Lifestyle, Arts & Culture: Social Resistance

In this edition of our Lifestyle, Arts & Culture piece, the mood of the moment is weighty. The canvass for self-expression is painted by peaceful protest and candid conversations on the continent and in the Diaspora, in defence of human rights, not privileges.

Accounting to the Future, for the Past

As the adage goes, “tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today[1]”; it definitely feels as if this is the era of consciously listening to conscience, to make for a better future for all. Over the past few weeks, people have broken protocols to protest, sacrificing present comfort for the sake of stemming the haemorrhage of past and present ills. The Black Lives Matter movement has stimulated  some hard questions and Juneteenth focused minds on some uncomfortable truths. As of 2017, of the 5.7m US companies with a paid workforce, only 2.2% are black-owned, disproportionately less than the 12.7% of the US population that is black[2].  And even for the few black-owned businesses, their exposure to risk during Covid-19 has been more pronounced, in part owing to the front-line nature of service provision and the lack of access to loan relief[3]. 

But change is coming. Our good friend, Jonathan Asante, a fund manager for over 20 years, is bringing together friends and colleagues of African and Caribbean descent in the UK to speak out about discrimination, which “starts very early on in the schools”, in order to “repair” relations. This, he says, “is a crucial part of rebuilding the trust and understanding we need to go forward as a society”. We also applaud Footprints Africa for inviting us to have a conversation with the team about experiences of conscious and unconscious bias over the coming weeks.

Honest dialogue is one fundamental milestone along the journey of healing; self-actualisation is another. We have been so happy to hear more about initiatives like Jamii, the brainchild of former Footprints team member, Khalia Ismain, who has created the first discount card for black-owned businesses in the UK. Her platform sheds light on quality products which consumers may normally find inaccessible, and by so doing, is playing a key role in changing the narrative. 

Technology: The Leveller

The interplay between the Diaspora and the continent is becoming ever- more pronounced as technology replaces the plane and levels the playing field. Denmark-born Gambian tech-creative and friend of Songhai, Fatima Tambajang, has a passion for development through entrepreneurship. Her nouse has led her to a project management role at enpact, where she works with African start-ups to realise their full potential by bringing them, along with global entrepreneurs, into a vibrant ecosystem of collaborations. In her thought-piece, she notes how last year alone, “the African start-up ecosystem experienced a new height with a record-breaking $2 billion worth of investments in several ventures across the continent”, which is spurring greater ties to global markets. Brands such as Afrikea, an e-commerce platform “to discover, buy and sell fashion, art and crafts” are bridging the cultural divide and making the African creative industries more easily accessible.

Stand-Up for Your Rights

“Be brave to stand for what you believe in, even if you stand alone”, is the opening lyric in Don Elvi’s Believe. With that one line, the Kumasi-born millennial’s Afrobeat track (with distinct traces of grime and a London vibe), captures the mood of the moment. Our team member in Lagos, Adedayo, is preparing to stand (or sit) for what he believes in: specifically, an end to the detention of people without trial in Nigeria. “More than 70% of Nigeria’s prison population nationwide are inmates awaiting trial”, his civic organisation, The Organisation for Civil Rights and Equal Protection (Crepper) writes.  So in August, he will hold a 9-day sit-in, in front of the State High Court in Ikeja, in peaceful protest to force change. 

“A girl gotta do what she gotta do for justice, for peace, for human rights” is what Liberian Nobel Peace Laureate, Leymah Gbowee, said in an interview about her life-story. Leymah is well-known for her galvanising spirit, which brought together 2500 Liberian women to protest peacefully to bring an end to the civil conflict in Liberia.  She recounts how the desire for peace was so strong that she and other activists of the Liberia Mass Action for Peace were prepared to even risk even “disgracing” themselves by publicly stripping, considered a cultural taboo, in a country where the WHO estimates between 61%-77% of women in Liberia were raped during the war[4].

Being stripped of the ability to choose, is what brought thousands onto the streets across Nigeria, following the rape and murder of 22-year-old student, Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, who sought to study quietly in church in Benin City on 27 May. Her killing was followed by another rape and killing of Barakat Bello, during a robbery in her home in Ibadan. Thousands of women (and men) have been marching to bring an urgent end to gender-based violence. VP Yemi Osinbajo has brought the polemic to the fore, highlighting the spike in incidents of reported rape and sexual assault on women since the outbreak of Covid-19 and vowing to partner with states to push through legislative reform[5].

We are the World, We are the Children

Joining hands to bring about change is something that close friends, Milly Bock and Catherine Humphries, know much about. The two women from Namibia and the UK, respectively, formed “trust and a close relationship”, Catherine tells us, in which a Namibian school (Bridge of Hope) is supported by a UK charity (Hope for Rehoboth).  Bridge of Hope is situated in Rehoboth, a town of 21,000 inhabitants, in the centre of Namibia, where it brings together over 150 children, of whom 56 are orphans and 73 are “vulnerable”, to learn in a safe space.  But even more than a school, Bridge of Hope is also a centre which provides“a breakfast club, baby nursery, preschool, Grade 1 classes, an after school club and a soup kitchen”. It’s distinctly local: created by Milly who herself comes from Rehoboth and who has had experiences similar to the children she now shelters. At the height of Covid-19, the school was closed but even throughout this time, Milly still provided a soup kitchen for the community, three times a week. As of last week, the school re-opened its doors and over the coming months, plans are afoot to fundraise for a minibus and a new website, to draw in more children and create more awareness for the great work of these organisations.   

To learn more about any of the topics in this month’s LAC or to stay in touch, please do reach out to us; we’d love to hear from you: questions@songhaiadvisory.com

[1]Attributed to both Malcolm X and African proverbs

[2]https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2020/06/18/this-juneteenth-we-should-uplift-americas-black-businesses/

[3]https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianthompson1/2020/05/12/getting-help-for-minority-owned-businesses-shut-out-of-ppp-loan-relief/#17079f22be6d

[4]https://unmil.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/impunity_report_-_binding.pdf

[5]https://prnigeria.com/2020/06/20/states-child-right-osinbanjo/