In this episode, we look at how the politics of ethnicity holds Africa back. Why are poor Africans willing to kill or die for wealthy corrupt goons like former S. African President Jacob Zuma, whose jailing for contempt of court has led to riots that have killed 276 people? Can we simultaneously fight corruption and support tribal kingpins like Zuma?
We look at how Robin Reecht, a white Frenchman –who after being in Kenya for only three days–managed to come up with a start-up idea that raised $1 million to improve Kenya’s “not-so-good quality” food. Why is it so easy for white people who know nothing about Africa to raise millions in capital to start businesses in the continent?
In this episode, we also honor one of the most iconic patriarchs of post-colonial Africa, Kenneth Kaunda, the first president of Zambia, who died on June 17 at the age of 97.
For Father’s Day, Emmanuel Nado and Edwin Okong’o, the hosts of Africa Straight Talk, travel back in time to their African childhoods to compare their parenting skills and responsibilities to those of the powerful African fathers who raised them.
Of the 1.3 billion people in Africa, only about 7 million have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Mo Ibrahim, the Sudanese-born billionaire, blames rich countries for hoarding vaccines. What if instead he redirected that $5 million prize he gives annually to African presidents for leaving office to areas like healthcare, where it’s desperately needed?
In this episode we also look at what happened to Konza, a smart city Kenya was supposed to begin building 13 years ago but is nowhere to bee seen.
We look at the implications of Cameroonian-born Prof. Achille Mbembe — one of the fiercest critics of France’s grip on Africa — accepting Emmanuel Macron’s invitation to organize the next France-Africa Summit. We also examine Nigeria’s ban of Twitter, after the American social media giant deleted President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweets for threatening Biafra secessionists with violence. Buhari’s government now says it will arrest and prosecute any Nigeria who tweets.
In this episode we look back at some of the most innovative entrepreneurs we’ve interviewed, and why they are struggling to get their brilliant ideas off the ground. Instead of assisting them, African governments continue to welcome dumping of plastics and other toxic materials that seem to make worse the problems these innovators are trying to solve.
It seems like one of the most dangerous jobs in the world is Prime Minister of Ivory Coast. Two former occupants of the office have died in the past year, and the current one, Patrick Achi, was recently hospitalized in France. Thankfully, we have our very own Emmanuel Nado to explain what the hell is going on in his home country.
Continue reading “Episode 59: The curse of the Ivorian Prime Minister’s office”
Word from the motherland is President Idriss Déby, Chad’s ruler for the last 30 years, dies in the front line fighting rebels in the northern part of the country. Do we at Africa Straight Talk believe it? One thing we believe, though, is that Dr. Stephen Karanja, the infamous chairman of Kenya Catholic Doctors Association who swore in the name of the Virgin Mary that Covid-19 was a hoax, died of — you guessed it …
Following the murder of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minn., Tom Gitaa of Mshale, the Minneapolis-based African community newspaper, joins us to discuss what it means for African immigrants like Mayor Mike Elliot, who have ventured into political leadership positions traditionally held by white people.
Elliot, who was born in Liberia and was elected mayor of Brooklyn Center in 2018, has found himself having to walk the thin line between supporting Black Lives Matter protests against racist policing and standing with the institution of white supremacy he supposedly commands.
Byb Bibene has toured the world as a professional dance educator, choreographer, and cultural organizer. He is also a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and has taught at many other colleges, high schools, and arts institutions across the United States. Bibene is also an independent financial professional and strategist helping families, individuals, and students in the African and African-American communities close the wealth gap and plan for their future.
Born in the Republic of the Congo, Bibene completed his Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in Finance at the Marien Ngouabi University before moving to France, and eventually to the United States. To contact him, follow this link to his LinkedIn profile.
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