The AfricaPaper

By James Kokulo Fasuekoi | The AfricaPaper

Roseville, Minn – Artists from the West African state of Liberia residing in the U.S., say they will soon begin legal process aimed to recover their country’s National Cultural Shrine – Kendeja sold to US billionaire eight years ago. Kendeja was sold to Robert L. Johnson, by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s government in 2008.

Petition

Announcing the move at the Concordia Academy in Roseville, Minn. recently after a cultural festival, Francis Nimely Vinney Napla, Artistic Director for the Liberian National Cultural Ambassadors of America Inc, said his group will start the the process by filing a petition against Johnson-Sirleaf’s government .

In case the recovery doesn’t materialize under the current regime, Napla said, the LNCA intends to push the petition when a new administration takes over. At the same time he maintained, LNCA will continue its advocacy for the protection and preservation of Liberian cultural values.

His group he noted would plead with any incoming government of the country to find a more suitable site for the national ballet dance troupe to stay.

Napla’s announcement was greeted with wild applause from the audience of largely Liberians, Americans, as well as nationals from other African countries.

‘No National Cultural Troupe’

“We have no National Troupe right now; everything died. Everything [about culture] in Liberia is what you see on this stage right here,” said Napla, a sensational “Wula” dancer and onetime stage director for the National Cultural Troupe.

Wula, often referred to as “signed dance” is a unique male-dance of the Gola ethnic group of Liberia, and must be mastered by men graduating from the Poro (Polor) college. Napla, a Krao [Kru], joined the Polor in Behsao village, west of the capital when he was still a boy dancing for the Liberia National Cultural Troupe (LNCT). He later became director for “Tennego,” the junior national troupe of Liberia.

Kendeja is No More

“From 1960, people who were in Liberia know a place call Kendeja…where they had the Liberia national dance company. They [GOL] sold that place to a man from this country [United States] called Bob Johnson,” said Napla. His statement caused outrage and endless murmuring in the audience and it seems as though the sale of Kendeja had happened yesterday or that many were not yet aware.

“Do you think the United States can sell a historical place [in the US] to an African to come and build a hotel here?” He asked.

In response, spectators said “No” in unison, amid boos! “That is what happened to Liberia…they sold it [Kendeja] to Bob Johnson from BET and today our national historical place is transformed into a hotel resort. They [GOL] forgot about the arts,” lamented Napla.

Minister Defends Sale

It appears Napla’s comments didn’t sit well with Liberia’s visiting deputy culture minister Andrew Tehmeh, from the Ministry of Information present at the show. He attempted to to refute Napla’s statement that “Kendeja was sold,” when given recognition by the group to make a comment during intermission.

“The cultural center was not sold to Bob Johnson…its space was given up to Bob Johnson, and it [cultural center] was relocated to Ben’s [Boy’s] Town on Marshall Highway,” said Tehmeh.

Spectators’ Jeer

Tehmeh’s attempt to defend his government’s lack of cultural sensitivity, drew jeers from spectators with some demanding him to step down the stage, and allow the show to continue, rather than giving excuses for a government across the Atlantic Ocean.

Tehmeh was challenged for his vague claims. Others insisted that the Jallah Koromah, the Master of Ceremony, allows him to take few questions from the audience. In black jeans, with a lime-green T-shirt, the assistant cultural minister who had almost stepped off the stage returned to say, “I’m ready to take questions.”

His return further exacerbated the situation, thereby increasing the noise and heightening the booing so much so that the LNCA’s Napla had to rush on stage and intervened to avoid any confusion. The question time was disallowed.

Promises

In selling Kendeja, authorities had promised they would build a new cultural facility in Marshall, Margibi, in order to relocate members of the National Cultural Troupe. But, almost eight years after, neither the GOL nor its information bureau has responded to the situation.

As of the time of writing, the ballet dance group only existed in name; there is no National Troupe; no cultural center for rehearsals less alone a place to host members of the group. The pre-war number two national cultural village, Behsao, in Western Liberia has been long abandoned.

Due to current situation, evicted members of National Troupe have scattered around the country and forced to find alternative means to earn a living.

The Kendeja land agreement is designed for a 50 year period, meaning, the contract is expected to officially end in 2057. The controversial deal, yet to be made public through the media, states ‘Robert Johnson and Company’ will wire US $800,000 into the Liberian government’s coffers each year as of 2008 through the end of the agreement. The government is yet to explain Liberian how the money is expended.

Eviction

In early 2008, about hundred members of the LNCT along with their relatives were evicted from Kendeja, and rendered homeless by Sirleaf’s government in order to give clearance to the hotel’s construction after the agreement was sealed between Bob Johnson and the GOL.

The eviction exercise led to the dissolution of the entire National Cultural Troupe, considered as the nation’s pride for over 60 years. Reportedly, neither the government of Liberia nor its Ministry of Information Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) had put a mechanism in place for the upkeep of the group during the final deal.

Money for Artists

A MICAT representative for the GOL reportedly offered US $1,000.00 to each member of the National Troupe in the form of “compensation” for relocation. It didn’t take long when the government evicted the artists, their children, along with relatives who lived there with them.

Members who received the one time “stipend” kept the news as a secret at first and didn’t inform their peers living abroad till government got ready to remove them. This infuriated their counterparts in the US and they accused remnants of the LNCT of alleged “conspiracy” with the GOL to sell out the national shrine. For a long period the incident brought serious conflict between both sides. TAP

The AfricaPaper: James K. Fasuekoi is Associate Editor for The AfricaPaper.

By James Kokulo Fasuekoi | The Africa Paper

Brooklyn Park, Minn – Minnesotans will host this year’s annual Liberian National Cultural Ambassadors’ cultural festival for the first time. The festival, named, ECHOES OF LIBERIAN CULTURE is now in its third year and was first launched in Boston, MA in 2013. Rhode Island hosted it in 2014. Now Minnesota will host the festival this Saturday, Aug. 15, at the Concordia Academy.

Preparation

Already, preparations for the event have been concluded and some of the artists expected to perform this weekend have begun arriving, according to the head of LNCA’s Minnesota Chapter, Isabella Wreh-Fofana in a phone interview with The Africa Paper on Tuesday night. The last batch of artists that include Liberia’s lead folk singers Fatu Gayflor, Tokey Tomah and also solo singer Hawa Daisy Moore, are expected to arrive in Minneapolis for the show on the eve of the festival, said Mrs. Fofana.

“This show will be great and different from the rest we had, because most of the tickets have been sold already,” says Marie Nyenabo, a dancer and actress who arrived in Minneapolis Thursday.

Ballet

The Liberian National Cultural Ambassadors (LNCA) is a professional national ballet dance group based in the U.S. It members consist of a consortium of professional cultural performers that include actors, dancers, singers and drummers, who originally hailed from the West African nation of Liberia. The group’s planned performance in Minnesota is a once in a lifetime chance as the annual festival will move on to other states in coming years till all 52 states in the US are covered.

Members

Beyond the performing arts, the group’s membership comprised of college students, entrepreneurs, professional nurses, journalists, teachers, and educators, with many residing in Minnesota, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Orleans, Iowa and Boston, MA in addition to North and South Dakota. They were drawn together for two main reasons: their passion for the promotion of a genuine African cultural heritage and the urge to assist their fellow artists left behind in war-ravaged Liberia.

Conversation

In a pre-appearance show, the LNCA’s Minnesota chapter, last weekend participated in a community barbecue exercise geared toward promoting cultural healing, health and wellness. The group performed a special health drama called “Conversation on Your Health” and some of its casts included pre-war national television stars, Isabella Wreh-Fofana of Flomo Theater, and Malawala Balawala’s Cassava Bag cast, Annie Sirleaf.

Titled, “Africa BBQ: Celebrating Culture, Health and Wellness,” this community event was hosted by the US based continental newspaper, The AfricaPaper, in partnership with the George Family Foundation’s Catalyst Initiative in Minneapolis, Minn., which has donated millions of dollars toward research in traditional medicine and promotion of Mind, Body and Spirit known also as cultural healing.

Kendeja

Before coming to the U.S., each member of the LNCA at one point in time performed for one of the country’s national ballet dance troupes. A large number of the group’s current members are former artists from the Liberian Cultural Ambassadors dance troupe and Liberia’s main national ballet company, National Cultural Troupe, previously located in Kendeja, and dissolved by Ellen Sirleaf’s government after the GOL sold Kendeja to a US billionaire.

Between 1974 and 2000, while playing for various groups, scores of LNCA members traveled to countries throughout Africa, Europe, Asia, and the United States during which they showcased true Liberian cultural heritage at international cultural festivals. In 1984, for instance, a contingent of Liberian artists selected mostly from the privately owned Liberian Cultural Ambassadors, and the National Cultural Troupe, participated in the Louisiana World Cultural Festival and later in 1997, another similar team drawn from local dance groups was featured at the US National Olympics held in Atlanta, GA.

Repertoires

For the Minnesota cultural festival, the group has already listed about six repertoires to be presented and most are dance dramas, including the introduction of The Ambassadors of Liberian Culture; National Unity, which encourages reconciliation, irrespective of one’s ethnic, cultural or religious affiliation; and the Breaking of the Sande Bush, a play that centers mainly on celebration of culture and the graduation of young women returning home after initiation into the traditional Bush School.

Drummers

During the show, several master and lead-drummers such as David Kaikpu, Jerry Blamo Doe, Albert Gibson and Eric K. Passewe, are expected to be featured in a special drum concert with backing from a Sasa-musical crew that include Junior Cooper of Boston, MA and Mrs. Sangay Gobah of Columbus, OH, both of whom were once performers for the privately owned Liberian Cultural Ambassadors based in Monrovia.

The LNCA presently boasts of a membership of about 50 professional artists and many more Liberian-US based artists are expected to join the group during the coming years. TAP