Afrikan mbiu issue 07

ISSUE No.07 / AUGUST - DECEMBER 2015

KShs. 100

AFRIKANMBIU

BY AFRIKA FOR AFRIKA

Joed Ngaruiya A LEGACY IN THE MAKING

@AfrikanMbiu /AfrikanMbiu

EDITOR

FROM THE

EDITOR Jullianne Obonyo obonyoj@afrikanmbiu.com WRITERS Kgosi Jay Sethoko Alexandria Akena Isaac Kasenjere

You’re beginning

a new year,

start it with an adventure

There is something magical and exciting about travelling. From the new cuisine, to experiencing new culture. It is extremely exhilarating. There is a famous saying that states “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”To me books and films are more or else the same thing. Whenever you read or watch a movie, it evokes a feeling, you get to put yourself in the characters’ shoes and travel with them through their journey. That is why in some movies, you hear people shouting and screaming as if the actors can hear them, some usually shed a tear after a sad movie. It is because they are deeply engrossed in the movie for those few minutes.

This issue, the Afrikan Mbiu team is taking you on an excursion across Africa as we talk about the film industry in different countries; such as Malawi, Nigeria, Kenya, Botswana and so much more.

Sit back, relax and enjoy the journey as we take you across Africa.

- J.

Owolabi Olanrewaju C. Mueni Mwando Kerry Nasidai Ismaail Qaiyim

PHOTOGRAPHERS Cedi Mungai Contact information Editorial & Advertising info@afrikanmbiu.com www.afrikanmbiu.com

@AfrikanMbiu /AfrikanMbiu

06

contents

AUGUST - DECEMBER 2015

10

05 FILIMU

(Luganda: FILM)

ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE

06 FILAMU

(Swahili: FILM)

LORRAINE’S STAR JUST KEEPS RISING

09 FILAMU

(Swahili: FILM)

IS HE FUNNY THOUGH?

10 MAKANEMA

12

(Chichewa: FILM)

FILM MAKING IN MALAWI

12 FILAMU

(Swahili: FILM)

JOED NGAURUIYA A LEGACY IN THE MAKING

16 IFILIMU

(Zulu: FILM)

HISTORY HITS HOME

18 FIIM

(Igbo: FILM) 16

THAT AWKWARD MOMENT

Événements Events

KENYA FASHION AWARDS 2015 WHERE: Brookhouse International School WHEN: August 22nd, 2015 Photography © Afrikan Mbiu Laviniah, Radek and Chero

Kenya Fashion Awards Directors, Atman Ngau and Galina Tatarinova

Dennis Nzioka,Darel and Atman Ngau

Afrikan Mbiu : AUG-DEC 2015 - 4

It is an exclusive Awarding Gala Night with an Amazing Fashion Show featuring African designers.

Love All’s Fair in

Each of us needs something of an island in their life- if not an actual island, at least someplace or space in time in which to be themselves, free to cultivate their differences from others.

John Keats

T

his quote is from one of my favourite poets called John Keats and despite this quote he is the god of romance undertones. On that tangent, or rather perpendicular to that tangent, I’d like to talk about break-ups and a person whose very existence is intertwined with my own.

That’s right folks I’m basically going to tell you a story about me, because when you are bestfriend’s on our level we’re essentially the same person.

No one sympathises with the fragility of break-ups more than me. My friend and I share too much, we discuss everything under the sun from what to reply, how to reply accompanied with the tone to use depending on the situation (we all know the circumstances under which we send an OK to a three page text), the pros and cons of different relationships and anything. This article is from a perspective of combined experience. This might be quite irrelevant to note but it’s what inspired this, so here goes: I got my heartbroken.

Yes it actually happened; my heart was broken not so long ago, well not particularly broken but definitely cracked. You can grab some ice cream and cake and get into this cracked heart mood or if that’s not your style you can drink to this. The worst thing about this was that I wasn’t the one in the

relationship, my dearest sweetest friend was, and her break up with her boyfriend just crushed me.There are just some people whom you are so close to that you literally share the person’s pain. These are the reasons why I have given up on the notion of universal justice in the world; my heart probably cracked more than hers.

But I digress......

After the break up we were devastated, I’ll spare you the details but all my friend could think about was what’s next?? That’s the thing about breakups, they hurt so much you just want to forget the person you were with and completely erase them from your memories. Over the years I’ve noticed a pattern in most relationships, where after a relationship people just dive into new relationships without taking time to heal or to contemplate what went wrong with the last relationship or even what went right.

Diving into a new relationship, no matter how ideal the person is for you usually causes resentment because you never really heal from the past relationship, then eventually there’s this whole back log of resentment and then there’s another break-up. To numb the pain or in hopes of erasing it you get into another relationship causing a vicious cycle of break-ups. I decided that I didn’t want that for my friend, and I wasn’t going to get her hurt and by extension, my heart broken in the near future so we came up with a breakup guide. The break up rules we decided upon were the following. The first is that it is necessary to have space to be alone, to think about life and everything good and bad that the previous relationship brought. John Keats is just the guy, you

Filimu Film

by Alexandria Akena Photos © Fighting Misogynoir

really need that ‘island’ to be yourself and enjoy your own company. I’m not suggesting that being a loner is the life, just enjoy being single again. Go on dates, laugh at how bad you’ve become at meeting new people, although my friend still has her charm, she got this rule handled. Do not commit, not as yet, you’re still having fun. Remain on this platform until you feel that you’re completely emotionally self-assured that all is well.

When you are ready, and when you feel a persistent spark ignited in you again, you’ll have the clarity of mind and heart to get into something new. In the words of Franz Kafka, I would advise you to go for it:

“Don’t bend it, don’t water it down, don’t try make it logical, don’t edit your heart according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly”

Afrikan Mbiu : AUG-DEC 2015 - 5

Filamu Film

Lorraine’s

STAR JUST KEEPS RISING

by Kgosi Jay Sethoko Photo © Lorraine Kinnear

Y

ou can’t exactly put a word to her. You know how some people can be described using one word either happy or rude, but when it comes to her, she is more than just a word. She is a fusion of weird, awesome, talented, artistic, sweet, amazing, and the list goes on. I first met Lorraine Kinnear a few years back on campus. She was wearing a trash bag and it looked so chic.

What started off as a passion for fashion and a love for Lady Gaga turned into a love for styling and her fashion blog was born. She has done so much over the years, collaborated, fell and picked herself right up and I have never seen her passion burn as bright as it does today. One can say it’s the battles she has fought along the way that has turned her into the amazing photographer she is today. Her personality shines through her work and you can always tell when it’s a Lorraine Kinnear shot (Bang! Bang! she shot that one).Her style is a mix of street boho, hippie but like her personality you just can’t point it down to one thing.

I had the pleasure of chatting with her and we got to catch up on life, boys, anxiety and all our life problems but the main focus was to get a sense of who this artist really is and oh let’s not forget about that ELLE feature.

Afrikan Mbiu : AUG-DEC 2015 - 6

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Lorraine Kinnear (government name), aliased Binie, Momma Monster, Rainey, and sometimes Bean. I’m a 23 year old self taught photographer based mainly in Gaborone Botswana.

How did you get started in photography?

I got into photography seriously from the need of good quality photographs for my then fashion blog (http:// lorrainekinnear92.blogspot.com) which now is a culture and lifestyle blog exploring African aesthetic through art, fashion, cuisine, and architecture among many.

How would you describe your work to someone who has never seen it?

Realistic, artsy and utterly Africanised. I don’t usually want to explain however, because words tend to take away from the art, that is, photography.

At what point did you realize that photography is what you wanted to do as a career?

As a child, when I was about 8, I always played around with those film cameras. Especially around Christmas time, I always liked winding back the film. Ever so curious to find out what it is that they did to that transparent film to get that glossy proper full colour photographs. It’s a science I’ve always been curious about. Now that I’m older and I have Google to explain a lot of things to me, I would be displeased to be anywhere else really. I just like preserving memories, if that’s what I ought to call it. I like sharing the beauty I experience with other people. I guess I’ve always wanted to get into photography but it dawned to me after I started actually doing it, which is about 3-4 years ago.

What are the biggest challenges of working in Gaborone?

Gaborone is a small city in terms of diversity of culture, because it’s not greatly populated. This becomes a great struggle for finding inspiration. I always want to have something fresh when I work with people but in a small city like Gaborone, everyone sort of thinks alike. Also the fact that our nation is still grandly preservative about a lot of trends I often find myself feeling restricted to express myself truly the way I would like.

Talk about the biggest struggles you had when you first started?

I’m self-taught so when you approach people they would like to know if you have any formal training, so for the first few months I had a lot of credibility issues. They wanted to know how I could claim to be what I am if I hadn’t gone to school for this kind of work, which is normal. Background checks are important for any transaction, especially when you want to monetize your craft. I’ve then had to build impressive online portfolios to show my clients.

Afrikan Mbiu : AUG-DEC 2015 - 7

What are the biggest challenges facing you now?

Currently I have a problem with having clients who always want to weight down your work by trying to get work for free or for very little money. Which is something that kills the industry to speak quite frankly because then there isn’t that set standard for how we can work and for much. If I can get you good enough work to meet your standards you must certainly be willing to meet mine.

Your projects are always a collaborative process, what is it like to always be working with new stylists, models, bloggers and designers?

I genuinely like working with new people, it’s always great to meet people and hear about their great ideas. It reminds me of primary art class, you’ll be working with different people to come up with something mind-blowing. Although there really aren’t a wide variety of people to work with, the few collaborations in the past have been a delight.

What kind of impact do you hope to make in the fashion world in the next 5 to 10 years?

I aspire to be a moving force in the creative space in general. I want our country to be at the top in terms of fashion by constantly doing work to meet international standards so that agencies from abroad can be more than pleased to come scout for designers, models, and stylists here. I want to become part of this thing that’s bigger than myself, by getting involved more and getting more people involved and making sure others do as well as we do. A group effort towards the country’s pride.

What does fashion mean to you?

It means you get to tell a story, silently...and peacefully. It means self-expression. It reflects how one faces the world. It showcases to the world about ones mood and personality without saying much.

Of all the images you’ve shot so far which is your favourite?

I shot with young aspiring model Casey Purhouse in a red dress somewhere in her home suburb and it was the most amazing little thing.

Why? I like it, not because of the fact that it was a great shot but because of how it gave out a sense of liberty and peace. It just had so much composure and grace. If I ever have a museum for my work it will certainly be taking up the most space.

Where do you find the majority of your inspiration?

In the morning dew and coffee stains, it’s never really anything intelligent. I just like to make my work as casual and as unpremeditated as possible. So I guess it’s from underlying thoughts and my experiences around the world.

What do you do on your down time?

I like to read and get together with like minded people and take walks around the city, but I especially like to read.

Lorraine Kinnear Telephone: +26772924578 www.lorrainekinnear92.blogspot.com Afrikan Mbiu : AUG-DEC 2015 - 8

Filamu Film

Is he funny though?

by Mueni Mwando Photos © Stalman & Boniecka

T

he fact that I am writing about it here doesn’t mean I’m proud of it. Don’t get me wrong I’m not so much of an inner beauty kind of person. But let’s talk. There have been some relationships, I have been in that should make you question my taste in men. Short, too thin to be called slim, a little lanky, hard hair that hardly got a shave, said ‘sorry’ as ‘thory’. He however was the most hilarious person I know and I have known unto date.

He was as funny as Kevin Hart and Wendy Williams back to back episodes. He was as funny as Trevor Noah telling a “Naah Man”

joke. Please! If you haven’t watched that, you haven’t lived my friend.

Funny, silly, stupid, goofy guy 2

Ps; Trevor, it’s your friend Mueni here. I have had a crush on your light skinned, Mexican looking South African self since I can remember. So if you ever get lonely, come be my funny, Zulu superman. (I’m not a freak)

He has absolutely no sense of humor. He was probably manufactured by another guy who wanted a genius robot to help him in his plans to conquer the world while the rest of us were being created. The reason you laugh at his jokes is that you really like him and you want him to like you back. Otherwise the guy is as plain and boring as ______ (fill in the blank space).This guy is however successful and very presentable to your mother. You can add predictable and emotionless. He has dreams and goals and ambitions and most of all, boredom. He knows how to be boring.

He does not even try. It’s in his genes. He takes you places with his friends and you have to start the first laugh because no one knows the joke in what he has just said. Keep cracking your ribs with fake laughter. It won’t be long before someone else sweeps you off your feet with a ‘knock knock’ joke. That’s how comically starved you are sweetheart.

Run dear darling. Run before it’s too late.

I may have drifted too far. My point is, I like funny men. Scratch that. I love funny men.

Men that could make you laugh either softly or so loud it’s embarrassing. It’s not just me.

Trust me. Most girls are attracted to guys that have a funny, silly, stupid, goofy side. There are three categories of the above when it comes to relationships though. Before you declare to your girlfriends that ‘ooooh he’s so funny’ you probably should go through this and find out how funny he is.

Funny, silly, stupid, goofy guy 1.

He’s funny, silly, stupid and goofy because he was born in a real husbands of Hollywood scene ( or If he’s in Kenya in a Churchill show.)

That means that he is funny by birth. It is in his nature. The way he eats a burger or sings a song is funny. It means if he proposes to you, you’re more likely to laugh than to cry.

These are the kind of guys that makes a joke out of people with cancer in refugee camps.

He is funny and sweetheart since you can’t beat how funny he is you don’t talk, You laugh. You don’t make jokes you laugh. You become mute under his funny shadow. The problem is, sometimes the joke doesn’t apply and sometimes not everything is a joke like your father’s bad feet; that’s not funny. He tells you to get over yourself that it was just a joke but you happen to be just a girl and you’re sensitive. You’ll be over him before you know it. You want more than funny and funny is all he gives.

Funny, silly, stupid, goofy guy 3 He is not a Kevin Hart but he is just ultimately the one who gets your jokes. You watch the same things therefore your jokes can relate.

You share stories and when you make fun of him in front of your friends and they don’t get it because it’s an inside joke. That’s how close you are. Only the two of you understand. He is funny and stupid but not to the world to you (this might be confused for guy 2 so be very careful). You get each other. You’re in sync.

When he is funny silly, stupid and goofy, to you, he makes it easier for you to live with.

Where do you fall? Is he funny though?

Ps; LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO BE FAKE LAUGHING Afrikan Mbiu : AUG-DEC 2015 - 9

Makanema Film

FILM MAKING

IN MALAWI

As TADDJA NKHONJERA NEW FILMMAKING POSTER BOY FOR MALAWI

by Isaac Chechikwere Nkalapwaga Kasenjere Poet, Blogger and Independent Consultant- iLeaderspower Consulting Photos © Taddja

I

n the late 80-90s every weekend right at dusk my uncle would hold my little hand and lead me to the movies popularly known as ‘video shows’. Honestly, this was the time only one or two families in the neighborhood had the vintage screen boxes, those TV Screens that house cathode ray tubes containing one or more electron guns at the back of it. We would list such people with a touch of class.

This was the time story telling started to diminish and was being replaced by movies. Putting grannies to bed early for kids deserted the fireplaces.However, one would still come back home from a movie and ask why the other character behaved in such a terrible manner, because it was either in Chinese or English, we actually missed the whole story line.It was more like, Character one would scream:”have you bought tomatoes?”Character two would answer: ‘No Master!”Then a fight would erupt. We had no choice but to watch, after all Uncle had paid for the two hours or so.

All my peers testify to the fact that there was no better entertainment than cinema.This meant watching a bunch of imported movies. No one complained about it, foreign was a quality of life everyone was pursuing. It was fun to mimic each sound effect that went along with either the flying kick or blow.All those bits of moments are now gone with the hands of time. Foreign is no longer Afrikan Mbiu : AUG-DEC 2015 - 10

quality, it is rather ‘lack of patriotism’. A Malawian like any other African has passed through that journey of self discovery. Home is best because it identifies with us,period!

At the dawn of democracy, the country has seen a number of fascinating documentaries and movies. We must be commended our African brothers and sisters;Nigerians, South Africans and Ghanaians who are now giants of the industry,they have led Africa to take that leap into story telling seriously and as an economic activity. Movies like “Sarafina,” by Whoopie Goldberg and Leleti Khumalo jogs something positive in the mind of many Africans that the stories we can tell are around us and in abundance. Malawi has a rich culture,stunning views and obviously a lake whose amazing beauty is on the lips of every guest who visits this land formerly called “Nyasa”(meaning Lake).Malawi has started telling its own story because no one will ever tell a better story than ourselves.

One young man whom I regard as a posterboy for film making in Malawi has shaken the film industry. He is Tawonga Taddja Nkhonjera.He is leading his peers in the right direction in film making.Born 1983, founder and owner of Dikamawoko Arts Organization based in Blantyre-Malawi.

The media and many have described him as an “ emerging voice in the arts in Malawi and Africa at large”and a“unique creator of life-reflecting characters that tackle human subjects, even when they are considered culturally as a taboo.”He is an author, poet, a playwright, a recording ethnomusicologist, actor and film director.

Taddja has a strong theatre and musical background.His projects includes but not limited to; “B’ella” – Writer and Director, “The Last Fishing Boat” – Script Supervisor, “The Designer” – Producer, “The Shoe Shiner”– Executive Producer, “The Naked Tattoo”– Executive Producer, “The Coffin Maker” – Executive Producer.He is currently developing two scripts. The first is a biopic on Dr. Vera Chirwa the renowned Human Rights Activist and the second is a human exploration of a transgender woman who seeks the love of a man, and wishes to experience marriage as a woman.

Taddjas’ film “B’ella” which he wrote and directed received Official Selections to Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Czech Republic), Zanzibar B’ella new Poster International Film Festival (Zanzibar), Zimbabwe International Film Festival Trust (Zimbabwe), Silicon Valley African Film Festival (California, USA), Houston African Film Festival (Texas, USA), New African Film Festival (New York, USA), Africa in Motion Film Festival (Scotland) Bergen International Film Festival (Norway) Cagli-Malawi Film Festival (Italy), Cine-Asia Film Festival (Nepal), Kolkatta International Film Festival (India), Goteborg International Film Festival (Sweden), Luxor African Film Festival (Egypt), Nador International Film Festival (Morocco), Africa Festival Narovimu (Prague, Czech republic) and Africa Movie Academy Awards – AMAA (Nigeria).

B’ella received 2 nominations in Best Emerging Actress (Vinjeru Kamanga) and Best Director in a First Feature (Tawonga Taddja Nkhonjera) categories.

“B’ella” is in demand across the country but not in stores yet, he is not in film making for the money.Quality seems to be his middle name.He aims on exhausting the festival screening and setting up structures for feasible distribution. He is currently discussing with different distributors;also negotiating with a couple of airlines that want to have “B’ella” as their on-flight film for a period; and seeking partnerships to have B’ella shown as an awareness project

in secondary schools across Malawi and in other parts of the world, so far Scotland, Czech Republic, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland and Australia have agreed.

The participation at international film festivals is a milestone for Malawi. “Seasons of a Life” and “The Last Fishing Boat” by the celebrated filmmaker Shemu Joyah, went on to win the Best Soundtrack Award at the Africa Movie Academy Awards and Best Narrative at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival in USA. In 2014, three films at the Zanzibar International Film Festival; “No More Tears” by Joyce Chavura Mhango, “Umunthu” by Mwizalero Nyirenda which won the Sembe Ousmane Award for Best Documentary, and “B’ella,” his own. “No More Tears” was nominated at the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) in the short films category. “B’ella” was nominated for AMAAs in Best Emerging Actress and Best Director in a First Feature category this year.

All these strides are being made amidst a myriad of challenges; the challenges in filmmaking in Malawi are common in any fledgling industry. He mentions lack of recognition from the corporate world.Lack of facilities and equipment, both for the film education and the actual filmmaking. The under Fourty Film Maker expressed his concern; ‘We are coming from a background where people assume filmmaking is about pointing a camera in any direction and filming’.He goes on to mention that cinema has evolved over the years and to stay relevant filmmakers have to show creativity in their filmmaking, with intriguing cinematic expressions. The Taddja and Tereza equipment used (Producer of B’ella) in quality film making such as dollies, jimmy jibs, sliders, cranes, trackers, GoPro cameras cost a fortune to acquire,and this poses a huge challenge to emerging film makers in Malawi. He is optimistic that with the coming in of Zambezi Magic, a television channel dedicated to films, series, soapies, music videos and programs from Southern Africa, Malawi will benefit a lot to showcase what it has in the filmmaking talent.

Afrikan Mbiu : AUG-DEC 2015 - 11

Filamu Film

Joed Ngauruiya

a legacy in the making

by Kerry Nasidai Photo Š Joed

Afrikan Mbiu : AUG-DEC 2015 - 12

Tall,dark and handsome Joed Ngaruiya easily fits into the mould of a movie star. As I was to pleasantly discover during our interview, there is so much more depth, passion and drive to this young actor who is clearly going places.

Afrikan Afrikan Mbiu Mbiu :: AUG-DEC AUG-DEC 2015 2015 -- 13 13

Starting Out My first audition was for a musical play. I have two left feet and an average voice so I guess only my acting made me get a role.

They were very hesitant but I really wanted to be a part of it and had to convince them to stake my claim.

My first real professional role was as a supporting character in a popular stage play “First Dawn”. After the final show the writer of the play loved my acting and casted me in her movie based on HIV and Aids “Unforgotten.” So for a while I was in between stage and film acting but my real foot in the business came when a good friend recommended me for the role of Shani in ‘Makutano Junction’.

Career From the guy the public saw in ‘Changing Times’ to the person now in ‘Stay’, I’m definitely more versatile now I can play a wide range of roles. I also respect the character and their struggle a lot more, I immerse myself completely. My voice has deepened as well….I think.

I also co-run a production company now called Urban Wave Media; it’s fresh with fresh talent and unique stories that will grip African viewers. We are also trying to provide a different genre to Kenyan viewers. The digital migration kind of slowed things down with an upcoming show but we’re back on track.

The pit of my career would be when I was casted in the first Kenyan show to air continentally throughout Africa. But after all the hype and preparation the show was pulled off air after 4 episodes. It was very embarrassing and discouraging. I honestly cannot say I have any peak moment yet I’m still working on it, I’ll definitely let you know when it happens.

The industry The entertainment industry in Kenya is growing; but not fast enough. The renovation of the Kenya National Theatre and the local content television regulation could be signs that the industry is going places but it’s yet to be seen what plans are being put in place to encourage the public to embrace this culture or if the government is seriously implementing this.

The Kenyan film industry is nowhere near the Nollywood industry in terms of output especially in movies. We need to learn to make profits out of movies. Once that is achieved then the industry will certainly blow up! Everyone will be looking to invest. Sustaining certain shows that cater to a viewership used to watching western content is not easy and very expensive.

Most producers and content providers decide not to weather the storm and instead cut their losses or make their quick profits and move on.

Afrikan Mbiu : AUG-DEC 2015 - 14

Outside the entertainment industry Love; I’m quite private and the characters I play are sometimes well… romantic, smooth and not quite private. I can be smooth when it comes to the right person and since I’m serious with my girlfriend I practice my skills on her. She’s smooth as well she makes me happy on any rainy day. Lol! Can’t say too much about my love life but all I can say is love conquers all!

Family; My family supported me since they always knew it was something I loved (since my first acting role when I was about 8) and wanted me to be happy. It did also help that I was consistent and still had the will to learn other crafts apart from entertainment.

And Finance; I’m currently finishing up with my ACCA at Strathmore University. I love business and learning everything I can about money, investments, entrepreneurship and Information Technology. As an actor or director in between projects there is a lot of time and money so you have to look to invest and learn.

Q. Looking back I’m sure you’ve made some mistakes in your career but also made some good choices so as to get you where you are today, if you were to draw a road map on how to make it in the film industry in Kenya, what would it look like?

A. Money at the end, consistency at the middle then I would make the first step talent and passion. I also take care not to burn bridges you never know when that river will need crossing.

Q. The Joed Ngaruiya legacy?

A. “To be remembered as a man of considerable talent and who did what made him feel alive. I would also like to provide a forum for others to thrive and make their dreams come true so that they too may enjoy the fine things in life.”

Afrikan Mbiu : AUG-DEC 2015 - 15

Ifilimu Film

History Hits Home

by Ismaail Qaiyim Photos © Ismaail Qaiyim

L

iberia gave me a real agency. Not the deterministic overtures of liberalism or the tokenism of progressivism. I wasn’t a pink poodle. I was whole and fully human. A gift given by a country with a sordid history shaded by the insecurities of my ancestors. In their quest for self-worth and determination, they could only look to the anglicised world that produced their own sense of being. They could never surpass their own indigence, and in turn, many of them could only know ‘freedom’ as the white oppressive system that is America taught: the domination of others. The ability to determine the existential place of another in society. And that ‘other,’ was the Kru, Krahn, Sapo, and Grebo of South-eastern Liberia. I am a legacy of a tradition that borrows ‘Africaness’ for the expression of one’s own humanity. But at least, Liberia subjected me to its ways and cultures. Its vibes and colours. And I can sleep at night knowing that.

Confronted by my own preconditioned sense of individuality, I was in a box where I was a perpetual observer. Absorbing what sometimes was communalism of Liberian life and at other times was a simple lack of pretension; notions of being and belonging got conflated.

I will not view Liberians as objects of my own humanisation and struggle to become whole. Liberia is not simply a ‘black republic’ or an expression of negro self-rule, it is a country with highly heterogeneous mix of peoples and cultures that even the country’s national ethos operate in the back seat. I’m interested in how Kpelle people are stupid, or how Mandingo people are greedy, or how Bassa women are loose-these everyday aggressions and gross generalisations by the people and about the people that let you know you’re in a real place with real people that identify themselves in their own ways. Everyone negotiates the history of Liberia, but ultimately there was never any real attempt to create a robust and inclusive national identity-so people have their own identities shaped by historical events. And culture still remains heavily indigenous.

The Liberian flag is a Mayflower looking ship sailing to the shores of West Africa. This symbol represents those people that came to adopt Liberia as their home, while creating a new cultural landscape. This emblem excludes all those that didn’t arrive on a ship, but it is the only expression of a national identity. What is a country without a A guy descends into the basement, elevates to the mosque, sits in the national identity? A country with a convoluted sense of self that still Island of Duarzon, often with a lonely reflection, clamouring to get seeks its place in a world, trying to overcome the pain of yesterday is away from stillness and the disquiet of mental idleness . Spaces in a country that can’t really afford to think about symbols. But symbols Liberia are green, forest like, tropical, crowded, hot, comfortable, tasty, aren’t more powerful than real people. Her smile is enough to set me and enjoyable. Confronted with the reality of power relations of global up and make me forget about politics for a minute. Her kitchen lets and historic proportions, I instead choose to get lost to the rhythms me swallow all the goodness and harmony of this one place. The thing of life. And deal with meaning and concepts later in moments of that sticks out the most is the food. I can’t get past it. (sometimes) unwanted sobriety. Was Liberia a dark land for dumping my dark desires? Was it a place for projecting the things I thought life The Southeast of Liberia is filled with forests and green bushes so ought to be? It is a place I miss a lot, with simplicity and love that lets thick that even professionals would have a hard time moving through me sleep easy. it. Palm Butter comes from the Southeast. It’s a stew made from Afrikan Mbiu : AUG-DEC 2015 - 16

boiling palm kernels, extracting their liquid, and boiling the liquid until the oil separates from the ‘butter.’ According to my neighbour, pepper soup is good for a hangover. The first time I ever heard of people directly ingesting mind altering substances in Liberia was through eating pepper soup at a Hipco ‘gathering.’( Hipco is like a fusion of a feel good energy mixed with rap and fast talk from the urban streets of Monrovia.) Actually, Takun J, the face of Liberian Hipco and popular music in general, was at the party, dancing all over the floor like the rest of us.

The first time I went ‘out’ was on a work retreat trip. During the day I was sitting in a classroom with Liberian champions of civil society, working through our stratagem and the kinks of our organization. At the end of it,we let out a sigh of satisfaction, resigning to let thinking wait until the next year. Not before, , we have a celebration. Spicy goat pepper soup, drinks, loud talk and the hollowed night air of Buchanan, the county capital of Grand Bassa County.one of my Liberian colleagues took me by the hand and led me down the street.

We are one. Can a person ever be different?

One of my white friends in Liberia told me, “you’ll always be foreign.” His words fall across my face, even today. To most Liberians I look Ghanaian. My Liberian boss claimed that’s where my ancestors probably came from.

I think my friend is wrong. No person, especially a person of African descent that makes the effort to see Liberia for what it is on its own terms, will ever feel like an outsider. Liberian’s sometimes have a dangerous and short-sighted attachment

to foreigners, but they welcome them with openness and completeness. To be in a place is not just to consume its food or listen to its music, but it’s to know its’ people as one knows their own people. Liberians never had a second thought about extending their own humanity to me, from the community meetings I hosted, to my neighbours that offered me food when I was short on money.

As Liberians come into the spotlight on the world stage, their struggle to determine who they want to be in light of who they already are ought to take centre stage.

I talk about Liberia in abstractions, with references to history and broad themes.

Sometimes a personal story can say what a struggling political analyst cannot. One day, after finishing some work documenting the frustrations of local communities around one of the major mining concessions in Liberia, on a holiday, I stepped outside the USAID compound one of my colleagues had talked the local staff into letting us use for lodging. I started talking to the Liberian responsible for managing the compound. We started talking about the days of the war. I struggled to say the Gio (It is an ethnic in north-eastern Liberia) phrases he taught me.

Hello.

“This is what you say to a woman you think is fine,” he said.

I remember jumbled syllables and all the security staff laughing uncontrollably at my heavily accented Gio.

After a morning of harrowing stories of conflict and change, it was lunch time.

Some of the members of the local civil society group that worked on forestry dropped by with Gibi,( a shortened name for a type of fufu from the county) and the Nimba Tablet (a heavily seasoned style of pepper soup). I ate. I smiled.

Later that day, my expat friend and I took a trip up to an old abandoned mining site. After an exhausting ten minute gallop up the side of a stripped mountain top I marvelled down at the emerald tree covered mountain sides of Liberia, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire.

While some of the stories told that day were memories of war, stories of loss and tragedy, the story of that day was one of fellowship and building bonds. Though yesterday may remind us of pain, today gives the gift of knowledge and renewal. If Liberia ever did have a theme, one bigger than flags and politics, I’d say that’s it.

Liberia was my coming of age. I don’t want to make a story about Africa about me, but the truth is that I’m the end product of the place at the end of day. Politics isn’t more valuable than people. Working as an advocate in the mining sector, the people I sat with, like leaders and unionised workers, helped me see a part of myself. I know that the right of people to be self-directed and live life according to their own norms and values is more than just reports on paper, but faces and names.

Afrikan Mbiu : AUG-DEC 2015 - 17

Fiim Film

That Awkward Moment

by Owolabi Olanrewaju Christopher Photos © Development Diaries

T

he mathematics lecturer kept rambling on and on about something that sounded vaguely like Integral Calculus in Kunle’s ears but he had stopped paying attention a long time ago. He had the brain of a genius but the attention span of a starfish.

The former explained his individual achievements as a student and he had been able to cover up his weakness, the latter, because of that. He only needed a small diversion, and his attention would be shifted from whatever he was doing, like some toddler. What caught his eye now was more than a small distraction though - it was a huge one. Someone had made a joke at the back of the class and laughter erupted. His curiosity, which was one of the ‘super powers’ he possessed , pushed him into looking back to get the gist of what was happening. He was expecting to see a comedian, he saw a beauty instead. His eyes stayed glued to her face for some seconds, his brain forgetting his initial quest of looking for where the laughter emanated from. Her face had only light make-up, leaving space for more naturality, which endeared her more to him. It was as if the stream of sunlight from the window was directed at her face, making it shimmer in the glory of the sun’s rays. She was ebony perfect, with thin lips and a great head of hair to accentuate the beauty. More stunning is the beautifully embroidered pink top she wore, further pronouncing her beauty. This was his fourth week in this class, how come he hadn’t noticed her?

His mind didn’t give him the chance to answer the question he posed to himself as she looked up from the note she was taking, and their eyes locked. Quickly, he spun around to face the lecturer. He had no idea how much time had elapsed between the time he looked back and now as the board was now full of integrals which were soon to be rubbed off.

Afrikan Mbiu : AUG-DEC 2015 - 18

********* Sarah tried to control herself and not let out a gasp when she saw the boyish, cute face that had been looking at her. It was none other than Kunle, adjudged to be the most brilliant and one of the handsome boys in class. She could feel her heart racing beneath her skin and she had to whip out her handkerchief to control the perspiration that was starting to let loose. Everyone was busy concentrating on the lecturer’s duties, but she could no more. Her dreams were finally starting to come true. “Le Crush,” as her best friend called him when teasing her during their gossip hours, had finally looked her way. Oh wait! She thought. Is this just a coincidence? Maybe she was overstressing the issue, or maybe not. She looked behind her to check if any of his known friends were seated there, and maybe he was looking for one of them, but she found none. She further increased her confidence level. Her God is a supreme being of wonders, she thought. Hallowed be thy name too, she praised in her heart. Truly, the stars were falling into pleasant place for her. ********** Kunle glanced at his watch. It was just five minutes now to the end of the class, and he knew he had to make his move. His voltrons, as he loved to call his small squad of friends, were not at hand right now to give him some quality advice as such, he would have to rely on his own personal expertise for this one. After all, making acquaintances with a person of the opposite gender is not a task that should shake a badoo(big boy) of his own caliber. He took another swift glance at his

watch, doing so carefully as to avoid the watchful eyes of the lecturer who hated students who engaged in multiple time-checking during classes. The time seemed to have started to move slowly, and Kunle had started to create his introductory speech in his head. He was going to make sure everything went perfectly. No mistakes. ********** ********** Kunle neatly packed his books and placed them in his small, onearmed bag. He strode briskly along the pew and headed to the back Sarah brought out her Sony Xperia Z and glanced at the screen. She of the class. He made for her seat, her hand still scribbling something used the dark screen as an improvised mirror and cautiously arranged on the note. He summoned up the courage and finally spoke. her hair, smoothed out her eyebrows and enhanced her features “Your hands are so beautiful, I wouldn’t forgive myself if I left this better. First impressions really matter most, and she was going to place without at least,a handshake” make the best out of this one. She unlocked the phone and checked This got her attention as she looked up. Their eyes met again and he the time. If everything goes well, it was just a minute left for the crush could swear that he saw a glitter in the brownness of her eyes. She of her life to approach her and make acquaintances. Who knows, smiled at his joke too. maybe they could go all the way and get married? She giggled at the “Lame attempt”, she said, jokingly. idea as she returned her phone into her bag. She tore out a small Kunle stretched his hand forward “I’m Kunle” piece of paper from her note and scribbled something on it which she “Yeah. Everyone knows you. I’m Tolani. Nice to make your passed to her bestie who was seated beside her. acquaintance” “Babe, we got gist. I think say that dude wey I dey trip for don dey “The pleasure’s all mine” psyche me. No leave after class. I feel say this package go baad. Lol. Shar nor form say I yarn you anything”,(Babe,I have some news,I think ********** my crush was checking me out.”Don’t leave after class. I’m thinking Sarah was more than shocked. She was fully prepared for him to this will be fun. *Laughs Out Loud*. Don’t behave as if I told you come meet her, but it came as a surprise when he walked past her anything”.) the note read. like she didn’t exist and approached her best friend, Tolani.

No sooner had she passed the note that the lecturer announced the end of the lecture. This was it. Either now or never.

Afrikan Mbiu : AUG-DEC 2015 - 19

The Elephant never gets tired of carrying its tusks.

Photo Š Cedi