I have met black people who will not tell you what country they come from—or will lie about it for sheer embarrassment with their roots. Clearly, there is, among black people, a crisis of patriotism, writes Andrew Wutawunashe in his book Dear Africa – The Call of The African Dream that The Patriot is serialising.

YOU probably know that Solomon was the Jewish king who gained the reputation of being the wisest man in the world.
Reading through some of his sayings in the book of Proverbs, it is not hard to understand why he gained this reputation.
He and his father David are held in extremely high esteem, even revered by their own Jewish nation as well as by history and by billions of people all over the world.
No doubt when Solomon asserted that the childhood training of a child determines the future course of his life, aspirations and behaviour, he was reminiscing on how the ways his father and mother had trained him had impacted the course of his own life, aspirations and achievements.
Not least, Solomon was a shrewd political leader who built on the foundation of his father’s achievements and led his nation into a period of outstanding prosperity and influence.
One of the statements recorded in the Psalms of David, Solomon’s father, reads, “If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand stop working, if I do not exalt you above my chief joy, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.”
It is clear that both by words and deeds, David trained his son Solomon into the passionate patriotism—love for his country, people and nation—that fuelled his wise leadership of his nation.
When I interact with black people around the world, one of the heart-breaking themes I hear in their words and observe in their deeds is a pervasive self-hate and a lack of patriotism which in some cases has grown into an outright dislike of blackness, African-ness and of the continent and countries of Africa.
In some cases, it is a case of being ashamed of their land and people.
I have met black people who will not tell you what country they come from—or will lie about it for sheer embarrassment with their roots.
Clearly, there is, among black people, a crisis of patriotism.
I do understand that many black nations are in a state of poverty, deprivation and sometimes violence and political confusion—and often black leaders and people are themselves to blame.
Millions of black people are in Diaspora, especially in Western nations, as economic refugees seeking a better life.
Many have opted to assimilate in these far off lands and to do their best to forget Africa as a bad dream.
Their children, born in the Diaspora, have no idea of their identity and their parents feel it would be a great elevation if these children could become, say, as European as possible.
It is a generation which will not by the slave trade, but by parental default through ignorance and inferiority suffer the perpetual trauma of loss of identity and self-esteem.
Black people need to urgently wake up to the fact that many of the nations in favour of which they are abandoning Africa used to be in just as needy a state, if not worse, than Africa is.
They were developed into the state they are chiefly by one resource—the love and commitment of their own people to their own country—the patriotism of their people.
Even nations like the United States of America went through such hardships as civil wars and times of deep poverty such as the great depression of the 1930s. But because of their love and commitment to their own land, it did not occur to these people to abandon their country.
They stayed, fought and worked until they built their country into a state of competitiveness, all the time teaching their children at every turn that there is no better nation to belong to than theirs.
Black people everywhere—in Africa, in America, in the Indies, Europe and other places, need to work seriously to restore this resource—patriotism—the passionate love of blackness, Africa and African-ness, particularly into the hearts and minds of the children and youth.
When it is re-discovered, Africanness will be found to be a priceless asset, not only to black people, but to the whole world.
But to be re-discovered, African-ness must be first embraced by its divinely appointed stewards—black people everywhere.
The young black people must hear this passionate message from their parents, “If I forget thee o Africa, let my right hand stop working, if I do not promote you above my chief joy, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.”
The generation of black leaders, both on the African continent and abroad, whose dreams birthed the present improvement of the lot of black people, possessed a great love and commitment to Africa.
Great African—American leaders such as Dr Martin Luther King Jr networked with leaders in Africa for mutual inspiration.
You only need to read a few pages of the writings of Marcus Garvey to see that he carried in his heart a fierce love and commitment to African-ness.
Malcolm X and other black leaders in America went on journeys of pilgrimage back to Africa and inspired other black people to do so.
This love and commitment to Africa on the part of African-Americans must be revived as parents teach their children the true value of their irreplaceable roots and a new generation of African-American youth begin to travel to Africa and to join hands with African youth to strengthen African-ness to mutual benefit.