Africa Is Not A Country- Book Review
Africa Is Not A Country by Dipo Faloyin is a non-fiction first published on April 7, 2022, that covers historical events and current affairs. The book aims to push back against harmful stereotypes and give a more comprehensive story that contextualizes present-day Africa. Dipo expertly deploys satire and humor to address themes of colonization, politics and governance, race, identity, and culture. His presentation makes topics assumed bland by non-history enthusiasts, enjoyable to read without losing their depth and gravity. His style makes the book a saga-like page-turner.
Dipo clarifies early in the book, “I am not generically African but Nigerian.”
He begins with a deliberate and intimate introduction allowing the reader a peek into his life and family, displaying pride in who he is, shaped by his community. He sets the tone by demonstrating how identities are not haphazard or accidental but are shaped by nature, nurture, and the choices we make. Identities are complex and nuanced. He states the sad truth that Africa has been stripped of its identity, creating a false and flat narrative that through repetition over time has been considered fact.
As I often tell my clients regarding strategic communication, context is king. It is on this premise that Dipo takes the time to highlight the senseless and selfish colonization and the flimsy foundation it set for Africa, as we know it. The ignorant and arrogant partitioning of Africa at the Berlin Conference of 1884, the murderous imposed rule, the divide and conquer strategies that pitted communities against each other and the looting of Africa’s material wealth.
Dipo does not attempt to imply that Africa is without vices or blame it all on greedy colonialists. Just like anywhere and everywhere in the world, there exists good and evil. Yes, there is poverty and corruption in Africa, but that is not the whole story. He tells the story of some African dictatorships that should not be extrapolated to define the leadership ideals of the entire continent and celebrates democracies working hard to make the best of the cards they were dealt.
His coverage of the white savior imagery continually aided by their pop culture, donors/aid agencies, and Hollywood is flabbergasting. His use of data props unsettling and weighty realities, letting them sink in and elicits an urgency for total restitution that is long overdue. What do you mean, “…considering everything that has been returned and promised to be returned in the near future, 80 percent of Africa’s material cultural legacy would still remain outside of the continent?” It is an abomination!
The book also includes a section on the Jollof wars that got my stomach grumbling, a celebration of an aspect of West African culture, whose healthy rivalry flavors identity. A section on Lagos, which reads like an ode, would make even a super-organized introvert want to experience the hustle and bustle of Lagos.
Throughout the book, Dipo highlights other personalities who have and continue to challenge the lazy portrayal of Africa, harmful stereotypes, and tropes. In his final chapters, he spotlights recent movements rising to demand their government to do better and greedy authoritarian leaders to step down. He also acknowledges the contributions of African artists toward displaying the rich and nuanced mosaic that is the African identity. He includes a healthy endnotes section for further learning and understanding.
The ending is profound; “A continent motivated by a collective rejection of the designed ethnic divisions of the past may choose to shape itself into something that, when glimpsed under that famous yellow sun, looks curiously, productively, like a country. But until then.”
