Africa is the cradle of world civilization 🌍
2025
When we speak of Africa, let us never speak of a continent as though it were a mere geographical expression. Africa is not just a landmass; Africa is the cradle of humanity, the birthplace of civilization, the womb from which knowledge and culture emerged long before Europe knew the light of philosophy. Today, I stand before you to remind us that Africa is not a child of yesterday. Long before there was a Rome, there was Kush. Long before there was a London, there was Timbuktu. Long before there was Harvard, there was Alexandria. Long before the world spoke of democracy, our ancestors gathered under the baobab tree, in the palaver huts, where consensus was sought, not through conquest, but through dialogue. This is the Africa that the world must remember! But alas, through the fog of history, Africa was diminished. The colonial cartographer took his pen and distorted Africa’s true size. They made Europe appear larger than it is, while the African continent — 30 million square kilometres, larger than the United States, China, India, and much of Europe combined — was reduced to a fraction. They shrunk our map so that they could shrink our minds. They colonized our imagination so that we would believe we are small when in truth we are mighty. Civilization itself owes a debt to Africa. From the pyramids of Kemet, that still defy time, to the libraries of Mali that once housed the wisdom of the world, to the intricate systems of governance in Ashanti, Yoruba, Zulu, and Buganda — Africa was not waiting for Europe. Africa was marching to its own drumbeat. And yet, history was written by those who enslaved us, so they called our achievements “primitive,” our wisdom “myth,” our kingdoms “tribes.” They distorted our past so that they could dictate our future. But hear me clearly: we are living in a new dawn. The sons and daughters of Africa must rise to reclaim our narrative. We must teach our children that to be African is not to be cursed, but to be blessed with the inheritance of the Nile, the Congo, the Sahara, the Great Rift Valley. We must remind the world that Africa feeds them with cocoa, with coffee, with cobalt, with coltan, with gold, with diamonds — yet the hand that feeds is portrayed as the hand that begs. This contradiction must end! Let us not merely lament the past; let us invoke its lessons. The empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai remind us that Africa prospered when it was united by purpose and vision. The tragedy of the Berlin Conference reminds us of the perils of disunity. If we are to claim our rightful place in the world, we must think beyond artificial borders drawn with a ruler in 1884. We must think as Africans, not as Kenyans, Nigerians, Ghanaians, or South Africans, but as Africans united by destiny. Our history teaches us we are great. Our civilization teaches us we are resilient. The true size of Africa tells us we are vast beyond measure. But our future demands that we be bold — bold in reclaiming our resources, bold in telling our stories, bold in building the Africa that will not only feed itself but feed the world. As Kwame Nkrumah reminded us, “Africa must unite.” As Patrice Lumumba proclaimed, “We are going to show the world what the black man can do when he works in freedom.” And today, in this generation, we must prove them right. Let us rise, therefore, from Cape to Cairo, from Lagos to Nairobi, from Accra to Addis Ababa, to declare: **Africa is not a problem to be solved. Africa is a powerhouse to be unleashed. Long live Africa. Long live the African spirit. Long live the dream of African renaissance! PLO LUMUMBA 🦸🏽‍♀️⚖️