Africa needs innovations, not endless prayers – Museveni

President Yoweri Museveni has attributed Africa’s slow progress in science and innovation to failure to heeding God’s call to establish dominion over nature by instead relying on only prayer. Museveni on Sunday took a swipe on Christians in Africa for endless prayer and “shouting overnight” while other developed countries are inventing.

Quoting a Biblical verse, Genesis 1:26 in which God during creation gave man authority to have dominion over the earth, Museveni said Africans have failed at this obligation.

Museveni who was in company of the First Lady Janet and Minister of Education Janet Museveni was speaking during the annual National Prayer Breakfast held at Hotel Africana Sunday morning.

Instead, in a span of 5 centuries, all that the black continent has been able to create is fire and iron, the President added.

“Africans have been absent in establishing dominion over nature (inventions) just as the Bible commands, instead resorting to endless prayers,” Museveni commented.

“I don’t like the helpless approach where you just pray and neglect the original issues given to man to establish dominion over nature,” he added.

Drawing a comparison with one of the world’s biggest economies, China, Museveni said Africa was worse off that it can’t even afford to copy other people’s inventions like the Chinese do.

“Africans just pray the whole night shouting as if God is deaf. God helps those who help themselves.”

He said that religion should be a practice rather than just theory.