Yodith Gideon has dedicated her career to supporting individuals in building businesses across two continents. Sankofa is currently available.
In Akan mythology, the Sankofa bird flies forward while looking back, embodying the idea of retrieving the past to give meaning to the future. In today’s world, facing climate change, debt issues, and authoritarianism, this ancient symbol is highly relevant. Sankofa, a new book, challenges readers to confront the tension between perceptions of Africa and its self-narration, serving as a geopolitical provocation in the guise of a family story.
The plot is personal yet complex. Anna Bain, a mixed-heritage British woman, discovers after her mother’s passing that her long-lost African father is, in fact, a president—or dictator, depending on the perspective. Her journey from London to the fictional Bamana forces her to reconcile her father’s past idealism with his present rule.
What begins as a personal pursuit evolves into a broader, unsettling narrative. Onuzo, a history Ph.D. from King’s College London, researched the West African Students’ Union, highlighting young intellectuals who returned home to newly independent nations. Figures like Kwame Nkrumah and Jomo Kenyatta are part of this complicated legacy.
Sankofa skillfully portrays this inheritance’s complexity. Anna’s father is neither hero nor villain but a man equating liberation with control. The novel questions what occurs when anti-colonial victors adopt colonial methods.
The book merges fiction with human rights discourse, depicting military juntas in Africa promoting nationalist rhetoric while repeating past cycles of control. Sankofa captures the transformation of anti-colonial legitimacy into authoritarianism and the international community’s indifferent oscillation between intervention and neglect.
Anna embodies this duality. In London, she’s invisible; in Bamana, she becomes the president’s daughter, both privileged and scrutinized. The novel prevents comfort in any single role.
Sankofa is essential for those interested in African geopolitics, insisting on complexity over simplification. It challenges the binaries often seen in Western views of Africa and traces how people navigate pre-rigged systems.
Anna’s mother, through low-paid work, finances Anna’s journey, highlighting global inequality. Onuzo invites readers to embrace these contradictions, which is politically significant.
A memorable scene shows Anna confronting her father about his regime’s abuses, with him justifying them with development achievements. This authoritarian logic is portrayed with chilling accuracy, informed by historical research.
Sankofa demands looking back, not to romanticize the past, but to understand the failures that led to current issues. The past serves as evidence, not refuge.
The novel doesn’t provide policy solutions but offers an emotional framework to discuss power in post-colonial states, avoiding despair or fantastical views. Anna’s journey ends in ambiguity, revealing power dynamics without solving them.
For diplomats, NGOs, and journalists, Sankofa is vital reading, prompting critical reflection on the frameworks used to engage with Africa.
The Sankofa bird persists, facing backward—not because the past was better, but because it remains unresolved. Africa cannot move forward until past debts are addressed.
Sankofa is available now. For those who believe in narrating one’s own history, it offers a starting point.
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