Feyi, you write so well, bro. I started reading the review with the intent of just doing a few paragraphs (it's 3:30 AM here) and I couldn't stop. I've ordered the book. I met Tidjane at a private event in Como. He is very impressive and his private explanation went into a bit more detail than it appears the book covers - but his anxieties, the spoken and unspoken cost of his being Black and African in a space he was not expected to occupy also came through. Personally, I have immense grace for him since nobody gets a manual on how to be Black in high achieving spaces that actively negotiate your humanity. It's like Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1 or Jackie Robinson in baseball. That they succeeded despite the obvious difficulties is a testament to their personal brilliance. They, in my book, are allowed imperfections in how they responded.
Thank you very much for reading. The piece ran on longer than I expected (partly our of frustration). I really wish he had talked a bit more in detail about his struggles. The book is under 200 pages which is nothing (can be finished in a couple of days). It's so frustrating because you can see how much of a perceptive writer he is when he discusses things like the French education system and the differences between Anglo and Francophone Africa.
Great writing, Feyi! Completely locked in by the way you weave the excerpts into your writing and your accuracy in capturing the timeline. Tidjane Thiam was truly a gold-standard operator in his prime.
Interesting and raises this broader question to me: what prevents such outstanding representatives of la bourgeoisie africaine to make a decisive contribution to African development? Is it the lingering self-doubt? The overly-polished cosmopolitanism and the socio-cultural distance it creates? A too-deep socio-political investment in the status quo? A well-founded fear of violent retribution? All of the above? What?
I want to say it’s the distance but I’m not so sure. Tidjane did contribute meaningfully when he ran the DCGTx but I think the answer might be that there is not much of a place for them in African politics, at least as it’s currently practiced
In a way, the whole point of this social trajectory is to create distance from the lives of ‘the common people.’ How to reconnect then becomes an almost insurmountable challenge even when the will to connect is strong. A lot is at stake in resolving this conundrum. Each case is different though.
The bits about race was what caught my eye the most in the book, ironic that given the often criticized British approach to colonialism compared to France, it was in England where his race was least relevant to how he saw himself apart from the Ivory Coast of course.
I also wondered, how marrying Annette would have shaped his views on race, perhaps “contracting” a racial baggage that wasn’t necessarily his own in how he viewed the US.
Not sure I’ve fully formed the thought, but it’s an additional variable of wealth and status and the non uniformity of black experience.
Yes, 100% agree on your last point in particular. We contain multitudes so to speak.
I hadn't really thought about the Annette point in that way but it's a good point. Sadly, there are very few mentions of her other than as background. But perhaps that is understandable
Feyi, you write so well, bro. I started reading the review with the intent of just doing a few paragraphs (it's 3:30 AM here) and I couldn't stop. I've ordered the book. I met Tidjane at a private event in Como. He is very impressive and his private explanation went into a bit more detail than it appears the book covers - but his anxieties, the spoken and unspoken cost of his being Black and African in a space he was not expected to occupy also came through. Personally, I have immense grace for him since nobody gets a manual on how to be Black in high achieving spaces that actively negotiate your humanity. It's like Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1 or Jackie Robinson in baseball. That they succeeded despite the obvious difficulties is a testament to their personal brilliance. They, in my book, are allowed imperfections in how they responded.
Thank you very much for reading. The piece ran on longer than I expected (partly our of frustration). I really wish he had talked a bit more in detail about his struggles. The book is under 200 pages which is nothing (can be finished in a couple of days). It's so frustrating because you can see how much of a perceptive writer he is when he discusses things like the French education system and the differences between Anglo and Francophone Africa.
I just wanted a 100 pages more!
You write so damn well and your writings are so well researched.
Great writing, Feyi! Completely locked in by the way you weave the excerpts into your writing and your accuracy in capturing the timeline. Tidjane Thiam was truly a gold-standard operator in his prime.
Interesting and raises this broader question to me: what prevents such outstanding representatives of la bourgeoisie africaine to make a decisive contribution to African development? Is it the lingering self-doubt? The overly-polished cosmopolitanism and the socio-cultural distance it creates? A too-deep socio-political investment in the status quo? A well-founded fear of violent retribution? All of the above? What?
I want to say it’s the distance but I’m not so sure. Tidjane did contribute meaningfully when he ran the DCGTx but I think the answer might be that there is not much of a place for them in African politics, at least as it’s currently practiced
In a way, the whole point of this social trajectory is to create distance from the lives of ‘the common people.’ How to reconnect then becomes an almost insurmountable challenge even when the will to connect is strong. A lot is at stake in resolving this conundrum. Each case is different though.
The bits about race was what caught my eye the most in the book, ironic that given the often criticized British approach to colonialism compared to France, it was in England where his race was least relevant to how he saw himself apart from the Ivory Coast of course.
I also wondered, how marrying Annette would have shaped his views on race, perhaps “contracting” a racial baggage that wasn’t necessarily his own in how he viewed the US.
Not sure I’ve fully formed the thought, but it’s an additional variable of wealth and status and the non uniformity of black experience.
Yes, 100% agree on your last point in particular. We contain multitudes so to speak.
I hadn't really thought about the Annette point in that way but it's a good point. Sadly, there are very few mentions of her other than as background. But perhaps that is understandable
Great write up Feyi . I really enjoyed that. I will order the book as well .
Fascinating story. That Khan’s saga was all over the place that year.