The idea that Africans are people who must be contained within what is circumscribed as a proper place or their natural habitat is revolting and deeply problematic, writes Divine Fuh.

Over fifty years since the idea of unity and solidarity founded upon a common experience of oppression was established, being African, mobile and cosmopolitan in Africa remains an aberration, and continues to be treated in countries across the continent as a crime.

In fact, Cameroon is home to over 250 languages, and even though I am familiar with some of these, English is my first language, which is often met with disapproval because as it happens and since I am African, I must have a mother tongue.

As we commemorated Africa Day on 25 May, it is important to critically reflect on our ambiguous relationship with the idea, Africa, especially given the fraught ways we have come to treat that conception, Africa, and the people associated with it, Africans.

The idea that Africans are people who must be contained within what is circumscribed as a proper place or their natural habitat is revolting and deeply problematic.