Africa: My Story, Your History

I shared this piece in 2002 with my junior secondary one social studies students in Lagos, Nigeria, whose ignorance of basic African history had shocked me. However, their defense was as sincere as it was telling: "We do not know because no one has taught us." Their response reminded me of an African proverb which says, if you don't know where you're coming from, you'll not know where you're headed. So, I decided to awaken in my students (10-11 year olds) a passion for Africa. And for three years I made sure we grounded every topic we discussed on Africa and African examples.

Here's the first piece I shared with them:

Africa my Africa…

Africa of whom my grandmother sings…

I have never known you

But your blood flows in my veins…

Africa tell me Africa

Is this your back that is bent…

But a grave voice answer me

Impetuous child that tree young and strong

That tree over there

Splendid alone amidst white and faded flowers

That is your Africa springing up anew…

(David Diop)

Today most of my grandchildren know very little about me.  Their parents who should tell them my story know no better.  But you, Grandchild, have to know my past that you may face your future with a determined hope.  So, I decided to tell you my story myself.

Funny enough, there are many versions of the origin of my name. An earlier one says that “Africa” is derived from the Latin aprica, which means “sunny.” A later version maintains that the name came from Ifriqiya, an ancient area in modern day Tunisia, Ifriqiya which, in Tamazight (a northern African language), also means "sunny place." 

Of Leaders and Leadership

Recently, a very good friend of mine, a scholar and director of a center for African leadership and development in an African university, inboxed my Facebook asking me to "couple up some words of wisdom on leadership [for him]--just half a page?--before the end of today." Oh my! Then he added for an emphasis a request for an African twist. "As usual, please pepper it with your ilu Igbo [Igbo proverb]."Here's what I "coupled up" for him:

Good leadership is the heart of any functional human establishment. It is, according to a Somalian proverb, like a good head that is the key to a healthy body; the vision, without which a people perishes (Proverbs 29:18).  The renowned Nigerian novelist and critic, Chinua Achebe, blamed the decaying state of his own people, Nigeria, on bad leadership. “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership,” he categorically declared.

The question of leadership has occupied humanity for millennia. From ancient histories to contemporary times, sages, philosophers, and social scientists have grappled with it. Theories abound in an attempt to distill its essence. Some anchor it on a leader’s traits, behavior, or style, while others situate it on the leader’s environment, management skills, or relationship with others. The different theories imply a nuanced understanding based on context and personality.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Redefines "Feminist"

In this amazing +TEDxEuston talk, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie draws brilliantly from her "happy," "African," and "female" background to redefine "feminist" as "a man or a woman who says, yes, there's a problem with gender as it is today and we must fix it; we must do better."

Celebrating Nollywood at 20

The naysayers had predicted its early demise and called it “a flash in the pan.” But twenty years on, instead of a requiem, the whole world sings triumphant alleluia tunes. Nollywood has grown to become the most dominant and accessible expression of contemporary Nigerian popular culture. 

It tells Nigerian stories, with Nigerian voices, to Nigerian (and exponentially growing transnational, global) audience. Its reach is as expansive as its influence, with its films and narratives extending across the African continent and far beyond. Its video films and the discourses they generate have become so key to Nigeria’s and Africa’s self-representation that it is difficult to understand contemporary Africa and its place in the world without recourse to them.

In 2009 the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) ranked Nollywood the second largest film industry in the world, after Bollywood. In addition to being a multibillion naira (and dollar) industry, generating myriad spin-off subsector businesses, and employing hundreds of thousands of labor, Nollywood has also studded the Africa galaxy with stars too numerous to count. 

So much for an industry that started from chanced business opportunities taken advantage of by a group of men (who unfortunately are often denigrated as illiterates) with no basic training or education in film production.

As the curtains come down on its twentieth anniversary celebrations in Nigeria and across the world, here’s raising the glasses and wishing Nollywood many more scores of colorful and impactful existence.

Madiba Goes Home at 95

Africa has lost its soul. The world mourns the passing of the continent's symbol of peace, unity, and hope. We will remember Nelson Mandela, above all, for being an exceptional leader--for not clinging to power (even when he could have easily done so), for his insistent call for his people to rise above racial hatred, and his dogged commitment to national reconciliation in the post-apartheid South Africa. His broadminded forgiving and accommodating spirit birthed the new "rainbow nation" that South Africa is today and which forms its foundation as a leading economy on the continent.

Rest in Peace, Madiba!

ShowbizPlus Blog Changes Web Address

In a recent press release by ShowbizPlus with Azuh Amatus, the blog that prides itself as "the most authoritative for news in the Nigerian showbiz industry and more" informs its mega and ever growing readership that it has changed its web address--in order to serve them better.

The new address is showbizpluswithazuhamatus.blogspot.com.

Addressing their readers, Azuh Amatus, founder and team leader, said "the new address is in line with our vision and mission of adhering to global best practices. We sincerely apologize and regret any inconvenience this change of web address might have caused you." Azuh further thanked the readers for supporting the vision to make
ShowbizPlus with Azuh Amatus "Africa's number one blog for entertainment and general news."