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ANDREW APTER: Good afternoon, depending on what part of United States in the world you're in. Welcome to our special event today through the African Studies Center.

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ANDREW APTER: at UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles. We are honored today to have with us a presentation.

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ANDREW APTER: By Her Excellency.

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Ambassador.

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Arikana Chihombori: From

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ANDREW APTER: African Union to the United States. And this is a doctor aren't kinda to your homework. Wow.

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ANDREW APTER: And she is a

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ANDREW APTER: Diplomat a medical doctor and Ambassador and a very progressive activists, who's had a very big footprint and a very big influence on

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ANDREW APTER: The continent of Africa as well as throughout the African diaspora and my, my friend, easy. I agree. But he's also is going to introduce her today, but I just wanted to

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ANDREW APTER: Again, extend my warm welcome to all of you and my thanks also to her staff, including Sylvia Robertson and ally Inca and to my own staff, which includes Erica on Jim Sheila breeding.

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ANDREW APTER: Alex, you have the technical side of the International Institute.

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ANDREW APTER: Our bosses at the International Institute. So Vice Provost Cindy fan and Senior Associate Vice Provost Chris Erickson.

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ANDREW APTER: Her Excellency has a big footprint. I said, when it comes to diplomacy and in fact when the word went out that she was giving this presentation today.

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ANDREW APTER: We've got immediate news from congresswoman maxine waters that why haven't we told her beforehand. She was

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ANDREW APTER: Annoyed we haven't give her more advanced notice and she said the word out along her network. So we've have nearly 200 registries right now. And this is a very fine moment. So what I'd like to do now is turn over the

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ANDREW APTER: The introduction to my friend and colleague

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ANDREW APTER: We call him easy he's Mr. I agree. But he's also and he happens to

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ANDREW APTER: Be

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ANDREW APTER: One of our own alumni of the MA program in African Studies

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ANDREW APTER: So easy is the founder and president of the African diaspora Foundation, which is an NGO organization dedicated to peace education in Africa and the diaspora.

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ANDREW APTER: He's also a former president of the University of California, Los Angeles Black faculty and staff association and a former co Chair of the California delegation to the national summit on Africa.

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ANDREW APTER: He was a benefits analysis analyst at UCLA health system and the UCLA campus human resources and a former publisher of the black church review magazine.

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ANDREW APTER: He was also past executive director of the League of patriotic Nigerians in Los Angeles, California. Now, in the interest of time and getting to the star of our show. I'm going to hand the introduction of of Her Excellency over to Mr. Issa Thank you very much.

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ANDREW APTER: Easy. I think you're muted right now you are muted.

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Agrippa Ezozo: Yes. Okay. Hello. Thank you, my friend. Thank you. You are, you are our brother. So, we love you very much.

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Agrippa Ezozo: In her role as permanent representative of the African African Union Mission to Washington DC. Excellent.

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Agrippa Ezozo: Our recognition board aquatic NT work tirelessly towards fulfilling her mandate which was to undertake the loop unlimited relationship between the African Union, the executive and legislative branches of the US government

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Agrippa Ezozo: The African diplomatic call the Africans in the Diaspora, and the Brenton wood institutions.

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Agrippa Ezozo: This was specifically in relation to the implementation of the Africa coordinator free trade area after and adversity priority areas of agenda 20 1630

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Agrippa Ezozo: In fulfilling this mandate, she brought renewed energy today your mission as well as new ideas on programs, not implemented sis appointment in 2016 to her departure in 2019

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Agrippa Ezozo: Effort of mobilizing the diaspora as a people of African descent and not as a citizen of any single African country is unprecedented and exemplify ability to unify people around a common goal speaking with one voice as what Africa and will continue.

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Agrippa Ezozo: After she left Africa Union as an ambassador. She founded a nonprofit organization called African Diaspora Development Institute entity.

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Agrippa Ezozo: It is an entity that was born out of the realization that there is no one stop shop for everything Africa business community around the world.

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Agrippa Ezozo: African Diaspora, or people interested in Africa and tourism have to travel to 55 different African countries in order to find out information about Africa.

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Agrippa Ezozo: There is definitely a need for the one stop organization where people can go to and get information about Africa.

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Agrippa Ezozo: She just released a new book entitled Africa one or one the wake up call wake up from your slumber of or 400 years free yourself from the mental

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Agrippa Ezozo: shackles of slavery and colonization to delay the release of the book, but I do the last chapter in Title Black Lives Matter. I can't brief. Get off my neck.

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Agrippa Ezozo: During have three year tenure as a UN Ambassador to the United States, excellency, Ambassador reconnection board require empty.

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Agrippa Ezozo: One over 70 or what an artist tissue from various organization within the Americans, including ambassador of the year from Howard University.

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Agrippa Ezozo: She also received numerous recognitions from members of Congress, as well as governance mayor's County Executive from across the United States. In January 2020

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Agrippa Ezozo: After the future have a profile encourage Her Excellency ambassador and reconnect sample require was honored to be named 20 19% of the Year by The Guardian newspaper, which is the largest newspaper in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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Agrippa Ezozo: Nigeria is the largest country in Africa, with a population of over 200 point nice 6 million people.

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Agrippa Ezozo: Prefer to have met. Her Excellency was a renowned family medicine doctor in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. We have to practice medicine for over 25 years

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Agrippa Ezozo: She's a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and never of the American Association of Family Physicians

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Agrippa Ezozo: As well as the Tennessee association of Family Physicians, she's married and the partner that are five children and a very happy, happy grandmother have five grandchildren. Ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome. Excellent. Sir, I recollect somebody class.

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Welcome

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Arikana Chihombori: Thank you, my brother, for that wonderful presentation.

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Arikana Chihombori: I truly want to

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Arikana Chihombori: Take an opportunity to 10 UCLA and the director of African Studies for welcoming me to UCLA, not only today but during my previous visits to to Los Angeles.

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Arikana Chihombori: The Department of African Studies is something that I would hope is a department that every institution in this country has and hopefully they will continue to focus on

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Arikana Chihombori: All the important issues that Africa is dealing with. But more importantly, let's teach the Americans our languages as well.

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Arikana Chihombori: Africa is an interesting diverse continent that has so much yet to blend by the world and I think

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Arikana Chihombori: Engaging the Americans in African languages is one perfect way of making sure that our engagement is indeed complete

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Arikana Chihombori: We are here today to talk about the book that I wrote after leaving the office as the African Union permanent representative to the United States.

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Arikana Chihombori: My mandate was talk to to engage the US government, as well as to mobilize the African diaspora to participate in the development of Africa.

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Arikana Chihombori: Most people are not aware that no amount of money can be put into Africa.

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Arikana Chihombori: And bring the desired results. Why, because the capacity that Africa needs the expertise that African means is in the diaspora.

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Arikana Chihombori: Due to the brain drain that has taken place over the past 400 years, starting with the slaves, followed by those who left

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Arikana Chihombori: Instead of greener pastures, the overall result is such that the intellectual capacity that Africa needs is in the diaspora. Let me give you an example.

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Arikana Chihombori: Take a healthcare in Ghana there Morgan Ian doctors in New York City alone than in the entire country of Ghana.

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Arikana Chihombori: President and audio when he took office. He thought building more hospitals renovating old ones was the way to address health care issues.

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Arikana Chihombori: To his surprise, half of those words are sitting empty. Why not because they are not patient but because they are no doctors

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Arikana Chihombori: Nigeria is no different. They're more Nigerian doctors in Los Angeles than in the entire country of Nigeria, the same is repeated in every African country, in every sector engineering education.

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Arikana Chihombori: All the expertise that that's needed to build the Africa we want is in the diaspora because and then becomes, we have had the colonizers

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Arikana Chihombori: In Africa for centuries. Why is it that we don't see the development that should have been built over the centuries by the colonizers while they were busy siphoning

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Arikana Chihombori: Africa's natural resources out of the continent. What you will find is that the railway lines that will build the roads that were constructed. We're going either from a forest to the nearest port to carry all the

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Arikana Chihombori: Deforestation activities that we're taking on or from the people to the next part where they were extracting natural resources minerals to the nearest port. So the infrastructure, they put in place was strategic

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Arikana Chihombori: Basically to save their purposes to continue to exploit Africa to continue to extract out of Africa and take it to Europe to continue to build their own nations.

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Arikana Chihombori: They have never had an interest in building an Africa that works for the Africans. That's a fact they're aware of it.

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Arikana Chihombori: And it's just that we Africans have not been standing up and and pushing back and say that is wrong, you need to start it.

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Arikana Chihombori: But a lot of it goes back to the history. How did the Europeans come into Africa. How long ago did they come into Africa and what they have done.

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Arikana Chihombori: To see to it that Africa and had children forever defeated and dominated. So as I was going through my day to day work trying to understand, trying to figure out exactly how am I going to deliver on my mandate.

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Arikana Chihombori: One thing became very obvious to me. It was the lack of understanding of what was really going on in Africa.

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Arikana Chihombori: Even some people in the US government. They had a limited understanding and appreciation of what was going on.

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Arikana Chihombori: Let alone the diaspora. Even the continental Africans who you would have thought they would have some idea.

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Arikana Chihombori: But then you also realize even to this day African history. We're still using the colonial textbooks.

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Arikana Chihombori: The true African history is not being taught. It's very difficult to find books that tell the truth about what really happened in Africa. The colonizers when it comes to the atrocities they committed a lot of

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Arikana Chihombori: A lot of the data, the information was that was either burned when it was too much. They would fly over the oceans and and dump the documents.

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Arikana Chihombori: In the deepest waters that they could find the data was destroyed, to make sure that they covered up all the atrocities they committed around the continent.

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Arikana Chihombori: Then you fast forward and say, in modern day every time I would address the African diaspora. The first question invariably across the board. Even when I address the American businesses.

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Arikana Chihombori: But ambassador, the African leaders are corrupt and I'll say yes, but but the watchdog to talk to me about other corruptors as well. The watchdog's of

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Arikana Chihombori: The corruption telling us that 50 billion gets out of Africa from corruption every year. I get that. We must stop it must go after those monies

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Arikana Chihombori: Where is the outrage over France taking over $500 billion out of Africa every year.

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Arikana Chihombori: You got two things. One, thief is holding a briefcase with 50 billion and the other teeth. He has a briefcase and 500 billion, you and me to spend all my energies of a 50 billion and completely ignore $500 billion.

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Arikana Chihombori: To my surprise, almost hundred percent of the time when I spoke about the pact for the continuation of colonization.

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Arikana Chihombori: Which is the fact that the African countries, former French colonies were forced to sign by the French as the countries were quote unquote getting their independence.

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Arikana Chihombori: Included demanding that these countries deposit their bank reserves setting with 85% with the Central Bank of friends under the control of the French Minister of

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Arikana Chihombori: Finance, so I had my question to the diaspora and all the audience's after speaking to say I understand outrage over leadership issues in Africa.

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Arikana Chihombori: Understand the issue of corruption, but where is your outrage of a little bit of friends, taking $500 billion out of a poor African countries year in and year out for six decades.

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Arikana Chihombori: And that's when I got the science and everybody was shocked and our challenge our pause and challenge everybody to Google. The pact for the continuation of colonization.

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Arikana Chihombori: This is one thing to say. Here you are. We are giving you independence. This happened between the late 50s and early 60s 1960s. On one hand, we are giving you your independence. On the other hand, you must sign this document agreeing to continue to be colonized

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Arikana Chihombori: Are you with me. I need you to sign this document, you're free. But really agreed to continue to be colonized

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Arikana Chihombori: So two countries said absolutely not. We are not going to sign this deplorable document that was gaining money.

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Arikana Chihombori: When the French dumped into those countries that was back in 1957 for Guinea.

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Arikana Chihombori: And they took everything that they thought they had brought the two those chickens. They took whatever they could take. They took what they could not take the destroyed. They poured concrete into sewage pipes. They cause total destruction.

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Arikana Chihombori: The President of Ghana newly appointed comin comin in his efforts to read to help those two economies created the first ever non union or any African states Ghana, Guinea and money.

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Arikana Chihombori: It was the beginning of what would it be in a free Africa.

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Arikana Chihombori: But what was done to Guinea and Molly was an example to other countries to say if you do not sign the pack for the continuation of colonization. This is the fate that are weighted you. That was the beginning

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Arikana Chihombori: Since then, we have had a total of 65 schools in Africa 22 leaders were assassinated. Many others were imprisoned.

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Arikana Chihombori: Simply because one the either. We're not going along with the demands of the colonial master.

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Arikana Chihombori: Or a natural resource had been discovered in that country and some in the West, when it does natural resources.

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Arikana Chihombori: And then we also had missionaries who are just going around starting coups for their own personal benefits of the 22 assassinated African leaders 16 from the former French countries and the French Legionnaires were involved well documented fact

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Arikana Chihombori: So for those who question to say, why isn't that the Africans and African leaders in particular. Haven't done something about what is going on in Africa. The consequences are real.

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Arikana Chihombori: The leaders would be assassinated. The mere fact of talking about trying to stop sending your natural your bank reserves to friends.

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Arikana Chihombori: Would result in the swift action from the French there would be a coup or some form of instability in your country and the leader would be eliminated.

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Arikana Chihombori: So after a while it was just a no go area Heads of States could not go there, they could not talk about it.

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Arikana Chihombori: And that was just France France was the biggest West perpetrator when it came to her friends continues to abuse and mistreat his colonists.

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Arikana Chihombori: To Adam important aspects of the pack for the continuation of colonization. The past also save all your minerals discovered and yet to be discovered French companies have the first right of refusal.

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Arikana Chihombori: All your contracts, public and private French companies have the first right of refusal.

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Arikana Chihombori: Your military could only be trained by friends, the military equipment can only be purchased from France. France would have military presence in your country.

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Arikana Chihombori: You are not allowed to have military alliance with your neighbors and that friends could invade your nation without notice if France felt that their interests were being violated.

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Arikana Chihombori: That if you were to be a leader of one of those African nations, you have given up your financial resources you have given up your military

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Arikana Chihombori: You have given up to natural resources. What power do you have, and by the way.

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Arikana Chihombori: After they collected all the 85% of the bank reserves from the 14 African countries, France would deposit those reserves invest them in their French stock market under the French name.

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Arikana Chihombori: The leaders may or may not know the returns, should any of those countries need some of the funds they deposited with friends, they will have to submit their annual returns and their annual

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Arikana Chihombori: Reports.

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Arikana Chihombori: To France and If approved, they could only access 20% of their deposit of last year only.

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Arikana Chihombori: Any other deposit from the previous year, forgetting their god is no way pathway to retrieve those funds, you could only access up to 20% of the previous year's return and here is the kicker you If approved, you would get the funds as a loan at commercial interest rate.

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Arikana Chihombori: You go from dumping all your money with friends. You should really have a huge credit, not only do you not have any credit based on the funds, you've been depositing but you do need some of your own money. Now you have a non that you got to pay back to friends.

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Arikana Chihombori: At commercial interest rates.

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Arikana Chihombori: That is a reality that was six decades ago. Fast forward. It's only until a month ago last month in July that the French Parliament finally signed and ratified alone, which now stopped the African countries from depositing their fans with the French central bank just last one.

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Arikana Chihombori: Why did it take so long.

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Arikana Chihombori: Because the fear of

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Arikana Chihombori: The fear of friends and what friends could do to any nation that chooses to oppose friends.

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Arikana Chihombori: Let's also look at other nations. The British, the Italians, the Germans, the Portuguese the Belgians as they were giving independence to their colonies in Africa, they all give limited political independence economic liberation was completely held back from the Africans.

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Arikana Chihombori: To this day,

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Arikana Chihombori: The average African country 75% of the employers, the multinationals, they are from the countries that colonized them previously.

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Arikana Chihombori: So if you were colonized by the British, the majority of the employers, the big companies in your country are British if you Portuguese if you a Belgian and gentlemen.

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Arikana Chihombori: Take control the bulk of the economy.

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Arikana Chihombori: Most recent example would be Glencore a company called Glen crest British company in Zambia had not been paying taxes for decades.

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Arikana Chihombori: And the country has been working with them to say, you must pay taxes. This is not fair. If the average Zambian on the street is paying taxes. You got to pay taxes do

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Arikana Chihombori: When the government finally said, if you do not pay your taxes. We are going to revoke your license and you got seven days to pay your taxes Glencore response by laying off 11,000 people

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Arikana Chihombori: So when you lay off 11,000 employees, your best called impacting the lives of at a minimum 55,000 people

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Arikana Chihombori: And that's the reality for the African for the average African president if you push too hard to have a way of getting to you.

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Arikana Chihombori: And those games are being played every day to this day.

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Arikana Chihombori: By the president of Zambia to this ground and he put out a tender and he said, Anybody that wants to come and get this two minds, you're welcome to. And of course,

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Arikana Chihombori: Request come flying in. So then Glencoe realizing that they're losing this game they called back all the employees.

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Arikana Chihombori: And they came back to the president with their tail between the legs and they started negotiating in a more meaningful way.

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Arikana Chihombori: This is going on all across the continent, the multinationals that are doing business in Africa and not paying taxes they have seven heavens that going back to colonization.

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Arikana Chihombori: Britain is well known for having the largest safe havens, they under report what they're extracting out of the ground they under report how much they're selling whatever it is that they report.

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Arikana Chihombori: The end game is billions, if not trillions of money that should stay on the continent is going out through the safe havens, that are being used by the multinationals.

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Arikana Chihombori: A lot of illegal farming an illegal illegal logging illegal fishing illegal trade in exotic plants and animals.

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Arikana Chihombori: All that combined you are talking to lawyers getting out of the continent. You look at what's going on in the RSC today and in Cameroon. They have satellites that are showing them nowadays exactly where the minerals

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Arikana Chihombori: The villagers don't realize they're sitting on a humongous gold mine on a humongous cotinine on a humongous diamond.

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Arikana Chihombori: So what are those who want those diamonds. Who wants those natural resources do they take a few soldiers, they take a few young people.

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Arikana Chihombori: They give them alcohol and then with em 16th in AK 40 sevens. They go kill off a few people in the villages runaway they stay behind and continue their illegal nine

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Arikana Chihombori: This is going on up to this day.

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Arikana Chihombori: I'm just giving you the tip of the iceberg in order to get a feel for how Africa is under siege and for those with question why and things getting better.

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Arikana Chihombori: Presume change. Let's change leadership, tell me one African country that has a change in leadership and things have changed. None. Why is because the fundamentals have not been addressed. You got to understand Berlin Conference. They met from November of

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Arikana Chihombori: The colonizers to February of 8085

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Arikana Chihombori: precisely to organize themselves so they can see it that Africa and her children are forever defeated and dominate, I repeat,

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Arikana Chihombori: They met the colonizers they met in Berlin and the invitation.

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Arikana Chihombori: Of the Chancellor of Germany and his sidekick King Leopold

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Arikana Chihombori: To precisely see to it that Africa and her children are forever defeated indoctrinated that was 136 years ago.

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Arikana Chihombori: The little bitty countries that you find today, those are little bitty countries designed to fail countries designed to never succeed.

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Arikana Chihombori: That they try to succeed by any means necessary like we always do as black people were survivors. We are easy to destabilize got strategy that was put in place during the Berlin Conference 156 years ago remains in place today, some say, but how ambassador.

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Arikana Chihombori: Or look at this world. If we were to assume this world is a boxing game.

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Arikana Chihombori: Would you take a lightweight boxer and throw them in the ring with the heavyweight boxer, would you take a one of the books and throw them in the same boxing ring with the heavyweight boxer. You see what they do during the Berlin Conference, they gave this country's sovereignty at independence.

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Arikana Chihombori: Prior to independence those countries were subjects of the Masters in Europe it independence. This countries were given the same sovereignty as the big boats. So toggle has the same sovereignty as China.

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Arikana Chihombori: So gaining as the same sovereignty as the United States, Malawi has the same sovereignty. Now with us.

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Arikana Chihombori: So when you go to the world to trader.

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Arikana Chihombori: Token is you're supposed to be negotiating with China and and and you all are equal, your sovereign nations. There's no additives there.

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Arikana Chihombori: It was done by design.

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Arikana Chihombori: So African countries will be defeated at every turn. The unsaid care practices that are making it difficult for African countries to add value to our natural resources.

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Arikana Chihombori: It was all by design to make sure that we are forever defeated in dominated. To make matters worse during the billion conference, they implement implemented the rule of divide and conquer.

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Arikana Chihombori: And the way they did was to take tribes that were united and living together in harmony.

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Arikana Chihombori: brung them up into tiny little countries and give those countries to different countries that spoke different languages.

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Arikana Chihombori: Give it a couple of generations, people who were once one big family. They don't even realize their family. I use an example of driving from Zambia.

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Arikana Chihombori: You're speaking English and you're going off pretty soon you NTSC JUST SPEAKING FRENCH

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Arikana Chihombori: Keep going a little live to the east, you are now in Equatorial Guinea, you're speaking Spanish go a little bit, not you. I'm so then come room you're speaking

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Arikana Chihombori: English. Keep going. You know, in northern Cameroon just speaking French before you know it you're in Nigeria, your practice speaking English.

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Arikana Chihombori: It was all designed to cause maximum destruction.

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Arikana Chihombori: I'm talking about the building blocks for Africa total destruction which were created by the Berlin conference that remain in place today.

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Arikana Chihombori: It is precisely why when you want to travel from one part of Africa to another. You gotta go to user first before you can come back down.

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Arikana Chihombori: Why, because the spaces were limited thanks to the bedding conference. It is precisely because of those boundaries that were created that fuel oil from Mozambique has got to get out of noise and accessed it has to get out of the continent. First, on the first public right next door.

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Arikana Chihombori: To buy back 30 times you can stand with one leg in Zimbabwe and when Lincoln was in the Indian Berlin Conference made it very difficult for us to trade, it's very difficult for a man in Malawi.

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Arikana Chihombori: With his melodic kwacha to buy a product in Nigeria in in in in Nigeria. Now it's easier to convert the culture to the US dollar, the culture to the to the euro, or to the British Pound and the narrow the same way.

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Arikana Chihombori: All these technicalities we take for granted. They ultimately impact trade and when you impact the trade you destroy the nation's there is no development, it's easier for a product to go from

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Arikana Chihombori: Egypt to go from the United States to Egypt then for a product to go from South Sudan to Egypt. It was all by design.

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Arikana Chihombori: So when I talk about the end up the fundamentals, not being addressed the fundamentals for Africa, they must be addressed through integration economic integration political integration melting of the borders and completely destroying killing and belt and bearing the billion conference.

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Arikana Chihombori: The rule of divide and conquer that also meant Africans believe that everything African was bad and everything European was better and more desirable.

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Arikana Chihombori: They send the Christians, the missionaries to also teach us. We didn't know about the color black and white before the the missionaries came to Africa before the colonizers the settlers came to Africa and they told us about the color black and the color white

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Arikana Chihombori: And they told us taught us about the white angels and the blood devils. Who has seen the angels who is in the devil's but then they turn around and say the devil. The devil is black and you people are also black and the angels are white and we are white.

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Arikana Chihombori: Jesus Christ is white. If you know the Bible says is king was crimson, we know it's because when Mary and Joseph, we're running from from heroin King Herod.

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Arikana Chihombori: They were told to go to Egypt, not to Europe because in Europe, they knew he would stand out like a sore tooth in Egypt. Jesus Christ would blend with address will look like him.

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Arikana Chihombori: Jesus Christ was the brown man, but there's a, never mind that. And even though we wake people don't look like a white piece of paper, don't worry we're white

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Arikana Chihombori: Now let's go to church and you need to get on your knees and you must worship a white Jesus and you must worship the white white angels, and of course, let's do God, the devil that looks like you people

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Arikana Chihombori: It was all by design to criminalize blackness.

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Arikana Chihombori: To make us hate ourselves.

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Arikana Chihombori: And forever be looking to be something that we can never be

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Arikana Chihombori: White

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Arikana Chihombori: If you ever stopped to think about that.

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Arikana Chihombori: Every day you go to church.

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Arikana Chihombori: And you worship an image that does not look like an image that will never look like

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Arikana Chihombori: India dunking the image that looks like you

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Arikana Chihombori: Complete total destruction of an individual from a very deep subconscious level.

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Arikana Chihombori: So it is that as black people are forever trying to be something that we can never be

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Arikana Chihombori: So how do we think we can be closer to being white

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Arikana Chihombori: Within we're educated. Now we have a job with a house with a nice car we feel closer to eight people and now we want to run away from those who look like us, because we've made it

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Arikana Chihombori: All this unnecessary material things that make us believe we're getting closer to what we have been programmed to think is better.

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Arikana Chihombori: And we're busy running away from ourselves.

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Arikana Chihombori: Which brings me into the next pillar of Africa's issues. It is the mind.

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Arikana Chihombori: We have so much self hate, we do not like each other as black people. We have been programmed to dislike anything that has anything to do with ourselves.

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Arikana Chihombori: So where do we begin

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Arikana Chihombori: We call that the legacy of slavery and the legacy of colonization.

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Arikana Chihombori: No amount of education know UCLA degree know have a degree, no Oxford degree candy colonize you can cleanse you of the legacy of slavery.

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Arikana Chihombori: Is through understanding our history and spending that you're part of somebody else's agenda that you're writing somebody else's train, the train is meeting the agenda meeting their needs and none of those needs are part of what you eat.

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Arikana Chihombori: It's through understanding our history that we can wake our people up, particularly black people to say, listen.

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Arikana Chihombori: This is what is really going on.

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Arikana Chihombori: And until you understand that there are pathways.

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Arikana Chihombori: That have been in place. There's an agenda that has been in place.

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Arikana Chihombori: To see it black people are forever defeated in dominated. How do you get out of it. You don't go to the doctor, unless you notice it.

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Arikana Chihombori: As black people. We have been so brainwashed.

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Arikana Chihombori: That we don't even realize what our normal is

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Arikana Chihombori: We have been so beaten down

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Arikana Chihombori: I talk about post traumatic stress disorder for as black people. I call it CT SD continuous traumatic stress disorder because our stress continuous

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Arikana Chihombori: We may not building as we know lynching to be at the luncheon continues in other forms.

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Arikana Chihombori: It doesn't matter where you meet black people, South America.

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Arikana Chihombori: Australia.

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Arikana Chihombori: India Europe.

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Arikana Chihombori: United States, even in Africa.

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Arikana Chihombori: Where the most disrespected race.

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Arikana Chihombori: Even those foreigners coming to Africa, they feel superior to the African

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Arikana Chihombori: Simply because

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Arikana Chihombori: Of the color of our skin.

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Arikana Chihombori: That's last time I checked the ability to produce melanin wasn't Accra

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Arikana Chihombori: Which we seem to be fallen victim because we have the ability to produce Melanie

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Arikana Chihombori: So Africa one on one.

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Arikana Chihombori: Is about a recap of our history, our journey as black people as a race where we have been where we are, what has been done to us.

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Arikana Chihombori: Before colonization after colonization after independence what continues to the games that continue to be played on us, the World Bank, IMF and the predatory loans they give to the African nations.

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Arikana Chihombori: Are the private lenders and the games they play with the Africans to where Africans will forever be paying loans.

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Arikana Chihombori: The average African country is spending over 30% of their GDP on loan repayment. It's an earth. How does a country grow.

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Arikana Chihombori: There's so many games being played so many policies and they keep changing it looks like Africans are getting a leg up the rules of engagement keep changing

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Arikana Chihombori: To what end

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Arikana Chihombori: The black race. If you look through history is the only race.

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Arikana Chihombori: That has been loyal to the white man.

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Arikana Chihombori: Completely

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Arikana Chihombori: With all that

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Arikana Chihombori: They ripped us

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Arikana Chihombori: They told us.

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Arikana Chihombori: And still remain.

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Arikana Chihombori: Here we are today 2020

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Arikana Chihombori: And the big cars are

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Arikana Chihombori: Africa one on one.

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Arikana Chihombori: The wake up call was my effort to wake up the black race as well as the white race.

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Arikana Chihombori: To make them realize that is black people. We are simply asking that we be treated the same way they want to be treated that one little boys and little girls in Europe. One is what little boys and little girls in Africa also want

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Arikana Chihombori: We're not asking anything more we are asking the world to do what is right. What is just in what is fair, not only to black people on the continent.

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Arikana Chihombori: But to black people around the globe systemic racism bigotry and hate have no room on Earth and the perpetrators of those abuses to them. I say,

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Arikana Chihombori: You may think you're doing a disservice to the black race, but guess what, you're also doing a serious disservice to your children, grandchildren and generations to come.

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Arikana Chihombori: Our children, regardless of their skin color they deserve to leave on Earth free

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Arikana Chihombori: Free to live on this f

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Arikana Chihombori: The way they wish, without boundaries without restrictions.

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Arikana Chihombori: And just to love each other and enjoy humanity.

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Arikana Chihombori: Regardless,

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Arikana Chihombori: Of your race.

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Arikana Chihombori: Ethnicity.

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Arikana Chihombori: social status political affiliations gender.

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Arikana Chihombori: It is a free world. That's what we want. So, Africa, one on one.

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Arikana Chihombori: Is waking up not only black people, but also black people to say this world is ours. Let's enjoy together as equals, because we are created is equal under God, I thank you.

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ANDREW APTER: Wow.

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ANDREW APTER: Easy. Let me invoke the prerogative of the director to ask the first question.

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ANDREW APTER: If you don't mind.

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Agrippa Ezozo: Not all

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ANDREW APTER: Okay, okay.

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ANDREW APTER: Your Excellency. I don't know whether to address you as your excellency, or as my sister. I feel

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Arikana Chihombori: Like my sister.

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ANDREW APTER: You're, you're more radical than you look. I must say behind your, your very nice elite demeanor. There's a you're channeling Marcus Garvey you're channeling Angela Davis, you're channeling

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ANDREW APTER: You know, Malcolm X, you're channeling Kwame Nkrumah I like it very much. And thank you for, for sharing your insight, as well as your passion. You're an inspiration. Honestly, and I think you're an inspiration.

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ANDREW APTER: Will lead us to an opportunity to to to art to organize a set of priorities to move forward and not just to talk the talk, but also to walk the walk and I know that that's partly what your African Diaspora

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ANDREW APTER: Development Institute is all about and your interest in returning to medicine and bringing medical resources and training back to the continent. I know about that. The question I'm going to

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ANDREW APTER: Be shameless about this and ask you the first question. And then I want to be more democratic and we'll address the very many interesting questions that have come in during your talk, via the chat channel.

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ANDREW APTER: A lot of what you're saying.

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ANDREW APTER: Particularly about the way in which the European powers.

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ANDREW APTER: Starting with the Berlin actually starting before the Berlin conference but extending to the to the President of really

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ANDREW APTER: Structure, the terms of trade into a to an asymmetrical relationship whereby one party wins in the other tends to lose. And you mentioned the need for economic and political integration and a lot of that kind of thinking

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ANDREW APTER: Was

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ANDREW APTER: foreshadowed

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ANDREW APTER: By the work of Kwame Nkrumah in his critique of neo colonialism and also his, his fascination and commitment to Pan African ism.

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ANDREW APTER: And his desire in some ways to not just ideologically but also institutionally create a United States of Africa. Do you think there's any future in or any value in resurrecting that project.

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Arikana Chihombori: Absolutely 1963 and the invitation of Emperor Haile Selassie the Pan African leaders, the African leaders met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia precisely

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Arikana Chihombori: To try and undo the damage done by dependent conference. Unfortunately, when they went to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They were divided, we had the custom blend a group who, again, again, Molly, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and I believe Libya.

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Arikana Chihombori: They were the minority, the majority with the nationalists who are saying let's go slow, let's not jump into this Pan African thing.

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Arikana Chihombori: So it is that when they went to vote. The Pan African group which were the Casablanca group who were saying Africa for the Africans African Union now they lost

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Arikana Chihombori: We often say Africa lost in 1963 when the Casablanca group lost the nationalist one every year, twice a year. The heads of states would meet they came up with a compromise agreement which give back to the Organization of African Unity.

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Arikana Chihombori: Year in, year out the issue of an Africa speaking with one voice was raised and year in and year out, they failed to reach a consensus until

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Arikana Chihombori: 2018 April when the heads of states finally agreed on a decision that was going to address continental integration economically.

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Arikana Chihombori: So they agreed on a decision. They're calling the African continent of free trade area that decision is going to be implemented beginning next year.

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Arikana Chihombori: Where Africa is going to enter the world market as one Customs Union that is huge integrating and entities such as such as Africa is a monumental task.

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Arikana Chihombori: The African Union is trying to take a page out of the issues that the EU fest is they were integrating Europe.

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Arikana Chihombori: They were only integrating 27 countries, in our case, we're looking at 55 countries when you look at common currency, which is a big one and is needed.

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Arikana Chihombori: European Union was integrating 27 currencies, we will be integrating 43 currencies at every level issue of the issue, integrating the continent is going to be a monumental task. So the decision has been made to start with.

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Arikana Chihombori: economic integration and then from economic integration. Once we get that sorted out, we introduce other

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Arikana Chihombori: Integration layers of integration for example from the finances, we need the African

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Arikana Chihombori: A single African currency. We need African Stock Exchange, we need a single African monetary policy, we need an African Central Bank.

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Arikana Chihombori: All that is in the plan. And it's all laid out in the book about what the African Union would like to see happen.

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Arikana Chihombori: But the reality is we're very divided as we are it now. So trying to thread this middle

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Arikana Chihombori: Is not an easy task. So they're gingerly going through it working through it, but also keeping the eye on the ball.

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Arikana Chihombori: Knowing very well where we need to be and the challenges that are going to face us as we try to reach that goal. But yes, in due course, I don't think it's going to be in my lifetime.

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Arikana Chihombori: That we will see a United States of Africa that is ultimately what is needed Africa must be a continent that wants to grow up to be like the United States.

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Arikana Chihombori: When the United States realized that is Montana Montana cannot survive as Delaware. Delaware cannot survive even as Texas or California

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Arikana Chihombori: United States of America came together and created the United States of America, the powerhouse. That is what Africa needs. Ultimately, whether we can accomplish that in the near future.

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Arikana Chihombori: I doubt it. There's too much yet to be done, but everybody understands that for Africa to truly be liberated for Africa to take her rightful place on the world stage Africa.

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Arikana Chihombori: The powerhouse must come together and speak with one voice that is our hope.

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ANDREW APTER: Thank you very much.

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ANDREW APTER: Eric, I wonder if you would like to consult some of the questions that have come in. Let's open up the dialogue. No.

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Erica Anjum: Absolutely. Thank you. First of all, you're awesome super amazing presentation and for answering entries question.

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Erica Anjum: We actually have quite a few questions and we encourage you to continue submitting questions through the Q amp D q AMP a function of the bottom of the zoom screen.

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Erica Anjum: And what I'll do at this point is try to actually combine some of the questions together because there are some repeating things

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Erica Anjum: So the first question actually comes from Kevin and job, a doctor and Java, who is based at the easily Institute environment, sustainability and he also had the conch debates and and students enter profitable for Tropical Research. So his question is actually going back to this.

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Erica Anjum: Concept. You mentioned the very beginning of your presentation, a doctor, Nigeria earns about $560 monthly necessity necessity movement to countries where they can be better paid for their services.

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Erica Anjum: What can we do to start addressing the issues and concerns that medical workers and especially doctors and

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Erica Anjum: I guess that's kind of just the main question.

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Arikana Chihombori: So it goes again back to these smaller economies and the challenges each individual country is facing.

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Arikana Chihombori: If Africa was open up even just is the integration could start with echoes the West African community, you would find that well young men may not have

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Arikana Chihombori: An opportunity in Nigeria, you'd be surprised that he will have an opportunity in Togo or in Cote d'Ivoire and vice versa. It's like in this country.

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Arikana Chihombori: Someone may not have a job. I had a patient one time was looking for a job for five years.

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Arikana Chihombori: Until we were talking and as we have you thought about getting out of state. It had never occurred to him that he should get out of Tennessee.

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Arikana Chihombori: And next time I saw him yet gotten the job out of California and the wife was having connections that the husband was going to California.

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Arikana Chihombori: And not staying in Tennessee, but they did move to California. And that's what he's opportunity was so when we open the economy's up

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Arikana Chihombori: You'll find that we are now going to be able to develop our economies, so we can begin to pay people higher wages. This restrictive boundaries are really limiting growth and that also impacts.

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Arikana Chihombori: The ability to pay fair wages. Now, one could always say when there's still corruption in there. I get

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Arikana Chihombori: I get that that's an issue, but the fundamentals are if we open the economies and we can open up a course and when people are free to move freely. We can also increase productivity and hence

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Arikana Chihombori: The income to to the government and hopefully we would, that would also equate to increased wages. So again, the restrictive economies small economies continues to be a challenge in terms of economic growth.

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Arikana Chihombori: Okay.

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Erica Anjum: Thank you. And we have quite a few questions actually talking about China and China's involvement in Africa. So I'll try to kind of put some of them together.

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Erica Anjum: So, Mara wrestling asked, can you comment on Chinese investment in the continent and whether you see it as a good thing or just another country, taking advantage and breathing outsized benefits for themselves, essentially, a New York colonizing force.

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Arikana Chihombori: I like the question on China. It always tickles me. I was talking to one of us it up and he give an analogy that I said was quite interesting.

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Arikana Chihombori: He said, You see growth growing up in our villages in Africa, we have animals that live around the village.

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Arikana Chihombori: Hi, nice one of those common animals that that leaves around the village.

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Arikana Chihombori: Behind I would know to go into the field and you'll eat some crops and lose some because the high notes. There are other people who need to eat too.

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Arikana Chihombori: So he created the Chinese as a hyena living around the village, and then the the the Western world, particularly Europeans who've been in Africa forever. They are like the lion that Buddha's is into the village, they eat where they can destroy one they cannot curry and

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Arikana Chihombori: And they leave nothing behind the Chinese will bring 50 billion and they'll take out 20 billion.

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Arikana Chihombori: But when it's all said and done,

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Arikana Chihombori: What platform is are the Europeans standing on for them to point out to the Africans that they look at the Chinese and see what the Chinese are doing, you have been in Africa for centuries. What have you done

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Arikana Chihombori: Except still from Africa, except exploit Africa. So if I will put to put it very crudely

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Arikana Chihombori: We have two thieves in our village. We have an old. This was been there for centuries and then youth. Now, the alternative is warning us about the nuances. Are you afraid of competition.

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Arikana Chihombori: Are you getting my point.

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Arikana Chihombori: Both thieves have got to go the Africans must come together and make sure that as we negotiate these contracts China.

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Arikana Chihombori: Realize that they will not participating in Africa, to the extent that they would like to. They found a loophole that loophole was the fact that African countries are being made to jump through hoops to get funding.

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Arikana Chihombori: So they decided they will make it very easy for Africans to get money who would joke about how the Chinese will come to the government's with a checkbook.

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Arikana Chihombori: And say how much ready to write the check. No hoops. So yes, granted at the beginning when China was beginning to increase his involvement in Africa.

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Arikana Chihombori: Poor, poor contracts were badly negotiated and Chinese did get away with a lot, they would come into a country. And again, these countries will open operating in little silos.

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Arikana Chihombori: Take a country like Malawi, you come in and offering them 5 billion. That's more money than they ever seen, they'll take it.

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Arikana Chihombori: But some of the contracts were not properly negotiated and all that is changing Chinese should have been better neighbors.

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Arikana Chihombori: They should not have been giving Africans those bad contracts, but I can tell you one thing.

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Arikana Chihombori: Since the forecast meeting that was held in September of 2018 for Cox FRC AC for us forum on China, Africa, cooperation.

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Arikana Chihombori: That was held in August of 2018 between the African Heads of States and President King Xi Jinping

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Arikana Chihombori: A lot has changed because of just did bring out all the things that China was doing on the continent, particularly bringing all the labor from there from China and not

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Arikana Chihombori: Doing the not engaging in skills transfer, which was really not a good thing and also some of the practices for workmanship. That is really improved significantly and also not respecting the environment that continues to be a challenge.

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Arikana Chihombori: They used to be even more abusive and disrespectful to black people that continues to be a challenge even on the continent, but we're speaking to it.

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Arikana Chihombori: A lot of contracts that could be cancelled have been cancelled. Those that could not be consoled I've been allowed to expire and Africans are being a little bit smarter in how they engage in

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Arikana Chihombori: In this contracts with the Chinese. The bottom line is we did not do a good job at executing this contracts, the Chinese could also have been better neighbors. But at the end of the day.

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Arikana Chihombori: Africans are looking for foreign direct investment with partners who truly care about the people on the continent partners who wanted to treat Africa fairly

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Arikana Chihombori: partners who understand what that citizens wish to have where they come from, is when the Africans wish to have on the continent. So we ask those who are coming to Africa.

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Arikana Chihombori: That above all else, pack your suitcases chock full of humility honor and respect for the Africans and we'll roll out the red carpet for you.

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Arikana Chihombori: So yes, talk about China, but the reality is you must also ask the question, the Europeans, you have been in Africa for centuries. What have you done

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Arikana Chihombori: Way is the development, what we are the infrastructure, the roads, railways, the bridges the poet's, where are they, what have you been doing in Africa, besides extracting Africa's wealth, we must engage in that conversation as well.

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Erica Anjum: Thank you. There are quite a few questions as well that I think will be may be very relevant for the work that you're doing through your organization, the initiatives you have, but also towards the very last chapter of your

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Erica Anjum: New book so Regina Thomas asked very straightforward. What are your thoughts in Africa, having a reparations movement, similar to some of the conversations underway Corinthian beat us

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Arikana Chihombori: reparations are clearly odd. I have a chapter in the book that talks about the evils of colonization.

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Arikana Chihombori: And atrocities committed by the by the colonizers Horrendous. Horrendous and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

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Arikana Chihombori: And then you look at what was done to the children of Africa is they would transport it across the Atlantic as slaves preparations and definitely do.

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Arikana Chihombori: Preparations are old, even the Japanese who bombed Pearl Harbor. They got reparations. What's really sad. Most people don't realize when slavery ended. It was the slave owner

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Arikana Chihombori: Who was paid, who was compensated and not the slave it same happened in the UK, even in Zimbabwe and it's going to happen in South Africa where the land that was dispossessed those who are dispossessed of the land. They're not own anything I use an example of

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Arikana Chihombori: You know myself. I'm a third generation. My grandfather, whose land was was dispossessed by the British and I use an example Oppenheimer because where his

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Arikana Chihombori: grandfather's farm was is the area where my parents farm was Oppenheimer is the grandson of one who dispossess LA and from from the Africans so me and him. I am

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Arikana Chihombori: I am a granddaughter, who was dispossessed I lived in an impoverished life because of what was done to my father by someone similar to Oppenheimer's grandfather

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Arikana Chihombori: Oppenheimer lived a privileged life out of stolen goods come time to fix this Oppenheimer owned over 2 million acres of land in public his land was larger than the country of Belgium.

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Arikana Chihombori: To get that land back

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Arikana Chihombori: They had to be compensated. So, the ones who are the perpetrators, they get compensated. The victims are not compensated.

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Arikana Chihombori: The black people are the only ones who have not been compensated for the abuses that we have suffered for centuries reparations must be paid. There's no question about that. And this conversation will not end until this issue is addressed fairly

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Erica Anjum: Thank you. So we also have quite a few questions. This is essentially asking how people can get involved across the diaspora.

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Erica Anjum: Black African Americans in the US in Europe and then of course Africans on the continent. You talk about D colonizing the mind.

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Erica Anjum: Turning down some of these ideas of self hate self loathing and judgment but also of course the economic and political dimensions as well. So is there something that the diaspora, as well as allies white otherwise can do to help with the dismantle these repressive regimes.

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Arikana Chihombori: Absolutely. So not everybody will take the time to read the book in order to fully understand what is going on in Africa. And at the end of the book, I have a little paragraph that talks about way forward.

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Arikana Chihombori: Way for one is the African diaspora Development Institute in my surprise you that all these years that we have been here as diaspora.

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Arikana Chihombori: There's never been a place one place in the US in Europe in China that you can go to to know everything about Africa, any questions that you might have about Africa so add AI.

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Arikana Chihombori: Is where we're hoping can be the repository of all the information that you need about Africa. If you want to go to Africa. If you want to invest in Africa, you want to visit in Africa come to add, I will help you navigate the process where we are now.

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Arikana Chihombori: We are looking to have a directory of close to a million people as possible to accomplish three things. One,

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Arikana Chihombori: With the implementation of the African continent or free trade area. We are very clear about one thing Africa as it stands today does not have the capacity to build the Africa we want

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Arikana Chihombori: In order for Africa to be built in order for the African continent or frigid area implementation to succeed, we are going to have to look outside Africa.

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Arikana Chihombori: Currently, it will be the Chinese or the Europeans, or the Indians on the Russians, or the Japanese, the Americans that really not catching on to the African continent or frigid area. And that's something we're hoping that can change.

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Arikana Chihombori: But that's not right. You see, you got to understand

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Arikana Chihombori: That a black men does not lead a chain of men to China and black men does not lead a Mexican men to Mexico and black men does not lead an Indian men it Russian men and Japanese men, a European men to those countries.

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Arikana Chihombori: The only place of black men could lead or others outside Africa to is Africa. So if a black men cannot be on the driver's seat.

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Arikana Chihombori: Of Africa's continental development agenda and keep in mind the African continent or frigid area is introducing to the continent, something that has never happened to the continent default

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Arikana Chihombori: That is a conversation about how do we develop that continent, not individual countries. How do we feed hundred and 1.7 billion people, not just Kenyans not just Nigerians, we are talking a continental development. Again, it is an agenda, there must be world mapped out well executed.

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Arikana Chihombori: And that development agenda, in my view, and it is the right thing to do, must be driven by the Africans.

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Arikana Chihombori: And by Africans appeal among all people of African descent.

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Arikana Chihombori: That is the definition of African Diaspora by the African Union, the continental development of Africa must be driven by the children of Africa, it is only fair.

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Arikana Chihombori: Because if we do not drive that agenda on the continent where else can the black men are black woman be in charge. If we cannot be in charge in Africa, where else can we be in charge.

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Arikana Chihombori: It is the right thing to do. And for that reason, the African diaspora and friends of Africa, we must join hands.

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Arikana Chihombori: And go to Africa and feel that sit that has our name because if we do not feel that's it.

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Arikana Chihombori: The Chinese are going to feel it. They the hundred year plan for how to develop Africa, the Europeans are going to feel that sick that been filling it for a while.

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Arikana Chihombori: They have the hundred year plan for what they want to do in Africa that to avoid it belongs to the African diaspora and friends of Africa.

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Arikana Chihombori: So with a million people. We hope to send a strong message to African heads of states that the first right of refusal of all contracts coming out of Africa, but the content development must be given to the African diaspora fest.

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Arikana Chihombori: Because it is the right thing to do.

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Arikana Chihombori: It's happening everywhere else outside Africa. So why can't it be the same way on the continent of Africa. The second thing, the African diaspora are here to stay.

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Arikana Chihombori: The African Union.

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Arikana Chihombori: 20 I believe 2012 they approved through the executive console. The six region, the African six region which is all people of African descent LIVE IN OUR SIDE Africa.

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Arikana Chihombori: But that decision has not been approved by African the heads of states to where we can officially be the six region.

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Arikana Chihombori: To where we can have diaspora in Addis also joining the Permanent Representative console, which is made up of one of us a different. Each country they live in addition

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Arikana Chihombori: We need to have diaspora ambassadors joining the PRC so they can be on the table advocating for the African diaspora and also participating in the decision making. Place a process.

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Arikana Chihombori: Of of what's going on in Africa, we must be accounted for. We must be on the table. So we hope with that many names.

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Arikana Chihombori: We need to have our issue tabled as an agenda item by the Heads of States if we don't make it for the February summit, we hope to make it at the latest July summit next year.

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Arikana Chihombori: When we can have the African diaspora completely integrated at the African Union level and participate in the decision making process. Now you're talking real change with sustainable.

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Arikana Chihombori: changes that are needed. We are talking about the diaspora being the missing link that Africa needs to truly build the Africa that we want.

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Arikana Chihombori: Keep in mind the colonizers have been building the Africa that they wanted for centuries that it's got to come to an end, and the only people who can put it to an end of the African diaspora, just to be clear.

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Arikana Chihombori: As we speak today. There's not a single African country that has the capacity to build a railway line. There's not a single African country that has the capacity to build an airport

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Arikana Chihombori: So I find it quite interesting, particularly when I'm talking to the diaspora. They get upset that oh this country. The Chinese are building this and this country. The Chinese are building that

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Arikana Chihombori: I remember one of my sisters. She called me very frantic because her country had just given out 600 megawatts contract to a Chinese company three separate contracts of 200 megawatts. Each she was very, very upset about it.

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Arikana Chihombori: My question to her was

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Arikana Chihombori: My sister, if you can tell me that you know have a group of Diaspora that have the expertise and the funding.

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Arikana Chihombori: And the unity to go take a one of those contracts are caused the President and ask him to give them that contractor.

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Arikana Chihombori: She just busted out laughing. He is an ambassador. What am I going to find them. You know the situation with the diaspora. We are not united and I said, then my sister for forever. Keep your mouth shut. Until you have diaspora.

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Arikana Chihombori: Well, willing to come together and put their money where their mouth is. You need to stop complaining God tell the grandmother in that village who is 75 years old as never had electricity as never had running water is never had to drop that she cannot have those necessities.

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Arikana Chihombori: Because you in the diaspora 10,000 miles away. You don't want the Chinese to do it.

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Arikana Chihombori: It doesn't if it makes sense. That's how ridiculous it is

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Arikana Chihombori: until you are ready to say I am going to do my part to address this issue to just sit 10,000 miles away and complain about the Chinese

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Arikana Chihombori: It doesn't make any sense. What are the heads of state supposed to do they need development and expertise is not in the country, the finances and not in the country, but yet we want development somehow to just magically happen. Come on, guys, let's be realistic here.

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Arikana Chihombori: Let's not use the same colonial thinking

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Arikana Chihombori: We want problem with we have problems will put our projects and then come implementation, we are waiting for the white men to take care of it because that's what we are programmed to do. That's what we are programmed to think now we can do this.

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Arikana Chihombori: The Fed item that we are going to accomplish with a million names is to have as many people be part of the diaspora fund.

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Arikana Chihombori: The fund is in the process of being registered. We hope everybody wants it's registered the finance people begin series of conversations to educate people about it.

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Arikana Chihombori: And then we would walk every family every desk or a family and friends of Africa can commit investing $1,000 a year to perpetuity.

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Arikana Chihombori: Your children who grow up grow up knowing once a year, I must put $1,000 into the fund, you're doing it for your race. That is how we get our respect.

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Arikana Chihombori: When we can be financially liberated when we can have that financial independence and million people with $1,000 that's a billion dollars.

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Arikana Chihombori: They're 55 million black people in this country as take just 3 million. It's also take 2 million from Europe. That's 5 million that's 5 billion a year at $1,000 a year at $3 a month now let's do year in and year out to perpetuate

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Arikana Chihombori: You can see how that fans can quickly raise billions of dollars and we can find the building of continental Africa very easily at the text people who say I believe in my race no mortgage fraud. I believe in what we can do, when we are united.

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Arikana Chihombori: And that we shouldn't be the race. We should be the generation that's going to put an end to discuss, but it takes us waking up and understanding

441

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Arikana Chihombori: That we must do what other races have done we leave in this beautiful country of the United States, you ask for the voices of the Chinese diaspora.

442

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Arikana Chihombori: Now then, clear the Mexican desk or the Irish Americans German American Italian Americans Jews, all, very much loud and clear.

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Arikana Chihombori: They stick together like superglue when it comes to their countries of origin, but when you ask for the voices of the black people, you might as well go to the graveyard.

444

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Arikana Chihombori: We're too busy running away from each other. We don't want anything to do with Africa because we're being told is a disease and dying continent.

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Arikana Chihombori: Guess what, if you were to fly to Africa today, I can assure you have a 75% of the fleet of the flights, those people don't look black.

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Arikana Chihombori: It's because they are going there because they something amazing and wonderful going on but you black people are listening to the wrong voices being told, do not go to Africa.

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Arikana Chihombori: Far from me, we must wake up and that is why everybody must watch or rather get a copy from Amazon as an E book and had coverage coming out soon of Africa 101 and the wake up call.

448

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Arikana Chihombori: So just go to our add i.org or you are add si.org and join the part of the movement, the movement that going to say

449

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Arikana Chihombori: This world belongs to all of us and that nobody is superior to anyone that we are all created equal and a god. And that's what the mission should be less accomplish those three objectives by coming together and having a powerful force that's going to say

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Arikana Chihombori: first right of refusal of all contracts. Out of Africa must be given to the children of Africa in the diaspora.

451

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Arikana Chihombori: Let's have the six region approved so we can have dual citizenship and representation in the African Union is African diaspora and said,

452

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Arikana Chihombori: Let's be prepared to start funding a very big African Diaspora a fund that will be the one to find the projects to continental development projects on the continent. In addition to other forms of fundraising.

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Erica Anjum: So I'm looking at the time and I understand that we are coming close to him. We have to part ways.

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Erica Anjum: Just want to address a lot of the questions of seeing the Q AMP. A in addition to her excellence, we just mentioned about where you can order the book.

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Erica Anjum: We will be emailing you with information about how to order the book, How to get in contact with her office as well as the recording for this presentation. So that's a, your Excellency. If you have time for one or two final questions.

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Arikana Chihombori: Yes, I do. I just wanted to say the book you go to Africa 101 dot org. You can order the hardcover, which will be signed.

457

01:16:10.860 --> 01:16:16.320

Arikana Chihombori: autographed and it is numbered I'm only going to sign 5000 copies

458

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Arikana Chihombori: It also is in the active at the end of every chapter, there is a barcode you scan the barcode and you get to watch a video of me talking about that chapter, and why I wrote that chapter, and what I hope you can get out of that chapter.

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Arikana Chihombori: To join the movement. Good. A our add ny.org our add i.org and join the movement. And while you're there. There are four ways to donate, you can donate to the

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Arikana Chihombori: To the operations fan of a di you can donate to the Women's Empowerment Program youth empowerment legacy program or the closet. Do your part.

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Arikana Chihombori: Also, you can go to Amazon and Google Africa where no one on Amazon, you can get the ebook of Africa. One hour. On that note, I hope you all enjoy

462

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Arikana Chihombori: The journey of Africa through Africa where no one the wake up call. And I do hope by the time you finish the book, you will be open.

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Arikana Chihombori: And don't give the book to yourself, share it and engage in conversations and, I hope, UCLA. You could also consider having that book as part of your required reading and I'll be happy to come visit you. When covert allows us so we can engage in more conversations about our world.

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Erica Anjum: Even to be very happy to have you again in a non covered for all the specialty. So on that note, I suppose, if you have time for one final question. We have a lot of educators in the audience.

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Erica Anjum: K 12 educators educators based at UCLA and other universities and some of the common themes have some questions. We've been posing is around this idea of D colonizing the university D colonizing education and teaching African Americans, as well as more specifically

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Erica Anjum: To bridge that kind of gap between African Americans and Africans, as you yourself mentioned

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Erica Anjum: So do you have any suggestions for all the educators in the audience as to what kinds of pedagogical reforms would help with the decolonization bridging that gap and making America the priority that I should have always been

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Erica Anjum: Whether it's in the term of courses that are taught the need to be taught the content and course that already taught what would your advice be

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Arikana Chihombori: You have raised a very important question. When it comes to the divide between the continental Africans and the African Americans. I think a lot of it is based on lack of understanding of our history and often often had people come to me and say, but ambassador.

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Arikana Chihombori: The African sold us into slavery and then some are quite bitter about that. I just would say we suffered more than the continental Africans. I did touch on that.

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Arikana Chihombori: In the book where I also, I think, I believe, is like page 41 where I intentionally put a photograph of black people hanging on a tree in outside Bulawayo in Zimbabwe.

472

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Arikana Chihombori: That was, believe it or not, Lord button pow, the founder of the Boy Scouts. That was his favorite photographs. He called it the Christmas tree.

473

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Arikana Chihombori: Black people hanging from the tree look like ornaments on a Christmas tree and right below it. I put in a photograph. Around the same time where black people were hanging from a tree in Georgia.

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Arikana Chihombori: So for those who think the suffering of black people in America, African Americans was worse than what happened in Africa.

475

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Arikana Chihombori: I know for a fact, after you read the book, you cannot think differently when we begin to realize that as black people what joins us is our blackness.

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Arikana Chihombori: With that, we must underscore I've had, I've been on platforms where African Americans have said, but we are different. And my question would be, how are you different

477

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Arikana Chihombori: If you were to walk down the street with my husband and you say, What did you see, they'll say, Oh, we saw two black men.

478

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Arikana Chihombori: They don't say I saw one black man who was born in Africa and another one was born in America. They see two black men, plain and simple. If I were to take the same two men to the streets of Accra, which is where my husband is from Devon, I see two black men to Africans.

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Arikana Chihombori: They're not going to see where you are born, what unites us is our blackness what unites us is our African ness.

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Arikana Chihombori: Africa is home, we must be anchored. We must reconnect with the continent, if we do not reconnect with the continent where like a ship which is all sales but not anchor.

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Arikana Chihombori: The rest of the people living in this country. And that's why I keep repeating the United States, the main melting pot. They are anchored in their countries of origin, with the exception of the American Indian everybody else in this country is an immigrant

482

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Arikana Chihombori: A descendant of an immigrant. So when we begin to understand Africa from that point of view, black America, you must reconnect with the continent.

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Arikana Chihombori: Africa is home accept it. Embrace it. The good, the bad, and the ugly Africa is going to be as good as we make it. But when you accept Africa as home, you'll find that the journey to true healing the journey to unity, the unity that is needed among us as a race becomes less of a battle.

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Erica Anjum: And thank you so the data. A see that we have many, many, many more questions. I'll do my best. We'll do our best to connect you with licensees office so that hopefully the conversation can do beyond this presentation.

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Erica Anjum: I know that we have some colleagues from the African times he would like to ask a couple of questions. If you have a moment to stick around at the very end, we'll try our best to connect you

486

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That's enough.

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Arikana Chihombori: Sorry, I said, absolutely. I am available if they want to email their questions. They want to call and schedule a call or like is on the line, she will be happy to schedule all of them we can continue the conversation.

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Erica Anjum: Perfect. Wonderful. Thank you so much. And that's that I know that entry you invoke the directors right to ask the first question. Would you like to invoke the right to ask any final words or offer any concluding comments.

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ANDREW APTER: Well, actually I think the ambassador has worked very hard for us today. And at one point. Her voice was even

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Arikana Chihombori: Cracking yes I should I should have brought some water.

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ANDREW APTER: I think you've ended on a powerful note and and and i'm going to second your suggestion, Erica that

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ANDREW APTER: Those including our, our colleagues at the African times I do apologize. We're doing the best we can to field questions from a variety of sources. And I think it's time to to close this off now. But in your box.

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ANDREW APTER: We would greet we would we would thank our speaker by saying

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ANDREW APTER: It shape coupon purple, orange way a with a thank you very much. Your head is full. Your head is blessed you spoke well

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ANDREW APTER: AND WHEN YOU SAY YOU SPOKE WELL THAT'S NOT JUST SAYING YOU SPOKE WELL, THAT MEANS THAT YOU SPOKE WITH I Shay, you spoke with the power

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ANDREW APTER: Of actually influencing the future, which is what the LR Shay has. So I'm very inspired. I'm very grateful. I don't know how you you you get into your discourse, if I could lecture half as well as you as you presented today I would get

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ANDREW APTER: Outstanding Teaching reviews. So I'm going to call you back. We're going to call you back. I look forward to working with you on many agendas to our African Studies Center through the

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ANDREW APTER: The diaspora development initiative, the African diaspora development initiative with my colleague ivory, but is also here at UCLA. I'm very grateful that he put us together. In fact, and

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ANDREW APTER: I look forward to many more exchanges. So to all of you assembled here on online. I still see we have 173 participants down from about 191

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ANDREW APTER: Thank you very much and

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Arikana Chihombori: I never favor to ask of you.

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ANDREW APTER: Okay.

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Arikana Chihombori: Can you promise me that you will increase more African Studies than you currently have reviewing your program, you tend to focus more on the Middle East and the family remind you that the Middle East is not Africa.

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ANDREW APTER: Well, I think you haven't really done your homework. Ambassador, if I can be so bold.

505

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ANDREW APTER: You can look at our strategic vision report and our

506

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ANDREW APTER: Our courses we teach our programming. We do a lot. We're not actually a department, we are a research center is the the African center.

507

01:25:16.590 --> 01:25:24.030

ANDREW APTER: Is what at UCLA is called an organized research unit. So, apart from organizing African language instruction we really

508

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ANDREW APTER: Focus more on teacher training student training and cutting edge transformative research that is both policy oriented.

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ANDREW APTER: As well as as academically and theoretically oriented. We do we we hit that. So actually the resources at UCLA.

510

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ANDREW APTER: Pertaining to African Studies, as well as the diaspora are are pretty pretty well known and pretty good so. But yes, I will promise you.

511

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ANDREW APTER: First of all, how can I, how can I deny you when you're putting when you're asking me in this way, you know, you know, you've got me you know you've got me.

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ANDREW APTER: I do. Promise me that I am I make it my agenda, my, my mission to to really especially this time when Black Lives Matters is me mobilizing the consciousness that is so easy to fall into a dogmatic slumber in this country to really address as you pointed out, the structural framework of

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ANDREW APTER: Racism, not just the

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ANDREW APTER: Case by case phenomena, but the way it gets institutionalized within the fabric of our economy and our polity

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ANDREW APTER: This is our struggle right now and and I do think your message, which is that looking at African Studies African American Studies knowing one's history so that we don't keep repeating it is really an essential part of the solution. So, yes. And last but

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Arikana Chihombori: Another question. Is there a need for African Studies, as well as African American Studies, quote, could this be combined with that makes sense to combine them. So the story is complete.

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ANDREW APTER: Very much.

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Arikana Chihombori: In a disjointed way. In fact,

519

01:27:05.190 --> 01:27:07.380

ANDREW APTER: You put your finger on our one of our current

520

01:27:08.970 --> 01:27:10.710

ANDREW APTER: It's in process right now the

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ANDREW APTER: The African Studies

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ANDREW APTER: MA program. It's called an inter departmental degree program is currently

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ANDREW APTER: Arranging and talking with the newly founded department of African American studies to merge with the department so that we can centralize and coordinate our resources and create a

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ANDREW APTER: An Africanist track within that department. And we've already house two African languages with a Swahili coming in soon.

525

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ANDREW APTER: Cross listed when African American studies were fortunate at UCLA that we have a bunch of

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ANDREW APTER: I think we have good political relationships between both areas, as you know, probably in many universities, there's a tension between the Africanist and the African American is

527

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ANDREW APTER: Which is is based on it can be ideological predilections, it can be based on racial politics, it can be based on resource competition. We don't have those problems at least now we have a very good vibe going on at UCLA. So I think your, your recommendation is spot on.

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Arikana Chihombori: Thank you very much.

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Sheila Breeding: I may interject, I think. Her Excellency might have been referring to the bachelor's degree at UCLA. We have a master's in African Studies minor in African Studies and there's a bachelor's degree.

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Sheila Breeding: In middle in Africa and Middle Eastern studies and that program is geared towards the Middle East.

531

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Sheila Breeding: And that program is not slated to join African American Studies. So just wanted to clarify that. Thank you so much for your wonderful pull for our program there, your Excellency.

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Arikana Chihombori: Thank you also might director, I am I talk about you all the time your command of the yoruba language is impressive.

533

01:29:12.450 --> 01:29:22.560

Arikana Chihombori: I visited to with the Yoruba guy when, as we were leaving your office, he said, Ambassador a model that guy. I said, which guys in the white guy. How could you speak better you're better than me.

534

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Arikana Chihombori: I'm so, so proud of you and and and absolutely please call me your sister.

535

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ANDREW APTER: Yeah.

536

01:29:34.590 --> 01:29:37.080

Arikana Chihombori: And I will call you my brother, with your permission,

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ANDREW APTER: Love it. I love it. Thank you very, very much. Okay, well, I wish we could continue. I wish we could meet HAVE HAVE THE FESTIVITIES THAT WE DESERVE in real time and then real person. But that's coming in.

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Arikana Chihombori: Absolutely. Thank you again.

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Arikana Chihombori: For your team and the organizers, my brother. I agree. I can't thank you enough to the

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Arikana Chihombori: Fans

541

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Arikana Chihombori: Thank you for taking the time and staying with us.

542

01:30:03.510 --> 01:30:05.700

Agrippa Ezozo: Goodbye. Thank you. Thank you.

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01:30:07.170 --> 01:30:07.860

Sheila Breeding: Hi.

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Arikana Chihombori: Bye bye.