Chinua Achebe in a red hat and kaftan, giving a speech at a podium

Changing The Narratives About Africa Through Literature

Image: Chinua Achebe. Source: Stuart C. ShapiroCC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

“It is only the story…that saves our progeny from blundering like blind beggars into the spikes of the cactus fence. The story is our escort; without it, we are blind. Does the blind man own his escort? No, neither do we the story; rather, it is the story that owns us.” ― Chinua Achebe, Anthills of the Savannah

As one of Africa’s accomplished writers and grandfather of African literature, Chinua Achebe understood the importance of countering every misconception of the continent and changing the narratives of Africa through the power of the written word. In one of his famous quotes from his 1958 novel – Things Fall Apart, he would go on to emphasize that “Until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter.”

Going back to pre-colonial days, much of what was known about Africa by the rest of the world was commonly the prejudices of colonialists who had painted the continent as savage and uncivilized thereby giving rise to the common reference to Africa as the dark continent. 

This notwithstanding that long before the colonialists set foot on the continent, many cultures in Africa had already developed a writing system like Nsibidi which was common among the Igbo ethnic nation located in current day Nigeria, and the Egyptian Hieroglyphs which has long been in use even before the advent of colonialism.

But as colonialism began to take root across the continent, and with the introduction of English as a universal means of communication, it would provide a better interpretation of these ancient forms of communication in modern times and disabuse the misconceptions of Africa as a backward continent.

More importantly, education gave rise to many pre-independence activists, who leveraging the power of the pen would challenge not only the overbearing presence of the colonialists but also begin to provide narration of the shared experiences associated with the continent.

With the rise of publications like the West African Pilot, The Accra Herald, and Daily Nation amongst several others, there would be an emergence of strong and opinionated writers from Africa challenging the story of the hunters and writing truths about the experiences of the lion as well as its victories.

With the birth of newspaper outfits, more Africans would explore literary narratives about Africa beyond the columns of newspaper publications giving rise to literary giants like Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Ayi Kwei Armah, who became pioneers in shaping the African narrative as the power of their words came alive through their various publications.

Understanding the vital importance of storytelling as a tool to educate, inform, and entertain, other African writers have emerged and continued to leverage literature as a medium of addressing the stereotypes that are associated with the continent as well as giving voice to the lived experiences of Africans.

Today, not only is there a growing presence of African literature both within the continent and on the global stage, but this literature has also continued to become a tools in providing insights and guiding the literary conversations on what and who Africa and Africans truly are.

Modern-day literary giants like Chimamanda Adichie, Buchi Emecheta, A. Igoni Barrett, Imbolo Mbue, Masande Ntshanga, Tomi Adeyemi, and many others providing the world with rich literary materials from Africa while remaining the vanguards of the African narratives, the outlook of Africa continues to be seen not through the bias of the hunters, but by the truths of the Lions roaring strong all along the plains of mother Africa.

Okechukwu Nzeribe works with the Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, in Anambra State, Nigeria, and loves unveiling the richness of African cultures. okechukwu.onicima@gmail.com

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