To project African patriotism, an adventurer and former librarian at the Goethe Institut in Lagos, Georges Gambadatoun, has launched his cross-countries motorbike ride dubbed Reading Ride Africa.
This is a reprise of the motorbike ride he undertook in 2022 where he rode from Lagos, Nigeria to Monrovia, Liberia. Gambadatoun is campaigning for the establishment of the Center for Pan Africanism and African Patriotism, which will house the Thomas Sankara Library in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, where a command performance of the play, ‘Sankara’ written by Jude Idada will be held at the end of the cross-countries motorbike ride.
According to him, the 12 countries he will be riding through are Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, Cote D’ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, and Burkina Faso.
The launch of the ride at Didi Museum saw the play’s stage reading, directed by Patrick Diabuah. It examined the final 100 hours of the life of the African patriot, Pan Africanist, and revolutionary head of state of Burkina Faso, Captain Thomas Sankara, as well as the global machinations and plots that led to his murder.
A group of seasoned performers, including Patrick Diabuah, Kelvinmary Ndukwe, Austin Onouha, Deola Gimbiya, Nnamdi Agbo, Sarah Boulus and Belinda Yanga had performed the stage reading which portrayed the life, personality, accomplishments, vision, and mission of the late Captain Thomas Sankara as well as the covert scheme carried out by his closest friend and deputy, Blaise Campaore, which finally resulted in his murder.
Appealing for support for the cross-countries ride and the building of the center from individuals, corporate organisations, non government organisations, civil society organisations, national and foreign governments; the Pan-Africanist said that he aspires to raise the consciousness of Africans through a Pan african revolution of the mind. He believes that for Africa to strive and rise to the status of a superpower, the citizens of the continent must return to being first authentically African across the spectrum of existence before we can be global.
“The reading ride is a mobile book festival where we try to promote African literature and use literature to explore societal issues and community development. The Center for Pan Africanism and African Patriotism which is dedicated to Captain Thomas Sankara and the great revolutionaries of Africa will benefit the continents population through education and research by holding relevant books and archives of African history and will be a rallying point for intellectual discourses aimed at truly decolonizing the continent. It is the cornerstone of the ‘Africa for Africa’ philosophy and message of the late Captain Thomas Sankara and the central theme of the play ‘Sankara’,” Gambadatoun said.
