Africa is constantly spoken about as a continent of limitless potential. And in many ways, that is absolutely true.
IN A matter of hours, we will be celebrating our annual Africa Day. Every May 25, news banners and timelines are flooded with carefully edited montages of wildlife, skylines, fabrics, dancers, drums, laughing children — and every other photogenic attribute of Africa.
Politicians spew the same old sentiments about unity, liberation and pan-African pride. Corporations run campaigns boasting about “celebrating African excellence” while atrociously underpaying their own workers year-in and year-out.
And for 24 hours, we are expected to romanticise the continent instead of confronting what life on it actually looks like for millions. Expected to temporarily sideline our lived reality in favour of curated continental pride.
Expected to repost flags and slogans whilst millions across the continent battle unemployment, rising food prices, collapsing public infrastructure, energy insecurity, wars, displacement, debt, corruption, and governments that are blind to — or indifferent toward — the lived realities of ordinary people.
