The African Reader

Civilization and the popularity of reading have steadily increased, yet the African reader's acclimatization could have been faster. Verily, we boast some of the rawest poets and writers of all time; Chinua Achebe, Okot P Bitek, Wole Soyinka, and Kofi Awoonor, just to name a few. One would think that with all these great minds, and the creativity and wit in their works, we would have learned some important lessons, but we still find ourselves reckless and incompetent sadists. We must practice the art more frequently than our predecessors wished or wanted. Eerily, we find ourselves yearning for what we can get and learn. Our culture has been dominated by storytelling, but even that is on its deathbed. So why exactly is the reading culture not as quick to replace that which is slowly fading? We are quick to change our education systems but not to preserve the knowledge enshrined in the works of some of the most radical thinkers the motherland bore. 

“So much there is we must atone. There are spires of faith in the invisible claws of spiders in the flight and curve of gulls. These know, I swear, the contours of the rolling Saharas and the destitute Oceans of our history. Yet, we sit debating the charity of our captors.”

Kofi Awoonor

We speak of decolonizing the mind, yet we cannot show gratitude or grace for what we already have. So shattered are our dreams that even in progressive times, we are still in the gutters. It shows why African sons like Ngugi wa Thiongo took their trade abroad. Better pastures, maybe? Or is the ignorance of our people and leaders such a nuance that their gift of poetry and unpretentious knowledge made in safety that the readers could one day be the keys to social change, for they spoke of tyrannical African leaders with scorn and relentless verbosity. A fight they knew they could not win single-handedly win, but such is the beauty of timeless knowledge that when the time is right, we will have an authoritative development of knowledge. Their messages embody spellbinding symbolism, sarcasm, and satire, entertaining the thought that a time will come when well-educated men and women may grace the continent with contagious enthusiasm. However, I cannot be as negative; the African mind is making significant strides, albeit slowly and ignorantly.

In all honesty, it takes collective responsibility to change minds. An idea can be planted and grow gracefully if fed with the right nutrients. Such is the nature we should adopt for our future endeavors. We must talk about and preserve our culture to keep it alive. Even in these times where we think other cultures in the West could be superior. However, looking eastwards, most Asian cultures have survived the status quo and maintained their social fabric. I believe the uniqueness of our African culture could be the driving force to attain independence from certain global elites that threaten our very essence as a people. For to be enlightened in our own respect, our thoughts must symbolize our Africanism. For in truth, I am because we are, and since we are, so I am.