OUR UTOPIA
“Then the deer must train
themselves to seize the gun from
their hunters! The cows to take over the narration of their own story.” ---Women Of Owu.
their hunters! The cows to take over the narration of their own story.” ---Women Of Owu.
Black!
Primitive/Mediocre!
Impoverished/Diseased!
All
the above define Africa in many books, poems, films etc. I love the definitions
because, yes, we are all that; from our deathtrap roads, thatch and mud houses,
tottering infrastructure, clay and gourd utensils to emaciated children,
tattered mothers and miserable fathers who work on putrid marshlands, drought,
famine, mosquitoes and especially our blackness…and the list goes on-and-on.
Finding
gold on a journey doesn’t mean every glittering stone on the way is gold. It
could be diamond, any other gem, glass or probably just a mere stone. Humans are
too quick to brand things; a gift from God to Adam passed on to us. Now, I say
our branding abilities are corrupted and all we do is stereotype!
Today,
I saw an argument on facebook and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing: There
was a picture of Omotola, the actress and its caption described the beauty of
an African woman. There was this nurse who strongly held to her view that the
picture was just a bad influence to ‘true Africans’ because Omotola is fair in
complexion and her picture only preached pro-skin bleaching and not appropriate
for the Ad on African beauty.
As
much as I do not agree with skin bleaching, I didn’t agree with the nurse
either. I mean what about the purebreds that are naturally fair, just like
Omotola or even white children born on African soil?
Everything
is not what it seems but it also seems we Africans have accepted the definition
created for us by our ‘superiors’.
It
is time our writers and filmmakers and artists, newsmen took pens in their own
hands and began to tell the stories from our perspective. Eliminate the clichés
and whitewash the stereotypes. Let’s tell and show the world what we want them
to see, not how they choose to see us.
We
too we are somebody!
@Ato_Blinks
www.facebook.com/Fairyutopia
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