The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Ondo State, Dr Kayode Ajulo, has said efforts to correct long-standing distortions in the representation of Africa on world maps should go beyond cartography and translate into greater fairness, opportunity and global recognition for the continent.
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Ajulo made the call in a piece titled, “Africa Was Never Small: When the United Nations Finally Corrects the Map,” in which he argued that the way Africa has historically been represented on maps has contributed to distorted perceptions of the continent’s size, relevance and potential.
He noted that the Mercator projection, developed principally for navigation, created a misleading impression of the relative sizes of territories, making Greenland appear comparable to Africa even though Africa is vastly larger.
“Africa did not change when that image became familiar. The representation did,” Ajulo said.
According to him, repeated visual representations in classrooms, atlases and public institutions can influence how societies perceive different parts of the world, making accurate representation important beyond geography.
He, however, maintained that Africa’s significance was never dependent on the way it appeared on a map, pointing to the continent’s ancient civilisations, intellectual traditions, cultural diversity, natural resources and human capital.
Ajulo said Africa must move beyond narratives that largely portray it through poverty, conflict, disease and corruption, insisting that the continent possesses enormous possibilities capable of influencing the world.
“Africa is not merely a continent with problems. It is a continent with possibilities of global consequence,” he said.
The Ondo Attorney-General argued that the real challenge was converting those possibilities into shared prosperity by addressing inequalities in education, healthcare, access to capital, technology, employment and governance.
He said an egalitarian Africa should be one where “birth does not predetermine destiny,” adding that children in rural areas should have access to quality education, farmers should be able to obtain finance and technology, entrepreneurs should access capital without political connections, and African scientists should have adequate facilities to conduct research on the continent.
“These are not demands for privilege. They are demands for fairness,” Ajulo stated.
He also urged the international community to relate with Africa as a partner rather than merely as a recipient of aid, calling for stronger African representation in decisions concerning global finance, trade, technology, climate policy and security.
At the same time, Ajulo said responsibility did not rest with the international community alone, stressing that African governments must strengthen institutions, uphold the rule of law and ensure that the continent’s vast natural resources translate into tangible benefits for citizens.
“The world must treat Africa more fairly. Africans must govern themselves more effectively. Both are necessary,” he said.
Ajulo maintained that the true measure of Africa’s development should not be the number of skyscrapers or the wealth accumulated by a few individuals, but whether ordinary people can access quality education, healthcare, decent employment, justice and the freedom to pursue meaningful lives.
He said Africa should seek neither pity nor permission but a relationship of equality with the rest of the world, arguing that the continent’s future is inseparable from that of the global community.
Ajulo concluded that correcting Africa’s representation on the world map would have limited significance unless recognition is matched with institutional reform, resources are converted into prosperity and the continent’s potential is transformed into opportunities for its people.
“The world owes Africa fairness. Africa owes her children excellence,” he said.
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