Yinka Olatunbosun
The access to information on African history and heritage has been heightened by the introduction of the African Cultural Learning Centre by the Correct Connect Africa Foundation CCAF.
The Centre is said to be loaded with rare archival materials. During an official launch of the centre, the General Coordinator of Correct Connect Africa Foundation CCAF, Rev. Father Anthony Aleakwe Odior said that the high level of decadence and trivialization of African culture and loss of identity informed his decision to open the centre where people can come to learn about African histories and heritages.
The Catholic Priest of the Salesians of Don Bosco, stated this recently at the event which coincided with the launch of the 4th edition of Sankofa Youth Journal in Lagos. He said the Centre is opened to schools and individuals who want to know about their roots.
In his remarks on Christain perceptions on culture, he said: “Culture and religion are not two separate things, they are together. It’s just that we have gotten it wrong from the beginning there by, when the missionaries first came they were not able to relate with our culture. “They do not understand the culture of the people. Unfortunately, many saw our culture as demonic, as something that does not have anything to do with Christain religion”.
“CCAF is actually helping us to go back to our cultures. Because values are human values, they are not Christian values, they are not Islamic values. Because humans lived before these religions came in. Christianity came and saw these values, imbibe these values, reproposed it. There is no dichotomy at all,” he stated.
The priest also noted that CCAF is out to create a social consciousness of who we are as Africans. The solution to our challenges lies within us, it is never far away.
“It’s actually supposed to boost who they are as Africans, their identity, about their ancestors, about people that have gone this path before them and all they did. And they will use that information to better themselves.
“The Sankofa Youth Journal is one of the many media for our type of education. Simple and easy to read. It is fashioned to encourage a reading culture among young people,” he stated.
