Israel Adesanya: African children Ambassador
15 April 2023 By Abiodun Kareem Giwa
Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya has become a global phenomenon as a boxer and the current UFC title holder. He has traveled a long distance in life's journey to get there. However, he still remembers essential lessons taught to him by his parents despite his achievements. He has popularized prostration, an act of greeting elders by younger people in some parts of Africa. It is a cultural act taught to children as they grow up, making him an African children's ambassador.
The pugilist has brought a new dimension to the popularization of African culture since the publication of a novel called African Child by Camara Laye. He has also destroyed the belief that various African governments must spend millions of dollars, as witnessed in Dakar in 1966 and Nigeria in 1977, propagating the African culture.
People may argue there was no internet during the Black Arts festivals in Dakar and Lagos, but the fact remains that the people are the best sources of expounding the culture. The enslaved, who brought jazz music to the Americas journeying on the sea to their new destinations, did before the internet. The internet ended an era when traveling was believed as part of education.
People no longer travel to learn about the culture in other lands. A simple search on the net will render more than necessary information to those in need, just as a simple act by Adesanya has shown on the net to the world how Africans bring up their children to respect elders.
Not all African children learn this way, as the practice also depends on the tribe where the child comes from. But, of course, no tribe teaches children to disrespect elders, just as the new religions suppressing the African culture recommend stricter respect for elders. It brings us to literature such as Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, written at the arrival of the Christian religion in Africa, and the follow-up, No Longer At Ease, and Ayi Kwei Armah's The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born.
Did things fall apart with the coming of the Christain religion, with life no longer as it should be? Have the beautiful ones not been born? The truth is that no one culture is entirely perfect. Nevertheless, Christianity succeeded in stamping out some evil aspects of African culture while the good ones survived.
The chroniclers of the Bible ensured none of the bad parts of life in areas where Christianity emanated entered the excellent book. That is sound editing. A good example is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ turned into a positive outcome. That culture, if it still exists, is violent and evil. It is one of the reasons readers respect and adore Christ. Killing the good man and allowing a robber to live is vicious.
Let us return to Adesanya's act of respect for elders and his love for his home country. Aside from the prostration, he taught that human life is like a river, and no one must ever forget their source. Barack Obama was in Kenya on a state visit in remembrance of his father's homeland and the good that emanated from the sojourn in a foreign land. Joe Biden has done the same, showing that West or East, home is home, and forgetting one's home is like a river that has gone dry. We are all beautiful. The beauty will shine when the violence in our lives is rooted out.
The lesson must come from a home where parents impart acceptable ways of life. Hoping Israel will impart the same to his children. The credit for Adesanya's respect also goes to his parents.
The pugilist has brought a new dimension to the popularization of African culture since the publication of a novel called African Child by Camara Laye. He has also destroyed the belief that various African governments must spend millions of dollars, as witnessed in Dakar in 1966 and Nigeria in 1977, propagating the African culture.
People may argue there was no internet during the Black Arts festivals in Dakar and Lagos, but the fact remains that the people are the best sources of expounding the culture. The enslaved, who brought jazz music to the Americas journeying on the sea to their new destinations, did before the internet. The internet ended an era when traveling was believed as part of education.
People no longer travel to learn about the culture in other lands. A simple search on the net will render more than necessary information to those in need, just as a simple act by Adesanya has shown on the net to the world how Africans bring up their children to respect elders.
Not all African children learn this way, as the practice also depends on the tribe where the child comes from. But, of course, no tribe teaches children to disrespect elders, just as the new religions suppressing the African culture recommend stricter respect for elders. It brings us to literature such as Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, written at the arrival of the Christian religion in Africa, and the follow-up, No Longer At Ease, and Ayi Kwei Armah's The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born.
Did things fall apart with the coming of the Christain religion, with life no longer as it should be? Have the beautiful ones not been born? The truth is that no one culture is entirely perfect. Nevertheless, Christianity succeeded in stamping out some evil aspects of African culture while the good ones survived.
The chroniclers of the Bible ensured none of the bad parts of life in areas where Christianity emanated entered the excellent book. That is sound editing. A good example is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ turned into a positive outcome. That culture, if it still exists, is violent and evil. It is one of the reasons readers respect and adore Christ. Killing the good man and allowing a robber to live is vicious.
Let us return to Adesanya's act of respect for elders and his love for his home country. Aside from the prostration, he taught that human life is like a river, and no one must ever forget their source. Barack Obama was in Kenya on a state visit in remembrance of his father's homeland and the good that emanated from the sojourn in a foreign land. Joe Biden has done the same, showing that West or East, home is home, and forgetting one's home is like a river that has gone dry. We are all beautiful. The beauty will shine when the violence in our lives is rooted out.
The lesson must come from a home where parents impart acceptable ways of life. Hoping Israel will impart the same to his children. The credit for Adesanya's respect also goes to his parents.
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