A Case for Africa

Being back in Africa these past two weeks, I did a few things I am not accustomed to doing: I spoke to young people; I hit the social scene and especially relied on technology to almost see me through. Of course, I also did my constitutional of reading a book: I’d like to recommend Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s ‘Americana.’ Not only is this book’s overall theme at par with Diaspora relations with the continent and their raison d’être; the woman is an excellent writer. I should not have waited this long to get it.

Having said that, everybody should get their collective wits together and come do business in Africa. Forget memes such as: ‘The Opportunities are There,’ or ‘Africa is Alive with Possibilities.’ These are nothing but memes. On the ground, you will learn one simple fact: The Africans do not need you. They are doing it on their own and they can manage without you. This is not meant to turn you off from wanting or actually investing in the opportunities here. Its just that now, you’re not the only one either thinking about it or wanting to do it. There are Chinese, Turkish, Japanese and Brazilians everywhere. There’s a Brazilian restaurant in Addis. In Addis! A country that, less than 10 years ago, seemed closed off. Yes – the people will still dance their traditional dance when these songs are played in the club, and the people you are socializing with will completely get into their cultural zone for the length of that booming music. But they will get back to singing along to Snoop Doggy Dog, Ace of Base and also Davido, amongst an entire collection of Nigerian dancehall hits.

Then, everyone is as astute at technology as anywhere else in the world. And here, it is obvious that those of us over the age of 40 are in trouble. We are not as dextrous as the younger people are. We are still stuck in the ways of butter from the Kenya Creameries – and of course, the tetrapaks that the milk came in. But these young people here have moved on to the variety of products available in the supermarket aisles. Or they will actually eat on the street as they walk to work. They are not waiting for solutions from abroad, and if they do not have the money for whatever it is they are supposed to do, they will find a way.

I end this on a proper note: On a night when I run out of data credit, I left my Addis hotel room, absolutely sure that someone would sell me what I needed. As I passed a blue and white taxi – an old Toyota Corolla from the 1980s – I saw a man pour slight amounts of petrol over what looked like 5 spark plugs. Then he lit them with a matchstick – and they begun to burn. I was transfixed right there for a moment. What was he doing? Well, the man told me in crisp English: He could not afford new spark plugs for his car at the moment. But because spark plugs need to be clean to do their work, the petrol and fire were the best way to clean them. Would the car start again? Again, while I waited for the airtime to come, I stood and watched as the extremely old car croaked to life. It had another 5 years in it, the man said. He was going to make money tonight.