Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday at the Diaspora Festival at Badagry said despite the challenge of slavery, black man still stand.
The governor was represented at the grand finale of the event by the Secretary to the state government, Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin.
Sanwo-Olu said it is a thing of joy seeing our brothers back home to their motherland.
“I welcome our brothers from diaspora led by Dr. Julius Garvey. We are glad that you are back home. We welcome you to do Badagry, we welcome you to Lagos. We celebrate the resilience, enterprise of the black man.” Despite the challenge of slavery, he observed the black man stands tall.
“After centuries of Trans-Atlantic slave exploitation we are happy seeing African descendants who are back and described it as a new dawn of renewed hope and freedom. Your welcome is symbolic.In technology, creative arts, music, entertainment, the black man is recognized. We thank God that our past has not put us in the past. We have built nations, we are committed to building a better world.
“We are going to provide land where diaspora palace would be built, where every son’s and daughters of African will have a room to themselves, bring your wealth of experience to bear in your return home.”
On her part, The Chairman, Nigerian Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa disclosed, the initiative started in 2017. She added, “the Diaspora Festival celebrates the identity culture, history, heritage and tradition of a given people in a given destination usually in the primordial homeland at a given period.
Diaspora Festival aggregates the tangible and intangible cultural resources as expressed in the history, artifacts, monuments, places of memory, religion, topographical attraction and environmental ambiance of the homeland as an instigator for homeland nostalgia or pull factors for the diaspora temporal or permanent return.
She said some of the returnees are coming from the first time, she revealed the returnees want to invest in Nigeria and build Diaspora Palace in Badagry.
She further stressed the need for collaboration between the private sector and the government.
The son of the legendary Marcus Garvey and founder Marcus Garvey Institute, Julius Garvey, on his part, who is now the Ajigo of Badagry, expressed happiness with the joy of return, adding it was indeed a long awaited home-coming.He also promised to remain connected and rooted with Badagry.
Meanwhile, Mr Rabbi Kohain Halevi a returnee said his experience so far is exciting, fill with joy how they were being received.
Halevi said returning home from diaspora is a thing of joy for him and others. Adding that, ” there coming is spiritual, nostalgic, emotional and Happy to be home.
“The event needs more spread for other sons and daughters of African in the diaspora can know that such a thing is taking place in Nigeria, and they are invited. Because it’s a spiritual pilgrimage they need to take, because it is many years African-Americans have been separated from their brothers and sisters back home.
“We have about three hundred and fifty millions of African origin that have been displaced by slave trade, so many of them come from this area. It is important for them to know that a festival like this is taking place in Nigeria, more dissemination of Information would help a lot.”
He further said it has been long over due to ask for compensation from the Europeans and the Americans who enslaved Africa’s.
“The west has become enrich from their expectation from Africa and Africans and even the continent, the people must be compensated, there is no argument about that.”
Other returnees include, David Anderson as the Jogbe of Badagry, Queen mother Delois Blakely, correction officer Emery Nelson among others. The returnee where entertain by different cultural troupes.