The President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu has thrown his weight behind the ‘Heritage Voyage of Return,’ an initiative aimed at reuniting Afro-descendants with their African roots, saying the programme will not only re-awaken the historical awareness of society by bringing back memories of what happened many years ago but will also create economic benefits.
According to a statement issued yesterday by his Media Adviser, Ajuri Ngelale, the President spoke when he played host to a delegation from Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, along with the initiators of the project, at the State House, Abuja.
Tinubu said: ‘Reconnecting Afro-Brazilians with their African roots will be an iconic project that will rekindle our past and light up the spirit of our ancestors. It will re-awaken memories of what happened many years ago. And it is a good thing that this is coming now at a time when we are working on expanding the frontiers of freedom and democracy in Africa’.
While thanking Professor Soyinka for supporting the initiative and for his commitment and patriotism over the years, President Tinubu emphasised that the project would also come with economic benefits that must be leveraged, noting that, ‘this is an important project that must be pursued.’
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The delegation’s head, Professor Wale Adeniran, stated earlier in his statement that the project’s beginnings can be traced to the start of the Lagos Black Heritage Festival.
According to him: ‘Because this is an identical project, the initiators of the Heritage Voyage of Return discussed the plan with Professor Soyinka, who also endorsed it.’
Adeniran described the Heritage Voyage of Return as a historic maritime journey that will begin in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, making stops at various African nations and terminating in Lagos.
He said the team had come to seek President Tinubu’s endorsement and for him to formally invite the Afro-descendants from Brazil home.
Other members of the delegation are Carolina Maira Morais, a Brazilian, and Ajoyemi Olabisi Osunleye, a Nigerian.
Also speaking, Morais noted that there are around 126 million Afro-descendants in Brazil, stating that the project would be integrating the two nations.