By McPhilips Nwachukwu
ABUJA—The Brazilian government is to translate the works of two prominent Nigerian writers, Prof. Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Adichie, into Portuguese and other international languages to honour Nigeria on the celebration of her 50th independence anniversary.

Brazilian Ambassador to Nigeria, Ms. Anna Perez, who disclosed this at the four-day international colloquium organised by the Centre for Black African Arts and Civilisation, CBAAC, in Abuja yesterday, also said Nigerian culture, in the  form of literature and other forms of writing, have long permeated the Brazilian society.

The works so published are : classic novels:, Things Fall Apart and Half of the Yellow Sun, works that have won international acclaims and have succeeded in telling the African story.

She commended Nigerian writers for being consistent and being some of the best in the world.

Perez said: “Since Nigeria gave Nobel laureate to the world in the person of Prof. Wole Soyinka, the world, particularly the Brazilian community, has come to recognize Nigerian writers far and above the rest.”

This according to her “is so because Brazil has the largest number of blacks in Diaspora, making it an African country across the Atlantic.”

Reacting to  the theme  of the conference, which is “ Global Africans, Pan Africanism, Decolonisation and Integration in Africa: Past, Present and Future,” and organised in conjunction with Pan-African, Strategic and Policy Research Group, PANAFSTRAG, the ambassador said Nigeria remained the basis for which most black Brazilians  judge  the development level in Africa.

In his own response, Gen.  Isola Williams Rtd of PANAFSTRAG said  for Africa to develop and make meaningful impact in world affairs, the total concept of Pan-Africanism has to be redefined. He cited culture and language as basic components for meaningful development in Africa.

To him, the examples of Japan, China and other Asian Tigers suffice in this case.

According to the Gen. Ishola, who is a Pan-Africanist of no mean stature, “Pan-Africanism started in 1900s’ with the ideas espoused by the likes of W.E.B. Dubuios, who said that for Africans to make progress, they must think home.

It is not ideologies that matter, but ideas that must translate into strong economic base for the generality of Africans. But now, the ideas of the founding fathers of Pan-Africanism are already going moribund, therefore, like the Asian Tigers, Africans must go back to their languages and cultures to be able to reinvent themselves.”

He regretted that colonialism has taken away his language and that it is unfortunate that he was addressing epoch-making gathering in a foreign language. “How unfortunate .“ He said.

For Africa to move ahead, he said “we will need to rebuild ourselves with political, historical, cultural, linguistic and other local values imbedded in African tradition. This is the only way we can reinvent ourselves and make meaningful contributions to the affairs of the world.

In his keynote address, South African-based Ghanaian scholar, Prof. Kwesi Prah, challenged all African leaders and societies  to rise up to the challenges of the new millennium. He made references to the efforts of the African founding fathers in the persons of Leopold Sedar Senghor of Senegal, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Obafemi Awolowo of Nigeria and others, who stood against the tyranny of the West, using African ideas and ideals to get us where we are today.

“Of what needs are these efforts if the current African leaders cannot continue in the same spirit and make Africa measure up with the rest of the world.” To him, the problem is not globalization but what Africans can gain from it using their Diaspora to attain the best height world over.

“Other societies have done it, borrowing extensively from here and there and why not Africa”, he asked., surveying the audience with keen interest and attention.
Prah, who is known for his unrelenting Pan-Africanist views world-wide, expressed the fear that African society might not make it if she refuses to face the challenges of today and tomorrow.

In his address, Prof. Tunde Babawale of CBAAC made a strong point for the unity of Africans using the spirit of Pan-Africanism for the unity of all. “My expectation at the end of this colloquium is that we use it as a sustainable platform to recreate Africans and help the Diaspora to further the course of Pan-Africanism.

The Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Alhaji Abubakar S. Mohammed, however, commended CBAAC for its tireless effort in bringing to the fore, the cultural issues that unite Africans everywhere in the world.

Nigeria, he said, must continue in that spirit, especially this year many of African countries are celebrating their golden jubilee.