Hello citizens of PriinceBriightNation,
Today, we'll be discussing something that's of utmost relevance to the times we live in, if you're African especially so. I was at Douglas' Café in the late afternoons of today, and this guy over the counter engaged me in a conversation whilst printing a receipt of my order. He told me he likes my accent - a compliment I have received more variations of than I can count on both hands, so it came as no surprise. I told him I like his' as well, to which he replied after laughing, and I quote, "Me that talks like a local boy?" The girls over the counter laughed too, but with him, not at him, which is OK I suppose. His reply was thought-provoking, though, and his words rang on in my mind as I ate my meal. Two questions bugged me since; 'Who told Africans that African accents are local (not in the context of being indigenous, but of being outdated or archaic)?' And more importantly, 'Why did we accept that lie?'
Around the globe, in third-world countries especially (for the record, 'third-world country' is not a term I particularly like to use), it was believed when Western education was introduced that bagging a degree was all there is to a higher standard of living. You were considered better than every other person if you went to school! The Westerners brought civilization afterall, so they had to be better than us, right?
Wrong!
Civilization, in core terms as used in this context, means to behave in reasonable or polite manners, and Africans have always done this as far back as history dates. (Other non-Western continents have too, I should think.) We were educated enough to know to exchange gifts (usually kola nuts) when visiting or entertaining visitors. We were educated enough to respect our elders. We were educated enough to live amicably. Heck, we were always educated, in every sense of the word - we just didn't speak English. And why should we have, anyway? English is merely a language, just like German or Igbo. We had our own language. We even had SEVERAL of them, come to that! So at what point exactly did fluency in the English language become a measure of intelligence amongst Africans when, in point of fact, the percentage of English speakers in the world is just 4.83%?! Spanish, is even more widely spoken than English by 4.85% of the world's population! I bet you didn't know that, did you?
Does that make everyone who doesn't speak English 'local' or 'uncivilized'? Certainly not! I have a friend who has the most elegant Hausa accent you ever heard, and who is as intelligent as they come. You'd fall in love if you hear him speak English in that accent. Besides, just because Western education says you should do 'A' doesn't always make doing 'A' right! To buttress this point, let's consider the following example. Western education teaches that you must use the right cutlery for each meal. Not only that. There are also different types of knives, spoons and forks and proper Western table manners require that you don't use any wrongly. You shouldn't use a butter knife, for instance, to cut your steak. However, when eating the famed Nigerian garri or fufu, proper Nigerian table manners demand that you don't use any cutlery - you eat instead with thoroughly washed hands. So the rules do not always apply.
Which brings me back to today's experience at Douglas'. After I was done with my meal, I had to explain to Joshua - that's the boy's name - that I only speak the way I do because of the people in my (work) circle. I trained myself to from young, because of the life I'd tailored for me in my imagination. Using the English language is core to one of my major sources of income, so in growing my worth, I had to be the best I could be at it, which took a lot of work, mind you. When I left the café, I remember he, and the girls too, had an expression on their faces which indicated that both their affection and surprise were intact, and this pleasured me greatly. 😄 (Oh, I'm so vain, but you get the point, don't you? I educated them that fluency in the use of the English language, or any language, even, is not an absolute measure of intelligence.) I figured as I pondered the event of today that losing our African identity in a bid to be perceived as something, whatever that is, is sheer folly. We are literally perfection, exactly as we are. ♡
Still, everywhere you go, you can spot one or two Africans who desperately try to be less and less like themselves and more and more like others! Their brains have been wrongly wired, in ways they mightn't even be aware of, to believe that they have to dress, act, talk etc. in a certain way to be considered beautiful, or intelligent, or civilized, or perfect, or ... the list is endless. This just goes to prove that even after colonization ended and national independence came, many people were never truly free in their minds!
"They would have fought for their freedom, but they didn't know they were slaves!" - Author, Unknown.
Listed below are some things that are characteristic of this category of people. It is of utmost importance to keep in mind as you read on that doing any or all of these things is OK, unless you are doing so because you'd question your self-worth otherwise.
Bleaching your skin BECAUSE you have been taught that being fair is more beautiful than being black!
Using lip balms and other cosmetic products to alter the color of your lips BECAUSE you want to look more 'white'!
Feigning an accent BECAUSE you think it makes you sound more intelligent!
Choosing hair extensions over thread BECAUSE you were lied to that the latter is 'local'!
This list really is inexhaustible, so I'll stop here. As earlier stated, doing any of these things is good and fine, but if you're doing it because you feel like who you are isn't enough - like you have to be(come) something else, something more, to be perfect - then there's a problem. The only person in this world that you get to spend every second of your entire life with is YOU. Not your parents, or your spouse, or kids, or friends, or anybody else for that matter. Just YOU. And if you're constantly trying to mold yourself into something you're not to fit into the recommendations/standards of other people, you wont live. Those standards were set, after all, by one person, or group of people, just like you. What's more? You can set yours, rather than lose your identity in a bid to conform to theirs. And I think you should, because in a world with so many voices, it's very easy to lose yourself, or never find yourself. So, exist in all your African-ness, completely, and unapologetically.
Let me know your thoughts on this piece in the comments. Before your comment is uploaded, you'll be asked to sign up if you haven't already. It's easy, and only requires an email address and five seconds of your time. It is also absolutely free. The purpose of having citizens of PriinceBriightNation sign up is to be able to easily censor offensive comments that contain hate speech, religious blasphemy etc. Don't forget to subscribe to get more updates on the go! I love you to pieces. ♡
