General Information
VISION: AN INTRODUCTION
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The second half of the 20th Century had seen increased participation of the Blackman in the affairs of the entire world. World War II, fought between 1939 and 1945, had whipped into self-consciousness a world that had hitherto drawn lines of segregation against the black population the world over. The war had ultimately left at its wake the bitter, home truth that no race or color was either superior or inferior to another and that all races, had been vulnerable to the insatiable greed of the devil-driven German, Adolf Hitler, who had been out to overrun the entire globe in a frenzy of madness.
Blacks and whites alike had in their numbers, died in that war and had during the war, demonstrated equal strength, even weakness, in the face of a common enemy; so that the blacks who had participated in that war had come to see that they were no inferiors to their white comrades. Armed with this newly acquired realization, all black soldiers who had returned home at the end of the war had come back to awaken in the different nationals the need to rise and take in their own hands the destinies of their different countries. Having been ruled over the years, by indifferent imperialistic colonial (task) masters from Britain, France, Italy, Germany, and poor Portugal, (which was itself at home an old-fashioned monarchy, whose nationals were still at the mercy of a malfunctioning economy). Along with fellow colonizers had claimed to annex most colonies to engender democracy, economic growth, civilization, Christian values, and other dividends that attend good governance.
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In black Africa, events had quickly come to a head with renewed agitation for self-rule. We can equally say ditto for some Asian countries and those of the Middle East, which had equally, at that material time found themselves in the hapless grip of the colonial forebears. Most black Africans had in unison begun to identify with the concept of Negritude and Pan-Africanism as enunciated and championed by Leopold Sedar Senghor of Senegal, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, and Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria; to change the perception of blackness among black Africans.
These African leaders through lectures and constant newspaper publications gave vent to already existing public outcry against such obnoxious policy so that the ire of the people was constantly kindled against the white perpetrators of Apartheid, where segregation still held sway, as in South Africa and some parts of Rhodesia. All these activities by Black African nationalists culminated largely in the independence of some black African nations. Nevertheless, even as these nationalists had taken over the reins of government of their countries, the damage, that had been done to the entire black world, persisted.
In spite, of gaining political independence to a very low degree though, most African nationalists at the point under review, however, failed to bring the weight of their influence to bear on the ‘social independence aspect of Black Africa that had been tutored by his white masters to believe that everything black African was wicked, uncivilized, backward and unfit to be treasured as legacy to bequeath posterity. In this way, the bond that had held him to his cultural heritage, his religion, and even his true nature was severed and the ways of the African ‘natives’ were brought under the tar brush of condemnation as primitive, and even sometimes barbaric.
Over the years, this conscious, continuous, and systematic attempt to kill the spirit of the Blackman by making him inferior, using their firm grip on the mass media, the entertainment circus, and the entire machinery for the propagation of publicly consumed information, this warped notion is continuously fed to millions of hearers, readers and viewers all over the world, who in no time transform into their sub-conscious existence, all the make-belief they hear, read and see into solid reality. All this sends the wrong impression that the black man, apart from hunger, violence, crime, drug tracking/use, wars, and diseases, has nothing to offer a world that is always in dire need of innovations that shall better the lot of humanity.
Despite the above, L.S.B. Leakey has this to say; “in every country that one visits and where one is drawn into conservation about Africa, the question regularly asked by people who should know better: But what has Africans contributed to the world progress…? Not the wheel, not writing, not Mathematics, not art…, not this, not that, and not the other thing…” These critics of Africa forget that men of science today are, with a few exceptions, satisfied that Africa was the birthplace of the man himself.
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In addition, for many hundreds of centuries thereafter, Africa was at the forefront of all world progress! A great Islamic scholar, Ibn Buttata, who had passed through Mali and some African countries, in an earlier work, also corroborated this viewpoint. Ibn Buttata went on to speak about how Africa was enterprising, hospitable, violent, and corruption-free, of which Europe of those days could not boast.
It is in the backdrop of all the above, that the Black Africa Reorientation and Development Organization, (BARADO), a non-governmental organization with a passion for the Blackman, seeks to pull the Blackman out of the ignoble pit of decay, (violence, abuse, famine, un-productivity, inferiority complex, war, child/women labor and abuse), into which they have been thrown. Despite all these, the Blackman has nevertheless risen through slavery, colonialism, wars of independence, and other negative schisms and isms to achieve greatness in the areas of arts, politics, science, sports, invention, military, and other fields of endeavors where intellectual prowess is the only key to success.
BARADO is out to celebrate our blackness, to rebuild the Blackman, and to build in the black youth the sense of confidence needed to conquer the world in whatever area of life that nature has endowed him with its gifts. The organization seeks to present for emulation, black achievers as role model figures to the black youth. Such world great black men as Martin Luther King Jnr, Haile Selassie, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Angelou Maya, Elijah Mohammed, Wole Soyinka, Benjamin Zephaniah, Oprah Winfrey, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Prof. Ali Mazrui, Carl Lewis, Nelson Mandela, Tiger Woods, Ben Carson, Authur Ashe, Samora Michael, Mike Tyson, Chinua Achebe, Collin Powel, Lennox Lewis, Dr. Philip Emeagwali, Goerge Weah and other black greats, who have borne the torch of excellence in their chosen fields of endeavor all over the world, through the times.
PREAMBLE
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Daily experiences over the years have drawn home to all peoples, creeds, and colors the notion that the world is truly a Global Village. Advances in science and technology have continued to bridge the gap that has always existed between man and his kind. Man has, therefore, acquired a new sense of proximity that does not insure him from the plight of his fellow man, wherever he could be in the world. Sorrow to one part of the globe turns sorrow for all; and joy for another part of the world, in the same instant, becomes joy for all. Man is daily faced with a situation where, though seemingly unaffected, the ravages of war, the bitter scenes of global terrorism, and the ugly faces of diseases, through cable television networks, radio stations, and other forms of communication media, are brought home to the comfort of even his living-room to unsettle his mood. Given the above availability of information through picture and sound, man can no longer be alienated from, or even claim indifference to, the plight of his fellow man.
There is, therefore, a need for man to rise and wedge a common war against the negative cases of hunger, wars, diseases, unsafe environment, global terrorism, drug abuse, and violence that daily militate against his existence. What is needed to achieve success in this quest is but a concerted effort by all people to appreciate the enormity of the issues involved, with a corresponding will to contribute their time, talent, and treasure to salvaging these situations.
Unarguably, black Africans and Africans in the Diaspora are at the receiving end of most of these world problems. Statistics have shown that most black Africans live below the poverty lines in their countries. This is in spite of buoyant economies and highfalutin claims of robust people-oriented economic programs of some African leaders, some of whom have made leadership a license to amass wealth of stupendous proportions, leaving the led hungry, diseased, unmotivated, and socially/economically insecure in a world where the essence of government should be the provision of an enabling environment for the
development, empowerment, and progress of the people who have enthroned such a government.
In fairness to some African governments, there has been an appreciable effort at alleviating the problems of African societies, but it goes without saying that some of the programs geared towards doing this, especially, in many black African nations, have been largely sabotaged by those in whom so much trust and confidence was expended to actualize that mandate.
This scenario thus calls on all concerned about the progress of Africa to see the need to join hands to fight against the negative behavioral tendencies of the African leaders and people. This change in attitude cannot be achieved without the wholesome cooperation of African governments, non-governmental organizations, religious bodies, corporate institutions, international organizations, etc; who should spare no effort, time, and resources to bring about the requisite attitudinal change in Africa for the progress of black Africa and the entire world.
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ACTION PLAN
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Having identified some of the negative orientation tendencies and even problems that have bedeviled the Blackman’s way of life over the years, BARADO seeks to provide the necessary public communication and information to facilitate an urgent change for the better. This, we believe, can only be achieved through concerted efforts by all and sundry towards increasing mass literacy, sensitization, advocacy, and awareness among black Africans.
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1. PROMOTION OF BLACK AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT, CULTURE AND ARTS:
​BARADO seeks to afford the Blackman an all-around development and to propagate the black man, his arts, and his culture for global consumption.
2. DISCOVERY AND PROMOTION OF POTENTIALS:
It is evident that Blackman is a repository of so much talent and potential, being endowed richly from creation. We hope to bring these talents into the limelight for the benefit of the individual and the society.
3. PROMOTION OF BLACK AFRICAN MORAL AND TRADITIONAL VALUES:
BARADO seeks to restore moral and traditional values, which the average African child was known for. The loss of these value systems has been the bane of sound moral and traditional development of the African Youth who have grossly compromised their African-ness.
4. EMPOWERMENT THROUGH CAPACITY BUILDING:
In every black African city, the cold reality of hunger, deprivation, and joblessness hits the newcomer with a sudden jolt. BARADO through rehabilitation and skills acquisition training seeks to intervene and to contribute positively to the less privileged.
5. PUBLIC ENLIGHTENMENT AND MASS EDUCATION:
BARADO shall engage itself in public enlightenment and mass education against all despicable forms of social ills that impede national development and compromise morality and other value systems of the black African society.
6. PROVISION OF SOFT INFRASTRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS:
BARADO seeks to build and donate to community projects needed to enhance the quality of life of rural dwellers. E.g. Boreholes, dispensaries, orphanages, citizens’ homes, community libraries, cyber cafes, etc
7. PROTECTION/PROMOTION OF WOMEN AND CHILD RIGHTS:
BARADO shall mount campaigns and advocacy, to sensitize the public on some social and cultural practices against women and the propagation of women and child rights in line with the United Nations treaty to which all countries are signatories.
8. PROTECTION OF AFRICAN HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
BARADO shall promote healthy living in Africa through advocacy. BARADO shall also use the instrument of mass media to bring to the fore the hazards of environmental degradation, desertification, gas emission into the atmosphere, global warming, and the greenhouse effect on our planet.
Conclusively, BARADO seeks to add value to the social, intellectual, and economic components of the individual and by so doing, generally develop the well-being, welfare and potentialities of these individuals. It is our hope and intention to achieve maximum success if we are given the required cooperation by governments, corporate bodies, multinationals, other NGOs, and spirited individuals to free the Blackman from these circumstances that prevent them from becoming productive and economically relevant in building the nations of our dream.
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MORE ON MISSIONS
The Black African Reorientation and Development Organisation, BARADO, seeks to better the lot of the teeming population of Africans who today are hungry, ignorant, deprived, abused, and abandoned youths and women, who have suffered over the years under the weight of the above-mentioned limitations, through enlightenment, advocacy, sensitization and awareness campaigns.
BARADO has identified with the world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) project, the world’s time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions, income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) project was commissioned by the United Nations to develop a concrete action plan for the world to reverse the grinding poverty, hunger, and disease affecting billions of people. Although there has been significant progress in achieving many of the goals. But progress has been far from uniform across the world or across the goals. Sub-Saharan Africa is the epicenter of the crisis, with continuing food insecurity, a rise in extreme poverty, stunningly high child and maternal mortality a large number of people living in slums, and a lot more dying daily of HIV/AIDS pandemic, a widespread shortfall for most of the SDGs.
It is based on the above that BARADO seeks to achieve its objectives using six (6) main organs, viz:
1. SELFLESS AFRICA (SAF)
2. YOUTH EMPOWERMENT SCHEME AFRICA (YESA)
3. COMMUNITY ACTION FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN (CAFWAC)
4.​ ASSOCIATION FOR THE APPRECIATION OF LITERATURE IN AFRICA, (AFALIA)
5. CENTRE FOR AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT, ARTS AND CULTURE (CEFADAC)
6.​ SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF AFRICAN HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT (SPAHE)
ORGANS OF BARADO: The working approach.
1. SELFLESS AFRICA (SAF): BARADO, through Selfless Africa its humanitarian services organ, seeks to pull these unfortunate dregs of human society out of the streets rehabilitate them and offer them an opportunity for a new lease of life. Efforts, through Selfless Africa, shall also be made to reach out to the less privileged in our society.
BARADO seeks to engage the services of its professional members like medical doctors, psychologists, psychotherapists/analysts, sociologists, guidance counselors, psychiatrists, etc towards the actualization of the organization's aims and objectives.
2. YOUTH EMPOWERMENT SCHEME AFRICA (YESA): Through this BARADO organ, YESA, the organization seeks to establish a skills acquisition center that shall offer vocational training to reoriented black youths, who out of idleness and frustration, have found escape routes in drugs, unhealthy sex habits, gangsterism e.t.c. These skills acquisition centers shall engage in training in bakery, cobbling/shoe making, soap/candle/margarine making, tailoring, computer training, programming, and engineering application. The organization shall also assist trainee graduates with redeemable soft loans and monitor their application, as well. BARADO shall also seek to uplift the educational standard of the black youths by providing instructional materials and building schools, laboratories, and research institutes for all the youths who may wish to avail themselves of the opportunities provided by the Organization to broaden their academic horizon.
3. COMMUNITY ACTION FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN (CAFWAC): BARADO, through the organ of CAFWAC, seeks to achieve this level playing ground by mounting re-orientation campaigns for black people against the negative attitudes directed at women and children. The organization shall seek to develop the potentialities of women and children and propagate ideas that shall facilitate rapid overall development for them. It shall also provide maternities, nursing homes, orphanages, recreation centers, etc in black communities since so many of these communities cannot boast of such facilities.
4. ASSOCIATION FOR THE APPRECIATION OF LITERATURE IN AFRICA (AFALIA): BARADO, through its organ, the Association for the Appreciation of Literature in Africa, AFALIA, has viewed with concern all the problems in relation to writing mentioned above. The organization is, therefore, poised to redress some of these irregularities by evolving a mechanism of discovering and encouraging budding writers toward full maturity.
BARADO also seeks to encourage the appreciation of Literature through its annual literary awards. These awards which shall be preceded by the organization’s Annual Lectures shall be accompanied by prize money and certificates and shall be made very competitive for participants. Other forms of academic – enhancing
competitions in quizzes, debates, lectures, symposia, etc shall also be encouraged and rewarded at all levels of the African school system.
5. CENTER FOR AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT, ARTS AND CULTURE (CEFADAC): A people’s culture and arts are their identity. Culture, generally speaking, includes dresses, dressing patterns, music and dances, art forms, and the totality of their ways of life. Without
these marked distinctions in people’s culture, no nation, ethnic nationality or race is worthy of its name. There is, therefore, the need for the Blackman to appreciate his culture and arts, develop them, and preserve them for posterity.
BARADO seeks to reawaken in the Blackman the consciousness of
his true self. This, the organization seeks to achieve by encouraging the participation of the Blackman in matters that have
to do with this culture and arts. The organization shall strive to package documentaries of Black African Festivals, dances, songs, and folklore, build monuments and cenotaphs of their traditional heroes and heroines, and promote other aspects of their culture for preservation.
4. SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF AFRICAN HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT (SPAHE): BARADO, using its organ Society for the Protection of African Health and Environment, SPAHE, seeks to contribute to the promotion of a habitable environment by building public toilet facilities, drilling boreholes in public places and rural black communities, mounting campaigns for environmentally friendly practices as tree planting, effective ventilation, erosion control, preservation of our ecosystem and sundry other ways by which the environment may be preserved.
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CONCLUSION
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Nothing can be closer to the truth than the fact that the goals BARADO has set for itself are, indeed, noble ones. It is also a fact that these goals need a lot of human and material resources for them to be actualized. We, therefore, welcome the sundry contributions of both of these human and material resources, which will go a long way towards aiding the vision of BARADO.
All that the organization seeks are the men and women, who in the spirit of self-denial for the sake of humanity could contribute their time, talents, and treasure to make the world a better place. Now is the time to pull our brothers and sisters from the ignoble pit of diseases, wars, want, depression, drug addiction, prostitution, child labor and abuse, ignorance, illiteracy, poverty, and other negative conditions to which the vicissitudes of life have thrown them. To do this, individuals, governments, corporate bodies, religious bodies, multinationals, and other NGOs must come together for rapid progress to be achieved.
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BARADO: Rebuilding the Blackman
BARADO: Re-branding the Blackman