Blog Post #21 - Persuasive Speech to "The Royal Colonial Institute"

Good day,

It is an honour to be here today in front of such a well-rounded audience. Nothing gives me a better feeling than standing here before you today.

Today, we are assembled here together to discuss the expedition I completed to the “lands of the savages.” As we are aware that several stories have been manufactured by the missionaries, it is essential for us to admit that colonisation may have been a negative move forward for the country.

As well as being one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa, the Igbo people also have dozens of dialects attached to their language. I bet your wandering why an English man is talking about the social and political structures within the Igbo people. Joseph Chamberlains view was that all countries with European power were a possession to the mother country, which was down to the mother countries disregarding that the colonies are individual countries and cultures, and not a possession of an economically powerful country.

Upon arrival to Nigeria, I had the mind-set of the typical British male, but after experiencing the lifestyle and rich culture, I left Nigeria being a more open-minded human. The exposure I had to new aspects of life; the cultures, situation and the people transformed me into a better person. Going back to my arrival, I was welcomed into the community as if I was one of them, they welcomed me with open arms, not because I was British, but I was welcomed this way because it apart of a ritual they executed. 

The reason we are all here today is because we are all colonisers. as colonisers, we are responsible for the set up of our headquarters and any other operations within Africa to support the country. From my visit, it has come to my attention that “we” have failed to realise by bringing in our materials, we almost caused the entire culture, and an entire world to go extinct. We have never thought about what colonialism will and is causing, and that is because we do not see the negatives of each change we make, and we are not the ones that suffer in the end.

I will leave you with this valuable information, and let you dwell on it. As Joseph Chamberlain said “We feel now that our rule over these territories can only be justified if we can show that it adds to the happiness and prosperity of the people,” we all know what is best when it comes to what will benefit us the most, but we cannot succeed when it comes to labelling the Africans as “Savages,” especially when the inexcusable act is being done by us.

Thank you for your time, I hope you consider the information i have given you and make corrections.