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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,
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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) Man: 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 know 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 and 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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[unclear] 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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[unclear]
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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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[unclear] 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 Piece 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 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.