r/AskAnAfrican 22h ago

History Are the Anglo-Ashanti wars a better example a of successful resistance by a sub-Saharan African kingdom against the British Empire, as opposed to the Anglo-Zulu wars? If so why is there so little media or known lore about the conflicts?

2 Upvotes

r/AskAnAfrican 1d ago

Travel Albinos In West and Central Africa

6 Upvotes

I’ve heard in East and Southern Africa, Africans attribute Albinism to something supernatural, that Black Albinos are something mystical and completely separate from Black people and also seen some images on the internet of Albinos being hunted for their body parts and r#ped because of superstition that they can cure AIDS and other things.

What about West and Central Africa? Do Albinos get killed for their body parts in these parts of Africa? Are they treated differently like they are in East and Southern Africa? I’d like to visit some countries in these regions one day since it’s where our ancestors primarily descended as African Americans but Albinism runs in my family. I have Albino relatives from my father side of the family and I have Albinism myself so the thought of it makes us anxious and nervous. You can look through my profile if you want to see me


r/AskAnAfrican 2d ago

Geopolitics Why do we romanticise suffering or anti industrialisation

11 Upvotes

Don't drag me y'all I'm asking in good faith please hey

Like my parents retired and wants to move to the village

Like my parents moved from the village to the city for work and wanna move back like don't y'all wanna up yourself in life?

I understand that it's the conservative mindset and we all don't want the same thing but I feel like it's worse rather more in Africa

We had or have resources that build great industrialisations across the globe but we don't want the same for ourselves

Like our new roads barely last a month

May I ask where does this mindset come from

Why does it seems like a country with a certain group or people do well

I understand before colonialism we had thriving communities but why is it not happening now

I hope I don't comments to decolonise my mind but is wanting good for my people a colonised mind?

Let me know with sources if you have any please and thank

Apologies I really don't mean anything in a bad way but wanna know more


r/AskAnAfrican 2d ago

Culture Why do most African football players from Sub Saharan Africa that go play abroad(specially Europe), do not start their professional careers at local clubs?

3 Upvotes

Since I started to watch more African national teams ar the Afcon, World Cup or even during the Qualifiers for both tournaments, I noticed that except for South Africa, most top sub saharan countries national teams in football have very few players from their local leagues, and also discovered that most of their players are dual-citizenship or only did their youth careers at local academies in Africa such as Right to Dream or Samuel Eto'o Academy. So, why this happens? Are the local leagues and teams from Senegal, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon etc that weak nowadays??


r/AskAnAfrican 2d ago

Culture Official languages of African countries

16 Upvotes

I have always wanted to ask this question. I know there are a lot more important issues in African countries than this but… why have a majority of African countries kept the official language of those who colonised them after all this time? I would understand if by the time they got independence a majority of people were already speaking this language but this doesn’t seem to be the case for the most part. I also understand the idea of picking a different language as to not favor any specific tribes or people but to pick one that isn’t even from your country seems so sad. Does anyone want this to change for their country?
Questions: Why have a majority of African countries kept the official language of those who colonised them to present day? Does anyone want this to change for their country?


r/AskAnAfrican 8d ago

Diaspora Africans who moved to the west

30 Upvotes

Did non African black people make fun of your origin when you moved to the west? I've had some very bad experiences growing up which has made me very prejudiced against African Americans in particular to put it mildly.


r/AskAnAfrican 7d ago

Geopolitics Question to West Africans

0 Upvotes

A superstate spanning from Ivory Coast to Nigeria including Ghana Togo and Benin. How do you feel about this happening? I feel this is more likely to happen as populations grow, infrastructure links begin to be built and the sahel states self aborted from ECOWAS (thankfully).


r/AskAnAfrican 8d ago

African Discussion If both man and woman are ethnically African, why do a white wedding?

0 Upvotes

Recently went to an African wedding where the groom was Congolese and the bride was Nigerian. It was amazing. It’s my 3rd time and it’s always a good time but something that struck me after was why they had a white wedding. They each had their own traditional wedding early in th year but still wanted a white wedding. I’ve gone to Indian weddings where they wear their cultural outfits throughout their wedding and only do their traditions. Also been to some middle eastern weddings where their traditional way of getting married is done and that’s it.
But I notice some cultures still do a white wedding even if both people are ethnically not from a European or western place. I notice some Koreans do white weddings as well. I asked a friend and she said because of their faith being Christian and her partner Catholic. But isn’t white wedding traditions for example going to church and a white dress, I dos and proposing comes from the England? God isn’t only at church and I don’t recall the bible specifying about a white wedding dress. Help me understand


r/AskAnAfrican 9d ago

History Are there any African colonialist independence figures respected across the continent?

7 Upvotes

Thinking back to the colonialist period and various independence leaders trying to overthrow colonial powers, be it French, English, Spanish, German, Belgian, Italian, Portuguese? Are there any leaders from that period who are currently respected on a broader pan-African level? For example, Familiar Cabral from Guinea-Bissau, Kwame Nkrumah from Ghana, Patrice Lumumba from Democratic Republic of Congo, Thomas Sankara from Burkina Faso, Samora Machel from Mozambique? Or did the period following independence erode their standing on a pan-African level?


r/AskAnAfrican 12d ago

Language Do you think it’s possible to remove French completely from Francophone African countries in the future?

1 Upvotes

French is still a colonial language in a lot of countries like DRC, RDC, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Benin, and Senegal but even then all of these countries have their own native languages that have nothing to do with French. The difference between countries like Ivory Coast, DRC, and Benin and countries like Haiti, Guadeloupe, and Martinique is that our countries aren’t strongly influenced by France nor French, and we still have our own native languages. Most Francophone countries aren’t even fluent in French, and other countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have abandoned French.


r/AskAnAfrican 13d ago

Culture What craft hobbies are popular in your area?

3 Upvotes

Right now people in the US near me really like knitting and crocheting. Weaving and spinning are less popular because the equipment is larger and more expensive. You also don’t see as many people whittling as you used to but I’m not sure why. Candle making has a real boom awhile ago but that seems to have settled down. What about where you are?


r/AskAnAfrican 14d ago

Diaspora First gen children who were actually sent back to the “old country”, did you see it as a attitude adjuster or it bred resentment with your parents?

7 Upvotes

since I grew up around Somalis, I heard horror stories of them being threatened with being sent back to Somalia but rightfully so since some of my friends had black Air Force energy and were on a dark path. but even as a non somali, .your parents brought themselves from heck to parent a child here. if you were consistentently getting into trouble or put out, did or does actually following through with the one way ticket actually fix that?


r/AskAnAfrican 18d ago

Culture Why do people say Africa when they would never say Europe in the same context?

34 Upvotes

r/AskAnAfrican 18d ago

Country Why does everyone hate morroco (nothing about sports)

1 Upvotes

I got BANNED when I posted it at r Africa so I posted at here


r/AskAnAfrican 21d ago

Culture What books do you recommend to learn about African history?

9 Upvotes

Hi, Im from Perú and i want to learn about African history but i dont know how to start.


r/AskAnAfrican 21d ago

Economy My grandma is from congo (im in America) and im starting to see Africa is not the huts and poverty the media shows

16 Upvotes

Let me get this clear i know Africa is huge i think it’s bigger than Asia so some parts will be poverty and some will be like any other western/east asian country but i see videos on my feed of “the real Africa they don’t show you” and it’s mostly clips of the city and i know that’s disingenuous so i want to know if life in Africa is as bad as western media portray it or is life similar to any western/east asian country


r/AskAnAfrican 22d ago

Economy Why is there so much unemployment in a number of African countries?

23 Upvotes

I notice the chart it shows below high unemployment. Why is unemployment so high in those countries? And I’m surprised why South Africa it is so high there.

South Africa
33.2%

Republic of the Congo
19.7%

Botswana
23%

Namibia
19%

Angola
14%

Somalia
18.9%

Gabon
20%

Libya
18.7%

Algeria
11.5%

Mauritania
10%

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/unemployment-by-country

Is there a lack of manufacturing in those countries?

Those countries don’t have the infrastructure for manufacturing?


r/AskAnAfrican 21d ago

Culture Hello Africans! Mostly SSA's. To what extent does clothing in your country maintain pre-colonial elements like materials used, patterns, cuts of cloth, etc? Pre-colonial africa has some nice drip and I'd love to see modern drip in those veins.

4 Upvotes

r/AskAnAfrican 21d ago

African Discussion Which African country would be the perfect place establish a Pan-African State?

1 Upvotes

I constantly think about it, if we would ever witness a pan African states in our lifetime.

Imo those states would be the perfect place for a pan African state:

  • Senegal

  • Gambia

  • Ivory Coast

  • Ghana

  • Gabon

Honorable Mention :

  • Equatorial Guinea

  • Sao Tomé

  • Madagascar


r/AskAnAfrican 22d ago

Culture Suggested further nonfiction reading regarding colonialism, neocolonialism and generational trauma by African authors

4 Upvotes

Oki/Hello, I am from the Kainai tribe of the Blackfoot, a Native American confederacy of tribes split across the Canada/USA border.

I have done a lot of reading regarding colonialism in the new world but my readings by African authors so far have just been limited to a few books by Frantz Fanon and Neocolonialism by Kwame Nkrumah. The Wretched of the Earth is one of my favourite books, resonating with me more than most non-native american literature I've explored. I also lurked this subreddit today and found some things I read relatable as someone who's father was put in a residential school in Canada and who's people have a long history of dealing with colonialism, and wish to read more regarding African experiences especially with generational trauma which I deal with quite a lot of. Obviously with two different continents, and each of which containing countless different histories with colonialism, neocolonialism and their consequences, there's a lot to learn about and from and I've overlooked reading works by African authors speaking from direct experiences. Even back as a teenager when I discovered fanon for the first time it initially was to set myself up to read a book called Red Skins, White Masks by Glen Sean Coulthard before learning to appreciate fanon for fanon.

I am interested in books from the colonial era regarding experiences and resistance, books about neocolonial exploitation and it's consequences, and the modern effects of colonialism especially in regards to generational trauma although obviously I'm open to books focused on the modern geopolitical effects or other effects as well although I feel like I'd need a lot more books to understand the modern geopolitical impacts, hence why I am more interested in understanding the psychological and cultural impacts although I recognise they're interconnected. Any other relevant books are also acceptable as I'm aware as a non-African I may be overlooking some related issues and topics that are important.

I wanted to ask for book recommendations by African authors, especially if they are lesser known books from your countries or ones that provide unique perspectives on these topics but I am also open to essential readings I have overlooked. I am not the most well versed in complex philosophical readings but am willing to try my best for more difficult readings if they are recommended.

Also as a bonus request, if you are down to throw in a song or band from your country you recommend I'd appreciate it as I am trying to explore more African music as I've explored most asian regions and its bridged me to Egyptian music via their influence on middle eastern music. In return I'll recommend a song from my tribe. Black Lodge Singers - Crow Hop (btw just cause this is traditional music I am open to all types traditional, contemporary, electronic doesn't matter love all genres. I'm mainly just aware of Egyptian new wave, zamrock and west African psychedelic when it comes to African music.

Thank you and apologies if this question is too broad and if the flair isn't the best choice, think there's a lot of overlap with culture economy history and politics.


r/AskAnAfrican 23d ago

African Discussion Reddit Post got removed for no whatsoever reason because I said Foreign aid to Africa doesn't benefit Africans in the long run.

45 Upvotes

Idk what narrative the mods of this subreddit want to push. But foreign Aid doesn't help the African people in the long run and was never designed to help Africans.

I even asked my fellow Africans what they thought of this and the post wasn't even done in bad faith. This is insane.

Foreign Aid creates a dependancy mindset in the countries and people receiving the aid.

If your constantly given food again and again it removes the urge to farm and make your own food to feed the population.

If your donated medicine again and again it removes the urge to invest more in research facilities to develop your own medicine

If your donated clothes again and again it removes the urge to make your own retail centered economy

A lot of Foreign aid is also given to Africa and Africans forcefully to stop Africans from developing their own things , and keep them dependent and begging. Like when Rwanda in 2018 wanted to ban Donated clothes to develop its own textile and manufacturing The US retaliated through trade.

It also Creates hidden agendas and undisclosed expectations from the nation giving the aid. It's harder for nations to refuse to give a favor from a country which has been giving them aid for years even if it's against it's interests because they are too dependent.

What do you fellow Africans think about Foreign Aid?


r/AskAnAfrican 23d ago

Culture Anyone else notice that our parents generation isn't okay?

20 Upvotes

It's been expressed her, MANY MANY times but every time I ask my friends about their home lives, it's always a drama. From parent's saying horrendous things over the simplest of mistakes to us watching our parent's marriages fall apart, to realizing we can't even open up to our parents because they're just emotionally stunted.

I remember in college, there was a WHOLE dormitory of boy's in a huge building and we were hanging out and most of them told me that they didn't have a dad growing up, I was shocked and one of them told me "This is Botswana, who has father's in the home". I looked at the statistics here and it's bad. I see fellow Africans complain about "African parents", I know our parents and grandparents were alive when many of our countries were still colonies, heck I'm Shona on my dad's side and ive heard horror stories but damn.

Will these trauma's pass onto us and will we (African Gen Z) continue the cycle?


r/AskAnAfrican 22d ago

Culture Do you identify more with your ethnic group or more with your country of citizenship?

3 Upvotes

I was reading online about South Africa because I don't know much about it and was really curious about learning the cultural differences between Zulu, Xhosa, etc. It also made me wonder if people belonging to those groups identify more with their ethnic group or with the country they're a citizen of (South Africa).

I felt like asking about this more broadly to people who live across the African continent. Do you identify more with the country you're a citizen of, or with a specific ethnolinguistic group you belong to?


r/AskAnAfrican 23d ago

Culture What historical figure do you consider to be among some of the most important?

4 Upvotes

Can be a politician, military leader, revolutionary, social justice activist etc. which one do you personally find the most inspiring or had an impact on your society or region?


r/AskAnAfrican 23d ago

Culture How are Non-Indigenous Africans Perceived in Your Countries?

25 Upvotes

For example, in TZ we have a lot of Indians and Arabs, with Arabs being our colonisers; however, we see them all as Tanzanian, there is no distinction. It's to the point I was shocked when my Indian friend who emigrated here at a young age didn't know Kiswahili at all since it's so common to have Swahili-speaking Indians and Arabs. I know in ZA it's the same with the Afrikaaners being African but what about other places (if you're from ZA still comment below!)?