BY GREGORY AUSTIN NWAKUNOR
Dateline. February 28, 2010. Darkness wraps the road to Igbale Aiye in warm embrace. There are no stars in the sky, nor any moon, as rainfall drops its fat dews on earth. The sports utility van (SUV) conveying guests, including journalists, drives slowly in the darkness because of the wet ground, with its light casting its rays on the road that is still to be cut properly. As the SUV moves, there is a slow, but gradual lightening of darkness above trees. From a corner, just behind some tall trees, a bulky figure emerges from bush path.
Probably out of fear, he begins to run from the oncoming vehicle. He stops, and makes a turn. The vehicle follows, not in trail, but to find its way.
The man continues to run, as soon as he spots the car, he stops running. There is silence for a while, suddenly the strange man shouts: “It’s a ghost.”
He continues to shout, as he runs for safety. “Ghost! Ghost!! Ghost!!!”
There is a flash of teeth in the car. Everybody laughs, as the figures runs into the bush, the vehicle still on its way to African Renaissance City.
Not long after, there is a signboard welcoming visitors to Igbale Aiye --- the city of renaissance Africa. Everybody is relieved that after a long drive, the city is finally in view…
Located in Pobe (about 120 kilometres South East of Benin Republic), it is where the souls of African slaves transported to Europe and America will be repatriated, as a way of paying post humous tributes to Africans deported by the odious system of slavery and to promote universal reconciliation and world brotherhood --- The city of humanism world wide. A part of the land was taken from Benin while another part was taken from Nigeria.
Also, in Senegal, African Renaissance statue is being built and will be inaugurated on April 4, 2010. It represents a couple and their child in heroic stance. The monument being built on a Dakar hill by North Korea’s Mansudae Overseas Project Group of Companies, is 50 metres, four metres taller than the Statue of liberty in New York.
This year, about 17 African countries - Cameroun (January 1), Togo (April 27), Madagascar (June 26), Congo DR (June 30), Somalia (July 1), Benin (August 1), Niger (August 3), Burkina Faso (August 5), Cote d’Ivoire (August 7), Chad (August 11), Central Africa Republic (August 13), Congo Brazzaville (August 15), Gabon (August 17), Senegal (August 20), Mali (September 22), Nigeria (October 1), Mauritania (November 28)- are marking their 50th anniversary, but more importantly, 2010 has a lot to offer historians about the continent, which 125 years ago, was ‘carved and balkanised’ by Europe and the US in the three-month Berlin Conference held between November 15, 1884 and February 26, 1885.
On May 25, 2010, the souls of lost African ancestors will return home in a ceremony that aims to honour and pay tributes to ‘Kinta Kinta’ and his brothers, who were either stolen from families, or sold by greedy kinsmen at Igbale Aiye.
Though the project, which aims to engender renaissance of humanity, was born in 1981, however, Africa Culture International Institute, established on August 16, 1982 to detect cultural elements that are favourable to this renaissance, has spearheaded the dream.
At the 7th World Pan African Congress, under the chairmanship of Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, there was a reflection of the idea of African renaissance.
Held in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, from February 11 to 15, 1991, the congress celebrated first year of Dr. Nelson Mandela’s release from prison. Also, far reaching decisions were taken to push the 1981 dream beyond the pages of newspapers.
Laying of first stone of the African Renaissance city held on August 19, 1999 in the presence of Sammy Kum Buo, special envoy of the United States, who represented the then UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan.
Representatives of Benin, Angola, Qatar and the Kingdom of Swaziland were at the event, which entailed collection of small stones brought by kings from four corners of the world, who participated at the first World Conference of Kings, Queens and Traditional Chiefs, Religious Leaders, Men and Women of Peace for Conflicts’ Prevention in the 21st Century held at Cotonou from August 15 to 20, 1999.
Recently, the project hosted its ambassador from Haiti, and also, briefed the world media on final preparations for the burial of African ancestors, who died in the Diaspora.
Held at the Ministry of External Affairs of Republic of Benin, it attracted dignitaries from all walks of life including the diplomatic corp.
According to President of World Pan African Congress and Vizier of the Culture Institute, Olofin II Olofindji Akande, “the project is all about well being of Africa.”
He continued, “we are interested in the well-being of African people. Africa used to be at the head of civilization, but now, we are at the bottom.” Black people now cannot be compared with the whitemen, enthused Olofindji. “Even here in Africa, we don’t consider ourselves. You will discover that when the blackman produces yam, he gives the best to the whiteman. We believe that whites are better.”
The man asked, “everybody in Africa – from Benin to Nigeria, Togo to South Africa- wants to go to America or Europe, why is it that the people of these continents don’t want to come to Africa?”
He said with the renaissance project, “we want to change that. We want that by the grace of God, in a few years time, everybody would be running to Africa. We want in a few years, African people would be proud of their heritage.”
The culture institute boss, who has traversed major cities of the world, and met important African and world leaders, said the dream is to make Africa not only vibrant again, but a continent its citizens will have everything from food to every basic facility that can be imagined. “This is what we call the African renaissance programme,” he remarked. “We were the head of civilization, which everybody knew, if now we are at the bottom, we want to ask God to give us a lot of consideration. We have done something wrong and that’s why he is angry with us as a people. We want to beg God to change our situation.”
Which programmes have been earmarked for this?
Olofindji said the first is spiritual. “We want to ask God to have pardon on us. We want our ancestors to be with us. A lot of our ancestors were taken away as slaves, and from that time till now, we haven’t done anything to honour their name. Let us look at the Israelites, when they were leaving Egypt, they took the remains of their ancestors to be buried in the promised land. We understand now that we lost our fore fathers, we didn’t make any attempt to bring them back home. Since then, they have been looking at us to see how we can make headway. This is why we are trying to honour them at the African Renaissance City; to welcome them home. By the grace of God, when we complete that ceremony Africa will grow.”
Is this not a pipe dream considering that there are no accounts of where many of these ancestors died and were buried?
He answered in the affirmative, it is not. He acknowledged that though the remains to be brought home are just too much, and they don’t even know where they all are, an alternative has, however, been found. “We will go to every country, hit the ground thrice and pack the soil and ask our fore fathers to go back home with us. We will also do that in every country of the world and every water on the surface of earth. So that those who were thrown into water by the slave masters when they protested, we are going to call them out of the water and ask them to go home with us. We will bury their remains in that place called Igbale Aiye.”
For Mother Jah Evejah Adanjah, who repatriated from the Caribbean Island of Guaderlope to Benin 12 years ago, “I believe that it is time to find the link between African at home and Africans abroad. That was why it was natural for us to be here today. My kingman, my husband, is the pioneer ambassador for all Africans in the Diaspora, who want to settle back.”
The lady added, “there is a proverb saying that ‘even if a piece of wood stays long time in water, it will never turn crocodile.’ It is the same. If you are African, you cannot forget that you are African. It is like the leopard, it cannot take out its spots. It is the same thing for us, we didn’t forget our ancestors, when they were deported, and they prayed to come back to Africa.”
She, however, put a proviso, “not all of us will come back, but some will definitely. That this is the prayer and it is biblically positive that they will come back.”
For the lady, who with the husband, has a school, and also organises pilgrimage for those who want to re-link with Africa, “when you are there, you see it as a dream, but when you are here, it becomes a reality. It’s been a success.”
But the African Renaissance City is not going to be for dead ancestors, only. The living beings are going to be there. That is why a lot of research centres and academies are going to be there, The Guardian gathered.
“We will have about 38 academies, ranging from literature to governance, geography and sciences. So that our best brains outside, whether in Europe or America will come home, if we don’t do this, you will see that a lot of our children, who are outside the continent will be sent back home. As a result of the global economic crisis, many of them will be sent back home from these advanced countries. So, we should be getting setting set to receive our children back,” he said. “We started thinking about the city so many years ago, maybe 25 years, but development of the place actually started in 2006. We are hoping that by 2015, building of the city will have been completed. But it does not take the fact that some people have started to live there now. There is already a small trade going on.”
The Beninois government has embraced the project, he enthused. “They helped in grading of the road and cutting of parts to the city, and also, whenever there is a programme, the government provides power, that is, generator. Though the government has not actually provided permanent light or water, it has actually helped on temporary basis.”
A lot of projects would be done in the city, he pointed out. According to him, there will be an airport to aid faster movement of people from Europe and America. “However, this airport will not be built by foreign bodies, I mean non Africans. It will be built by our own people and our sweat by our business men, investors and technocrats,” he said.
The Guardian gathered that a lot of money has been spent on the project, especially ‘the mass burial’ holding in May, “but it is actually nothing compared with what is going to be spent. A lot of people are spending monies, especially private funds to publicise activities and make the project a success.
Professor Wole Soyinka is doing a lot on the project. First and foremost, he is president of the academy of literature, which will facilitate the development of African literature and language. Desmond Tutu is the father and patron of the centre. He became the father in 1991,”he said.
The Guardian gathered that uniqueness of the city is its underground village. According to research by archaeologists and ethnographers, the people who constructed the Great Egypt Pyramid actually came from that village.
“So, as far back as 450,000 BC, there had been existence in this part of the world, from where the people dispersed to come and build that popular Egyptian civilization. The village is enough a tourist centre for people to come and see and feel development of Africa. In that underground village, you will see the great development that had taken place in time past. The well cut paths and even the palace of the king and other sundry things to prove that that life had existed here long ago,” concluded Olofindji.
No comments:
Post a Comment