Africa, Communal Philosophy, and Outlier Thinkers

"The very idea of a communal philosophy that is entailed in the notion of particularistic studies of traditional African philosophies might be put in question. It might be suggested that to talk of the Bantu conception of this or the Zulu conception of that is to postulate a unanimity or consensus in philosophical belief among the traditional peoples for which there is not, and probably can never be, sufficient evidence. It is necessary, in response to this, to explain at once that talk of communal philosophy of an ethnic group does not necessarily imply  that the conceptions involved are entertained by all members of the group. What it means is that anybody thoughtfully knowledgeable about the culture will know that such conceptions are customary in the culture though s/he may not subscribe to it. The evidence for a communal philosophy is very much like that for the customs of a culture. In fact, in quite some cases, customs are encapsulations of some aspects of communal philosophy.
        It is important, however, to note that a communal philosophy is the result of the pooling together over a considerable length of time the thoughts of individual thinkers. Propositions about, say, the constituents of human personality or the nature of time just don't materialize impromptu out of a cosmological bang, big, small, or medium. They emanate from human brans. In an oral tradition the names of the thinkers are often forgotten. This is not always so, however. In Ghana, for example, it is not at all rare for a proverb to be prefaced with the name of its author. Nor is it unusual for such sayings to evince originality and independence of mind. It goes without saying, therefore, that a communal philosophy is a gathering together of inputs from thinkers who may not have agreed on all points. And this, perhaps, accounts for the apparent inconsistencies that one sometimes notices in such bodies of belief."

Kwasi Wiredu, 1998

"Toward Decolonizing African Philosophy and Religion"

African Studies Quarterly, Volume 1 Issue 4

In Memoriam: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

(By Graca Machel) - Last Letter to 'Big Sister' Winnie Madikizela-Mandela 

My Big Sister,

It is with a heavy heart that I address you today. As I struggle to accept your transition, I take solace in the fact that you have risen to become one of the brightest stars in the sky where you will remain ever present and radiantly shining. You will continue to serve as a guide to your loving family, your grateful nation, our beloved Africa, and indeed, the world.

The extraordinary life you led is an example of resilient fortitude and inextinguishable passion that is a source of inspiration to us all of how to courageously confront challenges with unwavering strength and determination. Thank you for your brilliant wisdom, your fierce defiance, and your stylish beauty.

Fortunately, stars shine brightest during the darkest of hours. I know you will continue to illuminate our sky, even through the storms and clouds. Your legacy will be an uplifting beacon from which we can continue to draw guidance and strength during difficult times.

Journalists and Making of Nollywood Stars

Toni Kan

(By Toni Kan) - Celebrating Nigerian Entertainment Icons: A Tribute 

“That night the King could not sleep: so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him.” Esther 6: 1 (NIV)

In ancient times, before Martin Luther and Gothenburg, there existed a select group of individuals whose duties were to record, dutifully and in painstaking detail, significant events that were taking place.

Their writings were called Chronicles or Annals.

Those men were called Scribes and they were an essential part of a King’s court. In today’s world, a Scribe would approximate to a personal lawyer who would prepare a man’s last will and testament or a Confidential Secretary who is privy to all that concerns his principal.

But above all, in the more democratic times that we live in, the modern day Scribe is the journalist, the man or woman who through his writings, records (almost always in a hurry) for posterity, the doings of the people.

The Death of an Industry

(By Jason 'Igwe' Njoku) - The Death of an Industry 

In July 2011, as part of our series A due diligence, Tiger Global had McKinsey & Co conduct a study of Nollywood. The remit was:

1. Nollywood content popularity across Africa

2. Nollywood Industry Structure and Dynamics

- market size, growth, concentration and key trends

- content creator economics

3. Internet, broadband, payments and advertising trends across Africa.

They spoke with over a thousand people in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

Over the weekend, I re-read elements of the study, just to refresh my memory on all that had happened over the last 4.5 years. Let me go ahead and share some of those slides with you.

Sexism, Diapers, and Making it Work in Lagos

Adibeli Nduka-Agwu

(By Adibeli Nduka-Agwu) - Sexism, Diapers and Making it Work in Lagos 

It was my first week in Lagos, squeezing in a workout at the hotel gym, when a pudgy business man I had met earlier entered and started staring. Somewhat irritated I asked: “Sorry, can I help you?” He leaned closer and beamed: “It’s ok… I just enjoy watching you sweat.” My workout was over, my work life had begun.

I left the West three years ago to work across Lagos, Johannesburg and Nairobi expanding iROKOtv.com, “The Netflix of Africa”. I’ve had male counterparts refuse to speak to me (one physically closed his eyes until my male subordinate spoke); I was asked by a male client in a packed meeting room if he could sit on my lap, and the number of business men that hoped they could conclude our deal in their hotel room is endless. Sexism has followed me to Lagos like a virus: unwanted yet unshakable. Yet (and this may surprise some), I would argue that being a woman in Lagos has felt like LESS of a career barrier for me in my work compared to my time in North America or Europe.

Nollywood, iROKOtv, and French-Speaking Africa

(By Jason 'Igwe' Njoku) - Expanding Iroko in French Speaking Africa (FSA) 

When Canal+ invested in Iroko, a bunch of people in the English speaking Africa world kinda scratched their heads. Canal who? Little did we know that Iroko had been distributing dubbed content across FSA since 2013.

In Nigeria, for the most part, French Speaking Africa never really comes up in casual conversations. Unless we are talking domestic staff (especially cooks) and going to Cotonu to buy imported cars, we, as a people, are so inward looking that we don’t really bother to remember that both Nigeria and Ghana are literally surrounded on all sides by French speaking countries. Granted they are all pretty small, but being ~180m people in Nigeria vs ~230m across FSA one can understand a degree of naval gazing.

Nollywood and Mrs Njoku: Content is King

Mary Njoku

(By Jason 'Igwe' Njoku) - Content is King. How I ended up working for Mrs Njoku. Part 1. 

So, ROK on DStv was one a few weeks ago. I thought it important to tell the story of how it came to be. How a new approach to movie making fundamentally returned Nollywood to its roots as a medium to tell our stories.

In 2011, when Mrs Njoku was still Miss Remmy, she told me that she would prefer, by 40, to end up behind the camera rather than in front of it. That was her dream. She always loved storytelling and felt that Alaba-led filmmaking was disconnected from the storytelling core which had popularised Nollywood. She had all these ideas but no-one would really listen. I was her boyfriend so I was obliged to. Everyone who knows me knows I am pretty much wrapped up in myself and I rarely bother about anyone else. So it pretty much went in one ear and out the next. Even though she had been in arguably the biggest hit of 2011, Blackberry Babes, the year was a dry period for movie making for Miss Remmy.

When IROKOtv Celebrated 6 Years

(By Jason 'Igwe' Njoku) - Man. This is a little strange. Very little drama in 2017. We’re IROKO. There is always a little drama lurking somewhere. Alas none this year. To be honest, I ended up spending 5 months of 2017 in London so that pretty much took the wind out of any dramatic things outside of introducing Nnenna, my daughter, into the world. Being a parent is special. When I wasn’t one I used to move around the world fucking fearless. Now, everyday, I’m just scared. Scared that they may fall ill (kids at nursery are always ill), scared that I may let them down (apparently no one told me there is no rule book to raising kids, you just hack it as you go along) and scared that you can’t pay school fees (Holy ghost fire this will never happen in Jesus’ name).

To be honest the most dramatic thing that happened to IROKOtv over the last 12 months has actually been the launch of ROK channels on DStv and SKY. On Tuesday, I was in Johannesburg, and two young Nigerian men blocked me at the fuel station (I drive myself). One of them recognised me and was trying to explain to the other who I was. You know.

You know. The husband of the woman, you know, Nollywood actress, Mrs Mary, who runs ROKTV.

See my life. Post wedding. It was a concerted multi-year campaign to migrate people calling her Mary Remmy, to simply Mrs Njoku. Now I am the husband of the woman who runs ROK. I guess I am just resigned to being the queen in this relationship. In her shadow forever. It’s okay.

(New) Nollywood and Quest for Growth