Post by dansoye1 on Jul 5, 2016 17:46:34 GMT
MP wants African TV, radio stations
LAVENTILLE East/ Morvant MP Adrian Leonce said yesterday he agrees with the renaming of streets in Port-of-Spain to reflect the Yoruba heritage and is also calling for an African television and radio stations.
He was speaking to the media yesterday during the Emancipation Support Committee (ESC) Yoruba Village Drum Festival: In Tribute to the Fathers of the Yoruba Village held at the Village Square at the corner of Piccadilly Street and Old St Joseph Road, Port-of-Spain.
An ESC representative had called for the renaming of the city streets after Yoruba people, and in response Leonce supported the suggestion.
“I would go even further and say we need a radio station and we need a television station because through the media is where a lot more information can be shared and a lot more understanding of what we are doing here can be shared,” he said.
Leonce said culture and sports bring people together and the event was also part of reviving the history and achieving an “elevation of consciousness”.
“And we want to bring that with the youth, so the youth will have a certain level of consciousness so as they grow they understand their history and they understand where they come from and they understand better in terms of behaviour...a certain level of pride will start to come out,” he explained.
Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada, of the ESC, said the event is one of their efforts to bring the community together.
She noted that every year day before Father’s Day they have the drum festival in tribute to the fathers of the community and ancestors. This year they paid special tribute to Junior Noel, one of their master drummers who died last December.
She said the Yoruba village community stretches as far as Morvant and all the way to Belmont East Port-of- Spain and the purpose of the event is to remember that.
Many Yoruba peoples settled in the area in the post-1830 period and after the 1807 ban on the trade in slaves by Great Britain.
Uzoma-Wadada explained they were freed by the British from ships that were bringing in enslaved persons.
“There is not a single street name to help us remember this was a Yoruba village community.
And I think it’s really important to remember the history of our spaces. That’s what gives value to the people of our community - when they understand their history, when they understand where they came from,” she added.
She said there needs to be more symbolism of this in the community so young people could feel more rooted and connected.
She reported that the ESC is advocating for the renaming of streets in the community to reflect the history.
She said in Port-of- Spain, the streets are named after the British and Spanish “and where are the reflections of the African history and this is the area that is most populated by them and they have no symbolism, nothing to remind them of themselves and their history and their value and their worth”.
“And therefore when our young people start to descend into delinquency we have to look at all of these things.
The unseen things are what give value to life and allow people to see the world in a particular way,” she added Uzoma-Wadada said the dream of the ESC is that Government would provide a piece of land where they can build a space of memory and an institute for Africans of Trinidad and Tobago.
She reported that Port-of-Spain Mayor Keron Valentine has indicated an interest in assisting in renaming of the streets because that has to be done through the Port-of-Spain City Corporation (PoSCC).
“He has already indicated that we (the PoSCC) have a heritage committee and we will work together to begin that process as well,” she added.
Acting High Commissioner of Nigeria Ganiyu Adeyemi, who also spoke about the event, said “the major components of the culture are well represented here”. He added, however, the mode of dressing is “a bit westernised” and some of the pronunciation of Yoruba words is not “original” but the drums and the rhythm are the same.
www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,229455.html
LAVENTILLE East/ Morvant MP Adrian Leonce said yesterday he agrees with the renaming of streets in Port-of-Spain to reflect the Yoruba heritage and is also calling for an African television and radio stations.
He was speaking to the media yesterday during the Emancipation Support Committee (ESC) Yoruba Village Drum Festival: In Tribute to the Fathers of the Yoruba Village held at the Village Square at the corner of Piccadilly Street and Old St Joseph Road, Port-of-Spain.
An ESC representative had called for the renaming of the city streets after Yoruba people, and in response Leonce supported the suggestion.
“I would go even further and say we need a radio station and we need a television station because through the media is where a lot more information can be shared and a lot more understanding of what we are doing here can be shared,” he said.
Leonce said culture and sports bring people together and the event was also part of reviving the history and achieving an “elevation of consciousness”.
“And we want to bring that with the youth, so the youth will have a certain level of consciousness so as they grow they understand their history and they understand where they come from and they understand better in terms of behaviour...a certain level of pride will start to come out,” he explained.
Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada, of the ESC, said the event is one of their efforts to bring the community together.
She noted that every year day before Father’s Day they have the drum festival in tribute to the fathers of the community and ancestors. This year they paid special tribute to Junior Noel, one of their master drummers who died last December.
She said the Yoruba village community stretches as far as Morvant and all the way to Belmont East Port-of- Spain and the purpose of the event is to remember that.
Many Yoruba peoples settled in the area in the post-1830 period and after the 1807 ban on the trade in slaves by Great Britain.
Uzoma-Wadada explained they were freed by the British from ships that were bringing in enslaved persons.
“There is not a single street name to help us remember this was a Yoruba village community.
And I think it’s really important to remember the history of our spaces. That’s what gives value to the people of our community - when they understand their history, when they understand where they came from,” she added.
She said there needs to be more symbolism of this in the community so young people could feel more rooted and connected.
She reported that the ESC is advocating for the renaming of streets in the community to reflect the history.
She said in Port-of- Spain, the streets are named after the British and Spanish “and where are the reflections of the African history and this is the area that is most populated by them and they have no symbolism, nothing to remind them of themselves and their history and their value and their worth”.
“And therefore when our young people start to descend into delinquency we have to look at all of these things.
The unseen things are what give value to life and allow people to see the world in a particular way,” she added Uzoma-Wadada said the dream of the ESC is that Government would provide a piece of land where they can build a space of memory and an institute for Africans of Trinidad and Tobago.
She reported that Port-of-Spain Mayor Keron Valentine has indicated an interest in assisting in renaming of the streets because that has to be done through the Port-of-Spain City Corporation (PoSCC).
“He has already indicated that we (the PoSCC) have a heritage committee and we will work together to begin that process as well,” she added.
Acting High Commissioner of Nigeria Ganiyu Adeyemi, who also spoke about the event, said “the major components of the culture are well represented here”. He added, however, the mode of dressing is “a bit westernised” and some of the pronunciation of Yoruba words is not “original” but the drums and the rhythm are the same.
www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,229455.html
