For those who have seen the record-smashing, critically acclaimed Marvel film, Black Panther, the setting of the movie, Wakanda, is the nation of our dreams. The hyper technologically advanced fictional African country makes us all an attractive offer, nature-inspired flying cars, magnetically charged trains, a medical bed and tools that treat fatal gun wounds to the spine in two days, holographic wrist beads, et cetera, all within the promise of the great African tropics.
The promise of Wakanda is so good, and the reality so far from the promise that some people are moping around and wishing for an African continent that never went through colonialism, in the belief that we would now have a Wakanda. They start, “this is what Africa would have looked like …”, and we let them finish.
The unfortunate reality is that Africa was pillaged through slavery, colonialism, and neo-colonialism, no wishing can change that. The continent’s resources were stolen by both outsiders and Africans, robbing the people of the rich promises of their land. But while we are all a bit frustrated and/or disappointed that Wakanda does not exist, the truth is that there are African countries who had or have the technology Wakanda has, if only we are willing to look for them and then take the active step to visit.
Check out my list of 5 African countries you can actually book a flight to experience the technological promises of Wakanda. Just like Wakanda and its power woes, especially during successions, no country on this list is perfect but their work is commendable nonetheless.
I could probably highlight a technological feature of Wakanda in every African country if I had space. These 5 just give a broad range of possibilities of what was and what is of technology on the continent. African countries are this mix of burgeoning technology savannas and natural wonder, just like Wakanda. Let me know which of these you will travel to this year.
