Africans & Nudity

The colonialists came and so did the missionaries. The role of the missionaries was to spread the good cheer and the gospel and shun us from our ‘primitive’ and ungodly ways. We were heathens, our loin cloths and head gear were inappropriate, women running bare-chested and children playing in the nude or in revealing loin cloths.

(Right: Zulu women)

Fast forward to the 21st century, loin cloths are not made from hide or other animal skins, it's made from cotton and flashed on runways and bought for exorbitant prices.

There are nude beaches in various tourist destinations, check the net; you’ll be amazed at how many. You might find them referred to as naturist, clothing-optional or free beaches. Places where you can vacation without being subjected to the mundane obligation of covering your 'naturale' so to speak.

(Center: Beninois girl in cultural dress)
The tale of Africa’s cultural appreciation for the minimal before colonization is similar to the biblical tale of Adam and Eve, before they ate the apple from the tree of knowledge, and became aware of their nudity. The apple we received was colonization.

Looking at things from that perspective, would I gracefully walk on the streets topless in protest of colonisation?No, but look around you, or look at the way you are dressed today. The irony ; women walking around in tank tops with thin straps showing off their well endowed cleavage some to the point of toppling out of their tops. Men with shirts open, showing off their toned chests. So nudity does exist in variations, we just lie to ourselves that we are clothed.

The difference; bare minimum coverage (it doesn’t qualify to be called clothing) is a fashion statement in the 21st century. In the 17th century it was a way of life - I call that ingenious change of perception; colonization of the mind!

It’s fascinating there are even sites giving people tips on how to practice nudity in the home. If a generation was closer to hell, it would be this one. When you look at communities in this continent that hold their culture dear, however much their cultural dress is limiting, there's always a cover of sorts, like beads. Royalty were always adorned in rich and beautiful cloth. Look at the kente cloth from Ghana among the Ashanti, the masks and elaborate garments of the Bobo of Burkina Faso and even the Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania.

The question of nudity is still a baffling one, one thing I always ask myself is what if we were never colonized would we have changed to what we are today? Or remained beautifuy bare and content? That’s for us all to figure out but in the mean time, keep your ‘goods’ tucked in and build your region, they need your brain, not the unnecessary distractions of your ‘goods’.

(Left: Ashanti royalty)

Malaria Day 2009: 'Count Malaria out'

With these concerning facts, I chose to speak to a specialist on malaria; Grace Miheso, the UNICEF Health specialist in Kenya.

ASN: What is the big fuss about Malaria?
Grace: Malaria is the largest cause of child illness in the Sub-Saharan region with 34,000 children dying each year. It hasn’t been given much publicity, but has changed in the recent past. When the African heads of state met in Abuja in 2001 they made several resolutions to curb the spread of malaria. One of which was to ensure at least 60% of citizens suffering from the disease receives treatment within 24 hours of the onset of the symptoms. These resolutions have been boosted by funding from organizations such as the Global fund.

ASN: We’ve seen an increase in the distribution of Insecticide treated nets (ITNs) from 30 million to 100 million from 2004-2008. Now that they have been supplied to Governments how effective has the distribution been?
Grace: It has been quite effective. Most of the distribution is done through grassroots maternal clinics. Net availability was the initial challenge. But now that they are available at the clinics, we offer the necessary anti-malarial vaccine and immunization for the mothers and their children at the clinics, when they come to collect their nets. Initially it was made possible through PSI (Population Services International) at subsidized rates; 30 US cents, but people were still not able to afford that, so eventually it was made free for all. In 2006 alone 3.4 million nets were distributed in Kenya

ASN: There have been concerns about the insecticide used in the nets, pyrethroid, which is known to have toxic effects on fish. And considering that most of the communities living in the coastal areas are prone to the disease and have fishing as an economic activity would you blame the current fish shortage on pyrethroid treated nets?
Grace: The amount used in the nets causes negligible harm. We normally advise people to air their nets immediately they get them due to the strong smell that they have. There are no effects of pyrethroid from the insecticide treated nets.

ASN: This year’s theme for the World Malaria day is ‘Count Malaria out’, what made you work with that as this year’s theme?
Grace: This year the national launch of the campaign in Kenya, is in Malindi district. The District Medical Officer reported a reduction of malaria cases from between 30-35% to 5% in just 5 years. Malaria is no longer the number one cause of hospital visits. It is now the third.
Southern African Countries have now reached the elimination stage of malaria. Something that Kenya needs to aim towards.




ASN: Following the deadline set by the Secretary General. We only have 600 days left for endemic countries to achieve Universal coverage with essential malaria control interventions by 31st December 2010. Will we make it?
Grace: We might not reach the target. With the net coverage we can meet the 80% mark. We also need to note that having a net doesn’t necessarily translate to using a net.
Appropriate drugs are also accessible in the public sector for free. But at the community level and private sector with medication as high as $8, it makes it impossible. There is a need for de-regulation, since the current malaria medication is only available under subscription.
In Uganda and Tanzania, medication is disseminated at the local level, which has lead to great progress in the two countries, something that Kenya needs to learn from.
With pregnancy we also are pretty far off. It requires a lot of mobilization and programming, especially with regard to the Intermittent Preventive treatment (IPT) for pregnant mothers. With maternal anaemia and birth deformities it is essential for women to receive early treatment during pregnancy. You find that they come pretty late some as late as 8 months; way into their third trimester. That’s an area that will hinder our progress towards beating the deadline.

Malaria Day 2009:Quick facts

I’ll be honest, whenever I see international celebrities backing up a cause to save Africans, I get put off and just deem it another annoying publicity stunt. Ashton Kutcher; MTV’s king of ‘Punk’d’ donated 10,000 mosquito nets in celebration of hitting the one million mark twitter following. Well my attitude did change when I did my homework on the disease and spoke to a UNICEF Health specialist. Happy World Malaria day to you all and keep yourselves safe.


Here are some quick facts on malaria
1. Malaria is a disease transmitted by the female anopeheles mosquito
2. There are four main starins; vivax, ovale,malariae and falciparum
3. Falciparum is the most serious strain and may result in death
4. Vivax & Ovale’s sysmptoms may remain undetected for months, it is therefore necessary to get tested immediately you experience a fever.
5. Malaria costs Africa $12 million a year
6. Malaria causes 350 to 500 million illness and causes 1 million deaths worldwide
7. Malaria is the number one killer of African children
8. Every 30 seconds an African child dies from malaria
9. Malaria kills 3000 children everyday

Africa's solution........Now: Of .......Southern Elections and Pirates.

http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13496711

First, second……….fourth? Lady?!!

Considering that he’ll be the President and has several wives and fiancés, don’t you wonder which one of the ladies will be the first lady to the 67 year old president?
This is what I pictured the first year might be like;
May – July 2009: Gertrude Sizakele Khumalo (first wife) Beacon!
Aug – Oct 2009: Nompumelelo Ntuli (MaNtuli), (fourth wife)
Nov 2009 – Jan 2010: Sebentile Dlamini (Swazi Princess - fiancé)
Feb – April 2010: Bongi Ngema (fiancé)
And the rotation continues, by 2010 I guess the fiancés will be wives.

NOTE: You have to admit when you see this guy dancing, there’s a charisma that he exudes. No wonder the ladies seem to drop in the dozens.

Zuma.ZA: Zuma all the Way!

ANC has successfully gripped a two third majority vote, it’s clear that it’s going to be a Zuma led South Africa. Nelson Mandela promised a rainbow nation, Mbeki promised an African Renaissance. The question now is, what is the promise of this self educated man?

If his campaign is anything to go by, he might restore South Africa to its original African heritage. During his campaign he was seen offering prayer to his ancestors, denounced same sex marriage as a ‘disgrace to God’. He called his political rivals, snakes and witches and defended polygamy as African. All in the meanwhile dancing to his favorite anti- apartheid song, ‘Bring me my machine gun. ’

Though you have to applaud Zuma for being able to become president three weeks after managing to get prosecutors to drop an eight year corruption and fraud case against him and comfortably waltzing into the presidency with an already tainted image.

That’s just one side of it. There are concerns of the recession that South Africa is currently facing for the first time in 17 years. Investors are a bit jittery on what Zuma’s plans are.
There are also concerns in the rise of ethnic tensions in the country. With reports of Zuma supporters accusing Thabo Mbeki’s Xhosa community of wanting to cling onto power and frustrating Zuma’s efforts of becoming the first Zulu to lead the country.

According to a BBC report some critics have accused Zuma of, ‘mixing a deadly cocktail of religion, ethnicity and politics.’ Mr. Zola Skweyiya an ANC ‘heavyweight’ spoke of the dangers of ignoring the demon of tribalism that is bubbling to the surface in South Africa.

The election was peaceful, for some it was an opportunity to exercise their democratic right to choose a leader who they feel would break their yoke of poverty, crime and unemployment. That is something that Zuma has promised to do. Others maybe just chest beating; celebrating that their community carried the day. Others strongly believe Zuma will revive the inclusive Rainbow Nation policy adopted by Mr. Mandela.

That might just be true; considering Zuma has received endorsement from Nelson Mandela and another senior ANC heavy weight, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Mr. Ramaphosa is quoted saying in an interview with Johannesburg's Sunday Times newspaper, that "He [Zuma] is a team player. You are not going to see him go off on a limb. I see him more in a Mandela mode." Mr Seepe a political analyst seconds those sentiments stating that Zuma won’t be as arrogant as his predecessor, "He knows he's not educated, so he's a good listener," he adds.

Only time will tell us what Zuma’s grand plans are!

The Gambian President: Yahya Jammeh

In the 'Meet your African Presidents' series we'll introduce you to some quick facts on the Continent's Presidents and give you a brief look into their rule.






The Gambian President: Yahya Jammeh

Today we stop on the shores of the Atlantic, in the smallest Nation on mainland Africa; The Gambia. A former British colony that attained independence in 1965. The Gambia is one of the little known countries across the continent which has enjoyed relative peace. It's only in 1994 when the incumbent at the time; Dawda Jawara was overthrown in a bloodless Military coup by Yahya (Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung) Jammeh. (Impressive – no bloodshed) Jammeh has however ruled the Gambia since, with an iron fist.


There has been a lot of furor about the human rights abuses committed against individuals, mostly journalists and civil rights groups that speak up against the government. According to reporters without borders; there is an "absolute intolerance of any form of criticism" in Gambia, with death threats, surveillance and arbitrary night-time arrests to the daily lot of journalists "who do not sing the government's praises".


Following some of the Gambian websites you notice a strong bitterness and resentment towards Mr. Jammeh and his leadership. According to www.allgambian.net the Gambian president is ‘… a debtor who never paid back his dues….’


Another site,www.thegambiaecho.com a Gambian newspaper site expressed it’s frustration over an award reportedly given to Mr. Jammeh in June of 2007. The award was in recognition of his development track record and 'apparent' good leadership by the Senegambian community based in the United Kingdom. The paper further described Mr. Jammeh as being ‘..no different from Adolph Hitler. Like Hitler, Jammeh is hateful and can exterminate or butcher our nation’s best and able just for political supremacy......’

It's ironical then that he was re-elected for another term in 2006, the victory being accredited to successful intimidation of the public by chiefs, governors and members of the armed forces.

As in the case of all our leaders there is always something queer about them. In Mr. Yahya’s case, he believes he can cure AIDS……….how cool is that?! Forget ARVs we have Yahya Jammeh! Africa for Jammeh! And the beauty is, this makes him an accessible president because he administers treatment to his countrymen in his presidential residence. He uses a green herbal paste, a yellow liquid and gives them special peanuts and bananas to eat. He claims that his methods show results in ‘a matter of days.’



A report from the BBC states that when the UNDP country representative in Gambia, Fadzai Gwaradzimba expressed her doubt in his methods, and raised concerns that it would encourage risky behaviour, she was told to leave.

The irony is when you look at the other picture of this president on this blog site; he is more like the poster boy of democracy in Africa. Charming African man and barbaric leader, the epitome of pathetic African leadership.

Meet your African Presidents: Yahya Jammeh

QUICK FACTS

Full name: Yahya (Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung) Jammeh

Birthday: May 25th 1965 (43 years)

Preceded by Dawda Jawara, first president of Gambia, ruled from independence; a trained Veterinary Surgeon.

High school graduate and holder of a diploma in Military science from the US

Has a wife and two children

Seized power in 1994 under a bloodless coup

Highlight: Believes he can cure AIDS

Quirkies

Africans have dominated the long distance races, the sprints and now we're taking on the rest of the world for the gold, in the Winter Olympics. A round of applause to Mr. Kwame Nkurumah- Acheampong a.k.a the Snow Leopard, the first Ghanaian to ever qualify for the Winter Olympics!


The 33 year old Nkrumah-Acheampong was born in Glasgow, Scotland where his father studied. Was raised in Ghana and never experienced the harsh weather conditions of Glasgow. He was introduced to snow in 2002 when he moved back to study in Britain where he became a receptionist at a ski centre with an indoor real- snow slope.

In his interview with the Daily Telegraph, he claimed that all he ever knew about skiing was through watching a James Bond film and it took off from there. His coaches on the other hand believe that he’s a natural. He’s spent the last four winters in the Italian Alps, funded by summer jobs and his wife, Sena.


He managed to garner the required 140 points for the season-long tally to guarantee a place at next year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He will be eligible to compete for the slalom and giant slalom. (Slalom is an alpine skiing discipline that involves skiing in between poles in a zigzag motion.)


Nkurumah – Acheampong hasn’t had it easy. He has admitted to people refusing to believe that Africans can ski. With people often staring and shouting, ‘Here comes the strange man.’ But that hasn't detered the African Champ.

Well even if you have never had an interest in the Winter Olympics, now you have a reason to tune in in 2010 and cheer on our African champ as he goes for the gold!

Of .......Southern Elections and Pirates.

South African elections
There's a saying that goes, you can tell a people by the leaders that they choose. I don’t know what that would mean for South Africans as they head to the polls today.

Mr. Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, the ANC leader is predicted to be South Africa’s next president. There have been questions raised on the dropped charges he has faced on corruption and rape. Charges; according to his supporters, were a ploy of Thabo Mbeki to sabotage Zuma’s efforts to run for the presidency.

According to a BBC report Zuma has a 77% support rate from the blacks compared to a 1% of whites. Other than the fact that he has minimal education; grade 5 drop out, several wives and fiancés and 18 children. The continent’s most independent judicial system called off a strong case gathered against him after 8 years of investigation. We are not talking about robbing a canteen of chewing gum. Jacob Zuma was charged with more than 700 counts of corruption and fraud. Charges linked to a multibillion dollar arms deal. How do you drop charges of such magnitude and let him run for Africa’s most powerful office on this continent?!

South Africa is the only African nation that is a member of the G20, a group of the world’s 19 largest economies plus the EU. She has a progressive constitution, an amazingly independent judiciary, a free press and a vibrant civil society. Only time will tell if those institutions will last at the end of today.

I wish the South African’s all the best in their election and May their choice be a reflection of a more progressive South Africa in the years to come.

Piracy in Guinea
It sounds like something out of a Nordic tale, of Vikings and conquest. Piracy sounds as ridiculous as the perpetrators, remember the case of the pirates fighting over ransom money and drowning in the Indian Ocean? Recent reports show that they have now moved onto the West coast of Africa.

The USS Nashville Naval ship has been on patrol on the West coast of Africa stopping at 5 major ports taking time to train the local navies in the region. Reports say that the notoriety of the Gulf of Guinea is rife for piracy with South American drugs proliferation through Guinea Bissau’s unguarded coast headed to Europe. Senegal; the transit route for desperate African migrants hoping to arrive on the Spanish, canary islands in search for a better future and finally Nigeria’s militant struggle; MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) prone to kidnapping and bombing oil rigs.

Though evaluating the matter further; the US has always been known to proactively protect its areas of interest, having consumed 40% of Nigeria’s oil output in 2006. It’s also taking steps to protect Sub Sahara’s 2nd and 3rd largest oil producers, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea respectively to quench their insatiable consumption of commodity.

There maybe danger of human and drug trafficking but the so called pirates aren’t really the priority, it can be deduced that it’s just the US taking precautions to protect its economy.
It’s through gestures like these that African states need to understand the intricacies of ‘true’ diplomacy; the International politics of protectionism. Protectionism refers to states employing policies to prevent foreign takeover of local markets.

In essence countries protect their workers and businesses by regulating trade and relations with other countries. You tend to find countries employing tariffs on imported goods among other measures. Hence the case of government subsidies for European farmers at the cost of imported African farm produce whose prices in European and American stores are ridiculously inflated in comparison to local produce , this is repeated in many other sectors.

If Africa is to employ trade amongst itself and focus on building itself from within, we have a chance for our industries to flourish, cut down on the brain drain and thrive.

The time is now

Potholes, traffic jams, cyclists, poverty, slums, unreliable public transport, then on the other hand, we have diamonds, gold, salt, safaris, night clubs, amazing dances, languages and culture. It’s a myriad of things to boast about……………..being African is just beautiful however unusual it is.

Welcome to Africa’s Solution now. A new blog site dedicated to the people of this continent who are looking to change their plight and walk out victorious to make this the earth’s Great haven, of security, prosperity, entertainment and idyllic governance.

Well be providing you with the latest news, facts, scenery and projects. We want you to be aware of what others are doing on the continent and be part of the solution to the problems around you. It doesn’t matter how old you are, as long as you have a brain and can reason you need to start changing your community for the better. The African solution is an individual change of attitude coupled with action. So let’s get started and save this continent for the future...........now!