Let Africans tell their own stories.

Until the day we learn to tell our own stories is the day we will be liberated. We have been fed a narrative that our continent is a desolate place, where poverty, war, and disease abound. Our education institutions have also done the same. It's only European geniuses that we are taught. In fact, in some fields like Physics, it's hard to think of any African contribution.

But the worrying thing is that as Africans, we have taken these stereotypes and internalised them. As the legendary reggae singer Bob Marley said, we are mentally enslaved. Perhaps, mental enslavement is a much more damage to us than even stealing our resources.

If a Kenyan wants to read what's happening in Nigeria, he'll likely learn from the New York Times- an American publication, rather than from Sahara Reporters or This Day Newspaper- Nigerian publications. It is hard enough when Europeans, Arabs or Chinese hold stereotypes against us. But it's even harder when the same stereotypes emanates from Africans themselves. Why do fellow Africans hold the view that Nigerians are drug traffickers or that South Africans are lazy? This is because we get our news about Africa from foreign sources- Reuters, AFP, CNN, BBC et al.

For every Western story out there, let's replace it with an African one. For instance, instead of citing Bill Gates, let's cite Philip Emeagwali. Instead of citing Jeff Bezos of Amazon, let's cite Aliko Dangote. Instead of knowing every Manchester United player, let's know every Enyimba or Mamelodi Sundowns player. In this way, we will celebrate our own heroes, and uplift the African story.