What Is On Your Mind?

The Future; can you see it?

That's the question Facebook poses to you each time you open the app. Mark Zukerberg the 'face' of the popular social media network graced Nigeria with his presence. In his first-ever sourjourn to "sub-saharan" Africa; there were lots of talking points and positives from his time here.

Mark My Words!

Obviously the first thing that was as exciting as his trip here was the way and manner in which he did so. For someone who is the 7th richest person in the world, you would expect more pomp and circumstance. Yaba was just Yaba. Nothing in the atmosphere suggested that it was hosting an 'august' visitor. Commuters were on their way, hawkers were at their itinerant best and generally it was business as usual.
Then he walked in with a signature smile, that monochrome shirt of his and a few associates.
"Hello guys. I am Mark Zukerberg. It's a pleasure to meet you all!" Unreal!

Nigerian Numbers

Facebook's dominance of social media is highlighted by the fact that it boasts of over 1.65 billion active users monthly around the globe. In Nigeria alone Facebook has around 15 million users - with prospects of great growth. Mark smells blood. He showed that by visiting the commercial capital of West Africa.

"What Did You Say?"

In this part of the world, many people have made themselves surrogates for God; people who assumed absolute direction for other people's lives without recourse or sensitivity to their destinies. It is even sadder that most of these people are those who love us but are unwittingly circumventing our career paths.

"Dad I want to be an astronaut" You dare not tell this to your parents. Lol. You are unaware that even the education system programmes you to be a lawyer, doctor, banker, engineer, economist et al. Anything outside this bracket is a 'no-no'.
"How many people have you seen in this country that have become astronauts? Are you out of your mind? You this child, you will not kill me o! I did not kill my parents!"

Not to say that the aforementioned professions are not noble but the right question should be asked: is that what the child really wants to do or is it what society wants him/her to do?
This is why people's passions have been sacrificed on the altar of certain careers. Brain-drain is the natural consequence of people not finding expression for their giftings. This is why Japan with no natural resource will always be relevant in the world!

Jollof Rice!

I remember the Ministerial Screening where one gentleman during his pitch kept saying "enabling environment" over and over. He is right - the summary of the government's duty is to create enabling environments for ideas to thrive. Who knows if Mark could have been a Nigerian. In America the ambience is great for techies like Mark. They have Silicon Valley, favourable tax laws for startups, ample Angel Investors and general ease of doing business. Now that oil prices are dipping and countries are sourcing alternative energy, the government should be thinking along these lines.

"Sub"

In a TED Talk, Africa's literary jewel, Chimamanda Adichie called it the danger of a 'single story'. A single story is one whose narrative has been deliberately structured (not necessarily altered) to project the notion or interest of the teller. BBC's Kola Dumor of blessed memory corroborates this in his own TED Talk "Telling The African Story". In the epic "300", King Leonaidas prior to his final battle with Xerxes sends his trusted one-eyed friend back to Sparta with these words: "...tell them our story. Remember why we died. Remember us". No surprise that Greek myths are very powerful because they have mastered the art of telling their own stories.
An African proverb says: "Until the lion learns how to write, the story will always glorify the hunter" 
Africa is not a country!



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