Imagine an old alchemist, his eye and looks advocating against his inherent genius. Surrounded by perplexing shelves of bizarre scrolls and devices, the alchemist is busy mixing potent substances—some sort of mosaic. Call it what you will, but this is not just a flurry of activity; it is a rallying call to construct a mosaic (the African dream) that inextricably links the present and the future, a tornado of beauty and promise.
I would characterise the African Renaissance as an aspiration to elevate the continent from its current state, which is marked by widespread poverty, violent conflicts, human rights violations, and inadequate governance—postcolonial realities. Some may feel that the term ‘Pan African Renaissance’ is wishful thinking in the mind of a poet, a philosopher, or the socially conscious akin to the missing philosopher’s stone.
This is precisely why we should not close the book on any ‘dreamer’, for we should thrill in this dream and its possibility. The Renaissance calls for a re-evaluation of Africa in the greater scheme of things; Beside these historical pains is the present abundant potential that has to be occupied and that requires radical arrangements of the broken pieces that construct the mosaic into form.
According to legend, the alchemist is responsible for creating something that does not already exist, such as gold, from cheaper materials. In much the same vein, the Pan-African Renaissance attempts to make a single, beautiful picture out of the various pieces of the different cultures found on the continent. But let us not be deluded, as if one could simply wave a stick and ‘poof’ centuries of colonialism and cultural imperialism evaporated and a utopia ushered in! It is a herculean task, but it is here where the heart and spirit of the Renaissance reside amidst this daring resolve.
The absurdity of this endeavour cannot be overlooked while the alchemist labours. The concept of “crafting” a Renaissance implies a level of command that may appear bold. It implies that culture and history can be moulded in the same way that clay can be, but history, in contrast to clay, is not easily moulded. But the great irony is that the very thing that drives the Renaissance is this daring, this defiance of reality’s limitations. As a whole, it exemplifies Africa’s limitless creative potential, which defies categorisation as a historical victim.
The African Renaissance is not about forgiving colonial histories but rather about waltzing with colonial ghosts. Such shadows have to be placed in the mosaic, but not as a way to exalt the past but rather to reconcile with it and move on. The Renaissance is a cultural re-engineering that turns these shadows into hope and determination. It is about picking all the pieces—the history, the culture, the hopes of people—and creating oneness.
As we begin this enormous task of creating a Pan-African Renaissance, let us do it with the lightness of touch on the play of an alchemist. Let us take the jigsaw puzzle, but only understand that the jigsaw puzzle does not consider erasing the old but integrating it with the present.
Furthermore, we must not view the Renaissance as a static structure. It is rather a living, changing story—a story extending people’s creativity and their spirits. So, let us pick up the traps of the alchemist and begin to sail on this beautiful sea because in spite of the albatross that covers the great picture, there is a new sun rising, a huge sun, capturing even the imaginations of the greatest alchemists.
Agbeye Oburumu is a researcher, a poet, and a techie, among other things. He was the runner-up in the 2021 Irish Refugee Council Poetry Grand Slam: Creativity and Change. He was a 2022 longlistee in the Writing Ukraine Prize. He won the Stage on Fire (Poetry) talent show on television, organised by the Delta State Government in 2023. He won the 2024 KEEP Prize for performance poetry. He is a resident for Cohort 1 of the Building Bridges Project for Creatives, 2025.
Numerous film festivals have screened his short film, “Fadeless Scars”. He likes to see himself as a socially conscious artist. He is a reviewer with several academic journals. He holds a lifetime membership in the Scholars Academic and Scientific Society, India. He is also a lifetime member of the International Society for Sustainable Development, Japan. He is a fellow of the International Organization for Academic and Scientific Development.
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