Here goes my first blog post :
I came across an article by Binyavanga Wainaina on the BBC focus on Africa site and it got me thinking about western influence in African Affairs . The time has come for Africa to detach itself from Europe. Too often, the failures and successes of the continent have been viewed from a eurocentric perspective. The decline of Europe as we know it should be a wake up call; they are neither smarter nor better than "us". Our short sighted approach to governance, business and community is what has stifled real development. We have no one else to blame but ourselves.
I am ashamed that Bono and Madonna are "brand ambassadors" of Africa Inc or that a whole continent can be at the mercy of sensationalist western media as expounded in the aforementioned article. . I am equally ashamed that a poisonous African elite has actively pursued short term gains at the expense of millions . But guess what? We are not "helpless" anymore. ICTs are creating new outlets through which a frustrated youth can hold on to the beauty of their dreams. Yes we the young, we who make up 60% of the continent's population. We are realising that knowledge is power and that information is the new gold. Such information has been democratised through tools such as the internet. We can use to lift ourselves out of the vicious cycles of poverty.
The fisherman who was getting a raw deal at the market can now keep up to date with fluctuations in prices. The poor boy from Malawi who taught himself how to build a windmill is now at university after his story touched the world. Jason Njoku of Nigeria created a "Netflix for Africa" such that Nigeria's movie sector could distribute their contact globally and be fairly paid for it. He even managed to raise $US 10 million in real venture capital funding...From the same guys who backed Mark Zuckerburg of Facebook. The power of information lies in its ability to bring or take away hope. For the simple reason that no one directly controls the greatest information bank that has become the internet; we in the developing world are growing stronger by the day. Where CNN held sway, we now have the power to question, dig for diverse perspectives and ultimately come to our own conclusions. As this happens, we the young lions of Africa must remember the advice of Kwame Nkrumah to look neither east nor west, but within.
I came across an article by Binyavanga Wainaina on the BBC focus on Africa site and it got me thinking about western influence in African Affairs . The time has come for Africa to detach itself from Europe. Too often, the failures and successes of the continent have been viewed from a eurocentric perspective. The decline of Europe as we know it should be a wake up call; they are neither smarter nor better than "us". Our short sighted approach to governance, business and community is what has stifled real development. We have no one else to blame but ourselves.
I am ashamed that Bono and Madonna are "brand ambassadors" of Africa Inc or that a whole continent can be at the mercy of sensationalist western media as expounded in the aforementioned article. . I am equally ashamed that a poisonous African elite has actively pursued short term gains at the expense of millions . But guess what? We are not "helpless" anymore. ICTs are creating new outlets through which a frustrated youth can hold on to the beauty of their dreams. Yes we the young, we who make up 60% of the continent's population. We are realising that knowledge is power and that information is the new gold. Such information has been democratised through tools such as the internet. We can use to lift ourselves out of the vicious cycles of poverty.
The fisherman who was getting a raw deal at the market can now keep up to date with fluctuations in prices. The poor boy from Malawi who taught himself how to build a windmill is now at university after his story touched the world. Jason Njoku of Nigeria created a "Netflix for Africa" such that Nigeria's movie sector could distribute their contact globally and be fairly paid for it. He even managed to raise $US 10 million in real venture capital funding...From the same guys who backed Mark Zuckerburg of Facebook. The power of information lies in its ability to bring or take away hope. For the simple reason that no one directly controls the greatest information bank that has become the internet; we in the developing world are growing stronger by the day. Where CNN held sway, we now have the power to question, dig for diverse perspectives and ultimately come to our own conclusions. As this happens, we the young lions of Africa must remember the advice of Kwame Nkrumah to look neither east nor west, but within.
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