In February 2007 Nigeria’s Minister for Information and Communication accused the Cable News Network, (CNN) for manipulating information and news on the Niger Delta crisis. In defense, the  network claimed that it had ` permission to come to the region from the militants (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND) themselves to find out what is happening in the Niger Delta, where the well-armed militants have been fighting Nigeria's beleaguered armed forces over oil.’ 

The news item showed footage of kidnapped expatriate oil workers, explaining that MEND had been `indiscriminately killing Nigerian military forces, and carrying out attacks on oil installations in the region that cut the flow of oil dramatically.’ The visuals included militants dancing and displaying the 24 Filipino sailors captured as their cargo ship tried to take a turn into the port of Warri.

According to Nigeria’s Minister for Information, the news coverage was stage-managed and "sends the wrong signals to the international community about the state of affairs in the country, create unnecessary panic, foster the feeling of insecurity, advance an out-dated thesis of neglect of the Niger Delta and portray Nigeria as a country in perpetual crises. It also glorifies criminality and undermines global efforts at eliminating terrorism." The Minister argued that the Nigerian government had visited the region a month prior to CNN’s news report and there were no signs of the news information that the CNN had broadcasted. The CNN Africa correspondent responsible for the news piece has since left the employ of the CNN.

This is not the first time that the CNN’s African correspondent; a national of Kenya, has come under attack for purportedly misrepresenting the continent. A CNN coverage of Zimbabwe in December 2006 showed footage of Zimbabweans eating rats which according to the network was a sign of desperation in response to the economic devastation in the country. `This is a story about how Zimbabwe, once dubbed southern Africa's bread basket, has in six short years become a basket case. It is about a country that once exported surplus food now apparently falling apart, with many residents scrounging for rodents to survive.’

Zimbabwe's ambassador to the United States, refuted the claim, arguing that reports unfairly represented the situation. "The eating of the field mice -- Zimbabweans do that. It is a delicacy," he said. "It is misleading to portray the eating of field mice as an act of desperation. It is not."

The CNN rat story created an angry uproar amongst Zimbabweans in the country and those living abroad for, according to one of its citizens, `failing to tell the difference between a mouse and a rat and by failing to connect this Shona mice-eating tradition to similar lobster-crab American foods or dogs and cats by the Chinese’

Events in Africa are being represented and manipulated to suit western perception and stereotypes. The tragedy here is the involvement of Africans in these contested and demeaning representations. Racist and demeaning representation of Africa and its citizens is so ingrained that some Africans in the quest to advance their careers and visibility within Western institutions adopt the status quo. In this case, operating within the confines of western perceptions and interpreting Africa’s issues.

Nigeria and Zimbabwe, like many other countries in Africa, are not different from Western nations that are still struggling to define and make real visions of an inclusive society that supports all citizens fully and equally. One message from Katrina in the United States is that with claims of being the most economically viable nation in the world, the United States is still failing a significant number of its citizens.

The good news for Africa in the two cases described are the reactions from Zimbabwe and Nigeria which demonstrates the growing awareness by Africans and their leaders on how the representation and perception of the continent and its peoples has implications for the economic and social wellbeing of the continent. One has to deliberately and stubbornly search for positive information on Africa to find them.  Many detailed studies and reports have identified current rapid economic, political and social growths in many countries in the continent, but these are often tucked away within lengthy and laborious reports by international institutions. When reproduced, the parts about Africa’s progress are usually ignored or generalized.

The 2006 Human Security Brief, for example, noted that the post-Cold War decline in armed conflicts and related fatalities reported in its 2005 report has continued, with Sub-Saharan Africa experiencing the greatest decrease in political violence. Yet perceptions of violence and conflicts continue to determine Africa’s presence in the international development community.

While stock markets in Nigeria, Ghana, Botswana and Kenya consistently rank among the world's top growth markets, Western aid and promotional activities continue to chain down Africa’s economic potential and global competitiveness. On the other hand, International NGOs and their allies in Africa continue to build and further the branding of Africa as a destination of humanitarian crisis and instability.

Many countries in Africa are currently undertaking re-branding initiatives to promote their competitive advantage in the global market. Unless a regional initiative is established that responsibly, consistently and proactively engages with the current channels of aid and charity branding of Africa, all efforts to re-brand the continent for economic purposes will fail.