African with identity crisis

 In today’s globalized world, most nations are proudly showcasing their cultures, languages, fashion, food, and ways of life. You see the Chinese preserving their Mandarin and cultural heritage, Arabs speaking Arabic in international spaces, Indians pushing Bollywood and Hindi globally, and Koreans exporting K-pop and their traditional customs with pride. Yet, when it comes to Africa, many of its people seem to be experiencing a deep identity crisis.

It’s not uncommon to hear an African proudly declare how fluent they are in English, French, Dutch, Chinese, or Arabic. While being multilingual is a strength, it becomes a weakness when we celebrate foreign languages but neglect or even ridicule our own mother tongues like Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Swahili, Luganda, Kinyarwanda, and Afrikaans. In many African homes today, children are punished for speaking their native languages but praised for speaking with a British or American accent. What message does this send? That our identity isn’t good enough?

This mindset didn’t start today it has historical roots in colonization, where African cultures were demonized, and European ways were promoted as superior. Unfortunately, even decades after independence, many Africans still carry this colonial mentality. The real tragedy is not colonization itself, but the mental chains that still remain.

The identity crisis doesn’t stop at language 💨it bleeds deeply into social life and personal expression. Walk through the streets of many African cities and you’ll see women spending fortunes on Brazilian, Peruvian, or Malaysian hair, while ignoring or hiding their natural African hair. Why? Because society has conditioned us to believe that beauty is long, silky, and foreign😅😅

It goes further into skin care skin bleaching is a booming industry in many African countries. The message is clear: “To be beautiful, you must look like a Westerner😁.” This false standard of beauty is a direct insult to the richness of African features and melanin skin tones that people across the world actually admire. Ironically, people from other parts of the world are getting tanned and paying to look like Africans, while Africans are bleaching to look like them.

When other nationalities travel or engage in international communities, they often speak their mother tongues with pride. Arabs speak Arabic. Chinese speak Mandarin. Indians speak Hindi. But when Africans travel, many shy away from speaking their native languages even among themselves. We wear Western suits to look “presentable, eat foreign food to seem “civilized,” and celebrate foreign holidays more than our own. The world won’t respect our culture if we keep abandoning it.

Africa must experience a mental revolution a return to self-love and cultural pride. Encourage the speaking, teaching, and learning of African languages at home and in schools. Language is a carrier of culture. Promote traditional clothes, music, dances, and values. Let African children grow up knowing their culture is something to be proud of.

We should re-educate ourselves and the next generation that beauty is not one-size-fits-all. Embrace and promote natural African features, hair, and skin. Whether in movies, music, fashion, or literature support and invest in African creatives who showcase authentic African stories and images.

Africa is not a dead culture. It is one of the richest and most diverse on earth. The problem is not that we lack something to be proud of the problem is that we’ve been taught to be ashamed of it. The future of Africa depends on whether we can reclaim our identity and walk boldly in it.

Until we love ourselves as we are, the world won’t take us seriously. Let's change that narrative one language, one hairstyle, one cultural celebration at a time.

It starts with us.