So recently, I saw a couple of independent TED talk videos by some very brilliant individual African women. These women, all of whom now live abroad, had touching stories to tell -stories with which they celebrated their newly-found lives and living abroad after surviving the terrible horrible ordeals that had become of their indigenous home states in Africa.
All the while, the almost exclusively white audience would time and again burst into laughter, and then a little later, teeter on the brink of tears and horror. These women had one thing in common. They were victims of abuse, war, hunger, and even more horrible things unspoken about. One even shared a personal experience with female circumcision otherwise called female genital mutilation by Western academics and Orientalists.
With stories of pain and sadness that would later spin a humorous happy ending, the messages from these women again had one thing in common- Africa sucks.
One of these women from Liberia, another from Sierra Leone, a third from The Gambia- in short, all were from West Africa. Till I stopped watching, I had not seen any from Nigeria even though I will not be surprised if eventually, Zamfara, Borno and Kaduna-South get to field TED talk representatives with equally gruesome stories to tell of man’s inhumanity to fellow man.
Not in an attempt to discount their stories, or with a willingness to downplay their experiences, but while those sessions lasted, my mind would often drift to something somewhat innovative. So I imagined a TED talk scenario, a similar one actually but only with roles in reverse. I fathomed a presenter, a white Westerner from Europe or the US entertaining or educating an entirely black audience maybe in Port Harcourt, Abuja or Maputo, sharing touching stories of how after a bitter exodus, s/he has finally found a new life, an Eldorado in Africa, in Nigeria maybe.
But then I thought that this would most likely mean that Europe or America must first become uninhabitable- all up in flames for such an imagined scenario to become a reality.
So from the undesirability of my heart for such a disastrous precondition, I gave another try. This time, I saw myself standing in those very same venues, on those very same podiums, and addressing those very same audiences of white men and women, most of whom have never and may never set foot in Africa.
Instead of decrying Africa and bemoaning the barbarity (real or imagined) that many are quick to associate with the continent, I imagined myself swaying and wooing the audience with the beauties and riches that African truly represents. I saw an audience neither crying nor cringing from horror, but one mesmerized by glorious narrations from our rich culture and tradition of sharing and community. From the stage, I could perceive the palpable appetite of guests thoroughly loving our endless variety of naturally sourced and passionately prepared mouth-watering culinary which I laid before their very eyes with my edin-kai-kor, egusi, and ewedu expositions.
But just as I was about to take a bow to the cheers and standing ovation for Africa, I jolted back into reality from my long innovative mind journey. I was awoken by the simple reality: TED talks are neither about flowery embellishments nor superfluous advertisements. TED talks, at least as originally conceived, are mainly for innovative ideas that are backed by credible data and reputable research outcomes. Outcomes and proposals that show outstanding benefits for society, environment, and the world, or that hold the prospects to so become.
To rise to the occasion I told myself, and to make a delivery that is well worth the adventure, I had to meet an acceptable minimum of those requirements as others before me have done.
Then I got truly challenged. The audience is expectant, the world is listening, Africa is watching and I am standing on the podium- alone. If I was to indeed stand before that audience with a strong desire to change the incendiary narratives and gory depictions of the continent, what would I TED-talk about Africa?
What would you TED-talk about your continent?
What would you TED-talk about Nigeria that would not only elicit resounding applause from this audience but a standing ovation and a salute? A salute not to you, but to Africa, to Nigeria.
Saliu Momodu is the Producer and Host of The Scholastic-Ng Podcast
