Mama Africa Poem by Sylvia Chidi

If we look at the big bang theory of the universe and attribute that to the creation of planets, the universe and life. We can apply that theory to this world. I personally believe that life started with clusters of a variety of living communities around the world at precisely the same time. Africa being large would have housed clusters of some of these growing communities and hence no one can positively or even scientifically state where life started. As for culture and pride being broken and taken away is part of history that cannot be changed. What Africa has now is vast amount of wealth managed extremely poorly and so many people infiltrated with poor health and lack of education hence my comment ' I adore thee even in poor health' My poem is about the reality of the situation in Africa at present and expressing my hope for the future of Africa with love.

What do you mean, what is the meaning of Africa? Africa is the land that started everything. Africa can acredited for having the first real cilvilization. Africans are the people that made the Europeans feel inferior and so they began to eliminate our culture and displaced our people. I'm sure there are people from other nationalities that have pride for their country, but why they do not write ballads has no relavance to Africans writing about a land that they are told not to be proud of. Africans are not like everyone else and everyone knows it. Many Africans in America deny themself, they deny Africa.

What is the meaning of Africa and from which African language is it derived? How come 'Africans' deify Africa so much? Why don't Europeans write ballads about Europe or Asians about Asia, just the way 'Africans' keep doing? Is it still the spirit of Negritude? How 'African' are the Arab nations like Egypt, Morroco and Tunisia or the Afrikaans in South Africa? Why can't 'Africans' just be a citizen of their country like everybody else? Just asking!

I salute thee oh Mama Africa! ! ! Mama Africa my Homeland. Thanks for sharing this poem with us.

I came back to the poem after a decade and I can only affirm to its deeper meanings and echoes of the reality. Mama Africa....!

That poem is really inspiring and really revolving around African lives I really love poetry

Dear Sylvia I am really impressed by the poem. It reflects the reality about Africa; the paradoxes and the ambiguities. Many people from the west have only the dark side of the picture, which we cannot deny. But Africa is at the same time full of treasures of old that others do not have; it has its own identity and bless. Though globalisation is the order of the day, I do not think that emphasising on your identity and origin is narrow-mindedness. It is rather a way to universalism and better understanding. Africa is the most misunderstood continent by outsiders and Africans.

I agree with you sylvia in that you have pointed out what is happening in the African continent at the moment very well. I would however like to point out that Saudi Arabia is not a part of Africa and is in Asia. As for the point raised by Kiibaati, I think that being african is more to do with issues like identity and culture and being a white African or an Arab African like Tunisians and Morocans does not make one any less of an African.