Brain drain cause of Africa’s underdevelopment – Bawumia

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has attributed Africa’s underdevelopment to the massive brain drain it suffered in the post-colonial era.

Citing several economic researches, he said the single most important resource that every country needs in order to develop is not its natural resources but rather, its human resource.

According to him, it was, therefore, no surprise Africa is still underdeveloped whereas the countries where its human capital were taken to are now developed.

Dr. Bawumia made this known Monday, February 19, at a durbar and wreath laying ceremony to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Duty Boys held at the W. E. B. Du Bois Centre, Cantonment in Accra.

The Vice President commended the short but influential work of Du Bois in Ghana and assured that the Akufo-Addo administration will uphold his believes and work very hard to retain the country’s human capital in order to move Ghana beyond aid.

“In fact, W.E.B Du Bios was a man who was way-way-way ahead of his time. The decision to come to Africa, Ghana at the age of 93…was a recognition of the clear believe he had and which is very right that the emancipation of Africa was very linked to the re-connection of the African diaspora with the African continent,” said Dr. Bawumia.

In his remarks, the United States ambassador to Ghana, Robert P. Jackson, stated that the world stands on the shoulders of giants such as Du Bios. To that end, Mr. Du Bois’ contribution to the development of Ghana and Africa cannot be over emphasized, he said. He added that the legacy of W. E. B. Du Bois will live on over several generations.

A great grandson of Du Bois, Arthur McFarlane ll, on his part said the advice his great grandfather left him was that he should “do something with his life that the world needs to have done that he enjoys doing.” He charged the gathering to follow after the advice that has kept him going in his life.

Delivering the keynote address, Professor Harace Campbell, Kwame Nkrumah Chair of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, said the life of Du Bois must act as a reminder to the rest of Africa in the era of “black life still matter.”

He observed that the late Du Bois was a peace worker and a Human Rights activist who fought against War in the world. “Today, those virtues are still relevant and they must guide the leadership of Africa if the continent is to be transformed from its current state of challenge,” he said.

He slammed the rhetoric of the United States President, Donald Trump’s ‘America First’, calling it a coded language that have elements of racism hidden in it. He called on the Black World to reject Mr. Trump’s campaign and stand up for the protection of blacks everywhere in the world.

The Man W.E.B. Du Bois

W.E.B. Du Bois was one of the most important African-American activists during the first half of the 20th century. He co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (N.A.A.C.P), supported Pan-Africanism and wrote ‘The Souls of Black Folk.’

Scholar and activist W.E.B. Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. In 1895, he became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Du Bois wrote extensively and was the best known spokesperson for African-American rights during the first half of the 20th century. He co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (N.A.A.C.P.) in 1909. He died in Ghana in 1963.