Nigeria’s Women’s Bobsled Team Qualifies for 2018 Olympics, Country’s 1st Ever Winter Olympians
Next Cassava Tuesday, we will discuss the challenges facing the brand of Nigeria. The success of power and influence of a country is based on a country’s reputation regionally and globally. What happens, when a country is in the green economically(ON PAPER) but in the red with reputation?
We will discuss next Cassava Tuesday
“Waterplomacy: The use of water as a tool in diplomacy. ”
“Santa Clause, Father Christmas or St. Nicholas is not from the North Pole. Our Brother is from Turkey.
Stop leaving him cookies, leave him some Turkish Delights or Keebabs
HO! HO! HO! ”
Get a Turk in your life so you can find an Auntie. All shall be right in your life.
“Turkish Delight also known as DRUGS, you cannot stop with just one. On a Turkish Airlines heading to Morocco, I asked four times for just a bit more. The flight attendant gave me the whole box, and everyone laughed at me. Listen, I ate that whole box from London to Morocco and I did not share with my neighbors that found my addiction to be funny. #Haters ”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
The Republic of Turkey.
“Did you know in 2016, Turkey ranked second for donor countries providing humanitarian assistance?”
TURKEY MAKING THE WORLD GREAT AGAIN!!! SOMEONE SHOULD TELL THE FOLKS IN D.C WITHOUT THE STATES, THESE STATES IN THE GLOBAL SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD.
President Erdoğan of Turkey made more visits to Africa in 2017, than any other head of state. The relationship between Turkey and Africa goes back to the Ottoman Empire Era. Turkey’s IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has dug drinking water wells in Somalia for the consumption of 20,000 people daily. In addition to water, Turkey has built schools, hospitals and roads in the country of Somalia.
“The Ottoman Empire ruled parts of North Africa for over five centuries”
President Erdogan is very vocal of the exploitation of Africa and the role colonialism played in destabilizing African states. This is the seduction of Soft Power, you must have policies and a culture that is attractive to folk. On that culture piece, never forget that Intercultural Relations is the thread that holds the cloth of International Relations.
““We see that the future is in Africa. We cannot put this future aside, we cannot miss it. We didn’t come here with colonial plans. Our history does not have any trace of imperialism. Our sole aim, which I also told the Chadian President, is to ensure that Africa can stand on its own two feet.””
Turkey will be joining the United States, U.A.E in having its biggest overseas military base in Mogadishu, Somalia. This base cost our Turk friends a delightful $50 million.
Officially, as of yesterday, in Cape Town the water crisis has been upgraded to Level 6 restrictions. This translates to a reduction of over 60% water use of agricultural operations and 45% in the urban business sector. The drought in South Africa is concerning since it appears to be getting worse and if you pay attention to the graphs below, it looks quite grim.
Meteorologist can calculate rainfalls by looking at El Nino and La Nina patterns. The norm is El-Niño brings drought to South Africa, while La Niña brings wet conditions. The rain patterns are so inconsistent in SA, that both Nina and Nino are quite weak, so you do not get the expected rainfall.
“The chemicals needed to make water clean are no longer available in the city or are extremely low in quantity: Activated Carbon, Chlorine, Sulphuric Acid and
Aluminium Sulphate”
Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni of Harare, capital of Zimbabwe has released official statements on the consumption of water in the city.
““We think we are providing you with water that is good for you and your family to drink,” he said. “We have seen experiences of water that does not look good, water that looks greenish and brownish, water that froths or foams. Let’s share the responsibility. While we assume and claim that our water is clean and safe to drink; we ask you to exercise caution wherever you are and make your own personal decisions about what you see, what you smell. Is it good enough for you to drink?”
Let’s hope the new President of Zimbabwe, Bernard Manyenyeni will do something on the Public Health sector. Preferabbly starting with firing Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni immediately.
See you next Mulday!
We will touch on an incident that involved TICAD & the U.N Security Council. This is very important to understand the piece of Aid in our series as a soft power tool. While this is a strong soft power tool for the country, it is also a challenge for Japan.
We will start here and TICAD much later.........
Cultural Diplomacy from Japan can be a touchy subject for the Asia Pacific Region. This Japan brings back memories of “Empire” and “War”. There is no soft power in this Japan below, this is pure Hard Power and Realism. Depending on you ask, Japan has never apologised for the war.
“We are not going to apologize every year based on the new elected administration
We are not going to give funds for every new administration
We are not going to apologize for every former minister that speaks harshly about this topic
Take your statues down and then we can speak of shrine visits.”
This tension will push Japan to go inside and not invest on Cultural Diplomacy because Japan is viewed through the lenses of this flag.
This flag was in use during the Edo period or Tokugawa period (徳川時代) about some 200+ years before the war.
However, it should be noted that this flag is controversial and painful for people of South Korea and China. Think the swastika for Germany, The Confederate Flag in America, Afrikaner Oranje, Blanje, Blou Flag of South Africa and Namibia.
This flag is a reminder of Colonialism and Imperialism.
There are three major players in Africa from Asia: China, Japan, and South Korea. Currently, there is an unspoken competition between all three on just who can be the most influential friend for Africa but that will be addressed later with TICAD.
In 2013, there were some serious tensions brewing between China and Japan on the role of “influence” and “leadership” with ASEAN. China accused Japan for trying to “assert complete leadership” in the region.
Just because Japan invested a tiny $1.5 billion into the ASEAN union and I forgot to mention the “soft loans” that topped over $500 million from Japan to Myanmar......
Japan has also made sure that with every natural disaster in the Asia Pacific region, before the U.N, International Red Cross, like this Sting song... It is first to help with recovery efforts.
I will touch more on ASEAN states later with this blog. The ASEAN way can also serve as a great platform for some African States. Here is a tiny bit about ASEAN.
This competitive relationship between the two is creeping into Africa.
“So, you understand now that Korea and China would not mind if Japan was out of African Affairs.
There will be no wasabi tears to shed here..
But
This does not mean Korea is simply so happy with the presence of China in Africa.
However, China and Korea could care less for Japan in Africa and for that matter Asia Pacific Affairs.”
However as with most things (not all), time mends and shapes everything. Japan is now known for its own unique soft power known as Cool Japan. Cool Japan was birth in the 1980’s and since then we are all trying to keep up with the cool factors of Japan. Japan is cool in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia but Africa???
“... THE LACK OF RESPECT AND AWARENESS OF YOUR COUNTRY IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS TRANSLATES TO
YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A MEMBER OF THE OTHER, aka “SUBALTERN”.”
“Antonio Gramsci used this term to refer to people considered infererior be it race, class, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or religion.
This term is forever stamped in International Relations Theory because of an essay by Gayatri Spivak. She asked a simple question,
Can the Subaltern Speak?
This blog is about Africa and Asia, so I do not see a problem using this word in both spaces. I should note that academically, this word is getting a bit trendy and abused. ”
At this point of the Water & Cassava Blog you are versed on Soft Power and Cultural Diplomacy. But if you need a refresher, just go back to any Silk Road Thursday Entry or Cassava Tuesday entry.
“A state’s public diplomacy is a direct response to its culture, foreign policy, and political ideologies.
These three elements drive attraction and create a unique soft power for the respective state.
All three elements must be present for the soft power effect to occur.
Cultural Diplomacy is a soft power tool that occurs during the long-term run while Public Diplomacy focuses on the short-term run of the country.”
Officially the name of the Japanese flag is called Nisshōki ("sun-mark flag"). Commonly people refer to the flag as Hinomaru ("circle of the sun").
SIDEBAR #1 : "SOFT CONNECTIONS" CHINA IN AFRICA.
“Do you see the problem here? The China culture must be understood and learned but noticed the African leader not advocating that this street be a two-way street.
Japan can use this as an entry tool to Africa. Korea and China still don’t understand this piece on diplomacy in Africa must be fluid. ”
Japan does not have a strategic plan in this area for Africa. It is a yada-yada approach! The assumption here on both sides is, in the name of TICAD all will be great. Diplomacy must be fluid and Soft influences must go both ways. Majority of African leaders suffer from forms of the colonialism disease that range from early stages to fatal stages in development, so they do not invest in their “soft influences”. They have no problem absorbing other soft influences on the behalf of aid and relief. Africa has made no efforts to work on the art and execution of niche diplomacy in Asian spaces.
Culture is an extended arm in International Relations. A successful relationship between Africa and Japan will be expected for Japan not to downplay the role of culture and identity of Africans in Japanese spaces.
Festivals do not count per-se, because they are just extra pluses towards the city brand. It benefits cities in Japan that have “African themed festivals”, it shows the global stage, “Japan is DIVERSE!!”.
International Relations can be best described today as Intercultural Relations. The U.S vs. West Asia is a great example on just how the lack of respect and appreciation of Intercultural Relations can bring countries to their knees.
The very definition of International Relations that is “relations with other nations” rests on the shoulders of that each country has unique traditions, social interactions, political dynamics, and intellectual orientations that make up the country. Japan must understand, with interactions towards any African country, it will go favorably if they start to pay attention to those shoulders.
There is no fluidity in cultural diplomacy between Africa countries and Japan. This is not unique to Japan because China and Korea do not value this or have no clue on a starting point. However, this gap could be the golden ticket of applying “Cool Japan Diplomacy” to Africa. The neglect or underestimation of cultural diplomacy towards Africa by Japan hinders fluid relations but because China and Korea are guilty of this issue, Japan can use this as winning attribute to building on African Affairs.
Pop Culture
Anime and Manga with African Myth and Folklore, Cool Japan!
Academic
Educational Exchanges that include professors and students from both spaces. So not just African students going to Japan for graduate studies but Japanese students and professors in Africa Academic spaces. This also means more African Professors and Deans in Japan universities that claim to teach Africa Affairs.
“If the Education Sector can appreciate the importance of “French Academics” teaching Francophone studies ....
Then it must have no problem understanding the importance of African Academics teaching African Studies”
Blue Economics (Beyond Fish)
AgriMarketing/ Agri-Economics
“Experimental” Tourism
The new diplomatic language of the 21st century diplomat rest on:-
Do your “friends” and "neighbors" speak and understand your cultural diplomacy?
Does the global stage speak and understand your cultural diplomacy?
Are you humanitarian friendly? (Later on this piece)
Cultural Diplomacy is not about countries explaining their “self” onto the global stage. It is based on Cleverness in Cultural Diplomacy.
“Applying unique intelligence base on culture, history, identity, etc. to build and increase understanding with other countries while simultaneously working on your own interests. Multiple actors, cultural promoters are needed to get this point across....”
Japan lacks international mass media presence on the global stage to promote its image. The United States has CNN and FOX. The UK has the BBC, but do you know the name of Japan’s international broadcasting channel???
Waiting……….
The NHK network could be key to setting up stronger ties to Africa. What better way to spread your message to your new friends using their language with their faces?
P.S NHK has a KiSwahili Channel but BBC has Pidgin, Hausa and so much more. NHK needs to pick up the pace.
We leave you with this video of African artist, Dobolo based in Japan.
See you next Silk Road Thursday!
Last time on Folk & Mythology, I spoke about the result of the uninterrupted imagination birthing folklore and mythology. This birth of the uninterrupted imagination shapes the identity of people. It allows us to understand a society's traditional identity but more importantly their understanding of relating to other groups.
What happens to the interrupted imagination of a society after colonialism or war?
Have you observed the prevalence of Western folklore and mythology in Asian and African Spaces?
What about folklore and mythology from Africa and Asia in Western Spaces? Do you remember learning about panchatantra stories? What about Bantu fables?
“What are the consequences from ”modernization” and technology towards societies that abandon traditional folklore and mythology? ”
Asian countries have made significant strides to celebrate their folklore and mythology out loud in public spaces. They do not feel "uncivilized" or that their "salvation" might end.
Suvarnabhumi Airport Bangkok, Thailand (Departure Gate)-Samudra Manthan
(The Churning of the Ocean of Milk)
A Short Video on how just how this started
Folklore and Mythology are part of a society's cultural heritage and play a role in the branding of the country. Developed countries have mastered the art of making their mythology and folklore romantic and marketable to the global community.
Snow White, a Germanic classic fairy tale is currently marketed to young girl as this:
However, this is the Original Story of Snow White
Disney World has mastered the art of marketing European Folklore and Mythology in Western spaces and in Asia with locations in Japan and China. However there are no such theme parks in the West, or in Asia and Africa that continuously promote the folklore or mythology from those spaces. Disney World resorts worldwide allow guests to meet Snow White, Ariel and even sleep in Cinderella's Castle. Disney World resorts in 2016 made a profit of $4.6 billion dollars.
The Cinderella Castle Suite at Walt Disney World.
“Should we blame Cultural Cringe for the absence of theme parks that promote folklore & Mythology originating from Africa & Asia?”
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As most stories found in mythology and folklore often begin, it stems from the imagination’s desire to survive and create a habitable world in this life and the afterlife. Without further ado, here are the Gods of the Ocean from Nigeria and Japan.
Suijin Festival
Suijin in Shinto mythology is the force found in water. This force manifests sometimes as a snake, whale or fish and has a pair of funa fish as messengers. Suijin is part of the divinity force that makes up the shinto divinity of water. This manifestation can be found in ocean, lakes, ponds and is god or goddess to all mythical creatures found in bodies of water. Suijin is also prayed to by expecting mothers to be during childbirth. This force is also charged with the responsibility of fertility, motherhood, and easy childbirth. It should be noted that Suijin is described as male or female .
Olokun Seniade
I grew up knowing this entity as a God(shaped like a merman) but there are populations that refer to this entity as a goddess. As our mentioned Japanese counterpart, he is expected to help women conceive. He appears as a mudfish as well as a black mermaid. Olokun is a manifestation known as a Orisha. Orisha's are manifestations of the universal GOD known as Olorun. He is also responsible for all mythical creatures found in bodies of water.
Olokun Festival
There is a profitable market for the commercialization of cultural heritage tangibles and intangibles such as folklore and mythology unfortunately African countries have not mastered the art of this unique form of branding.
We will be back next Cassava Tuesday!
Our first Lusophone Country for Cassava Tuesdays will be Cape Verde. There is a reason for the use of Cape Verde and Cabo Verde.... Hrrrggggh, What is in a name? We will discuss next time!
Cape Verde has no Soft Power but there is potential to build on a brand thanks to their Blue Economy.
Are you aware that Cape Verde has the second-best education system in Africa?
We will start with Amílcar Lopes da Costa Cabral and end with the branding possibilities for this island country.
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In the meantime, please enjoy the legendary Barefoot Diva, Cesária Évo from Cape Verde
