WHO IS THE BEST PERSON TO TELL THE AFRICAN STORY?
Africa; fifty-four countries, one voice! We see different pictures being painted of Africa everyday and different stories being told by different people. But what matters most is whose voice the people listen to, whose story we hear and whose pictures they see. These days we can travel the world and learn a lot about other countries, their culture and beliefs through a mobile phone, a novel or a movie. But what are the people creating these things telling others about Africa? Most times what they tell them are the bad, ugly and excruciating parts of Africa, painting and making us look like a bunch of countries sowing seeds of corruption and harvesting poverty and hunger. Well, their stories are not entirely false but they speak from their own perspective.
Africa needs to find her voice and shut other voices down. Africa needs to stand up to defend herself. Africa needs to redefine herself from the misconceptions and stereotypes that other continents have about her and this cannot be done with other people’s voice but with our own unique voice. We are the ones who have lived our history and know how far we’ve progressed from where we started and so, we are in the best position to tell our stories and not those who just saw our past and judge the present from then.
Perhaps, there is truth in the saying that “great stories happen to those who can tell them”. Maybe Africa does not have the guts to tell her stories or maybe she’s not proud of her heritage. We should revel in our unique identity, making them aware of our progress and not just the crimes, corruption, and poverty here. Africa is beautiful and though, tribes and tongues may differ, in brotherhood we stand. Using Nigeria as an example; with over 250 tribes, cultures and languages, we are still together in unity. The present day India has about 3 countries that broke out of it but the African story is different.
Every country in the world has both good and bad inherent qualities however; most of the time, only the good praise is sung. This is because they tell their stories with their own unique voice and that is what we hear. Telling the African story requires balance, truth and commitment. It is about time we told the story of Africa that the media never shows. My point is that nobody can describe us better than we can and nobody knows us better than we do. So, if you want to learn more about Africa or hear the African story, ask an African expert. Note that the fact that you can speak an African language does not make you an African expert.
Every story ever told is about people and people are in the best position to write their own story. “Until the lion itself learns how to write, every narrative will always glorify the hunter”. What that means is, until we have the guts to tell our story, we will continue to live by stories that non-Africans have told about us. Are we really “Poor, Ebola infected, Unrefined and Ugly?
Africa wake up and speak out! Tell the world in beautiful words of your diverse cultures, progress, languages, amazing people and God given gifts. Most importantly, remember that Africa is nothing without Africans. Africa has a story to tell and it is about time it is told by Africans – Lunarnomad.