Africa: Heads you lose, tails you lose
There is a saying in African folklore to the effect that ‘until the story of the hunt is told by the lion, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter’. So until politically aware Africans tell the story of Africans, the story of conquest will always glorify imperialists.
It irritatingly tickles one to no end that, for Africans to find any solution that works for them, they must look to the West. Not only must they look to the West, but if the West does not approve, then the Africans must be high on something.
The media and African so-called elites reinforce this narrative. How many days in a week do you open your newspaper to see a ‘big man’ literally gawking at a foreign ‘dignitary’? It is an everyday ritual in which journalists will narrate the most recent arrival of ‘Jesus the Saviour’ in the form of a visiting dignitary or ‘investor’.
Perforce, the Africans who are not courted and pampered by their leaders must be stupid, lazy and primitive. There cannot be an African solution to African problems.
By and by, African elites treat their rural kinsfolk in the same manner. I know some elites who on account of having arrived in the ‘place of lights’ are averse to shaking hands with their peasant kinsfolk. They would rather not be sullied.
A few weeks ago, the Rwandan Development Board signed a sleeve sponsoring deal with London Premier League club, Arsenal. Over a three-year period, the “Visit Rwanda” advert will cost the country $39 million (about Shs144b). This is a marketing coup by any standards.
The deal will provide a ‘200 sq. centimetre advert’ (note emphasis on the size of the advert) on all the shirts sold by Arsenal over that period – approximately nine million shirts in all. It will include adverts on the field hoarding during games and soccer academies by Arsenal footballers in Rwanda. What better way to promote your country? It is also expected that the interest raised in tourism will fetch Rwanda upwards of $400 million (about Shs1.5 trillion) in new tourism revenues over the same period.
Unfortunately that is not how most of the Western media sees this deal. They see the 19th poorest country in the world sponsoring a rich club. They see an autocrat squandering his poor country’s resources. They see money misspent which could have been used for another cause they do not articulate. They see aid money that is being misused. Luckily for those who want to believe this narrative, the Western media is not short of lackeys in Africa. They have quickly jumped on this bandwagon, and criticised the Rwandan government for its ‘slovenly’ ways.
But what should the Rwandan government do to promote its tourism industry? Against all odds, the Rwandan are trying to rebuild their country and are innovating in ways never imagined before. They have gone to great lengths to build a purpose-driven society, and look for alternative sources of revenue. For their efforts, they get derision from the rest. What nobody is telling you is that most Western aid mostly arrives in Africa in the form of vehicles, expatriates, and trinkets.
In exchange for that ‘aid’ Africa ships to the West at least $200 billion either directly through multinationals repatriating profits and illegally moving money into tax havens or through the unfair exchange of raw materials.
When the Tanzanians tried to stop some British conglomerates from shipping their minerals without processing, Bwana Magufuli suddenly metamorphosed into a dictator.
But it is common knowledge the multinationals have been shafting the Tanzanians for decades. This misguided but powerful narrative is about Africa needing help from the West.
It reinforces our place at the bottom of the food chain. Where did the Rwandan get the cheek to ‘sponsor’ Arsenal Football Club? In succumbing to this narrative, we have let the conquistadors write the story. Heads we lose, tails, we lose. It can’t be any other.
Prof Sejjaaka is country team leader at Abacus Business School.
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@samuelsejjaaka
