89th birthday of Bede Okigbo

(Born 29 September 1929, Ojoto, Biafra)

AGRONOMIST, one of Africa’s preeminent agricultural scientists, cousin of economist Pius Okigbo and poet Christopher Okigbo, distinguished head of the Biafra land directorate who works indefatigably to boost food production throughout the country in response to the British and Nigeria Fulani-led state’s expansively monstrous land, sea and aerial siege of the Biafran population (31 March 1967-12 January 1970), unprecedented in African history and the likes of which Africa hasn’t witnessed since, during the Igbo genocide by Anglo-Nigeria when the duo-genocidists murder 3.1 million Igbo people or 25 per cent of their population in this foundational genocide of post-(European)conquest Africa
(Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe)

(Max Roach & Anthony Braxton, “Birth” [personnel: Roach, drums; Braxton, reeds; recorded: Ricordi Studios, Milan, Italy, 7 September 1978])

Twitter @HerbertEkweEkwe

73rd birthday of Anthony Braxton

(Born 4 June 1945, Chicago, US)

ONE of the most prolific composers of his generation with music stretching in multiform genres that he collectively captions “creative music”, multiinstrumentalist, philosopher, academic, chess player

(Dave Holland Quartet, “Conference of the birds” [personnel: Holland, bass; Rivers, reeds, flute; Braxton, reeds, flute; Barry Altschul, percussion, marimba; recorded: {as above}])

(Max Roach & Anthony Braxton, “Birth” [personnel: Roach, drums; Braxton, reeds; recorded: Ricordi Studios, Milan, Italy, 7 September 1978])

Twitter @HerbertEkweEkwe

76th birthday of Walter Rodney

(Born 23 March 1942, Georgetown, Guyana)

ONE OF Africa’s preeminent historians whose A History of the Upper Guinea Coast, 1545-1800 (1970) and How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (1972) are compulsory references in the study of Africa and African peoples worldwide of the past 500 years

(Max Roach & Anthony Braxton, “Birth” [personnel: Roach, drums; Braxton, reeds; recorded: Ricordi Studios, Milan, Italy, 7 September 1978])

Twitter @HerbertEkweEkwe

88th birthday of Bede Okigbo

(Born 29 September 1929, Ojoto, Biafra)

Agronomist, one of Africa’s preeminent agricultural scientists, cousin of economist Pius Okigbo and poet Christopher Okigbo, distinguished head of the Biafra land directorate who works indefatigably to boost food production throughout the country in response to the expansively catastrophic land, sea and aerial siege of the Biafran population (31 March 1967-12 January 1970), unprecedented in African history, during the Igbo genocide by Nigeria and its suzerain state Britain in which 3.1 million Igbo are murdered in this foundational genocide of post-(European)conquest Africa

(Max Roach & Anthony Braxton, “Birth” [personnel: Roach, drums; Braxton, reeds; recorded: Ricordi Studios, Milan, Italy, 7 September 1978])

Twitter @HerbertEkweEkwe

72nd birthday of Anthony Braxton

(Born 4 June 1945, Chicago, US)

One of the most prolific composers of his generation with music stretching in multiform genres that he collectively captions “creative music”, multiinstrumentalist, philosopher, academic, chess player

(Dave Holland Quartet, “Conference of the birds” [personnel: Holland, bass; Rivers, reeds, flute; Braxton, reeds, flute; Barry Altschul, percussion, marimba; recorded: {as above}])

(Max Roach & Anthony Braxton, “Birth” [personnel: Roach, drums; Braxton, reeds; recorded: Ricordi Studios, Milan, Italy, 7 September 1978])

Twitter @HerbertEkweEkwe

Embarking on this beginning in Africa

The Igbo and all other peoples who have lived through the terror of the post-(European)conquest genocide “Berlin-state”  in Africa must abandon it at once to survive and advance towards the construction of higher levels of civilisation. They have no other choice.

Each and every constituent African people or nation (Asante, Baganda, Bakongo,Bambara, Gĩkũyũ, Ibibio, Igbo, Ijo, Luo, Wolof, etc., etc) can build this civilisation outside the existing genocide state of enthralled and degenerative agglomeration. 

Creativity

Let Africa’s constituent peoples or nations unleash a dazzling contest of creativity and progress, a continuing mutual bombardment, sharing, and transformation of ideas and streams of possibilities, akin to what the world has seen in Asia, South America and elsewhere in the world in the past 40 years – not the “Berlin-state”-programmed seasons of mass murdering, pillaging, nihilism ... “Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too. If one says no to the other, let their wing break”. Most surely, now is the time to embark on this beginning for peoples in Africa.

(Max Roach & Anthony Braxton, “Birth” [personnel: Roach, drums; Braxton, reeds; recorded: Ricordi Studios, Milan, Italy, 7 September 1978])

Twitter @HerbertEkweEkwe