Calabash Issue 15

Showcasing the best of Africa

Price: £7, $11 LE90000

ISSUE 15

AFRICA’S FINEST

PRESIDENT

GONE But Not

FORGOTTEN

Interview With

GRAYEMPIRE34 bankole.jone.1 www.calabashbusinesscorporation.com

Bishop

CUMMINGS

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SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

Bankole Jones Editor in Chief and CEO 07939963139

Raymond Akabi-Davis Editor

Mike Butscher Associate Editor

Daniel Moore

Regional Marketing Manager

George Kabia

Business Director Sierra Leone

David Dravie John

UK Publication Relation Officer

Hannah Fullah

International Correspondent Sierra Leone

Edmond Clifford Jones Operation Manager Sierra Leone

Egerton Tamba Kamara Publicity Officer Sierra Leone

Calabash Magazine is published by

Calabash Business Corporation Ltd www.calabashbusinesscorporation.com africancalabash CalabashMagazine.

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You can Purchase Calabash magazine online @ https://issuu.com/calabashmagazine/docs/ calabash_magazine_issue15 email us on: info@calabashlogistics.co.uk bjones@calabashlogistics.co.uk Order or buy Calabash Magazine from The Calabash Restaurant & Bar 135 - 137 Travalgar Road, Greenwich, SE10 9 TX 02082484272 or website: www.africcalabash.co.uk

SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

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Inside.......

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Welcome

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From the Editor’s Desk

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Development

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Arts and Culture

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Health

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Champions – Success Stories

100 Lifestyle 104 Tribute

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114 Interview 120 Relationship 124 International

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Bankole Jones

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Come Organisations that digitalised their information systems were able to switch to home and hybrid working environments easily.

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he world has been battling to combat a pandemic which snuffed out the lives of some of our friends and colleagues and keeps destroying once strong and thriving

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businesses and economies of the world. In Calabash 14, I wrote about digitalisation and information age; we saw the power of digitalisation in the fight against COVID 19.

Notwithstanding all the negative effects caused by Covid 19, it changed our working patterns. Digital space replaced once fanciful offices in buoyant cities like London, New York, Paris, Moscow, Nairobi and Johannesburg etc.

Zoom meetings became the order of the day replacing face to face interactions. In this issue we

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delved into Africa’s development update, looking at how the continent is making use of her resources. Calabash issue 15 is impregnated with lots of rich and thought teasing articles. Please spend some time to read and enjoy these fantastic pieces of work.

In this our compelling issue, we feature African Arts & Cultures; the article investigates the stolen artworks of Benin and repatriation of these masterpieces to Mother Africa. I encourage you to take time and read the article.

We investigate success stories of Africans in the diaspora.

We interviewed the Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Akie Sawyer, her rapid progress since she assumed office as Mayor. As I look through and enjoy patterns set by our creator in heaven, I want to thank the lord specifically for giving me the courage to further on my vision for Calabash.

I welcome our numerous readers and supporters to this new issue, but miss some excellent and fine people in my life. These people helped and supported me personally and in my business venture.

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The day I buried my beloved sister Daphne Ekundayo Jones, was the same day I received news of the death of Calabash’s consulting Editor and my mum, aunty Daisy Bona. This is my season of irreconcilable gap.

My friend, mum and sister were taken away from me.

I thank God for giving them to me and for the time they were with us. They are now with the Lord whom I thank for giving me the strength and joy to further on. May their lovely souls rest in perfect peace. We extend our tribute to our beloved co-founder and consulting Editor, Auntie Daisy Bona, who left us to join our ancestors in world unknown. We miss her wisdom and tireless support to Calabash and her great contribution to journalism in my native land Sierra Leone and West Africa. We are planning to launch a foundation dedicated to her contributions to humanity and journalism. Please join the team in supporting the Daisy Bona Foundation.

Calabash is thanking all readers, supporters and fans across the world. Calabash will continue to be a platform for linking Mother Africa and its citizens in the diaspora and vice versa.

There is opportunity for readers, fans, and supporters to be Calabash Members, contact the Calabash team on 02082484272/07939963139 or send an email to bjones@calabashlogistics.co.uk

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From The

EDITOR’S DESK Raymond Akabi-Davis Editor

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elcome to Issue 15 of your favourite Calabash Magazine which the Editorial Team have specially put together in honour of Sierra Leone’s 62nd Independence Anniversary and Freetown’s 230th birthday.

Amidst this joy and celebration, Calabash Magazine however mourns the passing of our brilliant Consultant Editor, Daisy Bona who has been with us since the magazine’s inception. Daisy was instrumental in steering Calabash Magazine to its current success, and I feel honoured but in awe

SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

stepping into the shoes of someone so seasoned, passionate, and experienced as Daisy. She will be sorely missed and cherished.

As the country celebrates 230 years of the birth of Freetown, we cannot ignore the fact that Freetown is the result of a heinous crime by

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humans against humans in the form of the slave trade where Africans were captured or bought from their place of birth (AFRICA) and transported to Europe under degrading and inhuman conditions and sold as slaves to work for free. On page 56 you can read about the Krio People’s History & Influence on Sierra Leone and West Africa, and also the article on Scars of Slavery on page 40.

can get away with pulverising the nation and killing, displacing its people, and destroying its infrastructure.

Is it not time for NATO to draw up new terms of reference which preferably defends the democracy of all nations instead of upholding the principle that an attack on one of them is an attack on all? NATO should take into consideration that there is a need for all the different Blocs (Eastern and Western Blocs etc) to work together and have an annual meeting where Whilst the roles of churches and banks for their roles issues can be ironed out at Bloc level? This is a world they played in the slave trade are condemned, the where we all have to live in, why not peacefully? support and encouragement they got from the British government cannot be ignored. It is therefore little Ukraine’s situation recalls October 1938 when wonder that during the recent visit of UK’s Duke and Germany was about to occupy German speaking Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, and wife to Sudetenland which was considered a direct the Caribbeans marking the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee conflagration against the European powers and year, he offered apologies for and condemned the war was on the brink of erupting – Prime Minister slave trade, “Slavery was abhorrent, and should never Chamberlain of UK, Italian leader Benito Mussolini have happened. While the pain runs deep, Jamaica and French Premier Edouard Daladier met Hitler in continues to forge its future with determination, Germany where the boiling issue was resolved. On courage, and fortitude. The strength and shared sense his return to London Chamberland invoked Prime of purpose of the Jamaican people, represented in your Minister Benjamin Disraeli’s famous statement upon flag and motto, celebrate an invincible spirit”. returning home from the Berlin Congress of 1878, “My good friends……… Peace for our Time”. Let We are in a different era now and though the slave peace reign! trade was an unnecessary evil wreaked upon Africans

by Europeans, present day generation cannot be held In this issue, dedicated to Peace and Progress, you will responsible, accountable, or blamed for the sins of find out WHY AFRICAN LEADERS FAIL THEIR their fore generations. The past should be used as a NATIONS an ailment that leaves their countries and lesson learnt and guidance how we can avoid past its peoples in dire abject poverty, and gives rise to a mistakes and endeavour to live better lives in the call for a new brand of leadership; in contrast read present and future. about JOHN MAGUFULI – AFRICA’S FINEST PRESIDENT, Tanzanian diplomat turned twice In our International Section, you will read how some elected President who unfortunately passed away nations and organisations have still not learnt from last year 17th of March while in office – heartfelt lessons and mistakes of the past World Wars. Our condolences to his wife and children. Why don’t feature article– NATO – A Two-Edged Sword, looks other African leaders receive such accolades? Instead, at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and NATO’s response. the feature asks, WHY DO AFRICA’S LEADERS It is hard to believe that currently one nation can take up ALWAYS GO CAP IN HAND BEGGING FOR unprovoked war and arms against another nation and HANDOUTS WHILST THEY SIT ON GOLD SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

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MINES? Is it because of corrupt leaders and African governments or is there really a need? Find out! Africa’s leaders will defend their actions with only asking for what theirs is rightly as outlined in, STOLEN BENIN ARTWORK RETURNED which tells the story of 2 pieces of artwork among thousands stolen from the ancient Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria in 1897 by British soldiers. Although Cambridge University and Aberdeen University in UK returned the two artifacts it is disappointing to note that the British Museum has no intention of returning over 900 stolen artifacts from Nigeria which the British museum acquired illegally. These stolen artifacts are part of Nigeria’s cultural heritage depicting traditions such as pottery, songs, traditions, and rituals. It begs the question, “Since when does buying stolen property make it legally yours?”. Stealing another country’s culture and heritage will never make it yours!

woman. Africa is not all about failure as you will read in the success stories of Freetown Mayor Akie Sawyer who is reforming Freetown, Henrietta Violeta Pratt, and Solomon Kabba.

You are invited to read the success story of Most Reverend Dr Bishop Cummings and wife First Lady Evangelist Dr Diana Cummings and learn about “ITNOLJCCAPC” In the name of Lord Jesus Christ Church Apostolic Pentecostal Church, who believes that in these troubled times the Bible is an enormous source of needed refuge and help, and strives to guide His church towards strengthening His church on God’s most important institutions – family, church and government.

Calabash contains a lot more entertainment and information and of course, you are invited to write to the editor about any topic you fancy, just keep it clean, For our readers who are thinking of being a Happy reading! wealthy affluent business guru take a line or two out of LIFESTYLE’s BACKGROUND of Raymond Akabi-Davis FOLORUNSHO ALAKIJA, Africa’s second richest Editor Photo Credit: unsplash.com

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DEVELOPMENT CORNER

ARE AFRICAN COUNTRIES GETTING THE WHOLE SHARE OF THEIR

RAW MATERIALS?

Introduction In 2018, Africa established a significant historical landmark where 44 member nations of the African Union passed an Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area in Kigali (Ndonga et al. 2020). Creating a single market for African goods and services could boost the continent’s economy.

Approximately 1.5 billion African citizens can benefit from the milestone.

Africa is richly endowed with minerals such as oil and gold, agricultural products such as tea, cocoa, and cotton, unexploited natural and human resources, and the initiatives can be a game-changer for the States.

Additionally, the continent’s trades to the rest of the world ranges are approximately $800 billion between 2015-2017, with 80 to 90 per cent accounting for exports. It is a fantastic deal for Africans, especially the shareholders and the trade participants, but do they get their full share of the raw materials? The purpose of this article is to answer the question of whether African countries are getting their whole share of their raw materials.

SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

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By Bankole Jones

frican countries are not getting their deserved share of raw materials revenues. Below is a discussion of why they do not get it in full.

Taken over by foreign-owned companies In the early 2000s, the prices of raw materials had sharply increased before experiencing its first scourging decrease in the financial crisis in 2008 (Mancini et al., 2013). In 2015, the fall in price deteriorated, where ore fell by 65 per cent monthly, copper by 25 per cent that year. Moreover, as economic and political instabilities continue, price instabilities persist, which heavily affects producer nations. Research shows that economic inequalities in Africa’s resource-rich nation continue to grow compared to other countries. The miners have surfaced it strikes in South Africa, one of the most natural resources States in Africa.

Guinea has been finding ways to tax foreign companies to get her fair share from bauxite mining. Due to the lack of bauxite processing industries in the countries, aluminium mining is solely in foreigners’’ operations. The country’s Constitution, 30 per cent of the total mining revenue should be collected and disbursed to the region’s citizens. How can this be effective with these companies controlling mining? Consequently, Guinea’s government is seeking counsel with the IMF and World Bank on taxing these companies efficiently.

Lack of production skills and competence.

Since 1960, Nigeria, a successful oil producer globally, nearly $400 billion of the oil income has been stolen. The amount

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DEVELOPMENT CORNER was twelve times the country’s 2011 national budget.

Consequently, raw material such as oil has resulted to unresolved disputes and even violence in some countries such Tanzania, Malawi and South Sudan. This comes as a result of unfair shares of the raw material revenue.

However, very few African nations can process their raw products, leaving the work to foreigners.

The highest percentage of the earner profit from the extraction of these products goes to foreigners’ companies w h o pay low rates tax.

Additionally, none of the diamond mining countries in Africa controls their mines solely. The mines ownership is either a partnership with foreign-owned companies or wholly owned by foreigners. Botswana, a leading diamond miner in Africa, houses seven mines; the largest is Jwaneng, owned by Debswana diamond mining company in partnership with De Beer. De Beer is said to control all the sales of the raw material. Catoca mine in Angola is owned by an Angola company in partnership with Russian and Chinese companies. De Beer has the most considerable control of diamond mining in Africa with full ownership of the South African mines and partial partnership with the Namibia government on those in Namibia.

Nevertheless, the same case applies to gold and oil mines. Foreign-owned companies have predominated Africa for these raw materials. However, Africa’s incapability and incompetence in mining sectors have resulted in offshore companies coming to their aid. In 2017, the Ethiopian government invited international mining partnerships by providing incentives such as

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low corporate tax, protection procedures, and dutyfree import of mining equipment.

Auction prices

and high cost of production

In 2017, Africa accounted for about 20 % of global tea exports, with Kenya being the leading Africa country and third-largest tea exporter globally. Kenya SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

DEVELOPMENT CORNER to poor infrastructure, high costs on fuelling and packaging materials, unreliable electricity, the cost of production is further increased, leaving the farmer with few pennies.

Due to lack of processing infrastructure

has a market share of approximately 17 per cent. In Furia, (2021) report, the export value of Kenyan tea had increased to 108.7 million dollars. With these statistics, Kenya is the most successful tea-growing state in Africa, with most of the tea coming from small-scale farmers. The inclusion of these farmers accounts for over 70 per cent of the country’s total tea production, enabling over 500 thousand people to derive their livelihood from the crop. The crop is a top foreign exchange earner for the country alongside horticulture, tourism, and coffee.

One of the main challenges affecting tea exporters from Africa is a weak trend in tea prices. An increase in global tea export than the world can consume resulted in price problems in the market. Research shows that over a decade, tea supply has consistently increased and results in depressing auction prices. The dollar prices foe Kenya tea today is at the same level as it was a decade ago. The rising cost of production affects the estate sector. In this case, labor accounts for 75 per cent of production costs. The number of wages paid by tea agencies has ten times increase from the nineties. This has forcibly made farmers resign from the agency and neglect tea cultivation. Also, due SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

According to a UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report, unprocessed products lost 50 per cent of their selling power compared to manufactured goods from 1997 to 2001. This pushed Africa exporters to produce twice as much to maintain their exports’ income. The most affected products were coffee, cocoa, tea, and vegetable seed oils, and these accounted for 20 per cent of Africa’s exports during the time. The drastic fall in prices affected most countries in Africa and has not changed ever since. Lack of processing and manufacturing power for Africans has left the continent’s raw materials a point of vulnerability to unstable prices and markets.

The global cashews market is growing daily, and

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DEVELOPMENT CORNER Africa is the largest cashews producing continent globally, with more than 50 per cent world supply.

Some of the highest African countries cultivating this crop include Mozambique, Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Benin. Deshelling of cashews nuts adds value to the commodities, and less than 15% of the crop is deshelled in Africa. Asia imports much of the cashew, where 85% of it is deshelled. Africans miss a considerable share of the product, while North America and Europe deshell, roast, salt, and package it to be consumed as a snack. The two continent accounts for 60% of cashew Africa exports. Africa is missing out because the price of cashew exported from India to Europe is three times high than the export price from Mozambique to India. Consequently, the cashews price grows eight times higher after second processing in Europe.

Subjection to tariffs and political instability Not many countries in Africa are connected to roads and railways. To more across the region, one has to book a flight to the destination country. The same case applies to products movement across Africa. Thus, goods are subjected to high tariffs across Africa than the rest of the world. For instance, due to these hindrances, Tunisia and Cameroon export their goods to warehouses in France before importing them back to each other’s market.

Mozambique, Uganda, Lesotho, Tanzania, Ghana, Rwanda, Mauritius, Mali, Benin, and Tunisia. Exports of these products are imposed with substantial tariffs.

Depending on the tariffs tags, the median rates for the sub-Saharan countries increased from 20 to 30 per cent from 2014to 2016. Cocoa exporters in Africa are protected, with the nation being subjected to tariffs rates of 5-25 per cent depending on the tariffs title.

In addition, Africa states experiencing political and economic problems do not get much from their raw material exports (Poku & Mdee, 2013). The world market tends to purchase their products at auction prices, a challenge affecting the Africa continent.

In 2015, Ethiopia was under political crisis, and it impacted her innovativeness greatly.

Conclusion With the above examples and illustrations, it is evident that Africa countries do not get the full share of their raw materials. Taking advantage of political and economic instabilities affecting most parts of the continent, foreign-owned companies have taken over the mining business in Africa, with the most significant part of revenue going to foreigners’ pockets. In addition, agricultural products from Africa countries are bought at a through away price in the global market. The tax imposed on exports while getting out of the export country and the tariffs paid during intracontinental trading costs the exporter country a part of the commodity share.

Beverages (UNCTAD press, 2019) exporters in Africa rely on intra- African imports, which relatively high on soft drinks and beers. Beverage dominant exporters include; Namibia,

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DEVELOPMENT CORNER

WHY AFRICAN LEADERS ARE ALWAYS BEGGING FOR DONATIONS WHILST SITTING ON GOLD MINES

By Bankole Jones

INTRODUCTION

“Are foreign donations the solution to Africa’s development?”

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United Nations report in 2005 called for the wealthy and developed western countries to double their foreign aid to poor African countries as a way of reducing poverty. In the following year, a Nobel peace prize was given to a founder of a for-profit microloan bank who stated that “far from being necessary to rescue poor countries from poverty, development is far more to keep them in the vicious circle of poverty.” He stated that, for developing countries to emerge from poverty, it requires effort and productive investments.

Photo Credit: aa.com.tr SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

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DEVELOPMENT CORNER Photo Credit: Google Image

The African countries continue to face the neverending development challenges despite its abundant resources. Challenges such as corruption, dependency on foreign donations, leadership, and governance have been identified as some of the leading impediments to the quest for the continent’s sustainable development.

While donations help to contribute to human development, the dependency on foreign donations can be more problematic for the countries. This is because it undercuts the countries’ ability to chart their own strategies of development, which is crucial if development is to take root. Therefore, this calls for the need for African leaders to stop the habit of always begging for donations and finding long-lasting and sustainable solutions. The question of poor leadership among African countries has, in recent years, acquired

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a center stage in the writings about the challenges of development in Africa. Many researchers have held the leaders responsible for the continent’s woes.

Many global scholars such as Mills have argued that the underdevelopment in Africa is not a result of lack of resources or access to global markets or unfair economic system in the world; it is because of poor leadership and leaders who have always made poor choices.

Africa, a continent blessed with “honey and milk.”

Africa is a continent rich in natural resources and is reported to hold 60% of the world’s strategic minerals, specifically; 65% of its cobalt, 18% of its gold, 95% of platinum, 42% of diamonds, 8% of SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

DEVELOPMENT CORNER natural gas, plus vast deposits of oil and uranium.

It is therefore blessed with abundant mineral and natural resources and other elements. Moreover, it is also rich in vegetables due to their climate.

Although Africa is known to be rich in gold, oil, diamonds, and many other natural resources, the continent has not managed to capitalize on its wealth effectively. Most of the continent’s economies are small, infrastructure is underdeveloped, and most people languish in extreme poverty. Despite its immense wealth and natural resources, Africa remains the least developed continent among thirdworld continents. Ideally, the development of the identified resources can be a great blessing in the continent, but the lack of capability to capitalize on the resources have shown that the resources are more of a curse than a blessing. It is blessed with abundant natural resources but plagued by poverty.

Photo Credit: Google Image

Leaders have been blamed for Africa’s poverty.

Leadership is essential for the management of critical resource endowments in a nation such as gold, oil, diamonds, etc. However, the leadership and the governance of African countries are characterized by leaders who lack the ability to identify and implement development policies that can facilitate effective exploitation of the resources. Most of the political leaders in African nations have the get rich mania, which creates a corrupt government leading to underdevelopment. Additionally, in Africa, leaders seem happy to steal from one side and transfer the loot to the other side and congratulate themselves for a job done well.

The discovery of resources in any country or continent should be a blessing due to the many benefits that come with the resources, including employment, development, etc. However, this is not the case in Africa. A lot of resources have been discovered but SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

have only been a blessing to a chosen few, while most people suffer. This has created a ground that the resources across the continent are a curse, thus being referred to as “resource curse.” The so-called curse is, as a result, various factors such as the presence of multiple power groups, weak legal and political institutions, dictatorial and reserve regimes, etc. The causes have been a result of the weak governance that exists in most countries today.

Why African countries are unable to tap into their resources, but instead go begging for donations As has been noted, the continent is rich in natural resources, but it goes hand in hand with the word poor.

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DEVELOPMENT CORNER make policies representing the entire population.

Unfortunately, the African continent is characterized by very weak governance, the legal and political institutions have weak capacity and the laws are also outdated. Such characteristics result in a conflict of interest between the government and other agencies responsible for managing the economic sectors in a country.

On the other hand, when the power is concentrated in one ruling family, the legal and political institutions tend to be weak or marginalized, which has been the issue in most African countries. Getting the right leadership in a country to fight corruption and propel good governance has been a recurring decimal across Africa. If the nations can create an enabling leadership, it would eventually be easy to confront and resolve the challenges and create a condition of life where each stage is progressively better than the previous one. However, this is not the case in most countries in Africa due to the high level of bad governance and corruption. Good governance is associated with Over the years, different reasons as to why Africa transparency, accountability, freedom, which are has remained poor and largely depended on foreign some of the factors that can facilitate the exploitation donations have been highlighted, including weak of natural resources. legal, political institutions, Dictatorial and Repressive Regimes, and the presence of multiple power groups Dictatorial and Repressive Regimes are a result of poor leadership and governance.

Weak legal and political institutions One of the major challenges in African nations that have resulted in the inability to effectively tap the available natural resources is the political and socioeconomic environment. A strong legal and political institution plays a very crucial role in development.

The legal and political institutions not only create, enforce, and apply laws but also mediate conflicts and

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In one way or another, most African nations have experienced dictatorial regimes that tend to cling to power to monopolize the collection of resource wealth. Actually, there is a casual relationship between the natural resources in Africa and authoritarianism, which has had a negative impact on democracy. The aspect of authoritarianism arises from the dominance of one party combined with a weak political and legal system.

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DEVELOPMENT CORNER A higher endowment of resources allows the dictator to counteract oppositional groups’ cooperation and increase their probability of staying in power. On the other hand, they collect resources from the citizens in order to increase their personal and family gains. In order to remain in power, a dictator can choose to invest in increasing the base of supporters and or repressing oppositional groups. Therefore, the resources benefit those in power, their families and friends. If the rules are strict or the political power is less concentrated, the exploitation and distribution of resources could be monitored properly, increasing the wealth across the continent.

NGOs, donor agencies and others want to be part of the team in order to exert a certain degree of power due to various interests. The desire for each team to lead or have a greater share of the natural resources results in conflicts which have, over the years affected the ability of the countries to exploit their resources.

How and why the African leaders have failed the continent

According to Bond, (2006), despite being rich in natural resources, Africa has continued to be poor because its society and economy has over the years been wasted by international capital and the local Presence of multiple power groups and conflicts elites. The private and the public sector has worked in Unison to drain Africa of its possession of natural Many countries in Africa have several actors that resources, which would have otherwise been used are involved in the oil and mineral sector. The to meet all the needs of the people. Hence, many transnational corporations, the government, the scholars have associated the underdevelopment of

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DEVELOPMENT CORNER Africa and poor use of resources to bad leadership and governance. Many Africans are poor, mainly because their leaders have comfortably chosen poverty over its people’s development and empowerment. Bad governance, silent global community and passiveness of the people to hold their leaders accountable have given the leaders an ample opportunity to wreak havoc on the people and the continent.

that yield quick results by investing in projects that are not in the best interest of development while the remaining cash is squandered by individuals. For example, many leaders will rush to increase the size of the civil service as they focus on reducing the rate of unemployment and the donation funds are wasted on paying a large number of government workers for doing nothing.

In a World Economic Forum held in Addis Ababa in 2012, President Goodluck Jonathan stated that African leaders form the greatest part of the continent’s problems, given that most leaders don’t bother about the interests of the people they lead. The leaders have been at the center of corruption. Many African leaders continue to beg for donations, which they have seen as a convenient tool for them to adopt short term policies

Leaders will rush to beg for donations and foreign aid, which seems to promote corruption in the countries and dependence. The largest recipients of foreign donations are countries that are marred with huge corruption cases, which show that the donations simply reinforce the resources available to the corrupt leaders and elite people in the society. The money is never distributed equally among the people or employed

“Africa has about a third of the global mineral resources, but its citizens don’t benefit from these resources.”

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DEVELOPMENT CORNER in growth promotion or helping the poor but is used to start white elephant projects, military equipment and dishonest procurements. Also, leaders who lack long term visions and policies prefer donations as a quick way of achieving their agendas. The countries have become used to receiving large amounts of foreign donations that

they don’t see the need to promote local

businesses or exploit the available natural resources given that the leaders have free money at their disposal.

How African countries can break this curse and stop SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

begging for donations Africa has about a third of the global mineral resources, but its citizens don’t benefit from these resources. These resources can generate substantial economic, social and political benefits to the continent and its citizens. However, this can only be achieved if transparency and accountability is implemented by those in authority. Africans have to identify priorities rather than going for donations and implement them. African leaders have been begging for foreign donations since independence. It is true that some of the donations and foreign aids have shown long-lasting impacts in stimulating local economies and help reduce the dependency of aid in areas such as youth entrepreneurship and sustainable agriculture. However, despite some of these positive impacts, it is argued that foreign assistance has developed a certain culture of African leaders’ dependency on donations.

Therefore, African leaders should find ways of scaling up policies that will spur up democracy in the region and create an environment that is enabling to build prosperity through priorities such as regional integration, economic engagement and job creation.

Job creation: This should be the first priority for African leaders. Africa has one of the youngest populations globally, with more than 200 million people aged between 15-24 years. According to the African Development Bank, the governments need to establish policies and plans that will promote the private sector competitiveness that is essential for business growth and creation of employment for the youth. Exploiting the natural resources and promotion of agriculture will create employment and address food insecurity.

Regional integration: This is the second priority for the African countries. To move away from the overdependence on foreign donations and aid, the

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Photo Credit: Google Image

governments should find ways of improving regional integration initiatives. This is essential to taking advantage of natural resources such as oil and gold and creating a conducive environment for trade and sustaining development for the entire region. When combined with political stability and good governance, regional integration will enhance the exploitation of natural resources; promote industrial development and inflow of foreign direct investment. This will help to reduce the heavy reliance on the foreign countries for donations and economic growth.

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Commercial engagement and trade: the future of Africa and its ability to exploit is resources will mainly depend on how the continent will negotiate for the use of its resources with outside countries and not what it deserves. Therefore, its leaders have to work towards good trade and commercial engagements and focus on protecting Africa in all the future trade engagements and regimes.

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DEVELOPMENT CORNER The future of Africa: trade, not foreign donations To get out of the continuous dependency on foreign aid and donations, it is essential for the African leaders to focus on greater investments that will take advantage of their natural resources. They need to create and implement policy reforms with other countries in other continents and economic blocks to increase trade and investment, which is essential for sustainable growth and development. As noted by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the outgoing Assistant Secretary for Africa, Africa has made enormous economic and democratic progress over the years and now holds a significant place on the global stage due to its resources. What is left is for the leaders to be visionary and continue this trend by promoting African trade.

Though many African leaders have highly depended on donations from foreign countries, it doesn’t mean that the continent cannot grow without their help. In fact, the foreign countries such as the US and European Union must continue engaging with Africa due to its resources. The African continent

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is of paramount significance in the global trade and economy due to the reliance of all countries on natural resources and many economic opportunities in Africa.

This means that the engagement of other countries in Africa mainly serves their interests and hence their continuous willingness to offer aid and donations.

For example, giving aid to create African jobs is not only for economic purpose, but it also affects global security. This is because the unemployment of young people makes more vulnerable to be recruited for terrorist activities.

In the same way, the leaders in Africa need to focus much on the foreign donations; instead, they should seek to establish a more conducive and enabling environment to boost the local economy, encourage private sector competitiveness, attract foreign investment and negotiate technology transfer which can be used to exploit the natural resources. The African leaders have to realize that the continent’s prosperity is not in the hands of foreign countries’ donations. The continent holds the keys to its own development.

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Conclusion As observed from the discussion, the absence of good culture of accountability and transparency is what ails Africa.

Corruption in Africa has become so much prevalent that leaders always beg for donations with the aim of using it for their private use and not for the development of the people. This has, over the years, retarded the national economic growth and development despite being rich in natural resources. To deal with this situation, the article has recommended that the leaders come up to their senses and focus on economic restructuring rather than always going for donations. Foreign donations should only be taken when genuinely and seriously needed and should only be used to fund programs and projects that facilitate the growth of the economy that will stimulate the African continent’s prosperity. Leadership has been identified as central and critical to the development

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of the continent in terms of the ability to harness and mobilize the wide variety of natural resources to attain the economic objectives. It is, therefore, crucial to adopt management and leadership approaches that will inspire confidence. They have to transit from corruption culture to more moral decency, parochialism to purposeful leadership that is created to protect, promote and attain the interest of the people and transit from inefficiency to competence. As aforementioned, the African leaders have to realize that the prosperity of the continent is not in the hands of foreign countries’ donations.

With foreign donations or not, Africa holds the keys to its growth and development i.e., the natural resources. Therefore, the continent should seek to engage in a manner that is nonpartisan and continue making partnerships that are mutually beneficial. As the great Nelson Mandela once said, “It is always impossible until it is done.”

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WHY ARE AFRICA LEADERS FAILING THEIR NATIONS

By Bankole Jones

INTRODUCTION

economy is stagnant it is a sure sign of bad leadership.

Africa is failing due to its failing leaders. Africa’s frica has great potential to become a leaders are failing their nations! – why? superpower and a well-developed and economic entity if only it was well-governed During the pre-independence era, Africa’s leaders and properly managed by its leaders. Africa has showed their metal by leading the continent to untapped opportunities for business market growth and freedom and away from colonialism. However, the underutilized economic resources and human resources. freedom also led Africans to unrealized colonialism, It can also boast of abundant natural resources such as mining, and tourism which has the potential to be exploited for the continent’s benefits and development.

But notwithstanding these attributes it still seems to be stuck at the bottom rungs of the ladder of development and growth.

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Africa’s leaders should be in the forefront in launching the journey of utilizing mineral and economic wealth.

This will lead their nations out of poverty. The continent has an abundance of mineral deposits and massive untapped virgin land. This being so, there are no signs that the untapped wealth will be harnessed in favour of Africa. Nor are There any initiativesafloat to exploit these resources. Good leadership is a prerequisite for a country to have a booming economy so when Africa’s SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

Photo Credit: unsplash.com

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DEVELOPMENT CORNER poverty, and development stagnation. Africans had Corruption been ecstatic and full of hope for a brighter future for Africa. They were given all this gimmick of how The African continent has become a hotbed of great and beneficial independence would be for Africa corruption. Every day we witness passionate and and her people. How free Africa would be. It was all vigorous Africa leaders entering corrupt systems swallowed up, hook line and sinker. and abruptly turning into innocent conformists.

Additionally, some Africa opposition parties have Woefully, Africa was soon to find out that all they ended up practising what they originally advocated had been told by the African Pre-independent leaders against. Others have been swallowed into the system was a pack of lies. No sooner had the independence which has shut them up. For instance, Kenya and good-feeling factor worn off, than they realised their Zimbabwe had powerful opposition parties that leaders could not even retain what the colonialists always cornered the leaders to act. Now the proactive had left in their wake, let alone develop it. The entire opposition leaders are currently singing alongside infrastructure inherited from the colonialists is today the government. Moreover, in 1979 when Jerry in dire state of dilapidation. Schools, roads, hospitals, Rawlings assumed power, he planned to help the rural and telephones all are destroyed or in near shambles. farmers who were marginalized and in poverty. He These were the first tell-tale signs that the people had also promised to eradicate all the people involved in inherited a whole lot of failing Africa leaders who are corruption. However, contrary to his oaths, the farmers still failing their nations today. became poorer during his reign, and the government system was left drowned in corruption.

Photo Credit: issafrica.org

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DEVELOPMENT CORNER

Photo Credit: devex.com

Nigeria is powerful in terms of wealth, with the highest population, flourishing agricultural and oil production. In the 1970s, Nigeria made headlines due to its oil wealth. She is a nation richly endowed with oil, gas, and agricultural production. She is more than capable of funding many essential projects and meeting her consumption and development needs.

During its successful oil season in the seventies, Nigeria was the fastest developing country in Africa.

Yet today, she is still underdeveloped because she is oked with corruption.

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Economic mismanagement Almost all leaders of Africa nations are guilty of economic mismanagement. When Nkrumah led the liberation of his country, Ghana, he wanted to set the pace for Africa’s leaders to follow in his footsteps.

Nkrumah led a revolutionary movement that aimed at creating a united state in Africa. The building of roads, implementation of education and health services using government expenditures were essential to him. He aimed at depleting financing and foreign borrowing

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Greed and individualism During elections campaigns, every aspiring political leader will say they have the best interest in mind for the people. They will present their most incredible manifesto-making promises and feign to familiarise themselves with the problems affecting the people.

They will promise voters heaven and earth and will even attempt to play nice. They will also buy votes by offering bribes or niceties. However, none of them will exhibit their greed and selfishness till the day they get into power. Once in power they gradually keep aloof from the very grass root level that voted them into office.

and believed in exploiting the country’s resources to sponsor projects. If Africa’s leaders had followed in his footsteps, this article would have been written in a different vein. It would have been singing praises of the successes of Africa’s leaders, not failures. Past and current leaders have put the continent into deep debt through foreign borrowing. Projects have been funded, but never even took off. The funding found its way into private overseas bank accounts. None of the countries saw an iota of real development. Africa’s leaders made sure their citizens felt the squeeze and corresponding poverty that wrecked every fibre of their life.

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Greed and selfishness are two killer vices destroying the African continent. Everyone is looking for a well-paying job, to live a lavish life of opulence, surrounded by cars and houses. The mentality of selfsuccess; the impression of donating a considerable amount of money in a fundraiser, is paramount. So is flying across continents for birthday parties or driving around one’s constituency in black tinted luxurious cars. These are all prerequisites or the mindsets or success of Africa’s leaders.

Politics is the propelling force behind the economy of a nation. The main difference between developing and developed nations is their political evolution. A developed country’s economy and political systems are inclusive, providing opportunities for everyone to create wealth. On the other hand, developing countries such as Africa nations’ economies and political systems are in the hands of political leaders. They use these opportunities to channel economic resources for their self-gain.

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In Kenya, self–interest ditched the country into political manipulation of ethnicity leading to poor governance, hindering the growth and development of the state.

The state is scourged with greed, individualism, favouritism, among other vices, with everyone thinking about him/herself. As Mhango (2018) noted, development must be people-centred, people-oriented, and people-intended to have meaning. Currently, the continent of Africa is in recline-mode, awash with apathy, greed, and stinking individualism. Success and development have taken a back seat remaining a dream of Africa.

Lack of relevant skills and expertise Many African nations have leaders who lack the leadership skills and competence required to realize this continent’s most significant vision. Leadership with exceptional attributes and skills is vital to Africa’s development. Leadership incompetence is a culture in leaders that need to be overturned for Africa to be free.

SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

Most African countries have a vision to be great and take their rightful place among the developed global economies. But they have not realized and embraced this vision. Furthermore, if they have, why are there different leaders with the same results over decades of independence?

Incapable leadership systems have left Africa in huge debts acquired through loans in the name of funding development projects. Many states depend on foreign aids that do not even reach the intended beneficiaries.

Nevertheless, these nations are sitting on gold and oil mines. Incapable leadership systems have also resulted in the large gap between leaders and citizens.

This is a culture that has taken over even organizations systems. Leaders are being idolized and served instead of serving their people. For instance, the work of any president’s advisor is to give counsel to the president.

But what happens? Most of these advisors compete to be favourite employee around the president and to hearken to his every command. In such a culture, leaders are made superior and unaccountable to their nation’s people. Africa needs a clean sheet of

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DEVELOPMENT CORNER leadership development structure.

Africa Leadership Clean Bill of Health for Africa’s leaders will be more suitable for the young. Since, an old dog cannot be trained, young leaders should be embraced and trained in leadership skills and competence. The establishment of a Competent Leadership Institution will eventually eradicate leadership incompetency throughout the system. The changes could be effective through educating future leaders into competency.

Africans have been blindfolded for decades and see their leaders as fathers of the nations and worship them. With their ignorant mindset, they believe leadership and power are for the chosen few. What Africans do not know is that those chosen do not have even the slightest idea of what affects them in reality.

As Mhango (2018), noted change requires one to be change-oriented, cantered, and intended for it to take place, contrary to what leaders are.

Ignorance The most significant unabridged gap between the African citizens and their leaders is social status. Most of Africa’s leaders are born and raised from political backgrounds resulting in their high social status. Is it little wonder that because most of these leaders come from such backgrounds, they do not know what it means to be poor? They do not know the problems affecting their people. Africa’s leader must have their people’s best interest at heart and must familiarises themselves with people’s problems. The incapacity of a leader not to know what they even ought to know how to succeed in their work, is ignorance. To succeed as a leader, one must hear, see and experience what affects the people one leads.

Due to the culture of idolization of leaders in Africa, the leaders lack partners to engage in honest conversations with them so that they will acquire new information and a different approach. Those closest to these leaders cannot hold a dialogue with them on an equal footing. Instead, they feed them with lies, and the leaders think their personal and government efforts have paid outcomes (Kalungu, 2012). According to him, leaders, especially presidents, should come up with procedures and processes to access reality around their citizens.

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Conclusion Africa is a blessed continent with a lot of untapped business opportunities, underexploited human, and economic resources. Leadership systems in the continent have a critical role to play in ensuring these opportunities are utilized to their full potential. This is important for the continent’s growth and development. Africa’s leadership culture and mindset needs a change.

For this to happen, current leadership systems need to be crumbled so that corruption, civil conflicts, and other such vices that are affecting African government systems to be eradicated. It is necessary also to get rid of post-independence leaders who, as presidents, are misleading their people. In addition, presidents should establish processes and techniques to enable them to empathise with their people and walk in their shoes. leaders will then be equipped to combat their ignorance of what their people are really going through and experiencing. Change in leadership systems will translate to change in African growth, development, and success for everyone.

SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

ARTS AND CULTURE

Living with

Albinism in

Africa

Living with albinism in many parts of Africa is a dangerous experience.

By Bankole Jones

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lbinism is a rare genetic condition where an individual, completely or partially, lacks melanin in the skin, eyes and hair. Melanin is the dark pigment that is mainly responsible for the coloration of the skin, eyes and hair. Therefore, the lack of melanin pre-disposes the people living with Albinism (PLWA) to other issues such as vision problems, skin cancer and skin infections. As a result, many albinos die from conditions such as skin cancer before they are 40, especially when they cannot access crucial protective elements such as sunscreen and the wide-brim hats.

According to the United Nations, this hereditary condition is found in one out of every 20,000 people around the world. In Africa, this topic is of great importance given that the condition is more prevalent than in other parts of SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

the world due to various factors. However, many people in Africa seems not to be aware of the term “albinism” (which is the term that the people living with albinism prefer to be used), but nearly all of them have heard of ‘albino.’ This is just a tip of the iceberg of the many issues and challenges that the people living with albinism have to deal with.

One of the greatest issues faced by ‘albinos,’ especially in many African countries, is not about the skin irritation from the tropical sun or the poor vision as many would think but is about the lack of approval from the society and support to deal with the condition. The different African cultural beliefs have made the environment highly hostile for the ‘albinos’ and as some victims would put

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ARTS AND CULTURE

Photo Credit: Google

it, ‘it seems that they are worth more dead than alive instance, in western Nigeria, they are barred from given that they have to hide themselves away from the taking salt as a way of preventing pickles, while in discrimination and violence.’ some East African countries such as Burundi and Tanzania, they are hunted for body parts that are Research has actually shown that the many social used for rituals. They are also victims of rape due to institutions in the African Nations have not been the mythical belief that when an HIV-positive man well set up to handle the people with albinism and has sexual intercourse with an HIV-negative albino hence the slow progress in assisting them deals with female, they will be cured. Children with albinism the daily issues. Some of the many challenges that also have to deal with mockery from their peers, which they face include the high poverty levels, lack of a leads to feelings of uselessness and rejection. These conducive learning environment, inadequate access challenges mean that the ‘albinos’ tend to be excluded to medication and medical care, prejudice, lack of from the normal community activities and education community empowerment, and stigma. In addition, and have limited opportunities for employment. the people living with albinism have to deal with an inferiority complex due to the many mythical beliefs Due to the many challenges faced by Albinos in concerning albinos and misconceptions in Africa. For Africa, there have been a number of initiatives from

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ARTS AND CULTURE the local governments and international organizations However, much still needs to be done if the people to offer support and enhance their living conditions. living with albinism are to feel a part of the society For example, Advantage Africa’s project on Uganda and safe from any time of harm or discrimination. To was created to support albinos improve different ameliorate the plight of the albinos in Africa, there is aspects of their lives and their access to vision and a need for more coordinated effort involving different dermatology healthcare services. In Nigeria, they medical professionals, social workers, public health have created the Albino Foundation to provide help advocates and human rights activists, government to the members and train them on how to best manage support groups and law-enforcement agencies, among their condition and access medical attention. In South others. By coming together, these groups can address Africa, the deputy minister of the main issues Arts and Culture launched an and challenges, awareness campaign to sensitize such as education the citizens about the attacks, on the prevention discrimination, and stigma of skin cancer, experienced by the people living prosecution of with albinism. The campaign albino hunters and encourages and presents all the their sponsors, Africans with a platform where and discrimination they can be able to reflect on the and stigma violations faced by the albinos. denouncements.

Such campaigns throughout All the same, Africa have resulted in a better Africa as a whole understanding and protection of has made great the albinos. strides in fighting There are also programs in for the rights of the countries such as Malawi, people living with Tanzania and Uganda to debunk albinism, thanks to the many myths and raise the efforts by the Photo Credit: Google Image awareness of the albinos’ needs aid agencies, civil and their great potential in order for them to access society and the governments. employment, education and avoid abuse. Tanzania The people living with albinism are eager and hopeful and Malawi have also enabled laws to deter the that they will be well understood by their communities discrimination and assaults against albinism, although and accept them as they are. PLWA are like any other this remains a great challenge. Non-governmental person. They only lack a pigment which affects the organizations such as the Same Sun (UTSS) distribute sensitivity of their skin to the sun and their vision, educational materials in different schools to dispel the nothing else; they are just as ‘normal’ as anyone can common myths and raise awareness. Probably, due to be. the measures by NGOs and different governments, the number of albino deaths have been on the decline.

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ARTS AND CULTURE

Stolen

BENIN ARTWORKS Returned

By Calabash

Photo Credit: Google Image

I

t took more than 120 years after they were illegally taken and many more years of pressure for European countries to return priceless artefacts and artworks that were looted from Nigeria during the colonial era. British soldiers stole thousands of these artworks known as the Benin Bronzes from the Kingdom of Benin, in present-day Nigeria, in 1897. Some of the bronzes were auctioned to museums and private collectors across Europe.

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ARTS AND CULTURE These bronzes got their names because they originated from the Kingdom of Benin in today’s Nigeria. Their illegal acquisition generated a prolonged debate by Africans as well as Europeans with vehement calls for restitution.

Known for their skills in art, Benin people worked expertly with tools such as ivory, wood, and brass. They were known for sculptures, plaques, and particular head sculptures. Every monument portrayed historical happenings and the heads were natural and real lifesize. Artists also arced many things from ivory such as Early 2021, Cambridge University and the University saltcellars and masks. of Aberdeen, both in the UK, recently returned two of the artefacts. In mid-October, 2021, Germany and Benin was successful because of trade. Portuguese Nigeria signed a memorandum of understanding were also interested in the Kingdoms artwork. They setting out a schedule for the return of around 1,100 bought gold, pepper, and ivory. People in Benin were sculptures from German museums. There are over 900 also involved in the slave trade in the West Africa objects from the Kingdom of Benin acquired illegally region. They kidnapped children, women, and men and by the British Museum sold them to American which maintains it has buyers. The slave trade no intention to return was a viable business the stolen artefacts to that created wealth for Nigeria. the area.

Benin started its downfall The Benin kingdom in the 1800s. A fight was founded by the broke among the royal Edo people from family for the throne and southern Nigeria in a power. Civilians were forested area of West not left out thus killing Africa in 1200 CE. the vibrant economy and The Edo people were administration. Benin no longer interested to endeavoured to resist be ruled by kings; they foreign interference asked a prince from Ife from the British. The to take the lead. Eweka West Africa territory was was Benin’s first king invaded by the British in and prince Ife was his father. The Kingdom expanded 1897. The British burned part of the kingdom. The during Oba Ewuare’s rule. Oba Ewuare expanded the British made part of the Kingdom of Benin a part of kingdom, as well as improving the infrastructure. He its empire from 1860 to 1960. built massive walls and made the city of Benin the envy of passers-by. During this period, the influence THE WALL OF BENIN of the monarch’s power was felt. The people of Benin paid homage to powerful Obas by taking part in In Edo state, which was previously known as Benin, rituals including human sacrifices to show loyalty and stood the walls of Benin. They stood for the longest time between 800-1400 AD. They were the longest devotion.

“Cultural heritage includes different arrays of matters such as traditions, pottery, songs, rituals, traditions, etc. that are handed to the present generations by the ancestors.”

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ARTS AND CULTURE antediluvian earthworks in the globe and the largest man-made constructions on earth. The walls are built on a set of earthworks that are composed of ditches and banks, which are referred to as lya in the native language. It consists of 9.3 miles or 15 kilometers of ditches and banks. It is estimated at 16,000 kilometres or 9,900 miles of the surrounding area. The walls were so magnificent that it is estimated that they consumed more materials than the famous Great Pyramid of Cheops.

Researchers are yet to reach a consensus about the date the walls of Benin were constructed, and different researchers have advanced different theories. Some of the researchers estimated that the great walls might have been built between the 13th century and mid-15th century, while others suggested it was built during the first millennium.

The walls were designed and built by the Benin locals mainly to stop the increasing number of invaders from entering their kingdom. The wall helped Benin soldiers to see the invaders before they entered the city. Also, at the estimated time of the construction Photo Credit: Google Image of the great walls of Benin, the rate of slavery was structures and cultures? very high, hence the structures were used as a defence against European slave traders.

The need to preserve and talk about African culture As with many African cultures, the ancient city of The 1974 Guinness Book of records described the Benin and the great walls of Benin have been lost and great walls of Benin as the “world’s largest earthworks maybe forgotten to history. After the destruction of the before the mechanical era.” In fact, due to the size of city of Benin and its walls during European intrusion, the great wall, Fred Pearce stated: “it took more than none of the ruins were restored or preserved and 150 million hours of digging in order to build the wall neither has a similar replica designed to help keep the and it was maybe the biggest single archaeological memories alive. This calls for the need for Africans phenomenon in the world”. to be more proactive in preserving and talking about their cultures.

Sadly, today, what remains are only some piles of rubbles of the walls. This leaves one wondering, Africa is full of diverse cultures. Each country has what happened to the great wall of Benin? Why is its own culture. Most of the countries differ when it it important to protect and preserve such historical SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

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ARTS AND CULTURE comes to tribes. The continent has a powerful history and cultural heritage that needs to be preserved for future generations. The importance of culture is evident in the lives of different people and culture has been described as one of the binding forces among people given that it unites them through cultural identity. Therefore, preserving and talking about culture is very essential in terms of the need to protect the feeling of belonging and union among people of certain cultural groups.

Cultural heritage includes different arrays of matters such as traditions, pottery, songs, rituals, traditions, etc. that are handed to the present generations by the ancestors. Protecting cultural heritage is the foundation of preserving history and the future. It is only by preserving and talking about the cultural heritage that new generations will be able to understand and live according to standards that were set by their forefathers.

preservation of culture. Digital storage has played a crucial role in the storage and preservation of culture as it has enabled different historical cultures to be stored and shared. It is therefore important to embrace media, as this is the trend of the future.

In African culture, drums were of great importance.

For example, in Ghana, when children hear a drum, it is a sign for them to gather. They do so because drums are part of their heritage for communal significance.

Popular theatres have played a key role in preserving the cultures by expressing a community’s experience, plans, and struggles for survival and development.

Dramas, dances, narratives, musical compositions, have played important roles in cultural preservation.

Colonialism aimed at cultural disorientation, invasion, and alienation of African people. It also aimed at controlling natural resources, wealth, and cultural products. Africans were undervalued, its culture destroyed, distorted, and undermined. Therefore, it is The present generation is tasked with the responsibility up to the African people to recollect themselves and of maintaining the identity of the people that were embrace their culture. handed to them by their forefathers and keep it alive.

HOW AFRICANS CAN PRESERVE THEIR CULTURE

Photo Credit: Google Image

While fragile, cultural heritage is an essential factor in the maintenance of African cultural diversity especially during g the times of globalization. There are increasing risks that many elements of the African culture will disappear without help and hence it is important for the African people to find ways to manage and safeguard the culture.

One of the methods that can be used to preserve culture is through education. It is important to communicate the cultural heritage to the children through education.

The media is also an important player in the

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ARTS AND CULTURE

SCARS OF

SLAVERY

By Bankole Jones

S

lavery is not a new topic to most of the Africans and Jamaicans. The 16th to 19th centuries had a surge in cases of slavery across the continents. Sir John Hawkins and others pioneered slave trade, focusing on using labour plantations to make profits through the sale of people.

The process of selling the slaves involved the use of auctions or scrambles, all of which downgraded the value of human rights. The source of the slaves was the vulnerable, mostly the indigenous communities. Slave owners used inhumane ways to stop the escape of the slaves, which included using branding to mark recaptured slaves. From the consideration of all the procedures that slaves underwent, it is evident that the slaves were exposed to infringement of human rights. Slave trade has been linked to charges and banks, which are social institutions. It is important to establish if the affected parties would actually require to be compensated, specifically the most affected communities in Africa and Jamaica.

Photo Credit: Google Image

HISTORY OF SLAVERY AND LINK OF THE CHURCHES AND WESTERN BANKS TO THE TRADE

Slavery is an old trade that involved the purchase of people to work in different contexts and farms. The trade dates back as old as the 13th century, although the trade was available even before the recorded time.

The trading opportunity came from the presence of economic surpluses in one region and a high population SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

density in another. Ancient slavery did not consider the monetary value of the sale of people to offer free working services. Other contexts focused on using the slave trade to cover national and regional debts.

In all these trades, the Western countries took the upper hand in fostering slave trade. The mass transfer of slaves from the African continent was influential in the introduction of particular communities in these countries. However, religion and specifically the churches had a significant contribution towards the

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ARTS AND CULTURE Photo Credit: Google Image

fostering of the trade and its elimination. The timelines between fostering and advocating for its elimination had some implications on the role of churches in slave trade.

slave trade was part of the old trades in the Bible. The targets were Africans and Indians, probably due to their lack of belief in the divine God. Such factors led to the inhumane treatment of locals, with the churches focusing on capitalizing on Christianity to foster local ROLE OF CHURCHES IN SLAVERY trade. Although the church focused on promoting human rights, the activities they undertook did not The church was part of the slave trade in Africa. The meet the requirements for observing these rights. missionaries that came to Africa focused on influencing the locals to adapt to religion. The religion came with The introduction of Christianity came with the a divine God. The whites proclaimed that people who development of mainstream churches, such as did not believe in the divine God were not worthy Catholics and the Anglican churches. Surprisingly, in this life. The Bible was used to justify the deeds the Catholic Church was part of the transatlantic slave of the whites against the Africans. Specifically, in trade. The slave trade had the Bible at the core of South Africa, the missionaries invested in oppression justifying the activities that the people were engaging and slave trade to convince the locals to adapt to in. The father of slave trade, Sir John Hawkins, was Christianity. Notably, the Bible has records on how a religious man and pledged to serve God. From the

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ARTS AND CULTURE 2015 Global Black History report, the Catholic Church did not oppose slavery in the respective countries.

The findings of the report can further be strengthened by the fact that the countries involved in slavery had strong catholic roots. The countries include Spain, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, and England. The main justification of slavery was that the Africans and Jamaicans did not believe in God and deserved to serve the whites. Other justifications came from the belief that the black race came from a cursed race, which gave the perceptions that the whites could use the blacks, from the perspectives of the Bible.

WESTERN BANKS AND SLAVERY

The concepts of slavery came from the demand for labour in the western economies. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the demand for labour in the western countries led to an increasing demand for slaves. The banks provided an avenue for establishing the slave trade, either through financing or acquiring slaves. For instance, the Royal Bank of Scotland SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

was named as among the banks that owned slaves.

Other banks included the Barclays Bank, HSBC and Lloyds banking group. The directors of these banks owned slaves that become part of the trade-in slavery.

Although the slaves were used to work on farms, the role of banks was still significant. Most bank owners had adequate funds, meaning that they could fund the slave trade markets. The economic significance of the slaves was high, making it an important part in the establishment of major banks. The concept of the slave trade was to cut on the labour costs, which helped in boosting the profit growth.

Photo Credit: wjs.com

Bank owners had the capacity to purchase land and own slaves. For instance, John Reid had 3112 slaves in Jamaica, which worked in his 17 estates. Being a manager at the bank of England, Reid was at the forefront of fostering oppressions through kidnapping people to work as slaves. After the abolishment of slave trade in England, Bank of England was among the banks to make public apologies for involvement in slave trade. Most of the ancient businesspersons did

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ARTS AND CULTURE Photo Credit: Google Image

not consider the legal and moral obligations of slave trade. Motivated by the desire to grow and develop, they focused on any business that could provide profits. The bank managers focused on the economies of slavery as a source of cheap labor. However, the activities did not uphold human rights and did not look into the plight of using humans to gain profits, with no compensations.

DOES AFRICA AND JAMAICA NEED COMPENSATION FROM CHURCHES AND BANKS

The 19th and 20th centuries marked the tenure within which the slave trade was considered illegal in the western countries. Owning people became illegal, which was punishable by the law. Since then, the journey towards transformation has been effective, with the activist groups focusing on eliminating any form of slavery. Despite the efforts, modern slavery is a reality in most countries. Modern slavery covers the presence of dominant groups that take advantage of the less-dominant group. Unlike in the past, the intrigues of modern slavery seek to capitalize on inequalities.

Continents such as Africa and countries such as Jamaica are still fighting modern slavery. To some extent, modern slavery is a pale shadow of the initial forms of slavery. However, the whites have reduced

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the demand for slavery, which has reduced the growth of the trade. This reduction has had an impact on the current oppression of human rights. Nevertheless, there is a question to consider, “Is there justifiable ground for compensating Africa and Jamaica?

In Africa, slave trade came way before the development of the triangular system came. To some extent, Africans enslaved their fellow Africans, especially due to the community debts and wars. The entry of European countries into the slave trade increased the demand for labour and demand for debt payoffs using slaves. The economic perspectives of slave trade in Africa and Jamaica came from the demand for labour in these countries. The transatlantic slave trade was quite critical in the stages of slave trade in Jamaica and Africa. While the Western countries benefited from rapid economic growth, the Africans and Jamaicans experienced a dip in economic growth.

In fact, the countries vested in increasing the levels of dependence that Africans and Jamaicans have on the Western countries. The Western factor transformed the dynamics of slave trade, focusing on the establishment of free and available labour. Therefore, the conceptualization of the role of churches and banks in slave trade in Africa is important in establishing the need for compensation.

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ARTS AND CULTURE For Jamaicans, the case of slavery was different, based on the contexts of thriving of the slave trade in this country. The western countries discovered that Jamaica had fertile land that can be used for developing the plantations. The investment was to develop plantations in the country. However, the method of acquiring the land and labour from the Jamaicans was always oppressive, with the slave trade focusing on using the locals to work on their own farms. Colonization of the country was one of the basic concepts that intensified the slave trade in the country. The trading in the African continent influenced the slave trade in Jamaica. Most of the slave owners were of European origin, although Africans were part of the slave trade. The Jamaicans became part of the trade by providing the settlers with the entry points into the country. Although the kidnapping came from the Europeans, the Jamaicans had some level of contribution to the development of the slave trade. The countries involved in the trade focused on establishing economic development from the cheaper resources in the countries.

a negative implication on the growth of economies in Jamaica and Africa. The traders and churches used the trade to create wealth, although the slaves faced bad conditions.

While it is evident that there were injustices, the main

The determination of the need for compensation would come from the determination of the contexts that led to the occurrence of the slave trade. It is common knowledge that slave trade was a major boost in the development of economies in western countries.

Countries such as Nigeria had become hotspots for question is who should be compensated. The western slave trade, which affected the growth of the country. economies used the trade to grow their economies.

Most traders amassed wealth from the illegal trade of people. However, slave trade was not part of the illegal laws in those times. The churches used the Bible to justify, which could be considered as part of the laws at those times. For the banks, the presence of an opportunity to create a link between the labour market and the labour sources could be a justifiable reason. Regardless of the justifications, it is evident that the practices did not uphold human rights and had SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

Over the years, most countries have sought to seek apologies for engaging in the trade. However, the compensation should come from a justified approach.

In the modern context, presence of different forms of slavery has been a major hindrance in seeking compensation for the historical slave trade. Although slave trade contributed to the development of illegal wealth, the countries affected had additional factors that led to economic development. The history of trade

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ARTS AND CULTURE

CONCLUSION

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In summary, the role of the church and western banks in slave trade was very significant. Each of these institutions used their basis of existence to foster the development of illegal sales and purchase of people. The church used Bible to justify slave trade, while the bank sector focused on the profit levels from the access to cheap labour. However, the presence of slave trade has been instrumental in illegal wealth development in the western world.

Most of the wealth depended on the presence of trade between the slave owners and the sources of slaves.

The need and demand for compensation come from the determination of the factors leading to the need for compensation. Communities affected should have adequate justifications to establish the need for compensation. The presence of modern slavery is a factor affecting the process of compensation, including in establishing reasons why Africans and Jamaicans will be compensated.

indicates that most of the slaves that were involved in the trade become inhabitants of the countries of slavery, after the abolishment of the trade.

However, the compensation program could be in the form of assessing the damages caused by the illegal trade of slaves. The only beneficiaries are ancestors, who are not part of the modern societies, making the process of compensation difficult and tedious.

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ARTS AND CULTURE

John Magufuli Africas’ finest President

J

ohn Pombe Magufuli as many knew him was a Tanzanian diplomat, who became the country’s fifth president in 2015 and won a second term in 2020. Born in Chato, north-west Tanzania in 1959, he was the third child out of 12 and a son of a peasant farmer, Joseph Magufuli and his wife Suzana Magufuli.

When he was born his grandmother who used to brew traditional alcohol, nicknamed him Walwa, which in Sukuma language means Pombe a Swahili word for alcohol. Born into a Christian-observant family, Magufuli grew up in ordinary village life, taking part in agricultural activities, especially herding his family’s cattle. He studied chemistry and maths at Mkwama College and continued his studies at the University of Dar es salaam. Looking at his political journey, let us understand who this African icon was as a president.

What was Magufuli political journey like? In 1995, he

embarked on his political career after several years of his teaching, where he became a Member of Parliament to his Chato constituency. During the same period, Magufuli served as Second-in-command Minister of Works. He then worked in various ministries which included; Ministry of Works, Transport and Communications (2000-2005), Ministry of Lands and Human Settlement (2006 -2008), Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (2008 -2010), and finally in

“love for his people was not quite evident in how he fought against the battle on pregnant teenage girls’ education.”

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ARTS AND CULTURE Ministry of Works for a second time (2010-2015).

Running as the candidate with the country’s dominant party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), Magufuli won the presidential election in October 2015 and was sworn in on 5 November 2015. During his reign as the president of Tanzania, he was appointed as a chairperson of the Southern African Development Community between 2019 and 2020. As if that was not enough in November 2020, he returned to power through re-election.

and expenditure while also capitalizing in Tanzania’s industries. His anti-corruption platform captivated attention worldwide for his unyielding and high ethical standards. When he became president, he sent out a powerful message that he intended to evict many of the chronic problems in Tanzanian administrative and political leadership. Starting with systemic corruption, which was highly characterized by ghost working, underperformance and laxity in public service, civil service absenteeism, and extravagant spending, he took them down one after the other.

Being the president, Magufuli run Tanzania as his own. He had a soft eye on corruption and fraud and Being a heroic statesman, President Magufuli was governed on a platform of sinking government fraud globally recognized for his vision, ethical principles,

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ARTS AND CULTURE and innovative solutions for the country and Africa at large. Magufuli has also taught leaders and African people that the continent has the capacity and capability to finance most of its projects from revenues collected from within without depending on foreigners, whose aid often comes with conditions.

He repeatedly criticized foreign aid, arguing that Tanzania, and indeed the African continent did not need it. During his first week in office as the president, Magufuli banned all foreign trips for public servants and in cases of emergency, approval from him we

granted. The public endorsed this move with open hands as civil servants were always seen wasting taxpayers’ money by making endless foreign trips, some of which had no benefits to the country.

In his lifetime, loyalty and patriotism preceded him.

However, love for his people was not quite evident in how he fought against the battle on pregnant teenage girls’ education. It has been a norm to terminate girls from schools in Tanzania if they get pregnant. For years, human rights and some politicians tried to call

Photo Credit: africanews.com

for a change and advocated for the girl to resume classes after giving birth but their cries fell on rocky grounds. During the campaigns in 2015, the CCM manifesto promised that teenage mothers would be permitted back to school.

This matter was then raised in parliament and the government was advised on the right to amend the policy. However, this resulted in a very hot debate that divided the parliament into two. Among those who opposed the change were

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former First Lady and MP Salma Kikwete. Weeks later, President Magufuli affirmed his position on the matter and said his government would not permit teenage mothers back into mainstream education.

Some knew him as a populist but those who admired him knew him as a patriot or a nationalist who had faith in internal economic resilience. Magufuli always put his country first. All he wanted was to make Tanzania earn a seat on the high table among Africa’s

most industrialised nations. He loved his country and pushed for progressive change. His advocacy for independence and innovation in his country and across the African continent is evident in his exemplary accomplishment on the cleansed corruption-plagued government. On other hand, he had his weak points in decision-making as seen in the fight against teenage mothers’ education.

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The Impact of Colourism on Skin Lightening Among

BLACK AFRICANS

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uman beings are a visual species and their response to fellow humans is highly dependent on their physical presentation and due to this, skin colour matters. Top that up with the “so belongs with so” beliefs that are deeply embedded in people and the prejudices based on race people have likened to certain skin colours.

In the U.S., for example, the issue of race still matters and this is due to the diversity of her population; however, colour matters too. Colourism also known as shadeism, is discrimination based on one’s colour of skin. In this form of prejudice, people of the same ethnicity or even race are subjected to different treatment due to their skin colour. Evidence through research shows that there has been extensive In modern society, skin colour has become such a discrimination in various areas ranging from business, significant aspect of value as well as identity among politics, sports, criminal justice to housing and even human beings. health care.

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ARTS AND CULTURE While colourism encompasses all tones of skin, those with darker skin are at most on the receiving end of discrimination in many countries across the world. It has reached a point where some individuals opt to have their skin bleached so they can experience less discrimination and prejudice, thereby ending up using melanin-inhibiting substances, which are proven by W.H.O. to contain very harmful chemicals like mercury and hence pose a great health risk.

Africa is the most diverse of all continents, bearing cultural, phenotypic, and genetic diversity. However, this diversity loses its meaning when other cultures that are not African dictate what beauty is. This is the sole root of skin bleaching among Africans. African women even have a way of referring to it as “skin-lightening” or “heightening your glow.”

SKIN LIGHTENING

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The widespread and contentious practice of skin bleaching also known as skin lightening is a procedure of applying homemade concoctions, cosmetic or dermatological products to eliminate melanin from one’s skin.

Skin specialists perform the procedure formally, while individuals who are not specialists can carry it out informally.

The period for skin bleaching may vary from a few weeks to many years depending on individuals because some take the procedure for specific SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

ARTS AND CULTURE occasions, while for others, it is a daily basis affair. many of them having faced discrimination even in The practice is done on the whole body, while for their racial lines. others, it is the face alone. Some people bleach their entire bodies while others only bleach their faces.

The behaviour of some black Africans is highly influenced by colourism and this is attributed to the The practice of skin bleaching in Africa has been in fact that they are misinformed that Whites and their existence from way back. This beauty phenomenon culture dictate their levels of Discrimination. is deeply rooted in the era of European colonization in Africa, the transatlantic slave trade, the colonial Caribbean, ancient Egypt, and colonial North Africa.

Systems based on classes reduced Africans to mere servants triggering disparities in aspects like wealth, beauty, and political status, among others. This resulted in further discrimination based on skin colour.

Racism gave birth to views that placed Europeans as superior and this has further given birth to a structural notion among women who opt to go for skin bleaching. They have a strong belief that darker skin is linked to traits that are not satisfactory, like inferior social class, among others. Enslaved people were often differentiated from the free by skin colour and dark skin was seen as an embodiment of inferiority and ugliness.

It is the general understanding that darker skin is associated with struggle and a life full of economic distress. Users of skin bleaching products have a belief that a fairer skin would earn them a high place in society or even be a gate pass to that job success, among others. Research has concluded that women using skin-bleaching products are calculative in doing so and it is not only used for vanity reasons but also can be an instrument for job security, power, or progress.

It is purely business-oriented.

The whole practice of colourism is not limited to African women, but it is well manifested in this group, especially with its unique effects. The experience of colourism among African women is prevalent, with SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

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The truth is the consequences of colourism have negative implications for people of all skin tones.

Despite being dark-skinned or light-skinned, many black Africans have been affected by colourism in one way or the other. There tends to be a sense of not fitting in or belonging and this arises from discrimination both intergroup and intra. Individuals from both the dark-skinned and light-skinned go

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ARTS AND CULTURE through prejudice from within themselves as well as from the majority of others. Individuals with light skin tend to discriminate against the darker ones and this has a connection with a belief of having “some white in them.” This is witnessed a lot among the females, with some feeling that they are special than others which is an exact replica of what their families taught them regarding colour. It is highly likely for African women to discriminate against others based on colour as compared to their male counterparts.

Clearly, colourism has been a contributing issue to discrimination based on skin colour among black Africans, even among themselves.

dissonance, the sense of feeling discrepant about oneself. Developing adolescents have had to deal with the impacts of colourism and despite having a variety who can be resilient with the prejudices that come along, the negativity that comes with it is likely to influence life outcomes for them as adults.

Despite embracing “Black is Beautiful,” there is still evidence of negativity towards blackness. In this case, individuals with dark skin are likened to negative attributes to the extent of even receiving harsh treatment from teachers in schools and other institutions. Positive elements are usually linked to children with light skin and often receive favours as compared to their dark counterparts who are subjected to prejudices.

“In modern society, skin colour has become such a significant aspect of value as well as identity among human beings.”

LIFE OUTCOMES

The issue of skin colour has been so imminent to the extent of significantly influencing both opportunity and achievement over other valid factors like sex or age. A look at the relationship between skin colour and life outcomes clearly depicts a positive link between DEVELOPMENTAL ETIOLOGY AND IMPACT better life opportunities for people of light skin as compared to their dark counterparts. This comes at a Discrimination based on skin colour has impacts on the disadvantage to the people with dark skin, who miss development of adolescents through their adolescence life opportunities due to discrimination based on their stage of life and its impacts are witnessed later in their skin colour. adulthood. Looking at the developmental impacts of intra-racism, there is a strong preference for lighter In realms, like social amenities like health, education, skin as compared to darker skin. and vocation, people with light skin have much

It should be noted that skin tone makes a part of an individual’s perception and is very vital in stages of growth like adolescence. This is because it is during adolescence when we get more awareness about our advantages over their counterparts of dark skin. To add bodies and how confident or satisfied, we are, can on, this classification has created a notion that those either create a cohesive sense of oneself, or create with light skin are more intelligent and attractive and

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ARTS AND CULTURE

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therefore awarded more merit than they deserve.

thereby resolving to have their appearance changed in an effort to increase their social capital and selfATTRACTIVENESS worth. The male counterparts during mate selection have preferred light-skinned women over darkThe debate on colourism and its impacts on black skinned ones and this at many times create tension Africans would not be complete without highlighting and animosity among the potential cohort of African the issue of attractiveness and how skin colour has women. been a cause of disagreement. Tension arises in social contexts and even within families in regards to who Mate Selection is attractive. Despite the issue of colour complex affecting both genders, it is more magnified in African The skin colour of both genders is a factor of women than it is in their male counterparts. consideration in the selection of a potential mate There is a notion that has grown over time that women among black Africans. Apparently, this finds its roots with light skin are more attractive to men than dark in the notion created during the slave trade era. It is a ones. This perception has implicated differently on common belief that African women prefer men with how women view themselves. In the current times dark skin to those with light skin despite their skin where the lightness of skin is highly epitomized as colour. The vice versa is also the same with women beauty, women with dark skin are at a disadvantage. In believing that their male counterparts prefer lighttoday’s society, a woman with dark skin and earning skinned women to dark-skinned ones as their potential a good fortune would not be considered as “A good mates. This trend depicts what slave-traders left behind catch” compared to one with light skin and lesser as implications for colour and gender dynamics. income. They have ended up facing discrimination even with high levels of education and good income, The dark-skinned men are seen as more aggressive SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

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ARTS AND CULTURE and sexual, whereas the light-skinned female is seen as more desirable and attractive. It is also interesting how both genders are not into either extreme ends (light skin and dark skin) and would rather have mediumtoned mates. With such criteria on choosing mates, women with dark skin are implicated negatively and stand high chances of suffering from issues of low selfesteem. Due to this, a great number of black African women are single for long and hence end up seeking interventions to better their look in an effort to land a potential partner.

colour has proved to be a contributor to problems with confidence and self-worth among women. Research and studies have shown that African women, either dark-skinned or light-skinned women expect to be judged and it turns out that the dark-skinned ones expect adverse perceptions of themselves. This kind of bias based on skin colour negatively impacts the self-esteem of black African women. Forced by the desire to look attractive due to self-comparison, one resolves to have their appearance altered to find some confidence in themselves according to the norms set by society about beauty.

SELF-ESTEEM

Effects of colourism among black Africans are farMany black Africans view their dark skin positively reaching and it is time they are considered a matter of concern, especially in therapy. Many black Africans not only in Africa but also across the globe have suffered immensely due to colourism. It is time to come up with interventions for this population to achieve a cohesive society. It is real; colourism has proved to have catastrophic consequences among black Africans.

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and associate it with pride. However, others are hesitant Credit: Google image about the whole pride thing with dark skin and rather see it as an epitome of oppression. As for the lightskinned counterparts who have been often viewed as attractive are no exception as they are seen as inferior for “Not being black enough.” Today, skin colour has been heavily associated with physical attractiveness and this perception is prevalent among African women. This has, in turn, influenced negatively on the self-esteem of black African women. Among the male counterparts, skin colour is linked to self-efficacy, while self-esteem is majorly among women.

Subjection to constant discrimination due to skin

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Photo Credit: Google

KRIO PEOPLE HISTORY AND INFLUENCE ON SIERRA LEONE AND WEST AFRICA

Origin of Krio People It is surprising that a cold tea party aboard HMS Dartmouth, Eleanour and Beaver along the Boston shores where bales of tea were dumped in the sea in protest the new Tea Taxes would form the nucleus of a whole new ethnic group – The Krio.

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t was the Boston Tea Party of 1773 where around 40,000 kilograms of tea were dumped into the sea which led to among other notable events, the eventual American Revolutionary War, and set off a chain of reactions leading to the birth of the Krio. During the fight for American freedom from the British, the colonizers asked for help from the enslaved people in exchange for better living standards and sovereignty from slavery.

The promise came after the famous declaration by William Murray, Lord Chief Justice Mansfield that slavery was abolished within Great Britain in 1772, after lobbying of the anti-slavery advocates led by Olaudah Equiano and Granville Sharp. This meant that anyone setting foot on English soil automatically became a free person, no more a slave.

This famous declaration opened Britain’s doors to an influx of freed and escaped slaves because after the American

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ARTS AND CULTURE perceived by the white population, increasing health issues and so on. This prompted a group of gentlemen mainly living in London to form a Committee of Gentlemen in 1786 to tackle what they called the city’s poor. The Committee of Gentlemen which gave birth to the

Revolutionary War, former enslaved people in their thousands were brought to London but were left to fend for themselves in the cold streets with no food or means of living. Most of them ended up in poverty due to the high unemployment rates.

The plight of the freed slaves on the streets of London raised serious issues, not only for them but also for the public. Issues such as there unwarm welcome by the public, unemployment, how they were

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Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor included the Governor of the Bank of England George Peters, philanthropist Thomas Boddington, slave owner John Julius Angerstein and General Robert Melville. After a couple of meetings, they the best way to solve this growing problem was to send the black poor back home (where they deemed, they originally came from) West Africa.

Anyway, the fate of the Black Poor seemed to have been cast long ago in 1771. One of the most instrumental persons who had the visited the Sierra Leone coast was Henry Smeathman, an English naturalist and Entomologist who travelled to the Sierra Leone Peninsular in 1771 and settled there for four years eventually marrying his first African wife who was the daughter of the King Tom and then later marrying a second African woman of the soil, the daughter of King James (1751-1791) of Banana Islands on July 21 1772 ; He lived in Banana Islands for more than 3 years and left Sierra Leone in 1775.

When he finally returned to Britain after another four year sojourn in the Caribbean, Smeathman contributed to the discussion of the SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

ARTS AND CULTURE black poor in Britain, first of all by suggesting he had identified the place where the Black Poor could be taken to - Sierra Leone and he then devoted the rest of his time drawing up a proposal for the resettlement of the black poor community in Sierra Leone which he presented to the Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor and the British Government. It was his plan which culminated in the founding of the Province of Freedom which later resulted in the Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate in 1787 and the Republic of Sierra Leone today.

Expedition itself comprised of 300 London Black Poor, 60 English Working-Class women (there is a disparity on the number of women and their position or status, some label them as prostitutes from Deptford Prison but the common feeling is that they the wives or girlfriends of the black settlers), and an assortment

The idea to build a settlement in West Africa gained momentum and the support of the British Government and it led to other anti-slave movements including the Clapham sect joining forces with the Committee for the Relief of the of the Black Poor. The Clapham sect were members of a social reformers and abolitionists who lived in Clapham, South of London which is today part of south-west London, and this is where two of its very powerful members lived - William Wilberforce and Thomas Thornton.

Smeathman’s proposal received both outcry and support from lobbyists and the public, whilst most blacks in Britain had mixed feelings – some looked on it as a chance to start life anew in the land of their origin while others believed the proposal was racially motivated to rid black people of England as the British didn’t want a new populace in their midst.

It is very hard to imagine the mindsets of those who made the first voyage known as the Sierra Leone Expedition of 1786-1787. Though it was called Expedition, in today’s world it looked more like emigration or deportation. It is little doubt that the black poor would have seen the expedition as a blessing and would have been happy to have been selected for the November 1786 journey. The 1787 SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

of white officials, clergy and craftsmen, a total of 411 men, women, and children.

During the voyage from Plymouth to Sierra Leone which lasted from November to 10th May 1787 a total of ninety-six passengers died but the rest embarked

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ARTS AND CULTURE at Frenchman’s Bay and Captain Thomas Boulden Thompson, Commander of one of the ships, H.M.S Nautilus signed a treaty with the Temne Chief, King Tom for land. This piece of land gave birth to the colony of Freetown (known as the Province of Freedom) and the setting up of their first settlement, Granville Town

about 80 other settlers died within the first 6 months.

Then King Tom died, and relationship between the settlers and the next Temne chief deteriorated. Old scores had to be settled and out of revenge for a slave trader burning his village and the new Temne chief launched an all-out attack in 1789 raising Granville

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(named in honor of the abolitionist Granville Sharp).

Unfortunately, Granville Town only survived about two and a half years as the settlement was crippled by tropical disease and aggression from the native populace. First, about 50 of the original white women died before the ships had left Sierra Leone shores and

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Town to the ground and taking some of the settlers into slavery whilst others who had been able to escape became slave traders themselves. When London’s Lord Falconbridge travelled to Sierra Leone in 1791 to visit the settlement, of the original settlers only 64 remained (39 black men, 19 black women, and six SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

ARTS AND CULTURE white women), the Province of Freedom had been London to petition against the unfair conditions in destroyed. Lord Falconbridge rebuilt Granville Town. Nova Scotia.

Meanwhile the British had managed to resettle some of the formerly enslaved people from the American Revolutionary War in Nova Scotia alongside White settlers. It wasn’t long before they started complaining about the favoritism and racial bias which was being practiced during the distribution of land and other resources handed out by the British government.

Another factor was the unforgiving Canadian weather.

Most of the free slaves had been liberated from the Southern American states where the weather was warmer. Thomas Peters, a former slave, went to

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Thomas Peters’ visit coincided with Granville Sharp’s struggle to keep alive the dream of the Province of Freedom. It dawned on him that this could be achieved by organizing a relief expedition of the former American slaves from Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone. Granville Sharp, with the help of the British Government had a feasible plan. The second expedition left Halifax harbor on the 15th of January 1792 and arrived between 29th February and 9th March 1792.

This expedition, unlike the first expedition organized for the black poor of London, was organized was to

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ARTS AND CULTURE take more than 1,000 former American slaves who were tired of harsh weather and racial discriminations in Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone. A total of 15 ships arrived at St George Bay under the command of Lieutenant Clarkson and reclaimed the former site of Granville Town from the forest and jungle it had turned in to as it had lain waste. The surviving former settlers had moved further away to an old, abandoned village, Fourah Bay in 1791 The Nova Scotian Settlers disembarked from the ships at the Sierra Leone harbor on the 11th of March 1792 and made their way to a large cotton tree near George Street. Land was then bought from the native Koya

Temne sub chief King Tom and Regent Naimbana.

The group held its first Christian service under a cotton tree that still stands up to date. The tree is the central landmark surrounded by the museum, the law courts, and other important government buildings. The Nova Scotian cohort was more successful in adapting to the elements due to having proficient craftspeople and other valuable skills among their ranks.

The third waves of settlers were Caribbean exslaves deported to Nova Scotia. The group included Jamaican Maroons who had West African origins.

Their deportation came after they had lost the Second maroon war. The fierce formerly enslaved people arrived in Sierra Leone in 1800. Other Caribbean settlers were West Indian soldiers from the Second and Fourth West India Regiments who were posted and disbanded in the country.

When the British Parliament passed a bill abolishing the buying and selling of enslaved people within the empire, the Royal Navy started rescuing captured enslaved people from the traders during transit.

Between 1825 to 1865, 130000 enslaved people were freed and relocated. Many of the formerly enslaved people landed in Sierra Leone. This cohort, referred to as Liberated African or Recaptives, came to make up most of the population in Freetown. To help integrate the group with the existing settlers, the British assigned them as apprentices to the now wealthy Nova Scotian and Jamaican Maroon sects. Additionally, the Africans were included in military service alongside West India Regiment. In these ways, the group was assimilated into the country.

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ARTS AND CULTURE Photo Credit: Google

KRIO INFLUENCE IN SIERRA LEONE The Creole identity began to form slowly with the mingling and interaction of the various groups. The Nova Scotians were the group that had picked up Western mannerisms from their enslavers. Many of them traced back their ancestry to native American or European roots due to being of mixed races. The cultural practices included the Christian religion, cooking methods, and dressing taught and passed down in British educational institutions. Their architecture consisting of stone foundations with wood or board superstructures and American-style shingle roofs defines the country’s skyline. Group members, also known as The Settlers, used English as their lingua Franca. Until 1870, the group had managed to maintain a distinct cultural identity.

Ashanti, Fanti, and indigenous Jamaican Amerindian Taino descendants. The Maroons were wealthy merchants who were also skillful militants. Britain brought another group from the Caribbean, the West Indians, as soldiers to serve in the Napoleonic wars.

The Nigerian government excommunicated Barbadian rebels suspected of participating in the Bussa Rebellion to Freetown, Prominent Afro-Caribbean families settled in from Barbados, the Bahamas, and Bermuda during the late 19th and early 20th centuries lent their influences which were primarily felt in forming the pidgin lingua franca that evolved into the Krio Creole due to patois that had its roots in the Caribbean. It is also felt in Sierra Leonean music.

Liberated Africans comprising mainly of speakers of West African Kwa languages, including Yoruba, Igbos, Akan, and Gbe, were first settled on the outskirts of the Freetown area. Later, the British government adopted an apprenticeship policy to From the Caribbean, Jamaican Maroons comprised help the Recaptives get work opportunities from the SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

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ARTS AND CULTURE flourishing American and Caribbean settlers. The According to Hancock, a researcher and author, there program was replaced by the ward system in which a is evidence of Creole transcripts in the 17th and 18th centuries demonstrating comparable grammatical characteristics and lexical items between modern Krio and elemental Creole. Trading and intermarriages between African, British, Dutch, and other Europeans on the West African coast were the main drivers of the new pidgin. Products of the biracial marriage, known as Mulattos, were the initial creole speakers. Due to the ease of communication between various ethnicities captured, transported slaves spread the new language to the Americas.

Photo Credit: Google

Settler or Maroon family would adopt a kid from freed slaves to teach and train them in useful occupations.

The system turned out to be a controversial decision since it led to the re-enslavement of some apprentices attached to unscrupulous households. The enslaved people later rebelled and were finally granted their freedom following the intervention of the British.

Liberated Africans’ impact can be felt in the food ingredients and foundation creole that had developed along West Africa’s coast during the 16th century PreTransatlantic Slave Trade.

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Nowadays, the Krio is taken as a source of pride and identity for the native speakers and Sierra Leoneans. The positive outlook has resulted in a standardized version being used alongside English as a sign of status, schooling, and background despite Krio making up less than 10% of the country’s population.

In fact, it would be safe to state that the creole language.

Pidgin English is used far more widely among people in Sierra Leone than English language.

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KRIO INFLUENCE ON WEST AFRICA During the nineteenth century, the Krio people began to move and spread throughout the West African countries, including Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, and Ivory Coast. The migration ended with Krio interacting with the local communities in commerce and intermarriages. Pichinglish, Nigerian, Cameroonian, and other Pidgin arose in areas where the Krio inhabited. Furthermore, several subgroups in the territory traced their ancestry back to the Sierra Leonean Krios. The Gambian Aku tribe, Nigerian Saro people, and Fernandino members from Equatorial Guinea are some of the descendants.

The Krio people had friendly relations with almost all the communities they neighbored but more so with Westernized communities. Within the area, AmericoLiberians and the Sherbro speakers. Unlike the Krio and Americo-Liberians who settled from outside the

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country, the Sherbro were natives of Sierra Leone.

They incorporated Western customs and values after coming into contact with European voyagers, immigrants, merchants, and missionaries. Most Sherbro living in the Western side of Sierra Leone blend in as Krio since they share Christianity and European names.

On the negative side, some Krios took up the slave trade as a means of work. Those involved started it to eke a living after struggling to fend for themselves.

When the slave trade was banned, Liberated Africans assigned to the existing settlers would be placed in the form of indentured slavery. The offspring from these lineages later came to form the underclass recruited as fighters in the subsequent Sierra Leon civil war. The conflict is captured in Kanye West’s 2005 Grammy Award winner, “Diamond from Sierra Leone” rap video starts with a chilling Krio introduction depicting the inhumane conditions at the mines producing blood diamonds.

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Isa Sisay-Jalloh A Nurse, A Patriot and an Enabler

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HEALTH

hen I called her on the phone for the first time, Isatta Sisay-Jalloh was holidaying in Jamaica with friends: a well-deserved break after nearly two years of COVID rules and restrictions in her adopted country, the United Kingdom.

As we finally spoke on her return, I realised that Isatta is a consummate, articulate and highly informed cancer nurse specialist who has and still continues to care for cancer patients, chronically ill health patients and a first point of contact for people facing different forms of health adversities in the U.K and Sierra Leone where she and her sponsors have adopted a ward at that country’s main medical centre, Connaught Hospital.

A tireless all-around health professional and counsellor in the community, Isatta is driven by her quest to provide quality health/cancer related prevention and care, as champion of community unity and advancement.

A woman of admirable personality, she is an enigmatic force to reckon with in her professional arena as well as in extracurricular activism in and around her community locally, nationwide and internationally.

After working as an Oncology Nurse for many years at the Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust, the largest cancer centre in Europe, Isatta now doubles as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Palliative

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HEALTH

“A woman of admirable personality,..... an enigmatic force to reckon with ............ nationwide and internationally.”

Care and the Joint Head of Services for Community Specialist Palliative Care Services at a local Hospice in London. She is a health and well-being advocate and ambassador who tackles and champions health issues in communities. She is leading support alongside her husband, Sheku Jalloh to the breast cancer ward 2 at the Connaught Hospital, Sierra Leone, providing it with refurbishment, beds and equipment under the Health Show Partnership programme, a UK based charity.

“After consultations, we adopted Ward 2, a 14-bed ward, to provide support for the ward in collaboration with the hospital management. It is the legacy I leave as a Sierra Leonean. Gives me a lot of satisfaction and fulfilment considering the recent history of the country characterised by a massive brain drain and poor infrastructure. The conditions I found was unacceptable. We completely stripped the ward to give it a new sense of life. Now we have been able to restore a sense of dignity and respect for patients,” Mrs Sissay-Jalloh told Calabash.

After visiting the hospital in 2019 to do assessment, the intervention made possible painting of walls and roof, tiling of floor, new toilets, showers, curtains, 18 brand new beds costing £36,000, wheel chairs, new and used donated equipment in a 40-feett container costing nearly £100,000. The refurbished facility provides Chemotherapy and direct support for cancer victims from diagnosis to treatment. The

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charity organises an annual free cancer conference for the Sierra Leone community in the United Kingdom. Health Show Partnership works with other organisations and its activities are sponsored donors, friends and family.

A graduate of the University of Westminster with a B. Sc Honours in Biological Sciences and University of Southampton where she obtained a degree in Adult Nursing, Isatta did post graduate studies in Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Additional qualifications in Cancer Care, Teaching and Learning for Healthcare Professionals and a CMI approved Leadership and Management Course, Sage & Thyme Facilitator and Leadership in Women training at Oxford University.

At the community level, she partners to organise numerous health fundraising events, launching of health organisations as well as teaches and give lectures/talks on cancer or general health issues.

“I also host my own health show on the worldwide social media forum of Facebook via the SGM Network promoting health and well-being especially in the area of cancer,” she stated.

During the CORVID pandemic, she said the charity fed 150 households weekly for 19 weeks and provided hardship support and facilitate the elderly and frail in London.

She has participated in homelessness awareness by spending nights on the streets with work colleagues in winter to get the real feeling of homelessness and also to come up with ways to alleviate the issue.

Outside of professional work, Isatta Sissay-Jalloh is a charismatic socialite, a wife with two children, mother to many and a counsellor.

Article by: Mike Butscher SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

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Bishop

CUMMINGS I am writing this Message just before New Year’s 2022, as we cannot say tomorrow or next Week, because we are so close in scripture to the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and soon Coming King!!

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s we do not always immediately know what either tomorrow or the end of the world will bring, our footsteps are to be ordered by the Lord GOD. Compliance and procedural protocols are subject to frequent change almost by the very minute.

As we look at the fulfilment of the Bible Book of Daniel known, as the ABC of prophecy, we see Daniel the statesman. Prophet

with the ‘telescopic vision’ was clearly blessed with and gifted to spiritually see and understand dreams and visions. And was able from the year he was standing, and beyond able to see past the time we are currently in and beyond.

we can spiritually stand, as over two thirds of prophecy within the 1611 KJV Bible has already been prophetically fulfilled, and thus it is all that is required for us to be effectively sent, and obedient in our personal calling and assignment for GOD. Uncertainty and reluctance Consistency and stability would to the plan of GOD is a futile indeed be highly sought-after attempt to frustrate the plans of our characteristics in times like GOD. these. Therefore, we must trust in the one true Living GOD who As we analyse and apply the is the only certainty upon which Scripture of (Habakkuk 2:2-3, kjv

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1611) And the LORD answered me, and said, write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. [3] For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry’

and none of us would not quite know what is around the corner.

Catastrophe accident or illness often visit without expectation, but the feeling of instability had been sensitised by the current pandemic; with remote work, health, family gathering and commuting arrangements liable to immediate adjustments within our In one sense, what has always been environments. the case is unless we are standing on the promises of GOD, indeed Conversely thee above interruptions all other ground is sinking sand, of lockdowns have made us long

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for consistency and stability within our domestic and business routines.

The Bible is an enormous source of needed refuge and help in these times of trouble as is Poetically articulated in Psalms 27:1 the lord is my light and my Salvation whom shall I fear. Psalms 119:105 KJV Your word is a lamp unto my feet.

And a light unto my path It is the sovereign power and authority of GOD in our lives that has given us an ever-present help

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CHAMPIONS – SUCCESS STORIES in these times of trouble that moral compass that supports the prophetic strength of our lives where things as a consequence of man’s disobedience see specific representations of GODS providence disappear in the XYZ of prophecy the last book of the Bible Revelation see these representations such, as the Tree of Life reappear as a consequence of man’s obedience.

Many great and small have died amongst us and having

in our justice system, our NHS healthcare and welfare provision, our schools and academies, are all part of the backbone of our cultural society, and needing to come under the authority of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ better known as theocracy.

a Blessed assurance of man’s eternal resting place for his soul through full immersion Baptism in Jesus Name Acts 2:38 KJV 1611, be merely a transition into sleep as it was for my dear Mother who we laid to rest the middle of this last year June 2021. But we look forward to 1Thessalonians 4:16-17 kjv 1611 her and many soul’s glorious resurrection.

under the Religious Rule of LAW has now changed since 2000 to a philosophical Legal System.

However, I also fear we have wandered from some of the ancient landmarks what the 1611 KJV Bible says and whilst originally being a Godfearing society

Notwithstanding, by not resourcing our institutions adequately, or giving them the priority that they clearly need and deserve, GOD, family & Government three main institutions established by GOD are impacted as a consequence.

Notwithstanding, I exalt you all with the name of GOD written on your forehead’s as you walk through the valley and the shadow of death fear no evil as thy rod and thy staff they comfort me, hold on to your Salvation as the currency of the Kingdom is indeed Faith in Jesus Name. As time indeed is in our GODS hands.

We In late September 2018 ‘ITNOTLJCCAPF’ (In The Name Of Lord Jesus Christ Church Apostolic Pentecostal Faith) Celebrated 11 years of Ministry lead by our now Most Reverend Dr. Bishop Audie F. Cummings & First Lady Evangelist Dr Diane M. Cummings. This took place on the successful occasion of their 11th year Town Hall Anniversary, and aiming The church was established in AD 30-33, and under to use this Church birthday also as an opportunity to the world Roman Empire at the time. With freedom provide an economic Community answer to lack of of speech in the UK democratic system and the belief Jobs and slow small business growth within the most SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

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CHAMPIONS – SUCCESS STORIES diverse London Borough Community within the UK, Newham and this inspired our central topic within our launch of the Break Away ‘100PCA’s’ again this forthcoming 25th September 2022 will be 15 years of Church Ministry, and the selection of our first Board to Govern the aims and objectives of this Community solution.

this earth in DRC and Kenya pray Abbah Father often the most poorly paid and supported need our thoughts prayers and physical action to transform communities and countries within this end of time!!Yes, the structures are there, but the environment to attract people to take on crucial roles is often not what it should be.

Another pillar for our mental wellbeing within our So, out of the tragedy of the pandemic, I believe there Nation and indeed the collective 265 countries on our is an opportunity to prepare for a witness of GODS planet as we increase our presence abroad by taking coming in 2022! more Churches abroad under our spiritual covering on

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CHAMPIONS – SUCCESS STORIES And it is this spiritual truth of knowing that our hope is built on righteousness given that the true measure of security in uncertain times and circumstances is in Jesus Christ Baptism!!

The true changes within our Global Nations need to be made by GOD and not man who has depended on self and human fallible philosophy made the set-backs that we pray to GOD he will change in His Divine transformation for 2022!

The currency of our Kingdom is indeed Faith and the cyclical quantitative easing of economic spiritual and divine resetting of our trust into GODS hands.

As JHC Appointed ‘Head Of Strategic Partnerships’ UK JHC George Seth Ramocan June 2017, for the purpose of raising and sending funds for Initiative’s used in lowering knife & Gun Crime and now being Publicly enthroned this year as Mst Rev Bishop Dr. Audie F. Cummings after having been separated for the office and work of Bishop at Church in London.

Government Meeting Major General Anthony Anderson CD, Commissioner of Police Jamaica Constabulary Force Jamaican High Commission Central London, Dr Leroy Logan Co Ordinator of JDCIPTF - UK, Senator the Hon. Pernell Charles Jr Minister of State Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade, JHC to London Seth George Ramocan, Dr Lola Ramocan, Deputy High Commissioner to London, JDCIPTF - UK Team with Mst Rev Dr. Bishop Audie F. Cummings was asked to be apart of this important Crime prevention Meeting are the JHC. SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

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CHAMPIONS – SUCCESS STORIES The ‘100PCA’s’ Originally first established in September 2018, as a breakaway unit at the 11th year Anniversary Thanksgiving Church Service.

‘ITNOTLJCCAPF (In The Name Of The Lord Jesus Christ Church Apostolic Pentecostal Faith) On the Romford Road, With a deliberately more Economic Community Supporting thrust of local businesses and families encouraging relationships with Community Providers of solutions simultaneously such as: Kiwani’s, Women’s Health Network, Angel Foundation, Political Councillor representatives starting the Local London Borough Newham, involving the Newham Mayor available in one physical place The ‘100PCA’s break-Away Unit in Newham Town Hall.

Person Chamber addressing knife and gun crime.”

Excellent opportunity to honour one of the three most important institutions created by GOD family, Church and Government. We are encouraging everyone to celebrate with our wider Christian Clergy and Community leaders in attendance of this We firmly believe in strong communities built through the firm foundations of strong families and ethical Christian values. Children as a consequence live better lives when their families are stronger, and in so doing we as a Borough and indeed as a City amongst Cities of associated Boroughs and indeed a Nation of Citizens.

Making families and communities stronger by creating economic opportunities when they live in societies that connect them to Networking, job fairs for business owners and employers’ and social network service opportunities. Everyone has a role to play in making communities successful, including neighbourhood organisations, businesses, non-profits, policy makers, and of course, Churches and families themselves exemplifying leadership at every level of our society.

‘The Stop’ Project Initiatives to encourage literacy and numeracy within citizens, and to also help Citizens access education, Further Education and indeed Higher Education also. “In The Name Of The Lord Jesus Christ Church, Apostolic Pentecostal Faith” Church Ministry was started in September 2007 by Reverend Pastor/Mst Reverend Bishop Dr. Audie F. Cummings, and his wife Evangelist Dr. Diane M. Cummings in Beckton, East London. We have been working in areas of Support Brokerage, Domestic Violence, Addictions and Mental Health We are honoured that you attend these networking ever since 1990’s. evenings between Thanksgiving Town Hall Celebrations. We can work together to strengthen “In the Bible, there are three main institutions three of GOD’s most important institutions, family, that God established; these are family, church Church and government within our neighbourhood, and government,” said Pastor Cummings. “These reduction of crime, improvement of health, institutions are what we are working to bring out homelessness, education and business, and our in this theme of what we’re trying to achieve. In Scripture Topic: Ephesians 3:14 -15 1611 kjv. the ‘100 Man Person Chamber’ at The Old Stratford Town Hall, we’re grateful to have speakers of the calibre of Dr Logan who will be at the chair lead. He will be doing a talk on crime prevention in the 100

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EVANGELIST DIANE MARJORIE CUMMINGS » MA, BA (Hons) DETL LS, HSC, CPCAB » (Wife of Senior Pastor A F Cummings) » WHNja-UK Committee » Secretary of Rovers Caregivers Program - UK

ITNOTLJCPAF Thanksgiving Service is an exceptional opportunity to honour one of the three most important institutions created by GOD family, as a woman of God the women are spiritually and biologically central to GOD’s economy of every home. Doing devotion in the mornings with spiritual aspects of morality virtues to build our children and Husband is vital. the Bible says…. Except the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain that build it (KJV 1611 Psalm 127: 1). Every September children go back to school and the holistic needs of families will be great to have the support and needed encouragement.

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CHAMPIONS – SUCCESS STORIES I am looking for women who want to come under my spiritual leadership and teach them Music and Theatre and build self-esteem Secondly, I also Co-Facilitate compositional choir well-being at the NHS in addition to (RCP) Roving Care Givers as Secretary to Jamaica High Commissioners Wife and Military music educator at (RAF) Royal Air Force Cadet London to recapture their identity.

Indeed, as First Lady, Mother and Wife I have had these experiences, and the Bible also says that the good steps of a man are ordered by the Lord… as an ex-user of the Newham Mental Health services and eventual Service Users ASK Women’s ‘Mental health Champion’ working in the Newham Ask Mental health Forum I understand both sides and their demands.

I grew up in Newham, went to school in Newham, I want to see women liberated married feeling truly loved, couples taking time out for each other with their grandchildren just like myself.

All things are possible the Bible says…. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. I encourage everyone women to celebrate with our wider Christian Notwithstanding, having a longing to also help others Ministry Communityand be blessed. who often articulate being ‘trapped within a trap’ socially with very little ‘social mobility’, permanently disabiled and inequality cycle prohibited wellbeing along with many other health diagnosis can prove to be insurmountable barriers with support.

The works I have been doing with ASK Mental Health, in Chair Committee forums Counselling, working also with Battered Women’s Refuge’s, Homelessness can also be associated, because I have had these personal experiences and this is why I also have work with WHNja-UK Women’s Health Network. The Law needs to reflect the demands of a women in today’s society because of the domestic difficulties Church, Music and Arts Theatre provide relief of the mundane as it had me a woman feeling as though she has to always wear a mental mask.

At our church ITNOTLJCCAPF we have just also started to form groups for women. As First lady and Dr. Evangelist D M. Cummings I am also looking for people to help me start coffee mornings in Stratford for the unemployed, stay at home mum’s who want to get out of isolation and become more inclusive. Ruth in the Bible was excluded she wanted to stay with her mother -in-law, even Esther stayed with her uncle Modercai and took advantage of her sold her into a harem.

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Mark A.

CUMMINGS CONDOLENCES READ OUT FOR THE FUNERAL SERVICE OF THE FUNERAL SERVICE OF

MR. MARK A. CUMMINGS WEDNESDAY 16/03/2022

“Dear Beloved Cummings family we of the ‘In The Name Of The Lord Jesus Christ Church Apostolic Pentecostal Faith’ 18-26 Randell’s Road, London N1 0DH

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nd greetings to you all, in the Mighty precious Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and our soon Coming King!!

I’m Most Reverend Bishop Dr. Audie F. and (Wife) First Lady Dr. Evangelist Diane. M. Cummings and please know from the time of our coming to know the passing of Mark’s departing we were all and are still very deeply saddened indeed, to hear of his loss. Please accept our family and Church sincere condolences.

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All of us admired Mark and what we have heard of my younger cousin’s devotion to his family. Dr Diane Cummings sends heartfelt condolences. Uncle Beresford shared with me how he will miss the phone calls from his Son mark on his way home from work. This is the legacy Mark Cummings my first cousin leaves behind with his Dad and family. I know we’ll all remember him even though he’s no longer with us. We still see Mark smiling respectfully as he dose in pictures. Let’s make sure he’s never forgotten.”

Please, accept our famaly’s sincere condolences for your loss. There will never be another man like Mark Cummings.

There’s no love that compares to the love of a Father or Brother and Uncle and Dad. But as you go through this difficult time, please know that you’re also deeply loved by those of us around you and we are praying for you all.

Mark A. Cummings was a perfect example of what it means to be a wonderful person.

We can’t begin to imagine what

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CHAMPIONS – SUCCESS STORIES you’re feeling after the loss of your cherished Son, Brother, and Uncle, Cousin, but we want to share our condolences. Please know that you’re always in our

prayers and thoughts.

We’ll always remember Mark’s welcoming smile,

I know that navigating such a difficult loss can be easier with the support of friends and family and the Church by your side. Please remember that our Assembly is here if you need us: 1 To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

11 He hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.

Ecclesiastes 3 1611 KJV

and his beautiful heart for pictures shared. And I want you to know that you’re all in our thoughts and Prayers. As I know that Mark had a calming presence and was extremely kind. Please know that we are here for you during this difficult time. He was a wonderful person.

But we are also celebrating the great life he led. He impacted everyone around him, I never had the pleasure of meeting Mark, but I’ve heard that he was a kind and always smiling respectful. We are both here for you if you need anything.

Some Men are mentors, role We are grieving the loss of your models, and best friends. Our Mark incredible Brother, Dad and Uncle. was a wonderful man.

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I want to let you know that Mark inspired us with his shinning countenance in countless ways, he was an amazing person, and his spirit lives on in his family. Please accept our sincere condolences again for your loss at this time as you tenderly reflect and please accept our sincere sympathies in Jesus Name.

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BISHOP DR.

AUDIE FLORIZAL

CUMMINGS

PH.D. DD, M TH, BA TH, MBA, AIIB, BA BUS (HONS) PG. DIP

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ith the business experience of over 25-years Audie F. Cummings has proven himself as an energetic, experienced and an award-winning management consultant. His professional excellence extends to the deliverance of high-level strategic direction, planning and operational executing in both public and private sectors, as well as third sectors. He has a proven track record of delivering high performance as well as the profitability of the businesses in an increasingly complex and competitive business environment.

Mr Audie F. Cummings possesses a pragmatic personality with an exceptional ability to deliver on the business objectives and ensure high levels of business performance. He has extensive skills in C-suite negotiations and management, which are coupled with the proven capabilities of seizing the opportunities while ensuring to build an environment of trust, mutual benefits and respect at all levels.

Professional expertise and attributes are demonstrated by the experience of over 25-years in the media, real estate, telecoms, financial services and high -end beauty industry sector and exceptional leadership skills that entail an inspiring, influential and a motivating personality, aiming to nurture talents to their best of their abilities.

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CHAMPIONS – SUCCESS STORIES Professional excellence and productivity demand exceptional teamwork capabilities.

Mr Audie exhibits unparalleled teamwork capabilities that entail encouraging the team, ensuring unity and mentoring of the team, so it overachieves on the given tasks and objectives.

Other professional expertise includes but is not limited to: »Technological knowledge which is compulsory in the contemporary businesses models as the business expands more and more towards the virtual arenas and online interaction. »Commercial Acumen keeping an eye out for the developments and opportunities in the macro environment, having the ability to develop strategies and insights based on the changing business environment. »Business contacts established through extensive work experience and interaction with decision-makers and business owners internationally.

Sept 1990 till Dec 1999. Worked as director, principal stylist and consultant overseeing 13 staff members and four studios. Working APHS, Audie F. Cummings spearheaded aspects of branding, operations and marketing, P&L, Forecasting and Strategic vision. To enrich the professionalism and expertise, also carried out extensive training that became a pioneering move in the hair industry marketplace. The success of which led to the opportunity to work with luxury brands including Joshua Galvin (Assistant to Vidal Sassoon), and Virgin Atlantic Airways entailing VIP class training for the airport only VIP saloons.

In recognition of the work, also acted as a Visiting Lecturer and Keynote Speaker at London College of Fashion, West Thames College, College of North East London, and Middlesex University.

»Communication skills, as very often the essence of business interaction boils down to how good you are in communication, both in the projection of your thoughts and ideas as well as understanding the others. Having the ability to communicate effectively with influence, clarity, ethics, and conviction enables to win businesses and get the ideas across.

The professional capabilities are exhibited by the extensive working experience in various fields of work. Including the current working experience as the Head of Strategic Partnerships since April 2015, at the Jamaican High Commission, Central London JDCIPTF (Jamaica Diaspora Intervention Prevention Task Force), which was driven with the objective of developing strategic partnerships across the wide range of businesses, community sectors as well as religious bodies and groups.

Worked as a CEO & Specialist Subject Matter Expert at APHS Studies & Management Constancy, London from

From June 2005 to Nov 2013, worked as a Senior consultant at the University of

»Relationship management skills, which come with the recognized importance of managing and enriching business relationships via the establishment of a mutually beneficially business environment and deliverance of topnotch unparalleled services.

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East London. The job title entailed selection of BA & MA students for the highly sought outplacement opportunities in London Borough of Newham, development facilitation, Lectures, Workshops on the ‘Effects of the Legal System’. The work experience also extended to the execution of Business Process Re-engineering (BPR), graduate and undergraduate interviewing and selection process systems for the prospective individuals using Specialist Management Systems.

Ltd, London since April 2015-present. The work entailed working alongside as well as mentoring the director, Desmond Edward. During the work experience, a formidable cutting-edge board of globally drive executives was established, executing AA’s mission and the vision and also entailing the initiation of effective marketing strategies, enhancing communications, sharpening of the unique execution strategies and insurance of maximum profitability of the AA’s Ltd App.

Also including the working experience as the Global Head of Communications at Appropriate Apps

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CHAMPIONS – SUCCESS STORIES The key projects include: »Working with IIB in Watford, spearheading of the floatation business, IPO and the share pricing which is now available in 47 countries. »Working with COO (Jonathan James) of BibiTel- Successfully assisted in overhauling their business model to raise £10M to further finance the business and create a “Web Wallet / SIM Skin” by linking with an investor. »Delivered APM Project Management Knowledge, methods, skills and experience to achieve Project Outcomes.

Key achievements include: »Negotiating the establishment of a new Barbering department working with Barking & Dagenham. »Consulting property developer, Bola Ranson.

Delivering consultancy for Ranson Properties from inception. »Working with JemTek- Brokering a deal with financial companies to handle the credit process in a more efficient manner.

The extended career entailing handling key positions and delivering high-value business objectives and initiatives advocate Audie F. Cumming’s exceptional professionalism, enthusiasm, professional capabilities and expertise. His unparalleled experience and professional experience position him to qualify as one of the top tier management consultants.

Working as CEO Managing Director at Cummings Global Associates, London since Nov 2013 till date.

The designation entails working as a management consultant in the “Knowledge Dock” located within the premise of the University of East London. Also working in close collaboration with the international embassies situated in London, in order to network with the international companies interested in setting up their businesses in the UK marketplace. Also building close contacts with the consulates with an objective to explore the potential of establishing FinTech companies. Working as the CEO, also introduced IIB (Institute of Independent Business) aimed at facilitating the embassies interested in international expansion involving setting up of businesses in the UK. The initiative led to multiple successful negotiations with companies, which eventually established apparatus in the UK.

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CHAMPIONS – SUCCESS STORIES ACTIVISM:

1981 Lewisham House Bomb killing of 13 Young People (Including my Cousin Patrick Cummings) 1986 Establishment of UBAC (Universal Black African Community) at Islington Sixth Form Centre’ Speakers such as Benjamin Zephaniah & Sponsored by GLC Worked on Bernie Grant Arts Board Meeting Joy Gardner Bound with131/2 feet in front of her 5-year-old Son APHS involved in fundraising for her Mother-less Children.

Mark Duggan in his early years attended APHS until his untimely death.

‘Onyx Hair Studio’ Afro Dizziac Hair Awards’ Contestant ‘Aquarius HairSalon’ Winner APHS Won ‘Afro Dizziac Hair Awards’ at Camden Palace with the theme ‘Black Panthers’ Afro Hair & Beauty Hair Show: Black Butterfly Tottenham Riots – Unsung Heroes – Bernie Grant Centre Unsung Heroes ‘Russell Square’ Great Almond St. 2017 JHC Appointed me Head Of Strategic Partnership November 2018 ‘Amen 2 Business’ Reviewed on The NYTimes Awarded 30-year life time on the day I launched ‘SSST’ (Stop Stabbing Start Trimming) at Afro Hair & Beauty Show.

Class Action on JA Returnee’s Taking-up Pastorship in Central London Kings Cross next Month (LCM) HC of Jamaica to London appointed me the Chairmain of the RCP (Rovers Care Programme) June /2017 Worked with PRIDE MAGAZINE ON AFRO HAIR & Beauty Stand With CEO

BLACK LINKS GLOBAL AMBASSADOR

Appointed in 2020 as Global Ambassador of Black Links Global. To be the “face” of the global brand.

Audie. F. Cummings is a spiritual, community and economic activist in the many communities he serves.

He is regularly sought out by radio, television and publications for his point-of-view and has ready access to established global networks and decision makers across pivotal sectors of commerce and community.

As Global Ambassador this man of merit also represents BLG at specific events and across all media. His role also embraces the admiral undertaking of creating leaders and taking people with entrepreneurial spirit into becoming business-owners using the resources at his disposal with the Black Links Global Business and Consumer Network.

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CHAMPIONS – SUCCESS STORIES FOREIGN DIRECTOR OF BARZAN ENERGY & GAS (LNG) LIMITED

SENIOR PARTNER AT CREDIT SOLOUTIONS AGENCY (CSA)

Budget Planning, Contract Negotiations, Contracts, Down-streams, Fluent in English.

Feasibility Study, Financial Modelling, Marketing, Market, Mathematics, Meetings, Mergers & Acquisitions, MOU’s, Optimization, Organizing, Pricing, Procurement, Project Development, Proposals, Sales, Shipping, Bookkeeping Software, Statistics, Accounting, Strategy, Up Stream.

Working in Partnership with Credit Soloutions Agency offering the whole market of 300 commercial institutions of alternative Finance & many not accessible on the Capital High Streets.

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DR. BISHOP AUDIE

FLORIZAL CUMMINGS Ph.D, DD, DTh, MDiv, MBA, AIIB, PG Dp Mgt

Head of bureau of commercial and corporate affairs

CHAMPIONS – SUCCESS STORIES

Ministry of Commercial and Corporate Affairs

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Re: Long-term Development Plans for Sectors of Industry and Commerce

he Bureau of the Ministry of Commercial and Corporate Affairs headed by DR. BISHOP AUDIE FLORIZAL CUMMINGS Ph.D, DD, DTh, MDiv, MBA, AIIB, PG Dp Mgt has a long term project to support all sectors of industry and commerce.

of colour suffer conscious and unconscious bias and are underrepresented in areas where diversity, inclusion and equality is absent or operates at a minimum.

Across many countries opportunity, freedom, and prosperity – have been largely to the exclusion of people of colour. In countries where colour is not the issue, then corruption, greed, colonialist mentality and This will be achieved with resources that can translate control persists to the detriment of the community at into measurable revenue and benefits. The fact that large. this additional or increased revenue and or benefits is directly attributable to the Bureau means that by The Bureau has the resources to bring success to the way of agreement, an apportionment of this will be heart of the African home and diaspora community. To returned to the Bureau via nan Agreement between do this we need to work together to be able to combat the befitting Commercial Entity and the Bureau or a discriminatory practices and existing operators and division of it. new entrants who do not have the best interests of the community at heart.

This commercial practice is one of offering real value resources to help businesses and organisations that are of African descent to become more competitive and commercially viable in what has long been an environment where ownership of enterprises by people

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The Bureau’s Plan of Action Help the Bureau provides: The GREAT NEWS is that initially the Bureau will not seek to sell or charge a consultancy fee for the advice and information provided to assist clients. But where valuable resources are engaged to further the business, enterprise or organisation then this will need to be offset to cover “out-ofpocket” expenses or zero profit costs. This strategy is adopted in order for the service to gain traction, surpass its initial growing stage and provide for a working template that can be perfected. We seek to engage businesses and organisations that we assess as being commercially viable and ready for growth and expansion.

» A global network of business leaders, entrepreneurs and community champions. » A network of professional service agents across business advisers, auditors/ accountants, project managers, finance/ banking experts, etc » A network of business and organisational resources » Access to the latest business models and trends to your global strategy. » Ability to increase both established and new revenue streams » Access new customers locally, nationally and globally »

Secure increased public awareness

We benefit from the increase in revenue and benefits we are responsible for and offer a genuine service that speaks for itself in maintaining our track record of success.

» Improve market perception with growth that translate to success

The Bureau Services includes:

» Additional service and product availability……

» Ability to test the market and partner up for increased growth

Photo Credit: Google Image

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CHAMPIONS – SUCCESS STORIES BUREAU SERVICES & RESOURCES OFFERING

This includes a recruitment drive to secure the following:

The Bureau seeks to help and assist the following: Initial Operational Structure (12 months) 1Starting and growing a business is the initial 1. Recruitment of Account Managers (to access, obstacle where help and assistance can be the advise and provide information) difference between make or break particularly up to 2. Recruitment of Resource/Marketing Agents the 1st 36 months.

(to make available and market BLG Network & other enterprise resources)

2Any existing business that has been operational 3. Administrative support staff for 1 & 2 above. for 3 yrs or more has established a market and target audience that can be increased significantly. The 4. Professional Advisers (auditors/accountants, proprietors have a unique knowledge of their industry project managers, finance/banking experts) sector and know what the development and expansion phases can be over the next 7-10yrs+ , which can be 2ND STAGE OPERATIONS effective with the right help and assistance.

To help and assist the expansion to national and 3For businesses and organisations that have a international growth and expansion. This function can track record in excess of the initial 7-10yrs there is a be either organic and based on in-house activities or level of growth that can take the enterprise national via strategic planning and purchases which incorporate and or global dependant on factors that include finance the Bureau’s activities of: and future goals.

1 Mergers The Bureau is here to accelerate business growth by 2 Acquisitions improving customer reach, revenue and positive results 3 Takeovers across the fundamentals of business acumen. Within 4 small/medium Partnerships, Joint the resources of the bureau we have the knowledge Ventures. Collaborations and skill informed by experience: knowledge about key business issues, the skill to apply that knowledge, 3RD STAGE OPERATIONS and the confidence to take action informed by past experiences in understanding and dealing with a This phase incorporates the fact that the Ministry has “business situation” in a manner that is likely to lead acquired assets and extensive global resources. This to a good outcome. Additionally, we have the ability lends itself to large scale projects and joint-venture to improve financial performance and leadership undertakings. This is where the opportunity to impact on country specific infrastructural projects and SOAD development. private/public initiatives takes place.

The Costing and Budget to implement this Plan over the 1st 36 months.

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AUDIE. F. CUMMINGS AIIB MBA Post Dip BA (Hons)

Global Ambassador Appointed in 2020 as Global Ambassador of Black Links Global. To be the “face” of the global brand. Audie. F. Cummings is a spiritual, community and economic activist in the many communities he serves. He is regularly sought out by radio, television and publications for his pointof-view and has ready access to established global networks and decision makers across pivotal sectors of commerce and community. As Global Ambassador this man of merit also represents BLG at specific events and across all media. His role also embraces the admiral undertaking of creating leaders and taking people with entrepreneurial spirit into becoming business-owners using the resources at his disposal with the Black Links Global Business and Consumer Network.

AUDIE F. CUMMINGS Ph.D., AIIB, MBA, D Th. Head of the Bureau of Commercial and Corporate Affairs

London Mailing Address : Gemma House 39 Lilestone Street London NW8 8SS United Kingdom

 +44 772 4500 474  acummings@thestateofafricandiaspora.com  www.thestateofafricandiaspora.com

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YVONNE AKI-SAWYER She Has a Passion to Rebrand FREETOWN A London accountant who returned home to Africa to respond to the Ebola outbreak has become a leading figure in fighting climate change.

Y

vonne Aki-Sawyerr won a scholarship for a masters’ degree at the London School of Economics and went on to help set up the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the wake of the Nick Leeson banking scandal.

Ms Aki-Sawyerr, 53, who was in Glasgow in November with London mayor Sadiq Khan as part of the C40 delegation of city mayors, previously lived in Wimbledon and worked for Andersen Consulting.

“Most of my clients were in Canary Wharf, the She returned to Sierra Leone while working as a Financial Services Authority being the key one,” she consultant for the UK’s Department for International told the Evening Standard newspaper. “I helped set it Development on the outbreak of Ebola in 2014 but up after the Barings [collapse] and Nick Leeson, in ended up staying.

1996.”

In 2018 she was elected mayor of Freetown, its capital, The “turning point” in her career was the outbreak and now campaigns for poorer nations to receive more of Ebola. “I just could not watch it unfold on my help to address the challenges of climate change. television screen,” she said. “I went home and said to

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“We must never lose sight of the extent to which climate is impacting the day-today lives of all of my my husband: ‘I have got to go.’ It felt like a pretty crazy thing to be doing, because all the planes were coming out full and going in empty.

“On November 13, 2014, I boarded a flight. I went to Freetown with DFID. I went to the National Ebola Centre and said: ‘What can I do?’

Within six weeks I became the director of planning for the National Ebola Response Centre.”

The experience led her to run for office of the city where she was born to a very influential family. She has rebranded her city “Freetown the tree town” in a campaign to plant a million trees, and is seeking funding for a cable car to link isolated areas, to where a booming population has expanded, with the city centre.

residents.....”

“The decision to run for mayor was intrinsically linked to the environment and sanitation,” she said. “We must never lose sight of the extent to which climate is impacting the day-to-day lives of all of my residents, and I dare say many people in the Global South – millions of people.”

Article by: Mike Butscher

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HENRIETTA VIOLET PRATT Seen It All, Done It All Written by Mike Butscher

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t is a great feeling to grow old gracefully especially when you don’t have much health issues. Henrietta Violet Pratt, 91, has lived a good life and a brief moment with her revealed how this former nurse, has, with the help of God, been living an active life most of her mates would envy. I saw that for real when I visited our special personality at her ground floor flat in Bermondsey in south east London. She is very sharp on the phone both with speech and hearing. She caught me cunningly staring at her and said: “I know you’re watching me,” she quipped to my surprise.

Born in Freetown in December 1926, Mrs Pratt, a descendant of Wilberforce village, attended the St. Joseph’s Convent School

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and married to Egerton Pratt from Regent village. They came to the United Kingdom in 1958 and stayed happily married for over 70 years before he died in 2018. The couple were blessed with three children: Egertonia (Darling), Shegu (Frederick) and Henry (Leslie).

Mrs Pratt trained as a State Registered Nurse specialising in paediatrics and worked for several London hospitals including Kings College, Denmark Hill. She later worked in the public relations department of Diamond Corporation, London where she had the opportunity to model some diamond jewellery.

“After retirement, I enjoyed travelling, gardening, cooking,

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CHAMPIONS – SUCCESS STORIES entertaining and solving puzzles. My husband and I later decided to live in the Gambia with family and friends where the people were very friendly and made me feel so much at home in Banjul. I particularly enjoyed having dogs and cats as pets, watching them play together, despite the old saying ‘Una Tan Lek Puss en dog’.

“I also enjoyed taking my dogs to the beach where they could play in the ocean and breath fresh air”. At her ripe old age, she cannot resist not eating potato leaves, cassava leave and some Krio soups like sawa sawa, crain crain, bitter leaf and other delicacies with her foo foo. She enjoys palava sauce the most.

When the civil war engulfed Sierra Leone, Mrs Pratt’s home in Banjul was home for many refugees fleeing

On being aged 95 years: “I am thankful to God for achieving the age of 95 and feel very blessed.

I am older and wiser and know that God is in control. I am privileged to still partake in my little tipple of Gin and Vodka, which I call my cough mixture, as they help to keep the bugs and germs away”.

civil war in the early 1990s. She said she and her husband felt proud at the time to render assistance to their own people in times of need. “We just reached out to them because God had blessed us. We should always be our brothers’ keeper”, she said, beaming with a sense of reminiscences.

During her spare time, Miss Het, as she is fondly known by family and friends, enjoy listening to Daily Service and Sunday Worship on BBC Radio 4, as well as discussions on LBC. Her favourite TV programmes include: Walker Texas Ranger, Colombo, Murder she Wrote, nature programmes with Professor Brian Cox, Chris Packham and Sir David Attenborough. Favourite TV soaps are Neighbours and Home and Away.

She is not a fan of computer: “I have never used a computer but I think modern technology is quite amazing. However, I can’t do without my smart phone as it helps me to keep in touch with my family and friends all over the world. It also helps me to see them when I am using SKYPE and WhatsApp.”

Her advice to youngsters: “Work hard, Take Your Education Seriously, Have Patience and Understanding of Others.”

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SOLOMON

KABBA PROFILE

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t was a renewal of wedding vows occasion and the venue was one of south Wales’s famous castles, Llantrisant.

Sitting in a Victorian style room waiting for the wedding service to begin, I looked around me to see a packed chapel with guests resplendently dressed, and the hall reminded me of a fashion show with gleaming faces proudly displaying their styles and glowing colours.

Then a piano started oozing classic Methodist hymns. Singing along, I got so entranced in the music that I lunged forward to see who the pianist was. He was a young black man. I was amazed and keen to know who the expert musician was. After the service, I dashed forward to congratulate him and ask some questions. During our conversation, I realised he was one of those simple people with so much talent that is worth a mention in Calabash magazine.

Solomon Kabba is a musician, a nurse and logistics consultant.

He grew up in Freetown and came over to Britain to advance his education by enrolling at Middlesex University where he obtained a B. Sc in Mental Health, following which he worked as a psychiatric nurse at Broadmoor, St. George’s Tooting and Mile End Hospitals. He now works as an agency nurse. In 2020, Solomon, just before CORVID was officially declared in the UK, enrolled at Salford University for a Master of Science degree in Logistics Supply/Procurement and Chain management. He graduated in 2021 in what is a major career change.

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Despite all these achievements, Solomon’s passion for music never waned. And it is his musical exploits that is making him famous. He is the senior organist at Stamford Hill United Reformed church in east London. The infectious socialite started his music journey as a chorister at Bishop Baughman Methodist church in Freetown and attended the Ballantyne School of Music to bolster his skills, a move that enabled him to start assisting his local church organist. “Music elevated me to heights I never dreamed about and I am grateful to God.”

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CHAMPIONS – SUCCESS STORIES and not prevent others from moving around.”

Solomon has poignant advice for Sierra Leoneans and descendants: “We are not doing much for each other. We tend to rejoice in people’s problems. At least, moral support is necessary. We should rally round each other. Young people tend to be misled due to social media. As parents, we have a responsibility to continue talking with our children and not leave them on their own or scared to tell them straight things.”

On the socialising front, Solomon is a now a popular Master of Ceremony at weddings where his sense of humour usually keeps guests reeling with laughter. He is a stout Chelsea football fan and loves reading, watching movies and shopping with his family in Essex. His wife is a nurse and they are blessed with two children, the eldest being 24 years.

has affected everyone in multiple ways, especially economically and lives lost. It is scary as vaccines do not seem to cure the new Omicron variant. I encourage everyone to take the vaccine and get boosted. It is better to take it than not to.”

On climate change – “We need to act collectively to reduce pollution especially in Africa where deforestation is so rampant. For His views of topical issues: protesters in the UK, protests are The CORVID19 pandemic – “It good but they should be peaceful

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LIFESTYLE

FOLORUNSHO ALAKIJA LIFESTYLE AND BUSINESS BACKGROUND

By Bankole Jones INTRODUCTION

W

omen can be a rock on which a safer and prosperous nation is built, but they have to be given the opportunity. In the heart of Lagos, Nigeria, we find the home of the second richest woman in Africa, and the third richest black woman globally, Folorunsho Alakija. She has a net worth of $1 billion. Alakija was born on 15th July 1951, where she later went to the Dinorben School for Girls in Wales and then Pitman’s Central College in London. After school, she became a financial secretary in a bank, where she had a very successful career. Due to her passion for fashion, she quit her job to become a fashion designer and founded a billion worth tailoring company known as Supreme Stitches. Over the years, she has ventured into other business activities not forgetting that she is the director of the Rose of Sharon Group. Another interest revolves around oil and gas exploration. She is one of the most symbolic figures in the country and also in Africa, as she is not just a Nigerian billionaire but also a philanthropist.

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Photo Credit: Google Image

FOLORUNSHO ALAKIJA LIFESTYLE AND BUSINESS BACKGROUND

Having been born in a family of traders, Alakija’s passion for the business was recognized at an early age. Along with her siblings, she used to help her mother in store, where she was able to learn

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a lot about texture, textile, colors, merchandise, etc. It is at this point where her interest in fashion began.

However, she did not venture into the fashion business immediately after school. After school, where she qualified as a secretary in 1974, she worked as an executive secretary with the bank, Sijuade Enterprises, in Lagos for about a

year and a half and later joined the International Merchant Bank of Nigeria where she worked for almost 12 years. During the 12 years in the bank, Alakija was promoted to the corporate affairs department. The love she had for trading made it possible for her to be promoted in the treasury department after a while. unfortunately, the bank grew and the expansion reduced promotion which resulted in her quitting the banking sector. She knew it would take forever for her to become the general manager.

Even though her passion for fashion was realized at an early age, she was only able to venture into the fashion business after she quit her job in the banking

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LIFESTYLE sector. She then enrolled at American College in London and the Central School of Fashion to perfect her skills in fashion. Immediately after the fashion college, Supreme Stitches was born, where she became renowned for her haute couture range. She later rebranded to Rose of Sharon House of Fashion in 1996.

Photo Credit: Google Image

Over the years, the fashion business was becoming boring for her and thus, she needed to venture into another sector. “I wanted a new challenge; I was getting bored of the fashion business…she says. At this point, she ventured into offset printing which has been a success. The high demand for monograms, screenprinting, and picture transfers on t-shirts increased and thus increasing production. As the company continues to grow, Alakija was still on the lookout for the next thing to venture into.

On one of her flights to England, she encountered a friend and after a chat with her she an idea was born – her next venture. She decided to contact Maryam Babangida, the wife of Ibrahim Babaginda, former military President of Nigeria. In her conversation with Maryam, Alakija told her about her interest in rendering oil industry services. “She told me that there were already many caterers on board, and as a result, there were no opportunities available.” Although she got disappointed, she never gave up and after a lot of consultation with individuals who worked for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the idea of offering transportation came up. However, it was still not a good idea as the government was replacing truck transportation with pipelines. She then decided to apply for an oil block in 1993 to venture into oil exploration. This was not easy as the minister kept being replaced and after a further 2 years delay, the third minister reviewed her request. Having applied for several blocks, she was finally given one SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

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LIFESTYLE that nobody wanted. It was located deep offshore, and nobody was exploring deep offshore due to high cost, expertise, and lack of technology. It took her three years to find the right partners, and the government licensed her. Although it has been a challenge as the block had been taken away, she successfully won it back after 12 years which has been very successful.

SOCIAL LIFE

Despite swimming in wealth, Alakija has a very imitable spiritual lifestyle. In most of her interviews, she has admitted that she could not be where she is if she had not make a covenant with God. “I don’t think I could have got this far if I had not entered into a covenant with God.” She gave her life to Christ, and along with her service to God, she goes for fellowship and prayers every Tuesday at the Rose of Sharon Glorious Ministry International. The ministry is one of the many ways that she has kept her promise of serving God. She also provides financial support and scholarship for orphans and widows as a way of service to God. Folorunsho Alakija comes from a Muslim polygamous family. In this case, the father had eight wives and 52 children. She said, “Having been raised in such a huge family, cooperation with each other is essential”.

Therefore, the wives cooperated, and although there were some quarrels at some time, they would make up again. All the children helped the parents, who were textile traders. This indicates where her passion for entrepreneurship began. Today she is married to her husband Modupe Alakija and has four sons and grandchildren.

Photo Credit: Google Image

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DAISY BONA’S LEGACY WILL LIVE ON MEMORIAL SERVICE IN LONDON ON 27 AUGUST AND BURIED IN FREETOWN. “We lost a heroine in Sierra Leone journalism. She touched many lives in the profession and we are inspired by her legacy” - SL Association of Women in Journalism “A bright light that that has just gone extinguished and a void created which would be difficult to fill.” – Freddie Keita, retired senior civil servant.

“A great woman of substance, highly principled, stern character with a beautiful soul.” – Jeanette Savage “Daisy was a woman of many firsts. 50 years since SLAJ was founded, she has been the only female president of the association - First female Proprietress of a newspaper and first female editor of a newspaper.”

– Ahmed Nasralla, President of Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ).

These were some of the glowing tributes from Sierra Leoneans following the passing away of a great icon in August last year.

MRS DAISY ELIZABETH MARIE BONA nee Coker, 83, died in London in July, 2021 and was celebrated at St. John the Evangelist church, Croydon in London on 27th August.

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TRIBUTE Daisy was posted at Kamakwie and Makeni in the north along with her late husband who was also a policeman attached to the special branch division.

Mike Butscher delivering the family tribute

Aunty Daisy started from humble beginnings at Waterloo rural district, achieved so much in life and touched the lives of so many people in diverse ways.

She was an exceptional woman of substance who thrived in a man’s world. Aunty Daisy was strong, fearless, daring but selfless and served humanity up to her dying days. Daisy is a typical example of how African political parties especially in Sierra Leone fail to recognise citizens for patriotic duty to their party and country.

Born in Freetown on 1st February 1938 to Elisephan Coker (Trader) and Hannah Stanley -Coker (Civil Servant) both deceased, she attended the St Joseph’s and Waterloo Amalgamated Primary and subsequently, the St Joseph’s Secondary School at Charlotte Street in Freetown. On completing secondary school in 1955, she joined the Sierra Leone Police Force obviously because of her gallantry and bravery during her teenage years.

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While working with the police, the ambitious young Daisy continued her education by pursuing advanced secretarial courses at the Technical Institute in Freetown. She served the Provincial Administration for two years before moving on to better jobs as secretary and administrator between 1961 and 1965 at the Paramount Hotel, Brookfields Hotel and Building Technical Services (BTS). Daisy’s discipline and nononsense approach to life did not allow her to keep jobs for very long in those days. She was a high valued worker, efficient, loyal and a good team player.

But she challenged bullies and walked away when the working environment was discriminatory.

Her desire to run her own newspaper led her to become the proprietor and editor of Flash newspaper, Leone Woman magazine. Flash newspaper became New Citizen due to a merger. Daisy was also a successful panellist and presenter in many SLBS radio and TV programmes, notably KABASLOT and KOTOKU with Salakor Maxwell, Miatta Koroma and others, In her quest for knowledge and a better life, aunty Daisy obtained a diploma in Journalism from the London School of Journalism and certificates in conflict Resolution, Conflict Management and Negotiating Skills from IPAM, University of Sierra Leone. She got a diploma in Psychiatric Studies from Rusland College here in the UK and attended many workshops and seminars in Freetown and many countries around the world.

Daisy personally met some very important people during her life career, like Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, Kim Il Sung

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Actress Susan Blaudfaust dramatizing her tribute

of North Korea, Anwar Sadat of Egypt, Minkhail Gobachov of the USSR, Sekou Toure of Guinea, William V.S. Tubman and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Gen. Yakubu Gowon of Nigeria and Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia. These were all presidents or heads of states.

During the Late sixties and seventies, she was active in Politics and Journalism but was always in trouble with former President Siaka Stevens and also during the early reign of Brigadier Joseph Saidu Momoh in the mid 80’s. As was the norm with government critics in those days, Daisy’s Lumley home was frequented by the notorious ISU and plain clothes officers who would ramsack the property looking for evidence, take her away and lock her up at the CID only to be released a day or two later. She was well known to the police and other security forces, always raining abuses on them when they violated or abused people’s rights.

She was the first and only woman to be elected President of the Journalist Association of Sierra Leone, SLAJ and was one of only two women present at the formation of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists in 1971 under Siaka Stevens’ APC one party rule. The other was Bernadette Cole, her good friend who still lives in Freetown. Daisy was also the Even during those moments of adversity, she was first woman to be elected President of the West Africa always in high spirits although her young children Association of Journalists (WAJA). were left traumatised by the experiences.

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EE nor bin fraid natin.

Daisy was a defender of and advocate for every journalist regardless of who you are or where you’re coming from. Call her anytime of the day or night, she will dash to your rescue and was always ready to pick a fight for anyone who is victimised when informed.

She was a symbol of women’s empowerment and encouraged and inspired many women to venture into areas where they thought were exclusive for men. She won many local and international awards for her humanity, free expression and women’s empowerment.

UN-sponsored tour for African journalists to see areas affected by the Biafra war which ended in 1970.

Daisy was one of those few women selected to hold initial peace meetings with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Dakar and Senegal. She was sponsored by the International Alert based in London, where four meetings were held with Kamajors, political party members and representatives from civil society in 1993.

She was also a member of the Constitutional Review Committee chaired by Dr. Peter L. Tucker before moving over to London in 1997.

She lived in London for 24 years but visited countries In Sierra Leone, she was active in performing arts, including North Korea, Russia, USA, France, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone National Dance Troop, established Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Guinea. When the popular DAYLEX PEOPLE BAND during the she visited Siberia under Soviet rule, she refused seventies when dance bands were famous. Daisy

displayed her humanitarian character during the to visit Israel because of the illegal occupation of war when she set up a home for hundreds of Sierra Palestine. Daisy visited Port Harcourt, Benin under a Leonean and Liberian displaced children, caring for

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them, enabled them to be fostered in consultation with the Social Welfare ministry. She opened a school at New England and Tower Hill for displaced children.

Most of these children are well placed in society today.

She was a member of the SLBS Singers group.

She was always happy to support community projects, Daisy was a co-founder of Calabash magazine, a publication targeting the African diaspora in London since 2005 and played an active part in the society by working with several organisations and individuals while supporting her children and grandchildren. She was a committed Christian an active member of Christ Pentecostal Church, Camberwell UK and a very good cook. Aunty Daisy was an active member of the St. Joseph’s Secondary School Old Girls Association (UK). Her only surviving son, Patrick, described her as “a selfless person to a fault, always putting others first”.

She made a positive difference to many people’s lives. She will be greatly missed by family, friends and colleagues in the journalism profession where she made the greatest impact.

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Sierra Leone has lost one of its greatest pioneering female journalists and social critic. Her legacy lives on.

She is survived by five of her seven children: Isreala, Patrick, Marilyn, Loveta and Annie. Surviving brothers are Patrick D. Coker, Edward O. Martins and Adebayo Martins, grandchildren, numerous foster, step and adopted children.

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I

t still feels so odd, no one saw this coming, who would have believed my ever-courageous warrior would lose the battle to cancer, it transcends belief especially mine, knowing fully well how you made my life complete, how you’ve lifted me all your life and spurred me to move on.

My sister was everything to me, she was a virtuous woman, God fearing, loving, caring and a supportive woman, she held the strings and cords of the family together, she didn’t just lead, she lead with the light of love and harmony.

A strong devout Christian, she built her life on the core foundation of Christ, my sister lived a life worthy of emulation, but death came and snatched her away from me.

She wasn’t just my sister, she was a mother, a mother with an impeccable strength, she wouldn’t take no for an answer and wouldn’t allow circumstances shape or determine her person or that of her loved ones, a true mother who singlehandedly brought up four children and was still supportive in the family and the community.

In all honesty a little bit of my sister will always live in me, she was my pillar of strength, I was truly lucky to have a sister like her and I know she’s at peace where she is just like she always made us feel, yes we may have lost her to the cold hands of death but I have a strong conviction she has transformed to our guardian angel because she can never watch us go astray.

Dear sister, we will miss you, we will miss you, the day God called you home, you do not go alone, some part of us left with you, you will be missed by family, friends, and most of all the children but you will never be forgotten, rest on dear sister.

Bankie Brother & rest of the family

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DAPHNE EKUNDAYO

PRISCILLA ABIGAIL

JONES

INTERVIEW

With

GrayEmpire34:

GOING BACK TO YOUR ROOTS - AFRICA “Africa is a beautiful continent. I have travelled and lived all over Africa, but Sierra Leone is incredibly special to me.”

CALABASH: Please tell us a bit about GrayEmpire34 and yourself.

GRAYEMPIRE34: Oh yes. Well, I am an American who has recently retired as a US diplomat and Special Agent. I created GrayEmpire34 to create a generational legacy with diplomatic values. Our focus is education, basketball, empowerment, equality, and people with physical and mental disabilities. We are a non-profit organization that has reached/impressions of over 250 million people on social media in just 15 months of operating.

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CALABASH: You seem to be attracting a large following on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and You Tube. What is the secret of your success?

GRAYEMPIRE34: Honestly, a while ago I accepted the position of a free Facebook Marketing Expert. I have regular scheduled meetings in which my Facebook Marketing Expert teaches and provides valuable advice on how to market my brands. I started GrayEmpire34 Corporation in January 2021, with extremely limited experience on social media platforms. Through trials and errors, I learned how to use social media effectively to grow my brands. I have personally made

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INTERVIEW all my posts and edits...and I enjoy being creative. Now, I am extremely comfortable with posting and the best is yet to come.

CALABASH: I can recall you telling me, “I have a deep and dark story on something horrible the US government did to me during my last two years of employment”, and mentioning, “I have bits of it on GrayEmpire34 Facebook and Instagram pages. I have the biggest lawsuits pending in US history on discrimination, harassment, bullying, and retaliation.” What can be so unforgettable and painful? Has it got anything to do with your work as a US Diplomat in the secret service?

GRAYEMPIRE34: I have a formal EEO complaints and grievances during my last two years as a Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent that is currently going through the legal process, which the U.S. Office of Special Counsel and my Congressperson’s Office know about. Unfortunately, at this time I cannot reveal the details of my case but discrimination, harassment, bullying and sadly retaliation is real in the federal government. This is especially significant for minorities and people with disabilities. One day, when the time is right…. I will share EVERYTHING with the world on what happened to me on my

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INTERVIEW CALABASH: You present an impression of someone who is very resilient. What experiences did you gain from living in America both favourable and unfavourable, and what is your overall impression of your country?

GRAYEMPIRE34: Experiences are facts of life. The main favourable experiences are the endless opportunities to succeed and to receive excellent quality education in high school,

veteran, retired U.S. Diplomat and Special Agent, I have always been subjected to discrimination in America and I know uncountable Americans that are going through the same who do not have the educational, global experiences, or financial means as I do, so unfortunately “Stay Quiet”.

They are also afraid to report their experiences. I am from South Memphis and have seen this frequently in my childhood communities as well as in the federal government. However, I am optimistic that current impressions will

generation.

CALABASH: Why did you decide to return to Africa, and tell us about this queen of your heart?

GRAYEMPIRE34: Africa is a beautiful continent. I have travelled and lived all over Africa, but Sierra Leone is incredibly special to me. From 2014-2015, I was with the U.S. Embassy in Freetown during the Ebola crisis and learnt about Sierra Leoneans.

I also experienced many traumatic instances during my time in Sierra Leone such as the Ebola crisis that resulted with me having

PTSD. I utterly

undergraduate, and graduate studies. As for unfavourable experience, it would have to be the discrimination in America. Even as a U.S. combat

change… but not with this

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understand what they have been going through as I lived through it with them.

The COVID-19 pandemic will have the same effect on people all over the world. There is nothing wrong with taking care of your mental well-being.

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INTERVIEW It is my desire and hope to help as many Sierra Leoneans as I can because majority of Sierra Leoneans have extraordinarily little to live on. However, they are not only extremely resilient and hungry to succeed, but also need to have equal

CALABASH: Ok hopefully Calabash will get to know her soon. What are your plans for the near future?

on your life, what advise do you have for our young generation?

GRAYEMPIRE34: Education, education, and more education.

The young generation is all about technology and social media.

They really understand this and they realise that they can use it to build their brand and monetize off it. We are in a new

The main favourable experiences are the endless opportunities to succeed and to receive excellent quality education in high school, generation undergraduate, and and era in which social media graduate studies.

opportunities as others across the world. My Queen is my Vice President of GrayEmpire34SL. She is very special and I trust her. Sierra Leone will see her greatness. I call her the Queen Boss and she is highly respected in Sierra Leone.

GRAYEMPIRE34: GrayEmpire34 is planning on visiting Uzbekistan later this year and Ecuador, South Africa, and India soon.

CALABASH: Looking back

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can generate what I call “New Money”.

The younger generation understand that they only have to spend ten minutes or so posting pictures and videos to make a genuinely nice living from it.

CALABASH: Sierra Leone will be having Presidential and General Elections in 2023. What are your thoughts?

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INTERVIEW GRAYEMPIRE34: I do not and will not engage in any type of political issues of any kind in Sierra Leone. GrayEmpire34 is a nonprofit organization that focuses on providing educational and basketfuls of resources to disadvantaged youths.

me an Honorary Paramount Chief. That is an extremely high honour bestowed on my life. I have substantial number of responsibilities as an Honorary Paramount Chief, so I will forever be embedded in the great country of Sierra Leone. I take such honour seriously!

CALABASH: What was the crowning glory of your visit?

CALABASH: “Going back to your roots” must have been a revelation for you being away for so long!

Any regrets, joys or memorable occasions and familiar friends?

EMPIRE34: Returning to Sierra Leone after serving there from 2014 to 2015 has been an amazing experience. When I departed in 2015, I told everyone I knew that I would return one day. I kept my promise and have ZERO regrets. The Sierra Leoneans who work in the U.S. Embassy, Freetown, crowned SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

GRAYEMPIRE34: Getting GrayEmpire34SL established as a nonprofit organization in Sierra Leone and the support and love from the Lakka Beach Community.

CALABASH: Give us an insight into the story on my Blackoo7?

GRAYEMPIRE34: Most people from America and across the world do not know what being a Special Agent with the Diplomatic Security Service entails. I am going to share my entire story from the beginning to the end. You see, I am highly trained, and I do not miss. It will be an educational journey as it’s being told by an African American Special Agent from the inner city of Memphis, Tennessee. Most people have never met a legitimate Diplomatic

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Security Service Special Agent, so I will use my platform to share my experiences…. the good, the bad, and the ugly.

CALABASH: It has been great chatting with you today and CALABASH is proud you are sharing your story and feelings with our readers and friends. We wish you success in all your endeavours.

GRAYEMPIRE34: On behalf of GrayEmpire34 and GrayEmpire34SL, I want to say thank you to the country of Sierra Leone for the opportunity and support.

CALABASH DISCLAIMER Calabash assumes no responsibility or liability for any content or information in this interview. The information and content in this interview are directly and solely the words, thoughts and conclusions of GRAYEMPIRE34

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I N T E R V I E W

INTERVIEW

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COMPATIBLE LIFESTYLE

RELATIONSHIP

Photo Credit: Google

FROM THE AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE Introduction

C

ompatibility is a term used to refer to a natural alignment of peoples’ lifestyle choices and values. It is mostly about the long-term potential of different people and mainly comes from similarities between them in terms of values and lifestyles. In any relationship, it is easy to put your best face, but the real purpose of a good relationship is not just about being nice but being honest and authentic to see whether you are compatible. People are not always happy when they are with people they are compatible with, so it is essential to make sure that you have compatible lifestyles when choosing a partner. However, achieving compatibility involves going out of your comfort zone, but the most important advice given is being with a person you like being around. I believe that understanding compatible lifestyle from an African perspective will offer values that can assist us to reposition our outlook on compatible lifestyles today. Therefore, the main aim of this article is to try and understand compatibility in the African context and also see whether there are lessons that can be learned on how to strengthen our relationships. However, talking about African values does not imply that they are all good.

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RELATIONSHIP THE QUESTION OF COMPATIBLE LIFESTYLES

A better understanding of healthy relationships

and friendships can be better appreciated if the properties that make it valid are well put into consideration.

African relationships are not short of the ingredients that make up good relationships and friendships.

In many societies in the African context, there is an overall

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expectation of relative permanence in a relationship, sexual relationship, sharing of resources, co-residence and cooperation in bearing of children and their upbringing. Thus we can say forms a basis for their compatibility.

For people to come together e.g., in marriage, specific requirements have to be met and they have to be preceded by several customary observations.

However, it is important to note that the communities that are involved share their existence, common values/ philosophies, and their families and clans are united so that they become one.

As Africans, they would mainly put it that through their relationships, friendships and marriages, they are all united in a way that when you hurt one member, you have hurt the others.

By this gesture, it means that it is important for the different people to have compatible lifestyles in order to avoid the possibility of conflicts and share an identity.

partners, it is important to identify some of the values that are rooted in these relationships, which can help us avoid being in wrong relationships or being with people we are incompatible with.

VALUES ASSOCIATED WITH COMPATIBLE LIFESTYLES FROM THE AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE

When talking of values, we refer to the preferences, likes, morals, duties, wants, attractions, obligations, aversions and other selective orientation modalities.

In Africa, relationships are built to last forever and anything that is destructive to a friendship or relationship is said to be evil and wicked. There is a creative Kgatla proverb which states, ‘a beautiful girl either steals or wets the bed.’

This shows that one should not only focus on physical beauty alone when looking for a partner. They should however, look for other values that make them compatible.

For example, one of the factors that determine compatible lifestyles and marriage in Africa is the belief in God and the religious obligation that marriage is the only means for human survival. In the case of the couples who don’t believe in having children or don’t believe As a result of the togetherness in in God, then they are said to be African relationships between incompatible. Therefore, for one communities and marriage SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

RELATIONSHIP to be compatible, they should come together to preserve and prolong life. Therefore, there needs to be some basic values that can hold the relationship together and in case there aren’t any, then they lack functional compatibility.

Another factor that played a role is whether the lifestyles of each individual complement each other intellectually. Traditionally, there was a belief that when you hang out with stupid people, you become stupid. Therefore, parents would ensure that their children hang out with children from families which are known to be intellectually smart or higher-ranking levels in society. Complementing each other intellectually is important as it means that you can share insights and exchange ideas.

Also, it can be noted that most friendship networks are composed of people who are similar socially and it is highly emphasized that people from similar socio-economic status can become more compatible. However, some people have argued that compatibility is based on something special and not material things.

“African relationships are not short of the ingredients that make up good relationships and friendships.”

Cultural and ethnicity is also highly regarded among many Africans and is a determinant of one’s lifestyle. People from different ethnic backgrounds tend to frequently see their differences during conflicts and in whatever they do. Being from different tribes can pose a challenge in a relationship, although this can be overcome. However, on many occasions, such people would face a lot of social pressure and disapproval from society and family, which can result in a lot of stress. Consequently, people who have overcome these challenges and focus on their similarities rather than differences perceive their differences as a strength that enhances their relationship.

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Photo Credit: Google

CONCLUSION

Many people try to force compatibility as they try to adjust the lifestyle of others when it isn’t their lifestyle. This is like trying to fit a square into a round hole that cannot fit despite the effort. You can never be happy if you always try to fit into another person’s lifestyle and therefore, it is advisable that you find people who are a good matches for you.

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INTERNATIONAL SCENE

NATO: A Two-Edged Sword?

By Ray Akabi-Davis

T

he invasion of Ukraine has revealed once again the real power that NATO wields. One thing is certain power is often a two-edged sword and is not always what it seems. Being a member state of an organisation such as NATO or UN would indicate almost supreme power as any member state has the support and backing of all NATO members. But is power just an allusion?

SHOWCASING THE BEST OF AFRICA

What is taking place in Ukraine with Russia invading the independent state and the utter destruction of life, property, and infrastructure, is something that should never have been allowed in present day civilisation.

This goes to show that civilisation is still imperfect, even among leaders of first world states. It just shows how impotent NATO is to even be in the position to let the invasion start or stop it in its tracks. One may ask, what use is NATO if it only cares for its own?

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INTERNATIONAL SCENE Everyone knows that NATO was only setup to protect member states of NATO. The Collective Defence – Article 5 states that the principle of collective defence of NATO’s founding treaty bounds its members and commits them to protect each other and sets a spirit of solidarity within the alliance.

Collective defence means that an attack against one of the members is considered an attack against all.

Article 5 also states that the primary aim of the North Atlantic Treaty was to create a pact of mutual assistance in 1949 to counter the risk that the Soviet Union would seek to extend its control of Eastern Europe to other parts of the continent. From looking at the current situation it

does not look like they have done went through metamorphosis to a good job so far. become known as NATO-Russia Council (NRC) a forum for They wanted to protect themselves consultation on security issues and from the Soviet Union and other cooperation. countries that are not members Today we witness Russia raining of NATO. There is nothing in utter destruction on property and the treaty relating to coming to infrastructure, laying waste to collective defence of non-NATO Ukrainian cities, killing many countries. It was a treaty that did Ukrainian soldiers, women, and not take into consideration the children, and displacing so many safety or protection of non-NATO more. This is not the first time countries.

Ukraine has been attacked by Russia. In April 2014 following Russia became a partner of North Russia’s March 2014 waged Atlantic Cooperation Council in aggression against Ukraine and 1991, after the end of cold war illegal annexation of Crimea, and the dissolution of the Soviet NATO suspended all practical Union, through the North Atlantic civilian and military cooperation Cooperation Council which later with Russia.

The Annexation of Crimea was the start of more to come. Putin’s move to annexe Crimea may have been a very bad move but must have been borne out of fear of a threat that NATO was planning further expansion near the borders of Russia. It must have been Putin’s way of shoring up the borders of Russia. It is no hidden secret that Putin was very unhappy over the demise of the USSR so it would not be surprising to see him trying to regain lost territory, although it does not make it right for him to do it.

NATO had little or no power dealing with Putin, and this is where the problem lies.

NATO’s treaty says nothing about dealing with an incalcitrant non-NATO country or state that

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INTERNATIONAL SCENE attacks another non-NATO country or state. With no known agreed dictates what action could NATO take in such situations? NATO was and still is unable to take decisive action to bring the incalcitrant state to heel.

All NATO could do then in 2014 was to suspend Russia as a partner but keep open the channels of political and military communication, but even though the doors were left open, it did not stop Russia invading and attacking Ukraine in February 2022, 8 years after its first invasion.

It has not stopped Putin from raining bombs down on Ukraine, its citizens of all ages, smashing its infrastructure, killing, and murdering people, displacing more than two million others and continue shattering Ukraine to nothingness.

And the whole world stands by but can do little to assist Ukraine against the might of Russia’s War Machine - Putin. With control of the skies, he is at liberty to shower bombs and missile upon Ukraine without any deterrent. He is a t liberty to enlist mercenaries to compliment his washedout soldiers. In fact, he is allowed to do anything he wishes because he knows no one will

come to Ukraine’s aid as far as airborne missiles and bombs are concerned, Putin knows he is in control as the western bloc and the rest of the world know he is such a despotic who will have no qualms tinkling with the nuclear button or biological weapons but no one wants a nuclear or biological war. So, the double-edged sword prevails as much as it can be used to defend non-NATO states from attacking any NATO member state, it can also be used against NATO by a calcitrant non-NATO state who has a wicked and care less dictator as its head.

We should also be mindful that one stray bomb or bullet into a NATO member country can trigger off World War 3 because there will be retaliation as the western block will take it as a direct declaration of war and this time it won’t be the case of going to war over a slip of paper

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INTERNATIONAL SCENE that bombing and attack on Ukraine can stop and the world can gradually get back to normalcy.

The time when NATO should have played tough and welded a one edge sword has long passed. Now NATO leaders only have a two edged sword so they need to talk to Putin and be prepared to arrive at a favourable conclusion so this mad war can stop. There is no need for a body that cannot control the whole world for peace to reign.

but over a stray bullet.

What is the way forward? It is obvious meetings and consultations with NATO member state ministers is achieving nothing except Ukraine being laid to waste by Russian bombs and fighting power. Surely, we do not want this for Ukraine. Apart from a non-fly sky over Ukraine, which no one wants to okay except the Ukrainians, the only real way forward is for the President of USA and the Prime Minister of UK sharing a joint telephone conference with Putin and arriving at a favourable conclusion so

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NATO now needs to go back to the drawing board and rectify things by rewriting its treaty in favour of the world, not just for member states so that such a situation can never arise again. We are living in a different word from the 1949’s so a new treaty needs to be drawn up to govern the world. Really there is nothing wrong having more than one bloc where the leaders of each bloc have annual or bi-annual meetings to resolve bloc issues. The focus here should be world peace so a joint bloc agreement should be that no member of any bloc should wage war on any other country of the world. This means that each country should be a member of one bloc.

That could be the start of world peace and corporation because without this what kind of world are we leaving for our leaders of tomorrow? Let peace reign in Ukraine and the world.

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