Black mayors and 'boiling stones' in a season of hunger
By Lasisi Olagunju
EVERY taxi driver who picked you asked what brought you to Las Vegas, a beautiful city described as the enjoyment capital of the United States. When you tell him that you were in the city for a conference on the invitation of the National Conference of Black Mayors, he looks at you as some bookish person clearly not fit for the things the city is renowned for. Another would offer to take you out to some massage points where your money decides whether or not you get extra attention in the mode of a strip lap dance. Yet, some others would counsel that you reduce your conference load and go clubbing. Even the organisers of the conference described the city as fabulous! It is! If you are the cynical type, then hit the streets, visit the major and minor hotels in the city and witness the gambling and the serial carousing by almost everybody.
But the conference itself which held between October 21 and 25, 2009 proved to be more intellectually engaging in a manner that belied the sensuous, easy, even "sinful" life of the city. With "Working Together Works " as the agenda, the organizers carefully chose their guests in a manner that suggested that they knew that for the black man to realise his potential in this world of challenges, he must act in such a way that shows the wisdom in working together with the other man.
Apart from the presence of the father of black American civil rights, Rev. Jesse Jackson, there were several other key players in the socio-cultural, political and economic spheres. There was the Vice President of Malawi, Mrs Joyce Banda, who richly exhibited in her speech erudition and bias for the rights of the black woman. Also from Nigeria at the conference were Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and the Chairman of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mrs Farida Waziri as well as a very strong delegation from Adamawa State led by the first Lady, Mrs Murtala Nyako.
Rev Jackson who spoke on A New Era of Civil Rights called for a challenge of the structures of power "and not just the principalities" if the black man must rise beyond the present level in which he has "the freedom" but not "equality." He added that to succeed, the lowly must have "the drama and the funds" to draw attention to his deprivations while advising that although "most of us do not know where the money is nor how to get it," we can at least "learn how to know where it is."
Governor Oyinlola in his speech drew attention to the challenges of development facing African countries with a charge on the blacks in the developing world to work together with their kins in the continent. "That we are here today is an indication of our commitment to partnerships and collaboration for the growth of the economies of our societies. It is also a testimony to our conscious steps at promoting, celebrating, sustaining, preserving and promoting the very rich cultural heritage of the black race. I wish to note with a very special sense of satisfaction that Africans, and indeed black people all over the world are increasingly demonstrating their prowess in various fields of human endeavour, including governance and the management of human and material resources generally."
"I pay special compliments to President Barack Obama and all others who are doing the black race proud by their accomplishments. This aptly demonstrates that intellect and ability to lead a society successfully is not the exclusive preserve of any group of people neither is it determined by colour or race.
"We are in an era of globalization. And for globalization to be meaningful, the developed world must be prepared to assist the developing nations to grow. It is very certain that greater peace could only be witnessed in all parts of the world if the economies of under-developed economies grow remarkably. There is the need for those in the developed world to be more interested in occurrences in our part of the world. I would also enjoin you to avoid stereotypes, which give a distorted image of occurrences in Africa. What you watch and hear on your electronic media does not inform you about those positive occurrences in our society. Time there was, when people here thought we lived on trees!"
He added that the UNESCO backed Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding in Osogbo is an institution established to promote inter-cultural cooperation
"I feel sure that the black race must be encouraged by what is happening in the form of cultural renaissance in our state and country and we look forward to strengthening our mutual cooperation efforts. I would like to emphasize that we have reasonable good plans, vision and mission, which could grow our culture and tourism sector." He announced his government's plan to organize a Conference of Black Nationalities before too long while it would soon commence the process of staging a conference on Slavery and Slave Trade.
Perhaps as an endorsement of this commitment, the Executive Secretary of the Conference of Black Mayors, Ms Vallessa Williams later took the microphone to announce that the next global summit of the group would hold in Nigeria and specifically in Osun State in December 2010 "in appreciation of the good leadership" of the state.
The EFCC boss in her speech also sought to disabuse the minds of the international community on the financial crime situation in Nigeria emphasizing that while her commission had been frontally tackling the menace, it should also be noted that the problem is not country specific.
Vice President Banda of Malawi would rather fight for the African woman while also charging her to refuse to be "bought and bossed." She used her own life as an illustration. She was married out at 21 to a man who "used and misused" her. Although she "had three good children" for the man, she later "got encouraged" to walk out of the marriage against the stand of her society, ("because in Africa, a woman is supposed to endure anything and everything.") She later moved into a new marriage "with a nice, loving man"- a decision that led her to where she is now. She caught the attention of the conference with her assertion that the African woman is a very strong character, one who could touch fire without feeling any pain. "African women don't cry. They don't feel pain. Touching fire is nothing." She was sure that the strength of character of the black woman would continue to fire the engine of growth of the African continent lacing the optimism with the story of the hare who was cooking stone in a season of hunger and who gleefully informed other starving, helpless animals that rushed to her kitchen- "I am not cooking food. I am boiling stones. At least, I am doing something about the situation."
She might not realise it that the organisation of the conference itself was a confirmation of the place of the black woman in the emerging world. Apart from Vallesa Williams who is the Executive Secretary of the organisation, there is Mrs Heather Hudson who actually is the President. There were others too like the African Union Ambassador to the United States, Mrs Amina Ali; Jennie Scott, President, African Trust, Washington DC and Gloria Herndon who played key roles at the conference. Leveraging on the gains of the coming together in Las Vegas, and advancing on the stated goal of the organisation which is to work together to "advance the quality of life for all people," the global body of the organisation, World Summit of Mayors, which is made up of the administrators of local governments in all continents of the world will converge on Osun State in December next year to deliberate on "building bridges of policy between black Mayors of the African Diaspora."
Although, as noted by Hudson and Williams in a joint statement welcoming delegates to the Las Vegas Conference, the world may have not yet "fully tapped into the power" of matching the potential of local governments to promote human and economic development, at least something was being done even if in the mould of "boiling stones in a season of famine."
- Olagunju is the Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser on Media to Osun State Governor
