AFRICAN BLACKS AND THE FEELING OF INFERIORITY
For centuries, the black race has suffered tremendously in the hands of the white man. From slavery to economic exploitation to colonial tyranny to racism, the black man's ego has been deeply hurt. This is true to the extent that every shred of dignity or self-confidence the black people -especially those based in Africa- have is continually becoming non-existent. The blame is two-sided of course. The white man pushed the black man down, instead of the latter to rise, he chooses to keep falling down with the racial gap between the two forever widening. The implications of this is clear-crystal in the society.

We see black Africans towing away their indigenous philosophy in the name of "civilization". They are quick to label their culture and in-bred customs as archaic or inferior in favour of the more European ideals. This falls flat on a very embarassing and ridiculous note every time. When we merge two incompatible cultures, we create a conglomeration of contradictory beliefs which end up being illogical and laughable. The same African man that believes in the Jewish or Arab God/Allah will be seen swearing in the name of the Yoruba tin-god or Igbo god of thunder. The same African Fuji singer to advocate the embracement of our culture is also the first to recharge his jump power for the bandwagon when the newest Europen trend spreads to this part of the world. Even one of the richest aspects of most African cultures has been lost to the mental invasion of the white way of thinking. The unique way in which we name our new-borns is one of the most admirable parts of our culture. Most African names -at least Nigerian ones -have deep meanings that can be traced to their lineage or birth circumstances. We have beautiful names like Ige, Sijuwade, Osoyinka, Ogundele, Kumolu, Biodun and so on. But now, we name our children after foreigners. Many of these foreign names we do not even know their meaning. It makes no sense to me why we will adpot a culture of naming people in accordance to the dictaations of the same people that name their children Gate, Bill, Head, Bread, Cook and so on. Many of these white people do not even know the meaning of their names. But we ignore that. After all, every thing that is of the white man in supposed to be desired.

Also, the mistaken belief that Europeans are superior and worth imitating is sickening. Most people would deny having this inferiority complex but would have their jaws dropped when they realize how hypocritical their denial is. We see the average white man as superior to the average black man. The average black woman wants to look like the white woman : with blonde hair, blue eyes, lighter blushed skin and red lips. They then apply artificial make-up, hiding their true faces beneath layers of pretentious make-up. When a white man walks into a room in Nigeria, there is a high probability that he would get better attention than if he were a Trinidadian or even a black Briton. Where as, the opposite is the case in the still-racist America and England. And this is not our generation's fault. As a child, I was brough up, like all other kids, to believe that my mentality was weaker and less evolved compared to my European counterpart. I was thought to believe that what is in the "oyinbo" boy's head is much loftier than mine. I am taught to believe he is sharper and more intelligent. But this is untrue. Of course the white boy is sharp, but we have come to see beautiful, sharp, intelligent and so on from the perspective of the whites. The European perception of things has been instilled into us. Recently, the department of Theatre Arts at the University of Ibadan released a poster promoting their upcoming play, The Lion And The Jewel. It should be noted that the play is written by Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka and the play consists virtually of BLACK characters. But when I saw this poster, which I could sense was birthed out of the intention to portray a beautiful maiden as the jewel, I was disappointed. The young beauty portrayed in the poster had pale skin, curly hair and large blue eyes. She was WHITE! We see the idea of the perfectly pretty woman as a non-black person.

In many Nigerian magazines, we see articles posted as if intended for the white readership. They tell us how to cook meals whose ingredients can only be found abroad. When they tell us how to care for skin conditions, it is as if they have assumed that we have white skin capable of reflecting the flush of blood through our body. We do a great diservice to ourselves with the way we overlooverlook our own uniquness and LovePeddler up to the demands of the Western world. You are black and you are worth every inch of humanity the white (wo)man . I wish I belonged to a society where that did not have to be pointed out. I love you. Stay blessed.








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