Professor Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, has called on Africans to rise to the occasion by harnessing their multiple talents in order to emancipate the continent from the socio-economic and political difficulties being faced by the continent.
The former Director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission and current Director of The Kenya School of Law, said this on Friday while delivering the 30th Anniversary Commemorative Lecture, titled: “Whither Education in Africa,” at the Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka.
“Talking about education in Africa, one must go down in his history back to when Africa was not invaded by men of the outside world.
“They used their education to divide us Africans making us tools in their hands. Because of education, we Africans misunderstand God.
“But if we continue to worry about Africa, we will continue to make mistakes of giving up.
“We must remember the efforts of our past heroes who fought for the independence of Nigeria to liberate us from the slavery of the colonial masters and change the continent of Africa through education.
“And we should not forget the sacrifices and voices of our past heroes who used their education to fight for the independence of some countries in Africa.
“Africa, we should learn to consume what we cultivate than depending on consuming importation foods.
“It’s right time we Africans relied on African talents to solve some of the problems we have here in Africa,” he said.
Lumumba encouraged Africans to be proud of what they do by shunning low esteem. He added that Africans need to wake up and put in more efforts towards developing the continent for the greater good of the present and future generations to come. He also praised DELSU for all their notable contributions over the years.
“As Africans, we should put off low esteem and be proud of the things that we do in Africa.
“We should be proud of the talents we have produced in Delta State University, Abraka and use them in solving some of our problems in Abraka, Delta State, and Nigeria at large.
“As we celebrate DELSU’s 30 years of existence and some of the notable achievements of the university over the past years, it’s time we re-energise and put on more efforts to contribute our quota to the development of Africa.”