Challenging Myths About Africa

I am a proud African. So, I closely follow African institutions like the African Progress Panel chaired by Kofi Annan; economic leaders like Aliko Dangote, Strive Masiyiwa, Njeri Rionge and Patrice Motsepe and some forward-thinking political leaders. The ideas and works that drive men and women of this calibre breaks open the world; their contributions encourage my most critical faculties, but above all, their record of excellence, challenges myths and proves the greatness of Africa.

Not everything that I read or hear about Africa motivates me. Sometimes a piece of writing or video will trouble my spirit and threaten my hopes for the continent. Often, these are very sad stories that are synonymous with our continent: famine, war, refugees, corruption. Some of the stories are true, some are false. And some are tired stereotypes, centuries-old generalizations that make me wonder: if Africa is such a tragic, difficult place, why did European powers then scramble for their piece of the continent? Why seek to conquer land from the Cape to Cairo?

In 1899, Joseph Conrad wrote in The Heart of Darkness: “Africa is a vast expanse of unrelieved primitivity frequently haunt by uncanny circumstances.” Likewise, little over a century later, The Economist published a popular magazine cover: “The Hopeless Continent,”  a stark headline set against the outline of the African continent, a young man holding a weapon in his arms. When economist Charles Robertson explained the headline in a TED Talk, I was shocked. “Africa’s economy had grown by 2 percent during the decade that ended in 2000; hence, economists had forecast another 2 percent growth in the decade that followed.” 

Crippling investors’ confidence, to the detriment of our economies! Yet time would place the actual growth increase at more than 5 percent.

I am not disagreeing that most countries of Africa, if not all, have so many challenges: unemployment, skills shortages for some jobs, brain drain and political instabilities. At present many countries are battling these great enemies of progress: dictatorship, undue political might, greedy commercialism, blatant corruption, intense tribal tensions and terrorism.

Think about it: we say Africa is a land of problems. And if many also agree that ‘necessity is the mother of invention,’ then we are also implying something about the nature of innovation in Africa. We are implying that Africa has what it takes to innovate and lead the change that it has waited for long.

The Economist changed how it depicts Africa on its covers. The December 3, 2011, edition of The Economist splashed, “A Hopeful Continent,” across its cover, a young woman smiling at the market. There is a wealth of possibilities open for Africans and non-Africans with a stake in Africa. The data are supporting these many possibilities.

According to GSMA Intelligence, mobile penetration in Africa now exceeds 43 percent, with a CAGR of 6.1 percent. Mobile technology is spreading like wildfire, giving birth to mobile money like M-Pesa and EcoCash. Even villagers who were unbankable can now use the text-based way of transacting funds for multiple purposes. GDP per capita has doubled since 2000. Life expectancy has increased by three years. HIV and malaria deaths are down by 27 percent. A new generation of responsible political leaders is looming on the horizon. Young people are at the fore, leaders like Eddy Oketch Gicheru, a young Kenyan and Mastercard Foundation Scholar who ran for the Senate in the last Kenyan elections, and Hlomela, South Africa’s youngest MP.

It’s not beyond the bounds of promise that, as a continent and as nations, we are traversing into better days. However, we, Africans should take up the challenge to confront problems that are approaching us head-on and also harness opportunities knocking at our doors. We should do so with a very strong spirit, fully believing that if we don’t take the lead, no outsider will be able to uncover the opportunities that we know let alone solve our problems without us.

Shifting the narrative is important, but engaging with the continent through entrepreneurial projects, participation in governments and fully partaking in causes that advocate for the betterment of our people is more important. Let’s respect our culture, languages and values, to fully connect with ordinary people whose efforts in sectors like agriculture, are very important. Inclusion is key: everyone, from teens to elders, should participate in building our economy. Let’s educate others and put pressure on our governments to make sound investment and partnership decisions that bring win-win deals; not deals that culminate in the depletion of our rich land and enrich a few. Let’s take action.

This great ship of change has been launched on a greased slipway already. The time is now. And we, young people, have a big role to play.

Nicholas Toronga is a Mastercard Foundation Scholar pursuing an undergraduate degree in Finance and Business Analytics at McGill University. Nicholas is one of a number of Canada-based Scholars who submitted essays for The Walrus Talks: Africa’s Next Generation, a collaboration with The Walrus Foundation, taking place in Toronto and Ottawa in September 2017.