About Me

The name Mghani is Swahili for poet. I hope it adequately expresses both the nature of the blog or blogger--Which is namely a desire to combine my two obsesions literature and African history. I hope too to contribute in the ongoing and little noticed Jihad against African stereotypes which some in the western media have made a career out of.--Africa as a hopeless basket case; the land of no history or culture or dynamism; the land ofpoverty and corruption where the people are being abused by their own leaders, and waiting for a white saviour to free them from themselves. I am no expert Africanist, yet I am familiar enough with the history of that vast and diverse region; and ofcourse also familiar with the genius of its literature to know  that such a stereotype has more to do with the agendas, ignorance and even insecurities of the persons who promote it, than it has to do with Africa itself. This blog as a result is going to be a collection of articles on the history of not just Africa, but its diaspora throughout the Western world and especially the New World. It would also include a miscellaneous collection of my own numerous poems and occasional short stories. As i said earlier am no expert Africanist and would welcome any constructive criticisms or contributions to anything I post.