Mfonobong Inyang: Anecdotal Perspectives That Can Inspire Your Storytelling

This year, I will be doubling down on storytelling. It cannot be overemphasised how much stories shape our understanding of events. Jesus himself leveraged storytelling greatly during his earthly ministry to propagate his message; he used parables to communicate metaphysical truths. For someone who is literally known as The Word, he knew a thing or two about the power of narratives because if faith comes by hearing then fear can also come by hearing – no surprise he shared an important update with his disciples, “be careful how you hear”. Great brands know this, they invest huge resources in telling their brand stories. They don’t just tell you what they sell, they tell you about who they are – that’s the difference between advertisement and marketing. There is a reason why certain brand names come to mind when you think about things like noodles, toothpaste, laptops, luxury cars or clothing, football leagues etc. It didn’t happen by happenstance, it was intentional storytelling. Politics to a large extent is perception because a person can win an election not necessarily by being the better candidate but by telling the better storyteller. I curated a list of anecdotes that underpin these imperatives.

It’s Possible To Do Great Things From A Small Place

Tunde Onakoya didn’t just warm his way into our hearts merely owing to his prowess at chess, perhaps more so by the stories he told. I remember writing about how Chess In Slums Africa reminded me a lot about the Queen of Katwe and how the skills learnt on the chessboard were interspersed with the personal lives of the “Katwe Cool Cats”. Tunde didn’t just show us how to move pieces on the chessboard but he also shared the journey of how kids from underserved communities moved from living in the trenches with no concrete plans for the future to dreaming of taking over the world because he believed the place they were used to is not where they belonged. He would go to places to meet kids on the streets who were doing drugs, begging, doing menial jobs and engaging in social vices just to survive and introduced them to chess. His foundation would feed, clothe and house them. Most of them are currently on educational scholarships.

Imagine Sunday who went from picking scrap on the streets to attending school for the first time in his life. Ferdinand, despite being autistic worked his way into being a chess prodigy and moved from playing chess in a floating slum to doing the same in the government house. We all know the origin stories of Jamiu, Fawaz and Ayomide. Tunde himself has taken his love for chess from Ikorodu to Times Square in grand style by setting a new world record. We were immersed in his journey not just because of chess which is awesome in itself but also because of his ability to tell stories of belief. A powerful note on how much we all can make a difference with the right moves. Checkmate!

King of Pop

We throw around the appellation, GOAT, rather casually these days. Back then, for someone to be referred to as the GOAT – chances are that they really were the greatest of all time. Michael Jackson was him; a once-in-a-generation musician. Beyond the chart-topping songs and record-breaking albums, he was a complete performer. It was said that MJ would be in rehearsals for upwards of 12 hours sometimes, he was a perfectionist – it was the white gloves for me. Another thing many people don’t give him enough credit for is how much he brought to the fore, the conversation about publishing, catalogues and recording artists having more favourable music contracts from the labels they were signed on to. I was a huge MJ fan, I admit to watching his breathtaking performances now and then.

Some years ago while watching a docu-series about him, I learnt something very intriguing. One of MJ’s signature dance moves was the ‘moonwalk’ – a move he introduced to the world in 1983 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in a performance that was part of the Motown 25th Anniversary Concert. Many people speculated over the origins of the move and who MJ had learnt it from but MJ himself set the records straight in his autobiography, aptly titled Moonwalk. One way or the other, MJ took the raw elements of the dance and added his magic to it with the aid of dance coaches such that it became synonymous with him. My point is how MJ used storytelling both on stage and in a book to control the narrative. You may not be the first to do or write about something but when you do, do it in such a way that people find it hard to believe you didn’t pioneer it.

On Dit Premier Gaou N’est Pas Gaou, Oh!

Many Gen Zs may not relate but for us millennials, we know that one of the biggest bops for birthday parties that year was makossa. One of the musical groups that held sway then was Magic System and they had everyone in a chokehold with their hit single, 1er Gaou. Clearly, they were based in a Francophone country and sang in French but nobody cared or suggested that they were not like us – that’s how much they cooked. One day, I stumbled on a video on YouTube where the group members rendered an encore performance and they used the opportunity to break down the lyrics of their famous song. Did you know that song was about how the lead singer’s lover, a lady named Antou, left him when he was struggling to make ends meet? He would later take a chance on himself, and record a song that eventually dominated the airwaves – only for his estranged lover to reach out to him after she saw that he had become successful. In hindsight, I chuckled because people were essentially dancing to a person’s heartbreak song but the story was conveyed with such rhythm and melody that it almost didn’t matter what they were saying – the story struck a chord that transcended language.

App Or Weapon?

One of my favourite series of all time is HBO’s Game of Thrones. There is a quote from George R.R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords which was referenced by Tywin Lannister, “Some battles are won with swords and spears, others with quills and ravens.” This speaks to the fact that contrary to conventional warfare which requires traditional weapons or physical force, certain conflicts have to be won by non-kinetic means which may include but are not limited to diplomacy, strategic communication or exerting socio-economic or political pressure. If you have been paying attention to global politics, you will agree that there have been increased tensions on trade and particularly technology. Two superpowers are currently sparing over the ownership of a wildly popular social media app; there are conversations about domiciling the interests of the app over national security concerns while navigating the concerns of freedom of expression. One military chief alleged that the app was an “intelligence gathering tool” by his country’s foremost geopolitical foe while the other party insists that the algorithm is not being influenced by its dominant political establishment.

What all of these underscore is really the fight over who controls the information you are exposed to, thereby controlling how you think and how you act. By the way, it takes one to know one; most people typically accuse others of what they are guilty of themselves – if you don’t gerrit, then forget abourrit. So the rogbodiyan over the app is really a proxy war. You need to appreciate the role of information in the art of war; the theatre of operations is really your mind. The visible weapons of a traditional war may comprise Kalashnikovs, bombs and ballistic missiles but the invisible war is driven by agendas, propaganda, and interests. This is because empires understand the power of storytelling; you can be convinced by the use of powerful psyops that a bad guy is a good guy and a good guy is really the bad guy.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

The most effective stories are those that paint pictures in the minds of the audience. There is a reason why movies are referred to as motion pictures. For children who process images better than words, picture-esque storytelling is a powerful way to communicate important ideas. One such piece of literature we can never forget is My Book Of Bible Stories. That book shaped our perspectives on how we understood God and events in ancient times more than we care to admit. However, as well-intentioned as the book is, I have come to unlearn many things from its original submissions. For example, Samson wasn’t necessarily the muscular guy he was presented as in the book – in reality, he looked like a very normal guy. His opps were so spooked by it that they asked Delilah to get the intelligence from him on where his strength originates from because it was evidently not a function of any huge biceps or triceps. Another publication, Awake, typically renders Jesus’ crucifixion on a pole but I respectfully disagree with its submission because,e from historical fact as a well-documented signature torture tool of the Roman Empire, it was on a cross – an interception of vertical and horizontal wood. Other examples abound of things we have had to unlearn with time thanks to personal study and exposure. Nonetheless, it shows how you can believe something for a long time even when it’s not correct owing to storytelling.

“I’ll Never Let Go Jack”

One of the most famous tragedies in the world was the sinking of RSM Titanic on April 15th 1929. The largest ocean liner once considered “unsinkable” floundered to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean on its maiden voyage. One filmmaker’s obsession with the mega-ship culminated in the making of one of the greatest movies of all time both at the box office and in terms of its cultural impact. James Cameron introduced the characters of Jack and Rose and their love story even though they weren’t real people on the original vessel. This relationship of how a poor guy who got lucky, won a ticket to the ship and fell in love with a sophisticated lady who was scared to go along with an arranged marriage to someone she couldn’t stand captured the hearts of millions of people around the world. No pun intended the sinking of the largest ship was annotated by the sailing of the romantic ship between Jack and Rose. There are only two movies that run more than three hours that I enjoy watching over and over again, Titanic is one of them. The story was so powerful that many years later, companies charged up to $250,000 per head for curious souls who wanted to dive deep into the ocean bed to catch a glimpse of the White Star Line’s famed vessel.

Typical of how we use words, storytelling has become one of the most abused terms in public discussion. It’s just like the word luxury, most people use it to describe overpriced products with aesthetic qualities but having little or no functional value. Storytelling will significantly shape the multipolar world, so whether it’s a post on social media, interview, book or speech – remember to be your storyteller-in-chief.

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