President Uhuru Kenyatta has endorsed a book by the late Wangari Maathai, “The Challenge for Africa”, a book describing environmental, social and economic challenges in Africa.
This is a move that comes after the Heads of State attending the Paris Peace Forum were requested to endorse a book of their choice.
‘The Challenge for Africa’ is a book that is dedicated to the African people. It triggers thought and is a major eye opener to what Africans can do to make the continent better.
The Nobel Peace Prize-winner is a author of three other books. ‘Unbowed: A Memoir’ ‘The Green Belt Movement’ and ‘Replenishing the Earth: Spiritual Values for Healing Ourselves and the World’. The book yet to endorsed was first published in 2009.
Maathai puts the context in a unique viewpoint and addressed the challenges.. not with complaints but with the hope of overcoming and urging Africans to take full responsibility and accountability of being agents of change.
She also argues moral revolution among Africans themselves. Illustrating the complex and dynamic nature of the continent, Maathai offers “hardheaded hope” and “realistic options” for change and improvement. She offers hope despite the troubles facing the continent.
The book is seen to be of great importance in terms of gearing the continent to development as well as triggering self driven initiatives to propel Africa to its dreams.
Maathai takes her readers on a path of rediscovering the wealth of Africa as well as holding leaders accountable.
In the book, Maathai says that leaders ‘fall short of genuine democracy’ and this is one of the factors that hold the continent back.
Exactly what we see in Kenya, it is a disease of the African countries. But this book gives the promise of a different narrative of how Africa can be if everyone puts in the effort to make it better.