You
may find this incredible, but Igbo and Yoruba languages are widely
spoken in the Caribbean Islands. And the speakers are not Nigerians
living in those countries. Indigenes of the Caribbean Islands speak Igbo
and Yoruba.
It might be different from the Yoruba or Igbo that many Nigerians
speak today, but a foremost entertainer and music maestro, Tar Ukoh,
says many people in the area speak Igbo and Yoruba of the 13th century.
Till now he says, the Yorubas still play and enjoy their traditional
Yoruba songs, while the Igbos feature their nmanwu, agaba and ekpe
masquerades. Ukoh, known in the entertainment world as Mambisa, made
this revelation while on a guided tour with a group of Cuban ladies
mostly of Yoruba ancestry now in the country.
They are part of the Cuban troupe searching for the place their
ancestors once lived and called their own before they were brutally
uprooted by slave raiders and merchants and whisked to sugar plantations
in the Caribbean Islands. “This group you are seeing here consists of
Yoruba ladies from Cuba.
They are here searching for their ancestral home. They are asking,
Ile mi da (where is my home)? And don’t forget that out there in the
Caribbean, there are countless Igbos too who still speak their language,
feature in agaba, ekpe and nmanwu masquerades. From those masquerades,
they fashioned out a brand of music they call Wawanco. Their ancestors
too were the exponents of the popular Calypso music which is an
adulteration of Ka anyi soo nmanwu (let’s join the masquerade troupe).
They also play another brand of music called Abakwua to remember
Abata, a point in Ogoja axis in Cross River through which slaves were
taken. Slaves who went through that route were then given numbers such
as Abata 1, 2… to identify them.” Now, Ukoh is demanding that those
routes and other historical sites like the Long Juju of Arochukwu be
revitalised.
He says if that is done, it will boost historical tourism which can
become an alternative source of revenue to oil. He is therefore advising
that Nigeria should take a cue from countries like Ghana and Senegal
that are bountifully reaping from the industry, adding that annually,
thousands of tourists stream into both countries to see the Elmina Caste
and the House of Slaves on Goree Island respectively where slaves in
the 18th century were hounded before their final shipment abroad.
Ukoh who holds citizenships of Cuba and Ethiopia says he is still
regretting the alleged Nigeria’s rejection of United Nations Education
and Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)’s request that slave
routes from Isikwuato, Abriba, Arochukwu to Opobo be revitalised to
serve as a world heritage site.
“Some time ago, UNESCO approached Nigeria, wanting those routes along
which slaves were taken to Opobo be revitalised as a UNESCO project,
but Nigeria turned down the request. Countries like Ghana and Senegal
then picked the initiative, and now they are making fortune from the
project. That is what I’m appealing to Governor Theodore Orji of Abia
State to act on. If he could re-establish the Long juju of Arochukwu,
the Isikwuato – Abriba slave trade routes, then he can collaborate with
Akwa Ibom State to develop the Jaja of Opobo enclave,” he said. Ukoh,
who facilitated the coming of the Cuban delegation, told Daily Sun that
he was very excited at the collaboration. Describing himself as a
Nigerian cultural ambassador, he said he takes much pleasure in
marketing Nigeria and Africa to the entire world. “I’m the facilitator
and co-ordinator of the project. I brought this cultural troupe to
Nigeria.
I’m a citizen of Cuba, by the way. I have been working with Cuba for
the past 30 years. What you are seeing today is just an extension of the
programme I have been doing in that country. “The Cubans arrived here
in August and featured in the Osun Osogbo Festival. And since then, they
have been touring the country. They will round off their tour after
visiting 16 states.” The essence of the tour, he says “is to develop
Nigerian-Cuba tie.
Their aim is to promote their Yoruba heritage in Cuba here in
Nigeria.”He expressed happiness that “the response we are getting is
fantastic. We go to the villages for them to see things for themselves.
What we are doing at the moment is part of the initiative to promote
Nigerian – Cuban diplomatic relations.” Ukoh, a multi-linguist from
Benue State, says he prides himself as Nigerian, Ethiopian and African
cultural ambassador. “I represent Ethiopia in Nigeria.
I’m a pan Africanist because I promote Ethiopian culture in Africa
and they see me as their son and that is important to me. In the same
way, I’m Nigeria’s cultural ambassador and I see myself as so. That is
what I do all over the world. Nigeria gives me that job, that
recognition and that is why I’m bringing the Cubans to tour the country.
I do that without much help. I don’t need any payment to do that; I see
that as my duty.”
He said he works with the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism
because “they recognise my job all over the world, especially in Africa.
So when I bring in programmes, they accept them and often we
collaborate. When they have programmes and want to reach out to those
countries where they feel I have influence, they always encourage me to
have collaboration with them.” He noted that it had become necessary for
him to market culture because “culture is everything to me. Without
culture, everything is lost. Technology is culture; the food we eat is
culture, even understanding how to look after our environment is
culture.
Therefore culture is important to our existence. It is not all about
singing and dancing; it is the totality of our existence.” The Cuban
troupe to Nigeria consists of a team leader, Comrade Karina Palaciuos, a
manager and a television journalist said to be the best in Cuba, (both
of them males) and then seven women whose ages averaged 25 years. The
group has been around since August, 24 2012, when this year’s edition of
Osun Osogbo was held. Guided by Ukoh, the group has since been touring
some states in the country, interacting with the people and getting used
to the Nigerian way of life. The group called Obirin Bata (Women
playing the Bata drum, in Yoruba) was at the last Osun Osogbo Festival,
drumming and dancing, wining and dining.
Looking at the women, nothing suggests that they are Nigerians, let
alone Yoruba. Most of them look alike, except the troupe leader, Comrade
Palacious. However, in their midst is a Fulani lady whose look is
totally Fulani. All but Comrade Palacious speak Spanish; but they claim
to speak Yoruba of the 13th century which might be lost to today’s
speakers of the language. “We are here in Nigeria at the instance of the
Ministry of Culture of Cuba and Ministry of Culture, Orientation and
Tourism of Nigeria,” says Comrade Palacious. “We signed an agreement to
develop cultural interaction. We are bringing our culture back to our
motherland Africa. So we are back to our roots. Our mission here is to
visit different states and see as many places as possible.
“We are excited to be back to our roots. We have been to Osun Osogbo
Festival and participated in the international event. We were at the
Osun River; we shared with the people in all that they did. In Cuba, we
observe the same tradition like the Osun Osogbo. Our cultural troupe is
called Obirin Bata which I’m told translates to women playing the drum.
“We are very excited to be here. Let me tell you, our country was once a
colony of Spain. When the Spanish arrived Cuba, majority of the local
Cubans had died and disappeared. Then slaves from Africa started
arriving, most of them coming from the Yoruba speaking people of
Nigeria.
That is why when you get to streets in Cuba, you see Yoruba speaking
people. Now 500 years after, we are back here. “Indeed, I like this
cultural visit. With the help of the Ministry of Culture of both
countries, I look forward to seeing that a cultural exchange programme
between Cuba and Nigeria is implemented. We would like to see Nigerians
go to Cuba and have a rewarding experience just as we are having here,”
she added.
DailyPost
The
visionary and founder of the House on the Rock Church, Pastor Paul
Adefarasin, this morning shared with members of his congregation how he
escaped accident yesterday. The very articulate and dapper man of God,
said he was on his way to the Lagos Airport, to catch a flight to Warri,
where he was to attend the birthday/40th anniversary of Pentecostal
Fellowship of Nigeria President, Pastor Ayo Oristejafor.
