Analogies of Africa

There is an African proverb that goes like this:

Every morning in Africa a gazelle awakens knowing it must today run faster than the fastest lion or it will be eaten. Every morning a lion awakens knowing it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It matters not whether you are a gazelle or a lion, when the sun rises you had better be running.

Sitting in an over-sized plush armed chair in the posh and tightly secured lobby of the InterContinental Hotel Nairobi I am eagerly anticipating a meeting with a delegate from the African Union. The lobby is a buzz with foreign guests seeking meetings with the African and Kenyan elite. The slick marble floor reflects an annoying and eye squinting glare. I am uncertain what to expect.



Soon our target enters the lobby. Following cordial and relaxing introductions we place our beverage orders and get to business. The visionary and strategic conversations is speckled with a deluge of analogies. Although each analogy was equally intriguing there was one that our informant started his dissertation with and it was the same one that he concluded with.

"If your father is disabled, your father is still your father and there is no denying this"

He effectively used; props on the table, passing patrons and our discussion topics to inspire analogy after analogy that guided and complemented our conversation. Without context it is hard to evaluate the analogy but the point is that analogies and Africa are synonymous. I left our one hour and a half discussion realizing that for me to effectively communicate in Africa.... analogies would have to be part of my repertoire...but where would I start????