By Yunus S Saliu
The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) has entrusted the King of Kora Dr Jaliba Kuyateh with the task to compose Pan-African songs for ACALAN.
Dr Jaliba Kuyateh was entrusted with this special task on Monday by Dr Lang Fafa Dampha Executive Secretary of the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) on behalf of the African Union Commission.
Commenting on this, Dr. Lang Fafa Dampha said tasking Dr. Jaliba Kuyateh to compose theme songs for ACALAN is paramount, developmental, and of course is of cultural peacebuilding that is “all about integration of the African people.”
He disclosed that Jaliba is a continental figure and his outstanding nature of promoting “values, developmental issues, humanity security; his outstandingly and remarkably selection out of the 56 member states of the African Union,” he said prompted his visit to the King of Kora’s palace and accompanied by the Director General of the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) to “come and relay and give him this monumental task of developing/composing a Pan African song for the African Union as a factor of empowering developing and promoting African Languages as a factor of peace unity and solidarity and integration of trade and commerce.”
He noted that the Pan-African songs that the great Jalibah Kuyateh is going to compose will be reproduced in the 56 member states of the African Union. “The tune will not change, the parole, the text will not change it will just be translated into our African languages and of course English, French, Portuguese, and any other languages because we want diversity pluralism, and multiculturalism as part of our base,” the ACALAN Executive Secretary noted.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hassoum Ceesay, the Director General of the National Centre for Arts and Culture expressed delight in meeting the King of Kora himself, Dr Jaliba Kuyateh for this assignment which “is quite an onerous one but we are fully confident that he will deliver as usual.”
DG Ceesay explained that Dr. Jaliba Kuyateh is to compose a theme song for the whole of Africa on valorizing the national languages for the development of cultural generation and identity.
“He has been doing it for forty years and this is just like an extra assignment for him, it is a continental one he will do for the rest of Africa and make us and Africa proud. We thank the ACALAN for the past one year they have been working with us at the NCAC to elaborate a policy on national languages and work has started.”
In his acceptance words, Dr Jaliba Kuyateh said “I am deeply honoured, especially seeing the Executive Secretary on behalf of the ACALAN joining with our National Centre for Arts and Culture to select me for this task which is going to be purely Pan-African songs.”
Through Dr Dampha, he thanked the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) under the African Union Commission for this outstanding and remarkable selection.
The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) is an African Union’s specialized language agency entrusted with the task of overseeing the implementation of the Language Plan of Action for Africa (LPAA),