7

Nigerian National Assembly, take note.

US Official Apologizes for Joke About Gadhafi

"A senior State Department official said Tuesday he's sorry for a joking remark he made about Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi that prompted Libya to threaten diplomatic retaliation unless he apologized.Chief department spokesman P.J. Crowley said he regretted any offense caused by his response to a reporter's question about Gadhafi's recent call for a holy war against Switzerland. Libya said last week it might take action against American business interests there if a formal apology was not made."

...for want of mad men...

3

Faith-based organizations recently received some good press over the weekend with the publication of Nicholas Kristof's New York Times op-ed piece - Learning from the Sin of Sodom. In it, Kristof chastises liberal do-gooders for their "snootiness" towards Evangelicals and sings the praises Christian NGOs and churches for engaging in the thankless task of battling the "common enemies of humanity" such as poverty and exploitation. Considering the complicated past of foreign missionary work during colonial times and the recent Haitian adoption scandal by American missionaries, I am sure that religious communities everywhere are grateful for the article. Indeed, the church has been responsible for bringing about some good to the communities they serve in the developing world. When working in a long-term capacity, churches and other faith-based organizations have established schools, hospitals, and other needed infrastructure that rivals that of some secular organizations and local governments.

While I commend the efforts of Christians to live out the tenets of our faith through service, I find problematic some of the more recent trends I have personally witnessed amongst churches and individuals - primarily the interest in short-term international missions projects. One to three weeks long, such short-term projects are typically glorified (or should I say, church-ified) versions of slum tours. Merely donating to an established local entity is not enough. Rather, some feel the need to "experience first-hand" the raw poverty and pestilence that plagues the non-western world. No real training or skills are needed other than a heart for down-trodden people (or an eye for poverty p*rn). The emphasis is thus taken away from selfless Christ-like service, and is rather placed on fulfilling the short-term missionaries' desire to be needed.

In providing the lay person with this short-term experience, oftentimes, no thought is given to long-term implications of the excursion. In the case of short-term medical missions projects, which are sometimes conducted independently of local hospitals and resources, thousands of patients are attended to but little consideration is given to follow-up care. The goal is to reach the greatest number of people in an allotted time frame. More than 70% of patients with chronic, non-communicable diseases live in the developing world; and therefore long-term management of such patients is required. To say that short-term medical missions is like putting a bandage on a festering wound would be an understatement. I guess it's more like saying to a brother or sister without clothes or food, "Go, I wish you well..." without doing anything for their physical needs.

I also find that with short-term missions projects, there exists little discussion on evaluation or assessment of their interventions. In order to meet fundraising goals, emphasis is placed on the wow factor a project can evoke - "we saw x amount of patients," "we donated x number of y," etc. And because record-keeping remains virtually non-existent, no one can definitely measure the long-term impact of such excursions on target populations. Such projects are only answerable to their congregations, who may not be terribly familiar with the nuances of outcomes measurement.

Admittedly, the aforementioned also applies to secular non-profits and organizations. However, I feel as if some of these issues are particularly aggravated in the Christian community, where motive trumps means or outcome. The attempt to shuttle scores of Haitian "orphans" to the Domincan Republic by a church group, highlights such pervasive attitudes. It seems as if faith has provided us with the license to embark upon hastily organized projects and missions, because regardless the means or outcome, our intentions are sanctioned by God. While Christian organizations such as World Vision, highlighted in the Kristof's oped piece, should be commended, I do think that for a vast number of faith-based organizations and initiatives, our strategies need to be re-evaluated.

1

Have been a little slow with social media updates since the holidays so forgive me if I wasn't aware of this earlier.

Texas in Africa describes the recent partnership between Twitter and (RED) to celebrate World AIDS Day as a "failure." I wholeheartedly agree. December 1, a day when the entire world promotes AIDS awareness, Twitter has decided to highlight all tweets with the word Africa in red thereby reinforcing an inextricable link between Africa and AIDS.

Seriously, why? Was not aware that today was Africa AIDS day....missed the memo.

3

Earlier this year, Minister of Health, Babatunde Osotimehinin, in response to the decades-old "brain drain" of the continent's healthworkers, urged developed nations to invest in African medical schools and facilities. His request, is largely based on the belief that the continent's pervasive health woes are linked to the emigration of its health professionals. The draining of Africa's intellectual capital has also been witnessed in other fields as well, including business and academia. Current opinion holds that the flight professionals and academics to western shores is a destabilising force in developing nations. While developing nations invest resources into the training of its professionals, developed nations are poised to reap the benefits of such harvests.

Lately, several have begun to challenge such notions. Emeka Okafor, of Africa Unchained, asks if the brain drain might have some beneficial outcomes in the form of flow of capital through remittances, collaborations between foreign-based Africans and institution in their home countries, etc. Interestingly enough, some who aim to fight the continent's brain drain have been, at some point, primary beneficiaries of this phenomenon.

Within the arena of healthcare, the premise that brain drain of health workers equals poor health outcomes, is a a notion that also requires re-examination. Within the Nigerian context (anecdotal evidence alert!!!), I have met recent medical school grads who seek employment in more lucrative alternative fields. While noble, the pursuit of a career in medicine oftentimes fails to support its heroes. Beyond this, the success of a nation's health system depends on far much more than its healthcare workers.

Over the weekend, Foreign Policy, debunked a number of myths associated with the emigration of healthcare workers (an by extension, other professionals) to western countries. An argument I found of particular interest was that against the idea that developing nations waste resources on healthcare professionals who emigrate to western countries.

"The belief that skilled emigrants must cause public losses in the amount of their training cost is based on a series of stereotypes. First, large numbers of skilled emigrants are funded by themselves or by foreign scholarships. A survey of African-born members of the American Medical Association conducted by one of the authors found that about half of them acquired their medical training outside their country of birth. Second, many skilled emigrants serve the countries they come from for long periods before departure. The same survey found that African physicians in the United States and Canada who were trained in their country of birth spent, on average, over five years working in that country prior to emigration. This constitutes a substantial return on all investment in their training."

0

yesterday, i posted a blog review on the response to the District 9 film on the NigeriansTalk.org blog. I have previously expressed my disgust towards the film. Over the weekend, Minister of Information, Dora Akunyili, finally registered her own disdain towards the film. As much I stand in support of her stern condemnation of the film, I do not, however agree with her proposal (or is is already in effect?) to ban the film from showing in Nigerian movie houses.

If we continue to censor such images, how can we, as bloggers and as a nation, counter such offensive portrayals. It is largely through our ability to access such information that ordinary Nigerian citizens can assist in Akunyili’s rebranding project. The Nigerian government’s willingness to take on District 9, should also be seen as a victory to the many Nigerian bloggers who took offense to this film. One would hope that Akunyili’s mission is not one of censorship which gives birth to misinformation and impedes upon the progress Nigerians have made and continue to make in the blogosphere. Such would be counter-intuitive to the goals of promoting Good People and creating a Great Nation.

Olumide at his blog, highlights a double standard that may be in existence here. While we openly condemn negative portrayals of Nigerians in the foriegn media, some of our own filmmakers, for years, have made their living of depictions of our people in similar circumstances. Nollywood, though it is slowly changing, could have credited its foundations to rubbishing the image of its own people.*** Similarities between early Nollywood pictures and blaxploitation films in America can be found. Will think on this more in a follow-up post.

***Of course, I need to add the caveat that this is not all of Nollywood. Additionally, I must add that Nollywood features examples in which our dirty laundry needs to be aired in public, such as in the film Edikan (re the child witch phenomenon).

2

for those interested in reaching a broader Nigerian audience within the blogosphere, this is for you...

NigeriansTalk.org serves as a one-stop site for those interested in Nigeria through the lens of its large community of bloggers. We feature regular feeds, articles, and reviews of posts written by bloggers of Nigerian extraction, bloggers living in Nigeria, and bloggers who blog about Nigeria. NigeriansTalk.org seeks to cover the wide spectrum of perspectives on various social, political, and personal issues - issues that affect Nigerians at home and abroad. We hope that through our collective voices, we will document and bring about the future we seek for our country.

Though we openly accept submissions from anyone who writes generally about Nigerian affairs, we, at NigeriansTalk.org, are actively seeking regular contributors for the following categories:

For more information, click here

4

Oil, diamonds, cocoa - na old tory....these days its all about the acreage - in farmland, that is.

The Integrated Regional Information Network of the United Nations reports that Norwegian-based company, Biofuel Africa Limited, is responsible for the forced displacement of Northern Ghanaian farmers and their families. No longer used for subsistence farming, work on the over-20,000 acres of formerly Ghanaian land has now shifted towards the harvesting of the Jatropha carcus seed. Extract of the seed is then used for the sole purpose of biofuels generation...and nothing else. While the company purports that they have offered such displaced persons better alternatives to their former lands, the majority of the farmers have yet to receive the fruits of the said negotiations. Report from local activist on discussions between community members and the Norwegian company can be found here.

The post-colonial scramble for African farmland is not a new one. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and Korea have long purchased African farmland for the purpose of feeding their growing populations: see here and here. For a continent marred by food insecurity, the idea of arable land for sale to the highest foreign bidder is quite unthinkable. Though, it has all the trappings of the conventional pre-colonial story - abundant natural resources, wuru wuru deals with supposed village heads, weak national land acquisitions policies.

15

interesting conversation about the recent science-fiction film, District 9, can be found at Nnedi's blog here.

Just saw the movie last night and was horrified at its depiction of Nigerians, to say the least. Yes, I am used to slandering of the Nigerian brand and usually, I try to not let it bother me. However, after the horrific events that took place in South Africa in May of last year, I could not stomach the positive reviews of District 9. Last year, South Africa declared war on its immigrants, particularly Nigerians, who were deemed as the culprit for the plight of black South Africans (apparently, apartheid can take a back seat on this one....). During the month of May we were bombarded with images of the slaughter, burning, destruction of our fellow Nigerians and other Africans caught in the mayhem. District 9, for me, only served to legitimize such violence against the savage Nigerians, since in the words of the director, the tiny fraction of Nigerians living in South Africa, are indeed responsible for the MAJORITY of crime in a country that has been touted to have one of the highest homicide rates in the world...

Unfortunately, as one commenter posted on her blog, it is relatively easy to take shots at Nigerians seeing that we would not be able to come up with a concerted rebuttal or make a dent in their pockets. Previously, I have taken the Nigerian re-branding project lightly; however, scenarios such as what I have described seem to necessitate a serious look at the dangers, the baggage inherent in the mere mention of the words Nigeria, Nigerian. Rather than waste time on useless logos and mantras of "Good People, Great Nation" (or whatever they are using these days), efforts should go towards countering such portrayals of our people at home and abroad.

4

Unfortunately, time won't allow me to pay much attention to the much anticipated Hillary Clinton visit to the continent. On what is to be considered her biggest overseas mission to date, Mrs. Clinton started her seven-nation Africa trip in Kenya, which was then followed then by South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, today, and then Liberia and Cape Verde. As for the Nigeria trip, I will try and stay in tune with the blogosphere's reaction to her visit. So far I know know of that of NigerianCuriosity, who highlighted that Clinton's failure to meet with Nigerian "non-officials" does nothing support those largely responsible for most reforms we see in the country.****

Yesterday, a few news media outlets seemed to temporarily forget the incessant Michael Jackson death probe and highlight Mrs. Clinton's almost desperate desire to distinguish herself from her larger-than-life husband. Details found here. Anyway, personally, I could care less of her inability to stifle her insecurities - even on the public stage - and continued commitments to aid and SA-authored Zimbabwean hand-holding are so tired. What really caught my attention was her response, noted at the end of the article, to a question about the West and an apology for what is considered to be one of the most bloodiest colonial histories - that of Congo (I would recommend King Leopold's Ghost as a pretty good primer or for the moving-picture inclined, I hear the documentary, White King, Red Rubber, Black Death, is another good start.)

"...another student had asked if the U.S. and the West felt a need to apologize to the people of Congo for colonialism and postcolonial interference.

That brought a pointed rebuttal as well.

"I cannot excuse the past and I will not try," [Clinton] said. "We can either think about the past and be imprisoned by it or we can decide we're going to have a better future and work to make it."

It seems like Clinton is toeing the line of her boss, Barack Obama, who in his last visit to Africa, nearly absolved the West of its hand in Africa's problems. In relegating colonialism as a non-issue, she indirectly minimises its horrors and denies its influence on present day affairs. Yes, we should focus on moving forward, but like I have mentioned time and time again, we cannot move forward without acknowledging the mistakes of the past. Clinton and Obama refuse to acknowledge such mistakes; and through their position, they encourage the world to follow suit. To ignore the West's assault on the Congolese pre-independence, to me is more than a "glaring omission" (yes, I borrowed the term from NigerianCuriosity), it's grossly insensitive on the part of the American Secretary of State. In fact, I would almost liken it to those who continue minimise the travesty of the Holocaust. True, Hillary,or anyone in the Obama administration, has nothing to do with Congo's past....but some modicum of sympathy would at least nudge the Secretary of State to acknowledge the brutality that was meted out to the nation's citizens.

****Just learned that Clinton will be holding a town-meeting with (American Embassy selected) Nigerian NGOs. Can't wait to hear what comes out of it.

11

Like the rest of you, I so much looked forward to Obama's first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since his inauguration. As much as I secretly envied Ghana for getting first dibs at the international superstar, I couldn't help but share in their excitement. Were it not for poverty, I so would have been there.

In the excitement, I, admittedly, may have fallen into the trap of expecting a "miracle speech," as Akin puts it. Of course, it was not. But I believe I have sobered up a bit and realized the folly of my ways. However, lingering disappointments still remain.

The crux of Obama's message to the continent was that in essence Africa needs to shape up or shape out. According to the American president, several of Africa's modern day woes are largely due to its own mismanagement of its governance. He cursory acknowledged the role of colonialism, but largely placed blames on despotic regimes and leaders. By declaring such, Obama has opened a whole new debate on Africa - how we got here and where we are going. Obama has voiced the opinion of many in the West who, because of the overwhelming sense of "white guilt," would not dare voice such criticisms of Africa.

Yes, I do agree that Africa has on many an ocassion shot itself in the foot - perhaps one too many times. However, I find that Obama's speech was tantamount to absolving Western powers of their past and current role in the failure of several African states. Unfortunately, the privilege of having "African blood run through his veins," has provided additional fodder for Westerners to point all five fingers at the African continent. If the most powerful black leader in the world agrees that Africa is to blame for Africa, then who is the West, to counteract such.

In addition, Obama chooses Ghana as an example of Africans finally deciding to choose democracy over autocracy. In essence, Obama concludes, if Ghana can do it - there is no reason why other African nations cannot follow suit. it goes without saying that it is an impossible exercise to extrapolate the results of one African state's efforts at nation-building to another (different colonial histories, sociopolitical climates, etc). However, as I always say, echi di ime - tomorrow is pregnant - no one knows what tomorrow will bring. A few years ago, Obama could have chosen Ivory Coast or even his paternal home of Kenyan as that great democratic hope we should all aspire to (Please, I am not wishing ill to my brethren in Ghana - just merely stating a fact of life). I don't think there exists an African country in which its populace would rather choose chaos over stable and peacful governance that is responsible to it citizens. However, to ignore or rather deny the role of colonialism, followed by our independence which was not truly independent, serves to demonize a people in the eyes of a world that is already showing signs of wanting to give up on our continent. Like I mentioned in a comment on SSD's piece on the Obama speech, it is funny how Obama is willing to support affirmative action in the US, but does not recognize the need to equalize the playing field between Africa and a world that has spurned her. It is almost as if Obama looks at his ascendancy to to the American presidency as a self-made effort, and cannot imagine why other Africans cannot excel as he or his goat-herder-father-turned-graduate did.

Personally, I think Obama's message did further damage to the continent's PR campaign. I think I have said this before in my blog (or possibly in conversation), we cannot move forward without a thorough analysis of what brought us here to our current predicament in the first place. A man who does not know when the rain began to beat him, will truly remain lost***

I am tired of Bush-esque 15minute speeches sympathizing about the plight of the hapless Africans, and now growing tired of Obama-esque, "it is not our (the West) fault," lectures.
***Borrowed this from an Igbo proverb, which states "a man who does not know when the rain began to beat him, will not know where he dried his body."

12

just came back from vacation and realized that new england did not receive the memo that spring started days ago....well that is by the way.

while on vacation, a friend pointed me to idols west africa clips on youtube (since youtube, these days, seems to be my main source of free entertainment). these clips are most likely quite old (wikipedia says the show aired two years ago)....but as usual, I am late with everything. i apologize for those who have already laid this show to rest.

amongst these clips was one of a fela kuti imitator who shows up to audition in his undies (pants, tighty whities, briefs, what-have-you). i admit, i laughed hysterically at the clip....



however, i found the comments by judge dede mabiaku to be more than aggravating. about 50seconds into the clip, dede asks the contestant if he had ever seen fela on stage dressed similarly. the contestant answers yes - only to be rebutted by dede accusation that he, the contestant - is a liar. dede later goes on to express how the fela's memory is being insulted by this guy's penchant to appear before the camera in his underpants.

well, dede, apparently, you are not aware that imitation is the the best form of flattery. while dede feigns appreciation toward the legend that was fela, he forgets that fela "death is in his pocket"** kuti was known to dress similarly on stage.

many commenters on that youtube clip expressed their outrage at dede's denigration of the poor guy - outrage that is justifiable. but what i find more aggravating is dede's blatant ignorance of a man he claims to worship. a nigerian man dede's age, especially one judging a musical contest should be at least half-way competent enough to know that fela kuti was on different wavelength from the rest of the country in mannerisms, politics, and music. in fact when dede says that the contestant is on some wrong pills, i couldn't help but think of how dede would have responded if the contestant rolled up into the auditions smoking a marijuana joint in keeping with the fela imitation.

in a show about west african music, none of the judges knew fela kuti (or maybe they confused him with someone else - femi, perhaps?). and i have a feeling that alot of nigerians and lovers of nigerian music (me, included) are quick to idolize fela without really knowing what he was about. when people mention great african musicians, fela is one of the first to come to mind. to think otherwise would be blasphemy. in fact, when i was a bit younger, i was absolutely shocked when i found that my father, who's taste in music i respect, expressed his revulsion at fela kuti. initially i found this unforgiveable - but later realised that my dad's preference was an informed one. he did not care much for his politics and found his lifestyle undesirable.

this post is in no way meant to be a bash on fela kuti. rather, i personally wanted ask us why we respect the fela kutis of the world who have long passed on. i cant help but think that if such people lived amongst us today, they would most likely be shunned by many of the likes of dede and i. our idolatry is, at times, misguided.


**learned from a good source....(cough...atupa....cough) that anikulapo means death is in his pocket....most likely an allusion to his HIV/AIDS diagnosis

oh, in regards to the picture above...i do not endorse smoking of any kind - particularly of joints nearly as large as my arm...

4

but the conversation around slumdog millionaire has been so interesting thus far. would like to forward you to obla yoo's blog who is of a differing opinion than mine. I love a good debate, especially amongst friends.

as i was responding to the various comments, i remembered Uzodinma Iweala's Washington Post article entitled, "Stop Trying to 'Save' Africa" (which is funny because I totally forgot that he wrote Beasts of No Nation, which on ther surface, would seem like a "Save Africa" book....will read it eventually I see if this is true or not). His article was in part response to the flagrantly annoying "I AM AFRICAN" campaign, which to this day, still makes my skin crawl....ergghhh (see this for an interesting pic responding back to this nonsense)

Personally, as much as I enjoy films about countries other than the US, I sometimes feel that amongst some Westerners, such films are so one-sided that it gives them the idea that all Indians are like this or that all Africans (regardless of nationality) wear various colours on faces for no apparent reason, on the regular.

This is Africa, folks, this is AFRRRRRICAAA (shouts Nneoma, raising her face to the sky which hangs peacefully over the Serengheti, as scantily-clad tribal natives sing the songs of the ancients in concert with the rhythmic bleating of wild chimpanzees....oh and by the way, this, this and this goes to prove that it is indeed Westerners who live one on one with the chimpanzees, not us...lol)

My apologies for bringing up an older topic and making matters worse by referencing an article from two years ago....will bring fresh content soon...i think.

0

so Nigeria and Ghana have recently added some new bloggers to their ranks, who happen to be good friends of mine. Please, when you can, check out the random, yet relevant, thoughts of a gal and the Lamp, or Atupa,when you are chanced.


my dears, two new stars have been born....

7

just yesterday, i first noticed my neighbor's old school Simon and Garfunkel record stashed with some of her other "antiques" (in quotes since antiques means different things to different age groups). My mind immediately went to Miriam Makeba, who I had not heard from in such a long time since the unfortunate demise of my first-generation iPod.

Anyway, the first time I encountered Miriam Makeba was at the Paul Simon concert in 1987. No, I am not that old to have personally attended what was dubbed the African concert. My parents taped it when it first came out on Public Television and then years after, when I was seven, my brothers and I spent an evening with my parents watching our homemade copy (back when most people had VCRs). The concert took place in Zimbabwe due to apartheid restrictions in South Africa. My parents took the time to explain to us the horrors of apartheid which then led to our first primer on African-European relations over the past decades and centuries. At the young age, after watching my parents' again homemade copy of Sarafina on Broadway and then the moving performances by Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, I began to appreciate the role of that performers had in highlighting the ills of their society. (Note that I said "began"...at this age, I was still very much picking snot out of my nose and playing with barbies...not engaging in activism and the like).

Now, with the death of Miriam Makeba at the age of 76, I have revisited that footage of the African concert in which she details the plight of South African blacks under apartheid. Listening to her that evening with my family was probably one of my more transformative moments in childhood. Miriam possessed an indescribably soulful voice that challenged and soothed the heart in manner that could only be accomplished by a mother. Mama Africa, our mother, you will be missed.

I couldn't choose between these two performances at the African concert. Hope you will enjoy both though. After hearing the news of her death I have not had the courage to finish the entire clips without breaking down into tears. So please enjoy them for me. The first is entitled Soweto Blues, written by Hugh Masekela and the second, Under African Skies is a duet with Paul Simon. Memories.

18

i've been holding back on whether i would like to discuss this topic seeing that i made a vow to myself that I would try not to divulge too much personal information on the web....but i felt that it is a topic that has to be dealt with...and dealt with, it shall...well, in the best way I can.

22

by the way, this blog endorses Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate - just thought I would get it out there.

Beyond policy, commitment to change, his anti-Iraq War stance, and the fact that Clinton will "fire up" the Republican base, I have decided to back Obama because he represents many first-generation Americans who are doing big things. I mean, what can be bigger than running for the presidency against the Clinton machine (note, I used to support the Clinton/Clinton ticket....how I changed, na long story....will explain another day).

And for many African Americans, the choice is sometimes based on the fact that they would like to see one of their own in the White House as well. I sort of assumed that this would be true for most who consider themselves Black (though let me add, that I have nothing against those who think otherwise...and I )

Anyway, this assumption was questioned when I caught some of the commentary of Ohioans during their primary last week. A black female (can't remember her name) said she was voting for Hilary because according to her, "she is a woman first and an African American second..."

My initial reactions to these comments were that this woman has imbibed the unpopular stance of "betraying the race." However, as i thought more over this woman's comments, I began to realize that she is not alone, that there are several black women - African and African American - who have often chosen gender over race. For example, one person that easily comes to mind is Alice Walker and her classic novel, The Color Purple. Many in the black community felt that she weakened the fight against racism in order to pursue a feminist agenda. I guess an African example would be women who fight against female circumcision at the risk of portraying their people in a bad light. Or, to bring it home, my post on misogyny in African music. Sometimes in the course of pursuing Africanism (if there is such a word), feminist issues can be sidelined.

I have not yet sat down to think of who I am first - a woman or a member of the African diaspora. I would think that I am first an African and then a woman therefore countering this woman's statement. And in regards to females that I admire that I mentioned in my first post on african feminism, I have a feeling that they would also take the same stance as well. I, admit, I have not read much on african feminist theory, but I wonder if that is the point of african feminism - to put the african back into feminism as opposed to putting infusing feminism into africa. Or rather, as I hope to do, find a balance between the two. Once again, thoughts on which you consider first - africanism or feminism - would be appreciated. If you have some recommended reading that would also be appreciated (Misan, I read A Thousand Splendid Suns - it was great...a post on Afghani feminism...akuko nke mbu...is forthcoming).

Oh, and Happy International Woman's Week!

16

so, I got tired of seeing the image below of the Ghana Black Stars fan whenever I visited my blog and thought that it is high time I put up another post. since this is the month of love and US black history month - i would like to speak to a topic that has affected american black females for centuries and as i am starting to witness, african females as well.

last night, after simultaneously studying and keeping my eye out for the wisconsin and hawaii primaries (more of the latter than the former), I caught the last half or so of BET's "25 Events that (mis)shaped Black America." Under normal circumstances, I would not be caught dead watching late night BET, but my brother was watching it, the show seemed to have some usefulness, and I am a big Michael Eric Dyson fan.

One of the (mis)shaping events that caught my attention was the the hyper-sexualization of the black female or the misogyny of the black female as portrayed by hip-hop. First, I found it interesting that BET should admit that the negative effects of the portrayal of african american females as b****es and hos since they are one of the major exporters of these images. But I started to think that the hypersexualization of the black female is not limited to hip-hop music as well.

Earlier in the week (or maybe last week), I was put off a bit by cover story on the BBC news website, "Ivory Coast's 'big-bottom' Craze." Initially, my annoyance stemmed from the fact there are other more pressing concerns in Ivory Coast other than bum and breast enhancement creams and some song's tribute to big bottoms. But after this BET special, I began to wonder whether the African continent also exports this idea of a hypersexualized black female thru its music in similar ways to Nelly and Ludacris. Granted the history of the black female in the US, especially in light of forced sexual relations with white slavers and the simultaneous systemic emasculization of American black men during slavery stands in stark contrast to the situation on the continent (or I may be wrong here)...but how different is Meiway's call to shake our lolo's from Baby Huey's insistence that the bum should be popped, locked, then dropped? The videos are strikingly similar. I also wonder, is this an anomaly amongst blacks - I mean, are there other people groups that dissect and exploit intimate parts of the black female physique in order to sell records or initiate dance crazes? Africans have also had their own share of exploiting female sexuality by colonial masters (remember Hottentot Venus).

Of course, before I close, I must admit, that although I hate the images of half-naked black women on BET and Awilo's soft porn music videos, I can't help but play some of these catchy tunes on my iPod during a workout. I'm a huge fan of soukous music - HUGE. Additionally, I never leave the house without making sure that my jeans properly "fit" and accentuate what needs to be accentuated. I have struggled alot with the issues I just raised - especially the added dimension of African music turning towards lurid depictions of black women. A part of me says, its just music - not only that, but it's music with an irresistible beat that I cannot find in other genres. And perhaps, in some cases, there is a genuine appreciation for the black female physique. But then another part of me, the one that started this post, wonders if I am contributing to the degradation of black women by espousing any such music. I am slowly leaning towards the latter....

I would really really really like to get your opinions on this topic (also, let me know if I should clarify a bit). Let me know if you think it is "just music" or whether we have allowed the hypersexualization of black women to go too far or whether I have approached this topic incorrectly in comparing the African American situation with that of the continent.

8

I know it's been long since I last posted but for a number of reasons over the holidays I took a mental, physical and otherwise break from everything. I think I am sort of back into the swing of things, school, blogging (maybe) etc.

So over the course of this semester I will be writing on health disparities in cardiovascular disease outcomes, particularly amongst black immigrants to the US and the influence of acculturation on health (I know, that was a mouthful). Some of the things I have come across is that relatively few people care about the health of black immigrants (seeing that I can't find that much on it) and that studies of black immigrants and their health could have some potential for addressing the health of African Americans.
In the course of digging through the literature for information on acculturation and African immigrants (I had to dig very deeply), I came across the African American Acculturation Scale, (AAAS) which I wanted to ignore at first, but sat down and thought about it for a while, especially in light of my own experiences.

I think of myself as a lot of different things, being a first generation American to African immigrants. In the United States, I identify myself as African American, not only in a literal sense, but also partaking in the African American culture which over the past 400 years has come to mean so many different things. I think the African American culture is one of the most diverse, seeing that it comprises of people like me, biracial people, and those who's roots can be traced all the way back to the trans-Atlantic slave trade. It took me a long time to realize this, especially while attending a predominantly black high school where most were from similar backgrounds and found it necessary to to categorize who was "black enough" and who talked or acted like white people. Needless to say, my accent and my inability to rattle off rap lyrics from the top of my head placed me in the latter category. Fortunately, there was a growing silent majority of "blacks" and "whites" at my high school who felt that the definition of blackness is quite flexible.

Apparently in academia, the definition of blackness is not as expansive as I and some of my high school mates believed. According to the AAAS, blackness can be measured in your thoughts toward traditional African American foods, willingness to date outside of your race, and political affiliations. Yes, I sort of see the rationale behind looking at these social and cultural aspects of race in order to determine willingness to engage in certain health practices. But there is a part of me that shudders at the thought of determining who's a traditional African American and who is not. And honestly, I think its somewhat outdated. It almost reminds me of a comment a teacher of mine made when I was in high school in which she wanted to find out if my family was "tribal." (yeah, she actually seriously asked me that - I was too stunned to give her a smart answer like if her family still lived in caves or waved the Confederate flag in front of their house or something like that).

Anyway, those are my initial thoughts on the subject, they may change over time or maybe I might find myself challenging these notions in a more public forum (meaning, beyond my blog).
Thoughts?

4

see this link for pictures and more info from BBC.
Earlier in the semester, our school's African student group hosted the former Nigerian Minister of Transport (under OBJ) and now Foreign Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe. Of course, I attended, since it is one of the very few African events on campus that addresses concerns of the Giant of Africa (Nigeria), but I came in expecting to be disappointed. I mean, to find out that the former Minister of Transport was an Igbo man, and yet the condition of southeastern roads are some of the worst in the country and such has a devastating impact on the economy of the East (seeing that we heavily rely on the trading industry which itself relies on the ability to transport goods from one place to the other)...I know, I know, one Nigeria. Forgive me if I indulge in some Igbocentricity - I can't help it.

Anyway but I digress. Beyond giving a speech full of "big big grammar" (as one fellow student put it) and very little, if any substance one of the sound bites I picked up from his speech was his recounting of an interaction with an American colleague who asked him of what he thinks of his "new colonial masters," that is, the Chinese.

Hitherto, my thoughts in regards to Chinese covert plans to take over the world, one Mattel doll at a time (please I don't really mean that...) have largely been limited to the US, in regards to the influx of foreign imports which drives down the costs of American-made products. This did not really disturb me in that it I was short-sighted and thought of the benefits to me - cheaper underwear. However, I am now beginning to see the danger of such increased Chinese presence on the African continent (I mean, c'mon now, look at Darfur).

I really don't mean to the bash a particular group of people, for I consider myself to be pro-people, but the increased involvement of China in Nigeria and beyond worries me. Firstly, China's human rights records and treatment of its own laborers is nothing to write home about. One could imagine what could happen in a situation with African workers who's governments could easily be bought over with a couple million euros (according to supermodel Gisele Buendchan and Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the dollar is no longer relevant beyond American shores) several abuses of workers rights could occur. This is not to say our current (US) colonial master is more humane, but at least they try to adhere to some type of checks and balances...umm scrap that, I almost forgot about the prelude the Iraq war.

Second concern is the unfair competition with African made goods. Already, Ghana has complained of the Chinese hurting their signature kente cloth trade. With Nigerian private businesses thriving, post-military rule, it would be necessary that there are some limits set in place by the government to protect its indigenous businesses from Chinese products infiltrating th market.

Well, let me stop here before I start to sound like the Nigerian version of Lou Dobbs - man that guy annoys me.