Monday, June 29, 2009

Bob Marley's Plaque Unveiled In Accra

Nana Rita Marley, widow of reggae icon, Bob Marley, has unveiled a plaque in honour of her husband on the Sankofa Wall at the Diaspora African Forum (DAF) Mission based at the Dubois Centre in Accra.It was a solemn reverential ceremony and Nana Rita said after unveiling the plaque, that the event and the fact that it happened in Ghana, bore a special significance not only to her but to black people everywhere.“This honour means a lot to me and my family. It is something we have lived for. The unity of Africa is very important and Bob always chanted ‘One Love, One Africa.’ Long live Africa.”The Head of the DAF Mission, Ambassador Dr Erieka Bennet also remarked that Rastafarians have contributed significantly to enlightening the world about Pan-Africanism.She praised Bob Marley for his contribution towards uplifting the consciousness of Africans on the continent as well as those in the Diaspora.The Sankofa Wall symbolises the hopes and dreams of Africans in the Diaspora who always wanted to return and link up with their motherland but died before they could come back.Families of such persons who happen to be Ghana, therefore place marble plaques in honour and reverence of their ancestors who have passed on in the West.Bob Marley’s name has been etched in marble on the plaque as Robert Nesta Marley O.M. Behane Selassie. His name is among over forty others of distinguished blacks whose plaques had been laid on the Sankofa Wall at the DAF Mission by direct relatives to mark the return of their spirits to the land of their ancestors.Among the names are Harriet Ross Tubman Davis, a freed slave who helped to free many others and Hon. Marcus Mosiah Garvey who championed a back-to-Africa movement in the New World.A Living Legend Award which was conferred on Nana Rita at this year’s African International Media Summit (AIM) in Adiss Ababa, was officially presented to her by Dr Desta Meghoo at the unveiling ceremony.The Diaspora African Forum Mission is an African Union initiative to facilitate the smooth return of African descendants in the West who wish to return to their motherland.
Source:Graphic

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