Africa must bring out its quivers for all to see!

When the Swahili speaking people say, “Mishale Muzuri haukai ziani,” literally meaning that, a good arrow does not remain in its quiver, all they mean is that a beautiful thing,  true talent, or genuine potential should never be hidden, but must be brought out into the open to be used and admired. This proverb somehow may show how Africa has allowed its glorious past to be lost because it has not been properly documented.

In fact, if there was ever a people that have been pushed  into near oblivion through no fault of theirs, they must be Africans. The continent’s history has been distorted and treated like it has no past.  

For this reason, delegates attending the High-Level Next Steps Conference on Reparatory Justice should be urged to consider long-overlooked issues, rather than focus solely on reparations.

The High Level Next Steps Conference, is a follow up to the adoption of the landmark United Nations General Assembly Resolution which declared the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and the Racialised Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime against Humanity. The adoption which received broad international support and overwhelming endorsement by 123 UN Member States, represents a significant milestone in advancing global acknowledgment of historical injustices and the need for structured engagement on reparatory justice.

But with the calibre of people attending the conference, talking about reparation alone, without studying Africa’s true past, will not help the continent. For this reason, the delegates must spend time to take a close look at how  our people and heroes lived, especially those that have not been properly documented. This way, Africa will begin to be seen in the proper light.  

Ensuring that the hunters stop telling Africa’s tales must be high on the agenda. Therefore, it is important to point out that, African children must begin to know that their forebears were not just hunters who lived in caves. They must know that behind the derogatory accounts that have been documented as African history, were people who lived and achieved.

For this reason,  the delegates must delve into the untold  story of  Mansa Abu Bakr II (or Mansa Muhammad ibn Qu) of the medieval Mali Empire. They must set in motion a programme that will allow research on this great African leader to be properly researched.  Some historians say, there are records to show that In 1311, he abdicated his throne and led a massive fleet of thousands of ships into the Atlantic Ocean in an attempt to explore its western limits. Not many Africans have ever heard of this, and even those who heard, did not attach any seriousness to it. That is why it  must be researched properly.

The Abu Bakr II’s story is preserved primarily through the accounts of the famous Malian Emperor Mansa Musa, who succeeded him, and there are reports to say his predecessor first sent out an exploratory fleet of 200 boats. When only a single ship returned with stories of the fleet being swallowed by a powerful “river in the sea” (likely an Atlantic current), an undeterred Abu Bakr II outfitted a second, massive expedition of thousands of vessels.

Online sources admit that there are no universally accepted archaeological evidence confirming that the fleet reached the Americas. However, the legend of Abu Bakr  is deeply cherished in oral history. The story has intrigued historians for centuries, largely because Christopher Columbus, who is credited with discovering America,  himself wrote about hearing tales of West Africans crossing the Atlantic to trade and navigate.

Once Abu Bakr’s story is properly researched, it can open the door to many other accounts that reveal how Africans lived before European colonisation. Recovering and documenting this glorious past will help reshape how Africa is seen across the world.

It is also interesting that the conference is taking place just about the same time that Togo is preparing to ask the  United Nations member states to adopt ‌a world map that more accurately reflects the true size of Africa and ditch the 16th-century Mercator projection. Created by cartographer Gerardus Mercator for navigation, the Mercator projection distorts the continent sizes, enlarging areas near the poles like North America and Greenland while shrinking Africa and South America.

Critics argue that the Mercator projection distorts how people see Africa. For example, it makes Greenland appear almost the same size as Africa, even though Africa is about 14 times larger. This distortion can make Africa seem smaller and less significant than it truly is, influencing how the continent is represented in the media, education, and public policy.

The African Union (AU)  has ⁠tasked Togo with promoting a ‘Correct The Map’ campaign to end the use of the Mercator ​map by governments and international organisations. Led by advocacy groups, Africa No Filter and Speak Up ​Africa, the campaign calls for adoption of the 2018 Equal Earth projection, which tries to reflect the true sizes of countries.

For too long, Africa has been quite literally minimized. The widespread use of the Mercator projection, which dramatically shrinks the continent’s true size, is seen as more than a cartographic flaw. It is a visual injustice that reinforces harmful power dynamics, undermines Africa’s global significance, and perpetuates colonial legacies.

“Correct the Map” is Speak Up Africa’s bold call to action, in partnership with Africa No Filter, to challenge this outdated norm and promote the adoption of accurate facts. The organisations want to see an equitable map projections such as the Equal Earth Projection.

Some academics say, the Equal Earth Projection is a pseudo-cylindrical, equal-area world map that displays the relative sizes of countries and continents accurately, while preserving a visually pleasing, globe-like appearance.  At the heart of the campaign is a global petition calling on decision-makers, media platforms, and educational institutions to stop using distorted projections and represent Africa as it truly is.

Through digital advocacy, grassroots mobilization, and strategic engagement, the campaign is shifting perceptions and championing a more honest, empowering representation of the continent.

In a recent interview, executive director of Africa No Filter, Moky Makura,  said there must be a  “scientific ‌truth.” This, he said, means there must be accurate representation, which must not just be about maps, but about progress and ensuring the world sees Africa as it truly is.

What is noteworthy is the fact that, earlier this year, ​the AU adopted a resolution ​promoting the Equal ⁠Earth projection and encouraging its 55 member states to move away from the Mercator projection.

Togolese foreign minister, Robert Dussey said “the institutional challenge is to have a resolution passed by the United ​Nations General Assembly to validate this map,” adding that,  “It goes without saying ​that African ⁠countries are already receptive to this initiative.”

It will therefore be  great news if the delegates at the Accra conference work dilligently to get the continent’s history properly documented, by adding their voices to the momentum that is building to get Africa’s true size. This will add some importance to Africa’s growing quest for global recognition that it  had a past and is even bigger than had been assumed over the years.

This is a duty that the delegates must not fail. If they do, they may not be another opportunity.

BY FRANCIS KOKUTSE

The writer is a journalist

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