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What's up, people?

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First of all, I cannot believe
I'm on TED Talk.

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This is a big deal.

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Because right now,

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everybody in my village is watching this.

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And so, of course,
my bride price just went up.

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My name is Adeola Fayehun.

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I'm from Nigeria.

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I live in the US,

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I'm a journalist, or a comedian,

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or a satirist,

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anything you want me to be, really.

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I'm every woman, it's all in me.

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I host a YouTube show called
"Keeping It Real with Adeola."

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Now this show is a gentle,
respectful and very blunt way

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of calling out corrupt African leaders.

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(Video) President Buhari: I don't know
which party my wife belongs to,

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but she belongs to my kitchen.

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Adeola Fayehun: Oh, my God!

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I need some water --

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I said I need some water!

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See?

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I basically keep it real with them, ha!

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Especially when they mess up,
which is a lot of times.

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If any African official
is watching me, by the way,

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I'm not talking about you, sir.

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I'm talking about your colleagues, yes.

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I do this because Africa
has everything in it to be great.

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You know, I grew up believing

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that Africa as a continent is a giant.

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We've got skills, intellectuals,

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natural resources
more than any other continent.

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Africa supplies 31 percent
of the world's gold,

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manganese and uranium,

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57 percent of the world's diamonds

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and 13 percent of the world's oil.

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We have no reason to depend on aid

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or borrowing money
from China or the World Bank.

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But without good leaders,

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we're like an eagle
that has no idea it could fly,

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let alone soar.

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Africa is a like a sleeping giant.

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Now the truth is,
I'm trying to wake up this giant,

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and that's why I air the dirty laundry

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of those in charge of the giant.

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Our politicians, our religious leaders,

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with huge respect, of course,

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because more than anything else,

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African leaders love to be respected.

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So I give it to them in doses.

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On my show,

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I kneel for them -- ha! --

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I call them my uncles, my aunties,

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my fathers in the lord,

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and then --

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I insult them for insulting
our intelligence.

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And it's because we are tired

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of the hypocrisy and false promises.

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For example,

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the Nigerian president
vowed to end medical tourism

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by fixing our dilapidated hospitals

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and building us new ones.

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But what did he do?

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He spends three months
receiving treatment in London in 2017.

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We were without a president
for three months.

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We were president-less for three months.

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So then it becomes my job
to call out the President,

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with respect, of course.

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I said, "Ha, Mr. President,
it's your girl, Adeola.

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You know how I do, 
how you doing?

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You have no shame."

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I forgot to add "sir."

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"Sir, you have no shame.

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(In Yoruba: You have no fear of God.)

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You have no fear of God."

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Thirty-five thousand Nigerian doctors
are presently working in the US,

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the UK and Canada,

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doing amazing things,

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because in Nigeria,
they are not well-paid,

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neither do they have
the necessary equipment

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to do the job of being a doctor.

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And this is happening
in many African countries.

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We have the capacity to fly.

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But sadly, a lot of African talent
is flying straight out of Africa

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to other continents.

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For example,

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this Nigerian doctor
operated on an unborn baby

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in Texas.

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Also, this Nigerian doctor

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discovered the neurological effects
of concussion on athletes.

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And many countries have African athletes

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winning the gold medal for them.

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The interesting thing is,

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we're waiting for God to fix Africa.

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Like, for real, it's not a joke,
we are, we're waiting for God.

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I mean, just look
at the president of Burundi.

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He's jailing journalists
and opposition members,

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but he declared national day of prayer

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so that people could pray
for God to fix the country.

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And I'm like, shouldn't he
be fixing the country?

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Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.

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We want God to fix it.

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Do you see what I have to deal with?

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I'm telling you,

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thunder is getting ready
to hit these politicians some day.

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We are better than this.

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I want our leaders
to start taking responsibility

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and stop putting everything on God.

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God has given us everything we need.

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It's right here, let's use it.

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But here's the thing,
my favorite part of what I do

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is featuring Africans doing amazing work,

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ordinary people touching lives.

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Like this Kenyan woman, Wangari Maathai,

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the first African woman
to receive the Nobel Peace prize,

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for standing up for human rights

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and planting a million trees.

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Also this Zimbabwean woman,

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Dr. Tererai Trent,

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who was married off at the age of 14

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in exchange for a cow.

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Yet, this woman taught herself
to read and write,

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and she ended up on Oprah's show.

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Oh, Father, I want
to be on Oprah some day.

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Today, this woman has built schools

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for thousands of children in Zimbabwe.

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Also, popular British architect
David Adjaye has designed

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spectacular buildings around the world.

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And he's both Ghanian and Tanzanian,

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so we know that it has to be
the Ghanian Jollof rice,

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which he ate,

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that gave him the inspiration to design.

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Ah, maybe it's the Nigerian Jollof rice,

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because Nigerian one is better.

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Anyway, but that is what gave him
the inspiration to become

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the great man that he is today.

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And while I have your attention,

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I have one more thing to say,

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so please move closer.

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OK, that's good,
don't get too close, that's good.

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I don't like the way some of you

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portray Africa.

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Not all of you, just some of you.

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You especially.

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First of all, it's not a country,
it's a continent.

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I do not know Paul from Uganda,

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I don't know Rebecca from Zimbabwe.

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Nigeria is as far from Zimbabwe

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as New York is from France.

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And it's not a bunch of naked people
in need of Western charity.

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You have it all wrong.

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Lions are not roaming our streets, OK?

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And I could go on,

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but you already know
what I'm talking about.

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So while I try to do my job,

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trying to wake up
the sleeping giant, Africa,

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so she could take her rightful place
on the world's arena,

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you can your bit, too.

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Please listen more.

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Listen to your African friends

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without a preconceived notion

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of what you think
that they're going to say.

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Read African books.

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Oh, my God, watch African movies.

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Or at the very least,

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learn some of the names
of our 54 beautiful countries.

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That's right, 54, baby, five-four.

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Alright, y'all, it's been real,

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and I'm keeping it real right up in here.

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Until next time,
I'm going to see you all later.

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Peace out.