RE: Authentic African

I don’t think anyone has the right to determine who a true African is, whether or not they’ve been born in Africa, it doesn’t matter. I automatically count anyone whose parents are African and raised the same way as Africans, but I don’t believe in this “you have to be born in Africa to be African” nonsense. As someone who hasn’t lived in her birth country for the past eight and a half years, no one can discount my “Africanness”. I’m African, no hyphens, full stop. But one of my sisters wasn’t even in Nigeria for 3 months before we left, does that mean she can’t claim being Nigerian?. She can’t speak the language and talks “British”, but she knows she’s Nigerian and she loves the culture. There is this insensitivity that we as human beings have towards people we believe should be classified as different from us because we did not share the same struggles. It’s bullshit for anyone to think they have a right to determine the authenticity of someone’s heritage. Major bullshit! I’ve always said full equality cannot happen in my lifetime. Why? Because we human beings are quick to label ourselves and others different once they don’t fall into a classification we make up in our heads. There’s always been a struggle among Africans at home and abroad, but thinking you have the authority to say who’s African or not is the height of egotism that I can’t bear to think about.