A wave of fury and disappointment has swept across Africa following the last-minute cancellation of “Igniting the Voices of Africa,” a highly anticipated Pan-African event hosted by the New Africa Foundation. Scheduled for Sunday, January 7, 2024, at Ghana’s iconic Black Star Square in Accra, the country’s capital, the event drew in a mammoth crowd eager to hear prominent African voices like Professor P.L.O. Lumumba of Kenya and Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao of Zimbabwe.
However, just a few hours before the commencement of the ‘Igniting the Voices of Africa’ programme, word spread like wildfire that it had been abruptly canceled by the Ghanaian government. This unexpected turn of events sparked outrage and accusations of political censorship, leaving attendees, speakers, and organizers alike in shock and disillusionment.
“This is a blatant abuse of power and a grave disservice to the Pan-African spirit,” Bright Enabulele, also known as Chief Nana Obudadzie Oduwa I, stated, reacting to the development. “People were there only to engage in dialogue, to share ideas, and to ignite a flame of unity and progress across Africa. To silence these voices at the eleventh hour is an act of cowardice and a betrayal of the very values we stand for.”
Also displeased with the event’s cancelation, Chihombori-Quao, at a hastily arranged press conference, told journalists that the development sends a chilling message across the continent.
While noting that she was there alongside other pan-Africanists to discuss the progress of the continent and share a message of hope and resilience, Chihombori-Quao maintained that the event cancelation demonstrates a fear of open discourse, a fear of the power of the people’s voices to challenge the status quo.
Her words, ”The New Africa Foundation specifically requested us to come and address African youth, starting with those in Ghana. The youth came to this event from different countries in Africa to hear the message of empowerment, our future, about our miseducation of not only our youth but as Africans. The message of empowering our children and letting them know that now is the time for us to do what we must do to take Africa back.
”For far too long, we have been miseducated, and misled.. we understand that we have failed our youth, but we do have the responsibility to make it right, and we know that with our wisdom, energy, and intelligence of our youth together, we know that we can take our Africa to a new direction. That is what the New Africa Foundation has asked us to do. We know that our leaders cannot lead us just on their own, they need all of us. The message we were going to deliver to our youth today was the message of hope and resilience, and the one that says that the Africa that we want can only be built by us, and for us to succeed and do so, we must be united.
”The African youth are the future of our continent. Without them, there is no future for Africa.”
Echoing Chihombori-Quao’s sentiment, Prof P. L. O Lumumba from Kenya expressed his disappointment, saying that 67 years after Kwame Nkrumah declared that Ghana’s independence meant nothing until Africa was indeed free.
‘‘We came to Accra, Ghana to share the message of hope. The message Africa needs at this time, and there is no better place than this place. It is this same place that Nkrumah told the world almost 67 years ago the independence of Ghana meant nothing if the continent of Africa was not free. 67 years later, we were denied congregating here in Accra in the same place to spread the innocent message of hope. I do not doubt in my mind that some elements orchestrated this cancelation,” Lumumba added.
