I am honored to be delivering the keynote at the 3rd National African Student Association (NAfSA) National Conference at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C. this Friday, April 24th.
The theme this year is The Diaspora Call: Cultivating a Culture of Changemakers. I will be speaking on a question that has occupied me for a long time — and that I think is the defining question for our generation: what does it mean to "return to the source"?
Africa is navigating a hostile world. Imperialism is on steroids as foreign powers enter sovereign capitals and whisk away leaders and scores of the population. Our aid-dependent governments are being asked to surrender the private health data of our citizens in exchange for economic favours. Young people, the so-called Gen Z, are restless. The technical, intellectual and ideological tasks of the African liberation project are unfinished — and the diaspora has a particular responsibility to those tasks. What must be done?
I do not have all the answers. But I am certain we must begin to think. And I am looking forward to thinking alongside the students, young professionals, and emerging leaders gathered in D.C. this week. Thank you to the NAfSA team for the invitation and for the generous introduction. If you are around, come find me. If you are not, the conversation continues. hashtag#NAfSA2026 hashtag#DiasporaCall hashtag#AfricanLeadership hashtag#ReturnToTheSource hashtag#LeadersAndSchemers