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Project Change

Welcome to the Federal Republic of Africa | By: Ms. Korpo M. Selay

Welcome to the Federal Republic of Africa

A small country whose capital city is Wakanda

We all live in the spirit of Ubuntu

It’s Wakanda forever!

Africans are one people, one culture, and one spirit

We all know each other

So yes, I know the Kenyan you went to school with

Oh, the African friend of your cousin’s daughter's friend?

I know him too.


Welcome to the Federal Republic of Africa

When you talk about us, make sure to mention hunger and poverty

Our national symbols are the

Big bellies and piercing eyes of children

Longing for freedom from themselves

Begging for food

Their big bellies full of not food

But dreams snatched from them at an early age

Their eyes carrying the stories of a thousand generations of traumatized people

Abused, dehumanized, and discriminated against


Okay, no, I mean, say they are all sick and carry diseases

Sicknesses such as exploitation, sorry, exploration and colorism

Eating the insides of their bellies

Maybe civilization?

Cos, I mean, we are all savages, right?

When your friend says I’m visiting Africa

Respond and tell them

“Do not touch them; else you’ll get malaria or Ebola

Don’t forget to mention the corrupt governments

Nasty politics or lack of clean water

Even though Africa has some of the world’s largest rivers and lakes

And a climate that favors her,

Tell them to take water with them

Else they’ll die of thirst



Welcome to the Federal Republic of Africa

We wake up to the sounds of nature

Calling us to another day

Where the sun rises in the east and sets in the west

But tell people there is constant darkness

It’s called the Dark Continent for a reason

Dark, darker, darkest, darkness

Hovering over the heads of its citizens

Reaching down the throats

Snatching every piece of life within their bodies

Make sure to hear their gasps for air when you say this

Feel the pain

Connect with them


Welcome to the Federal Republic of Africa

Where men and wild animals live together

So don’t be surprised when I show you my pet lion

Or, as my name dictates, pet elephant

We speak African

We are all going to die if you don’t send aid

Every African is dark-skinned

Say it, write it, show it to people

Tell them about a small country called Africa.


Right? No


Welcome to the continent of Africa

Mama Africa she’s called

An old lady reaped and exploited by the rest of the world

Look carefully, and you’ll see the blood of her children

Lying still and breathless as she mourns their death

Murdered and brutally killed in the land of their mother

For the land of their mother


Africa has 54 children

Smart ones like Congo-Kinshasa, who invented human-like robots to regulate traffic

Or Nigeria, who created an aerial vehicle that can fly nonstop

Carrying the news of a new dawn to its brothers and sisters

Each of Africa’s children is beautiful, resilient, unique

Some of the world’s happiest people

Welcoming and accepting

Which you should know as you were accepted too

Fighting against a world that seems not to tolerate them

But still, smiling and welcoming

Like her daughter Kenya, my aunty

Known to accept about 2 million people into her home yearly

Africa’s grandchildren are some of the youngest people in the world’s population

Young people breaking barriers and working against all odds

Her children speak about 25% of the world’s languages spoken only there

30% of the world’s remaining resources

A land of unhatched potential


Welcome to Mama Africa

My grandmother

My mother

SHE IS HOME.

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1 Comment


Ernestine Cooper
Nov 28, 2022

Ms. Selay your style of writing is incredible.

Well Said.

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