June 2005, my best teacher, Professor Okey Ndibe bought me a copy of Envcyclopedia Britanica on request. Years before then, I had scruffled through the resourceful intellectual document and its rich American variant and always wished that the privilege to own a copy was born. Within four weeks of voracious reading, I had defeated the first plan of browsing through.

As I regurgitated the voluminous value and seismic significance of Encyclopedia Britanica to its numerous readers, I felt fulfilled that I owned and read a copy. Then, I pondered the superior inferiority and comprehensive shallowness which characterise all that the book reports on Africa. The splenetic squirming of African ways and zymotic flexuousness of our worthy worth and composition as a people, represent for truth, a fat disfavour to the whole of mankind.

The African clime is a disconsolate intellectual curl dowagers of good had apostatized from relevance. Even as one speeds away from waspishly petulant assessment of those who decouple Africa---and this group includes the team of African looters and their foreign technical advisers and fosterers of disasters, from fair representation, who acridly and deplorably develope our underdevelopment by killing the region's morale in the fallacies that we are pastless---that nothing enchanting had emanated, or will ever spring from the dwellers of our earth, these separatist unifiers increase their desire to put humanity assunder.

What does a citizen of any western world who seeks information on our universities think when he or she discover its largest country boasts only two universities {The University of Lagos and Lagos State University!}? How belittling is it to invidiously assert that some, if not all Africa's nations' economy, history, culture and politics are not worth documenting?

Or is humanity not a disabled geographical cincture without Africa? For how long will permesso de soggiorno of importance be sought to prolong the west's stay in the residence of greatness by litoting Africa and exxagerating their own girth? What icarian impulse! What horrible hubris!

We insist that Africa's total chemistry be incuded in classified compilations, not as an embossment to the frolicsome under-representation of Africa, but also as a resource-base upon which further human glories is possible.

For the reasons of refuting the consistent patois that Africa, as a worthless continent, has no past and the nobility in fully exposing our nature, worths, ways, inspirations, aspirations, instititional features and even weaknesses, which the world shall sturdily study as marginal intellectual estates to all they may know for the education of their unsafe ignorance and the enlightenment of their superficial knowledge---for the enduring stardom of the human family, it is time we wrote an Encyclopedia Africana!

The AfricaTomorrow unit of the Sacrosanct Mankind Forward Movement, SAMAFORM {www.africaservice.com/samaform} - a group dedicated to the survival and happiness of humanity present to the world, Committee on Encyclopedia Africana! This Committee shall comprise legacy-seeking scholars and sacrificial leaders, only Africans, who plan, inspire and act to write Encyclopedia Africana within two years.

Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Ali Mazuri, Niyi Osundare, Femi Osofisan, Farooq Kperogi, George Ayittey, Gani Fawehinmi, Jubril Aminu, Valentine Ojo, Kennedy Emetulu, Okey Ndibe, James Ololo, Lanre Adesuyi, Dennis Brutus, Evelyn Kenanga{Msjoe}, Funso Akere, Ayei Kwe Amah, David Diop, J.P Clark, Theo Vincent, Olu Ogboja, Adebayo Faleti, Akinwumi Isola, Reuben Abati, Femi Falana should be paryt of this Committee. I never contacted any of these before now, but I am confident they will not refuse this call to serve mother Africa!

Each Department at all African Universities should present two representatives each. All Newspapers' editors in Africa. All African leaders and responsible institutions and companies must join in this work.In fact,any body could join, who is confident of his or her scholarly capacities {whether or not he or she is formally schooled} to contribute to Encyclopedia Africana.

To formally join the Committee, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EncyclopedicAfricana You could mail encyclopedicafro@yahoo.com for further enquiries. Membership ends by the 10th October, 2005. The Committee will be organised into tasks as soon as the stipulated time elapses.

It is in the spirit of human upliftment that the greatness of the black race is sought. We who know and love the truth entertain no bias in matters of world's advancement, to which Encyclopedia Africana is destined to contribute.

Early this year, SAMAFORM proposed the compilation of thoughts on various aspects of African life. This collation was conceived as: Revolution And Reconstruction: Words For African Posterity. This would serve as an ideological outline from which our leaders' leadership shall spring.

Unfortunately, no single African scholar wrote any of the given thirty-eight topics which constitute the African Book despite our efforts at making the information available to more than thirty thousand African scholars,home and abroad. This is pathetic even though we are already gradually writing the great book.

This ought not to end that way. Surround and encourage the Encyclopedia Africana with your ideas, skills, prayers, motivations and resources that the world and the African posterity might truly be proud of our inputs as humane scholars. Please, make this known to millions of African scholars known to you.

This task has tough, uncharming challengs I know, but our dedicated faith and endless work will sicken and kill impedements on the path of our honest resolve to bequeath the world another pretty intellectual effect through the continent of Africa.

greatmankind@hotmail.com

© September 2005 By Olawale Oyewumi
Afromerica staff writer

Brother Olawale Oyewumi will be keeping the Black community updated on Education And General World Development. Visit regularly for new information that could help you overcome and make the best of your everyday experiences.

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