Edwin's Corner

 I trace my lineage to the Bantu people who originally came from present day Niger Delta Basin. If I discount any reference to an Egyptian origin , I then share a similar history with millions of people around Africa, which is unfortunate since there is no sense of belonging that arises from this story. Embu Dancers Bushmen hunting There is no Bantu culture that I know of. Maybe because it eroded long before the great migrations began centuries ago. What I know of is the tribal culture that I was born into. For this piece I wanted to investigate the idea of tribal identity since the human being is a social being that seeks to identify within a group of people. When the word tribe is mentioned, a flood of archaic similes comes to mind. Mainly because the western culture that my generation has lactated on associates it with a bygone frozen past. You see men with spears, naked children, people living in caves and so forth. And guess what, people don't see a co

I live in Nairobi, one of the fastest growing cities in Africa. Nairobi has witnessed continual growth over the last 30 or so years. And it is still growing. One of its biggest concerns lies in waste management or more aptly put “how do we handle the garbage we churn?” While the problem in Nairobi is not as dire as what you witness with Mexico City and its Poniente Landfill, or Lagos and it’s Lagos Dump, or the expanse of Delhi city, I believe Nairobi would be in a similar dire strain if it had experienced the same explosive population growths that Lagos and the Indian cities have experienced due to rural-urban migration. Lagos dump Courtesy George Esiri_Reuters Bordo Poniente Landfill, Mexico Courtesy Yuri Cortez_Getty Images There is a dividing line in the city, between the more affluent neighborhoods, which essentially pay private collection firms to take away their garbage to the only landfill in Nairobi, Dandora Dumping Site and poor

A few weeks ago I started investigating about the use of mass media in manipulating the tastes and perceptions of children. This came right off the back of me delving into the power of propaganda and how the Third Reich indoctrinated German children to loath and hate Jews, and progressively take part innocently in their annihilation . The manner in which this was done begins with innocent symbolism and ends with psychological manipulation to achieve an evil objective.     I wanted to find out how in the same vain social behavior in Africa can be manipulated today using the Internet to achieve the whims of organized institutions that have the resources to do so.   Africa has the youngest population in the world. More than 50% of its population is below 20 years . More than ever before this age group is more educated and knows how to search for information online.   It is telling when the most respected brands in Africa are MTN, Nokia, Coca-Cola and Sams