The location of the Olympic African Village in front of the Albert Tower at Kensington, London, inspires development and commitment to service
Africa may not have been generally doing well in the sporting events at the London Olympics, but there is something you must give to it. The continent is demonstrating an impressive cultural ‘swagger’ at the African Village. You may say that is our stock in trade, but who knows, cultural panorama may become a competitive product at the Olympics in the future.
The African Village, located at South Kensington, gives a variety of visitors an opportunity to discover the cultural and artistic diversity of the African continent – through the exhibition of historical and cultural objects music, dance, fashion show and theatre. But the location of the village is somehow more symbolic than this. Apart from the fact that the Kensignton area is a particularly posh and sophisticated area, demonstrating British high culture, the village directly faces the Albert Memorial Tower in famous Kensington Gardens,directly to the north of the Royal Albert Hall.
It was inaugurated by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband, Prince Albert who died of typhoid in 1861. The memorial was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic Revival style. In a way, the huge tower exuding an impressive mien and art works is a monument, upon reflection, another kind of wake-up metaphor for Africa, which must step out of primordial tendencies to grab its place in the coven of developed countries. Besides, the Albert Tower should remind all of the importance of commitment to service, especially at the level of leadership, since Prince Albert, to whom the tower is dedicated, had accordingly earned the eternal love of the British people while alive.
Officially titled the Prince Consort National Memorial, it celebrates Victorian achievement and Prince Albert’s passions and interests. Marble figures representing Europe, Asia, Africa and America stand at each corner of the memorial, and higher up are further figures representing manufacture, commerce, agriculture and engineering. Yet further up, near the top, are gilded bronze statues of the angels and virtues. It also carries various symbols of celebrated painters, poets sculptors, musicians and architects, reflecting Albert’s enthusiasm for the arts.
The memorial is 176 feet (54 m) tall, took over ten years to complete, and cost £120,000 (the equivalent of about £10,000,000 in 2010). The cost was met by public subscription.
Described as a man of progressive and relatively liberal ideas, Albert not only led reforms in university education, welfare, the royal finances and slavery, he had a special interest in applying science and art to the manufacturing industry.
Of course, the fervour with which the authorities and the people have continued to maintain the tower and the park is also a challenge to many, especially in Nigeria where such monuments hardly receive sustained attention. The state of a heritage such as the National Theatre, Lagos is a disturbing example here, while the assault suffered by the statute of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in Ibadan, in the hands of political hoodlums, sharply contrasts with that of the Alberts of Great Britain.
But such a reflection apart, the African Village is really celebrating the cultural and tourist strength of African people. As someone has noted, it has brought Africans under one roof as about 15 countries from the four cardinal points of the continent are exhibiting products and spectacles that connect their histories, achievements and aspirations. The richness and diversity of the products on offer has made the village a huge tourist orb visited daily, dawn to dusk, by people from different parts of the world.
While Nigeria has its stand left of the village, countries such as Morocco, Egypt, Gabon, Libya, Botswana, Rwanda, Tunisia and Ethiopia have very impressive presence. Interestingly, Morocco’s house seems to be the most inspiring in terms of its size and value of objects on display.
While a major attraction in Nigeria’s pavilion is a collection of some 24 art works brought in by the National Gallery of Arts, the picture that many have at the mention of ‘Rwanda’ is that of war and famine. But the country is seeking to prove that it has been able to carve a legacy from the ruins. Among the items it is promoting at the village are museums such as the Camp Kigali, which commemorates the massacre of 10 Belgian UN Blue Berets on the first day of the genocide in 1994; the National History Museum, Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre and Remera Heroes Cemetery.
Botswana plays a fast one on other countries by showcasing its Olympic Games team in a special newsletter that has a national outlook. In a cultural setting as the African Village, the orientation of most participants is to load the space with cultural artifacts. While Botswana also does this, it also honours its Olympic team, slamming their photographs and profiles at the face of visitors. Like most other African athletes, the Botswana team has fumbled, but it is good that they are so celebrated.
Among the beautiful literatures also presented by Tunisia, one stands out – one on that borders on the progress the country is making in women liberation. Titled Tunisian Women’s Legal Gains, it documents the seeming breakthrough that laws and codes that have been passed have guaranteed women in terms of sexual status and protection.
In a publication, Egypt announces itself as ‘Egypt, Where it all Begins’. While that sounds like a cute tribute to the country revered as the doyen of civilisation, another major attraction to the African Village is the live music that continually blasts from an ample stage at its other end. In action, for instance, on Saturday evening were two impressive acts – Ibo and Hajjaj. The name of the first may echo that of the Igbo people of Nigeria, but the handsome and sweet singing Ibo has no root with Nigeria. He is a Palestinian while Hajjaj is an Egyptian. The performances of both, built on piercing indigenous instrumentation and their incredibly sweet voices, attracted even British ladies and others from other tribes to the dance floor.
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