The New Africa

Looking at the map of Africa what did I see?

I saw the birth of my dreams, I saw my foundation, I also saw the future for my yet unborn child,I saw a people as a whole with warmth, the beauty Mother nature gave us, (Victoria Falls, the Namib desert, the wildlife, the jaccarandas) I saw education values, I saw resourcefulness, I sawresources (diamonds, gold, oil, farming, coal,copper, educated people)I saw how I might be from the South I will relate to some-one from the East or West side of Africa! I saw history – the pyramids, Gora Island, Robben Island, Great Zimbabwe. I saw the cities. I saw the pride that we live with inside our hearts, I heard our many languages, I heard our great rythms. Yes, I also saw the dark-side, I saw the civil war in Darfur, I saw the Aids pandemic, I saw poverty, I saw the pain we go through in the diaspora to be who we are, I saw the struggle of past and present, I saw the stereo-types they give us, I saw the silent tears we’ve shed just because of where we are from, I saw it all BUT I also saw HOPE!!

Kwame Nkurumah, Kofi Anan, Julius Nyerere, King Mswati, Nelson Mandela, Wole Soyinka, Fela Kuti, Mansa of Mali – Salif Keita, Angelique Kidjoe, Miriam Makeba, Idris Elba, Thomas Sankara, Djimon Hounsou, Wale Ogunleye, JayJay Okocha, Didier Drogba, Queen Nzinga, Agbani Darego, Winnie Mandela, Brenda Fassie, Kirsty Coventry, Tshaka, Caster Semenya, Chimamanda Adichie, Tsitsi Dangarembgwa, Petina Gappah, the Masai warriors and many more are all children of Mama Africa

Africa rises and stands tall and with children like all you and I, she beams with pride…When you see this map what comes to mind and what do you see?

I am who I am
Not because of the colour of my skin
Not because of the accent in my voice
Not because of where I’m from
The poverty you say defines me
The corruption you say influences me
The wars you say I’m out to fight
The fraud you say I’ve mastered
The chip you say I carry on my shoulder
No I am who I am
Not because of how much I have in my wallet
Not because of the tribe I belong to
I am who I am
Not because of the languages that roll on my tongue
I am who I am
Not because of the scars not visible to the eye
Not because of the graciousness of my walk
Not because of my gender
Not because of my alumni
Not because of my political affiliation
Not because of personal affliction
I am who I am
Because of the essence of me
Because of my worth, my voice,
My education might mould
Who I might become
But what makes me unique is
the soul of me!
The soul of an African

“I am an African, not because I was born in Africa but because Africa is born in me.” Kwame Nkrumah

Firstly sincere and heartfelt condolences to all those who lost their loved ones in Kenya and Northern Nigeria.

We as Africans need to dispell the single story or rather multiple negative stories and as a content creator that is what fuels me with every issue I put out, with every tweet sent, I aim to demystify those who might look at us in any negative light. I work hard for myself, my family and my continent! To all my fellow content creators, let us show them we are not from a ‘dark continent’! but that L’Afrique c’est chic and that we wait on no-one to show the stories we want to share, we are creatives, we are funny, we are smart and we are the New Africa!

Image Credit: Google Images/BBC