Abuja – The President, African Revolutionary Movement, Alhaji Yahaya Ndu, says African Cultural Renaissance campaign will promote Pan-Africanism and cultural renewal.
Ndu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday that the campaign would also reinforce a sense of identity as well as preserve Africa’s rich cultural practices.
“Africa is in serious need of cultural renaissance. Take a critical look at the African society, the average African youth today loathes himself, does anything and everything humanly possible to be someone else’’.
“The womenfolk for instance, the average African lady would go extra length to appear to be anything but African.
“Almost every street in every African township is dotted with so called beauty salons, where the womenfolk spend most of their time fixing false hair and nails.
“They also learn how to bleach their bodies and practice how to speak and sound unAfrican.’’
Ndu, who is also a tourism consultant, said the African of today derides the traditions and cultures of his ancestors.
“And this is why Africans struggle continually to embrace western ways of life, just as they struggle to take citizenships of western nations.
“Even the honoured African culture of chastity and moral rectitude, has been jettisoned while prostitution and promiscuity have become fashionable.
“Respect for elders is at a steady decline all over Africa and generally Africans are behaving as people without culture, tradition, history, or heritage.
“African culture as we all know, suffered a great deal of discontinuity in its transmission to succeeding generations under colonial rule,’’ he said.
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Ndu noted that the cultural renaissance concept was targeted at the African people to hold on to their identity and overcome the current challenges confronting the continent.
According to him, it is also for Africans to achieve cultural, scientific, and economic renewal.
“It is a philosophical and political movement to end violence, elitism, corruption, and injustice.
“Africa has been strenuously striving to realise the avowed goal of integration to build sustainable peace and overcome poverty and injustice.
“In spite of the progress achieved, Africa continues to face many socio-economic challenges and conflicts which hamper progression towards the African renaissance.’’
He said culture was critical to the healthy development of any society because it was the totality of the way of life of a given people.
“Promotion of African cultural values including African languages is a must so that their potential is explored and used to the maximum effect in order to reinforce a sense of identity among Africans.
Ndu said Africa must ensure the preservation of the continent’s rich cultural practices, while also campaigning against harmful traditional practices.
He said that for cultural renaissance campaign in Africa to make practical sense, it must begin with the processes of living and acting in consonance with the cultural essence of Africans as a people. (NAN)
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