Africa Is a Country

As the cliche goes, there are only 3 things that an African child can be

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

As the cliche goes, there are only 3 things that an African child can be

By
Mawuena Akyea

We could call this: The Afro-Trifecta, if you will. They are a lawyer, some sort of business person, or a doctor. Teacher? Respectable, but not enough money. Artist? Quickest way not to be invited home during the holidays. And god forbid, an athlete. Most African parents consider the term “student athlete,” a gross oxymoron. Which is why the story of Ezikiel “Ziggy” Ansah is that much sweeter.

Hailing from the land of the Black Stars, Ziggy came to Brigham Young University in Utah with an academic scholarship. (He’d been converted by Mormon missionaries in Ghana.) Ziggy probably told his mother, “I know I’m 6’5, 270, with athletic prowess, but all I am going to do is just study hard. His major was actuarial science (I do not know what this is either), and then tried for two years to be a basketball player. That did not go so well.

Stuck in a foreign land, moonlighting as a custodian and running low on fufu and palm soup what is a young Ghana boy to do? Play football, of course.

Ziggy shined at BYU, playing as a defensive end and registering impressive numbers. So impressive, that he became a top prospect in the 2013 NFL draft, even though ESPN didn’t know who the hell he was:

No matter. He ended up being the fifth overall pick for the Detroit Lions and is delivering substantially for his new team.

From not being able to wear his pads, to being a rising star in the NFL is truly a story to behold. So please African parents, next time your child tells you that they want to be something else than a profession in the Afro Trifecta, try to keep your eyes from rolling and a blood vessel popping. Who knows? They might just be like Ziggy.

Further Reading

Rebuilding Algeria’s oceans

Grassroots activists and marine scientists in Algeria are building artificial reefs to restore biodiversity and sustain fishing communities, but scaling up requires more than passion—it needs institutional support and political will.

Ibaaku’s space race

Through Afro-futurist soundscapes blending tradition and innovation, Ibaaku’s new album, ‘Joola Jazz,’ reshapes Dakar’s cultural rhythm and challenges the legacy of Négritude.

An allegiance to abusers

This weekend, Chris Brown will perform two sold-out concerts in South Africa. His relationship to the country reveals the twisted dynamic between a black American artist with a track record of violence and a country happy to receive him.

Shell’s exit scam

Shell’s so-called divestment from Nigeria’s Niger Delta is a calculated move to evade accountability, leaving behind both environmental and economic devastation.

Africa’s sibling rivalry

Nigeria and South Africa have a fraught relationship marked by xenophobia, economic competition, and cultural exchange. The Nigerian Scam are joined by Khanya Mtshali to discuss the dynamics shaping these tensions on the AIAC podcast.

The price of power

Ghana’s election has brought another handover between the country’s two main parties. Yet behind the scenes lies a flawed system where wealth can buy political office.

Beats of defiance

From the streets of Khartoum to exile abroad, Sudanese hip-hop artists have turned music into a powerful tool for protest, resilience, and the preservation of collective memory.