Why Africa needs these ‘firsts’ too
Nearly two weeks ago, Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge has become the first athlete to run a marathon in less than two hours. The Olympic champion and world record brought it home in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds in a special race in Vienna.
We thought of many things in which we desperately need a Kenyan or African first. Here are eight of them:
AFRICAN COUNTRY THAT’S THE LEAST CORRUPT IN THE WORLD: Though countries like Seychelles, Botswana, and Rwanda have relatively low corruption levels, according to Transparency International’s last Corruption Perceptions Index, Africa is still bedeviled by graft. The index reported that the 10 most corrupt countries are all in Africa.
Kenya is estimated to lose between Sh800 billion ($8 billion) and Sh1 trillion to corruption every year.
Africa loses $148 billion (about 25 per cent of its average GDP) a year through various corrupt activities. We desperately need an African country that will be the first to be the least corrupt in the world.
NAIROBI SAYS GOODBYE TO WASTE WATER VEGETABLES: As residents in Nairobi, we want to be the first city residents in over three generations to have clean water flowing in Nairobi River.
A recent expose in the Daily Nation left one with the feeling Nairobi River is one of the most polluted in the world.
It quoted Water and Sanitation Cabinet Secretary Mr. Simon Chelugui saying a mind-boggling 4,404 pollutants have been found in the river.
The filth of Nairobi River was flagged as early 1918, and has only got worse, prompting the Daily Nation to say in its report that; “More than 100 years later, Nairobi residents are still eating vegetables grown with sewage water”.
THE FIRST CONTINENT TO END “LIFE PRESIDENCY”: Of the world’s longest ruling non-royal leaders who have clocked 20 years, nine of the top 20 are from Africa.
Needless to say we top the list with Paul Biya, the venerable big man of Cameroon, clocking 44 years and 116 days as you read this.
In the last 14 years, 15 leaders have successfully scrapped term limits made themselves presidents for life, the most in any continent. Africa desperately needs to be the first continent to end these until-death-do-part-me-from-the-throne presidencies.
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND: The infant mortality rate in sub-Saharan Africa declined 57 per cent from 1990 to 2018, from 182 deaths per 1,000 to 78 per 1,000, meaning one African child in 13 died in 2018 before they turned five. In 1990, almost one in five were dying. Progress, yes, but still not good enough.
In Europe and North America the figure in 1990 was 14 per 1,000 and six per 1,000 in 2018. We should be the peoples who recorded the sharpest drop in infant mortality in human civilisation, and catch up with Europe and North America by 2025.
STOPPING TRAFFIC ACCIDENT DEATH IN ITS TRACKS: Death rates from traffic accidents are higher in Africa than anywhere else
The continent records 26.6 annual traffic deaths for every 100,000 citizens, compared with 9.3 in Europe, where the death rate is the lowest. The World Health Organisation, for example, noted that the risk of being killed in a traffic crash in Tanzania proportionate to the number of vehicles on the road is 20-30 times higher than in the USA and many countries in Western Europe. Praying that Africa becomes the first continent not to need a road safety campaign.
THAT EVERYONE WILL BE IN THEIR HOME: As at the start of 2019, globally the number of people fleeing their homes because of conflict, persecution or other threat exceeded 70 million in 2018 – the highest level in almost 70 years.
Seven of the 10 nations listed as the major source nations of refugees, or those who are displaced, are on the African continent. South Sudan and Somalia are among the top five, along with Syria, Afghanistan and Myanmar. The others are Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Eritrea and Burundi. Africa should aim to be the first developing world region to shut all refugee and IDP camps, and send everyone home to the safety of their homes.
GET ALL THE KIDS IN CLASS: Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of education exclusion of all regions in the world. Over one-fifth of children between the ages of about 6 and 11 are out of school.
