Mr Salomon MBUTCHO quotes a passage from the bible which says in an extraordinary and unequivocal way, in Hebrews 11:1: « faith is a firm assurance of things hoped for, a demonstration of those which we do not see « . It is demonstrated on a daily basis that the greater the afflictions, the more the human being tends to rely on their beliefs, a refuge through which a sort of truce operates awaiting a lasting solution. And there is no lack of trials on this continent, a cozy nest where these extremely close psycho-affective links between faith and hope are woven. Faith automatically being the fuel of hope, questions arise as to its role in the development of Africa.
The African continent, through its history and experience, has always celebrated its faith, its births, marriages, successes and even its deaths. Africa remains the one that displays his faith the most among all the continents. And despite this, some aspects of Its faith seem to work against Its aspirations. For Mr. Salomon MBUTCHO, this continent which is struggling to find a balance between the management of its natural resources and its rather particular political nomenclatures, has decided to bet everything on its youth which remains its true wealth and its most tangible hope.
Despite the noble aspirations that Africans have for their continent, no other people lack faith, trust and respect in each other like Africans. No other people rejoice in the failure of their own for the benefit of others like Africans. No other people prefer others to their own brothers like the Africans. Mr Salomon MBUTCHO is very shocked to see Africans stunned when they see certain errors or injustices inflicted on their brothers, sisters or parents by other non-African people. They did not invent it, they saw some do it to their owns and only copy it. In other words, if you bully your children, parents or friends in front of other people, they will do exactly as you do with them. Why are you stunned?
While the need for overcoming is strongly felt in this continent with a very high degree of faith, Mr. Salomon MBUTCHO finds that certain feelings are paradoxical, antagonistic and counterproductive, both to faith and to the need for sustainable development. This is how four questions to these problems presented themselves to him, in the form of rhetoric:
- Is this climate of lack of trust and hatred between Africans compatible with true faith?
- Isn’t it recommended to all believers of revealed religions to have faith in their GOD?
- Isn’t it also said that man was created in the spiritual image of GOD?
- By transitivity, if man has faith in GOD, and GOD himself has faith in man, shouldn’t the latter necessarily have faith and trust in his African brothers since it is about them in this article?
When the African proverb says: « When you correct your child, you cannot stop him from crying », and the Bible confirms it by saying in proverb 13:24: « He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him seeks to correct him”, Mr Salomon MBUTCHO thinks that the sincerity in the self-criticism and the self-flagellation which are inflicted through these writings must challenge. Let us suffer from reading and hearing these realities that only we Africans can change.