Most meaningful takeaway...

In this discussion, we focused on an interview of Chinua Achebe, called 'An African Voice,' where they discussed the content, background and meaning of his book 'All things fall apart,' which expresses the effect and disruption that british colonialism had on their culture.

The most meaningful takeaway from this discussion was the topic of how media tends to bend the truth, through relatively false representations of a country, and everything about it. In most cases, when a person thinks about Nigeria, he knows it's a nation in Africa, and immediately has mental pictures of a poverty stricken nation, with roads an pavements of dirt, infested with starving children covered in a swarm of flies. I'm from Africa, and even I can relate to it.

The way the media portrays Africa, through means of mass communication, is the reason that most people don't know any better. They don't know that Africa is rich in minerals and is considered a mining paradise. That don't know that Africa has roads with cars on it, amongst brick houses that have water and electricity, and aren't guarded by lions.

But we suggested that this could be the media's strategy of calling for action. If it is portrayed ad a good, attractive place, then there might not be as much of a motivation to help those in need. I hope that strategy works...