Teach Your Children African History With The Bino and Fino Cartoon

African countries independence dates

  

The issue of African History is a very important one. To both Africans and non Africans. The relation between many African nations and that of their ex colonial masters ( and some would say they are still our colonial masters) is a complex, crucial one. It informs much of what is going on today on the continent and why Africa has a negative image as opposed to a positive one. Now you might ask what has this got to do with a children’s cartoon.

 

 Well it has a lot to do with it actually. You see I think it something young kids should start being aware of at an early age. We obviously don’t see the likes of Disney tackling this subject anytime soon. And to be honest I don’t blame them if they don’t. It’s up to Africans to tell our story. So that’s why we decided to do a Bino and Fino cartoon episode based on the themes of colonialism. We used the 50^th year celebration of Nigeria’s independence from Great Britain which took place in October 2010 as a focal point. The cartoon can be seen here. Feedback from parents has been good on the whole. Even though the topic is a complex one they have said that it has at least sparked a discussion in their households about colonialism. That’s the best we could ask for.