REGAINING AFRICA'S AGENCY
Make no mistake - Africa will be hard hit by the ravages of a changing climate, which has great potential to further exacerbate existing environmental and social ills. For this reason, we must learn to stand together, to help each other in times of need, to work together to create prosperity in the face of increased adversity, and to adapt.
Yes, it is a gross injustice that we in Africa will be hardest hit by a problem we contributed the least to, and we must fight for climate justice and ensure that those most responsible are held accountable.
However, fellow Africans, we must be wary of playing the blame game. For we and our politicians are often too ready to blame our problems on (Western) others in order to excuse ourselves from our own inaction and failures. As Fayiso Stevens points out, "if Africans spent half as much of their time trying to solve their problems as they did working out who is responsible for them, they wouldn't have any... "
Blaming problems on external agents or forces, regardless of the legitimacy of the blame, can lead to a severe diminishment in perceived agency, and the ability to act to solve one's own problems.
Indeed, a rising a sense of agency across the African continent combatting the discourse of disempowerment will be needed to face this crisis, and so our task, to empower Africa, rings out with an increased sense of urgency in the face of a changing climate.
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