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1:04

The Global Jigsaw is the podcast lifting

1:06

the language barrier to show you the

1:08

world's threats media. The

1:11

Global Jigsaw from the BBC World Service. Listen

1:14

now by searching for the explanation wherever

1:26

you get your BBC podcasts. Hello,

1:32

I'm Richard Cagoy. And on this edition of

1:34

Focus on Africa, the island

1:36

nation of Mauritius reached high income

1:38

country status back in 2020. But

1:41

the rupee has taken a hit. We'll

1:43

find out more about why the currency

1:45

has depreciated. And we speak

1:47

to the cast of Four Black Boys,

1:50

which explores things that can be spoken

1:52

about and the things that can't within

1:54

black communities. I remember me and my

1:56

partner like being on the bus and

1:58

let's say we're holding It's Wednesday, the

2:00

27th of March. We're

2:30

going to start today talking about Binance.

2:33

The company itself and the cryptocurrency

2:35

exchange. Binance is recognized

2:37

as the world's largest cryptocurrency

2:39

exchange. Last month Nigerian

2:42

authorities clamped down on cryptocurrency firms

2:44

over allegations that are being used

2:46

for money laundering and financing terrorism.

2:49

Nigerian authorities also formally filed

2:51

tax evasion charges against cryptocurrency

2:53

firm Binance at the High

2:56

Kortena Buja. The country's

2:58

central bank alleged that over $26 billion

3:00

worth of transactions had passed

3:02

through the firm with untressable sources.

3:05

It accused the platform of fixing

3:07

exchange rates and currency speculation leading

3:09

to the freefall of the Naira.

3:12

It also ordered the firm to pay a fine

3:14

of $10 billion. Two

3:16

other platforms executives arrested in Nigeria

3:18

in February, but on Monday authorities

3:21

confirmed that one of them had

3:23

escaped from custody. Official

3:25

said Nadim Anjawala, a British-Canyon dual

3:27

national, had fled the country with

3:29

a smuggled passport, but a family

3:32

saw seed yet left by lawful

3:34

means. Nigeria is considered

3:36

to be Africa's largest crypto economy.

3:39

I've been speaking to my colleague

3:41

Mkecio Bonna. So how popular is

3:43

cryptocurrency in Nigeria? Digital

3:46

currencies are very popular in Nigeria

3:48

and it's mostly powered by young

3:50

people. This is because of the

3:53

digital expansion that has happened in

3:55

the country. Young people are powering

3:58

the population. And so

4:01

it's no surprise at all that the

4:03

cryptocurrency market in Nigeria is

4:06

quite huge. There are several cryptocurrency

4:08

platforms that do exist

4:10

in the country, but the most

4:12

popular one is Binance, the global

4:15

platform, because it operates in several

4:17

countries across the globe.

4:19

And it's been used for remittances,

4:22

diaspora remittances, those abroad use it

4:24

to send money to those in

4:26

Nigeria, and those in Nigeria also

4:28

use it to buy

4:31

plane tickets and do other sorts

4:33

of transactions. It's also a means

4:36

of savings as well. People use

4:38

cryptocurrencies to save. In

4:40

what sort of market share does Binance have

4:42

in Nigeria? Binance refused

4:45

to disclose exactly the

4:47

number of people it has on its

4:49

platform from Nigeria, and that's one

4:51

of the things the authorities were

4:53

demanding that the organization share

4:55

with them. So maybe

4:58

just to clarify this for me, because I'd like

5:00

to understand really how the role

5:02

basically that cryptocurrency plays in the Nigerian

5:04

economy. Of course, you've talked about it

5:06

being very popular among young people. So

5:08

maybe you could just expand that a

5:11

little bit. So

5:13

Richard, the thing is, because of the

5:15

weakness of the NARA, a lot of

5:17

young people say, you know what Richard,

5:19

why would I save my money in

5:21

the bank with very little interest rates

5:23

on it? And then the

5:25

value of the NARA is dwindling

5:27

as the days go by. So

5:29

why don't I put my money

5:31

in cryptocurrency exchange, for instance, whereby

5:33

depending on the market rates of

5:35

the day, I can switch my

5:37

NARA for cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin or whatever

5:39

type of coin. And I know

5:41

that the value is in

5:44

Bitcoin, is not in my NARA

5:46

bank account anymore, such that tomorrow,

5:48

if the NARA continues to do

5:50

a free fall, it doesn't impact

5:52

my savings. And so

5:54

it stems from first of people

5:57

trying to protect their savings from

5:59

being eroded by inflation in

6:01

the country. Secondly, a lot

6:03

of young people see cryptocurrency

6:05

changing as an alternative

6:08

source of income. Now, because

6:10

of the economic crisis in

6:12

the country, a lot of

6:14

young people have said that

6:16

it's difficult. Yeah, monthly or

6:18

weekly income is not sustainable

6:20

anymore. And so they invest

6:22

in cryptocurrency exchanges, the means

6:24

of gaining extra income. We've

6:27

had an occasion to discuss

6:29

about the state of the Nigerian

6:31

economy on this podcast, we

6:33

see you separately. One

6:35

of the challenges is that the country

6:37

has been battling rising cost

6:40

of living. The NARA has been

6:43

depreciating for close to about two years,

6:45

but of course, there have been news

6:48

about it appreciating. So bringing

6:50

this together with food inflation, so

6:52

do cryptocurrency sites really make the

6:54

situation worse? Do they really agree

6:57

with the state of the

6:59

economy? Well,

7:01

the government claims that some of

7:03

the cryptocurrency platforms have been fixing

7:06

exchange rates, assuming the role of

7:08

the central bank. And so this

7:11

is stemmed from currency speculation, you

7:13

know, where people just assume that

7:16

the NARA is weakening against the

7:18

US dollar, for instance. And so

7:20

rates have height on

7:22

those platforms. And then it affects

7:25

the general foreign exchange markets at

7:27

the bureau, the exchange operators, and

7:29

even in the banks as well.

7:32

And so the currency was

7:34

not stable for a very

7:36

long time, especially after the

7:39

central bank removed the multiple exchange

7:41

rates regime that it has operated

7:43

for a couple of years. Last

7:46

June, the central bank

7:48

decided that the market would determine

7:50

what the exchange rate was. And

7:52

so following that, the

7:55

currency has been depreciating for quite

7:57

a while. And this is owing to

7:59

the soil. in demand for foreign

8:01

exchange. So the government claims that

8:03

cryptocurrency platforms are partly responsible for

8:06

that, although it has not presented

8:08

any form of evidence to support

8:10

this claim. We've seen

8:12

the government really making drastic decisions, including

8:14

clamping down on a cryptocurrency site. So

8:17

in your opinion, is that

8:19

enough really to protect the

8:21

local currency against further depreciation?

8:24

A few cryptocurrency exchange platforms,

8:27

including Binance, were suspended almost

8:29

two months now. Their sites

8:31

have not been accessible by

8:34

Nigerian users. And also some

8:36

of these platforms have delisted

8:39

the Nigerian Naira from their

8:41

platforms. And so the government

8:43

said it was doing this

8:46

to curb the weakening of

8:48

the Naira and currency speculations.

8:50

But has that impacted a

8:53

drastic gain in the exchange

8:55

market? I am not sure that's

8:57

totally responsible for it. We

8:59

have seen the Naira appreciate in the

9:01

last couple of days, but

9:03

this is probably owing to monetary

9:05

policies and fiscal policies that the

9:08

central bank has introduced whereby the

9:10

Naira is now gaining and appreciating

9:12

against currencies like Group Pound and

9:14

the US dollar. Binance, you know,

9:17

the firm has really been in

9:19

the news lately. Is there so

9:21

much focus on it, especially as

9:23

a major player in

9:25

the cryptocurrency market in Nigeria? So

9:28

what's really been its contribution to

9:30

the state of affairs in Nigeria's

9:32

economy currently? Binance

9:34

has denied any wrongdoing

9:36

in Nigeria's economy. And

9:38

this started a

9:40

few months back when the

9:42

authorities said that the platform

9:44

was on other

9:46

crypto platforms. I must emphasize

9:48

it speculated that they were being

9:51

used to fund terrorism. It was

9:53

also used for money laundering activities.

9:56

And last month, the central bank revealed that over

9:58

26. billion

10:01

worth of transactions were

10:03

carried out on Binance platform

10:05

and these transactions were untraceable

10:08

by the central bank. The

10:10

users were not known, the

10:12

receivers were not known, the destination

10:14

was also not known. And so,

10:16

the authorities have said that these

10:18

are some of the issues that

10:21

Binance has basically disrupted the economic

10:23

space. And so, it's singled

10:25

out Binance because of its

10:27

popularity and the amount of transactions

10:30

that happen on the platform and

10:32

the amount of users as well.

10:34

Binance has not responded to these

10:36

charges in any way, but

10:38

the two foreign nationals who were

10:40

held in one of the detention

10:42

centers by the security agencies have

10:45

been there. Binance has confirmed that

10:47

one of them, the British Canyon,

10:50

has escaped. Nadim,

10:52

who escaped, has been

10:55

put on red alert.

10:57

Authorities say they have contacted Interpol

11:00

to issue an international warrant

11:02

for his arrest. So, anywhere

11:04

in any country he's found

11:07

where Nigeria has extradition, a

11:09

treaty with, he would be repatriated

11:11

to the country to face charges.

11:14

But, Richard, we should remember that

11:16

this is not the first time that the

11:19

Nigerian government is clamping down on cryptocurrency platforms.

11:21

There was a 2022 ban

11:24

on cryptocurrency trading completely in the

11:26

country. And that ban was just

11:28

lifted sometime last year in December,

11:31

I think. And so, here

11:33

we are again, where the government has now

11:35

finally banned Binance and

11:38

other currency platforms owing to

11:40

security issues and economic

11:42

issues as well as it has highlighted.

11:44

And so, we do not know what

11:47

the impacts would be, but what we

11:49

do know is a lot of Nigerian

11:51

users have migrated to other smaller cryptocurrency

11:54

exchange platforms that are not so popular, but

11:56

are also very efficient, the ones that are

11:59

not so popular. that the Nigerian government

12:01

is not clamping down against.

12:03

And that's where they are currently

12:05

trading at the moment. The BBC

12:07

is Nkechi Ogbona. Have

12:16

you ever been to Mauritius, the island nation

12:18

which is in the Indian Ocean on the

12:20

coast of East Africa? It's

12:22

a beautiful island, popular with tourists from

12:24

all over the world. And

12:26

since independence from Britain in 1968, the

12:30

country has developed into a middle-income country

12:32

based largely on tourism. However,

12:35

in the past few years, the

12:37

Mauritian rupee has depreciated. Here's

12:40

the view from Mauritians on the current state

12:42

of the economy. It puts a lot of

12:44

uncertainty in everything that we do. It's like

12:46

hyperinflation imported from somewhere else. One of the

12:48

favorite dishes in Mauritius is like a roti.

12:50

And so we can just see it, anybody

12:53

who is conversed in any kind of

12:55

mathematical limitation would see the percentage that

12:57

is going up, you know? It's such

12:59

a staple food that most people would

13:01

just think twice before buying. It's getting

13:04

more expensive. And we should say monthly,

13:06

if not by the day. I've

13:08

seen someone in the office who

13:10

doesn't earn that much. They really

13:13

struggle. They really struggle. Those whom

13:15

I've met and talk, they really

13:17

struggle. I've been chatting to

13:19

Manisha Dutoni, an economy strategist

13:21

and investment expert in Mauritius.

13:24

She began, of course, by describing the island

13:26

to me. We have

13:29

beautiful rainbows, which is one of

13:31

the things that whenever I've traveled

13:33

and come back to Mauritius, I

13:36

am always quite amazed. Lots

13:38

of micro-climates across the country

13:41

because Mauritius is on a

13:43

former volcano, which

13:45

gets said by greenery, but

13:47

also different scenery, very abrupt

13:50

mountains at times. But

13:52

Mauritius is not just the

13:54

island of Mauritius. It's also

13:56

the islands of Redrix, the

13:58

island of Agaleka. Saint-Francois. Being

14:01

surrounded by the sea is

14:03

something that is very important

14:05

for us. Being

14:08

near the sea, being able to

14:10

smell the breeze coming from the

14:12

sea is part of our DNA

14:15

in Mauritius. That's a picture,

14:17

perfect description of Mauritius and I

14:19

do know that there's multiple islands.

14:21

But let's talk about its performance. The

14:24

rupee hasn't been doing very well, so

14:26

it's depreciated significantly over the past five

14:28

or six years from the COVID pandemic.

14:31

So break it down for me

14:33

to understand how this depreciation really

14:35

affected the economy. I travel quite

14:38

often because I'm an international consultant

14:40

and so very often I need

14:42

to buy US dollars because

14:44

I'm going in places where maybe

14:46

my cards won't work and it's

14:48

always good to have some cash.

14:52

In 2019, well March

14:55

2019, going towards the

14:57

pandemic, I could get

15:00

a US dollar with

15:02

about 34-35 rupees, Mauritian

15:05

rupees. Today, to get

15:07

one US dollar, it costs me 46

15:11

rupees, if not more because

15:13

of charges, etc. Just

15:15

an analysis and looking at this, it

15:17

really shows you how

15:19

much the Mauritian rupee

15:21

has lost in value.

15:24

It's a lot to

15:26

do with the depreciation

15:28

that happened in the

15:30

weight of the pandemic,

15:32

the economy closed and

15:34

when the economy closed,

15:36

then we didn't have any

15:39

foreign exchange coming from the

15:41

tourism sector, which is one

15:43

of the huge revenue generating

15:45

sector of the country. That

15:48

really gave a big hit

15:50

on the Mauritian economy because

15:52

the Mauritian economy is highly

15:55

dependent on revenue coming from

15:57

foreign sources. I wonder how ordinary

15:59

people are. people and people who are

16:01

in business have been now affected by

16:03

this depreciation. Well, if

16:06

you are someone who is

16:08

buying goods from outside, a

16:10

lot of our goods come

16:13

from two main sources, from

16:15

China or from India. If

16:18

a lot of those importers,

16:20

whether you are an importer

16:22

of metals, for example, from

16:24

China, then

16:26

if the cost of the

16:28

metal hasn't increased, so let's

16:30

say you're still buying something

16:32

$100 and as

16:35

you were pre-pandemic, that means now today

16:37

when it reaches the Mauritian market, instead

16:40

of 3,500, it is at 4,600 rupees,

16:42

which increases the cost and makes it

16:44

quite expensive for

16:51

the local people, in particular when

16:53

we're looking at some specific sectors

16:55

which consume a lot. Same

16:58

thing, let's say you

17:00

are importing medicine from

17:02

India and your medicine,

17:04

say your medicine is just

17:06

a dollar and it was a dollar

17:08

pre-pandemic, it's still a dollar when you're

17:10

buying it, but that means that you're

17:12

now paying 46 rupees instead of 36

17:14

rupees. 10

17:18

rupees extra for your medicine

17:20

is the increases in price

17:22

and it has hit not

17:24

just the businesses, it has

17:26

hit everyone across the country,

17:28

it has hit all the

17:30

consumers. Okay, so the depreciation

17:32

and what you're trying to explain to

17:35

me translates to basically a steep rise

17:37

in the cost of living for ordinary

17:39

people in Mauritius, right? For everyone, whether

17:42

we're saying ordinary or less

17:44

ordinary people, yes, the

17:46

prices have gone up and that

17:49

has led to a steep level

17:51

of inflation. Last year,

17:53

we had some of the

17:55

highest level of inflation in

17:57

the country. Now, thanks for

17:59

watching. the level of inflation

18:01

is going down. But level

18:04

of inflation going down means that the

18:06

prices are still going up, but it's

18:08

not going up as much as it

18:11

was last year. Manisha, are there

18:13

any indications of the rupee possibly

18:15

gaining ground, maybe in the foreseeable

18:17

future? Are we talking about amount

18:19

of months, or should we say

18:21

a year or a couple, possibly

18:23

to see that the strength of

18:25

the currency really improving? I think

18:27

many of the sectors that were

18:30

hardly hit are now back on

18:32

track. And the other thing that

18:34

is good to know is the

18:36

fact that there is foreign currency

18:38

in the economy. A lot of

18:40

it is in the financial services

18:43

sector. Given many of

18:45

the sectors are now picking up,

18:47

the fact that the level of

18:49

inflation is going down, at the

18:51

end of the year, I think

18:54

the Mauritian rupees likely going

18:56

to strengthen a bit more

18:58

and maybe get back to

19:01

a certain level, maybe

19:03

not the pre-pandemic level, but

19:06

recoup a bit

19:08

as we reach towards

19:11

the end of the year. And

19:13

particularly also because at that

19:15

time then some of the

19:17

uncertainties that we have been

19:20

going through internationally will ease,

19:23

hopefully, but quite

19:25

a bit of effort is being put

19:27

in place to consolidate our economy.

19:31

And to build new sectors, whether it

19:33

is the FinTech sector or,

19:35

for example, the biotech

19:38

sector, we are

19:40

already seeing in quite a promising

19:42

way new investments

19:44

coming into those sectors and

19:47

new possibilities of

19:49

products and services

19:52

being brought into those sectors

19:54

as well. These

19:56

will definitely be

19:59

revenue-generating. rating for the

20:01

Mauritian economy. Manisha Dukoni,

20:03

an economy strategist and investment

20:05

expert in Mauritius. When

20:10

it comes to talking about mental health, particularly

20:13

among men, especially those of

20:15

African descent, this subject can often

20:17

be a topic that's difficult

20:19

to be open about. It's the

20:21

stigma that's attached to eat. Let

20:23

me explain. Big boys don't

20:25

cry and men don't shed tears. It's

20:28

often the traditional and accepted gender

20:30

norm in many African societies. In

20:33

this patriarchal environment, men are

20:35

under pressure to be emotionally strong

20:38

and stoic, rarely showing their feelings

20:40

and unbix them prone to suppressing the

20:42

emotions and not seeking the help they

20:44

need at times of crisis or overwhelming

20:47

events. It's a theme

20:49

that writer and director, Ron Karlei

20:51

Cameron, who's black himself wanted to

20:53

tackle in his play in London

20:55

called Four Black Boys who have

20:57

considered suicide when the heel gets too

21:00

heavy. The play received

21:02

considerable acclaim in the UK and

21:04

was nominated for an Olivier Award

21:06

for Best New Play last year.

21:09

It follows six young black men who met in

21:11

a group therapy session where they

21:13

discuss and argue about the numerous

21:15

familial and societal problems they face,

21:18

the things that they can talk about and the

21:20

things that they can't talk about. I've

21:23

been speaking to two cast members,

21:25

Mohammed Mansari and Fela Lufadejo. Mohammed

21:27

begins by telling me about the production.

21:31

Four Black Boys is a play

21:33

about six black men who are

21:35

in therapy for multiple reasons. They

21:37

each have their own personal reasons

21:39

and we see how all of

21:41

these men coming from their individual

21:43

backgrounds and experiences, how they interact

21:46

in the space, not knowing each

21:48

other at first, listening to each

21:50

other's lived experiences and how that

21:52

allows them to kind of unravel

21:54

and be vulnerable in a

21:56

space to talk about their self. and

22:01

triggering a conversation that people generally

22:03

are shy or don't regularly really

22:05

have amongst themselves, especially as men.

22:07

So Fela, you know, the play

22:09

addresses a very important subject matter.

22:11

That's about mental health, something very,

22:13

very complicated. How is that important

22:16

to you personally? Well, the whole

22:18

subject is massively important to me,

22:20

especially coming from a black African

22:22

household where I think I said

22:24

to one of your colleagues when

22:26

we last had an interview that

22:29

my mum doesn't necessarily believe in

22:31

it and the mental wellbeing.

22:34

And in this avenue, we

22:36

get an opportunity to see the inner workings

22:39

of the black masculine or the black mind

22:41

and the black male mind. In a way,

22:43

like I remember when I first saw the

22:45

play, the play drew out of me so

22:48

much of the under-cribices of my mind that

22:50

maybe I might have uttered to myself in

22:52

a dark moment, but it felt like it

22:54

was pulled out of me and somebody was

22:57

articulating it in a way that I never,

22:59

I could never myself. Mohammed,

23:01

you know, you play the character

23:03

of Zidane who is portrayed as

23:05

headstrong, well-educated, someone who defies, you

23:07

know, the typical stereotypes. You know,

23:09

your character tackles how black history,

23:11

specifically African history is

23:13

fully told, especially within the UK curriculum.

23:16

So how significant is that to have

23:19

your character highlight that in his monologue?

23:21

I think it's extremely important. I believe

23:23

that when it comes to black history,

23:26

a mentor of mine said to me, you need to

23:28

understand where you're coming from to know where you are

23:30

going to. And in this case,

23:33

we're talking about our history and not

23:35

just the history that has been prescribed

23:37

to us or been, you know, told

23:39

to us by the Anglo-Saxon curriculum. I

23:41

think when you really understand your ancient

23:44

sacred history, I'm from Sierra Leone myself,

23:46

I think for me, it just emboldens

23:48

me and strengthens me and it gives

23:50

me pride to understand that one, there

23:52

are certain spaces where in the UK

23:55

you can feel as though you're not

23:57

welcome or you're not wanted as

23:59

a black person. person, but when you know,

24:01

okay, I'm smart, I'm intelligent and my forefathers

24:04

before me, they were also people that were

24:06

innovators, they were people that led. You don't

24:08

look for validation anymore. You walk with your

24:11

chest and your head held high and you

24:13

stand in these spaces and own it. Fela,

24:16

I've grown up in Kenya. I've spent the

24:19

rest of my life in this continent and

24:22

so I know in terms of my socialization,

24:24

we were not supposed to cry. We're

24:27

not supposed to display anything that suggests

24:29

a vulnerability and looking at

24:31

your character, they tackle that taboo

24:34

and especially when it comes to

24:36

being open about issues

24:38

that are related to health. So when

24:41

your father admits that he's been suffering

24:43

from prostate cancer but instead of seeking

24:45

help, he hid it and then would

24:48

say he died with pride. How

24:50

does that really reflect your dealings especially

24:53

with your parents and as a person

24:55

of Africa descent? Funnily enough,

24:57

where it pertains to health, my

25:00

parents, I've been fortunate enough

25:03

that they've been quite open in

25:05

the discussion and they

25:07

don't necessarily believe in the idea

25:10

of pride. I know

25:12

many of friends and many of cousins

25:14

and family members who are

25:16

of that thinking, they do not necessarily

25:18

want information about them to

25:21

be out there. They believe in

25:23

the mystique of keeping what is

25:25

at home to themselves because they

25:27

don't necessarily want to look weak.

25:29

We all somewhat care about images

25:32

but when it becomes at cost

25:34

to yourself, that's where the issue

25:36

is. You know, image is everything and

25:39

so very conscious especially as men in

25:41

safeguarding that and we just want to look

25:43

at our best at any

25:45

given time. As we move on, mental health

25:49

struggles wasn't a topic when I was younger.

25:51

I'm 33 years old and I remember having

25:53

that discussion with my mum when she was

25:55

like, you know what, I'm in mental health.

25:58

I was like, what do you mean by that? It's

26:00

about the discussion of opening and

26:02

realizing that vulnerability is not weakness

26:05

when you're building these incredible strength

26:07

to be able to articulate your emotions and and

26:10

disarm people with your emotions It's not it doesn't

26:12

show you as weak. It shows you as being

26:14

really in tune and in touch with oneself Absolutely.

26:17

And so Mohammed What

26:19

one of the things that your character

26:21

sort of like expresses is the need to

26:23

tackle the issue about Colorism

26:26

when you think that's an important conversation

26:28

that we should be having I was in

26:30

the Philippines at the end of last year I

26:33

was working on a project and there

26:35

were so many adverts for like skin

26:38

lightening cream And yeah, just people trying

26:40

to make their skin fairer, especially the

26:42

women as well And it

26:44

kind of broke my heart because those a day was on

26:46

set was filming and one of the runners Was

26:49

she had a hood on she had a scarf across

26:51

her face and I was like it's

26:53

so hot Why are you why are you

26:55

wearing this if you were in a desert?

26:58

I would understand to protect yourself from even

27:00

in the sun But why are you wearing

27:02

this and she said ask because I've got

27:04

my skin lightening cream on and if the

27:06

sun hits my skin Then it won't be

27:08

good for me It then makes me think

27:10

about how a lot of our moms aunties

27:12

sisters cousins are doing the same thing And

27:14

then you think well, where did they learn

27:16

that if your skin is lighter? You will

27:18

be more desirable and you up your value

27:20

as a person. It's in proximity to whiteness

27:22

Of course, because it's this whole European Eurocentric

27:26

slim nose light blue eyes

27:28

that we talk about in

27:30

the play light a lot of skin It's

27:32

like if in some countries like those Scandinavian

27:34

countries if that's their standard of beauty cool

27:37

But you know, we're not from there. But

27:39

for us we are black people

27:41

We are made to be in the Sun

27:43

our skin is melanated when we even think

27:45

about what is in melanin That's how it

27:47

helps your body. It's magic this issue of

27:50

colorism I think it also comes down to

27:52

the issue of self-love that is what the

27:54

pair talks about Especially in the second act

27:56

is essentially loving other people loving ourselves and

27:58

learning how to do I'm wondering,

28:01

Fela, just opening up on all the struggles

28:03

of just being not a

28:05

black man, but also queer, how

28:07

do you think Jett would have engaged with

28:09

this conversation around queerness in Africa? And it's

28:12

a hot topic in this part of the

28:14

world. I think Jett

28:16

somewhat pontificates with the idea of

28:18

being queer, but doesn't necessarily like

28:20

identify as being queer, especially in

28:22

Africa, where some people, especially what's

28:25

going on in Ghana now with

28:27

this new bill, the criminalization of

28:29

the LGBTQ community. I

28:31

did a project in Nigeria not too long ago with

28:34

film, and just to be in and

28:36

around, we had to have like security

28:38

and convoys just in case we ran

28:40

into some trouble. But

28:42

specifically here in the UK for black

28:44

men, it's that queerness and

28:47

sexuality like Ryan wrote in

28:49

the play, it's a

28:51

dark, dark theme

28:54

in the sense that they don't necessarily

28:56

identify as being queer. I

28:59

remember me and

29:01

my partner, my ex-partner, like

29:03

being on the bus and let's say we're

29:05

holding hands and another black man is coming

29:07

up the stairs. And all of a

29:09

sudden you kind of un-weather one another

29:12

because to be seen as queer by

29:14

another black man is to be really

29:16

seen and there's so much game involved

29:18

in that. Because society has told you

29:20

that there's an archetypical role or the

29:22

way of being as a black man

29:24

and that doesn't encompass it. Yeah, and

29:26

just listening to the two of you,

29:28

certainly the message hit home and

29:30

I think it's a fantastic piece of art, but

29:33

really appreciate the conversation and of course even

29:35

the time that both of you have taken

29:37

just to engage with us here on Focus

29:39

on Africa podcast. So Mohammed and Fela,

29:41

it was great having you on the show. Absolutely.

29:45

Thank you. Thanks to Mohammed Mansoury and

29:47

Fela, Lufa Deju. That's

29:51

it for this edition of Focus

29:53

on Africa. This episode was produced

29:55

by Patricia Whiton, Sunita Nahar, Daniel

29:58

Darzi, Yvette Togira-Maria in London. Kani

30:00

Sharp was in charge and our technical

30:03

producer was Winnie Simon. You

30:05

can also check out our sister podcast

30:07

Africa Daily. It's a deep dive into

30:09

one new story shipping the continent. I'm

30:12

Richard Gagoy. We'll talk again next

30:14

time. The

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