Mama Africa

When I say I'm African, I remember Kwame Nkrumah,

I will not forget your epic, I will realize your lofty ideas.

When I say I am African, I remember Soudjata Keita,

I will announce the greatness of your empire to the whole world.

O mama Africa! Wewe ni mkubwa, wewe ni shuja.[1]

The cause of Pan-Africanism is the cause of right:

Dignity at its torch, justice at its core.

The cause of Pan-Africanism is the cause of humanity:

Its passion is the cause, its outcome is freedom.

Mama wa uma na ardhi ya ma babu. O mama Africa![2]

It requires faith, this path of solitude,

Love demands this path of lovers,

Nobility demands this path of heroes

This path of brave men requires sacrifice.

O mama Africa! Wewe ni mkubwa, wewe ni shuja.

Like the martyrs who perished on this path:

Omar al-Mukhtar, Rabah Fadalallah, Ali Dinar.

The story of heroes who dedicated their lives on this path:

King Behanzin, Dan Fodio, Umar Tall.

Mama wa uma na ardhi ya ma babu. O mama Africa!

I remember, I remind, I feel proud,

The glorious history of African sultanates:

Aksum, Luba, Oyo, Congo, Ashanti,

Kanem-Bornu, Bird, Bachvezi, Egypt, Mali.

O mama Africa! Wewe ni mkubwa, wewe ni shuja.

My fist is not for fame or profit;

It is the fist of hope in cruel America.

I am the bulwark, Muhammad Ali, the voice of millions.

A championship suits me; I am handsome and graceful.

Mama wa uma na ardhi ya ma babu. O mama Africa!

If you are an enemy, you are caught in the spear of Amazon women.

If you are a friend, you will receive the sincere prayers of innocent children.

If you torture, you will not break Nelson Mandela's resolve.

If you fight, the great kingdom of Abyssinia will not be defeated.

O mama Africa! Wewe ni mkubwa, wewe ni shuja.

Even if you kill them, even if you silence them, I will keep your spirit alive and walk in your footsteps,

Thomas Sankara, Modibo Keita, Malcolm X, Amadou Bamba.

You can call them dictators and vilify them, but they are heroes,

Gaddafi, Haile Selassie, Silvanius, Lumumba and Dada.

Mama wa uma na ardhi ya ma babu. O mama Africa!

I am Moussa Mansa, the master of mercy.

I am El-Kanemi, the master of literature and eloquence.

I am the treasure of knowledge and wisdom; I am the city of Timbuktu.

I am the cradle of history and civilization; I am Egypt and Al-Azhar.

O mama Africa! Wewe ni mkubwa, wewe ni shuja.

I would not give Abyssinia even if it were my graveyard.

I will live in the mountains and forests, but I will never be captured.

I will sacrifice my life, as long as Sokoto is alive and salaam.

I will be poor and free, but I will not accept colonization.

Mama wa uma na ardhi ya ma babu. O mama Africa!

I would pave the streets of Soweto with blood and still not give up freedom

I will not leave Algeria under occupation even if I give a million martyrs

I will start and continue the mo mo revolution I will not leave my mother land

I'll be inspired by Chaka Zulu, I'll be Steve Biko, I won't turn my back on the resistance

O mama Afrika! Wewe ni mkubwa, wewe ni shuja.

I do not recognize the occupation border, I am Amaz in the Sahel.

I know the Sahara as my name, I am Tuvarek and Arab.

I am white, I am blue, I flow silently as the Nile in Khartoum.

I am the lion that has lived free in Serengeti for centuries.

O mama Afrika! Wewe ni mkubwa, wewe ni shuja.

Whether you call me Fulani, Fullata, Pular, or even Pöl, I am all of them.

I am Havsa, the language of millions understood along the Niger River.

It spreads from tropical to equatorial, I am family, I am Bantu.

I bind hearts, I am fasih, I am a dictionary, I am Swahili.

Mama wa uma na ardhi ya ma babu. O mama Africa!

He is not poor, not miserable, not needy at all;

I pave the Mali-Medina route with alms;

I slaughter sheep, cows and even camels for my guests;

I feed the whole world with my natural wealth.

O mama Africa! Wewe ni mkubwa, wewe ni shuja.

I recognize only the right in this case,

I crush whoever stands in front of me, whoever cuts me off,

I would give my life for the free will of my people,

My will is absolute and my motto is: "Either homeland or martyrdom": Victory is mine either way.

O mama Africa! Wewe ni mkubwa, wewe ni shuja.

Mama wa uma na ardhi ya ma babu. O mama Africa!

[1] In Swahili, "O mother Africa, you are a giant, you are brave." [2] In Swahili, "Cradle of humanity, home of the ancestors. O mother Africa."