Africa needs a global
news network
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A
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frica
needs continuous media research and investigation to unearth mega scandals that
have deprived this continent since “independence”.
BY MUSYOKA NGUI
Pan African. What does
these two words elicit in your mind? Liberation? Freedom? Struggle? Nelson
Mandela? Kwameh Nkurumah? Mwalimu Julius Nyerere? What or who exactly?
I believe its time
Africa launched her own global media channel. A television channel preferably.
The rest of the world has its own world news outlets. USA has CNN, Britain has
BBC, Qatar has Al Jazeera, China has CCTV, Russia has RT and the rest have
something they can call theirs.
But what do we
have? Nothing. The world media converge in Africa to help us tell our own stories.
Then we complain that they are biased. Why don’t we tell our stories? Because
we do not have a world news medium. Because we have not believed in our story
yet. I am talking about the authentic African story. The one you will never get
anywhere else. The Maasai rituals, the Zulu dance, the Swazi marriages, and the
Tanzanian Ujamaa.
Telling the African
story does not mean that we angle our narratives toward the positive side only.
The Fourth Estate can offer constructive criticism towards the corrupt African
governments and hold them to account. Africa needs continuous media research
and investigation to unearth mega scandals that have deprived this continent
since “independence”. Not only is that necessary but also relentless media
advocacy to bring the suspects to justice. One way of bringing suspects to
justice is by charging them with the worst crimes such as crimes against
humanity. Take them to The Hague because they cause untold suffering to the
masses that die of preventable diseases because the African leaders looted the
public coffers which would have been used to treat the sick.
If Africa acquires
it own global news media it will be able to counter the stereotypes and
propaganda perpetrated by the existing world media outlets. It is sickening to
make the world believe that Africa is in Nigeria and Africa is a country not a
continent.
True, the setting
up of African news organization is costly. Africa is the richest continent in
terms of raw materials. Some of this wealth should be channelled to coming up
with a news organization.
There are
challenges this new channel will pose. For example, the French speaking Africa
and English speaking Africa will have to agree which language to use. The
indigenous languages such as Kiswahili should be mainstreamed in this local media
channel to promote speaking in our tongues. Kiswahili is spoken throughout East
and Central Africa and is taught at home and abroad. It can then be adopted to
cater for communication needs.
Telling the African
story does not have to have an outsider perspective. Who said to be objective
means you detach yourself from the subject? Haven’t we had enough of
opinionated news from existing world news companies? It is our time now to
change the narrative and write our own stories. Our destiny lies in how we
market the African continent. Do we want to be seen as the fastest growing
economies or the centre of disease, poverty and hunger?
The writer is a student of
Bachelors of Arts Degree in Communication and Media at Chuka University and an
intern at KNA Kitui Bureau. He blogs at musyokangui.blogspot.com
Email your thoughts to
musyokangui02@gmail.com
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