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TEDx Talks
Published: 2013-02-28
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfJn8HCKO8g
good evening everyone as a you've been so kind us introduce me my name is Khan led more I work for BBC news %HESITATION usually when I say that people you ever get very upset for the become very excited working with the BBC is is quite an experience and I enjoy what I do and we're here to talk about challenging conventional wisdom about Africa and the coverage
of Africa of course but before we get into those issues I want to give a shout out to my people who are here %HESITATION anyone from Nigeria five fantastic %HESITATION rise to clone patron so we %HESITATION %HESITATION Zul Kong bear true no I %HESITATION long to solve our we do %HESITATION the %HESITATION long they %HESITATION would be job you all no I don't know that much
now it's easier I'm a gun in by the way but then again judging from the immigration trends I might as well and that was just what I often get mistaken %HESITATION eyes in Nigeria knocking on the coming proud to be a my grandfather composed gone is not but in nineteen fifty seven in nineteen fifty seven when crew must said to my grandfather who was a music
teacher at the time that we need a new national anthem my grandfather wrote Ghana's national anthem however my mother tells me it's gone now but money tells me that there was a day they were in a shop called Leventis I don't think that still works and yeah and grandpa was singing another song and she asked him Daddy what's the song for and he said oh I'm
writing a song for Nigeria when they become in the point he was making is that these borders muse nationalities in these things that we hold so closely slowly beginning I'm less and and if you're from South Africa ties nicked it don't worry I do the same thing everywhere else no the truth is that it happens all the time everyone thinks I'm a Nigerian I walk into
T. M. little in it you would not move to hock it that's not yeah %HESITATION that happens fairly frequently I mean %HESITATION I'll tell you the best the best I think I thought you imagine story was %HESITATION I was at the I was at the Dorchester good friend of mine a wonderful woman called and many government what's in Ethiopia set up the %HESITATION commodities if that
gonna come over there is an event here I need an escort to fit on a pro and by way of I escort I mean not I mean African S. what does and I was escorting her so while I was escorting %HESITATION Elaine who's a fantastic woman and when I was there I met another woman who I truly admire and then a voice the forty interviewing and
that's imagine finance minister Ngozi we're going to Willa amazingly so walk up to %HESITATION my Deming gauzy and said that %HESITATION hello mother mom come up for the position what that is all well how are you I said I stood I think that you know excuse me my but you know I'm from Ghana she said really we also confidence welcome to the story public you've read
through there you don't and you would pick up a minute I wasn't I wasn't too sure whether to feel insulted but you mentioned in a good way and it's so funny that you know a few weeks later I was doing a sit down with a Bubba or general bus enjoy as you know and I narrated this story and then he paused and looked at me and
said Hey what's your problem so I think it from all sides but you know I am a gummy and very proud to be one but because of what I do increasingly it's become less and less important for me over the past two and a half years I think I've had possibly the best job to be I was hosting a program called Africa business for every week
two and a half years I'll travel to a different African doing exclusively stories about business Trinity on to part as a result I have a lot of air miles but I also have even as an African about understanding of the Clinton but I come from I can travel to vin hope Swakopmund %HESITATION Maputo Luanda and I have people have friends there and have a better understanding
of the Clinton so how does that translate into how the BBC or international meet cover Africa let's begin talking about Africa's become I think quite popular these days I was gonna coming to the party even though some of the people at the party ought to get the budget was that you know but I want kinda like yeah you know I've because you know so there's the
economist us sometime last year this time magazine this year with the same headline you know quite original but there comes a point in every professionals Correo anyone who's dealing with Africa that they realize that it's not the same and the story cannot be told in the same way and this book in there you can see me posing on the cover written by a good friend of
Michael Charles Robinson and you know this isn't this really distills all the information about Africa I think that it's the great cover as well but really contains all the detail about how Africa's changing this is where it happened for me two thousand and nine that's a diamond worth several hundred thousand I was in Botswana the building not much going on that was called the diamond walked
around you know but it's one of the biggest producer of gem diamonds you know that but the dilemma facing Botswana many African countries as you produce these raw gem diamonds make four five billion a year from sales the diamond industry itself is fifty six a billion dollars a year so these raw diamonds get shipped to and it's weapon to Asia and they get caught in you
know rich Nigerians going by the diamonds is somewhere in London or whatever it may be so there's your diamond hope this man is doctor aqualung combat he was the head of the diamond when that interview and that's what he told me he said we are teaching now what people how to that's what we're doing right now eating our people and that they are learning how diamonds
this was the beginning just a few months old the diamond out whom fast forward to this year did anyone see the story in the Financial Times about DeBeers and yeah okay well tell you because it kind of slipped under the radar the beers is moved its trading operation to have our own you know this well I was on the BBC so that brings me to another
interesting point before we get to this there's always that moment when you realize that no no no no no Africa really going on I'm a great friend is named Sebastian Sebastien works in South Africa and every time I'm going to South Africa call up said been roommates in college he chose a different path call up Sebastian is about this is what time will you be it
enough so you know IBM that you know nine o'clock very do fly blah blah blah and I get there Brad you Mercedes waiting and you know drive off to its place in some gated community in Santa and then Sebastian because it has come I'm coming to London no but ed Brill he arrives at the airports and I think take the Heathrow express then the big blue
line in but the best part is recently sometime this year and said is doing incredibly well and set calls me up and says come on trouble so what's the problem is the problem of of things are going great boy want to transfer me to London and that's a true story but increasingly of finding African professionals who really that the building tastic lives and all on the
continent and what London used to be it's not necessarily it's not save it so step comes to visit I have a good time is off and I think for many professionals here you can relate that you are no longer limited to working in the city you are now talented and capable enough to work any looting in Africa and the reason why it's so important is because
all of you have what I call in sick to no knowledge what might good friend and mentor least is holes says tasted the dust in the alleyway no to get around and so it brings me to my point in twenty twelve and beyond with the internet media are you a business professional how much things and there's my point number one the balance of what I say
please don't pay okay where is that I give enough props in Nigeria it's been this not waving this if okay I'll tell you this this is Luanda Luanda it's the one as well however also one less than five kilometers she talks restaurants is the one to two the question I say I'm glad I put to use what story should you tell yes there's a lot of
good news about Africa there has to be balance all of you recognize when you'll be when you're being told things up perfect everybody wants balance so in this case if I'm going to want to talk about economic growth hitting ten percent years and wealth and I have an obligation I tell this story as I'll tell you about this lady I did an interview with her to
ask about and will he come growth and stuff and she said well to give you this interview you have to do so for me and I was thinking on that payers no we don't know what to do but she came up with a better idea you know she spends two hours they're fetching water she gave me a wheelbarrow as punishment so why did not in exchange
for the interview I had to fetch water for a few hours so point number two when in doubt ask in Africa %HESITATION is one of my favorite ones really is in Africa expert how would you feel if you watching me on telly one morning and you know %HESITATION good morning my name is gonna do what you want to be use come morning we're going to have
the latest from Syria where the rebels all the offensive conflict Egypt etcetera etcetera and we are going to speak to what experts on how gets that everyone loves and how it affects cholesterol so we got to the how this interview and I said yes and so you know research to show that Hackett's great but it may affect your blood pressure at citrus let's turn now to
our habits expert at university of my career does seem a bit all go what would you have the same reaction if I said we're going to talk about an African story we had an expert from Washington from London so ask an expert this guy's one of my favorite people with names because nobody knows the Qasim what is the impact of %HESITATION the M. twenty three Google
because the man you know and the rebels move beyond always keeps us because he knows the place from the human spirit speaks the language Qasim what didn't you know yeah I'll make something up like you know what it comes down to half a okay well you know let me call my contacts you know but the fact of the matter he is he knows it and please
please specter audience by saying does not make you a I have what I call the Soviet test does telling on them if you see on experts on Nigeria one of which only goes and asked would you buy see and you tell me echo hotel above Indiana B. who's in Africa experts if I want to talk about the impact of trolling fishing on the west African coast
this guy fishermen a town a town coast you'll be in a better position to tell me about the if trolling the Coast there's another if you you know I buy this Lee when's when she said she comes on air on B. B. C. any us you know like a you know well okay how you would do you think that you know the trouble in the delta
held impact oil and then she starts speaking phonetics about the she's done that we go out of the studio which is like wow now great if not then let me offer the commodities expert as Africa childcare experts nnova but here's your final points we've gotten to this really higher the best balance Michael it reviews great from any correspondent to any organization fly and some star and
the land in there tell you what's happening by looking out of the window but then there are those who actually know the place as Alan Casiano Newsday program this letter ought to embellish with us now best selling to cooking BBC now have Swahili on television hire the best the brightest and best looking but the fact of the matter is this in the news Tom when a
close the biggest single audience the BBC of Africa so no one's gonna have to tell you that you have to prison programs that address the needs and interests I'm an African audience and that's what we've been doing the launched focus on Africa television a few months ago it's been widely success the numbers are impressive not just in Africa what's exciting is that the numbers of massive
around the globe and we're very proud of that but I'll leave you with a thought which actually comes from my days on radio you know network traffic was one of four US programs are presented in pleased to have for a proverb of the day people send in these fantastic programs in one of my favorite ones you take as you like in interpreted feel the narrative will
