Acoustic Africa

Just got back from a thrilling concert featuring Zimbabwean maestro Oliver Mtukudzi and his Malian counterparts, Afel Bocoum and Habib Koite. That a Zimbabwean and two Malians could gel to produce such thrilling music only goes to show how deep the bonds are between the different African ethnicities. Mtukudzi would sing the chorus in the languages of Mali, while Afel Bocoum and Habib Koite would chime in Shona when it was Mtukudzi's turn to belt out a song.

We've always been told that our salvation lies with the nations of the West, but that is so untrue; our salvation lies within ourselves, as Africans. We've got all it takes within ourselves to prosper both commercially and culturally. The largest market for Kenyan goods is the East African region, and not England. Naija movies are now dominant throughout much of Africa. All Africans were gutted when (the Ghanaian) Asamoah Gyan missed that penalty at the 2010 World Cup. My point is that, what divides us is also what unites us. We have no other choice but to be Africans, to be ourselves. That is all.