TEDGlobal 2017
Dayo Ogunyemi: Visions of Africa's future, from African filmmakers
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By expanding boundaries, exploring possibilities and conveying truth, films have helped change Africa's reality (even before "Black Panther"). Dayo Ogunyemi invites us to imagine Africa's future through the lens of inspiring filmmakers from across the continent, showing us how they can inspire Africa to make a hundred-year leap.
Dayo Ogunyemi - Cultural media builder
As an entrepreneur and investor in film, media and technology, Dayo Ogunyemi reconstructs the image and reality of Africa. Full bio
As an entrepreneur and investor in film, media and technology, Dayo Ogunyemi reconstructs the image and reality of Africa. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
As a child growing up in Nigeria,
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books sparked my earliest imagination,
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but films, films transported me
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to magical places with flying cars,
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to infinite space with whole universes
of worlds to discover.
of worlds to discover.
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And my journey of discovery
has led to many places and possibilities,
has led to many places and possibilities,
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all linked with ideas and imagination.
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A decade and a half ago,
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I moved from working in law
and technology in New York
and technology in New York
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to financing, producing
and distributing films
and distributing films
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in Nairobi, Lagos and Johannesburg.
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I've been privileged
to see firsthand how in Africa,
to see firsthand how in Africa,
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film powerfully explores
the marvelous and the mundane,
the marvelous and the mundane,
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how it conveys infinite possibilities
and fundamental truths.
and fundamental truths.
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Afrofuturist films like "Pumzi,"
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Wanuri Kahiu's superb sci-fi flick,
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paint brilliant pictures
of Africa's future,
of Africa's future,
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while Rungano Nyoni's "I Am Not A Witch"
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and Akin Omotoso's "Vaya"
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show us and catalogue our present.
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These filmmakers offer nuanced snapshots
of Africa's imagined and lived reality,
of Africa's imagined and lived reality,
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in contrast to some of the images
of Africa that come from outside,
of Africa that come from outside,
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and the perspectives
that accompany all of these images,
that accompany all of these images,
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whether sympathetic or dismissive,
shape or distort
shape or distort
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how people see Africa.
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And the truth is,
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many people think Africa is screwed up.
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Images play a big part of the reason why.
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Many tropes about Africa
persist from pictures,
persist from pictures,
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pictures of famine
in Ethiopia 30 years ago,
in Ethiopia 30 years ago,
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pictures of the Biafran war
half a century ago.
half a century ago.
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But on a continent
where the average age is 17,
where the average age is 17,
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these tragic events
seem almost prehistoric.
seem almost prehistoric.
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Their images are far removed
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from how people in Africa's many countries
see themselves and their neighbors.
see themselves and their neighbors.
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For them, these images
do not represent their reality.
do not represent their reality.
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So what is Africa's reality,
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or rather, which of Africa's
many realities do we choose to focus on?
many realities do we choose to focus on?
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Do we accept Emmanuel Macron's
imagination of Africa in 2017
imagination of Africa in 2017
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as a place in which all women
have seven or eight children?
have seven or eight children?
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Or do we instead rely on the UN's account
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that only one of Africa's 54 countries
has a fertility rate as high as seven?
has a fertility rate as high as seven?
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Do we focus on the fact
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that infant mortality
and life expectancy in Africa today
and life expectancy in Africa today
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is roughly comparable
to the US a hundred years ago,
to the US a hundred years ago,
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or do we focus on progress,
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the fact that Africa has cut
infant mortality in half
infant mortality in half
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in the last four decades
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and has raised life expectancy by 10 years
since the year 2000?
since the year 2000?
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These dueling perspectives
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are all accurate.
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Well, aside from Macron's.
He's just wrong.
He's just wrong.
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(Laughter)
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But one version makes it easy
to dismiss Africa as hopeless,
to dismiss Africa as hopeless,
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while the other fuels hope
that a billion people
that a billion people
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can continue to make progress
towards prosperity.
towards prosperity.
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The fact that Africans
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do not have the luxury
of turning their gaze elsewhere,
of turning their gaze elsewhere,
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the fact that we must make progress
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or live with the consequence of failure,
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are the reason we must continue
to tell our own stories
to tell our own stories
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and show our own images,
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with honesty and primarily
to an African audience,
to an African audience,
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because the image that matters most
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is the image of Africa
in African imaginations.
in African imaginations.
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Now, honesty requires that we acknowledge
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that Africa is behind
the rest of the world
the rest of the world
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and needs to move swiftly to catch up.
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But thinking of a way forward,
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I'd like us to engage
in a thought exercise.
in a thought exercise.
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What if we could go back a hundred years,
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say to the US in 1917,
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but we could take with us
all the modern ideas,
all the modern ideas,
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innovations, inventions
that we have today?
that we have today?
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What could we achieve with this knowledge?
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How richly could we improve quality
of life and living conditions for people?
of life and living conditions for people?
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How widely could we spread prosperity?
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Imagine if a hundred years ago,
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the education system had
all the knowledge we have today,
all the knowledge we have today,
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including how best to teach.
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And doctors and scientists knew all we do
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about public health measures,
surgery techniques,
surgery techniques,
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DNA sequencing,
cancer research and treatment?
cancer research and treatment?
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If we had access then
to modern semiconductors,
to modern semiconductors,
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computers, mobile devices, the internet?
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Just imagine.
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If we did, we could take
a quantum leap forward, couldn't we.
a quantum leap forward, couldn't we.
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Well, Africa can take a leap
of that magnitude today.
of that magnitude today.
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There's enough untapped innovation
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to move Africa a century forward
in living conditions
in living conditions
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if the will and commitment is there.
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This is not just a possibility;
it's an imperative for Africa's future,
it's an imperative for Africa's future,
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a future that will see
Africa's population double
Africa's population double
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to two and a half billion people
in just three decades,
in just three decades,
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a future that will see Africa
have the world's largest workforce,
have the world's largest workforce,
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just as the idea of work itself
is being radically reconsidered.
is being radically reconsidered.
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Now taking the leap forward
isn't that far-fetched.
isn't that far-fetched.
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There are tons of examples
that demonstrate the potential
that demonstrate the potential
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for change in Africa.
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Just 20 years ago,
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Nigeria had fewer than half a million
working phone lines.
working phone lines.
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Today it has a hundred million
mobile phone subscriptions,
mobile phone subscriptions,
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and this mobile miracle
is mirrored in every African country.
is mirrored in every African country.
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There are over three quarters of a billion
mobile phones in use in Africa today,
mobile phones in use in Africa today,
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and this has spurred justified
excitement about leapfrogging,
excitement about leapfrogging,
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about bringing the sharing economy,
artificial intelligence,
artificial intelligence,
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autonomous machines to Africa.
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And this is all promising,
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but we need to think about sequencing.
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Forget putting the cart before the horse.
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You can't put the self-driving car
before the roads.
before the roads.
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(Applause)
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There's a whole infrastructural
and logical layer to innovation
and logical layer to innovation
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that we take for granted,
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but we have to triage for Africa,
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because some of the biggest
infrastructure gaps
infrastructure gaps
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are for things that are so basic
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that Westerners rarely
have to think about them.
have to think about them.
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So let's explore this.
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Imagine your internet access
went off for a day,
went off for a day,
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and when it came back,
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it only stayed on
for three hours at a time,
for three hours at a time,
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with random 15-hour outages?
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How would your life change?
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Now replace internet access
with electricity.
with electricity.
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Think of your fridges,
your TVs, your microwaves,
your TVs, your microwaves,
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just sitting idly for days.
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Now extend this nightmare
to government offices,
to government offices,
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to businesses, to schools,
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to hospitals.
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This, or worse,
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is the type of access
that hundreds of millions of Africans
that hundreds of millions of Africans
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have to electricity,
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and to water,
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and to healthcare,
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and to sanitation,
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and to education.
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We must fix this.
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We must fix this because ensuring
widespread and affordable access
widespread and affordable access
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to decent infrastructure and services
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isn't just low-hanging fruit:
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it's fundamental to achieving
the hundred-year leap.
the hundred-year leap.
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And when we fix it,
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we might find some unexpected benefits.
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One unexpected benefit
of the mobile miracle
of the mobile miracle
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was that it led to what is perhaps
the greatest cultural resurgence
the greatest cultural resurgence
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that Africa has seen in a generation:
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the rebirth of African popular music.
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For musicians like P-Square,
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Bongo Maffin
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and Wizkid,
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mobile phones paved the path
to local dominance
to local dominance
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and global stardom.
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And the impact
isn't limited just to music.
isn't limited just to music.
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It extends to film, too.
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Beautiful, engaging films
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like these stills of "Pumzi,"
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"Vaya," and "I Am Not A Witch" show.
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For while its external image
might be dated,
might be dated,
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Africa continues to evolve,
as does African film.
as does African film.
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Now, every now and again,
the rest of the world catches on,
the rest of the world catches on,
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perhaps with Djo Munga's
hard-hitting "Viva Riva!"
hard-hitting "Viva Riva!"
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with Newton Aduaka's intense "Ezra,"
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or with Abderrahmane Sissako's
poetic "Timbuktu."
poetic "Timbuktu."
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With mobile, Africans are discovering
more and more of these films,
more and more of these films,
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and what that means is that it really
matters less in Kinshasa or Cotonou
matters less in Kinshasa or Cotonou
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what Cannes thinks of African film,
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or if those opinions are informed or fair.
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Who really cares what
the "New York Times" thinks?
the "New York Times" thinks?
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What matters is that Africans
are validating African art and ideas,
are validating African art and ideas,
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both critically and commercially,
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that they are watching what they want,
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and that African filmmakers
are connecting with their core audiences.
are connecting with their core audiences.
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And this is important.
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It's important because film
can illuminate and inspire.
can illuminate and inspire.
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Film can bring visions of the future
to us here in the present.
to us here in the present.
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Films can serve
as a conveyor belt for hope.
as a conveyor belt for hope.
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And film can change perspectives
faster than we can build roads.
faster than we can build roads.
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In just over a decade,
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Nigeria's film industry, Africa's largest,
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has taken the country's
words and languages
words and languages
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into the vocabulary
and imaginations of millions
and imaginations of millions
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in many other African countries.
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It has torn down borders,
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perhaps in the most effective way
since the Berlin Conference
since the Berlin Conference
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sowed linguistic and geographic
division across Africa.
division across Africa.
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Film does speak a universal language,
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and boy, Nigerian film speaks it loudly.
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Making Africa's hundred-year leap
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will require that Africans summon
the creativity to generate ideas
the creativity to generate ideas
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and find the openness to accept and adapt
ideas from anywhere else in the world
ideas from anywhere else in the world
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to solve our pervasive problems.
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With focus on investment,
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films can help drive that change
in Africa's people,
in Africa's people,
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a change that is necessary
to make the hundred-year leap,
to make the hundred-year leap,
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a change that will help create
a prosperous Africa,
a prosperous Africa,
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an Africa that is dramatically
better than it is today.
better than it is today.
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Thank you.
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Asante sana.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dayo Ogunyemi - Cultural media builderAs an entrepreneur and investor in film, media and technology, Dayo Ogunyemi reconstructs the image and reality of Africa.
Why you should listen
Over his career, Dayo Ogunyemi has worked as an entrepreneur, investor, music journalist, DJ, producer, entertainment and IP lawyer and strategy consultant. Now he advises, promotes and invests in companies in Africa's creative and entrepreneurial scenes, including startups in technology, fashion and apparel, event production, content aggregation, film production and distribution. 234 Media's portfolio includes mSurvey, Cinemart, Starflix Cinemas, House of Deola Sagoe, Pixaplex and the African Movie Academy Awards.
Prior to 234 Media, Ogunyemi founded Lexscape, a start-up that used AI and expert system technology to change the consumption and practice of law. He subsequently co-founded Constant Capital, a West African boutique investment bank. Ogunyemi has long been interested in the impact of technology and media on how societies and economies develop, especially in Africa, stemming back to 1991 when he founded Naijanet (the first Nigerian online community) as a freshman at MIT.
Dayo Ogunyemi | Speaker | TED.com