David Ogula's Shedding Black Africa's Burden says many things I wish I could write in my upcoming book about my tour through all 54 African nations. Because I'm white, the politically correct police would crucify me if I repeated his statements, even though they are true and fair.

Ogula shows how Africans bear much of the responsibility for the state of their continent.

He offers solutions.They often raise more questions. The devil is in the details. He should have spent less time pointing out Africa's flaws and more time explaining how exactly Africa can shed its burden.

Still, it's a good start.

I have some minor quibbles. For example, he writes, “The communalist spirit of African social groups, which relied on oral tradition to transmit their cultural heritage were also systematically dismantled.”

I disagree. Oral tradition lives on (unfortunately) and so does its “communalist spirit.”

What's wrong with the oral tradition?

It's an ineffective way for a society to compete in the modern age. There's nothing inherently wrong with retaining social knowledge via oral tradition. Just don't expect your society to compete against Japan, Korea, China, Europe and North America.

As Ogula himself writes, Sub-Saharans represent 12 percent of the world’s population but 25 percent of world’s illiterates. Among the 14 countries where the majority of the population is illiterate, only one (Afghanistan) is not in the Sub-Sahara.

I would rarely see an African read (except the Bible or the Koran). Writing to Africans is usually a waste of time. You ask three questions and they'll answer one. That's why phone conversations are the main way to communicate.

What helped catapult humanity above apes is when we started to write and read. Ignoring that advantage puts a society at a disadvantage.

Also, Africans are more communal than the communists. They're natural communists. They look after each other. Everyone tries to soak the rich. In Africa, sharing is a must, not an option.

Therefore, no, nobody "dismantled" the oral tradition and the communalist spirit, which is a pity. It would help Africa if they got rid of those things.

Overall, I love the book. It eschews the religion of victimization. It's an excellent, take-responsibility, no-bullshit book. Below are some of my favorite excerpts.

VERDICT: 9/10