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Benin and the Yoruba states for example, were not influenced by Arab and Berber culture - they were forest states.

Thank you -- I need to read more about these

The Masai, Pygmies and Khoi Khoi represent the Western caricature of Africa. These groups are largely resistant to the modern World so the West assumes that Africa is resistant to the modern World -- not completely correct. The Masai, Pygmies, Khoi-Khoi in fact are viewed positively in the West. What gives Africa a bad name in the West is the actions in Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Congo, Zimbabwe and also now in South Africa -- the senseless murders, cutting off of handing, rapes etc. That gives all "Africa" a bad name

The problem with the Somali diaspora is similar to the problem with certain segments of the Pakistani and Algerian diaspora - the impact of a flavour of Islam that is yet to reconcile itself with the 21st Century. -- somewhat correct, it is not just a "flavour" of Islam but Islam itself.

The Hausa-Fulani I referred to is Aliko Dangote thank you for that reference -- more for me to read up on

These people have only a transient interest in Africa and they don’t represent the average Westerner in Africa. -- I'm sure they don't. What then is the impression of the average Westerner in AFrica?

Also, on the other foot, AFricans too have stereotypes of the West -- for them this is mostly either American or British or French (depending on the part of AFrica) -- the rest of the "western World" doesn't ring a bell :)

The average Westerner in Africa works for a multinational company, lives in secluded quarters and has very little interaction with the locals.

To understand the interaction of the West with Africa you need to understand how colonial society was structured. For example, when Nigeria was a British colony there were only about 40,000 British administering a colony of 40 million so even then probability of an ordinary Nigerian coming in contact with a “flesh and blood” Briton was pretty slim.

As a result, when independence was granted there were very few person to person bonds with the British people (Bonds with English and Irish missionaries are an exception).

The French, as I understand were more invested in their African colonies so the person to person interaction was greater (I cannot talk about that authoritatively).

In present day Lagos, 90% of Westerners live the Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki axis. The reasons are different (security), but the parallels between the European Quarters of the Colonial era are there. Most Westerners live in a constant state of siege, with security reports from the US, British, French and German embassies telling them to stay at home. So they end up not interacting with the locals even if they want to.

I worked at two Fortune 500 companies in Lagos, Nigeria and the unwritten rule is that you don’t expect Westerners to come for your social events (apart from after work meetings at the bar) and Westerners also don’t expect you to come for their own social events. Westerners don’t know where and how the locals live and vice versa.

This is tragic, because in many cases the opportunity for meaningful social interaction is lost. (African society is much more communal than Western society).

The result is that the average local does not interact with or appreciate the difference between Germans, British, Americans or French expatriates - they are all “Oyibo”. They have their lifestyle and we have ours.

Consequently, most locals obtain their impression of the West from either Africans abroad or from Hollywood and Western Media. Britain comes off very badly because the British have a reputation for being cold, distant and socially awkward. The Americans are seen as being warm and friendly.

For socio-economic reasons the Chinese have closer interaction with the locals than Western expatriates. They are poorer and they are more likely to live in the same neighbourhood as the locals (I have a couple of Chinese neighbours). Their businesses also depend more on interaction with the locals (there is a Chinese market a few hundred metres from my housing estate).

I expect that in the next few decades the Chinese will have a much better understanding of African society (not an academic understanding) than the French or British ever had.