When
the former President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Thabo Mbeki, delivered
the ‘I am an African’ speech in 1996, I was barely in my teens and did not know
that over 10 years later, I would be so interested in the affairs of this
continent. I also did not know that there would come a time when I would define
myself as an African rather than being affiliated to a particular country in
the continent. Very
often I have been asked by numerous numbers of people where I come from and I always
say to them that I am an African after which they look at me dumbfounded. It was
not until I decided to understand and confront my identity demons that I realized
I was a child of many formations and could not necessarily be affiliated with
one country. I am deeply passionate about the African continent, I find myself
asking a lot of why questions about Africa’s past, and have so much optimism
about the continent’s potential.