2021 WorldCon-DisConIII: PANEL TRANSCRIPT – Being African is Tougher Than You Think
Being African is Tougher Than You Think
Friday 17th December
Travel costs, visas, and payment methods, conversation rates not to mention failing electricity, high data costs and PayPal not always working for you. Distinguished writers from the continent talk about the impact of practical problems—and if it’s any better when you move to the West.
Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Dilman Dila, Tlotlo Tsamaase, Stephen Embleton
TRANSCRIPT:
OGHENECHOVWE: WELCOME TO THE "BEING AFRICAN IS TOUGHER THAN YOU THINK" PANEL. YOU CAN SWITCH ON YOUR SUBTITLES FOR THE PANELISTS. I WELCOME THE AUDIENCE. WE ARE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT THE CHALLENGES THAT AFRICANS FACE. THE PANELISTS ARE HERE AND THERE IS NO NEED FOR ME TO EXPLAIN OR TALK FOR EVERYBODY. I’M GOING TO BE INTRODUCING THE PANEL. WE HAVE STEPHEN EMBLETON AND DILMAN DILA. THEY ARE AFRICAN WRITERS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT. I WILL LET THEM INTRODUCE THEMSELVES.
TLOTLO: I’M AN AUTHOR THAT HAS WRITTEN AFRICAN ARTICLES, POETRY, AND SHORT STORIES. I HAVE HAD SOME SHORT STORIES APPEAR IN APEX MAGAZINE. THANK YOU.
OGHENECHOVWE: THANK YOU. STEPHEN?
STEPHEN: GREAT. ALSO, JUST WANT TO FORMALLY CONGRATULATE TLOTLO ON HER AWARD THAT WAS ANNOUNCED YESTERDAY. SO, CONGRATS TO HER. MY NAME IS STEPHEN EMBLETON. I’M USUALLY A GRAPHIC DESIGNER FILMMAKER, BUT I HAVE BEEN FOCUSING ON MY WRITING. I HAVE HAD TWO SHORT STORIES AS A NOMINATION IN THE NOMMO AWARDS. MY SECOND PUBLISHED TRANSCRIPT WAS ENTERED FOR A PRIZE. EVEN THOUGH I DIDN’T WIN, I HAVE BEEN GRANTED A SPEAKER ENGAGEMENT AT A WRITER’S WORKSHOP IN OXFORD NEXT YEAR.
OGHENECHOVWE: THANK YOU.
DILMAN: MY NAME IS DILMAN DILA. I’M A FILMMAKER AND WRITER. I HAVE HAD MOSTLY -- MOSTLY I WRITE SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY STUFF. BUT I ALSO MAKE FILMS AND I DO GRAPHICS AND A LOT OF OTHER STUFF. IF THERE IS A MEDIUM FOR TELLING STORIES, I USUALLY TRY TO RUN IT THROUGH THAT MEDIUM.
OGHENECHOVWE: A SHORT STORY WRITER AND HAS A NOVEL AND BEEN INVOLVED IN SELF-PUBLISHED. WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET A COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT SPECULATIVE FICTION AND ITS MARKET. I ALSO WANT TO ADD WE ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A FOURTH PERSON. YVETTE LISA NDLOVU. YOU GUYS KNOW HER. SHE WAS UNABLE TO MAKE IT BECAUSE SHE IS IN TRANSIT. SO, SHE WAS UNABLE TO JOIN US, WHICH IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WILL TALK ABOUT. I WANT TO ADDITIONAL ADD BEFORE WE LAUNCH, THERE IS POSSIBLY GOING TO BE SOME NOISE FROM MY END IN THE BACKGROUND BECAUSE OF MY LOCATION AND EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, I MIGHT FREEZE OR MY NETWORK MIGHT GO OUT. IF THAT HAPPENS, YOU GUYS SHOULDN’T PANIC. JUST TRY TO CARRY ON THE CONVERSATION. THAT’S MY ENVIRONMENT AND CONNECTS WITH THE TOPIC AT HAND. SOME OF THOSE PROBLEMS MANIFEST THEMSELVES. YEAH, I’M TALKING TOO MUCH, SO WE WILL JUST DIVE IN NOW. THE FIRST THING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO ASK IS WHAT BEING AN AFRICAN MEANS TO EACH OF US. BEING AN AFRICAN MEANS DIFFERENT THINGS TO ALL OF US. DEPENDING ON YOUR LOCATION AND WHERE ON THE CONTINENT AND HOW YOU ARE AN AFRICAN IN TERMS OF DISSENT AND YOUR PASSPORT. BEING AN AFRICAN MEANS SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS. IT IS DIFFERENT FOR ALL OF US. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT BEING AFRICAN MEANS IN TERMS OF YOUR ART AND HOW IT HAS AFFECTED YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS.
TLOTLO: THANK YOU FOR ASKING. THAT’S AN INTERESTING QUESTION. BEING AN AFRICAN MEANS YOU WANT TO SEE YOURSELF EXISTING IN DIFFERENT AGES. MOST OF THE LITERATURE GROWING UP WAS MAINLY WESTERN LITERATURE AND WASN’T FILLED WITH PEOPLE WHO COME FROM OUR COUNTRY OR HAVE SIMILAR BACKGROUNDS OR CULTURE. THE THING ABOUT CREATING OR WRITING, AS AN AFRICAN AUTHOR, THERE ARE SO MANY OBSTACLES THAT DON’T MAKE IT EASY FOR YOU TO JUST FOCUS ON WRITING. LIVING IN GHANA, YOU CAN HAVE LITTLE TO NO INTERNET CONNECTION. AND EVEN IF YOU HAVE INTERNET CONNECTION, IT CAN BE SLOW. SAY YOU ARE WRITING A STORY AND RESEARCHING, IF THERE IS NO INTERNET, YOU CAN’T DO THE RESEARCH TO FINISH THE STORY. SO, ACTUALLY THE TIME FRAME TO FINISH A STORY TAKES MUCH LONGER. AND I REMEMBER WHEN I STARTED OUT, WHATEVER BANK WASN’T COMPATIBLE. THE CARD SYSTEMS WERE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH ACCEPTING MONEY FROM PAPAL AND YOU HAVE TO FIND SOMEONE THAT YOU CAN RELY ON. AND YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR THAT MONEY TO BE PUT IN YOUR ACCOUNT. YEAH, THOSE ARE ONE OF THE OBSTACLES THAT I FACED STARTING OUT.
OGHENECHOVWE: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. STEPHEN?
STEPHEN: WHEN I WAS IN MY LATE TEENS THAT’S WHEN WE WERE COMING OUT OF APARTHEID. AS I BEGAN WRITING PROPERLY IN THE EARLY 2000S, WHEN I SET OUT WRITING A NOVEL OR WRITING IN ANYWAY, A LOT OF THE BLOGS OR WRITING TIPS ALWAYS SAID WRITE FOR AN INTERNATIONAL MARKET AND SET YOUR STORIES IN AN INTERNATIONAL LOCATION LIKE NEW YORK OR LONDON AND YOU ARE GOING TO GET MORE TRACTION. IT WAS LIKE IT DIDN’T QUITE GEL WITH THE TYPE OF STORIES THAT I WANTED TO TELL AND THE TYPE OF STORIES THAT I HAVE BEEN TELLING. IT WAS THE SHORT STORY THAT REALLY PUSHED IT. MY FIRST SHORT STORIES WERE NOT EVEN PUBLISHED IN SOUTH AFRICA. KNOWING I COULD WRITE ABOUT PEOPLE WHO I HAVE GROWN UP AROUND, THEIR PERSPECTIVE AND THE LANGUAGE USED IN THE STORY WAS QUITE IMPORTANT. IT HAS BEEN AN INTERESTING PROCESS TO GET WHERE WE ARE NOW TO GET TO WorldCon, WHERE WE HAVE REPRESENTATION FOR AFRICAN SPEAKERS AND WE CAN TELL THE STORIES AND THE TRADITIONAL BELIEFS THAT WE WANT TO FEATURE, WITHOUT ANY FEAR OF SUCCESS IT MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT HAVE. IT IS GOING TO BE READABILITY WITHIN THE CONTINENT, AT LEAST, WHICH IS GOOD.
OGHENECHOVWE: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. BEFORE WE GO TO DILMAN, I NOTICED IN THE COMMENTS, YOU GUYS TALKED ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO WRITE ABOUT AFRICAN STORIES. AND WONDERING IF IT IS GOING TO FLY, IF IT IS GOING TO SELL. I’M GOING TO TRY TO REPHRASE IT IN A WAY THAT LOOKS AT THE HIGHLIGHTS. ARE YOU GUYS ESSENTIALLY SAYING FOR YOU, BEING AN AFRICAN WRITER, FOR A LARGE PART HAS INVOLVED NOT WRITING ABOUT AFRICA OR INVOLVED BEING TOLD THAT YOU CANNOT WRITE ABOUT AFRICA, ESSENTIALLY. WHICH CONNECTS WITH THE HISTORY OF COLONIALISM. IT SEEMS LIKE IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS DEEPLY ENTRENCHED IN OUR EXPERIENCES AND WE HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT WE CAN’T WRITE THIS OR IT IS NOT INTERESTING OR WON’T SELL. YEAH, IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE SOME OF THAT MIGHT BE TRUE. I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM DILMAN. WHAT ABOUT YOU?
DILMAN: WE HAD OUR SURGEON WAYS OF TELLING STORIES WHICH DID NOT INVOLVE WRITING BOOKS OR MAKING FILMS OR STUFF LIKE THAT BECAUSE AUTHORSHIP WAS PEGGED TO SOME KIND OF -- SO YOU MAKE A SONG, IT IS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY. AND IT BECOMES A COMMUNAL SONG. BETWEEN THE 19 HUNDREDS AND THE 19 FIFTIES, AND WITH SHAKESPEARE HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO AND THEY START THINKING ABOUT PRESERVING THEIR OWN STORIES. EVEN IN FILMS AND A LOT OF ARTWORK THERE IS THAT EMPHASIS, RATHER THAN ON THE STORYTELLING. EVEN AFTER TODAY, YOU LOOK AT MANY BOOKS AND IT IS ABOUT LEGOS. AND THE BOOK CAPTURES THE LIFE OF LEGOS AND STUFF LIKE THAT. I WANT TO READ ABOUT THE CHARACTER. I DON’T WANT TO READ ABOUT LEGOS. SO, A LOT OF STORIES THAT HAVE BEEN TOLD CONFORM TO THESE NORMS.
OGHENECHOVWE: HOLD ON. LET ME QUESTION SOMETHING THAT YOU SAID THERE. YOU TALKED ABOUT AFRICAN WORKS NOT GETTING ATTENTION BECAUSE OF THE MODEL. THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT WE HAD OUR OWN FORM OF STORYTELLING, YOU KNOW, BACK IN THE DAY. THE WORLD HAS CHANGED AND A LOT OF THESE SYSTEMS HAVE CHANGED. WE ARE GOING TO EVOLVE WITH THOSE CHANGES. BUT I WOULD STILL LIKE TO KNOW, THE ORIGINAL QUESTION WAS WHAT BEING AN AFRICAN CREATIVE MEANS TO YOU AND HOW THAT HAS AFFECTED YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?
DILMAN: I THINK THAT’S KIND OF WHAT I WAS REALLY EXPLAINING. YOU STRUGGLE WITH ALL THESE IDENTITIES. IT’S A SONG, IT’S A FILM, BUT IT IS ALL SET IN THE SAME UNIVERSE. THAT HAS BEEN TAKEN AWAY FROM US ALL THESE YEARS AND SOMEONE ELSE IS DEFINING WHAT WE SHOULD DO, THINK, AND CONFORMING TO. AT SOME POINT YOU HAVE TO FIGHT BACK AND DO THINGS THE WAY YOU WANT. AND AGAIN, I REPEAT THAT I’M NOT SAYING YEAH, WE ONLY HAVE FILMS AND BOOKS THAT ARE AFRICAN. THAT’S SILLY. IT IS ABOUT FINDING POINTS OF VIEW ABOUT THE WORLD. AND POINTS OF VIEW ABOUT HOW STORYTELLING WORKS. THAT WE CAN CHAMPION. IF I CAN TELL A STORY AND THEN, EVERYBODY ELSE HAS SOME KIND OF FREEDOM TO TELL THEIR STORY IN A WAY, YOU KNOW. YEAH? IT IS KIND OF ALSO SPECULATING AND TRYING TO COME UP WITH AN ALTERNATIVE WAY OF LOOKING AT LIFE AND LOOKING AT WHAT WE THINK IS STORYTELLING. YEAH, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
OGHENECHOVWE: OKAY. OKAY. YOU HAVE A MUCH BROADER LOOK AT THE QUESTION. I THINK THAT YOU WENT BACK TO OUR ROOTS AND AFRICAN STORYTELLING AND I WAS THINKING MORE OF A MODERN SYSTEM OF COMMERCIALIZING AND SELLING YOUR STORIES IN YOU KNOW, MAGAZINES AND PODCASTS. THAT WAS VERY BROAD.
DILMAN: YES, DONALD. I THINK THAT SOME PEOPLE DON’T STRUGGLE WITH THIS KIND OF THING. I STRUGGLED WITH CHRISTIANITY FOR A LONG TIME UNTIL I GAVE UP ON CHRISTIANITY. I’M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD FROM THE VIEW OF OUR FOREFATHERS AND HOW IS THAT RELEVANT TO US? I WILL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. YOU IMAGINE IT BEING INCORPORATED INTO TODAY’S WORLD. THEY ARE NOT CENTRALIZED. THERE IS NO CENTRAL RULER.
TLOTLO: PEOPLE LIVING IN SOUTH AFTER TRY CAN AND HAVING THIS IDEA. AND THEY DON’T KNOW THAT. THEY DON’T KNOW THE EXPERIENCES THAT WE GO THROUGH IN OUR COUNTRY. SO, BEING ABLE TO WRITE OUR LIVES AND CHANGE THAT WAY THAT SHOWS SOMETHING THAT IS MUCH MORE TRUTHFUL. AND THEN, IT IS LIKE THE MORE THAT YOU TRY TO DO THAT, THE MORE THEY SEE IT AS A PROBLEM BECAUSE IT MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO BREAK INTO THE INDUSTRY. YOU CAN WRITE A BOOK ABOUT AFRICAN POETRY OR HISTORY AND THE COMMENT THAT YOU GET IS THAT IT IS MUCH TOO AFRICAN. AND SO, YOU TRY AND FIND A BALANCE OF TRYING TO MAKE IT IN THE MIDDLE WHERE IT IS NOT TOO AFRICAN. AND IF YOU WRITE A STORY THAT DEPICTS YOUR LIFE, THEY CAN TELL YOU THAT THE STORY IS NOT AFRICAN ENOUGH. AND IT IS LIKE, HOW DO YOU KNOW BECAUSE YOU DON’T EXPERIENCE WHAT WE EXPERIENCE. YOU DON’T GO THROUGH EVERYTHING THAT WE GO THROUGH IN OUR COUNTRY. YEAH, THAT’S ONE OF THE BARRIERS.
OGHENECHOVWE: OKAY. YES, STEPHEN?
STEPHEN: YEAH, I THINK WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SPECULATIVE WORK THAT HAS COME OUT IN THE LAST TEN YEARS, AFRICAN SPECULATIVE, AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED, OUR IDENTITY IS IN THE WRITING. IT IS NOT TRYING TO BE AFRICAN OR NOT AFRICAN. WE ARE WRITING STORIES THAT WE WANT TO TELL. FROM THE LAY OF THE LAND WHEN I LOOK AT IT 10 OR 20 YEARS IN TERMS OF SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLISHING, IT WAS ALMOST LIKE YOU HAD TO WRITE A POLITICAL NOVEL OR WORK FOR IT TO BE PUBLISHED. I’M NOT AGAINST THAT AND THOSE STORIES NEED TO BE TOLD. THOSE IDENTITIES COME OUT THROUGH THE CHARACTERS THAT YOU CHOOSE. I THINK WHEN WE’VE GOT THE READERSHIP THAT WE HAVE ON THE CONTINENT OF OUR WORK, THERE’S THAT DESIRE TO SEE STORIES AND NOT TO SEE A POLITICAL MESSAGE NECESSARILY. YOU CAN HAVE THAT, BUT THERE ARE ALL OF THESE OTHER THEMES AND STORIES THAT WE WANT TO TELL. THE OTHER THING THAT COMES THROUGH IS THAT A STORY CAN HAVE A RANGE OF GENRES MIXED IN ONE.
OGHENECHOVWE: YEAH, YOU SAY SOMETHING INTERESTING AND THAT THE STORIES CAN BE MIXED. IF YOUR STORY IS INTERROGATING POLITICS, THAT’S WHAT IT IS DOING.
OGHENECHOVWE: I THINK YOU ARE ASKING IF IT IS NECESSARY TO HAVE THIS KIND OF COMPOSITION?
STEPHEN: YEAH.
OGHENECHOVWE: I THINK THERE IS STILL A LOT OF TRAUMA STUFF THAT YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH AND YOU HAVE TO KEEP QUESTIONING YOURSELF.
OGHENECHOVWE: HAS A KNOWN SCIENCE FICTION ANTHOLOGY COMING OUT NEXT YEAR. SO, THERE IS THAT. I MENTIONED THEM IN MY ESSAY. YOU GUYS CAN CHIP IN, AS WELL. STEPHEN EMBLETON IS BRINGING BACK THE AFRICAN WRITER SERIES. HE’S AN EDITOR AND ALSO THIS FELLOWSHIP. YOU ARE HERE, SO WE CAN HEAR FROM HIM.
STEPHEN: SO, I THINK THAT ONE OF THE KEY OBJECTIVES WITH THE RELAUNCH OF THE AFRICAN WRITER SERIES IS THE WORKS IN AFRICAN LANGUAGES. AND I DON’T MEAN JUST WHAT WAS DONE IN THE PAST. WHERE WE HAVE TAKEN WHAT WAS TRANSLATING INTO ENGLISH. FOR EXAMPLE, IF AN AUTHOR HAS A WORK THAT IS WRITTEN IN THAT LANGUAGE, FINDING THE RIGHT PUBLISHER AND TRANSLATED LANGUAGES, AS WELL AS DOING AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION. SO, IT IS LOOKING AT THAT AND THEN, THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION AS AN ADD-ON. IT IS ABOUT GIVING THE AFRICAN AUTHORS THE PLATFORM A WIDER AUDIENCE THAT WOULDN’T NECESSARILY KNOW ABOUT THEM. WHEREAS, IF I DID IT IN MY NA NATIVE LANGUAGE, WHICH IS ENGLISH, IT IS GOING TO BE A MUCH EASIER PROCESS. IT IS ABOUT GETTING THOSE WORKS AND FINDING THE MARKETS. THERE ARE ALL SORTS OF BARRIERS. A LOT OF US HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE AFRICAN PUBLISHING COMMUNITY, SO WE KNOW THE HURDLES INVOLVED IN PUBLISHING ACROSS THE CONTINENT. ALL OF THOSE KIND OF BARRIERS THAT WE HAVE TO LOOK AT. I’M HOPING THAT THE AWS IS GOING TO HAVE SOME CLOUT TO PUSH THAT FURTHER AND ESPECIALLY, THOSE SMALLER PRESSES TO GET THE WORK OUT THERE.
DILMAN: HE’S GONE OFF. SO, DONALD IS BACK. OVER TO YOU.
OGHENECHOVWE: YEAH, THANKS. WE HAVE JUST A FEW MINUTES LEFT. SO, I’M GOING TO LET YOU GUYS GO WITH A FEW CLOSING REMARKS.
TLOTLO: I JUST WENT THROUGH ABOUT WHAT DILMAN WAS SAYING BECAUSE IT IS ALSO THE SAME THING BACK HERE. MY WORK IS INFLUENCED FROM THE STORIES THAT I HOLD FROM MY GRAND PARENTS AND PARENTS. IT IS LIKE I’M ALWAYS SEARCHING FOR THE PAST OF OUR STORIES. THERE IS NO IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO THESE STORIES IN OUR COUNTRY. SO, THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY HEAR THEM IS FROM OUR ANCESTORS AND THAT’S SOMETHING THAT I’M ALWAYS TRYING TO PRESERVE IN MY WORK. HEARING FROM THE OTHER AUTHORS AND THE EXPERIENCES THEY HAVE, IT FEELS LESS [INAUDIBLE] WHEN WE ARE ACTUALLY ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THIS. SO, THANK YOU.
OGHENECHOVWE: WHAT ABOUT YOU, STEPHEN?
STEPHEN: JUST TO REITERATE WHAT TLOTLO JUST SAID. HAVING THESE DISCUSSIONS, AND I KNOW THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS IN THE AFRICAN SPECULATIVE SOCIETY AND ON THE FACEBOOK PAGE. THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE GENERALLY TALK AMONGST OURSELVES, SO IT IS INTERESTING TO GET IT OUT THERE FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO HEAR ABOUT. LOOKING AT THE PERSPECTIVES THAT WE HAVE, AS WRITERS, CHALLENGING WRITING STRUCTURES AND NARRATIVE STRUCTURES AND THE REALLY FORMAL WESTERNIZED WAYS TO WRITING.
OGHENECHOVWE: I WILL CHIP IN BY SAYING I THINK THAT THIS CONVERSATION IS IMPORTANT. THERE IS A CHALLENGE IN THE MODERN COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS OF STORYTELLING, THERE HAS BEEN A GAP. THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE PAYING ATTENTION TO AFRICAN STORYTELLING AND SCIENCE FICTION. THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE BUYING AND INTERACTIVE WITH OUR WORKS AND MORE OUTLETS BEING INVOLVED IN THIS PRODUCTION. I THINK THAT IS A LOT DUE TO THE ACTIVITY AND THE DISCUSSIONS. YEAH, I WILL JUST CONCLUDE WITH THAT. I THINK THAT WE ARE OUT OF OUR TIME. DILMAN?
>> YOU STILL HAVE FIVE MINUTES.
OGHENECHOVWE: OKAY, FINE.
STEPHEN: TLOTLO, TELL THE AUDIENCE ABOUT THE AWARD-WINNING STORY.
TLOTLO: THE STORY THAT WON THE NOMMO AWARD FOR BEST SHORT STORY, I WAS TOLD TO SUBMIT A STORY. I REMEMBER AT THE TIME I DIDN’T HAVE ANY IDEAS AND WE HAD A DISCUSSION AND I TOLD HIM I WAS INTERESTED IN WRITING ABOUT THE WORK ETHICS IN OUR COUNTRY AND THAT ARE AFRICAN AND VERY C CORRUPTIVE AND IMPOSED CERTAIN THINGS ON THE WORKERS THAT ARE VERY ABUSIVE. I WANTED TO HAVE A DYSTOPIAN SCI-FI ASPECT TO IT. ONE THING THAT I FOUND WITH THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY, THEY ARE VERY INTERESTED IN AFRICAN STORIES. SOMETIME DURING THE LOCKDOWN AND DURING 2020, THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE WHO WERE ACTUALLY EXPOSING SOME PUBLISHING COMPANIES FOR ABUSING MARGINALIZED AUTHORS AND USING THEIR STORIES FOR PROFIT. SO, SOMETIMES THE ESTABLISHMENTS WANT TO USE AFRICAN AUTHORS RATHER THAN ACTUALLY [INAUDIBLE] AND SO, THAT’S HOW I CAME UP WITH THIS IDEA OF THE SYSTEM THAT INSTALLS AFRICAN PEOPLE WITH A CHIP AND THEY CAN BE AN AWARD-WINNING ESTABLISHMENT IN THE CONTINENT. THAT’S BASICALLY WHAT THE STORY IS ABOUT. AND HOW THE PEOPLE WHO GET TRAPPED IN THIS BECAUSE THEY ARE DESPERATE FOR MONEY TO LIVE.
OGHENECHOVWE: DILMAN, YOU ARE NEXT.
DILMAN: I WAS RESPONDING TO SOME QUESTIONS ON THE CHAT. I LOST TRAIN OF WHAT SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT. THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT THE TENDENCY TO ROMANTICISE THE PAST. WE HAVE 1 MINUTE TO GO.
OGHENECHOVWE: I THINK THAT DOING THAT WOULD BE DISHONEST. I THINK THAT OUR TIME IS UP. THANKS EVERYBODY FOR SHOWING UP. THANK YOU FOR TUNING IN.
>> THANK YOU.
>> BYE.
