Obinna Uchendu Abakaliki
A university don, Prof. Chukwuma Opata, has decried Africa’s failure in retaining its history which cannot be passed unto the present generation and the generation yet unborn.
Prof Opata made the disclosure during the memorial lecture in honour of Late Prof. Catherine Acholonu at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
The memorial lecture was organised by the Catherine Acholonu Centre for African Cultural Sciences and the Department of Tourism Studies (UNN).
He regretted that the failure of Africa to tell the story had made the Western world not only claim civilization but also regard Africans as people without history.
“Human civilization commenced from Africa before moving to Europe and other parts of the world.
Prof Opata maintained that civilization actually started in Igboland insisting that there are facts to prove it.
Opata, who was the guest speaker, described Acholonu as an advocate for Nigerian identity, who ensured that Nigeria’s contributions to civilization were not only remembered but also celebrated.
The Acting Head, Department of Tourism Studies, Dr Chidinma Oguamanam highlighted the significant contributions of Professor Acholonu to the understanding of the Igbo people and their cultural heritage.
Oguamanam pointed out that Acholonu was a visionary scholar whose research challenged traditional narratives and provided new insights into Igbo history.
Also, the daughter of the late professor, Barr. Ifunanya Acholonu said the perception of Black Africa by western scholarship as dark, dormant, without history or civilization had always rankled her mother, who was fascinated by the Black African identity.
She maintained that though her mother was not a historian but a scholar of literature, African literary studies and linguistics, she felt the pressure to engage in her own research and discover for herself the true story of Africa to find out whether or not Africa played a role in the history of mankind and civilization.
“She discovered that prehistoric Igbos influenced world civilization and gave humanity writings, language, belief systems, knowledge, culture, and wisdom.
“More so, when other Nigerian and foreign scholars had not suspected that the symbols on the monoliths were a form of writing, Prof Acholonu was the first to make that discovery.
“After 11 years of research, she stumbled on what she called a library of ancient stone inscriptions, consisting of Monoliths called Ikom Monoliths, numbering about 350 in Ikom’s neighbouring villages.”
Ms Ifunanya said her mother noticed the enigmatic writings on them, consisting of geometric and astrological symbols which were also found on Igbo Ukwu artefacts.
“Her findings were covered in four books tagged the African Renaissance Series, through which she called for a reconstruction of the truth of the pre-history of Black African Indigenous People.
