Africa: Publish or Perish

Africa: Publish or Perish

There is the growing need for Africa and Africans to tell their own stories in the way they want and how they want people to perceive them. My stay in Europe has made me to understand that people have very parochial knowledge of Africa. For some, it is even a country. Sara Palin, Republican vice Presidential candidate during the 2008 US presidential elections confirmed this. On the contrary, African school children spend their time learning about others.

The continent has been largely covered and represented in various media (books, radio, television etc) by people who have their own agenda and their own audience. This has led to the gross misinformation and disinformation of people about the continent. I may not blame some of those who write.

My University professor once said, “Anything that is not printed does not exist.” He is absolutely correct. But, most of what is written on Africa is either completely false or representation of half truths. Because of centuries of this kind of negative reporting, many Africans turn to think negatively about themselves and their continent whereas, they have a lot of potentials which they are not exploiting.

Valid opinions versus documented lies

In some of our efforts to tell what can be called the real stories, we have come to a confrontation of what I call valid opinions versus documented lies. Personally, I do not just read and believe what has been published, be it in the most respected media or by the most respected person in the world. Many who have the means to publish in most cases have misrepresented the continent. It may not be their fault though.

When I told one of my lecturers that more than 80 percent of Cameroon is covered by mobile telephone network, he disputed that because, he read in a book published some years back indicating that mobile telephone coverage Cameroon is deplorable.

Africans need to write their own books and make sure they are used in schools. Government website need to be constantly updated. It is rather very unfortunate that in some areas like Francophone Cameroon, over 70 percent of text books used are written by French people in France or publish there.

Africans must write their own books for African schools. Not even books on languages like French, English, Portuguese, and Spanish etc must be written by native speakers for us. We can speak and write these languages in our own way. The bottom line being that we, including native speakers, understand each other when we speak or write.

An English man wrote that there are female chiefs in my village. That is completely false but unfortunately, this is what many English people think because the book was documented (published).

Africans need to copy from real revolutions like the American Revolution from Britain, French Revolution of 1789, the Iranian revolution of 1979 that led to the chasing away of the neo colonial Shah regime. What happened in the 60s described as the “wind of change” was really a pseudo one.

African journalists, sociologist anthropologists, scientists, historians etc, let us write our own stories. Politicians and leaders, let us learn to use our own local material, promote local research etc.

It is completely nonsensical to keep on using “foreign” books when our sons and daughters can publish and some are doing so.

Journalists should not just relay stories from media without second thoughts. Let us make some research and independent commentary. We can relay the images. Let us at least, make our own words and add to them rather copy and paste everything as we work in the media.

We must then publish or perish. Let us not only write what our "funders/donors" expect us to write about Africa. Let us write about what can move our continent forward in all spheres. As we do so, the battle of valid opinions versus documented half truths and lies continues.

The World financial crisis: greed, failed policies, institutionalised corruption.

The World financial crisis: greed, failed policies, institutionalised corruption.

Volumes of books and analyses are being written on the causes, effects and aftermath of the current financial crises which is hitting the world. There is no gainsaying about it than to call a spade a spade as to what can be described as the worst financial debacle after the Great Depression of 1929.

Without mincing words, financial crises have often hit various nations at varying levels but that of USA which has gone far beyond it territorial boundaries is because, the country still largely controls the world economy.

The crisis is mere culmination of greed, failed economic policies, ego-centrism, institutionalised state and international corruption and embezzlement, and aggrandisement of wealth by a few countries and aristocratic class. This implies that actors of both the private and public sector are responsible for the current international financial impasse.

The real problem is that some governments and countries and most especially, business people grouped under multinationals have starched money in assets and in banks and do not want to put in into circulation. They adore their money and also fear that most borrowers, be they as individuals, groups or institutions may not be able refund the money they borrow.

As a result, enough money cannot be put into circulation; money cannot be gotten to carry out projects which will thereby employ people. Others do not have purchasing power and as a consequence, sales in various companies keep dropping and people have to be laid off their jobs. Why produce when there is nobody to buy.

It can also be argued that, this is a manifestation of the failed system of capitalist centre policies of increasing gap between the rich and the poor.

Furthermore, the financial crisis can be attributed to the fact that development or say industrialisation may have reached maximum level among some societies and people and it is now facing a kind of diminishing return. Development need to be extended to other areas/societies to affectively curb it in future.

The solution is just for those holding back money to put in back into circulation so that projects can be carried out. In a country like Cameroon, banks stock billons of dollars but since the people have been impoverished and cannot get bank loans, money keeps “drying” in bank safes while financial crisis depends. The rich get richer and the poor poorer.

What some countries will do and what a lot have been doing, is the printing of additional bank notes and unofficially putting them into circulation under the close watch of financial experts and economists so as to avoid any kind of inflation. This can also be very dangerous.

There is no need writing volumes on it. Let governments and individuals suggest and apply pragmatic solutions. That is far better than developing unnecessary and complicated academic and economic terms and concepts to a problem which can be simply explained.

This is how I see it.