Next Wave: Africa does not know itself.

In this edition of The Next Wave, we discuss why Africa needs to care more about owning and sharing its data. [Read this edition of Next Wave in your browser]( Africa does not know itself Source: Linus Wolf/[Wikipedia]( Last week, journalist Ope Adetayo, tweeted: “I have been looking for data to back up a claim that Africa has a data problem for the past two hours.” The [tweet]( went viral spawning [commentary]( about a not-so-new problem in Africa: the lack of accurate and up-to-date records. As you will notice, something is different about this edition of Next Wave. There are no charts. Because, how do you visually represent the absence of accurate and publicly accessible data about Africa? Why is data hard to come by in Africa? Since prehistoric times, our species have understood the need to mark their existence on earth. The methods were crude—rock carvings or cave paintings with red ochre—until written records became a thing. The deliberate observation, collecting and preservation of natural and human events has a long history. Source: Osaretin Victor Asemota/Twitter Rewind to pre-colonial Africa. There is a tendency to over romanticise Africa’s pre-colonial history when the cold truth, is in fact, uglier than Walter Rodney would have liked. Add to this the fact that, at the time written records were common throughout Europe and Asia, most of Africa still transmitted historical records [orally](. In some cases where writing systems existed, like the Nsibidi system in southeastern Nigeria, only members of the Ekpe cult were permitted to learn it. However, one of the features of the newly post-colonial Africa was an abundance of records—which is partly how we were able to measure, to some degree, the horrible effects of colonialism. In the October 2006 [edition]( of New African—the same edition that inspired me to seek Africa’s great past—Vincent Hiribarren, a lecturer at King’s College London explains: “From the post-independence period onwards, from the 1950s, we had the construction of physical archive centres across Africa, and you had purpose-built buildings erected just for that purpose, and historians and journalists made use of them straight away.” That enthusiasm for record-keeping however did not last, especially in anglophone Africa. Says Hiribarren, “Nigeria is a situation that is not as good as it used to be. Nigeria’s archives used to be much better, in the 1950s and 60s, until the Biafran civil war. After the war, the situation deteriorated quite quickly. But I think Nigeria used to be a good example of how to organise state archives.” Partner Message Experience the power of TEPS! You’re invited to a first-of-its-kind event platform created by renowned event tech expert, Tobi Olanihun. The online launch converges key industry players from all over the world. Activities: A panel chat, networking, demo and more. Follow TechCabal on [Twitter](, [Instagram](, [Facebook](, and [LinkedIn]( to stay engaged in our real-time conversations on tech and innovation in Africa. Abraham Augustine, Senior Writer, TechCabal. TechCabal 18 Nnobi Streeet, Surulere, Lagos Nigeria You received this email because you signed up on our website or made a purchase from us. [Unsubscribe]( [Sent by MailerLite](