Excuse My African

When you hear the phrase "The American Dream," at least 5 things come to mind, and I bet you 4 out of those 5 things would also come to the next persons' mind. But, when I say 'The African Dream' ... *silence*. We, especially Africans both at home and in the diaspora, are so overtaken by our need to survive the hardships in Africa that we sometimes forget to stop and DREAM. What is your dream for Africa and the children of Africa? 

What is THE AFRICAN DREAM?

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March is women's month, and every year we have a different theme, yet our problems are still the same. I will always celebrate the strength and resilience of women. Still, I also look forward to when I can genuinely, happily celebrate women's month. Knowing that Women are finally at a place in this world where we are no longer treated as the weaker gender, where we do not have to fight for our rights, where we are respected and acknowledged in society.

Still, Happy Women's Month!

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61 years in, and I still find it hard to celebrate Nigeria's Independence wholeheartedly. The events of October 20th, 2020, do not make it any easier, as the first anniversary of the Lekki Toll Gate Massacre is only 19 days away. May the souls of the departed continue to rest in peace.

HOWEVER ...

Despite the failure, greediness, and general gross negligence of our nation's leaders, I have decided that no matter where I go or who I become, I will never forget home, Nigeria. I will never stop fighting and advocating for a better nation.

(Not So) Happy Independence, Nigeria!

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For the longest time, women have been treated poorly around the world, but especially in Africa. A lot of us have been fighting for the rights of WOMEN in Africa for decades. However, at the time, advocacy wasn't an 'in thing.' We were insulted and referred to as what is known as 'clout chasers.'

Now, advocacy seems to be an in, and every other day there is a new hashtag. While this is great, because the louder the voice, the better, we need to make sure that we are not just making noise and chasing our tails. We need to change tactics and look inward; change will begin with society first.

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AFRICA! WAKE UP! We've allowed false prophets preaching false religion to take advantage of us for too long. These false Pastors make some of you do demeaning things with false promises of riches and healing.

Open your eyes, don't be deceived.

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The education system in Africa has always been a bit flawed to me. Even when I was in school, I felt that the workload was too much. We were forced to do almost 20-25 subjects each school year. Yet, some fundamental subjects such as leadership skills, human rights, etc., are missing from the curriculum.

I think it's time we restructure our curriculum in Africa, especially for high school kids.

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I was born and raised in Africa, and over the years, I've realized that as Africans, we tend to prefer foreign products to our own products. We would rather spend thousands and millions on something made on another continent, and honestly, I think this is a habit we need to shake off.

How do we expect our economy to grow when we keep pumping our money into other foreign countries?

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I've always wondered why people send their children to Boarding School. In my opinion, Boarding School should be something kids do for their final year in high school (secondary school) to prepare them for college.

I can not understand why we're so comfortable sending our kids to boarding school during those formative years. With all the grim boarding school tales I've heard, I think it's time to reconsider the whole boarding school structure.

NOTE: This episode contains slightly graphic narrations of Rape and Molestation.

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Growing up, I realized that we were made to feel bad for speaking our own language in school in our country. Unconsciously, we created a situation where we trivialized the importance of speaking your language.

We must change this because our beautiful and diverse African languages are at the risk of extinction. We can't afford to lose our culture and history.

There is dignity in being able to speak and understand your language.

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STIWANISM addresses the conditions and needs of the continental African woman on the African continent.

I am passionate about advocating for the modern African woman who is strong, smart, and resilient to wake up to the options she has. She should no longer be satisfied with the options created for her even before she was born.

I believe that we should pay more attention to the African woman's experiences and the need to redefine who we truly are and our positions in society.

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2020 has been one heck of a year, and Africa is one continent that felt the brunt of it. From the pandemic to genocides, massacres, poverty, hunger, and a lot more.

The beautiful continent of Africa has been in crisis, and it's significantly due to bad governance. I feel that we Africans, especially us in the diaspora, should come together to find a solution. How can we join forces with our brothers and sisters in Africa to build our continent back to greatness?

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There is so much unrest currently in Zimbabwe. Violence, Robbery, Rape! Yet very few people are talking about it.

It's time to speak up for our brothers and sister in Zimbabwe. #ZimbabweanLivesMatter #FreeHopewell #FreeJacob

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I will introduce you to one of the fiercest, strongest, most intelligent leaders and warriors in African History; Queen Nzinga.
She is a woman who fought for her people, and she deserves to be celebrated and remembered throughout history.

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Over time, I have come to realize that there has been some mind conditioning of Africans in the diaspora that needs to be resolved swiftly.

For a long time, we have allowed ourselves to be used to push the agenda of oppressing our African American sisters and brother.

It is time for us to HEAL THE DIVIDE.

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I will address the unspoken division between Africans and African Americans. It is time for us to unite and rid ourselves of the ideologies and lies that have been fed to us, to keep us divided.

One's accent does not deter RACISM. Whether you are African, Jamaican, Haitian, etc., before they hear you speak, they see the color of your skin, and that's all that matters to them.

BLACK LIVES MATTER!

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Yesterday was Menstrual Hygiene Day, and people all over the world joined their voices through social media, to raise awareness and bring period education to all.

However, there is still a group of women who do not have access to the internet and social media. To this day, these women cannot get staple menstrual hygiene products, and even when they are made available, they can't afford it. Some of their religions and cultures also set dreadful rules that stifle these women during their period.

How can we join forces and end period poverty? I believe that someday soon, we can live in a world where no woman or girl is held back because of her period.

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In the last episode, I raised my concerns about the less privileged children in Africa, and how they can’t get an education due to the Coronavirus lockdown. These children do not have internet access, so how do we expect them to be able to participate in online learning?

Here in the USA, most families have internet access and laptops. Several states have also decided to dedicate certain hours during the day to teach children via television. Is this something we can do as well in Africa?

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When the Coronavirus lockdown began, my kid's schools in America reached out to us and asked if we needed laptops and help with internet access so our kids can continue to do their school work from home.

This got me wondering about the less privileged children in Africa. How are they getting their work done? What are we doing to help? What is the government doing to help?

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The Coronavirus pandemic has put the world on lockdown. People are working from home, and kids are not in school. The craziest thing is there is no definite end, and a lot of people don’t know how to handle this.

I’ll be giving you all ideas of things you can get up to during this lockdown. Remember to stay safe, wash your hands, and practice social distancing.

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The world is currently going through the Coronavirus Pandemic. Infected people all around the globe are being quarantined, while others are asked to self-isolate and practice social distancing.

While these measures are significant to curb the spread of the virus, I fear for my brothers and sisters in Africa who live in countries where the government doesn’t necessarily provide benefits for them that would help them get through this period.

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I used to be one of those people who would complain about foreigners coming to Africa to steal our resources and rip us off, but I watched a documentary recently that really shocked me and got me thinking. Are they stealing our resources, or are some greedy leaders selling our continent to them and embezzling the money, while the masses continue to suffer.

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Growing up in Benin City, there was so much culture, history, and art. I grew up learning about all the beautiful artifacts created in Benin and also how a lot of them were stolen from us by the 'White Man'. This didn't happen only in the Benin Kingdom but across the whole of Africa.

So you can imagine my joy when I saw an article about an artifact being returned to Ethiopia. Could this be the beginning of an era? I think that It is about time all the stolen artifacts are returned to their rightful countries.

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One of the things I love most about growing up in Africa is that our history and culture is so rich. There are so many stories, both mythical and real, from Africa, one of them being the story of The Golden Stool of the Ashanti people in Ghana. If you have heard of it, what do you think? Could it be real, or is it a myth? If you haven’t, now is a good time to learn something new.

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After a trip to my county Nigeria, I realize that there is a major difference between the ‘organic food’ we believe we consume in the USA; and the authentic organic food grown in Africa.

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I’m going to be giving my opinion on the controversial BBC Africa Documentary Exposé “SEX FOR GRADES”.

Who really is to blame and how can we find a solution?

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I will introduce you to the Mother of Modern African Literature, Flora Nwapa. She was on the most popular African Authors, who changed the face of writing. She was a woman ahead of her time, a feminist before it was “cool” to be one.

Flora Nwapa was a strong African woman with a voice, who expressed herself through her books.

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For the past few weeks, my country Nigeria has been in the spotlight of World News, but unfortunately, it hasn’t been for great things.

I do not condone or support any acts of fraud, kidnapping, or violence. However, I have noticed that even though 80% of Nigerian’s are good people who are doing great things around the world. The media has decided to concentrate on the 20% who have done shameful things.

While we stand up against the evil acts of the 20%, we must not forget to also celebrate the good things that the other 80% are doing.

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I will introduce you to the world's third-largest film industry, Nollywood. 

I’ll take you a journey, from the beginning of Nollywood to where we are today, and how quickly we have grown and achieved world recognition. 

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I would tell you a story of an amazing man, who put his love for humanity before faith and religion. 

It is sad, however, that this story came to light over a year later because Imam Abubakar Abdullahi was one 2019 recipients of the International Religious Freedom Award, in the USA. 

We as Nigerians and Africans need to learn to honor the good things our people do. We should not wait for foreign countries and their media to do it first 

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I talk about a long-awaited movement that has begun in my country Nigeria, and the whole of Africa. 

#MeTooAfrica

For many years, RAPE CULTURE has been overlooked in Africa but not anymore. Our people are finally beginning to see the importance of speaking up. Hopefully, we will also begin to severely punish these rapists for their crimes, regardless of their gender, educational background, and status in society. 

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According to UNESCO, the Igbo language would be extinct by 2025. It may seem like it's many years away, but in reality, it's only 6 years away. When I read this, I was so worried about my people and our language.

Which is why I decided to have this amazing woman, as the first guest on the show. Her name is Chimmie Gbugu and she is the founder of Akwukwo LLC. Akwukwo is dedicated to creating fun and exciting learning materials that teach the Igbo language to children. 

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When I moved to the USA, I had a shocking realization. This was something I didn't see a lot in my country (Nigeria). People above the age of 60 or 70, still in the workforce. In Nigeria, almost everyone within that age bracket is retired.

However, in the USA, I have seen several elderly people working and even doing odd jobs. 

Listen to the episode to find out how I feel about this.

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Most of the time, we as Africans tend to overlook the First Ladies of our countries. We fail to acknowledge their hard work, contribution, and even sacrifice. 

That is why I have decided to dedicate this episode to African First Ladies, and one of them in particular who has done great things for her country Rwanda, Jeannette Kagame. 

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No country or continent is perfect. I love Africa, and I know this show is dedicated to informing people of the beauty of Africa that the media doesn't show you. 

However, I love my continent so much that I also want us to be better and do better. That is why I have decided to speak on the #FreeOurGirls issue that occurred in Burundi a few weeks ago.

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I’m going to tell you about something very special that is happening TODAY (04/12/19). It’s the London premiere of a feature film that I co-produced and play the lead role in. 

I have played the lead role in very many movies over the last 2 decades, but this one is extra special because it was filmed with the intention of changing how African’s are viewed and portrayed in the entertainment industry.

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We will honor the life and achievements of Wangari Maathai, the first Black African Woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. She fought for peace, women rights and was an environmentalist who played a major role in saving the earth. 

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“According to the 2018 report on the killing of women and girls released by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, about 87,000 were killed worldwide in 2017, 58 percent of them victims of domestic or family violence” - The Washington Post.

This is why we have chosen to dedicate this episode to Josephine Effah-Chukwuma. She is the first person ever to set up an organization and shelter in Nigeria, to help women and young girls who are victims of Domestic Violence.

Domestic violence is a battle that we all must continue to fight.

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March is Women's History Month, so we decided to dedicate all our episode this month to some amazing modern day SHERO'S. 

The first episode in this series is dedicated to a strong, brilliant and courageous woman, who saved a whole nation and in turn, the world, from an uncontrollable Ebola outbreak and in doing so, lost her life. 

Her name is Dr. Stella Adadevoh, and she deserves to be honored every year, Which is why have picked the 10th of March as a day to honor her memory, her bravery and her service to the people of Nigeria and the world. 

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I will be taking you on the journey of the Excuse My African podcast so far. I launched this podcast in 2017 and in just 2 years we have so much to celebrate and be thankful for. 

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I will be celebrating Black History Month with a difference. Instead of concentrating on the history of Africans after slavery, I would take you straight to Africa, it’s people and entertainment. 

I want you to experience the rich culture of our people, as well as some great movies and series that educate you about Africa. As I celebrate my 50th episode, I would love to share the greatness of Africa and her children. 

We are rising together as a people and the world is paying attention.

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Many of us know of Kunta Kinte from all the slavery stories we've been told. However, most of us do not know the truth about where the name originated from.

I will be taking you on a journey of the beautiful country, where the name originated.

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I am going to introduce to you, a woman who made a remarkable impact in Nigeria. Many of you may have heard of her in passing, but unfortunately, you may not be aware of all the amazing things she did and how she shaped Nigeria as we know it today. She stood for what she believed in and became a hero of our time. 

Her name is Margaret Ekpo, and I am honoring her as our African Amazon of the month.

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I was feeling very nostalgic this Christmas, so I decided to take you all on a journey of how I used to spend Christmas as a kid in Africa!

It was so much fun back then because we weren’t bothered about putting up a tree filled with lights and ornaments or what gifts we got. We just loved gathering together to spend time with our family, friends, and neighbors.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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