Meet Akon, an American rapper from Senegal who’s encouraging all black Americans to relocate back to and invest in the continent of Africa.
“Africa is in a position where if African Americans take position now, every single African American would be a millionaire without even thinking twice because there’s nothing that’s not needed over there,” he said recently during an interview on REVOLT’s “Assets Over Liabilities” podcast.
He added that he believes black Americans are mainly responsible for all the revenue being earned in America in sectors such as sports, entertainment, fashion, and medicine. With this in mind, he then pondered what would happen if black Americans were instead to spend their money on Africa.
“I mean, you name it. We’re leading in every single sector. Just imagine if we all just decided to just take all our bags, withdrew all our money and go to Africa. Where would America be today? It would collapse overnight,” he said.
In addition to encouraging black Americans to relocate to Africa, Akon also claims to be in the process of building his own “real-life Wakanda” in Senegal called Akon City.
“The 2,000-acre waterfront oasis is being designed to serve as a hub for business and tourism, and the renderings are the stuff of science fiction. Akon City’s official website depicts a futuristic metropolis filled with gleaming twisting skyscrapers and palm trees,” Insider reported in 2020.
“There are plans for residents to be able to use Akoin to pay for the tram, basic utilities, business licenses, and even their taxes. And if Akon has his way, this will be the first of several more Akon-branded smart cities throughout Africa,” the outlet added.
Two years later in 2022, the rapper faced his first major complication when a retired FBI agent who was hired by one of his former business partners concluded that Akon City was a veritable Ponzi scheme.
“According to the findings of retired federal Special Agent Scot Thomasson, the potential framework of Akon’s city includes ‘many of the trademark characteristics (known as ‘red flags’) of fraudulent business ventures such as Ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes,'” Vibe magazine reported at the time.
“[Jeffrey] Movit, [the lawyer of Akon’s former business partner], who described Akon’s plans for the village as ‘broken promises,’ noted that the singer has provided ‘almost no transparency about who is investing in Akon City or how it will be purportedly built. Therefore, Akon City is likely a scam.'”
That same year, the BBC ran a report also casting doubt on the city’s legitimacy, reporting that “the site where the city is proposed to be built remains a waste ground” with nothing more than goats grazing on it.
“I’m only here in the presence of goats. It’s completely empty… no sign of building just a long line of green trees and red earth,” local journalist Borso Tall said at the time.
As far as I can tell, Akoncity still looks like this: pic.twitter.com/kUB9ulUnBr
— National Conservative (@NatCon2022) September 6, 2023
In December 2022, BBC reported that site was full of goats and nothing had been built yet. I April of 2023 there is a bunch of articles from African media attacking Akon and saying zero had been built. Then in May, 2023 Akon tweets pictures of something being built.
— National Conservative (@NatCon2022) September 6, 2023
A year later, Akon told REVOLT that he’s faced many complications in developing the city but that he’s given himself 10 full years to finish it.
“The whole idea is to create what the future of Africa should be. We have all the resources, we have the manpower, we definitely have the population. So it was just a matter of putting something in a country that can start and pretty much scale out to every other country — that we can copy and paste or at least the idea,” he said.
“If nothing [else] happens, the city will be done and mentally people know that it’s something possible to do in Africa,” he added.
His overall goal is to eventually franchise the city so others like it pop up all across Africa.
Responding on Twitter to word of Akon City, users expressed mixed reviews, with some praising the idea, but many also dismissing it.
Look:
What could possibly go wrong?
— Tom McCarthy (@ishmael0464) September 8, 2023
How can I help speed this up?
— SlickestWillyofAll (@DaSlickestWilly) September 8, 2023
Black Americans shouldn’t give up here. They are original Americans and should gain the confidence to move a such. I say invest in both
— Eric Mendez (@Myawaketake) September 8, 2023
If that is what the heart desires then feel free. I wish all of them the very best of luck. Use the US constitution as a guide in your laws and make sure those in power adhere to it and the potential is endless.
— Dennis Chamberlin (@1776Againn) September 8, 2023
First I think that they would no longer be referred to as Americans but instead African also I believe that they are depending on these people bringing their own money as seed capital but do they have any capital but I think that it’s great idea
— Howard Fisher (@howardf904) September 8, 2023
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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