Africa can’t develop without education —Zuma

PRESIDENT of South Africa, Mr Jacob Zuma, has said that Africa as a continent and African nations could not develop without education.

According to him, Africa had been carrying the burden imposed on them by the colonialists and “the only way they could confront such challenges is through education.”

Zuma spoke in Owerri, when he came for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Jacob Zuma Education Foundation and Rochas Okorocha Foundation’s College of Africa, on Saturday.

He said that a child or a nation without education did not have the tool to face challenges.

He said: “I am a freedom fighter who devoted his life to the fight for freedom of my people and Africa, but I have discovered that it is not only freedom that can change the lives of Africans, education is the key, as power comes through knowledge and knowledge comes through education.”

He added: “We Africans are manipulated by those who benefit from our sufferings. Part of the reasons why I am being attacked in South Africa is because I believe that our rights are being maligned and our people are being exploited by our colonial masters. This can only be corrected through education empowerment of our people, which the Rochas Foundation is giving.”

“The founder of this Rochas Foundation is a true African, one among men who have understood the problems of Africa and know what to do to correct the problem. This African [Rochas] is different from other Africans; he is thinking broadly, he is beginning to solve the problem of Africa once and for all. Educating children from the length and breath of the African continent is the only solution to the African problem.

“We were divided by our colonial masters, who created different burdens, but we are the same. To me, this visit is far more important than the various state visits I have made, because it touched the problem of Africans, not by lamenting but by proffering solutions to it.

“I will soon retire, I have been thinking of what to do after service to my nation but today, I have found a real African brother, who shares my vision. I have agreed with him that we will collaborate and make this foundation strong, I believe we can and when we do we may have found solution to African problems.

“Africans have lacked visionaries since the death of people like Nkurumah, Mandela and so on, who worked for their nations because they believed that once they got it right with their nations, African will grow.

“Today, I am proud to associate with another great visionary who has discovered therapy for the Africa problem. I will ask my colleague presidents in Africa to key into this vision and if possible donate a small percentage of the money we contribute at Africa Union to foundations like this. This is doing unity and not talking unity,” he added.

Earlier in his speech, the governor of Imo State and president/founder of the Rochas Foundation College of Africa, Rochas Okorocha, said he was glad that the vision he had 17 years ago had grown in leaps and bounds, disclosing that the Rochas Foundation Colleges had over 15,000 students across the country and over 4,000 graduates in different fields.

He further remarked: “President Zuma has travelled miles to come here, not for social interaction or political reasons but for the purpose of charity and humanitarian reasons. I boast not of the sustainability of this project, God only is the chief sustainer; I am not the richest but I am simply privileged to have the heart to give.”

“As it stands today, I have dedicated 75 per cent of my wealth to service charity, from all my income and whatever I make in my life as a successful businessman, 75 per cent of them will go to charity.