Broadcaster explores the history of Africa

In a bid to get a better understanding of the continent, Badawi travels across Africa interviewing African historians, archaeologists, and citizens whose stories highlight a clearer picture of Africa’s past and how it affects present day life.

The Sudan-born news presenter recently visited Lagos, Nigeria and spoke to Pulse at our Lagos office about her discovery, the inspiration behind her quest, and Nigeria.

Pulse: Despite colonization, education and the internet, why do you think the best-kept secrets of Africa are still hidden?

Zeinab Badawi: I think that throughout the centuries I think that Africa’s history has either been denigrated, overlooked or written by outsiders and this has resulted in Africa's history being written or being told by people who are other than Africans.

And I think it’s a result of the colonial era whereby western academics felt that Africa’s history really could only properly be told once the colonizers had arrived; when they began to document Africa’s history. There’s a tendency to think that just because there are no written records sometimes in African history that therefore Africa did not document its history. Africa did document its history but not necessarily in a written way. It may have been maintained through oral traditions, song, dance, music, art, you know many ways.

Pulse: Just looking at your background, you’ve covered stories in politics, current affairs, what made you decide to lean towards the side of history and decide it is time for us to tell the story of Africa and document it?

Zeinab Badawi: It’s true I’ve worked in news and current affairs for most of my career in broadcasting. I suppose doing something like this is a bit of an antidote to news which is very short lived, you do a story and the next day there’s a new story - it’s constantly displacing - one story is displacing the other.

Whereas with something like this, it stands the test of time. Once it’s done it’s there and it will be relevant I hope for many many years. But I did study politics and economics for my BA Honours degree, my post graduate masters degree was in history. And so I’ve always loved history.

Pulse: What has drawn you into telling these stories?

Zeinab Badawi: I think it was a series of events I think that brought me to this point, I recollect a conversation with my elderly parents many years ago and I had just come back from visiting the pyramids in Sudan. And I asked them what they knew about the pyramids and the monuments of ancient Sudan and they really couldn’t tell me very much and these are highly educated people, fluent in English, and had been educated in the British colonial system and they could tell you about key events in British history and yet here was their own and they hadn’t really got a proper grasp of it.

So I always thought there was a gap on television especially because obviously Africa is very beautiful and I wanted to show it in all its richness from a proper linear narrative chronology of Africa’s history.

Pulse: With your show "The History of Africa", what have you stumbled upon that has left you in awe of the continent?

Zeinab Badawi: Well I think that there's not sort of one big moment as such but what I would say is this: that what I have found most revelatory is the fact that African citizens connect with their past in a myriad of ways. And I think that that continuity of history is I think something which I find very striking. So be it in the customs, mode of dress, the indigenous traditional beliefs which actually scratch beneath the surface; somebody might say to you I'm muslim, I'm christian but actually they still are adhering to the religion of their ancestors or at least some of the customs and practices of their ancestors. So I think that what has struck me is that Africa is a very very complex continent. When you use the Western lens to look at Africa, it doesn't really help you understand the continent, there has to be a different perspective of looking at it.

So I think that was a kind of a cumulative effect but obviously some of the monuments I saw and artifacts were really very impressive.

Pulse: Did you explore any West African stories?

Zeinab Badawi: I did go to Senegal and a little bit here in Nigeria. I intend to do more of West Africa in the second series. But certainly I went to Senegal and of course, Senegal was part of the old Ghana empire. The Ghana empire of course has got nothing to do with modern day Ghana.

I did look at some of the burial practices and some of the tombs that exist in Senegal and obviously mention the Nok empire in what would now be the Jos Plateau of Nigeria - and the fine Nok statues which represent some of the best iron working that took place in Africa. It shows you with the iron working in the Nok empire, that iron working particularly in this part of Africa particularly in the west is something that probably existed over 2,000 years ago. So it’s an indication that there were sophisticated civilisations in this part of Africa but more of West Africa in the second series.

Pulse: Did you face any challenges navigating the different terrain and accessing a lot of these artifacts?

Zeinab Badawi: As you know operating in Africa is always a bit of a logistical nightmare because the infrastructure is not as good as it might be and I wasn’t just going to capital cities, I was going off the beat and track and so just getting around was difficult. And on the whole the necessary permissions were granted because I was looking at every country's’ cultural heritage every country I visited - of every country I visited. Of course there weren't clearly defined countries because I'd go so far back. Really you're talking about regions in Africa.

You know I start prehistory, the origins of humankind; there wasn’t a Nigeria until the 20th century for example. It’s a bit misleading to say a country’s heritage is such, but there were a lot of logistical obstacles. I think one fear that some people had expressed to me which didn't manifest itself is I chose to use local crews wherever I went so if I was in Algeria, I'll use an Algerian crew, in Sudan a Sudanese crew and that was a bit of a gamble but it paid off.

It could have been a disaster but the film crews were all highly experienced, very very talented technically savvy people - you know they operated drones with great dexterity, good eye hand coordination and I think it’s because Africa has got a young population. So they are more technologically savvy perhaps than some of their European counterparts working in the industry.

Pulse: Let's talk about “HardTalk” - what was the three hardest interview you ever had to do on the show?

Zeinab Badawi: I think somebody like Desmond Tutu would be quite difficult, why? Not because he’s an intimidating character, quite on the contrary. “HardTalk” is supposed to be holding somebody to account, and asking tough questions and so on. And his way of dealing with tough questions is just to diffuse them by just giggling and laughing. And that’s very disarming.

So when I said to him for example, President Mugabe has described you as evil, little, interfering bishop, he said, “did he really say that?” Then his shoulders shook with laughter then he said well you know I’ve been called worse things. And then sort of as an interviewer, you think where do you go from there because normally you would expect somebody to say how dare you say that about me or whatever. I think he was quite difficult from that point of view.

I found a couple walk out which of course is not ideal.

Pulse: Are you surprised at the growth of Nigeria in terms of economy and infrastructure?

Zeinab Badawi: I find that I’m always impressed when I come to Nigeria by the dynamism and the entrepreneurial spirit - you ingest it with your mother’s milk here in Nigeria.

It’s a very vibrant place and it is one of the giants if not the giant of Africa because obviously your population - one in five sub-saharan Africans is Nigerian. And I also think your diaspora is very powerful so I’m also reminded of that when I come here.

I think it’s a country which for me has always been moving in the right direction perhaps it’s doing so even more.