Perhaps you have been asked…or you were the one to ask a ridiculous question about Africa to an African.
Two months ago, Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie faced a similar ordeal. She was asked by a French journalist whether “there are libraries in Nigeria”. Adichie responded, “I think it reflects very poorly on French people that you have to ask me that question.”
The journalist tried to explain herself, arguing, “We speak very little about Nigeria in France, certainly not enough, and when we do it’s about Boko Haram and the problems of violence and security. I would like to take advantage of your presence for us to talk about other things and things that we don’t know about your country.”
It is clear that despite access to information via the internet, alongside the growing opportunity to travel to the continent, there is still widespread misinformation about Africa. The misconceptions are then made apparent through the questions people around the world ask Africans. Below is a short list of the ridiculous ones and why.
