Onyeabor: Don’t blame only whites for Africa’s racism
Italian-Nigerian singer, songwriter, and businessman Charles Onyekachi Onyeabor, eldest son of Afro-funk legend William Onyeabor, has urged Africans to have a more honest conversation about racism and wickedness, warning against blaming everything solely on white people.
In a recent social media post, Charles stressed that while the atrocities of colonialism and the slave trade cannot be denied, wickedness is not exclusive to any race.
“Wickedness is not a white thing, it is a human thing,” he wrote. “It is selfish and misleading to say only white people are wicked. The reality is that the human race is wicked and racist.”
According to him, Africans often overlook the subtle ways they harm one another. He gave examples of land disputes, jealousy-driven poisoning, and leaders who cling to power while their people suffer—none of which, he argued, can be blamed on white people.
Charles also revisited Africa’s role in the slave trade: “Don’t forget, it was black men who sold their fellow blacks into slavery. The whites didn’t just walk into Africa and start picking people.”
On racism, he highlighted the double standards in how Africans treat mixed-race individuals and how casual remarks within African societies often carry racial undertones. “If a white man said, ‘How’s your Black wife and Black child?’ we’d call it racist. So why don’t we see it when we do it?” he asked.
He further pointed to tribalism as another layer of prejudice Africans often ignore: “We scream about racism, yet here in Africa, a Yoruba person says, ‘God forbid I marry an Igbo or Hausa.’ Parents fight their children for loving someone from another tribe. Hatred flows between us daily.”
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Calling such behavior “hypocrisy at its peak,” Charles stressed that the world is not divided into innocent Blacks and wicked Whites, but into “wicked and racist humans and good humans.” He urged Africans to embrace self-reflection and accountability, instead of finger-pointing.
Charles is set to headline “The Charles Onyeabor Show” in Florence, Italy, on October 24, where he is expected to continue spotlighting social issues alongside his music.
