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CommunityISSUE 36 APRIL 2025 15that the same West he idolizes is built on the blood, sweat, and stolen wealth of his own ancestors.He will celebrate democracy, yet forget that African empires thrived long before Europe knew the meaning of civilization. He will praise the efficiency of the West, forgetting that his own continent was plundered into dysfunction. He believes the lie that Africa is poor%u2014when in reality, it is the richest continent in the world, funding the prosperity of the very nations he worships.What kind of fool abandons his own farm to beg for food in a stranger%u2019s house? The Prodigal African does.THE WHITE WEDDING: AFRICA%u2019S NEW RELIGIONNowhere is the stupidity of the Prodigal African more apparent than in his weddings. Once, marriage was a sacred union blessed by the elders, rooted in tradition, and celebrated with the whole community. But today, the African man kneels in a rented tuxedo, sweating under a choking tie, reciting vows in a language that does not belong to him.His bride, drowning in a white dress that symbolizes a culture foreign to her bloodline, wobbles down the aisle in shoes designed for European castles, not African soil. The ceremony is rigid, awkward, lifeless. The spirits of their ancestors watch in silent grief.And yet, when it is time to pay homage to their true roots, it is reduced to a side ceremony%u2014something %u201coptional.%u201d The real wedding, in their minds, is the Western one.This is the ultimate betrayal.While Africans scramble to erase their traditions, white men and Asians flock to African villages for %u201cexotic%u201d weddings, draped in our fabrics, celebrating our customs, eating our food, and honoring the culture we ourselves despise.What kind of people abandon their inheritance, only to watch others claim it? What kind of people look at gold and call it dirt?The Prodigal African does.The ProdigalAfricanBabatunde O.J. Adeola [BOJA], LagosA Self-Hating ImpostorIn Foreign Skin