I agree, Black lives do matter
I want to speak on a snippet of what our very own “African Giant” said as he received his BET award for the record setting second time: “For Black lives to matter, Africa must matter”. It goes without saying that our dear nation, Nigeria, the so-called giant of Africa has been a colossal let down to black people the world over. Burna Boy’s sobriquet as the African Giant was not earned because he’s the tallest or largest African artiste in physical stature but because of remarkable achievements in his trade, his commanding presence amongst his peers and his indomitable spirit which portrays him as a larger than life character.
His physical size doesn’t matter a jot. To drive home my point, Nigeria is yet to come anywhere near the gigantic strides a diminutive state such as Rwanda has taken in the last few years. Nigeria, along with the majority of black Africa is yet to achieve much that could possibly make black Americans and the like proud of their heritage. What is it that will make their head swell? What can they point to, that will shut the mouths of their “oyinbo” fellow Americans, when they so blatantly derogate them? What position is the black American in to even “shakara” his antagonists a bit by threatening to return to his African roots if he isn’t better valued and appreciated in his “adopted” country?
Anti-Semitism is still very much alive in today’s America but should the Jewish community threaten to return en mass to their “homeland” of Israel, the establishment will have little choice but to come begging. Otherwise, what would happen to the financial pillars of the US economy, California’s Hollywood and New York’s Wall Street, both totally dominated by Jews? You don’t believe me? If you’re someone conversant with Jewish names, I challenge you to look up the names of those who head the world’s largest Banks and financial institutions on Wall Street. Look out for the names of Hollywood’s biggest television and movie producers. Remove the Jews and you’ll be left with not just a skeleton but an incomplete one at that. Why do you think anyone who even toys with the idea of running for President has to court them and seek their support?
Ask Barack Obama. He initially made the mistake of devaluing this block but scurried back when his campaign and his chances began to nosedive very quickly. He wasn’t ready to kiss the Presidency good bye. Jews make up just 2 percent of the total population of the US but according to Forbes, 30 out of the richest 100 billionaires in the US are Jews. Add to this incredible statistic, the fact that of the 200 people that have won the Nobel Prize, 62 (31 percent) have been Jewish.
So, who would be foolish enough to push them to the point where they will leave, only for them to compete with US nationals, as citizens of another country? Israel, which has a policy (Aliyah) of nationalising any Jew anywhere in the world who decides to “return” home to Israel, would welcome all back with open arms.
What on the other hand, do most African countries have to offer our black brothers and sisters in the diaspora, should they decide to return home? Before the white man can value the life of the black man, the black man must first value himself and his own. Africans must develop some self-respect and conduct themselves in a way that no longer makes them a laughing stock. By making contributions which cannot be discounted, they must make themselves relevant at the table, when issues that affect mankind are being discussed. They must stop going cap in hand, asking for aid after the world has watched them in full glare squander their resources by way of endemic corruption and embarrassingly poor governance. If they want to be respected, they must first respect themselves. Before black lives can matter in America or anywhere else, they must first matter here, in Africa.
Having said all about the Jews, Nigerians abroad aren’t total slackers either. Obama attested to this, possibly out of a subconscious sense of pride in his African roots, when he once alluded to the findings of data collected by Rice University in Texas, which says Nigerian-Americans are the most educated ethnic group in the US. The Migration Institute records that 29 percent of Nigerian-Americans are degree holders compared to a national average of just 11 percent.
So, what are we talking about? “If na brain, we get am”. We have a slew of Nigerian Professors at all the Harvard and Yales of this world. Some of the most successful doctors in the US are also of Nigerian stock. In sports, we had more Nigerians at the last few Olympics representing other countries than those representing Nigeria. We have a multitude of successful people in the diaspora but look at their homeland. A man that cannot put his own house in order and cater adequately for his own family cannot dare talk when others are talking. And if he’s bold and shameless enough to still go ahead and speak, who’s going to listen? Maybe, others of his kind, but certainly none of those that matter.
I really do feel for the African American because he finds himself a citizen of a country which still treats him as a second-class citizen and yet his “motherland” which treats her own in arguably a worse manner, doesn’t make running “home” a wise or remotely viable option. So, he just has put up with the least poor option and make the most noise he can for a change. The fact that Nigerians are still risking their lives daily to cross the desert with the hope of eventually finding themselves in a saner country is enough evidence to back up my submission. The African American would have benefitted immensely, had there been a “big brother” in the shape of “mother Africa”, who he knows is there and capable of protecting his interest. A sense of wellbeing is largely impossible when man doesn’t have a sense of belonging.
Let me further illustrate. An old friend called me a couple of years ago feeling really awful with himself. He said he was given the task of anchoring a question and answer assignment on his old school WhatsApp platform but complained bitterly about how it panned out. He was asked to put up a couple of questions on the given topic, so he did. How many people responded? One. His wife who attended the same school.
Let’s face it, when people don’t see you as a success, they seldom reckon with you. The chances are, if a person perceived to be successful had anchored the assignment, far more people would have responded. These would have included both those still striving to succeed and those who were already there. The former may respond to impress the “big man” while the latter will want to be seen to be “supporting” his paddy. What does a successful man need from another successful man? It’s not always business or even more contacts.
But at the very least, he’ll enjoy two things; the bragging rights that come with calling the other “big man” a friend and the pride that comes with knowing you’re a “member” of the “relevant”. Now, how many African Americans align themselves to their mother continent and how often have nations weighed the possibility of adverse repercussions from Africa, in their treatment of blacks? I think that tells us a lot. “Wealth makes many friends” is a universal truism. I hardly need mention that perceived failure seldom attracts any.
Changing the nation…one mind at a time.
