In a bid to preserve Africa’s cultural and natural heritage and create awareness, Platform Capital has spearheaded activities to mark the 2021 African World Heritage Day.
In celebration of the 2021 World Heritage Day, an event held every 5th of May as proclaimed by the United Nations, Platform Capital brought together Africans from diverse backgrounds together to create awareness on the benefits of promoting and preserving African cultural heritage.
“Our history is almost forgotten and this is painful,” observes Akintoye Adeoye Akindele, chairman, Platform Capital. “So we at Platform Capital decided to use today to start the conversation of sharing the African heritage, narrative, and story.”
He says Africans can change their future with what they know about their history and what they have learned from it to prepare for the future.
Read Also: Worries as insecurity heightens, takes toll on real estate market
He urged African nations to ensure that their rich and diverse cultural heritage survives and thrives in today’s world.
He highlighted the opportunities and wealth to be gained from the African heritage, noting that despite the continent is blessed with lots of resources people remain its best assets.
“Our population is young and if you can galvanize them and put them together and tool them with the knowledge of where they are coming from will help prepare them for the future,” he said.
Speaking on the expunge of history from the country’s curriculum, he says Nigeria’s heritage and culture can still be preserved as learning has shifted online.
The event, which is the maiden edition, will be held annually and will happen in all the countries where Platform Capital has a presence on the continent, he told our correspondent.
In a presentation on Why Telling Our Own Story Matters, Kolawole Abiola, son of late Moshood Abiola, the former presidential aspirant said African history is the rich and varied highlights of the diverse people who have lived in Africa for more than five million years.
He noted that due to the day-to-day struggles of life, people often fail to appreciate the potential historical impact of the important decision they take such as the people we elect to office and the cause we choose to rally around for civil protest among others sow the seeds of history.
He stated that learning from history helps Africans understand their people, develop a proper appreciation of who they are, learn critical lessons and achieve a sense of place in today’s world.
He urged Africans to tell their own story and not continue to depend on foreigners who never ventured beyond the coastal fringes of Africa they visited to tell their stories.
He added that Africa’s history renaissance is here with the reawakening of the movement championed by African nationalists such as Azikiwe, Kenyatta, Lumumba, Mandela, Nkurmah, Sekou Toure, and Senghor.
“Borrowing from a now popular term ‘Africa Rising’ – Yes Africa is rising indeed. Now let us let the world know from where and how,” Abiola said.
