Michael Mbogga

American actor Tyrese Gibson [he of Fast & Furious) call to Black men worldwide to get serious about generational wealth, and how sacrifice without structure often leaves families exposed: “[Black men] show up. We keep food on the table. We raise children into teens, teens into adults, adults into legacy… “Too often, when the head of the household is gone, there’s nothing left behind. No assets. No ownership. No blueprint. No inheritance. That has to change. “Generational wealth is not a dream — it’s a responsibility. Something tangible must remain when we’re long gone. That work starts now.” .@AlowoMatovu ghanaplus.com/showbiz/tyrese…

The Curse Of The Kitenge, Beauty Creams, And Baskets At The African Trade Show Just done a column in .@NationAfrica on African expos/exhibitions. They are by and large an endless, soul-crushing loop of the same few things, no matter the African country. Yes, the brightly patterned (Ankara, Kitenge, Kente, Masaai blankets, Mlifa, Biskri etc) are beautiful. The hand-woven baskets are authentic. The small-batch curry powders smell wonderful. The vials of essential oils and tubs of petroleum jelly are the lifeblood of someone's honest hustle. And those ubiquitous metal pans? They are robust, they cook the beans. But let us be serious - and politically incorrect. These things, the very foundation of our informal economy, have become a beautiful, brightly coloured intellectual trap. They confirm, year after year, the narrative of the “Exotic, Developing Africa”; a continent stuck in the handicraft and primary product bracket. You walk through the halls of “Innovation” and what do you see? Not modular, locally-designed solar panels that could electrify the village, or locally-assembled lithium batteries to store the juice. You don't see affordable, locally-made diagnostic ultrasound machines or simple ventilators for our under-equipped hospitals. Where is industrial-grade PVC piping, or the high-grade fertiliser formulation that would allow us to build and feed ourselves without waiting for a container ship from Shenzhen? We are selling beautiful souvenirs, and the rest of the world is trading in assets and capabilities. We are so far down the manufacturing chain that we notice with horror we didn't even have to mention the heavy stuff: the MRI machines that see into the body or the industrial robotics that automate the factories. Until we start seeing trade expos dominated by fridge compressors, flat-screen TV displays, motherboards, and locally-engineered water purification systems, we are merely hosting a market for well-meaning tourists and not a serious trade platform. We are celebrating the past, while the future waits outside the tent, holding a power drill. And that is why we will remain at the bottom, smelling richly of shea butter and groundnuts, beautifully dressed, but perpetually borrowing the tools to build our own house. (Full article, “We’re Maasai blanket prisoners”, nation.africa/kenya/blogs-op…)