clearly indicated that ‘Only Africans can change Africa’. That means we cannot wait for Asians, Europeans or Americans to bring us the change we want to see. Hence young people must take initiatives to build now what we want our children to enjoy in the future. Imagine that Africa!

This book is very essential and beneficial to every African, be it young or old, everyone who desires and aspires to see positive change in the beautiful Mama Africa. We must love ourselves, we must love our neighbours, we must love our continent. Imagine Africa without hatred. Imagine Africa with love. In his book Long Walk to Freedom, the former President of the Republic of South Africa, Nelson Mandela said ‘No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite’. The words are truly self-explanatory. Imagine Africa where every young person is taught to love their neighbours as they love and value themselves. Imagine Africa where all the political, business and religious leaders are selfless and good stewards. Imagine Africa.

I hope after reading this book you will be able to imagine the beautiful Africa that Lazarus has successfully painted with colourful crayons. This book will not only transform the way you see Africa but also challenge you to take steps into restoring the dignity, integrity and image that Mama Africa has lost. I challenge you, as you read this book, try to imagine the beautiful Africa and not the hopeless images painted in the mainstream media.

Enjoy reading. IMAGINE AFRICA!

Jonathan Ndali

Speaker, Trainer & Author of The Diplomat In You

PREFACE

Hello! Africa has moved from the bushes and yes Africa now has roads, lights and houses. About a year ago I sat on the couch with my heart heavily burdened and my mind overwhelmed with all things Africa. No one was there to listen to my heart or the battle that took place in my mind. For years I carried the desire to put my thoughts and heart on paper but the bell for me to start writing never rang until that day. That day I witnessed Africa getting torn apart by the media and it was not a debate. Coupled with the countless encounters of ignorance I had