Francis Egbuson

I just returned from a walk outside the White House in Washington DC on a hot summer day in August. As I passed by the White House, I reflected on the current national discourse in the United States and elsewhere regarding the aftermath of the clash in Charlottesville, Virginia. For those just joining us from their mobile devices and Whatsapp groups, a few weeks ago, White supremacists and other neo-nazi groups marched in Charlottesville against plans by the city to bring down one of the statue of Robert E. Lee. Robert    E. Lee was a confederate Army General from America's south who fought for segregation and slavery.   During the march, a white supremacist drove his vehicle into the line of counter protesters resulting the death of one American woman. Three other Virginia police officers where killed in a related Helicopter crash.   My reflection took me back to my own personal experiences with race in America. Firstly, As a young officer candidate in the...

During a recent breakfast meeting with my friend, Abdulahi Ahmed, we spent talking about the taste of the Cappuccino, which this time was made with Cadamine. Abdulahi felt that taste of the Cappuccino was unusual, It tasted like the espresso to milk ratio was imbalanced, not to mention the delicate addition of Cadamine. Experts on this advise that It is essential that you establish how to make the perfect espresso before moving on to other drinks such as cappuccino, as this is the base of the whole drink. If your espresso is bad it doesn’t matter how well you froth or pour your milk, it will never make a good cappuccino. At about the same time the senior manager in charge came and quickly ordered another cup for our Abdulahi. And this time, the Barrister got the proportions right. Now, you may wonder why the fuss over a cup of Cappuccino, after all its just coffee and milk right?. Wrong. The quality of that Cappuccino could be the difference between a satisfied or dissatisf...

I am grateful to God  For the privilege to traverse The continent, from Kigali to Juba And Kampala to Harare. From the majestic views of the Kilimanjaro  To the rain soaked aroma of spices in Zanzibar. Our continent is truly beautiful, from the rainbows  Into  the crackling sound of the  of the Atlantic  In Dakar. And the beautiful skyline on  descent   Into Maputo. While the headlines talk of despots, hunger and crime, Africa still boasts creativity, youthful exuberance and a future.  While the sound of terror in Maiduguri reminds us of the perilous times, Energy of software developers in Nairobi and Lagos Tell us of the future yet achieved.  The Headlines can be discouraging but we know That the inside pages can be re-written The editorial maybe be dire, but the feature is our choice. The economic statistics are familiar but it is the Statistics of the heart that count. And we have plenty of ...

I thank God that I am alive to experience family with my best friend Ayele and our beautiful children, Joshua, Jonathan, David and bubbly Annabelle. From a rocky start in Syracuse New York to a lovely wedding 20 years ago in Silver Spring Maryland, we are experiencing God’s grace and mercy in sustaining us. What a gift life is and my life has been. You see in July-August of 1979, I felt intense abdominal pain, lost appetite and could barely walk or stand up straight. Late afternoon, a relative of ours, who was then a medical student at the University of Benin came to visit. Brother Ghandhi as we called him, inquired about me and he was led to the dimly lit room where I was lying in pain. Ghandhi did a preliminary diagnosis and ran upstairs to alert my father that I needed to see a Doctor that night.  So, my father drove us to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH). We went straight to the offices of a Doctor Densa who was an anesthesiologist .   Further...

That was the title of a popular rap and hip hop song by the then militant group, Public Enemy. The songs basically say to ignore the media, marketing, buzz, or rumors around a story, object or person – it’s nothing special. From the 1988 Public Enemy single “Don’t Believe The Hype”, which fought back against negative press about the band. And that is he feeling I got about Harare Zimbabwe after spending three nights there. With the negative headlines about Zimbabwe's leader, Robert Mugabe's over 35 years in power and the attendant corruption, state violence against the opposition, not to mention massive rigging of last election, most international media outlets painted Zimbabwe as a wasteland. So I was surprised when we landed in Harare. The airport is second fastest I have been through in my recent travels. Travels that took to me to some six Countries in the Southern African Development Council (SADC) area. The Immigration Officer was polite and made effort to return t...