OK, let me get this all straight ...
1) You've never ridden a bicycle before (or at least very little).
2) You don't have any idea what can go wrong with a bicycle, or how to fix it.
3) You've never cycletoured, which involves camping etc., before.
4) You just bought a bicycle now, on December 19th, and you plan to start your tour on January 16th
5) You've got three weeks to learn how to ride a bicycle, learn how to fix a bicycle, learn how to set up a tent and use a campstove.
6) You're planning to do all this alone.
7) Given all that, you are planning to take a bicycle of questionable durability, complete with all the gear you'll need to survive for 8 months to a place like
Africa.
WHY**********??
Is there something particularly compelling about doing a trip like this through Africa? If you're so compelled, I think you'd be better off going on something like this:
http://tourdafrique.com/indextour.htm
I'm all for adventure, but having done a 3 month tour of Australia (as a VERY experienced cyclist and camper), my first word of advice to anyone, most of all someone who has no experience whatsoever, would be to try a local trip of a week or two first.