During a recent Oval meeting, the President of America grew frustrated with lawmakers. It was due to the discussion revolving around protecting immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador, and Africa countries as part of a bipartisan immigration deal. As a result, the President aired out remarks that have since generated global attention. Furthermore, he singled out Haiti insisting that they were not supposed to be part of any deal. In November 2017, Trumps administration rescinded deportation protection to a majority of Haitians after the 2010 earthquake requiring them to leave America by 2019(Ioanide 2015). Lawmakers were taken back by the comments since some of them came up with compelling proposals on how to tackle the immigration problem.
From the onset of the American election year, Trump repeatedly insisted on the need of making America great again. It was to materialize through the protection and upholding of the interests of American citizens before other nationalities. Additionally, the strict stances surrounding his candidacy and presidency highlighted the seriousness of the issue. However, the latest comments by Trump attracted global scrutiny on their reference to his long-standing tendencies to make racially charged remarks, or whether it was, in fact, a reality. With regards to the statements, what is evident is the condemnation they attracted from various sectors of the society. The African Union, Democrats, a section of Republicans, the United Nations, and other leaders were quick to criticize and castigate the President. It is due to his frequent racial profiling statements thereby leading to a similar judgment and people regarding it as a norm.
Nonetheless, there is a twist on the whole scenario when viewed from a different perspective. Not looking at the remarks in a racist angle, could they be serving as a wakeup call on the leadership of the mentioned regions to put more effort in enhancing development? Additionally, could they be signifying the beginning of a new dawn where the people of the stated areas need to embrace a different approach with regards to their welfare? It is to enable the improvement and betterment of their well-being so that they earn respect from other nations. For an extended period, the rest of the world views and treats Africa and other third world countries in a somewhat demeaning way. The picture portrayed is that of a starving and problem-stricken continent and society where citizens languish in poverty, wars are a constant phenomenon, and there are numerous social, political and economic challenges. Additionally, the citizens are always in need and require assistance to alleviate their well-being. With all those issues in place, Trumps remarks are an actual representation of the reality and people should realize that. If the comments were offensive, then the immigrants would return to their native countries and aid in the realization of the development agenda.
The word shithole though harsh, is a true demonstration of the realism. Many of the third world states despite being freed from colonialism and oppression, they still grapple with challenges that make them lag behind. Ironically, the main contributing factor to the problems is the poor leadership present in the nations. Majority of the leaders of the States lack the servant attribute and peoples interest at heart. It is to drive them in coming up with policies and strategies that would uplift the welfare of their residents in addition to safeguarding them.
Speaking about that, it is quite unfortunate that in the 21st Century and with all the progress in the world, there is a group of people who still live in a dehumanizing way(Anugwom 2002). They lack necessities such as food, clothes, and shelter crucial for human survival. The level of illiteracy is also very high as there is no access to quality education. Resource distribution is unfair and biased since it benefits only a small group of the populace while sidelining the majority resulting in perennial conflicts.
Analysis of the particular occurrences and scenarios regarding African countries would underscore why the shithole' comment is justifiable and it was not from a racist point of view. In Africa, a majority of the nations contend with similar problems which with goodwill and integrated effort become easy to confront. However, the governments in place seem not interested in shaping better societies. They continuously make sure that the cycle of poverty and illiteracy prevails so that they can easily manipulate the people to their advantage. An evident illustration is the lack of support for child literacy programs by the government that draws to attention the education crisis.
A clear glimpse of the education predicament in Africa is evident in the Bodinga town, in the Northern state of Nigeria. A drop into one of the primary schools would reveal the deteriorating education situation. Pupils are crowded in classrooms making the learning environment below standards. Moreover, teachers are consistently absent, and textbooks are unavailable to facilitate a smooth learning process. A recent survey conducted found that 80% of pupils in grade three cannot read a word(Anugwom 2002). It is despite three years in school with no visible impact. Mind you; the kids are a lucky lot since a majority of their counterparts are out of school, and also only a small number have the rare opportunity of making it to secondary school. The scenario mirrors the broader crisis in Africa's education. After initiating the universal primary education project in Nigeria, it later on stalled in the year 2000. School drop-out numbers are on the rise and the gap in education between Africa, and the rest of the world is widening.
The gap is not about school enrollment but instead learning with the aim of equipping the kids with skills useful for economic development. Across the world, economic growth gets majorly anchored on the foundation of learning achievement, and many African children are not learning. Research conducted by the Center for Universal Education estimates that 61 million children of primary education would reach their adolescent unable to read(Anugwom 2002). A more shocking finding is that over half the number of children in school would have spent four years in a learning facility. Nonetheless, the situation does not make media headlines. Children do not go hungry willingly but rather due to the circumstances in place. With the crisis, a high-cost result. It consigns an entire generation of children and youth to unemployment, poverty, and insecurity. The state of affairs starves enterprises the required skills that form the backbone of a firms innovation and success. It undermines prospects for sustained economic development.
In another context, South Africa is facing a comparable challenge, and the situation is not clear due to wrong statistics. UNESCO lists South Africa literacy rate at 93%(Spaull 2013). Nonetheless, beyond the mechanical ability to identify words, the bigger picture is depressing. A survey conducted by the University of Pretoria unearthed that eight out of ten pupils still cannot read at the required level(Spaull 2013). The situation creates a need for concern as early education programs form a foundation for future academic progress. The inequality levels in South Africa exacerbate the crisis. The value of literacy is crucial as it extends beyond a school setting and should equip learners with the required skills necessary for societal engagement and participation. High poverty rates in states such as Niger, Mali, and Chad are the main cause ofearly child marriage as young girls become wives before completing their studies.
Furthermore, the weakness of the schooling system further complicates the already dire situation. Teaching is at the core of the learning crisis. If you want to visualize why many kids are illiterate, then contemplate their tutors level of competence. Studies in countries such as Uganda, Lesotho, and Mozambique reveal that more than half of their teachers are unable to score in tests designed for twelve-year-old kids(Spaull 2013). What is more, there is an epidemic level of teacher absenteeism. Public spending often reinforces the circumstances with the most successful regions and performing learning institutions acquiring the largest share of the budget. An example is Kenyas arid and semi-arid Northern counties which are home to about 21% of out-of-school children, and 9% of the countrys children(Sifuna 2007). Despite the large number, the counties receive half as much public spending as those from wealthier commercial farming areas.
The integrated effort of restricted access to learning and low education achievement should be an issue of concern for African nations. Economic growth in the past decade mainly got anchored on the export of unprocessed commodities. Sustained growth would thus require entry to the value addition chain and international trade which would need a boost from quality education. Speaking from a factual viewpoint, economic progress in Africa cannot realize on a failing education system hence limiting the ability to create the required jobs(Geo-JaJa and Mangum 2003). Governments, therefore, need to take the matter with the seriousness it deserves together with other stakeholders to fix the present gap and disarray.
The other issue validating the shithole remark is the greed portrayed by African leaders who manipulate laws so that they remain in power creating a governance crisis. As each day passes on, democracy in Africa continues to dwindle exposing the citizens to human right abuses and atrocities. A good example is a previous election in Zimbabwe where even after casting the ballot, results remain unknown. The situation fundamentally manifests the persistence and intractable problem of leadership succession crisis in Africa. The disarray has been in place from the advent of independence at the start of the 1960s(Obadare and Adebanwi 2016). Soon after the attainment of freedom, the process began manifesting whereby political parties in Africa became territories of their officials. The broader masses whose enthusiasm was high during the struggle for independence found themselves held by their officials. Due to the absence of internal democracy and regulatory framework, the parties evolved to become political instruments for their leaders.
Constitutional provisions that set limits for a presidential term are blatantly ignored and subverted to enable leaders prolong their stay in power and indefinitely retain authority. The avenues for democracy got derailed by the emerging civilian autocracy and military dictatorship that rose to power through coups(Obadare and Adebanwi 2016). Political instability became the order of the day and common practice. One of the greatest obstacle that resulted is the removal of the dictators who significantly impacted socio-economic progress in the continent. In Zimbabwe that forms a perfect illustration of the scenario, Robert Mugabe held power for over 28 years suppressing any form of resistance till his current fall. He considerably mismanaged the economy leaving millions of citizens below the poverty line. Ironically, in Mugabe's iron fist regime, he managed to amass a considerable amount of wealth from the poor taxpayers. He led a lavish life in total disregard of the citizens who continued suffering and getting oppressed under his rule.
As African leaders continue concentrating on clinging to power, other regions around the world were making tremendous strides. It is with regards to the economic sector with an objective of eradicating poverty and uplifting the living conditions of their citizens. Introduction of multiparty democracy seemed to be a solution for the...
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