The 3Ps + Prophecy: A perspective on Africa’s Value Chain and Energy Sustainability Agenda.

This piece ahead of accepting the thought of prophecy, explored several other angles. Citizenship, Comradery and Colonialism. For each, there are other non-African examples of institutions who went through but have straightened their ruffled feather. In Africa’s case, there is a good enough connection between Prophecy and Prosperity. You may find it as “Prophesy” or “Prophecy”. One is a noun, the other, a verb.

This piece on Sustainability explores the relationship with value chain optimisation.

The concept of value chain on the continent still offers great opportunities if/when maximized efficiently. There are some early starters, countries such as Ethiopia (Airline) a shame on the ongoing war, Ghana (Cash crops), Rwanda (Peace & Textile), South Africa (Leisure) and others not listed here. Placed side-by-side other continents, you will see a longer list of goods, services, and domineering expertise with complete value chain optimization across several segments.

Another very important submission is this: Africa is not a country. Africa is a continent with 54 countries. Imagine the possibilities!

WHY PROPHECY?

Prophecy is extremely mainstream in Africa. It doesn’t only seep down from religious pulpits, it bleeds from every corner and facet of fashion, technology, industry, and personality. Every rightful person, place or thing has prophesied or participated in a prophecy generating agenda for the black continent.

Worse is the Western, Eastern, Northern, and Southern media. The news echoes similar beats. Doomsday. Disaster. Danger. Delicacy. Doubt. Hope. Fragility

Consider the syn-pandemic years and you may take to providence playing a huge role in Africa’s survival and marginal escape. Impose the earlier and ongoing epidemic stints with Ebola, AIDS, unstoppable Malaria, the fevers (Yellow, Lassa etc.), and you could ponder again if it was genetic adaptability be at play?

This begets the question, what is keeping this continent down and what has prophecy and prophesying got to do with it?

Prophecy is a “prediction of what will happen in the future” and Prophesy is “to say that (a specified thing) will happen in the future.”

Africa has been expecting her future for a long time. For most African country, there is a future her people await. In this future, all things will become right. It is something the whole continent earnestly pray for.

Interestingly, it is and has been fought, sung, drawn, chanted and in few cases seen yet missed when reached to touch and feel. This prophecy isn’t anything grand. It is a prophecy of a simple future that will deliver an acceptable “minimum standard” for her human, citizens, allies, and foes.

THE WHEEL OF SUSTAINABILITY

People: The people of Africa need basic amenities. Clean Water, Affordable Shelter. Security, Trusted Healthcare, Energy, and the overriding need to feel like citizens in the country of their births. In Africa, the orientation of sustainability will take more than the United Nations setting the MDG & SDG goals.

The challenge aren’t the goals.

As a unifying body, the Organisation of Africa Unity have aligned to these goals by explicitly stating in her charter and agreeing to the objective of “to promote international cooperation, having due regard to the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

However, these goals are best explored from the understanding of civic duties and orientation. To imagine that it can be achieved via a top-down approach may be too far-fetched. For the lack of a better work, too western-ly.

In Africa, the “Top” is abysmally far from the “Down”. Every down is its’ own top and, in few cases, every down considers itself the top.

Achieving the people agenda in Africa is no longer a leadership-only action. It should be considered as a civic duty that everyone, even non-Africans, must embrace. Rightly so, it must stem from Africans, borne through the people and excused from its’ prophesied curse of leadership.

Her people must define, agree, and execute the requirement of citizenship. It will not be a walk in the park and contrary to all the prophesies, the loudest amen will not do it. It is to be toiled for and when it appears, should be mindfully guarded, and deliberately preserved for the years to come.

The people agenda in the UN goal can only start when the possibility is believed, and not only prophesised.

No one can live in a future whose present is not assured.

Planet: Oh, dear Mother Nature. Africa’s Mother Nature takes good care of herself. Sunlight in the morning, Sunset in the evening. Rain when she feels too hot and harmattan when the floor of mostly clay is slippery. Well, this is partially true.

The resource controversy in Africa remains an un-ending dilemma to all her players. First, how can Africa be so blessed, yet live under a curse (another common prophesy); how could a continent not know what to do with herself? How can she be taught while the knowledge of each resource value chain is never explored?

The dark continent (another prophecy) that offers so much yet live in a lack.

It is hard to point to a full value chain system in Africa, and therein lies the challenge with preserving our planet. Explored, Exported, Refined, and Supplied with the last end of finished products. Here, the owner continent acting seemingly un-aware of the importance of the seasonality of cultivation, growing and ploughing back.

The darkness in Africa appears to keep the world in balance. Deficit in Africa, Surplus in the West (exploring the case for carbon tax, net zero emission, solid minerals exploitation, currency inflation, meritocracy, and socio-economic development, to mention a few and of course, good old’ tropical weather).

While in deficit, how does she treat her planet? Land, ocean plastics, food, technological, resources and human wastes lie everywhere. These wastes do not need lofty projects to be converted. However, with the apparent lack of electricity and energy poverty, as it is recently termed, it will require a complete reset.

Energy provision is the new bane of human existence. With Energy, prophecies will become reality. We may first appear as a new nuisance to mother earth, but she will be happier for it.

Only then, will Africa not shake at the order of power packing briefcases.

If only she truly embraces the opportunity to deliver more “home-grown, home-develop and globally-useful” solutions than she currently buys.

Profit: The tangible and easily measured one of the trios.

In Africa, every demography is a sea of opportunity, including the dead and the un-born. Every right sale and positioning most assuredly will guarantee a profit.

The owners do not see the value, they are busy smelling the roses, while ignoring the scent of the lemongrass. Roses do not grow in Africa, please catch the irony.

One of the world’s largest markets remain Africa and everything is in the profit. Emigration, Immigration, Food, Fashion, Technology, and life itself.

There is a perplexing, yet disturbing behaviour Africans must get rid of, it is the taste of loving luxuries they do not produce. Pick two random products and you hear phrases such as “I prefer the one from London, Spain, New York, it works better” permeating the air. These cities are listed in no order.

In some quarters, you may hear “Ask your government to put the right policies in place and we will do the right thing”. If only there were prophesies for such times because it is hard to blame a rightful wrong and a wrongful right, where there are no laws. In the continent, Ignorance could be a good excuse.

Focussing inward. Find any young / old African inventor, or Industry player and you hear stories how they may have been victim of regulation(s), but not before their apparent confusion of acceptability with digital media consumerism and followership.

Sustainability

What should this mean to Africa, amidst the existing prophesies for tomorrow? Africa must consider that sustainability is more than an agenda, it is a life wire for continued independence. It explores

• A long-term design of integrating people immediate and future needs with what the planet offers and making responsible profit from it.
• Of using the planet resources in a responsible yet fulfilling way to meet needs/wants and enjoy balanced prosperity (profit).

Africans must stand up to act and play responsible lead roles, in her sustainability.

We will fare better leaving prophecies, in the past, where they belong.

Tunbosun Afolayan is a Certified Petroleum Geologist and Energy Communications thought leader with over 18years experience in international Oil & Gas, Financial services & Solid Minerals Mining industries. She holds Post graduate degrees in Geosciences, Business Management, Entrepreneurship & Leadership, and Energy & Sustainability.

She is the current Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists, Board member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Division of Professional Affairs and Africa Region Imperial Barrel Award Coordinator.