EP 1 France Returns Royal Skulls 128 Years Later I African News Review 🌍

In this conversation, the hosts discuss various pressing issues affecting Africa and its diaspora, including women's rights, reproductive health, the impact of colonialism, and the importance of literacy. 

They explore the recent return of ancestral remains to Madagascar, the role of women in political movements, and the challenges posed by xenophobia and cultural exchanges. 

The discussion also highlights the significance of promoting literacy in Nigeria and the implications of U.S. foreign policy on women's reproductive rights in Africa. 

The conversation emphasises the need for accountability and the power of collective action in addressing these issues.

Takeaways

*Women's rights are being curtailed in many regions, affecting future generations.
*The return of ancestral remains is a significant step towards healing colonial wounds.
*Xenophobia is a growing concern in cultural exchanges between nations.
*Japan faces labour shortages and needs to reconsider its stance on immigration.
*Promoting literacy is crucial for empowering future generations in Nigeria.
*The impact of colonialism continues to shape identities and societal structures.
*The U.S. foreign policy on contraceptives reflects a broader anti-women agenda.
*Cultural narratives can deeply influence self-perception and identity.
*Collective action is essential for addressing systemic injustices.
*The importance of education and access to resources cannot be overstated.


Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Guest Introductions
01:01 Women's Rights and Reproductive Health
03:32 Political Dynamics in the U.S. and Chicago's Resistance
07:07 Colonial Legacy: France's Return of Madagascar's Skulls
16:33 Xenophobia and Japan's Relationship with Africa
24:20 Mental Health and Literacy in Africa
24:27 Promoting Literacy Through Reading Marathons
25:42 Access to Books and Libraries in Nigeria
29:35 The Impact of Literature on Identity
31:21 The Role of Gender in Reading and Literacy
34:02 Community Responsibility in Promoting Literacy
39:40 Contraceptives and Women's Health in Africa

Transcript

Adesoji Iginla (00:01.9)
Yes, greetings, greetings again and welcome to African News Review, your regular weekly news update with regards to Africa in the Western press. And with me are two brilliant minds as usual. I will start with Atoni.

host Rethinking Freedom and co-host of Women and Resistance, IA Fubera and LES Choir. Welcome, sister.

Aya Fubara Eneli (00:32.725)
Thank you. Greetings to you. Good to be with both of you again today.

Adesoji Iginla (00:38.414)
And he needs no further introduction, but we will introduce him all the same. He's journalist, broadcaster, WBAI Blackster News, Radio New York, author of Manufacturing Hate, comrade Milton Alimati.

Milton Allimadi (01:33.751)
Asante. Thank you.

Adesoji Iginla (01:36.49)
Okay, as it's become customary, we'll take the news from where you ladies and gentlemen are. We're starting with the ladies. What's the news where you're at sister?

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:49.375)
Well, we continued stealing in our battle. The latest bill that has been signed, I believe, into law is that they have prohibited the use of the Plan B abortion pill. So in Texas, it is now illegal to use that. So women who...

Or, and even men, you you've had unprotected sex, you're not ready to have that, you know, to have a baby even be conceived, that was something you could take to preempt conception and all of that. That has been stripped away from women. And so again, for women and for men who care, is the, this generation in my time, we are passing on to our daughters.

fewer rights than they had when I was a little girl. And that is not a good thing. And what I always say to the pro-abortion, I should say the anti-abortion people, because they're not pro-life. They like to use terminology that is inaccurate. If they were pro-life, they will be pro-health care. They will be anti-death penalty. They're not.

So they're not pro-life their anti-quote-unquote abortion is that I have not seen any bills that pertain to curtailing men's Reproductive rights. I have not seen any bills that police men's bodies in any way These are all bills that police woman's bodies and we know that

When women do not have the right to choose when they reproduce, how they reproduce, that affects every other aspect of their lives. It affects earning potential. It affects getting educated. It affects how you're able to work when you're able to work, because we're also not providing any assistance to women really when they get pregnant. We don't want to help them.

Adesoji Iginla (03:55.374)
Mm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (03:58.857)
with daycare or childcare or expenses, any of that. And so it really, the goal according to Project 2025 is to take women back to the 1800s where you were barefoot and pregnant and under the complete control of men. And women, I don't know why we are still silent.

because you may think this does not affect you, but they're coming from all of us.

Adesoji Iginla (04:31.51)
until it does affect you. Thank you. Brother Milton, what's the news where you're at?

Milton Allimadi (04:40.641)
Well, I'd like to say something about that. I would be curious to know what is the position of European-American women.

Aya Fubara Eneli (04:52.585)
We can't hear you well.

Milton Allimadi (04:55.52)
You can't hear me?

Adesoji Iginla (04:57.602)
can hear you now. Go on.

Milton Allimadi (04:59.127)
Okay, what is the position of white women compared to black women on that issue? Because white women played a key role in electing this president. So I would really like to know. It's amazing that while it's always Africa that is depicted as the most backward when it comes to women's rights, we have the most, one of the most industrialized countries in the world.

actually aggressively pushing women backwards and ironically a large proportion of European American women playing a role in that as well. That's very ironic to me. In terms of my own observation,

Chicago is building up to be a very interesting location. As you know, Chicago is saying, no way. We are not going to tolerate the deployment of the National Guard. So it seems like a confrontation is going to be brewing in Chicago. And in Chicago, it seems that people are very organized.

I was looking at a news item yesterday where ICE agents had attempted to go into a certain location to get some people and that people resisted and that they had to back out. So I'm telling people let's keep an eye on Chicago, how things are going to evolve.

Adesoji Iginla (06:34.254)
Wow.

Adesoji Iginla (06:39.594)
Okay, okay, okay.

Aya Fubara Eneli (06:40.747)
Yeah, there's an image that came out of Chicago where they lined up all their ICE trucks, not ICE as in the terrorists that have been deployed by the federal government, but the trucks that they use in the icing the roads, the salt trucks and all of that, where they've lined them up as a barrier to prevent ICE and whatever military

Milton Allimadi (06:58.953)
interested.

Aya Fubara Eneli (07:10.763)
military trucks and vehicles that Trump may be trying to deploy, they're going to have to bash through that, which would make for some very interesting optics. So I would say that the Civil War has started in the United States, whether we realize it or not.

Adesoji Iginla (07:10.848)
vehicles.

Adesoji Iginla (07:31.502)
Well, the news from where we're at is that, I mean, it calls into question the role of the United States as well. Nigel Farage, who happened to be the head of the Reform Party, was in Congress, apparently to scream and shout that freedom of speech is being curtailed in Britain.

in the United States. Let that make sense. But then two questions were posed to him. You screamed and shout that the freedom of speech is being curtailed in the UK, yet you will not allow journalists into your conferences, your party conferences. Make that make sense. And then

One of that question that was posed to him was one of, you say freedom of speech. So freedom of speech extends to the point where you can incite people to go and burn refugees, hotels, hotels hosting refugees. Does that, you know, and then basically ran back to the UK with his tail between his legs. So that is the news from where we're at. So that said,

We go to, for our first story today, we go to Radio France International and it reads that

The France would be making, France would return, Scores to Madagascar 127 years after colonial massacre. France on Tuesday returned three Scores to Madagascar, including one believed to be a King who was beheaded by French troops following a massacre in August 1897. And it goes on. These Scores entered the national collections.

Adesoji Iginla (09:39.694)
In circumstances that clearly violated human dignity and in context of colonial violence, said French culture minister Rashida Dati at a ceremony to send the relics home. Her Madagascan counterpart Volumeyer Dona Amara described the return of the scores as an immensely significant gesture. Their absence have been for more than a century.

an open wound in the heart of an island, Mara said. What are your initial thoughts?

Adesoji Iginla (10:19.064)
Let's go.

Aya Fubara Eneli (10:22.709)
You

Milton Allimadi (10:23.383)
Okay, can you hear me? Okay, very good. I like that that happened. This is, think, not the only one, right? I like that we are now at a stage where these, we can see these demands being manifest and responses. About 10 years ago, this would not be happening, right? So now the frequency.

Adesoji Iginla (10:25.198)
Yes, we can hear you.

Adesoji Iginla (10:34.946)
Mm. Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (10:52.395)
which shows that it is going to build up into something potentially significant. But obviously we have to be on top of it and push for it. And once they do, one, we ask them, but what about this one? So now it's up to us to be on top of all the history as well. I'm not that in tune with the history of France and the French atrocities in terms of.

in terms of the desecration of remains, right? But there people that are dedicated to that that should be on top and they should just flood them with a list of demands. And then of course we have to turn to other countries. Britain. Britain, I know a little more about what the British did. Nehanda, who was the war man general who led the resistance against Cecil Rhodes in Zimbabwe.

Adesoji Iginla (11:47.88)
in Zimbabwe. Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (11:51.735)
she was ultimately captured and summarily executed by hanging with two of her comrades and she was also beheaded and her head was also taken to England so that needs to be returned. So there's a whole list of these atrocities. England kidnapped the 70-year-old son of King Ethiopian Emperor Kebedros.

Adesoji Iginla (12:17.102)
Ethiopian prints.

Milton Allimadi (12:21.085)
after they defeated him at the Battle of MacDowell. And he kept demanding to be returned home. He was kidnapped when he was seven years old. He died in England, I think, at the age of 19. Never returned home. Up to today, his remains have not been returned. So these are just two of many examples. And once this is done, and I don't, you know, this is why I have serious issue.

with RFI, the way they refer to the return of the relics. Think about that. If these had been European, right, would you be referring to relics, really? And that is, of course, to divert us into start thinking, these are just relics of the past. No, these are very much contemporary issues that need accounting and justice.

Adesoji Iginla (12:56.51)
relics.

Adesoji Iginla (13:04.12)
Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (13:23.48)
sister.

Aya Fubara Eneli (13:26.953)
I'm actually trembling as we attempt to read this article.

I'm gonna just take a second and just pour libation for our ancestors.

Aya Fubara Eneli (13:44.199)
Let's try and, and even this will be me being very measured. Let's try and rewrite that article. How about the heading be, a century of desecration, France's return of Madagascar's stolen ancestors. What France calls a return is in truth an admission

of one of the gravest sacrilegious of colonialism. And as Brother Milton just mentioned, it's not an isolated incident. So when we talk about a dark continent, when we talk about who's backward and primitive and barbarian, it's an absolute projection on us what they did to us. And continue to do, by the way.

Adesoji Iginla (14:17.186)
Mmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (14:41.063)
In August 1897, French troops committed a massacre in Dembe, Western Madagascar. King Toera of the Sakalava had surrendered. He was unarmed when he and hundreds of his people were butchered.

His head was severed. They dismembered his head. They cut off his head, okay? His dignity stolen, his ancestors and descendants dishonored. And the head of this king, the spiritual and political heart of a body, was carried away by the French colonizers, these barbarians, like a trophy.

They didn't stop at that. They proceeded to display the thing. It's a thing. It's a, even though, yes, we can go and dissect what the word relic means, but it's a thing to them. It's an artifact.

They displayed it and I made, don't know how many francs they made from people paying money to come and view this. Think about it. You take a human, you kill them when they shouldn't have been, this was a surrender. You cut their heads off and then you actually carry the head over the ocean to your place.

Do whatever it is that you did and then display.

Aya Fubara Eneli (16:29.963)
Our traditions teach us that the body is sacred, the vessel through which the soul journeys and through which descendants remain bound to the living dead. To cut off the head of a sovereign, to cut off the head of any human being, to display it in a foreign museum, to strip a people of their ancestors' wholeness is an abomination. I'm not clapping for them. Yes, we are glad that we have started the process.

of returning what belongs to us. But this was a deliberate attempt to sever memory, to humiliate, and to dominate. And it took 127 years for King Turra and others

to languish in Paris as curiosities, trapped in drawers, robbed of ritual, robbed of rest. It was not preservation, it was spiritual captivity. And every year it stayed with them, it was a renewed insult, mocking our dignity and trampling on the laws of our ancestors. And now they return their skulls.

Like you're talking about some, I'm sorry, no humans involved.

Adesoji Iginla (17:54.904)
So yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (17:57.779)
The remains of our kings and our kin and our queens, all of us, should never have been touched, let alone displayed. This theft was a crime, a crime against humanity. The captivity was a crime. Their delayed return is yet another crime. The fact that you've made money off of this is yet another crime. This is just beginning.

This is just beginning. And so when the minister of culture says that absence is an open wound, she speaks the truth. And that is a wound that has bled for generations. All of us desire to have the bodies of our loved ones available for us to do our sacred duty of burying them, to perform rites, to reconcile the living and the ancestors. And there will be no peace on this earth.

till these folks do right by us, but it is also our responsibility to demand that, demand that this return. So I'm so furious at what these people do, what they've done, how they continue to mask it, and then they use this language. So if you put back on the screen what that article said,

They act like it was some aliens from somewhere. It just kind of happened. Please, if you don't mind putting that article back, listen to this. People understand what they're doing with language. The skulls entered the national collections. What are we talking about? The skulls got up and were like, we're going to swim across the ocean and we're just going to walk into the national collection.

Adesoji Iginla (19:35.598)
You

Adesoji Iginla (19:49.045)
You

Aya Fubara Eneli (19:50.729)
And then you just say in second stances. What were the second stances? And how are you continuing those second stances today? Even as we watch a flotilla of boats attempting to access Gaza.

Adesoji Iginla (20:08.622)
Mm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (20:10.165)
to provide basic needs for people that we are watching, although the media is trying to camouflage it, the establishment media, as we watch children, women, men, people die when there is so much food that America is incinerating food rather than allow people to consume it. Man, I'm so upset.

Adesoji Iginla (20:36.13)
You've... You're about to unleash Brother Milton. Brother Milton, you wanted to say...

Aya Fubara Eneli (20:41.003)
Yeah, carry on.

Milton Allimadi (20:46.135)
We need to, and the historians who have documented this well, and by the way, for people that want to learn more about the French genocide in Madagascar, they can read our discourse on colonialism, on Abe's desert. He deals with that topic already. And it's so well documented that we can actually now make.

Adesoji Iginla (21:03.79)
Mmm.

Milton Allimadi (21:09.431)
a list of accounting for reparations and compensation. That is why the Madagascar case was really good because it was so thoroughly documented. And what they were doing, of course, was retaliation. They had been humiliated by the last queen, Valona. Their names are a long, so I hope I didn't mispronounce it. She had fought them successfully for many, years.

Adesoji Iginla (21:24.299)
Leaded,

Adesoji Iginla (21:35.736)
to your standstill.

Milton Allimadi (21:37.655)
And then with the massacres, the starvation, with the garrisoning of civilians, eventually she surrendered and she was exiled. And she was the last monarch in 1897 in France abolished the monarchy after the exile. Of course, she died in exile, never to see her home again in Nigeria. So now to me, we need to start.

tabulating the types of compensation. And it's good that it's significant coverage because now the demand for compensation should also get a significant coverage.

Adesoji Iginla (22:20.43)
Yeah, yeah. I would just like to add, mean, the Good Sister has, you know, narrated so many aspects of it, but there is a couple of lines in that article there, entered their collection, a collection of relics. Yeah, a collection of relics. So.

Milton Allimadi (22:39.447)
action.

Milton Allimadi (22:44.929)
So it's not only them, it's the publication as well. They deserve maximum approbation as well.

Adesoji Iginla (22:51.839)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (22:52.679)
Do they have the heads of their kings and their leaders and rulers displayed in this national collection?

Milton Allimadi (22:58.121)
in Zimbabwe.

Adesoji Iginla (23:06.136)
So, France has, but the Milton said he's not aware of France's panache when it comes to this level of barbarism. okay.

Milton Allimadi (23:15.319)
no, no, I am aware, but I am saying that historians who have a precise accounting with the dates, the number of people killed, those are the ones that need to be on a commission to demand reparation.

Adesoji Iginla (23:24.13)
Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (23:29.012)
Yeah, yeah, yeah,

I mean you just need to look at Algeria's War of Independence. If you Google the Algeria War of Independence and look at French treatment of Algerians, you will see them literally posing with severed heads.

Milton Allimadi (23:49.151)
I teach that in my class.

Adesoji Iginla (23:49.208)
So it's, okay. So it's part of the colonial, it's part of the colonial project. Because like the Goose sisters said, there are no humans involved. You are not human to them. And so they are free to do as they will. Keeping the head, the severed head of a monarch for a century plus.

a century and a generation plus and then you return it hoping to get some sort of kudos. I don't know what you're going to get out of it. And the British you cannot exercise. You can't even excuse the British. The British even went as far as digging up the dead that has been buried.

Yeah, when the Mardi defeated General Gordon in Sudan.

Part of the British coming back to revenge his death, he had already been dead four years prior to the British coming back. And when they were told that he was dead, they actually went to his graveside, dug him up, and took the skull back to the wife of General Gordon, who said she wanted nothing to do with it. So the question is, where is that skull at the moment?

Milton Allimadi (24:53.687)
Kitchener.

Milton Allimadi (25:19.287)
The question to me is, where is compensation and reparations? I think we need to get a commission and they returned what? The Mumba's tooth, one tooth, two years ago. And then they had this big national ceremony at the airport, the president welcoming that and all that.

Adesoji Iginla (25:20.162)
So you be.

Adesoji Iginla (25:26.318)
And that is the conversation. Yes.

Adesoji Iginla (25:36.652)
Yeah, yeah.

Milton Allimadi (25:44.983)
I'm glad they had that spiritual closure. But to me now, I want to hear where is the demand for the compensation. And if they start making the demand collectively, it will start having some impact. But it can't be isolated. You bring the Mumba here, you have that one story, okay, then it dies down. Okay, now today the focus is on Madagascar. We'll talk about it for a little bit. And this is where, and the sister is right, she's always pointing out

Adesoji Iginla (25:52.27)
Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (25:57.71)
Hmm.

Milton Allimadi (26:14.937)
What is the African Union doing about it? Unfortunately African Union is a very compromised organization because 60 % of its budget is externally funded. But I think it's also incumbent upon us as African people who are aware and conscious to not wait for anybody. Why are we not involved in forming this commission and getting other Africans to join in this?

If you get a bunch of, of course, if we wait on the African Union to do it, we're going to wait until King.com. Look at the whole issue of the map of Africa to be put in the right dimension. Who initiated that? It was individual ordinary Africans who are not affiliated with any organization. So that's how we have to start approaching these things.

Adesoji Iginla (26:44.174)
and then making demands.

Aya Fubara Eneli (26:52.905)
And I believe that.

Adesoji Iginla (26:58.168)
champion. Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (27:04.046)
How can I see?

Adesoji Iginla (27:10.19)
Mm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (27:11.595)
believe historians and teachers across African nations need to take it upon themselves to start teaching this in the schools. Because I know that growing up in Nigeria, the prevailing idea where white people come to save us, they come to give us better opportunities, they are good. And so whenever they show up, we lay off the red carpet for them, not understanding that we are essentially inviting our oppressors in to continue with their oppression.

and not holding them accountable for the things that they've done. And that's because we're ignorant about our history. We, yeah.

Milton Allimadi (27:43.607)
Absolutely. agree, I agree totally and that is part of the major problem. This whole European worshipping is a major impediment. A lot of our leaders, you know, engage in European worshipping because they have a neo-colonial relationship with that, right? Their survival in power

in most of these countries are actually sustained by these groupians. know, these loans from the World Bank, IMF and all that, it subsidizes the economy when perhaps people could, because of their inability to deliver, it could spark authentic uprisings, right, to remove them. But by virtue of that they get these, you know, tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars.

Adesoji Iginla (28:30.062)
Mmm.

Milton Allimadi (28:36.437)
the World Bank and IMF, that in a way is buying them longevity and power.

Adesoji Iginla (28:45.774)
Okay, which gives us the perfect segue for the next story, which is a European warship, but this time with a stage of xenophobia. We go to the Guardian and it reads, attempt to partner African countries with Japanese cities trigger xenophobic backlash.

Aya Fubara Eneli (29:08.394)
you

Adesoji Iginla (29:12.558)
Cities in Japan have received thousands of complaints amid confusion over a scheme that was intended to foster closer ties. An attempt, the elite read, an attempt to promote friendship between Japan and countries in Africa has transformed into a xenophobic row about migration after inaccurate media reports suggested that the scheme would lead to a flood of immigrants.

The controversy erupted after Japan's International Cooperation Agency, or JICA, said this month that it has designated four Japanese cities as Africa's hometowns for partner countries in Africa, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana, and Tanzania. What do you make of this story?

Milton Allimadi (30:08.747)
I think the headline could also have been, know, the Negroes are coming.

Milton Allimadi (30:19.584)
No, really.

Aya Fubara Eneli (30:21.684)
you

Adesoji Iginla (30:23.756)
Go on, you...

Aya Fubara Eneli (30:25.803)
You

Milton Allimadi (30:26.315)
Especially, I like the part where they said, I think there was one posting on social media that got 4.6 million views. And I forget exactly what the posting said. I think it said like, they're going to come and take over or something like that. So obviously, that's why I correlated it with that headline I just suggested. It's amazing. I mean, I like the diplomatic term they use, xenophobia.

Adesoji Iginla (30:35.438)
Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (30:49.26)
Mmm, mmm, mmm.

Milton Allimadi (30:56.695)
xenophobic to describe outright racism.

Adesoji Iginla (30:59.21)
It sounds very.

Milton Allimadi (31:04.471)
Over to you sister.

Adesoji Iginla (31:10.83)
You

Aya Fubara Eneli (31:14.513)
So I actually burst out laughing when I read this article. listen.

Aya Fubara Eneli (31:29.021)
It's okay for the West and you know Chinese Japanese for them to Sail across the world and to impose their will in other places That's fine, you know, they are Consider themselves superior particularly to the Africans. Not so funny when they sense that

Adesoji Iginla (31:42.318)
Mmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (31:59.659)
the Africans may have some kind of, what would I say, upper hand in a sense. So xenophobia we know is the fear, dislike or hostility towards people perceived as foreign or outsiders. But here's the deal that Japan and increasingly the West have to deal with. In Japan, they have an aging population. A third of their population is 65 years or older.

In Japan, they have labor shortages. Industries like elder care, construction, and agriculture are facing major workforce gaps. They simply need human beings to be able to keep their economies going. Now, like us or not like us, what are you going to do about your economy?

So talking about these partnerships there have been for a long time agreements between different cities in the in the west and in in quote unquote africa and other places of the world actually Where they have what they called sister cities

And it's supposed to be a cultural exchange. It's supposed to it's an acknowledgement that the world is getting smaller and that we're all kind of connected. People who don't want to embrace that. I don't know. Like the world, these lines again, these lines that have been arbitrarily drawn don't mean anything to Mother Nature.

Adesoji Iginla (33:24.193)
You

Aya Fubara Eneli (33:34.387)
Don't mean anything in terms of the realities of policies that you've made that have impacted and choices people have made individually that have impacted their population growth so I'm not surprised that there are people who don't want Africans around dark-skinned people Based on the notion of white supremacy have been vilified all over the world every part of the world shoot Africans and vilifying themselves based on our features

But the bottom line is Japan's total fertility rate is about 1.2 children per woman. It's among the lowest in the world. They had fewer than 800,000 babies born in 2022, which was the lowest since records began. Their deaths now outnumber births by more than double annually. And so they may not like us, but they actually need us.

Adesoji Iginla (34:32.626)
Mmm.

Okay, Brother Milton.

Milton Allimadi (34:36.299)
me, I mean the irony is that they themselves have been victims of European racism, right? In fact, there's a widespread belief that the US did not drop the atom bomb on Germany, but chose to drop it on Japan because the Japanese are not Europeans, right?

Adesoji Iginla (35:05.998)
Yeah, that's the case.

Milton Allimadi (35:06.433)
So even in spite of all of that knowledge and history, and in fact, why did they rise as a power in the first place? Because for decades, for centuries in fact, they had been seen as the so-called Mongol race by Europeans. It was a major historical event.

when Japan defeated Russia.

the whole of the European society was shocked. How could Russia be, the Russian we're going to be defeated by Japan? So Japan knows all that history and yet this is the attitude and it's widespread and judging by this article actually gave you the sense of how widespread.

you know, racism is. Stop this xenophobia, you know, nonsense. The quotes, the comments, clear that. And the sister's right, anti-African racism is race special, universal. It is.

Adesoji Iginla (36:08.44)
that racism is.

Adesoji Iginla (36:14.03)
I mean, that.

Aya Fubara Eneli (36:18.367)
You know what? This, this, this, this

Aya Fubara Eneli (36:26.411)
It is very special I suppose they should have thought about that Naomi Osaka who I think lost in the Quarterfinals maybe of the US Open she's Haitian and Japanese if I'm not mistaken Yeah, she had American citizenship as well, but she she gave up her American citizenship to play for

Adesoji Iginla (36:41.302)
Yeah, she is a Japanese, Japanese and Haitian. Japanese and Haitian.

Adesoji Iginla (36:53.314)
to represent Japan.

Aya Fubara Eneli (36:55.005)
And some of them don't necessarily appreciate the fact that she identifies as a black woman, although they'll take her wins under the Japanese column. So, you know, these guys, you're funny.

Adesoji Iginla (37:06.222)
Okay, to that, actually, there is an episode going on. Why should I even? There's a very racist event going on in Congo. Japanese engineers that had miners and engineers that worked in the Congos in the early 50s, 60s, 70s had procreated with Congolese women.

Aya Fubara Eneli (37:34.59)
Yes.

Adesoji Iginla (37:35.962)
And for some reason, there is a quite sizable population of Congolese-Japanese, which is quite an odd mix. But that number would have been increased, but for the fact that one doctor actually euthanized the babies. But the ones that survived have been

shall I say just disregarded and

Aya Fubara Eneli (38:05.811)
Yes, Japan won't allow them to claim citizenship through their fathers. Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (38:09.612)
Yes, yes, yes, yes. So when this headline comes out and says the bit of xenophobia, no, it is racist. It is racist and we should call it for what it is, which is why this program exists to reframe the narrative. You cannot write stuff like that and play to our faces that, it's just benign xenophobia. No, this

Milton Allimadi (38:12.503)
you

Adesoji Iginla (38:39.362)
societies have deep rooted cultures that is adverse to foreign influence. And then when the Western press comes and colors in the margin saying, but it's not like that. And we read it.

Aya Fubara Eneli (39:00.755)
So do you so how then would you respond to I'm not disagreeing with you there may be more than two narratives at play because how then do you respond to the xenophobia in South Africa against other Africans particularly Nigerians

Adesoji Iginla (39:07.796)
Mm. Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (39:17.646)
Well, that is a output. Of course, I'll put that down to what Brother Milton said, European warship. Don't forget that these people were locked behind a wall for 78, 70, 80 years, not knowing anything outside of who they are or how they've been described. Second grade education.

Aya Fubara Eneli (39:21.321)
They are black.

Aya Fubara Eneli (39:27.723)
Mmm.

Adesoji Iginla (39:44.386)
the inability to travel and see people outside of the place. If all you see is the benevolence of the Boas and you think that's the best you can attain to, anybody else that comes and tells you otherwise will be considered an enemy.

Adesoji Iginla (40:05.462)
Yeah, Brother Milti, you wanted to say something.

Milton Allimadi (40:05.494)
Actually, it's very funny. I've been saying a couple of things. I just realized that I was muted. So, yeah. So a number of times, when the sister was talking, I interjected a few times. Something should have crossed my mind when I saw no reaction from either of you. So anyway, regarding the South Africa one.

Adesoji Iginla (40:13.839)
sorry. I was trying to filter the background.

Milton Allimadi (40:34.453)
I mean, South Africa, they have a special problem with the issue of pigmentation, so-called race, right? Because remember, during apartheid, they had what they call the national registration, right? Where you could appeal your racial designation. So, you know, sister could appeal that she's not black, she's colored, right?

Adesoji Iginla (40:42.488)
Mm-mm.

Adesoji Iginla (40:59.854)
You

Milton Allimadi (41:02.847)
And that would elevate you into a higher social and economic status, right? I think in my case, the judge would deny my appeal if I said I was colored. The judge would stamp, you know, rejected. And then you also had so-called colored who could appeal that they're white. And it's, know.

Adesoji Iginla (41:08.654)
Mm.

Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (41:26.473)
It's true. You could actually get a favorable ruling. That's how perverse it was. So it allowed them to develop this special type of sickness beyond even the normal sickness that is produced by racial hierarchy of human beings. And finally, on that particular issue, Julius Malema tried to talk about it, but it actually cost him in the election.

Adesoji Iginla (41:30.412)
Yeah. Hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (41:38.58)
mental. Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (41:54.658)
the election. Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (41:56.503)
He said, no, no, no, I don't want to be a part of you if you see Nigerians, Zimbabweans as if they're not brothers. This is, it means you hate yourself as a black person. He said, you're attacking these folks when the economy is controlled by Europeans and South Africans. They lived in the most rich neighborhoods, they have the best jobs and all that. Why aren't you showing any anger towards them?

ask yourself, means you yourself as an African person. But it did not help him in the election. fact, was after the election, I was looking at many of the social media posts and many of them were telling Malema, you are wrong on taking that position. And that's why I did not support you. So it's very serious issue.

Adesoji Iginla (42:29.058)
Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (42:55.15)
Sister, you wanted to say something?

Aya Fubara Eneli (43:00.222)
No.

Adesoji Iginla (43:01.824)
Okay. Speaking of position, what's the position when it comes to literacy in Africa? For our next article, we go to...

Milton Allimadi (43:05.815)
Have a great week.

Adesoji Iginla (43:17.356)
The AP, the Associated Press, and the headline reads, a Nigerian group attempts a 431 hour reading marathon to set a Guinness world record. Commendable? Abuja, Nigeria, AP. It's a bookworm's idea of heaven, 18 days of nonstop reading. In a restaurant in Nigeria, Lagos, three men and two women have been reading books for over

431 hours in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the longest marathon reading and part of a campaign to promote literacy in Africa's populous country. It goes on, by Saturday when the attempt ended, the reading marathons, marathons have read 79 books authored by Nigerians. In the country more than 220,

20 million people, 210 million people, most people haven't have access to books and participated to encourage active education. So let me go to sister first, because she does a bit of reading.

Aya Fubara Eneli (44:35.339)
First of all, I absolutely commend these young people and they're all young, well relative to me, the 30 and under, for this very bold initiative and oh my goodness, 431 hours, I have to go and do the math and I'm like, okay, were they taking turns? Were they sleeping in between? Did they go and take a shower? Wait a second, did the electricity stay on for the whole time?

Adesoji Iginla (44:35.342)
It.

Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (44:50.478)
31 hours.

18 days.

Aya Fubara Eneli (45:06.731)
Nigeria for them to read that long, but I'm so glad that they're using this as a means to Draw attention to the issues of access to books and the issue of literacy in Nigeria as You know and maybe some of your viewers know I don't know in 2022 yes, um I with the

financial support of a few people, we were able to open the first public library in Opobo town. It's a small town in the southern eastern part of Nigeria. A town with over 3,000 young people who permanently live there. There many others who come back just during the holidays, but who had no library.

And so even if you had a child who was curious, even if you had a young adult, if you had an older person who wanted to read, they simply were not, they did not have, there were no bookstores and you could buy the little books for your school, but poverty and access and all of that. And so we were able to open this library that is open five days a week, Monday through Friday.

And we encountered a lot of opposition, the idea of opening this library. We're still not at the level that we want to be just because we really do not yet have the support of the powers that be. I have to be careful how I say that so that we can get more support. But we decided to start where we could. It's just a two-room library. And the response from those who

from the young people has been amazing. We're averaging close to 70 kids every single day. They're attending reading circles, things of that nature. And what we've done, which I appreciate that the individuals that initiated and participated in this reading marathon did as well is that we have primarily centered books that are...

Aya Fubara Eneli (47:21.973)
For us and about us. Yes, they're not all written by Nigerians, but the vast majority of books in that library are written about Africans by Africans now we understand that we are in a world it's a whole globe and so we do have a few other authors and Definitely with the science textbooks and so on and so forth But we wanted these young people particularly for our younger ages. We wanted them to see images that looked like them

Adesoji Iginla (47:23.498)
But us, yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (47:49.998)
on the page.

Aya Fubara Eneli (47:52.339)
and not the same whitewashing that I got as a child where 99 % of the books that I read were written by white people.

were written for white people and had white images in there. And then Blighton was one of them, Famous Five, Secret Seven. And I devoured those books. And in the process was also devouring a worldview that said I had not and my people had not in any way contributed to civilization at all, which makes you without realizing it subconsciously question your own worth.

Adesoji Iginla (48:24.942)
Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (48:32.557)
Mmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (48:32.779)
your own level of intelligence. So I'm very glad that they put on this reading marathon. I'm grateful for the publicity that they're getting. I hope that they're getting the same, if not more publicity in Nigeria as well. And I hope that this encourages more of us.

to create opportunities for literacy, for young people to access books, wherever we may be. Because even here in the United States, although we have libraries, increasingly they are cemeteries. There are very few people who are accessing it and very, and fewer and fewer children of color.

Accessing libraries, especially with all these devices in our hands and and reading as we used to say is absolutely fundamental It rewires your brain in a certain way It sharpens your ability to think to process and a thinking people are not so easily Manipulated and oppressed

Adesoji Iginla (49:22.691)
Mm-hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (49:37.368)
controlled.

Adesoji Iginla (49:42.007)
Yes.

Milton Allimadi (49:46.039)
love that. Can you imagine if every African ruler put as much devotion to education as they put into buying military arms? There's no single African country that I know that don't have jet fighters that they can't afford, tanks, armored vehicles.

Adesoji Iginla (50:09.314)
Hmm.

Milton Allimadi (50:13.047)
artillery pieces, rockets, not even to defend that country, but to terrorize the civilian population. Cuba was transformed because of education. When Castro and company got into power, education was maybe in the teens, you know, percentage. Now Cuba is 97, 98. Same thing with China.

Adesoji Iginla (50:41.262)
present.

Milton Allimadi (50:43.479)
At the time of the Chinese Revolution, literacy rate was about 15%. Now it's 97%. The countries that have transformed, Singapore, 97%. Nigeria is 63%. Even that is probably pretty decent compared to other African countries, I'm sure.

Adesoji Iginla (50:52.078)
Mm.

Milton Allimadi (51:08.011)
But we need to focus so people, the ones that have money, people like Ibrahim. I know he gives a lot of money to try to get some of these leaders to step down from power. And then he gives them a couple of million dollars as a reward. Put a lot of money in publishing and education as well. Same for people like Tangote.

I like the example that the sister gave us, that she's sponsoring. I think all of us collectively, we can have some impact if we do similar things. My late sister, Barbara, had started a foundation to support young girls through first year through college, four years.

Adesoji Iginla (51:47.534)
Mm.

Milton Allimadi (52:00.393)
So I've been continuing that foundation. So I call all my siblings together and we move some money and we manage to take six young ladies through first year to graduation. And now all of them have decent jobs because, and it's a shame, and these are students that are straight A students in high school. But they have to abandon because they cannot afford to go.

Adesoji Iginla (52:17.005)
Hmm.

Adesoji Iginla (52:24.429)
Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (52:28.64)
afford education.

Milton Allimadi (52:29.655)
to to college. So it's not surprising that all of them graduated like, know, top of their class or almost top of their class and all of them have decent jobs. So if they all this to encourage others, you know, a little goes a long way. You know, the dollars can be stretched.

and can really change somebody's life and that of their family because each and every one of those girls, know, who are young ladies now, not girls. Now they have a decent income, relatively decent income, and they can support their families as well. So I'm a very big fan of reading, of course, all of us here on this podcast right now.

We are having this conversation because we love reading. And it's reading that got us to where we are today. So whatever we can do to assist others in following that path, we must do it.

Adesoji Iginla (53:35.341)
I give kudos to them because when I saw the story, was like, wow, okay. First things, they're beating a record. So the record used to be verified. It will be verified in a couple of weeks. So 43 odd number equals to 18 days straight reading. Two was the fact that they were reading just Nigerian authors. That again, commendable.

I mean, they could expand it to African authors, you know, with, but that would be me, you know. But again, because you can't have access to the books, you gotta work with what you have, okay? Then three was the fact that it was both genders. It was male and female.

Aya Fubara Eneli (54:15.146)
Yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (54:22.944)
Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (54:24.674)
that to me send a powerful message that reading is not just unique to one gender. You could have various interests, but reading is what brings you together. So the final point I want to make on it is it's a shame that in Nigeria itself, it doesn't have a national library.

Milton Allimadi (54:41.226)
you

Adesoji Iginla (54:52.204)
which is a sad indictment on the country. Nigeria does not have a national library. It's yet to be completed, which is shocking. I mean, if you go into Abuja, it's the grand opulence. Everything is on show. But to not have a place where your mind can be sharpened is mind boggling. But, you know, hopefully somebody is listening to this and takes it upon themselves.

Milton Allimadi (55:22.043)
I want to add a few things. Go ahead, sister, go ahead. All right, so you talked about gender post-reading. And because there's also an anti-girls bias, traditionally, when it comes to schooling, Boys have the preference. And of course, when I was in standard three, and obviously I don't know the dynamics involved, right? So when I first joined the school,

Adesoji Iginla (55:22.134)
I won't hold... Yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (55:24.107)
Yeah, go ahead brother.

Milton Allimadi (55:51.755)
you know, word got out among my peers in standard three, which is third grade in this country, that, this guy likes reading. So the boys came to me and said, you know what? This girl, Adom, is always the top student in our class since primary one. So we are rooting for you to beat her and be representing the boys.

Aya Fubara Eneli (56:15.925)
to tick her down.

Milton Allimadi (56:18.647)
So at the end of the semester, you you have the final class and then everybody, they get the grades, right? So all the boys came to me and I opened my grade and I was number two after a long man and they all, and they were all like, shit, I'm sorry for the friend and walked away from me. The second semester, the same thing, pressure's on me.

and I'm studying, you know, and all the boys are like rooting for me. Okay, so the final day again, they gave us back exams. The boys kept rushing to see my grade. I was number two again, man.

Adesoji Iginla (57:02.872)
You lost cause.

Milton Allimadi (57:03.735)
So I had to go, they lost hope, so had to go to Adore S.A.C. I have to give her her kudos. I wonder where she is today, but know, Adore, much respect.

Adesoji Iginla (57:12.173)
Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (57:16.631)
You

Adesoji Iginla (57:21.506)
Yes, is that you?

Aya Fubara Eneli (57:23.773)
No, that story was so funny that I've actually forgot what it is that I wanted to say. you know.

Milton Allimadi (57:26.263)
No.

Milton Allimadi (57:31.381)
And you know what, I tried, I really tried hard, but she was just better.

Aya Fubara Eneli (57:38.047)
Keep hope alive. Jesse Jackson would say, keep hope alive.

Adesoji Iginla (57:39.63)
You were out of your league.

Aya Fubara Eneli (57:45.323)
But you know what, and thank God her parents allowed her to go to school because so many people have been denied opportunities just along those gender lines. I would say that when you talked about the national, the lack of a national library in Nigeria, I remember going back to visit my father who was a college professor after my freshman year at Ohio State University.

Adesoji Iginla (57:49.378)
Hmm

Milton Allimadi (57:49.408)
Yep.

Adesoji Iginla (58:00.012)
library.

Aya Fubara Eneli (58:14.027)
I was still studying so I went with a friend of mine who was a student at that university to their library so they did have a building and they had a place called the library to study and I was astonished that even back then as a sophomore in high school, so was Transitioning from my freshman year to my sophomore year. I personally had more books

than what was displayed in the university library. I personally owned more books. And of course, then the books that they even had there, like no student was going to be, I mean, now today I would go and collect all those books, but they were like really old books, like really from the colonial era books. Like a new book had not been purchased since whenever.

Adesoji Iginla (59:02.36)
Mm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (59:11.835)
So again, how do we expect to? Sharpen our minds to understand our history to know what we've done to plan for our future to rewrite the wrong narratives if We're not even holding up a culture of literacy and so but again I'm not putting it on the government because one of the criticisms I heard was why you as an individual trying to do this This is what the government should be doing and I'm like who is the government?

You guys, you know, we spent oodles of money on parties and all kinds of things that, yes, are great. You know, we need to still live and enjoy life, but don't have as much lasting impact. I choose to deprive myself in other ways to provide books for kids to read, for whatever.

Adesoji Iginla (59:40.866)
We, we the people.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:00:00.297)
you know, good that does down the line, but that's what I choose to do. And I hope more individuals will start to see that we have a role to play in what happens in society and not just to, you know, clasp our hands in our laps and say, it's not my responsibility.

Adesoji Iginla (01:00:20.11)
I when I was reading the story, I mentioned to my brother, said, does he remember going, I mean, I lived, grew up in Lagos. So on the streets of Lagos, you will find booksellers, literally books. And I mean, up to date books that you could read, know, sharpen your mind. And the library was still walking to a certain degree.

Now, if you ask me what that library is, there are two libraries in Lagos, one in Onikeyaba and the other one on Broad Street, Lagos. The one Broad Street, Lagos happens to be opposite a bookshop. That one has been closed down, is now a DNA center. The one in Onikeyaba,

It's not a mall that sells clothes.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:01:20.393)
There you have it.

Adesoji Iginla (01:01:21.24)
So that's the society telling you what its priorities are. Not your mind. the late ancestor, the late elder ancestor, Ngugiwa Theongo, will be asking the question, how do you decolonize your mind if you don't even have the tools to do it?

You know, so that's why you would have stories like the first one we had 127 score, real scores being returned where people that becomes like a big headline because people are not even aware of the kind of atrocities that happened in colonial Africa. You know, because there are no books to chronicle that history for people to know and where the

Milton Allimadi (01:01:56.993)
Thank

Adesoji Iginla (01:02:17.152)
Information is available. Like you said, sister, the libraries are ghost towns.

Yeah?

Milton Allimadi (01:02:24.341)
And it's not only chronic stories, it's also tying it with the contemporary tradition so that they understand why it affects why their countries are still marginalized and still exploited. And the sister also mentioned, and it brightened, we all grew up reading that and we couldn't wait to buy the next copy, right?

Adesoji Iginla (01:02:31.672)
Correct.

Adesoji Iginla (01:02:39.949)
Hmm.

Milton Allimadi (01:02:51.613)
I read, I devoured Tintin comics. Tintin. But now, go back and read Tintin as an adult and you see how racist it is. Yup. But as a kid, you like the drawing, the cartoon, and you laugh when Tintin is, you know, being chased by these carnivores and all that.

Adesoji Iginla (01:02:54.478)
God!

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:02:55.059)
YES!

Adesoji Iginla (01:03:00.937)
RACIST!

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:03:01.353)
How racist!

Adesoji Iginla (01:03:11.64)
Tintin, Tintin Snow.

Milton Allimadi (01:03:14.709)
because you have no conception that that cannibal is actually describing you as a kid, you see? But now I can't stand it. When I'm going go and bomb you.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:03:22.955)
Or do you guys remember Curious George?

Adesoji Iginla (01:03:27.906)
Yeah, curious judge, yes, yes, yes.

Milton Allimadi (01:03:29.483)
Yes.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:03:29.877)
And if you go back and the guy, the father actually wore the colonial hat and outfit and everything, you go back and read those things today and you're like, my God, this is what I was taking into my spirit.

Adesoji Iginla (01:03:42.648)
Yeah, you mentioned Tintin. Don't forget the dog, Snowy.

Milton Allimadi (01:03:44.321)
just try.

Yes.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:03:48.647)
you

Milton Allimadi (01:03:50.315)
Yes. Whenever I'm at a Barnes & Noble, because every Barnes & Noble has a collection, I just stay at the book we discussed for a minutes before I go to my regular session. Tinting traumatizing.

Adesoji Iginla (01:03:57.333)
god.

Milton Allimadi (01:04:13.899)
And as I said, these are issues that are...

Adesoji Iginla (01:04:14.283)
Okay.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:04:15.371)
And yet our colonizers recognize how to use literacy, the books for those of us who are literate, how to use that to control our minds. We need to be smarter.

Milton Allimadi (01:04:25.335)
Brilliant.

Adesoji Iginla (01:04:28.494)
I mean, you you talk about literacy, even compulsory reading in schools, William Shakespeare describes your black people as less than. Think of Caliban. Caliban doesn't do anything other than grunt. You know, so again, you have to ask the question. All of this literature that has been, that we've sort of, you know, imbibed.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:04:43.578)
I that. Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (01:04:57.614)
What does it do to our psyche? You know, without critical thinking. Because you're just reading, you you're reading to pass exam. But some of us were reading for brilliance. You know, it's like, I could code Shakespeare, know, Twelfth Night, Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:05:18.603)
Can I tell what might seem like a very innocuous story? So again, if you were in any way colonized by the British or you grew up with a lot of British literature, you would know Mills and Boone and you know Harlequin Romance. And my mother forbade us from reading it, which meant I absolutely had to read it. Okay, so once I went off to boarding school, I would...

Adesoji Iginla (01:05:35.36)
Mm-hmm. Yep.

Adesoji Iginla (01:05:42.388)
You have to read it, yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:05:48.58)
try to get as many Mills and Boone copies as I could. And I could read two a night, just devouring these little 100 and some page books. And in all of them, the woman who was the object of the man's desire, there's always some dark, tall, handsome, blue eyes, smoldering, whatever.

Adesoji Iginla (01:05:57.87)
110.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:06:10.025)
The woman would always be described in a certain way and her hair was a certain way and her hands were a certain way. So I didn't even realize until my wedding day, decades later, that I did not see my hands as feminine and as beautiful enough because I had for so long imbibed this idea of long, delicate fingers and white and you know, I didn't want to be white.

But they're just different ways that these things seep into your psyche. So I went to get my nails done and one of my mentors said to me, one day you will learn to love your hands and see how amazing they are as they are. But it took me a moment to get there. But these are, so they're just things that they just seep into.

Adesoji Iginla (01:06:43.148)
into your psyche. Yeah.

Adesoji Iginla (01:06:56.782)
Mmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:07:03.445)
how we see and feel about ourselves. They can absolutely cripple you and you're not even aware of it. Just based on what you're reading. So kudos to them.

for addressing literacy reading, for highlighting Nigerian authors. I hope that these are not Nigerian authors who have been whitewashed in their mindsets and that these were actually revolutionaries and Pan-Africanists that they were reading. And next time, I will not mind joining them via Zoom, if you will. And let's bring Aikua Ma, let's bring Amy Cezar, let's Frantz Fanon, let's bring.

Adesoji Iginla (01:07:34.667)
Same here.

Adesoji Iginla (01:07:41.463)
unknown.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:07:42.424)
Yeah, let's bring some of these other people to the table as well.

Adesoji Iginla (01:07:47.83)
Yeah, yeah. And let's bring Milton Alimadi's manufacturing hit.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:07:51.177)
Yes. and let's bring you your book as well. Let's bring my book. Absolutely.

Adesoji Iginla (01:07:54.733)
You

Adesoji Iginla (01:07:58.828)
You know, that said, final story. Final story comes from...

Adesoji Iginla (01:08:09.174)
Al Jazeera, and it reads, Belgium asks US not to destroy million in contraceptives bound for Africa. The Trump administration confirms its plans to destroy the already purchased supplies preventing their distribution. That's where, that's the place it's being stored at at the moment. And it goes on, the administration of United States president is about

A plan to is being asked to abandon a plan to destroy a massive stockpile of contraceptives for women as part of his rollback on foreign aid. In an interview on Friday, the Belgian foreign minister, Maxime Perron, said the stockpile were mostly bound for sub-Saharan Africa. The Trump administration confirmed last month they plan to destroy the supplies which are unexpired and have been purchased by the US Agency for International Development, otherwise known as USAID.

under former President Joe Biden. So, your take.

What are we looking at here?

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:09:14.68)
I would say I would say kudos to Trump and his MAGA folk. They're being consistent They don't want people in America to have access to contraceptives But Americans pay attention because it's not just anti-abortion. They're coming for all the contraception so I think they're being consistent I think it's it's interesting because

Adesoji Iginla (01:09:21.325)
Okay.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:09:39.155)
I wonder what this article would have looked like if they had gone and asked Bill Gates for his response on it. Because Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation have been working very, hard to curtail women's reproductive rights across the continent. In fact, they rolled out, the Bill Gates Foundation rolled out a long acting hormonal IUD effective for up to eight years that they want

Adesoji Iginla (01:10:06.122)
Yes, yep.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:10:08.895)
to roll out in Kenya, not here, but in Kenya with plans to expand to Nigeria and possibly other regions. The initiative tackles major barriers like cost and accessibility and is part of a broader 2.5 billion commitments they claim towards women's innovation. So it's interesting to me that Trump and Doge, whatever they were, were about.

Adesoji Iginla (01:10:29.666)
Mmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:10:37.259)
Not wasting taxpayers money reducing waste, but they've now incinerated billions of dollars of Food that had already been paid for they are now also going to apparently allow these contraceptives to be incinerated if they can find a country that will sign off on incinerating it because this also has environmental impact as well, but

Adesoji Iginla (01:11:01.099)
impact.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:11:05.867)
At the same time that they hate us so much and they don't want Africans migrating and Japan is displaying its xenophobia and all of that. This is actually going to make sure that more babies are born across Africa. Although let me also say this, I am very concerned about health access for women in Africa and also our ability to.

Choose when and how we want to reproduce but perhaps for african women We might go back to what our ancestors used to do because white people did not invent contraception and we had cultural norms and we also had herbs that we used to use to also control when and how we reproduce we're not rabbits, so let's see how this plays out, but I feel like from this article trump is

Adesoji Iginla (01:12:03.128)
being consistent.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:12:03.927)
He thinks he's spiting Africans. They want to do whatever they can not to give any quote unquote aid to Africa. And they would rather literally burn up dollars of money than to have it positively impact us and let him go with God.

Milton Allimadi (01:12:30.135)
I think Sister covered most of the substantive areas already. I just want to say, generally, as an overview, this is just one of the examples for a condition where we should not even be an example country. Talking about aid from the United States, whether it's food, whether it's contraception.

Adesoji Iginla (01:12:52.46)
beholden.

Milton Allimadi (01:12:58.753)
whether it's vaccine, whether it's medicine.

Milton Allimadi (01:13:10.097)
And obviously it tells us the failure of leadership. That's what it boils down to. And that's what we've been discussing pretty much every week actually, with all these articles. So it's just one reminder for us to keep encouraging the African youth, do whatever you can to hold the leadership accountable.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:13:14.603)
Well

Milton Allimadi (01:13:37.321)
and if they're not accountable in delivery, they must be removed. So this re-emphasizes the need for us to keep our eyes on the big picture. How is it that we're importing food from the West or dependent on food aid from the West? When we're the ones that taught the West agriculture, think about that.

Adesoji Iginla (01:13:49.506)
Mm. Mm.

Adesoji Iginla (01:14:02.21)
with some of the most vital, some of the most fertile soils, yeah.

Milton Allimadi (01:14:03.735)
enslaved Africans taught the new world agriculture. Now we are importing 35 million dollars of food. We importing agricultural sectors.

Adesoji Iginla (01:14:20.206)
Yeah, yeah.

Milton Allimadi (01:14:20.459)
So that's how I would close this one.

Adesoji Iginla (01:14:24.174)
I mean, just to add, you know, what I find...

Adesoji Iginla (01:14:33.454)
where principal is the fact that now you're going to ask the European Union to burn, to incinerate stuff that can still be used, which is in clear violation of their own rules as well. I wait to see what the Europeans will do with regards to that request, because if they refuse to burn it, what is Europe, what is America going to do? Are they going to request for it be returned to the United States?

for it to be burned in the United States. Now think of the cost of just moving that stuff just to come and burn it. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense.

Milton Allimadi (01:15:12.183)
They don't mind paying for that. In fact, they might get some neocolonial, a swatini or Uganda to accept it and destroy it for money. You know, they were trying to send Kilma Abrego to Uganda,

Adesoji Iginla (01:15:18.4)
African country.

Adesoji Iginla (01:15:33.602)
Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (01:15:33.887)
So, and I'm not saying it had anything to do with it, but then I get it might have. So the last three weeks, I've been tweeting the many examples of torture by Museveni and his son Mouhozi, both generals, right? Because his father is a general. Every day, and obviously I would put.

Adesoji Iginla (01:15:51.022)
Mm hmm. Yeah.

Milton Allimadi (01:15:55.615)
tagged, you know, White House, State Department, Abrego's lawyer and all that. Two weeks consistently, every day. So I must say I was not shocked when they announced today that they're now considering Esratini instead of Uganda.

Adesoji Iginla (01:16:11.406)
you

Milton Allimadi (01:16:14.167)
So there is power in social media people. And I think Eswatini will say no. And Abrego will end up with this tape right here.

Adesoji Iginla (01:16:17.676)
Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.

Mmm.

Adesoji Iginla (01:16:26.892)
Well, some semblance of normalcy is what we welcome with regards to their government. That said, any final thoughts, sister?

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:16:40.935)
As I always say, thank you for drawing attention to these issues. Thank you for the opportunity to be in conversation with Comrade Milton because I always learn so much from you. For those who don't know this man, he's truly a legend and someone who is still actively learning, teaching, fighting the fight. And I don't know how many people know your background in terms of the sacrifice that you have made.

Milton Allimadi (01:16:52.331)
Like right.

Adesoji Iginla (01:17:04.246)
writes it.

Milton Allimadi (01:17:05.141)
And then you too, and you too, sister.

Adesoji Iginla (01:17:09.998)
Hmm.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:17:10.261)
for your views, the courage that you have had of your convictions. And so I'm very, very much inspired by you. And again, the power belongs to us if we choose to seize it. And I hope that as we listen to these stories that we're thinking through not just the stories themselves, but how it applies to where we are and what we individually can start to do, and then what organizations we can join so that we can be more effective.

Milton Allimadi (01:17:13.481)
you

Adesoji Iginla (01:17:39.884)
Yeah.

I'm Brother Milton.

Milton Allimadi (01:17:43.475)
as Somora Machel used to say, a luta continua.

Adesoji Iginla (01:17:47.566)
Victor Asata. Yes, do join the Good Sister and myself on Wednesday, 7 p.m. Eastern for Women and Resistance. And this time we're looking at the life and times of Asata Shakur. So it promises to be a very special episode, like all the others are special.

but also don't forget to like, share, subscribe.

Milton Allimadi (01:18:18.788)
and read her book, read her book. That book is just phenomenal.

Adesoji Iginla (01:18:21.964)
the autobiography of Asata Shikoh, yes.

Milton Allimadi (01:18:26.015)
I read it the way I read autobiography of Marco Banks.

Adesoji Iginla (01:18:29.772)
Malcolm X, yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:18:31.916)
How did you read it? Share that if you don't mind sharing.

Milton Allimadi (01:18:36.539)
I read it, I couldn't put it down. I felt like I wish I could get to meet her. Just go to Cuba and just meet her in person.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:18:39.541)
Yeah.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:18:48.107)
the exact same so I read the book a few a number of years ago and then I was rereading it but I also decided to also download it on audible and yesterday I went for a hike and I decided that I wanted to listen to the book as I was hiking and I'm telling you was like a spiritual experience because

I've heard her voice on her interviews and the person who's reading the book actually sounds similar to her, similar cadence in some ways. And then it started pouring. I'm talking like major torrential downpour and I'm walking in this thing with Asada in my ears and how precise she is with her words in.

dissecting what this society is that we live in in the United States, COINTELPRO, how they went after them, how they are still terrorizing black people. And to realize she wrote this how many years ago and it applies word for word today.

Adesoji Iginla (01:19:54.637)
Yep.

Aya Fubara Eneli (01:19:55.283)
it was just an incredibly powerful experience. I mean, I was completely drenched, but I was like, it's me and this downpour and Asada. She, she's a truly powerful woman and, she continues to fight where she is. Yeah. Tune in to hear more, but my goodness. Yeah. Get her book, get her book. Cause it also supports her too financially. Get the book.

Adesoji Iginla (01:20:16.89)
Yeah, Yeah, it's called the autobiography of Asata Shakur. it's just called, you will see Asata in with her, with that famous look. I love that look. Anyway, yes, do join us next week at the same time. Until then, it's a good night and God bless.