African leading minds have called on Africans to be mindful of their
\nrich history, which according to them creates the path towards the
\nsocio-cultural, economic and political development of the continent<\/p>\n
The strong African voices which included Group Chairman, United Bank for
\nAfrica (UBA), Tony Elumelu, Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka; Professor
\nemeritus and authority in Sahelian history, Djibril Tamsir Niane;
\nGhanaian Politician, Samia Nkrumah and Famous Musician, Femi Kuti spoke
\nduring the first edition of UBA\u2019s Africa Conversations, a symposium
\norganised by the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc at the UBA House in
\nLagos, as part of activities marking this year\u2019s Africa Day
\ncelebrations. The theme of the panel session was \u201cAfrica\u2019s History
\nRedefined, Our Past, the Path to the Future\u201d.<\/p>\n
Opening the conversation, the Group Chairman, UBA, Tony Elumelu stated
\n\u2018UBA understands the past- that Africa as a continent has always been
\nunited by the struggle for identity. UBA is a symbol for the development
\nof Africa, for the economic empowerment of our people, the Small and
\nMedium Enterprises as well as the big corporations. Thus, identifying
\nwith Africa and indeed Africa Day is synonymous with who we are as a
\nbank. It presents us the opportunity to remind ourselves, the world and
\nindeed Africa that we owe ourselves the duty of making Africa the
\ncontinent of our dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elumelu added that it is important for Africans to remember history as
\nthis will help prepare for the future. \u2018Our past provides a veritable
\ntool to fashioning the continent\u2019s development, renaissance and economic
\ngrowth\u2019 he emphasized.<\/p>\n
Speaking strongly on the issue, professor Wole Soyinka, who commended
\nUBA\u2019s initiative for opening up discussions on these pressing topics
\ndecried the growing erosion of history from the curriculum in African
\nschools, adding that the lack of knowledge of our past makes children\u2019s
\ngrowth on the continent truncated. \u201cHow can we cope with the modern
\nphenomenon if we do not know the past? We should never forget the
\nimportance of history as it is not just an academic exercise,\u201d he
\nenthused.<\/p>\n
Corroborating Soyinka\u2019s position, Professor Niane opined that
\nreminiscing about Africa\u2019s rich history is important as there is no
\npeople without history. He said, \u201cA lot of work has been done by
\nAfricans and we have to be happy about it. There is the need to continue
\nthe conversation about African unity. Policies\u00a0 have been put in place
\nand our democracy can only get stronger. Peace will reign and Africa
\nwill be reunited. Economic transformation is also important but it is
\nnot the only thing we should concentrate on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samia Nkrumah, the daughter of Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, who commended UBA
\nfor prioritizing African entrepreneurship, called for a renewed attempt
\nat African unity, which according to her, has to be a collective effort
\nof the people.<\/p>\n
Nkrumah said, \u201cAs we work in our individual smaller countries, it will
\nbe easier to achieve more if we work together and complete unification
\ncan only come if we work together; we won\u2019t go anywhere unless we use
\nunity as a political project.\u2019 She added.<\/p>\n
On his part, Femi Kuti emphasized the importance of History, saying \u201cOur
\nchildren need to learn this history so that they can come up and build
\nthe continent. We need everyone \u2013 both boys and girls to work towards
\nthis vision.\u201d<\/p>\n
The UBA Conversations, an initiative of the Pan African financial
\ninstitution, aims at aggregating discussions necessary for the growth
\nand development of the continent. It is being held as part of the
\nactivities to mark the 2019 edition of Africa Day celebrations by the
\nbank.<\/p>\n
With presence in 20 African countries as well as in the United States,
\nFrance and The United Kingdom, UBA\u2019s passion for Africa\u2019s growth is part
\nof who they are.<\/p>\n
The bank is set to continue conversations around these important topics
\nthat are required to galvanize the African economy with the aim of
\nattracting the much needed support that will boost SMEs and support
\nbusiness growth on the continent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
African leading minds have called on Africans to be mindful of their rich history, which according to them creates the path towards the socio-cultural, economic and political development of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":66844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n