Sunday C. Mbang
President of the World Methodist Council, Nigeria
  

1. INTRODUCTION

Is it possible for anyone at anytime to speak of Europe and Africa having a common destiny? What in God�s name would be the basis for it? Many circumstances had presented themselves all the time which could have made this possible, but opportunities offered in these connections had either been missed, or a lot of actions taken by Europeans in many instances and cases have made any attempt at making such a desire impossible, unreal and suspicious. We intend to profess such circumstances and opportunities which were missed.

2. THE COLONIAL MASTERS

The Europeans colonized Africa first. She had every opportunity to have instilled trust and confidence into their conquered population. Instead the experiences these Colonial Masters left their subjects were pathetic and unwholesome making it impossible for the people to forget easily. These early Europeans plundered and devastated the African Continent for the good of their people. Many parts of Africa have been unable to make any progress because of the unforgivable wounds, inhumane policies and barbaric devastations inflicted on her for selfish reasons.

In many parts of the Continent, Africans were made second class citizens having no rights at all in their own country. For some of these European foreigners, their dogs and cats had more value than the African natives. The entire African Continent was shared like commodities among European governments without any consultation with African inhabitants. Boundaries were arbitrary established with little or no attention to the wellbeing and unity of ethnic and religious groups. The Israeli government is using the same unhealthy method in Palestine even in the 21st Century. Any African who dared to challenge the obnoxious system and also seek for freedom for himself and his people paid dearly for such boldness and effrontery. Dr. Nelson Mandela spent twenty-seven years in prison in an isolated Island. It was by the grace of God that he survived the ordeal. Other notable sons and daughters so numerous to mention suffered the same and some even perished for daring the system.

Patrick Lumumba and a host of others in all parts of the Continent were Africa�s sacrificial lambs for political independence.

3. THE MISSIONARIES

Christianity came to Africa before it went to Europe. Jesus Christ was brought to Egypt by her parents early in his life in order to escape the evil plan of King Herod. It was the Ethiopian who was forced to help Jesus carry his Cross of Calvary. But later in the history of Christianity, European missionaries brought Christianity to many parts of Africa. These missionaries in their desire to convert every African to their new religion did everything to destroy the culture, beliefs and tradition of the African people. They sanctioned the habits, the music and way of life of the people to be unfit for Christian worship and therefore tabooed them. Africans were left in two world-views. Many Africans to date are still faced with the problem of their identity. Christian leaders in an attempt to combat this problem have indigenized the worship of their people.

The different early Christian missionaries established schools and hospitals in many parts of Africa. But these schools and hospitals were generally inferior to those in Europe. Since science subjects were not given pride of place in the school�s curriculum, therefore the scientific strides evident in all parts of Europe are yet to be felt in many countries in Africa. Europe and Africa are light years apart in many areas of human endeavour. Who is to blame? How then can a common destiny be possible?

The Bible was given to the African as a precious gift from God. The life of all Christians were supposed to be lived in the context of the Bible. The Rev. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism encouraged his followers to live their lives in the connect of what the scriptures taught � thus his concept of �Scriptural Holiness�. Jesus Christ left Christians with two eternal laws, namely: �Love God� and �Love your neigbour as yourself�. Jesus even taught his hearers to �love their enemies�. When young enthusiastic Christian Africans traveled to Europe to study, they experienced discrimination everywhere including even the Church. Most of them lost their faith in God and in Christian religion as a result of this. They returned home to discourage their people against Christian evangelism.

Bible scholarship which was God�s gift to the Christian Church for the proper understanding of the Scripture and the education of God�s people in matters of the word of God has fast become a liability to the Church rather than a blessing. The Scripture is being interpreted in some Western countries today to suit people�s whims and caprices and also to support people�s irresponsible and unhealthy way of life and their idiosyncrasies. Many African Biblical teachers and theologians are taken aback, confused and appalled by this new trend by some modern Biblical scholars. This sickness seems to have originated with the advent of the Book Honest to God in the middle of the last century. The unbelief by these so called scholars is yet to end. Today, the way some of them express their mind in their essays and interpretations on the core subjects of belief in Christianity such as �the Virgin Birth�, the Holy Trinity, Revelation and some stories and events in the Old Testament leaves one with the impression that they are in great danger of loosing their faith in God. They are therefore badly in need of re-Christianization. Are these scholars not the messengers of the weakness of Christianity in Europe?

As if all these confusions were not enough, the vexed issues of homosexuality and same-sex marriages have descended on us all with a bang. Many Africans are trying very hard to comprehend and understand the beginning and end of this rather modern trend. To add insult into injury, the Christian Church in Europe, America, Canada, Australia, etc seem to give it a pride of place. Some leaders of the Christian Church in these countries are part and parcel of this sad development. What is this world coming to? What is the so called civilization doing to humankind? Is our world coming to an end? What is the fate of Christianity and Christian unity in all these? Will it be, �to thy tents, O Israel?�

3. TRADE

The first contact between Africa and Europe was through trade. Here again, the early traders from Europe threw what would have become the best opportunity for good neighbourliness between Europe and Africa to the wind. They exploited and devastated the people�s fortune and resources tot heir benefit with no consideration for the economic development of their guest communities. The early traders in addition to the many atrocities they unleashed in the newly conquered regions in Africa degenerated into slave trade. This trade in human beings must have been the last straw that broke the Carmel�s back. Man�s inhumanity to fellow human beings was at its worst here. The Europeans and their friends demonstrated what was worst in humankind through slave trade. Between what happened to the Jews in Germany and what the Europeans did to Africans which of the two was better. The Boers from Europe in South Africa, even after the trade in human beings had ended still kept semblance of it in their apartheid policy with support from Europe.

The Germans have apologized to the Jews for the wrongs done to them. Perpetrators of this crime are still being hunted and sanctioned. Compensations have even been paid in some cases. Other communities which had suffered the same fate or had experienced slightly lesser dehumanization have received apology and compensation. Africa to date has been the exception to the rule. One wonders why. Should not what is good for the goose be also good for the gander? Can this type of attitude by the Europeans ever make for a common destiny?

4. THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE

With all what has been outlined, one may ask whether there was any meaningful hope for a common destiny between Europe and Africa. The realities on ground give very little hope, if any, for a sincere and meaningful common destiny between the two Continents. There is a great deal of lost love and suspicion between the two peoples. There is trepidation. The reasons for this are not difficult to find.

When Germany was in difficulty some time ago, a marshal plan of action was put in place to help her overcome her difficulties. The same action has been taken in different forms for other communities. Europe does not consider it necessary to do the same for Africa whose misfortune could be traced to her doorsteps. Any help given to African countries is not always without strings attached. Some of the help given is sometimes meant to help solve the unemployment problem of the donor country. There was this grant given for research purposes on a particular subject matter. The grant was given to a University in the donor�s country for the said research. African leaders having waited too long in vain for reasonable and meaningful help from Europe and their friends, decided to take their destiny into their own hands with the recently formed NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa�s Development). Will Europe even here decide to lend a responsible helping hand?

African leaders are accused of being corrupt. Some of them are likely to be. But in many cases, are not the European contractors advisers, name it, part and parcel of these leaders� corruption? The money corruptly acquired are banked in Europe with laws to protect them until recently. Attempts by affected countries to repatriate such �stolen� monies are usually made difficult and sometimes impossible by the laws of such countries. Isn�t this the case of robbing Peter to pay Paul?

It has not been easy for African countries in the area of trade. There have been all kinds of trade barriers for commodities from Africa into the Western markets. Produce from Africa cannot compete with those in Europe because of the policy of farm subsidies by some countries in Europe. Worse still, prices of these products are fixed in Europe. Commodities from Africa are sold in European countries very cheaply. Whereas, Africans have no say on the prices of the finished products sent to us from Europe, some of them courtesy of the commodity which they got from Africa at a give-away price. Further more, it has always been difficult for African countries to compete with multi-national companies. Globalization has put Africa in a far more difficult position in this instance. The many Conferences aimed at liberalizing trade over the years have yielded little or no result to date. The forum is now a talking shop for the wealthy.

It is now becoming very difficult to predict which country in Europe will readily admit Africans into their countries these days without humiliation. No body is against any nation making laws to prevent trouble makers, deviant and people with questionable disposition coming into their country, especially when the system is fair. But the raw treatment and senseless humiliation suffered by Africans in Western Embassies and High Commissions in their desire to obtain Visa to genuinely enter into such countries leave much to be desired. The question Africans continue to ask is why is the entire Western world against Africans? This stigmatization is seen through their literary work, racial discrimination and by the way and manner they treat Africans. The Western media never sees anything good in Africa. For a greater number of this Press, Africa does not exist. But when any attention is reluctantly given to a particular African country, it is only the bad and pathetic side of the events there that are portrayed. Are African countries worse than some European countries? Was Rome not built in one day?

5. CONCLUSION

There is no reason why Europe and Africa cannot and should not have a common destiny. After all, God created both the Europeans and the Africans. Africans had no say where God decided to locate them. This could also be said of the Europeans. The gulf between Europe and Africa had been created because of the many years of uncomplimentary activities on the part of the Europeans on Africa. It was their attitude and activities that led the early Europeans to light the damaging fire. The fire is yet to be put out. Many of Europe�s sons and daughters are yet to change. If there must be any common destiny between the two peoples, the old order, the old concepts, the old attitude and the old relationship will have to change yielding places to new ones. But is this ever going to be possible? That is the million dollar question.

Thank you.