EP 8 Cost of Africa’s misrepresentation in Western Media I African News Review 🌍

In this episode of African News Review, host Adesoji Iginla and guest Milton Alimadi discuss the portrayal of Africa in Western media, focusing on the economic impact of negative stereotypes, the framing of narratives, and the historical context of media representation. 

They explore the implications of these narratives on diplomatic relations, the ongoing conversation about reparations for historical injustices, and the importance of cultural heritage repatriation. The discussion emphasizes the need for a more nuanced understanding of Africa's value and the necessity of challenging dominant narratives.

With the Key Takeaways 

*Negative media portrayals cost Africa billions annually.
*Framing of stories significantly impacts public perception.
*The cost of demonization extends beyond financial figures.
*Historical context is crucial in understanding media narratives.
*Reparations discussions are gaining traction in mainstream media.
*Acknowledgment of historical injustices is essential for justice.
*Cultural heritage repatriation is a pressing issue.
*Media narratives often reflect colonial biases.
*Diplomatic relations are influenced by media portrayals.
*Engagement in these discussions is vital for change.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to African Media Narratives
01:00 The Cost of Negative Stereotypes
10:08 Framing and Its Implications
12:09 Historical Context of Media Representation
16:04 Diplomatic Relations and Media Influence
27:02 Reparations and Historical Accountability
39:13 Cultural Heritage and Repatriation
51:45 Conclusion and Call to Action

Transcript

Adesoji Iginla (00:01.452)
Yes, good evening and welcome again to African News Review. As usual, I'm your host, Adesuji Iginla. And with me is Milton Alimadi, Comrade in Arms, publisher of Black Star News, journalist, explorer extraordinaire. His book, Manufacturing Hate, How Europe is Demonized in the Media, forms the inspiration to this program. And yes, Brother Milton, welcome to the show again.

Asante Sanandu, thank you. Yes. For this week, I mean, I should, it's where how many episodes in more than 30 episodes in now. The reason for this program in itself is to showcase how Africa is portrayed in Western media and the possible shortcomings for such stories and how do we

claim the narrative as it were. And one article in the Western media this week gave us a part of the back, maybe not directly, but implicitly. And what do I say? We go to The Guardian for the first story of the week, which says, and.

It's titled, Negative Stereotypes in the International Media Cost Africa $3.2 Billion a Year, a report has found. The lead is, focused on conflicts, corruption and poverty heightens perception of risk, raising interest on sovereign debt, auto-save.

Africa loses up to 3.2 billion yearly in inflated interest payments on sovereign debt due to persistent negative stereotypes that dominate international media coverage of the continent according to a new report. Research by consultants African practice and the advocacy non-African no filter suggests media portrayals, especially during elections when global coverage is heightened, focus disproportionately

Adesoji Iginla (02:15.538)
on conflict, corruption, poverty, disease, poor leadership, and widening disparities between perceived and actual risk of investing in the continent and creating a monolith view of Africa. Your initial thoughts on that aspect of this piece. All right. It's interesting.

It could have been done in a different way, the framing. OK. Because first, you have to ask the question, which is the big question. Where does Africa want to You and I, the reason why we do this show is

Adesoji Iginla (02:59.963)
related to the subject matter that this article is dealt with. Correct. But I think the subject, the framing is too narrow. Right?

Adesoji Iginla (03:20.194)
The consequences, the cost of demonization of Africa cannot be reduced to 3.2 billion pounds. so you think it should be more than that? 3.2 billion pounds is a sneeze. First of all,

Adesoji Iginla (03:40.459)
I'm trying to find an analogy. Right? Yep. So you go to somebody's home and this could be a little bit of exaggeration, right? Somebody, you know, breaks into your home and takes away the life of a family member. Yep.

Let's say he's a breadwinner for that family.

So now you've deprived that person of his or her life and you've deprived the family of the income that that person was bringing in, correct? Yep, correct. So now somebody says, write a story about the loss of this individual. And you're saying, it's terrible.

Now this family will not have that income that this individual was bringing. And that would be true, correct? Correct, correct. But is that the real story? Yeah, very much so. Is that the most important aspect of the story? No, clearly not. So that's how I see this. I mean, come on, You made your issue like this. How can your headline or lead be 3.2 billion? That is my beef.

with this story. These are the kind of stories we need to be doing. But we have to set the correct framing. This framing is, unfortunately, undermines the magnitude of this story. And then there's a second major problem with this framing. The framing is presuming that, OK, with better coverage, that

Adesoji Iginla (05:40.937)
Africa would not lose 3.2 billion. Come on now. What can you do with 3.2 billion dollars? You're talking about a continent of 1.3 billion human beings. Think about that. So you're at 2 billion dollars. It's the kind of money that what Bezos makes in a day or is it a week?

So you're saying even this piece is still not doing justice to the problem? Absolutely. The piece is actually playing into the stereotype. Unintentionally, perhaps, without thinking it through.

Africa loses $100 billion a year from capital flight. Yep. Right? Yep. From these accounting mispractices by these firms. Right? True. True. True. There's a very interesting film. I think it's called...

Adesoji Iginla (06:51.713)
Why African poverty, something like that. And it involves how these Western companies steal money from Zambia with their trickery and the type of invoicing, how they're doing it, accounting mispractices, right? Yep. So you're telling me that you're going to headline a story about an entire continent.

with $3.2 billion. Think about that. So the story is framing, unfortunately. They have the correct idea on the type of story to do. But the framing, really, I found extremely disappointing. Let me read another part. Maybe that might paint a better picture. Do I doubt it? So we've always known.

that there is a cost to the persistent stereotypical media narrative about Africa. Now we're able to put an actual figure to it, said Moki Makura, executive director of Africa No Filter. The scale of this figure underscores the urgent need to challenge these negative stereotypes about Africa and promote a more balanced narrative. So is Moki doing a...

He's just confirming what I just said. By referring to the scale of this figure, meaning he's suggesting that it's a humongous amount. And I'm telling you, it's a poultry song. Because capital flight alone cost the continent $100 billion. We're talking more than 30 times the amount that this article is headlining.

Adesoji Iginla (08:50.061)
have the correct value of Africa in our minds when we are doing stories about Africa, even we as Africans. And then it suggests that if the cost.

of borrowing from these same sources were $3.2 billion less costly than we would benefit from this borrowing, correct? Correct. Which is another fallacy, of course. We borrow and we do the same things with the money that we are borrowing.

which is not taking us anywhere, meaning we need to some more. Which is, you know, it's almost like a dog chasing its own tail. course, absolutely. You know, and that's why Isankara was saying no. And these guys, they will not go after that for a story like this. Because Ankara was eliminated because he went to the essence, not the superficial. The essence is that we don't need these types of borrowing.

So where do you think the motivation for?

type caste in Africa comes from? Of course, it's for economic gain. It's for to continue exploitation. So I'm not criticizing what they're trying to do. I'm criticizing the framing. We need more articles such as this, but properly framed, you know, the cost of demonizing Africa, the cost of racism.

Adesoji Iginla (10:42.295)
goes beyond the 100 billion in capital flight that I'm referring to. act of aggression against every African, every African descendant, whether they are continent or not, that is already injury right there. And that comes from historical demonization of Africa. You see?

Speaking of. There are African descendants in Britain. Yeah. In the United States, in Brazil, where we have a huge population of African descendants. Africans, All of them are in some form, whatever they are located, victims of historical demonization. Their location in.

wherever country they are, is determined by the prejudiced eyes with which Africans and African descendants are viewed. So if you're going to do a story for me reflecting on the cost of demonization of Africans, please don't count talking about $3.2 billion to me. And it shows me that the people involved in generating this story and being quoted

and thinking they're actually pushing the narrative forward, it shows me they have not done sufficient homework. Speaking of not doing sufficient homework, in researching the stories, I also then delved into the reason for some of these stories making the rounds constantly in Western media. And we know English is the main language of capital.

and finance and what have you. So majority of these writings actually come from old imperialist British writings. And there is a book out there titled, The Africa That Never Was. yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course, I use that in part of my research. That is an excellent book. I'm very impressed that you have it. First of all, I have to ask you. That book is out of print. Where and how did you get that book?

Adesoji Iginla (13:08.269)
That is not an easy book to get. Yes, it's not. I'm impressed that you have it. And if there are people who can get that book somehow, before you recommend it, I'm recommending it to them. Let me beat you to the punch. So if you can get that book, I don't know how the brother got it, you have to explain to listeners and viewers how you got it. Well, OK, so.

There used to be an old bookseller. We do apologize for the noise in brother's background. It is in a public auditorium. so, So with regards to the book, I actually got it off an old bookseller. There is an old bookseller next to my work. And this was long. This was like, let me see, this is 2000 and.

17. I've been looking for this book for, you know, and actually got this book. Yes, I actually got this book from reading Hopes and Impediments by Chino Achebe who referenced this book and I went searching for it because usually when somebody points, when you pull out a gem, I'm like, okay, what's in that book? I want to see. So I went looking for it. couldn't find it like you said.

So I was lucky enough to get it at a very old bookstore. And so the part I want to read from the book is actually from the foreword. Again, the title of the book is The Africa That Never Was, Fourth Century of British Writing About Africa. And he goes into, he says, it is a truism of intergroup relationships that subjugated, sub-obdinated groups tend to see themselves

as they are seen by those who dominate them. And then he quotes Fanon. Frantz Fanon observed that the victims of colonialism tend to value themselves in terms of views laid down by imperialists and the fact that Negroes have generally accepted and internalized such aesthetic standards. That's the best description.

Adesoji Iginla (15:35.469)
best characterization that you can get anywhere that just boils down what I've been saying in these two or three sentences that you just read and that is part of our problem you see yeah so even some of us who are trying to do the right thing you know we limit ourselves in terms of our vision yeah in terms of possibilities you see yeah

So think. Yeah, so the people involved in this story, they're heading in the right direction, but encourage them to have a broader. OK, so thinking of looking at things through another lens or a certain one's agency, next for our next story, we go to.

Adesoji Iginla (16:30.411)
We go to your paper of choice. The New York Times. How two allies wrestle over a crypto giant and a prisoner. The United States, Nigeria often collaborates, but the arrest of an American worker strained their diplomatic relations. Tigran Gambarian leaving a court hearing in Abuja, Nigeria. In April,

His release came after months of diplomatic pressure by the United States and in return for promises of an improved partnership with Nigeria. There's a problem with that caption in itself, but hold that thought. The reporters who filed this report are Julian E. Barnes, David Yaffebelani, and Emily Filtre, fleeted.

After eight months in custody in Nigeria, an American working for the cryptocurrency firm Binance is coming home, ailing but alive in a case that has strained US ties with one of Africa's most influential countries. Tigran Ghabaryan, a compliance officer for Binance, had been held on money laundering charges as part of a sweeping Nigerian government case against the company. On Thursday, a plane

equipped with medical equipment departed Abuja, Nigeria capital to bring him back to the United States. During his detention, Mr. Gabayan had contracted malaria and double pneumonia and he has a herniated disc. Your initial thoughts to that report? Before I even say anything. Okay, my initial thought is that and the most interesting part

to me is the fact that the type of aircraft that was used for flying this to me is confirms that this is a very high value individual. And are we going to get the sense of why is he such a high value?

Adesoji Iginla (18:51.373)
individual in this story and I doubt it. But those are the kind of things I look for. know? Okay. Not everyone gets a special aircraft of that caliber to fly them out of that kind of situation. Think about that. True. Right? There's no reason why he could not been in an aircraft with an ambulance waiting for him.

once he lands in the United States and where have you. So whatever he is involved in.

very, very big. It's big for Nigeria, it was very big for the United States too. And in a story like this, and you have three New York Times reporters or correspondents bylining this story. Okay, so we know this is big. Is the story going to tell us why? I very much doubt it. And that is part of the problem.

you with this type of journalism. You'll never really get the true story. You know, but the word you've read so far, the most important thing for me is the type of... And the suggestion that it actually had somehow a strange relation between the United States and Nigeria. This is somebody you probably never even had before. Okay.

Yes. I'm talking about somebody who's so well known, even a celebrity like Beyonce for some reason getting arrested in Nigeria, right? So yeah, that's my initial thought. OK. So the reason I asked you for your initial thoughts is I'm going to read from a book published by none other than our very own Comrade Milton and Mati.

Adesoji Iginla (21:00.895)
And it's titled Critique in Africa without the Racism. It's on page 125. And it goes, the racist depictions were designed to justify the enslavement of Africans in the New World, violent military conquest and colonization of the continent in the 19th century and the imposition and maintenance of the colonial regime in the period after formal decolonization. Negative media depictions, images and stereotypes of Africans persisted.

This has been used to exonerate the crimes committed against Africa in the earlier periods. Now, this man is supposed to have committed a crime. In order to exonerate him, you said, on Thursday, a plane equipped with medical equipment departed Abuja, Nigeria's capital, to bring him back to the United States.

The United States has an embassy in Nigeria. The last time I checked, when they need medical attention, they don't get flown back to the United States. They get treated in Nigeria. So writing a stupid piece like this shows those three journalists in that by-land clearly

are sticking within what their remit is. They've been written a story and asked to put their name to it. Now, there are people who contact malaria in Nigeria and don't die. It's a fallacy. There are embassies, open embassies, foreign embassies in Nigeria that have, come on, come on.

Yeah, but the bigger thing is not so much that they're ignorant of all these facts. The bigger thing is what is a story that is not being told. And there's a big story there. And we will not get it from media outlets such as the New York Times. These are the kind of stories that media outlets like The Intercept, for example, would do. It doesn't add up their version.

Adesoji Iginla (23:24.641)
And that's not to suggest that they don't, the reporters don't the bigger story. know, the bigger question is what will the structure within which they work, what version of the story will they allow to be published? You know, that is a sad state of affairs, you know, when it comes to corporate media, you know, they are part of the problem.

part and parcel of the system, unfortunately. what a shame. I mean, it's anytime you hear pieces like this, know, medical stuff, I'm like, what? Yep. Yep. As if Nigeria does not have a place that you can treat somebody that has malaria or a herniated disc. And pneumonia. Yeah, and pneumonia.

But this is a high value individual. What he knows is of the utmost importance. So he needs to be flown back. The Nigerians found out what he knows. And the United States, of course, after Nigerians found out, also realized the Nigerians know what the United States know about this individual.

and the company and the company's activities, you see. But that is not going to be published in a media outlet like the New York Times. You can only have it in a media outlet that is willing to the establishment. When you're part of the establishment, you don't rock yourself. Anyway, and what do you think?

The fallout of this would be in terms of diplomatic relations between Nigeria and the United States. no, they've already resolved it. will be none. negotiations were going on in the background has already been resolved. The Nigerians asked for something and they got it because the guy was released. Wow. so they've got their asses back. Such high value. Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (25:52.107)
that the negotiations took, what did they say? Was it eight, nine months? Yeah, eight, nine months. So, definitely the Nigerians got something out of it. Did they get enough? That's up to the assessment. They got something. Otherwise, they would have held them longer. So, now, the story, the public relations story,

Is that all he was released on humanitarian grounds? That could have been done at any point. Of course, of course, of course. But something was concluded, some agreement was concluded between the two countries. And he was decided that matters run this course. What that company obviously is capable of doing and what it did, what it is of such

significance that it was negotiated at the highest level of government between the United States. And eventually maybe the story will come out in some other media.

We'll see, we'll see. talking of compensation, we go to the Commonwealth for our next story, which we find in...

Adesoji Iginla (27:17.751)
The BBC, from the BBC, a British broadcasting corporation. What form could reparations take for slavery? What form could reparations for slavery take? James Landell, diplomatic correspondent writes and with Maya Davis. Calls for the UK to provide reparations for its historical role in the slave trade has reignited ahead of a meeting of Commonwealth on Friday.

While Sarkar Estama, who happens to be the UK prime minister, said reparatory justice will not be on the agenda, Commonwealth leaders have defied the prime minister and plan to move towards a meaningful conversation on the issue. The UK has long faced call to provide reparations for its role in the Atlantic slave trade, which saw millions of Africans enslaved and forced to work loudly on plantations in the Caribbean.

and the Americas. For the Chancellor told the BBC that the UK would not be paying out reparations, but might be other forms of reparations to consider. How likely is it that the UK will commit to them? Your initial thoughts before I move on to the next part. Well, obviously, this is a topic we discussed before. This is a perennial topic that won't go away.

until there is some sort of movement toward resolution. Obviously, it's encouraging when you see it now covered on a more regular basis by major establishment media, such as the BBC. And if you notice, and somebody could probably do an analysis and look back, we're now in 2024. Look back at how this subject

was covered, let's say, 20 years ago. Let's say even as recent as 10 years ago. I mean, there's nothing dismissive, well, not extremely dismissive about this issue anymore. I'm not saying that everybody quoted is.

Adesoji Iginla (29:43.073)
you know, positive about it, right? Yes. At the same time, it's not dismissive. Nobody's saying this is preposterous. This is outrageous. This is mind boggling. How can anybody be talking about reparation? That's why I'm suggesting that if we go back 20 years, we'll probably notice a quantitative difference in the tone of the coverage of this subject matter. And

just intuitively, I'm willing to suggest that the tone is much more suggestively progressive relative to how it had been covered in the past. So that in itself, you know, is encouraging because they're saying, okay, the prime minister is saying, no, we're not going to do this. But then the sentence follows very quickly that there might be other forms of reparation. So nobody is dismissing it. You see?

Yeah, yeah. But to me that is a sign of how much progress has been made over the years regarding this very important subject. Okay, I'll continue. So giving some background to the long-running saga of reparations, from 1500 the British government and the monarchy were prominent participants in

the centuries-long slave trade alongside other European nations. Can you see them trying to pass the bulk here? Britain also had a key role in ending the trade, though Parliament passage of a law to abolish slavery in 1830. As part of that law, British plantation owners were paid for the loss of their slaves to the tune of some 20 million back then in the 1830s.

Okay, that is something that should have been elaborated because if you're talking 20 million, you know, at that time, at the very least, an article like this should give us an estimated value of what that amount is today, you know, and not just leave it hanging there. There's obviously 20 million, very insignificant, you know, in today's terms. So you have to factor in what it was, you know, in 1833 dollars.

Adesoji Iginla (32:03.797)
or pounds, how much would that be today? So that was a glaring omission. But I must also, go on. Continue. I must also stress that when it says Britain also played a key role in ending the slave trade, that in itself. that's the other piece I was going to get to. Go on, go on, if you're going. Obviously, it makes it appear as if there was some change or prompt for some reason. But the reason why that was done

was because slavery was now becoming an impediment to the growth of capitalism. Capitalism wants to be able to hire labor. And you can't have labor if some plantation owner is still practicing feudalism by holding people on plantations. No. The capitalist class, the rising bourgeoisie did not want that. They wanted to be able to hire labor for cheap.

in their factories. And that is why Britain abolished. So backdrop to that would be Chancellor's Williams book. I say Chancellor's, Eric Williams book. Yes. From slavery to slavery to capitalism. Slavery and capitalism. Slavery and capitalism, yes. So again, that line there, Britain also had a key role in ending the trade through parliament passage of law.

That would be nice if that were true because actually there was a group called the West Indian Interest who made it their job to ensure that not only was the passage of that law delayed, but also the fact that they got compensated was made by the West Indian Interest

obviously politicians, the church, and even some business people. For those who might want to read more on that, there is a book by Michael Taylor titled The Interest. And it goes into how the British establishment resisted the abolition of slavery.

Adesoji Iginla (34:27.413)
say West Indian interests, should make sure that listeners realize that we are talking about Europeans. Thank you very much. Because sometimes, you know, they may mistake it and think, you're talking about Africans. Yeah, in the Caribbean who resisted. Yeah. So we're talking about the monied class in Europe. And, you know, speaking of said money class, the fact that it's now being front and center.

will also mean various ways of water reparations, repair in itself, which money cannot really recompense you. Money is just a way of assuaging what was experienced by generations gone before. What would actually, I mean, I'm just putting out a thought now, what would actually be beneficial to generations since would be first and foremost,

the acknowledgement, the reteaching of the history around the slave trade, the forgiveness of debts, the reframing of all those economic protocols that govern how we do business in the, I suppose, you I might be talking to a wall here.

someone who can't even acknowledge what has happened in the past world then suddenly have a change of heart with regards to what is going to affect quote-unquote money now. So, but still in order to actually have true justice one needs to have that put before everyone so that we understand where the play is. What do you say? Well they won't do that because once you probably acknowledge and apologize.

And you're obligated. You're, you know, you're agreeing and admitting pretty much that you were involved in committing that crime. So you can acknowledge and say, OK, the buck stops here and then say, nevertheless, this is the end of the conversation. You see, that's what they don't want to do. Because they know.

Adesoji Iginla (36:57.331)
Once you say, yeah, we did. Yep. You're sorry. You're sorry for what again? Then you explain what you're Let's put some numbers. Let's put some numbers on that sorry. And that is the issue. But.

I think I'm very, you know, I'm optimistic. I'm optimistic because even though when you see what's going on in the United States, You see the possibility of a Donald Trump, you know, being reelected as president of United States. Although Kamala Harris may make history.

by becoming the first woman of African and Indian ancestry to be elected president as well, and first woman, of course, to be elected president of the United States. So when you see that it should not really be even close elections, right? But that does not mean people should be discouraged because

The old regime never concedes without kicking hard, without fighting back. In the 1960s, as the United States was beginning to have some shift in terms of civil rights movement, there were progressive elements coexisting with reactionaries at the same time.

Right? We had the people who were still spitting at young, you know, black kids as they were entering school, you know, calling them the racist, know, cursing them, know, beating them, attacking them, lynching civil rights activists and all that. Eventually, there was some legislation.

Adesoji Iginla (39:13.501)
that pushed the issue forward somewhat, you see? So even though we see Trump still having significant following, it can coexist with elements of progress. So that an issue like reparations, as I noted out,

It's not being completely dismissed right? Yep, so the younger generation can aggressively push it to the next level and that's what we need to keep building. There's an acknowledgement that you really cannot have a multiple tier system where you have people that are beneficiaries of

because of historical exploitation and that most of them happen to be Europeans, right? And descendants of the original owners of capital. So as you have more interactions between these young people from different spectrum of backgrounds, I think that conversations can have somewhat...

can synthesize into something which is much more positive than the past generation. So I see the possibilities of progress in the years ahead. And obviously, you have to come up with some solution. And I like what was suggested in beginning. You have to be realistic. So to say, you owe this amount because of the historical expectation.

You have to be realistic that politically it's going to be challenging to cut a check. True. But it doesn't mean we cannot be creative because at the end of the day what we are pitching, yes, it's reparative justice. But at the same time, the most important thing why people are demanding for justice because we don't want the socioeconomic inequities that we see in society.

Adesoji Iginla (41:42.807)
or whatever you want to call it, know, redressing socioeconomic inequities, that may not be as sexy as reparations. But if it does that, I'll work with that. If you're saying you're going to commit to a thousand scholarships, you know, from this country, know, five thousand for a number of countries, different countries.

every year, maybe 10,000 EU scholarships for higher education, engineering, science, technology. If you're going to commit to access to market for certain products for a number of years, if you're going to commit in investing in

know, manufacturing that will transform these countries' economies, that to me is fine. I mean, some people are talking about debt cancellation. Debt cancellation to me is only halfway. If you cancel the debt and yet the country is still in a dependent condition, it cannot produce to satisfy its own needs. It means you're just opening the door for more debt. I remember what Nyerere said.

And now I have difficulty finding the speech because I forgot the title of the speech. It was on YouTube. He said, we have now reached a condition.

where we borrow money in order to qualify for more borrowing. Think about that. And that's true. Right? And it's sad. We borrowing in order to qualify for more borrowing. No, we can't continue like that. So when people say debt cancellation as a form of reparations, I disagree totally. Unless you say debt cancellation and

Adesoji Iginla (43:49.493)
And that end part has to transform the economy. Industrialization? dependent on that type of borrowing. And that's the issue also had with the first article that we discussed. Negative stereotypes. Negative stereotypes. We have to go beyond that. Even if negative stereotypes were eliminated, and now the cost of borrowing becomes cheaper, it's not $3.2 billion more as you're reporting, so what?

so what if you still need to borrow then obviously you know it defeats the purpose of of significant interest you see tell me how we can do things so that we don't need that time

Yeah, speaking of a type of borrowing, someone who borrowed something has decided not to return it. We go to Dutch Vela for our next story. And it's...

Gemini, should Gemini return Nefertiti's bust to Egypt? The story is filed by Stuart Braun. An Egyptian archaeologist has demanded the repatriation of the iconic bust of Queen Nefertiti that was shipped to Berlin over a century ago. German officials insist the sculpture will stay put. Nefertiti is likely to remain just as the sculpture we're talking about.

Nefertiti is likely to remain in Berlin unless it can be proved that she was taken from Egypt. Illegally. She has an estimated value of 400 million euros, about 433 million dollars, and is a jewel in the crown of the Egyptian antiquities. Yet a 3,370 year old bust of Queen Nefertiti has been in Berlin since 1922. Pressure is now mounting for her to return home.

Adesoji Iginla (45:50.805)
Zahe Hawass, former antiquity minister of Egypt, began lobbying to repatriate Nefertiti before the protest that uprooted Hosni Mubarak in 2011. This September, Hawass has launched a petition to out-Germany to return the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti, which is currently housed in Berlin Neuse Museum. This bust, remarkable and unrivaled in history for its historical and aesthetic merit, is now in Germany, but it's time for it to come home.

Egypt the petition reads. A German archaeologist team discovered the painted limestone bust in 1912 and shipped it to Europe a year later. Naftiti has become a major tourist attraction and part of the popular consciousness in the German capital during its long exile.

Please do. Right, so first of all, heading headline alone.

Right? Should Germany return? Of course. So the headline framing it as if this is an issue of dispute. It should be a question of when, how, and under what circumstances. Or even a better headline would be Egypt seeking return.

in talks of stolen nefertiti busts, something like that. It's demanding, you see? Yeah. But this equivocation should Germany return to infect some readers with the justification, know, or to share their own biases and

Adesoji Iginla (47:49.983)
influence readers. You see framing is very important, how you frame narratives. And obviously the headline is trying to help the Jama'ans who don't want to return this by saying you know.

As if there's some choice, there's no choice behind it. It's just a question of when the Egyptians will be able to exert enough pressure. We're not in the 1950s or 1960s anymore. These things are now commonplace in terms of plundered historical assets.

And that's what's going to happen. And then the other term that's used in what you've read so far, you know, discovered. This is the same thing as discovering the source of the Ravana. Like Victoria. It's same thing discovering a mountain in Africa. So I would urge the good people when this media outlet to, you know.

using 19th century language. Come back, come to 2024, come to the 21st century in terms of language. And then one other observation that many readers, viewers or listeners are not aware of. The Zahi Hawass is a reactionary revisionist. As well? This is a person who was responsible.

for trying to denigrate the late Czech Anta Job, who had convincingly proven that the ancient, aka ancient Egypt, Kemet, were malinated Africans. And it's not such a big issue, but the people who make it a big issue, know, they malinated Africans who look like.

Adesoji Iginla (50:09.837)
you are not. That's not taking away anything from anybody else because historically everybody was malinated at some point. Yeah. Before our ancestors from way, way, way, way back then left the continent. They needed melanin to survive in the pictorial sun conditions. So we are all the same.

Zai Hawass was responsible for undermining Chekanta's job. Responsible for when he wanted...

Adesoji Iginla (50:55.661)
samples of tissues, royal Egyptians, because he had used samples from so-called commoners from back in the day from Kemet, tissues from mummies to prove that the melanin content.

Adesoji Iginla (51:18.807)
Yes, so before comrade me to joins rejoins the. The. Back.

He froze a bit. Yeah, he wanted to do the same experimentation. Tissue samples of royal. On the mummies. was denied by this same arras.

So I just wanted to put that out. But obviously I agree 100 % on the campaign that is involved in now to have these assets returned and they must be returned and eventually they will be returned. And just before there is a piece here I want to read and it's from a book titled 15 Colonial Texts.

and a guide to looted African heritage in museums. The question is, why is it that once they loot the stuff, they put them in museums? And this book would give us an idea of why that is. Looted cultural assets taken away to the West by victorious, inadvertent commerce, colonial powers are perhaps the most useful evidence that imperialism results

to what is now considered to be disproportionate use of force against hapless people in civil unrest and resistance skirmishes. So the question is, although there was no act of skirmish here, but one would have in 1922, the British were in charge in Egypt. So for the Germans to have come in, dust a few ground particles, discovered as they say,

Adesoji Iginla (53:11.351)
this bust, who did they ask in order to take it away? They wouldn't have asked the Egyptians. They would have asked the Brits. So clearly, the Egyptians lack agency. Now, the exercise of the agency is requesting the stuff that was taken when they were in the period of subjugation, the return. So the idea that should Germany return stuff that was taken that is not

dares in the first place is ludicrous. No, I mean, that's not even worth debating. It will be your time. I'm convinced of that. It's a question of time. So again, for those of you coming through, this has been the African News Review. We've gone through a couple of stories as we normally will do. And

If you like, if you are here for the first time, do subscribe to the channel. We're hoping to get to a thousand subscribers to be able to bring you more stories across the Western media as it impacts Africa. And Comrade Milton is here for the journey of discovery. And yes, once again, I...

I'm immensely grateful for you coming through. Any last words? Otto, think I really look forward to our interaction with our viewers and listeners every week. And I encourage our listeners and viewers as well to if there's something you want us to critique and analyze that you've seen in media or some concept, send us a message. Yeah. And we'll do that.

so that it becomes interactive. Drop a message in the video chat after the video, and yeah, we'll take it forward. And we take it from there. Yeah. But this is the kind of approach that we need, and we need to. We're not saying that this is something that only we can do. Once you reach a level of comfort, we encourage you to start this kind of conversation as well with your colleagues so that we.

Adesoji Iginla (55:33.291)
really start making it difficult for them to continue dominating stories that we should be telling ourselves. So those are my final words. Yes. And as usual, I will just say, you know, like, share, subscribe, join Adesuji Speaks channel, download the stuff on African News Review.

on wherever you get your podcast, the audio version of our discussion today will be there in the course of the week, download it and share as well. And hopefully we'll be able to extend this conversation because I think what would happen is once this become some sort of a religion as it were, for want of a birth of a word, you begin to look at media quite differently. I mean, it's not that we don't and

Sometimes it's not just conspiracy theories. They're actually real facts behind some of the misinformation. Again, it's either by commission, by omission, or by transmission. But this information is muddled up in such a way as to suppress what is the actual truth behind the stories. So we've done what should be the cost of negative stereotypes. Again, even in that story itself, the cost to Africa

is belittled to the point where it's ludicrous. So over to the part where we talked about Germany holding artifacts, and Germany is not the only one. The United Kingdom, mean, literally all the European and Western museums have some sort of African artifacts. And these artifacts are either of religious value, historical

you know, that tell stories because we are both oral, written, and sometimes aesthetics, historians. So the notion that we're one, we're just one line, all we do is write. No. When you watch the African Masquerade, the dance is opposed to being concert, be in communication with ancestors. That in itself

Adesoji Iginla (58:01.805)
is an art of history. So please do like, share, and subscribe. And as, again, do come through next week, it will also be 12 PM Eastern Standard Time, and whatever that is your time. Just put it in Google. Ask Google, what is 12 PM Eastern Standard Time in relation to where I am at? And join us on YouTube. Brother Milton? Great.

From me, Odig Bacono.

Adesoji Iginla (58:41.259)
Yes. OK. Wait. Yes. Yeah. You're successfully loaded. Excellent. me quickly jump on the Ugandish. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you very much. Thank you.