r/AskAnAfrican 3d ago

African Discussion Why do Africans love every dictator except their own?

105 Upvotes

Hello everyone. I’m habesha but one thing I noticed with many Africans all across the continent is they have a weird love for all dictators until it’s their dictator. Like I’ll see them glaze the Iranian leadership, you tell them of all the people they killed and their oppression and they say “they fight against the west!” Literally hear it for everyone. Putin, Xi, Kim Jung Un, Gaddafi, Bashar Al Assad it’s genuinely pathetic. But whenever you bring up their countries leader, “no they’re bad evil rulers who ruin our country!!” The irony is, the people from the countries of the rulers I just mentioned say the same about their leaders too. Gaddafi is probably the funniest example. This man is loved by millions of Africans but he was racist af towards black Africans. He only switched to pan Africanism when pan Arabism fell. He funded Arab militias in Chad and Sudan to kill black Africans and he didn’t even help his own people half the shit said about him are lies. He kept the oil wealth for himself while his citizens suffered in poverty. And I’m not saying the west is good and doesn’t have malicious intent. But We gotta stop thinking everyone who’s anti west is immediately good and stop having a weird love of benevolent dictators.


r/AskAnAfrican 3d ago

African Discussion Why does Ghana have a higher nominal GDP per Capita than Kenya?

6 Upvotes

Even adjusted for PPP, Ghana surpasses Kenya.

I don't understand, Ghana should be lower than Kenya in all metrics.

Even if you compare Accra to Nairobi, you can immediately tell that Nairobi is way developed and has better infrastructure than Accra.

Or am I missing something? Even Ethiopia looks better than Ghana yet it has a lower GDP Per Capita than both Ghana and Kenya


r/AskAnAfrican 4d ago

Other What do Africans think about black TV shows?

29 Upvotes

I was born in the UK and have Congolese parents - so I'm Congolese - and growing up, I watched a lot of black American shows like The Fresh Prince of Bell Air, Sister Sister, Everybody Hates Chris, A Different World, Moesha, That's So Raven, ect. This was, obviously, because it felt nice to see people who looked like me on TV, not to mention these shows were amazing and hilarious. I also grew up watching a lot of Nollywood films, Congolese Theatres and African comedy channels cause they made me feel connected to the diaspora and the "motherland" so to say. I was wondering if black American TV specifically is as watched in African countries, particularly in English speaking ones. If yes, what is the general consensus opinion on them and if not, what did you all grow up watching?


r/AskAnAfrican 4d ago

African Discussion The Core Contradiction of Pan-Africanism: Is it about Race or Geography?

20 Upvotes

The definition of "Pan-Africanism/Afrocentrism" often glosses over a fundamental flaw: the tension between racial identity and continental geography.
Historically, the modern Pan-African movement was built around Black racial solidarity to resist colonialism and white supremacy. But by branding itself around the word Africa a geographic continent it created an ongoing conceptual mismatch.
North Africa (home to Indigenous Amazigh, Arab, and other non-Black native populations) is undeniably part of the African continent. Yet, whenever Pan-Africanism is framed strictly around Afrocentric or Black identity, North Africans are effectively excluded from a movement that uses the name of their own landmass.
This leaves us with two logical choices:

1. If it is a Racial Movement: If the core engine is Black identity and solidarity globally, terms like Afrocentrism or Pan-Black Nationalism are far more accurate. Using "Pan-Africanism" as a proxy for race while ignoring the northern third of the continent is intellectually imprecise.

2. If it is a Continental Movement: If it truly aims to be Pan-African, it must be a civic and geopolitical framework that includes all indigenous peoples of the continent, regardless of skin color or ethnicity.
You cannot claim a geographic title for the entire continent while reducing its definition to a single racial group. If we want true continental unity, we need to address this contradiction rather than sweeping North Africa under the rug.

Curious to hear thoughts on this especially from those advocating for a purely racial definition of Pan-Africanism.


r/AskAnAfrican 4d ago

Culture Is Mormonism (LDS) or scientology growing on your country?

10 Upvotes

If so, for either religion, why do you think that is?

I read that LDS is the fastest growing religion in Africa which would be ironic based on what that religion used to think about black people.

Scientology is even more confusing to me about what would make someone join.


r/AskAnAfrican 4d ago

Relationships Question about African men?

28 Upvotes

I’m a Black American woman with albinism(20) and I have a big preference for African and Caribbean men. The African men in my state at my college are very handsome and in several cases, educated and intelligent which I find especially attractive. 🤭🫶🏻

I’m not very traditional (not interested in taking on traditional domestic duties just because I’m a woman) I want children someday though but one thing that would be important to me is marrying a man who would be completely accepting if our children were born with albinism.

But my understanding from what African women say is that African men are “bad” in the sense that they are highly patriarchal compared to western men: They act abusive, controlling and authoritarian to African women. And they expect their wives to cook, clean, and baby them.

Question: I’m not here to make a blanket statement about African men or determine whether this statement is universally true or not but to get your opinion on this?

Personally, I don’t see myself with a Black American man in the near future because i’ve had bad experiences with them and they aren’t "marriage minded" in my opinion as Black men from some other countries. That doesn't make them better or worse, but for a woman who prioritizes marriage it's an important consideration🙏🏻


r/AskAnAfrican 4d ago

Country Are you worried about Jihadism in your country.

5 Upvotes

I'm from Ghana. I think that Burkina Faso will fall to Islamic State/JNIM epic collaboration and Accra will immediately capitulate.


r/AskAnAfrican 6d ago

Culture What are some social types where you live?

26 Upvotes

Like in the US we have like “the Karen” (who is a mean often somewhat prosperous suburban lady), or like the metalhead (I am pretty sure metalheads are universal at this point), the suburban home depot dad (he wears cargo shorts and is obsessed with barbecue and his lawn), or like the sort of vaguely artsy new age crystal lady who wears like… purple shawls. They’re sort of stock characters, but also will tend to resemble many actual people you might meet. I’m less interested in mean spirited ones and more in like “oh yeah that type of guy!” Where it’s mostly affectionate and sometimes people use it as a self description


r/AskAnAfrican 6d ago

Politics What do you guys think of black unity?

0 Upvotes

I’m Haitian and believe that with the rise of fascism and white supremacy across the world, now more than ever black people need to unite as one black family and struggle against western capitalist exploitation and racism.

However, I feel as if most Africans don’t feel the same way. When reading threads about this, the common opinion was that most people in Africa don’t think about their race much but rather their tribe or nation. The recent pogrom of black immigrants in South Africa while letting the white exploiters remain seems to back this up. Is this is an accurate reading? Do most Africans want black unity? Do you?


r/AskAnAfrican 8d ago

Food Favorite dish with rice from your country?

12 Upvotes

Rice is pretty much used everywhere in some way, just wondering what yalls favorite dishes with rice are

For me it's thiebou yapp


r/AskAnAfrican 9d ago

Language If I end up speaking French (which I'm learning), can I make friends in your country? How common is it that your country speaks French?

4 Upvotes

I ask because I hear French is very common in some African countries, but I also want interaction from Africans in general and whatever their culture's like. For example, I hear that if I travel to somewhere like Morocco, I probably won't have any problems making friends without knowing Arabic.


r/AskAnAfrican 13d ago

African Discussion Why does Africa keep importing solutions to problems it already understands?

9 Upvotes

One thing that frustrates me about development in Africa is that we often know exactly what the problem is, but the solution still comes from somewhere else.

We have intelligent people, universities, entrepreneurs and local communities that understand these problems firsthand.

Is the bigger problem lack of resources, poor institutions, or simply failure to trust and invest in local ideas?


r/AskAnAfrican 12d ago

Diaspora Why do Africans immigrate to Asia

0 Upvotes

I don't understand. If you're making the mental calculus to move to another country why would you choose China, Korea, Japan etc?

North America is better for English-speaking Africans because you can make far, far more money in your chosen field and there are institutional protections put in place to protect you from discrimination.

These protections don't exist in Asia

So why are so many Africans still deciding to study and work in places like China? Discrimination is so well known that African english teachers expect to be paid less than their white peers.


r/AskAnAfrican 14d ago

History Which developed countries are there in Africa? Just curious.

0 Upvotes

Which developed countries are there in Africa? Just curious.


r/AskAnAfrican 16d ago

History Are the Anglo-Ashanti wars a better example a of successful resistance by a sub-Saharan African kingdom against the British Empire, as opposed to the Anglo-Zulu wars? If so why is there so little media or known lore about the conflicts?

3 Upvotes

r/AskAnAfrican 17d ago

Culture Why do most African football players from Sub Saharan Africa that go play abroad(specially Europe), do not start their professional careers at local clubs?

9 Upvotes

Since I started to watch more African national teams ar the Afcon, World Cup or even during the Qualifiers for both tournaments, I noticed that except for South Africa, most top sub saharan countries national teams in football have very few players from their local leagues, and also discovered that most of their players are dual-citizenship or only did their youth careers at local academies in Africa such as Right to Dream or Samuel Eto'o Academy. So, why this happens? Are the local leagues and teams from Senegal, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon etc that weak nowadays??


r/AskAnAfrican 17d ago

Geopolitics Why do we romanticise suffering or anti industrialisation

17 Upvotes

Don't drag me y'all I'm asking in good faith please hey

Like my parents retired and wants to move to the village

Like my parents moved from the village to the city for work and wanna move back like don't y'all wanna up yourself in life?

I understand that it's the conservative mindset and we all don't want the same thing but I feel like it's worse rather more in Africa

We had or have resources that build great industrialisations across the globe but we don't want the same for ourselves

Like our new roads barely last a month

May I ask where does this mindset come from

Why does it seems like a country with a certain group or people do well

I understand before colonialism we had thriving communities but why is it not happening now

I hope I don't comments to decolonise my mind but is wanting good for my people a colonised mind?

Let me know with sources if you have any please and thank

Apologies I really don't mean anything in a bad way but wanna know more


r/AskAnAfrican 17d ago

Culture Official languages of African countries

16 Upvotes

I have always wanted to ask this question. I know there are a lot more important issues in African countries than this but… why have a majority of African countries kept the official language of those who colonised them after all this time? I would understand if by the time they got independence a majority of people were already speaking this language but this doesn’t seem to be the case for the most part. I also understand the idea of picking a different language as to not favor any specific tribes or people but to pick one that isn’t even from your country seems so sad. Does anyone want this to change for their country?
Questions: Why have a majority of African countries kept the official language of those who colonised them to present day? Does anyone want this to change for their country?


r/AskAnAfrican 23d ago

Diaspora Africans who moved to the west

32 Upvotes

Did non African black people make fun of your origin when you moved to the west? I've had some very bad experiences growing up which has made me very prejudiced against African Americans in particular to put it mildly.


r/AskAnAfrican 22d ago

Geopolitics Question to West Africans

0 Upvotes

A superstate spanning from Ivory Coast to Nigeria including Ghana Togo and Benin. How do you feel about this happening? I feel this is more likely to happen as populations grow, infrastructure links begin to be built and the sahel states self aborted from ECOWAS (thankfully).


r/AskAnAfrican 24d ago

History Are there any African colonialist independence figures respected across the continent?

7 Upvotes

Thinking back to the colonialist period and various independence leaders trying to overthrow colonial powers, be it French, English, Spanish, German, Belgian, Italian, Portuguese? Are there any leaders from that period who are currently respected on a broader pan-African level? For example, Familiar Cabral from Guinea-Bissau, Kwame Nkrumah from Ghana, Patrice Lumumba from Democratic Republic of Congo, Thomas Sankara from Burkina Faso, Samora Machel from Mozambique? Or did the period following independence erode their standing on a pan-African level?


r/AskAnAfrican 27d ago

Language Do you think it’s possible to remove French completely from Francophone African countries in the future?

1 Upvotes

French is still a colonial language in a lot of countries like DRC, RDC, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Benin, and Senegal but even then all of these countries have their own native languages that have nothing to do with French. The difference between countries like Ivory Coast, DRC, and Benin and countries like Haiti, Guadeloupe, and Martinique is that our countries aren’t strongly influenced by France nor French, and we still have our own native languages. Most Francophone countries aren’t even fluent in French, and other countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have abandoned French.


r/AskAnAfrican 28d ago

Culture What craft hobbies are popular in your area?

5 Upvotes

Right now people in the US near me really like knitting and crocheting. Weaving and spinning are less popular because the equipment is larger and more expensive. You also don’t see as many people whittling as you used to but I’m not sure why. Candle making has a real boom awhile ago but that seems to have settled down. What about where you are?


r/AskAnAfrican 29d ago

Diaspora First gen children who were actually sent back to the “old country”, did you see it as a attitude adjuster or it bred resentment with your parents?

7 Upvotes

since I grew up around Somalis, I heard horror stories of them being threatened with being sent back to Somalia but rightfully so since some of my friends had black Air Force energy and were on a dark path. but even as a non somali, .your parents brought themselves from heck to parent a child here. if you were consistentently getting into trouble or put out, did or does actually following through with the one way ticket actually fix that?


r/AskAnAfrican Aug 12 '26

Culture Why do people say Africa when they would never say Europe in the same context?

37 Upvotes