I think what many people fail to realize about me, is that I was raised African, Cameroonian to be exact. I grew up eating plantain and eggs for breakfast, jellof rice and roasted chicken for lunch, and fufu or gari with okra for dinner. I crave oko obong, eru, achu, ekwang, egussi pudding, koki corn, and nkwi. At 20+ years, I have no qualms about begging my mother to cook for me, because it tastes so much better when she prepares it. As a child, puff puff, chin chin, and coconut sweet were given to me as treats. As I child, I also hated the smell of miondo, but now I love it so much, that I buy bundles of it each time I go home, freeze it and devour it for months!
So when I tell you that I want African food and you tell me that I’ll get “enough of it later”, you are either punishing me or insulting a part of me. For the sake of peace, I’ll just ignore you while I go looking for roasted corn on the side of the road.
Showing posts with label Reinventing Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reinventing Africa. Show all posts
3.08.2010
3.03.2010
What a Calm Airport
I've arrived in Nairobi!!! And is it odd that the thing that has struck/pleased me the most is the fact that this is one of the calmest airports I've ever arrived in???
No one harassed me about my yellow fever card, no one rifled through my luggage, no one even asked for bribes (major!). The most annoying part of my arrival were the tourists who stood in the line for those who already had visas, even though they had to purchase theirs. This tacked an extra half hour to my wait time, but it was okay because everything else was stress free! My colleague and our driver were even waiting for me when I walked out sans harrassment!!!
For a recap of a not so "stress free" and more "authentic" experience, read here and here.
No one harassed me about my yellow fever card, no one rifled through my luggage, no one even asked for bribes (major!). The most annoying part of my arrival were the tourists who stood in the line for those who already had visas, even though they had to purchase theirs. This tacked an extra half hour to my wait time, but it was okay because everything else was stress free! My colleague and our driver were even waiting for me when I walked out sans harrassment!!!
For a recap of a not so "stress free" and more "authentic" experience, read here and here.
2.25.2010
Loooong Overdue
I haven't updated my blog in almost exactly a year. This is completely unacceptable. Soon I am leaving for a trip to Sudan via Nairobi where I assume I'll rejuvenate my muse.
11.27.2008
You Can Find Me in the "A"
It’s been over a year since I’ve been in the “A”, over 3 years since I’ve been back to Cameroon, and my first time in the Central African Republic. Needless to say, I’m a ball of excitement as well as anxious and nervous about what to expect.
This will be my first time in Cameroon without my mother. It will give me a chance to get closer with my brother, but because they’re as I’ve coined them “family strangers”, I don’t know what my interactions will be like with them, without my mother. But in due time I will see.
As for the Central African Republic, I’ve yet to read anything good about the country. They fall in the bottom 5th percentile in almost every category of the development index- education, infrastructure, health, etc. I’ve been told by those that have lived and visited there that I have nothing to look forward to. Thus, this will be a very interesting trip considering I’ve been encouraging foreigners and pessimists to discover the overlooked beauty and potential in Africa. But perhaps if I ignore the overwhelmingly negative outlook surrounding the country and approach it with positivity, I will still be able to discover the beauty in a country so large and filled with so many natural resources.
This will be my first time in Cameroon without my mother. It will give me a chance to get closer with my brother, but because they’re as I’ve coined them “family strangers”, I don’t know what my interactions will be like with them, without my mother. But in due time I will see.
As for the Central African Republic, I’ve yet to read anything good about the country. They fall in the bottom 5th percentile in almost every category of the development index- education, infrastructure, health, etc. I’ve been told by those that have lived and visited there that I have nothing to look forward to. Thus, this will be a very interesting trip considering I’ve been encouraging foreigners and pessimists to discover the overlooked beauty and potential in Africa. But perhaps if I ignore the overwhelmingly negative outlook surrounding the country and approach it with positivity, I will still be able to discover the beauty in a country so large and filled with so many natural resources.
11.06.2008
YES WE CAN!!!
On November 4, 2008 Barack Obama became the first African-American president of the United States.
It was a very emotionally charged accomplishment with celebrations taking place all over the world- most notably in Obama's father's hometown of Kogelo, Kenya.
However, beyond the historical implications of this feat the world has so much to learn. For centuries Africans have been underestimated as a people and we have admittedly underestimated ourselves. Obama has not only shown young Black people in America and the Western world what they can some day be, but he has proven to the whole diaspora what we can strive to one day become as leaders of ourselves and the free world.An editorial in Kampala, Uganda's New Vision newspaper summed up my sentiments exactly. Africa should use this excitement as an impetus for democratic reform and realize not what Obama can do for Africa, but what Africa can do for itself in cooperation with the US due to an Obama administration (a sentiment encouragingly echoed by President Kagame).
Yes we can!
EDITORIAL
5 November 2008
Posted to the web 6 November 2008
Kampala
History was yesterday made when Senator Barack Obama swept the polls to become the first African American president since the birth of the USA more than two centuries ago.
Obama's victory sealed his catch phrase: "Yes, we can," and demonstrates how determination and high level of organisation can deliver effective results against all odds. The Developing World and Africa in particular, has a lot to learn from this.
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First, they should stop blaming their woes on others, put their act together and come up with strategies to pull the continent from backwardness. Yes, we can.
Secondly, the economic and political systems in the Developing World should be geared towards empowering the masses to recognise and promote talents and ability rather than mere party loyalty.
Thirdly, John McCain's acceptance of defeat and promise to work with Obama demonstrates that race and intrigue has no place in the modern world and that losing an election should not result into sworn enmity.
Obama has become president of the most powerful country in the world at the time the US is experiencing the worst economic crisis in a century.
However, the big problems he has at home should not obscure his view of the rest of the world. In particular, positive policies towards the Developing World like the African Growth and Opportunities Act, the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief and the Millennium Challenge Corporation - whether put in place by the Republicans or not should continue.
As the world celebrates, the Developing World should not expect immediate windfalls from the Obama administration. Because the US is facing the worst economic down turn, it is very easy to forget the rest of the world, especially Africa.
The Developing World should therefore, continue pressing for fair trade policies. As President Yoweri Museveni has always said, it is trade and not aid that will pull Africa out of poverty. Yes, we can.
9.28.2008
African Bourgeois Hypocrites
An excerpt from Colonialism and the Two Publics in Africa: A Theoretical Statement by Peter P. Ekeh
A piece that was written in Jan 1975, but is still so relevant today!
African Bourgeois Ideologies of Legitimation
The colonial ideologies have had a major impact on Africans. The absence
of a strong traditional ethos, for instance in the form of a pan-African
religion, made Africans easy targets of these ideologies. But there was
considerable variation in the spread of their effects on Africans. The
Western educated African was a greater victim of their intensity than the
non-literate African. The acceptance of the colonial ideologies in many
ways led to the creation by the African bourgeois class of its own ideologies.
The purpose behind the colonial ideologies, wrought by colonial
administrators and missionaries, was to legitimate an alien domination
of Africans; African bourgeois ideologies were formed to achieve two
interrelated goals. First, they were intended to serve as weapons to be
used by the African bourgeois class for replacing the colonial rulers;
second, they were intended to serve as mechanisms for legitimating their
hold on their own people. Both types of ideologies were largely directed
at the African masses. However, in terms of timing, the first set was used
during colonialism and was an attack on alien rulers. I shall call this set
anti-colonial ideologies. The second set of ideologies is more directly
related to the issue of legitimation and is involved in post-colonial politics
in Africa. Its appearance coincided with the departure of the alien colonial
rulers. I shall call these post-colonial ideologies of legitimation.
(1) Anti-colonial Ideologies. What I call anti-colonial ideologies here
refer to the interest-begotten reasons and strategies of the Western
educated African bourgeoisie who sought to replace the colonial rulers.
Anti-colonialism did not in fact mean opposition to the perceived ideals and principles of Western institutions. On the contrary, a great deal of anti-colonialism was predicated on the manifest acceptance of these ideals and principles, accompanied by the insistence that conformity with them indicated a level of achievement that ought to earn the new educated
Africans the right to the leadership of their country. Ultimately, the source
of legitimacy for the new African leadership has become alien. Anticolonialism
was against alien colonial personnel but glaringly pro foreign
ideals and principles.
African high standards. In every post-colonial African nation, Western
educated Africans, that is the African bourgeoisie, have bent over backwards
to show that their standards of education and administration are
as good as those of their former colonizers. The point of reference in such
demonstrations is to prove that they are the 'equals', but never the
betters, of their former rulers. At least if they judge their standards of
education and administration not to be as high as those prevailing in the
capitals of the former colonizing nations, they rue the fact of their 'low'
standards and make attempts to raise them. Nowhere does one come across
the statement that the prevailing standards, say, in England are not high
enough or too high for the problems in, say, Nigeria. These 'high'
standards are invariably defined in terms of the prevailing, that is ordinary,
standards in the former colonizing nations.
This ideology of African high standards had its origin in the fight for
independence. Most African, leaders in the fight for independence boasted
to their followers that they were as qualified as the English or the French
colonizers; that their rule could be as 'democratic' as that in England or
France; that Africans could attain as high a degree of efficiency in
bureaucracy as that in Britain or France, etc. In his manner of speaking
the English language and of pronouncing English words, the Nigerian
'been-to',7 for instance, wants to demonstrate to the common man that
he is as good as an Englishman in the use of the English language.
There is logic to these over-zealous attempts by the African bourgeois
class to prove the equal, but never the better, of the former colonizers.
They are a message addressed to the masses that educated Africans have
attained the level of the colonizers and therefore can replace them permanently.
It is not required to prove oneself the better of the former
colonizers to do so, since their behaviors represented the very best in the
view of Africans.
Anyone who has studied in a leading university-at Berkeley, Harvard,
or Oxford-will have noticed that very little is ever said about high
standards. It is the less distinguished institutions that want to appear to
be as good as Berkeley, Stanford, or the Sorbonne. The same is true of
the African bourgeois class. In many ways they are at a considerable
disadvantage in attempting to do things as Englishmen in what Englishmen
do best: speaking the English language. To take the example of the
most successful non-Westerners in history, the Japanese do not strive to
speak English or French as well as an Englishman and an American or as
a Frenchman. They see themselves as different from them. The African
bourgeois, born out of the colonial experience, is very uncomfortable with
the idea of being different from his former colonizers in matters regarding
education, administration, or technology. One suspects that he is unconsciously
afraid that he may not be qualified to be an effective replacer
of the former colonizers. If he does reject an English model, he wants
to take an American model; but the point is still that he wants to validate
his replacement of the colonizers by accepting the standards of the
Americans who were after all potential colonizers in Africa.
A piece that was written in Jan 1975, but is still so relevant today!
African Bourgeois Ideologies of Legitimation
The colonial ideologies have had a major impact on Africans. The absence
of a strong traditional ethos, for instance in the form of a pan-African
religion, made Africans easy targets of these ideologies. But there was
considerable variation in the spread of their effects on Africans. The
Western educated African was a greater victim of their intensity than the
non-literate African. The acceptance of the colonial ideologies in many
ways led to the creation by the African bourgeois class of its own ideologies.
The purpose behind the colonial ideologies, wrought by colonial
administrators and missionaries, was to legitimate an alien domination
of Africans; African bourgeois ideologies were formed to achieve two
interrelated goals. First, they were intended to serve as weapons to be
used by the African bourgeois class for replacing the colonial rulers;
second, they were intended to serve as mechanisms for legitimating their
hold on their own people. Both types of ideologies were largely directed
at the African masses. However, in terms of timing, the first set was used
during colonialism and was an attack on alien rulers. I shall call this set
anti-colonial ideologies. The second set of ideologies is more directly
related to the issue of legitimation and is involved in post-colonial politics
in Africa. Its appearance coincided with the departure of the alien colonial
rulers. I shall call these post-colonial ideologies of legitimation.
(1) Anti-colonial Ideologies. What I call anti-colonial ideologies here
refer to the interest-begotten reasons and strategies of the Western
educated African bourgeoisie who sought to replace the colonial rulers.
Anti-colonialism did not in fact mean opposition to the perceived ideals and principles of Western institutions. On the contrary, a great deal of anti-colonialism was predicated on the manifest acceptance of these ideals and principles, accompanied by the insistence that conformity with them indicated a level of achievement that ought to earn the new educated
Africans the right to the leadership of their country. Ultimately, the source
of legitimacy for the new African leadership has become alien. Anticolonialism
was against alien colonial personnel but glaringly pro foreign
ideals and principles.
African high standards. In every post-colonial African nation, Western
educated Africans, that is the African bourgeoisie, have bent over backwards
to show that their standards of education and administration are
as good as those of their former colonizers. The point of reference in such
demonstrations is to prove that they are the 'equals', but never the
betters, of their former rulers. At least if they judge their standards of
education and administration not to be as high as those prevailing in the
capitals of the former colonizing nations, they rue the fact of their 'low'
standards and make attempts to raise them. Nowhere does one come across
the statement that the prevailing standards, say, in England are not high
enough or too high for the problems in, say, Nigeria. These 'high'
standards are invariably defined in terms of the prevailing, that is ordinary,
standards in the former colonizing nations.
This ideology of African high standards had its origin in the fight for
independence. Most African, leaders in the fight for independence boasted
to their followers that they were as qualified as the English or the French
colonizers; that their rule could be as 'democratic' as that in England or
France; that Africans could attain as high a degree of efficiency in
bureaucracy as that in Britain or France, etc. In his manner of speaking
the English language and of pronouncing English words, the Nigerian
'been-to',7 for instance, wants to demonstrate to the common man that
he is as good as an Englishman in the use of the English language.
There is logic to these over-zealous attempts by the African bourgeois
class to prove the equal, but never the better, of the former colonizers.
They are a message addressed to the masses that educated Africans have
attained the level of the colonizers and therefore can replace them permanently.
It is not required to prove oneself the better of the former
colonizers to do so, since their behaviors represented the very best in the
view of Africans.
Anyone who has studied in a leading university-at Berkeley, Harvard,
or Oxford-will have noticed that very little is ever said about high
standards. It is the less distinguished institutions that want to appear to
be as good as Berkeley, Stanford, or the Sorbonne. The same is true of
the African bourgeois class. In many ways they are at a considerable
disadvantage in attempting to do things as Englishmen in what Englishmen
do best: speaking the English language. To take the example of the
most successful non-Westerners in history, the Japanese do not strive to
speak English or French as well as an Englishman and an American or as
a Frenchman. They see themselves as different from them. The African
bourgeois, born out of the colonial experience, is very uncomfortable with
the idea of being different from his former colonizers in matters regarding
education, administration, or technology. One suspects that he is unconsciously
afraid that he may not be qualified to be an effective replacer
of the former colonizers. If he does reject an English model, he wants
to take an American model; but the point is still that he wants to validate
his replacement of the colonizers by accepting the standards of the
Americans who were after all potential colonizers in Africa.
9.22.2008
Malawi: A Champion Against HIV/AIDS!
In 2004, Malawi began offering free antiretroviral therapy to thousands of patients in order to decrease the spread of HIV/AIDS. At the time, HIV/AIDS accounted for 58% of deaths of people aged 15-59. Today, of the 159,111 people receiving the drugs, 106,547 are still alive- representing a 67% survival rating and 75% national decrease of AIDS related deaths, overall.
9.15.2008
Power Sharing Deal Reached in Zimbabwe
Today, the new leaders of Zimbabwe announced the details of the power sharing deal reached on Friday. President Mbeki mediated the negotiations which maintains Robert Mugabe's seat as President and establishes opposition leaders, Morgan Tsvangirai as Prime Minister and Arthur Mutambara, who heads a breakaway faction of the MDC, Deputy Prime Minister
Though the full details of the deal have yet to be disclosed, President Mugabe will remain head of state, the cabinet, and the armed services. Prime Minister Tsvangirai will head the council of ministers and the police.
This is most definitely a step in the right direction and I can't wait to see how Zimbabweans as well as the international community will react. Mugabe largely criticized the UK for their interference in the political conflict by imposing sanctions and ZANU-PF and MDC supporters did not seem to mirror the reconciliatory spirit of Mugabe and Tsvangirai and clashed outside the conference center where the event took place. I hope that these are not signs that this showcase of cooperation is not truly genuine. Zimbabwe has a plethora of rebuilding to do and cannot achieve success without the strength of cooperation.
9.05.2008
Transparency Is the Theme of the Week!
President Koroma of Sierra Leone has declared his assets to the country's Anti-Corruption Commission. I find this news encouraging not only because of my extended critic of King Mswati of Swaziland, but because President Koroma ran on an anti-corruption platform and this is his first effort to prove it wasn't all talk. Hopefully he can be a pivotal leader in the quest to rid African countries of such a pervasive level of corruption on a micro and macro level.
9.03.2008
Obama Believes in Transparency and So Does Africa!
The other day I told you about a group who was exploiting Obama's campaign in order to raise unauthorized funds. Well, I'm happy to report that the anti-graft investigators in the country have seized the money and will return it to those who attended the event. They recovered $630,000 but would not press charges against the event organizers, because no national laws had been broken.
But in an effort to stay positive... Yes We Can!
But in an effort to stay positive... Yes We Can!
8.28.2008
Africans for Obama
I knew that with all the excitement in Africa surrounding Senator Barack Obama's presidential nomination, it was only a matter of time before profiteers would rear their ugly heads.
As I have said a million times and will continue to say, I am a staunch supporter of Barack Obama, however, many Africans abroad seem to care more about Obama's political campaign than they do the politics of their own nation! Perhaps it is their way of coping with the pervasive lack of democracy consuming the continent or perhaps they celebrate his achievement in hopes that other Black leaders will follow his example.
But what I don't understand and most definitely cannot accept is the exploitation of Obama's campaign abroad.
The BBC recently exposed a group calling itself Africans for Obama that was holding fundraisers under the premise of Barack Obama's campaign. The group was charging $21,000 a table for events in support of Obama's bid for presidency. However, US political parties cannot accept funds from groups outside of the US. When the BBC confronted the leader of the group with this minor, but critical detail, she stated that the purpose of the event was raise funds to spend on advertising to convince their relatives in the US to vote for Obama in the upcoming election.
Putting aside the ridiculousness of this justification for fraud, why couldnt such an event be launched to reach out to rural voters within their own country and educate them about their political process, or to raise funds to ensure that all children receive insecticide treated bed nets to reduce the level of fatalities due to malaria, or to ensure that all households had access to safe and clean water, or donated to a million other issues that have hampered development in Africa?!?!?
Tonight, Barack Obama will become the first Black man to accept a major party nomination for President of the United States. Let us come together as Africans in support of his accomplishment and draft US foreign policy objectives that will build on Obama's legacy and benefit Africans across the globe!
6.30.2008
Want to Work in Africa?
Zebrajobs.com a website that work towards making it easier to find jobs in Africa is having a virtual job fair that will run for 3 months from September 15- December 15. After looking at this site, I am looking forward to the job fair. The site has almost 4,000 jobs at all levels that are targeted to expats and locals. It is a great way for people interested in working in Africa to have a more synthesized avenue to search in.
6.03.2008
Reigniting the Harvards of Africa
In a previous post, I discussed my disillusion with African Universities which had once been the pinnacle of esteem. In recent decades, however, African Universities have taken a drastic decline due to lack of funding and resources at the expense of the student body, faculty, and infrastructure. Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, which onces boasted a rich history and scholarship is now plagued with logistical and technical issues inherently linked to a lack of funding and government support.
I have always advocated partnerships with more lucrative bodies, whether or not they may be Western organizations or donors. However, I have always asserted that these partnerships should not weaken or erase the true spirit and relevance of African education, which is deep rooted in the culture and way of life of its people. For this reason, I have been a critic of Abti-American University of Nigeria's structure.
But alas, Harvard University alumni have formed an organization they call Harvard Alumni for Social Action, which dedicates its efforts to supporting African universities. The beauty in this partnership is that these group of alumni realize the potential reached and that still lies in African Universities, as well as the abundance of resources available within their network and have made it their goal to raise African Universities to a standard that they themselves once upheld. Currently, their funding is focused on the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and based on the information provided in their fact sheet, I would say that their impact is beneficial and sustainable
I have always advocated partnerships with more lucrative bodies, whether or not they may be Western organizations or donors. However, I have always asserted that these partnerships should not weaken or erase the true spirit and relevance of African education, which is deep rooted in the culture and way of life of its people. For this reason, I have been a critic of Abti-American University of Nigeria's structure.
But alas, Harvard University alumni have formed an organization they call Harvard Alumni for Social Action, which dedicates its efforts to supporting African universities. The beauty in this partnership is that these group of alumni realize the potential reached and that still lies in African Universities, as well as the abundance of resources available within their network and have made it their goal to raise African Universities to a standard that they themselves once upheld. Currently, their funding is focused on the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and based on the information provided in their fact sheet, I would say that their impact is beneficial and sustainable
6.02.2008
African Literature and Art
One of my favorite pastimes besides writing is reading, especially books by African authors. It is a goal of mine to incorporate into this blog, not only news from Africa, but reviews on my favorite books as well. Until I get there, however I have found links to a few blogs that highlight African writing and thought I'd share them.
Cameroon Literature in English is a site that focuses on English writing by Cameroonians. I can see the necessity of this site, considering many people I meet, including Africans, do not realize that Cameroon is also an English speaking country. I have also had difficulty finding novels by Cameroonian writers, so I'm excited that a site showcases their work.
Discovery of Gambian Literature & Writing showcases just that in the form of author profiles.
Wordsbody touches on every aspect of African art, including the beauty of African languages. As does Kenyanpoet, which focuses specifically on Kenya.
Cameroon Literature in English is a site that focuses on English writing by Cameroonians. I can see the necessity of this site, considering many people I meet, including Africans, do not realize that Cameroon is also an English speaking country. I have also had difficulty finding novels by Cameroonian writers, so I'm excited that a site showcases their work.
Discovery of Gambian Literature & Writing showcases just that in the form of author profiles.
Wordsbody touches on every aspect of African art, including the beauty of African languages. As does Kenyanpoet, which focuses specifically on Kenya.
5.12.2008
Saddest Thing I've Heard All Day
"When I grow up, I want to go to Africa and civilize people and teach them how to be good." - Bruce, a seven year old child on "Seven Up!"
This evening I began watching the "Seven Up!" series. If you haven't heard of it, it's a series that was produced decades ago in England. A group of fourteen seven-year-olds were chosen and filmed every seven years of their life until the turn of the century. They are chosen to represent different socioeconomic backgrounds. All of the children are White, except for one mixed boy, who doesn't seem to realize that he is half Black at this point.
The child who I quoted, Bruce, comes from a quite privileged background and is attending a boarding school. He has traveled to Africa before and claims to have a girlfriend waiting for him there, but sadly, even at his young age, he is still able to articulate such a negative ,yet innocent, view of Africa.
This evening I began watching the "Seven Up!" series. If you haven't heard of it, it's a series that was produced decades ago in England. A group of fourteen seven-year-olds were chosen and filmed every seven years of their life until the turn of the century. They are chosen to represent different socioeconomic backgrounds. All of the children are White, except for one mixed boy, who doesn't seem to realize that he is half Black at this point.
The child who I quoted, Bruce, comes from a quite privileged background and is attending a boarding school. He has traveled to Africa before and claims to have a girlfriend waiting for him there, but sadly, even at his young age, he is still able to articulate such a negative ,yet innocent, view of Africa.
I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself!
Everyone once in a while, I come across an article that I can really appreciate. I feel no need to summarize or even comment much on it, because I couldn't have said it better myself! The following outlines why the lack of support given to students in African Universities will prevent them from developing and producing successful unique ventures.
Africa: Why Continent May Never Produce a Facebook
Mfonobong Nsehe
Randall Pinkett is a nice guy. You've probably heard of him. He's the savvy Rhodes MBA scholar, self-made millionaire entrepreneur, author, coach and motivational speaker who beat 17 other contestants to clinch the plum job in the fourth season edition of Real Estate tycoon, Donald Trump's famed and widely syndicated 'Apprentice' reality TV show.
As an author, Randall has written a book that would definitely be a student entrepreneur's delight. It is a very practical how-to guide for aspiring student entrepreneurs on how to successfully launch and run a profitable business while still in school. The title of the book is 'Campus CEO: The student entrepreneur's guide to launching a multi-million dollar business.'
In the book, Randall wrote a chapter that I found very interesting. It was on the issue of financing the businesses of student entrepreneurs.
As Randall noted, several universities in the United States and other more-developed countries of the world are very supportive of student entrepreneurs.
Many universities organise annual business plan competitions in their campuses in which students present their business ideas and business plans before a committee of well-established, seasoned and experienced business scholars, analysts and venture capitalists who review the students' prospective business plans.
At the end of the day, based on the strengths and prospects of their respective business plans, winners are selected and these winners stand to win cash prizes ranging from $10,000, $20,000, and in some cases, even as much as $100,000 to boost their start-up businesses.
Even for those students who do not win these University Business plan competitions, a coterie of venture capitalists scout through the business plan entries, eagerly seeking potential ventures to finance. Many big time corporations eventually spring up from these business plan competitions. Elsewhere, venture capitalists consider Universities the best place to find start-up companies that would be the 'Next big thing.'
But let's take a trip down to African Colleges and Universities. Are there any universities at all which are as supportive of student entrepreneurs as to organizing business plan competitions to fund businesses of students which have mega potential?
In the West, universities are eager to support student entrepreneurs in their campuses and even go out of their way looking for students with exceptional business ideas. Due to this kind of support, many big time corporations have sprung up from dormitory rooms in campuses from the United States. Apart from the fact that massive corporations are established, the schools where these ventures are established are instantly propelled to world fame.
Stanford University, for instance will forever occupy a pride of place among the list of the world's most elite Universities considering that companies like Yahoo and Google sprung up from there.
But how about Universities in Africa- Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria or Uganda? Where are you going to find venture capitalists in Kenya or elsewhere in Africa who will be willing to swallow their pride and listen to a student entrepreneur who is armed with nothing but a world-shaking idea? All the brightest ideas need not come from the West alone.
Truth is, many African students also have potential earth-shaking ideas-maybe even bigger than Google, Yahoo, Dell and Napster (all ventures begun by student entrepreneurs), but they are still waiting to see the light of day due to lack of capital. African entrepreneur students equally have business ideas that can grow into a big corporation, change the world and make lots of money.
A close friend of mine in Nigeria once had a crazy technology idea which needed only a few hundred thousand dollars to kick off with. Approaching banks and other so-called 'venture capitalists', he was snubbed extensively, discouraged and told to face his studies. Annoyed and frustrated, he eventually got a study abroad scholarship.
Within six months of staying in Canada, he secured the funding he needed, and as I write, his company's value is in the multi-million dollar range. As much as I know, his financiers have had an almost 200 per cent return on their investment in barely 12 months of operation.
We have such bright student entrepreneurs in Africa. But until African financiers and the self-proclaimed 'Venture capitalists' are easily accessible and listen to student entrepreneurs in our African Universities, Africa may never have its own answers to such mega, internationally famed corporations like Google, Yahoo, TicketAdvantage, CollegeHumor and Facebook which were all the brainchildren of student entrepreneurs.
We need financiers who will believe in and support the dreams of African student entrepreneurs and get those big ideas out of the boxes and into the pages of history. African student entrepreneurs are equally as smart, gifted and visionary and if supported can come up with big, world-changing ideas that would change the world.
And so, will the venture capitalists in Africa please stand up?
Africa: Why Continent May Never Produce a Facebook
Mfonobong Nsehe
Randall Pinkett is a nice guy. You've probably heard of him. He's the savvy Rhodes MBA scholar, self-made millionaire entrepreneur, author, coach and motivational speaker who beat 17 other contestants to clinch the plum job in the fourth season edition of Real Estate tycoon, Donald Trump's famed and widely syndicated 'Apprentice' reality TV show.
As an author, Randall has written a book that would definitely be a student entrepreneur's delight. It is a very practical how-to guide for aspiring student entrepreneurs on how to successfully launch and run a profitable business while still in school. The title of the book is 'Campus CEO: The student entrepreneur's guide to launching a multi-million dollar business.'
In the book, Randall wrote a chapter that I found very interesting. It was on the issue of financing the businesses of student entrepreneurs.
As Randall noted, several universities in the United States and other more-developed countries of the world are very supportive of student entrepreneurs.
Many universities organise annual business plan competitions in their campuses in which students present their business ideas and business plans before a committee of well-established, seasoned and experienced business scholars, analysts and venture capitalists who review the students' prospective business plans.
At the end of the day, based on the strengths and prospects of their respective business plans, winners are selected and these winners stand to win cash prizes ranging from $10,000, $20,000, and in some cases, even as much as $100,000 to boost their start-up businesses.
Even for those students who do not win these University Business plan competitions, a coterie of venture capitalists scout through the business plan entries, eagerly seeking potential ventures to finance. Many big time corporations eventually spring up from these business plan competitions. Elsewhere, venture capitalists consider Universities the best place to find start-up companies that would be the 'Next big thing.'
But let's take a trip down to African Colleges and Universities. Are there any universities at all which are as supportive of student entrepreneurs as to organizing business plan competitions to fund businesses of students which have mega potential?
In the West, universities are eager to support student entrepreneurs in their campuses and even go out of their way looking for students with exceptional business ideas. Due to this kind of support, many big time corporations have sprung up from dormitory rooms in campuses from the United States. Apart from the fact that massive corporations are established, the schools where these ventures are established are instantly propelled to world fame.
Stanford University, for instance will forever occupy a pride of place among the list of the world's most elite Universities considering that companies like Yahoo and Google sprung up from there.
But how about Universities in Africa- Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria or Uganda? Where are you going to find venture capitalists in Kenya or elsewhere in Africa who will be willing to swallow their pride and listen to a student entrepreneur who is armed with nothing but a world-shaking idea? All the brightest ideas need not come from the West alone.
Truth is, many African students also have potential earth-shaking ideas-maybe even bigger than Google, Yahoo, Dell and Napster (all ventures begun by student entrepreneurs), but they are still waiting to see the light of day due to lack of capital. African entrepreneur students equally have business ideas that can grow into a big corporation, change the world and make lots of money.
A close friend of mine in Nigeria once had a crazy technology idea which needed only a few hundred thousand dollars to kick off with. Approaching banks and other so-called 'venture capitalists', he was snubbed extensively, discouraged and told to face his studies. Annoyed and frustrated, he eventually got a study abroad scholarship.
Within six months of staying in Canada, he secured the funding he needed, and as I write, his company's value is in the multi-million dollar range. As much as I know, his financiers have had an almost 200 per cent return on their investment in barely 12 months of operation.
We have such bright student entrepreneurs in Africa. But until African financiers and the self-proclaimed 'Venture capitalists' are easily accessible and listen to student entrepreneurs in our African Universities, Africa may never have its own answers to such mega, internationally famed corporations like Google, Yahoo, TicketAdvantage, CollegeHumor and Facebook which were all the brainchildren of student entrepreneurs.
We need financiers who will believe in and support the dreams of African student entrepreneurs and get those big ideas out of the boxes and into the pages of history. African student entrepreneurs are equally as smart, gifted and visionary and if supported can come up with big, world-changing ideas that would change the world.
And so, will the venture capitalists in Africa please stand up?
4.28.2008
Respecting Your Roots- Rest in Peace Aimé Fernand David Césaire
I can not claim to have created the intellect behind my quest to "Reinvent Africa" in the eyes of those who don't know her.
Aimé Fernand David Césaire was a writer and influential leader in the movement to "reinvent"the perception of Negroes throughout the world. At a time when colonialist and imperialist powers were still lauded for their control and exploitation over southern nations and people, Aimé Césaire used his words to denounce such beliefs.
I remember reading "Discourse on Colonialism" during my freshman year of college in my Introduction to African American history course. And though I did not immediately understand its significance, as I have grown and traveled, I have come to understand the impact on colonialism on the colonizers and colonized, as well as the need for Black people to free themselves from mental slavery. The quest of this blog is to facilitate and open and honest discourse about Africans and the Diaspora because as we've realized through the work of Césaire and other revolutionaries, colonialism did not only exist politically. Africans around the world were trapped mentally and came to believe that they were inferior to the colonizers. It is only through an open and honest examination of ourselves that we can strive to and achieve greatness, through what we experience in our communities.
Aimé Fernand David Césaire was a writer and influential leader in the movement to "reinvent"the perception of Negroes throughout the world. At a time when colonialist and imperialist powers were still lauded for their control and exploitation over southern nations and people, Aimé Césaire used his words to denounce such beliefs.
I remember reading "Discourse on Colonialism" during my freshman year of college in my Introduction to African American history course. And though I did not immediately understand its significance, as I have grown and traveled, I have come to understand the impact on colonialism on the colonizers and colonized, as well as the need for Black people to free themselves from mental slavery. The quest of this blog is to facilitate and open and honest discourse about Africans and the Diaspora because as we've realized through the work of Césaire and other revolutionaries, colonialism did not only exist politically. Africans around the world were trapped mentally and came to believe that they were inferior to the colonizers. It is only through an open and honest examination of ourselves that we can strive to and achieve greatness, through what we experience in our communities.
7.01.2007
Renascent Africa
Many times I am asked how I came up with the concept of Reinventing Africa. Many people assume that my quest is to literally change the geographical make of the continent. However, when I use this term, I am communicating a desire to transform the misconceptions that foreigners have held about the continent, its people, and its capabilities. This term also refers to my desire to develop Africa. But no matter how much I try to explain the vision that I hold in the use of this term, I can not.
While reading Renascent Africa by Nnamdi Azikiwe, in his preface I came across a series of passages, that exemplified my vision and I think he is able to explain it better than I am. However, it is sad that though his book was published in 1968 at the brink of independence for most countries, almost 40 years later, the same vision is still applicable...
Today the continent of Africa is the focal point of European territorial ambitions.
France, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, and Spain have colonial possessions in Africa. They are among the “have” nations.
There are other States which have no colonial possessions in Africa. They are among the “have not” nations.
A clash between the two groups is inevitable.
Amidst these conflicting ambitions of Europe for territorial expansion in Africa is the human factor- the fate of indigenous black Africans who dwell on this continent.
They constitute an extraneous element, so far as European imperialism is concerned. Their raw material mean more to Europe than their existence to enjoy the fullest of life, as do the Europeans, on their own continent, respectively. Their man-power seems only valuable for the machinery of European imperialism and militarism.
That the indigenous black Africans are not destined to accept the old idea of imperialism as revealed law handed down to Moses on Mount Sinai; that the twentieth-century African is bound to be renascent; and that this Renascent African must be reckoned with as a concrescent factor in the peace of the world, is the theme of this book.
In view of the revolutionary concept of Africa and Africans, some terminologies employed in this book deserve clarification:
Old Africa refers to the Africa of yesterday
Renascent Africa refers to the Africa of today
New Africa refers to the Africa of tomorrow
African refers to any indigenous black person
The Renascent African exists in a transitional stage between the Old and the New Africans. He refuses to view his future passively. He is articulate. He is destined to usher forth the New Africa.
To avoid ambiguity, it is necessary to explain what is meant by the New Africa.
Naturally, the continent of Africa cannot be reshaped. Geophysical phenomena were responsible for its fixity, etc. It is, therefore, beyond human power to change the physical map of Africa.
The term is used in a psycho-social sense. It is the renascence of Africans and the reformation of African society.
In Africa, outside of the immoral contributions made by the ancestors of the African, in antiquity- when Ethiopia was at the height of its majesty- and their forebears, during medieval times- when Songhay was in its splendour- African society has remained stagnant.
The slave trade and some of the evils of imperialism have helped to perpetuate the static condition of Africans. These offer a challenge- that the New Africa must come to pass.
The philosophy of the New Africa hinges itself on five bases. These are indispensable to its realization.
1. Spiritual Balance must be cultivated by Renascent African. This means respect for the views of others. Difference of opinion should not destroy friendship. In the Old Africa, difference of opinions intensified the wide gap between the various sections of the communities. Voltaire said that although he might disagree with his opponents, yet their right to state their opinion must be conceded, even if it cost his death in so doing. It means that the feelings of others must be taken into consideration, and that no ulterior motives should influence one’s criticism of others.
2. Social Regeneration must be experienced in African society. African conventions cannot be said to be consistent with what is ethical, just, and equitable. African society must be democratic. The ills of the present social order hinge on the continuation of the forces of man’s inhumanity to man. Let the Renascent African take upon himself the burden of looking at his fellow African as a man, nothing more, nothing less. Tribal appellations cause tribal idiosyncrasies; these lead ultimately to vanity and superciliousness and disharmony.
A regenerated social order must come. Fanti or Gar, Temne or Mende, Yoruba or Ibo, Bantu or Touareg, Bubi or Hausa, Jolloff or Kru- all are Africans- all are human beings.
3. Economic Determinism must be the basis of African economic thought. The quest for food, shelter, and clothing has been the primal motive in the establishment of society. It was responsible for the formulation of the social and political institutions of society. It is still the determinant factor in African contemporary history.
The Renascent African cannot create a new social order without an economic foundation. No longer must wealth be concentrated in the hands of the few. No longer must the profit motive guide and control the aims in life of the African. No longer must the wage-earners be told of dignity that does not seem to exist in labour.
Let the Renascent African make tomorrow secure for posterity, and a milestone is reached toward African economic interdependence with the rest of the world.
4. Mental Emancipation is necessary in order to crystallize the New Africa. This includes education of the sort which should teach African youth to have faith in his ability: to believe that he is the equal of the people of other races of mankind- mentally and physically; to look at no man as his superior simply because that man comes from the Antartic or Artic regions. It means that the Renascent African must be rid of the inferiority complex and all the trappings of hat-in-hand Uncle Tomism.
Educate the Renascent African to be a man. Tell him that he has made definite contributions to history. Educate him to appreciate the fact that iron was discovered by Africans; that the conception of one God was initiated by Africans; that Africans ruled the world from 763 to 713 BC; that while Europe slumbered during “the dark ages” a great civilization flourished on the banks of the Niger, extending from the salt mines of Terghazza in Morocco, to Lake Chad, right to the Atlantic. Narrate to him the lore of Ethiopia, of Ghana, Melle, Mellestine, Songhay.
Let him relish with the rest of the world that while Oxford and Cambridge were in their inchoate stages, the University of Sankore in Timbuctoo welcomed “Scholars and learned men from all over the Moslem world”, as Sir Percy puts it
The Renascent African will be better off with men and women who are trained to appreciate these facts of African history, than with those who spend a lifetime in Europe or America, for purposes of mis-education and devaluation of African culture and civilization
5. National Risorgimento is inevitable. When the Renascent African has cultivated spiritual balance, regenerated his society, planned his society economically, and has experienced mental emancipation, his political status cannot be in doubt. It is from within that the element of national greatness springs.
Let Renascent Africans usher in a New Africa, and Africans of tomorrow need not continue to be in political servitude. The forces of nationalism are automatic, especially when factors leading to them are intelligently directed. The right of self-determination is a phenomenon which defies human ingenuity.
Forces which were responsible for the birth, growth, and decay of Ethiopia, Egypt, Babylo-Assyria, Phoenicia, Greece, and Rome will determine the fate of the West, the East, and Africa.
While reading Renascent Africa by Nnamdi Azikiwe, in his preface I came across a series of passages, that exemplified my vision and I think he is able to explain it better than I am. However, it is sad that though his book was published in 1968 at the brink of independence for most countries, almost 40 years later, the same vision is still applicable...
Today the continent of Africa is the focal point of European territorial ambitions.
France, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, and Spain have colonial possessions in Africa. They are among the “have” nations.
There are other States which have no colonial possessions in Africa. They are among the “have not” nations.
A clash between the two groups is inevitable.
Amidst these conflicting ambitions of Europe for territorial expansion in Africa is the human factor- the fate of indigenous black Africans who dwell on this continent.
They constitute an extraneous element, so far as European imperialism is concerned. Their raw material mean more to Europe than their existence to enjoy the fullest of life, as do the Europeans, on their own continent, respectively. Their man-power seems only valuable for the machinery of European imperialism and militarism.
That the indigenous black Africans are not destined to accept the old idea of imperialism as revealed law handed down to Moses on Mount Sinai; that the twentieth-century African is bound to be renascent; and that this Renascent African must be reckoned with as a concrescent factor in the peace of the world, is the theme of this book.
In view of the revolutionary concept of Africa and Africans, some terminologies employed in this book deserve clarification:
Old Africa refers to the Africa of yesterday
Renascent Africa refers to the Africa of today
New Africa refers to the Africa of tomorrow
African refers to any indigenous black person
The Renascent African exists in a transitional stage between the Old and the New Africans. He refuses to view his future passively. He is articulate. He is destined to usher forth the New Africa.
To avoid ambiguity, it is necessary to explain what is meant by the New Africa.
Naturally, the continent of Africa cannot be reshaped. Geophysical phenomena were responsible for its fixity, etc. It is, therefore, beyond human power to change the physical map of Africa.
The term is used in a psycho-social sense. It is the renascence of Africans and the reformation of African society.
In Africa, outside of the immoral contributions made by the ancestors of the African, in antiquity- when Ethiopia was at the height of its majesty- and their forebears, during medieval times- when Songhay was in its splendour- African society has remained stagnant.
The slave trade and some of the evils of imperialism have helped to perpetuate the static condition of Africans. These offer a challenge- that the New Africa must come to pass.
The philosophy of the New Africa hinges itself on five bases. These are indispensable to its realization.
1. Spiritual Balance must be cultivated by Renascent African. This means respect for the views of others. Difference of opinion should not destroy friendship. In the Old Africa, difference of opinions intensified the wide gap between the various sections of the communities. Voltaire said that although he might disagree with his opponents, yet their right to state their opinion must be conceded, even if it cost his death in so doing. It means that the feelings of others must be taken into consideration, and that no ulterior motives should influence one’s criticism of others.
2. Social Regeneration must be experienced in African society. African conventions cannot be said to be consistent with what is ethical, just, and equitable. African society must be democratic. The ills of the present social order hinge on the continuation of the forces of man’s inhumanity to man. Let the Renascent African take upon himself the burden of looking at his fellow African as a man, nothing more, nothing less. Tribal appellations cause tribal idiosyncrasies; these lead ultimately to vanity and superciliousness and disharmony.
A regenerated social order must come. Fanti or Gar, Temne or Mende, Yoruba or Ibo, Bantu or Touareg, Bubi or Hausa, Jolloff or Kru- all are Africans- all are human beings.
3. Economic Determinism must be the basis of African economic thought. The quest for food, shelter, and clothing has been the primal motive in the establishment of society. It was responsible for the formulation of the social and political institutions of society. It is still the determinant factor in African contemporary history.
The Renascent African cannot create a new social order without an economic foundation. No longer must wealth be concentrated in the hands of the few. No longer must the profit motive guide and control the aims in life of the African. No longer must the wage-earners be told of dignity that does not seem to exist in labour.
Let the Renascent African make tomorrow secure for posterity, and a milestone is reached toward African economic interdependence with the rest of the world.
4. Mental Emancipation is necessary in order to crystallize the New Africa. This includes education of the sort which should teach African youth to have faith in his ability: to believe that he is the equal of the people of other races of mankind- mentally and physically; to look at no man as his superior simply because that man comes from the Antartic or Artic regions. It means that the Renascent African must be rid of the inferiority complex and all the trappings of hat-in-hand Uncle Tomism.
Educate the Renascent African to be a man. Tell him that he has made definite contributions to history. Educate him to appreciate the fact that iron was discovered by Africans; that the conception of one God was initiated by Africans; that Africans ruled the world from 763 to 713 BC; that while Europe slumbered during “the dark ages” a great civilization flourished on the banks of the Niger, extending from the salt mines of Terghazza in Morocco, to Lake Chad, right to the Atlantic. Narrate to him the lore of Ethiopia, of Ghana, Melle, Mellestine, Songhay.
Let him relish with the rest of the world that while Oxford and Cambridge were in their inchoate stages, the University of Sankore in Timbuctoo welcomed “Scholars and learned men from all over the Moslem world”, as Sir Percy puts it
The Renascent African will be better off with men and women who are trained to appreciate these facts of African history, than with those who spend a lifetime in Europe or America, for purposes of mis-education and devaluation of African culture and civilization
5. National Risorgimento is inevitable. When the Renascent African has cultivated spiritual balance, regenerated his society, planned his society economically, and has experienced mental emancipation, his political status cannot be in doubt. It is from within that the element of national greatness springs.
Let Renascent Africans usher in a New Africa, and Africans of tomorrow need not continue to be in political servitude. The forces of nationalism are automatic, especially when factors leading to them are intelligently directed. The right of self-determination is a phenomenon which defies human ingenuity.
Forces which were responsible for the birth, growth, and decay of Ethiopia, Egypt, Babylo-Assyria, Phoenicia, Greece, and Rome will determine the fate of the West, the East, and Africa.
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