I had long had the idea in the back of my mind, but I never had the courage to go ahead and take the risk. But after leaving the corporate world, I believed that Africans needed to collaborate more.

We organised a number of bilateral gatherings throughout the continent before the COVID-19 epidemic to foster unity among the nations. Thus, in 2017 we began with South Africa. We reasoned that “soft” events typically go better than serious business meetings or negotiations, so we resolved not to take anything seriously.

Thus, we began with a program known as Mzanzi—Naija. The concept was that we would take a group of individuals to play football in South Africa or Nigeria each year. Ghana was included in the second year, and it was given the name “Ashanti-Naija.”

2019 saw the addition of Kenya, which we dubbed Arambi-Naija. When we got to the third one, we found that the fourth and third countries were not eager to participate because it was a bilateral. We were considering how to redraw the plan following Arambi-Naija when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The experience of spending an entire year in one location in 2020 altered the viewpoint. It was projected that because of inadequate health standards and practices, more Africans will die than individuals in other regions of the world.

However, we made it through, and it gave us the confidence to go all in and start FESTAC. Then there was the first one in Zanzibar in 2022, the second in Arusha, Tanzania in 2023, and the final one in Kisumu, Kenya in 2024.

While some believe that FESTAC should not be in the hands of the government, others believe that it is too large to be managed by a private organisation. How do you feel about that?

Regardless of who is doing it, I believe that maintaining FESTAC is the most crucial thing.

Senegal launched FESTAC in 1966, but for whatever reason, no action was taken for 11 years. After Nigeria accomplished it in 1997, there was no further action taken for 45 years. I cannot remain silent and allow things to continue as they are because I am a Pan-Africanist who wants to see this continent progress. To advance the continent, we had to do what we could. We spoke with the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union after determining that we intended to carry out our plan.

Olusegun Obasanjo, the former president, asked me, “This boy, do you think you can handle this thing?” when I visited him in his office. “Baba, this thing is bigger than us, but someone has to start it,” was my response.

We had scheduled a 10-minute meeting with him for that day, but he was so happy and appreciative that efforts were being made to bring the program back that we ended up talking for about 90 minutes. He complimented us on our work during his remarks at the program’s opening ceremony.

As of right moment, our only option is to request government support for our actions. This is our third attempt, and this time we have had some influence both nationally and internationally. All we need is assistance. While some of these initiatives are intended to be sponsored, it will be beneficial if the government collaborates with us, particularly at this early stage, to maximise and maximise the benefits.

Better possibilities for our children and a better continent are what we need. The government cannot accomplish everything, and we have a lot to do. In most Western countries, the government doesn’t get involved in anything; it just sits back and collects taxes. All they do is foster an atmosphere that makes it easier for businesses to intervene and act morally.

The governor of Kisumu, Anyang Nyong’o, was among the several government figures that came to Arusha for the 2023 edition. He is a singer and actor who is really interested in culture. Furthermore, Kisumu and the Lake Victoria region constitute Kenya’s cultural belt.

Our motivation for coming here was therefore the governor’s love of culture, the importance of the Lake Region Economic Bloc to tourism, and a group of bright young people whose energy might be used wisely for the benefit of the country.

Tourism and travel need to be given top priority if Africa is to grow and advance. Not many of us even travel within our own nations.

For instance, a great deal of Nigeria is visited by foreigners, although a great deal of Nigerians are unaware of this. The Yankari Game Reserve is a prime illustration.

The majority of Nigerians are ignorant of its size, contents, and beauty, to say say nothing of its worth. Trade will increase if we carry out more of those actions. Africans swiftly pack up and relocate to other continents, which is why we are not selling within Africa. We must go throughout the continent more.

Children must be included in FESTAC as well. For this reason, the schedule now features movie and sports screenings.

First, there is a high level of awareness. Every city we bring FESTAC to, we dedicate a whole year to that location’s development. This indicates that Kisumu has benefited from exposure inside the FESTAC framework for a full year. After a year of operation, the county has been exposed to roughly 25 million dollars’ worth of exposure, according to some actuaries. That has significantly impacted Kisumu’s brand. Ralia Odinga, a former prime minister of Kenya, was present. He utilised the forum to announce his bid for leadership of the African Union Commission.

In general, the effect has been significant.

Anyone who isn’t involved in something can easily always have an opinion. We just could not have accomplished everything we set out to do in three days. The first FESTAC took place over the course of a full month for a purpose. We have established a platform for art and culture that is open throughout the week. However, we can’t ignore the matters that are important to us. For this reason, those topics are divided into smaller chunks (side events) in order to spark conversation.

If funding were available, the event is scheduled to last for a month. But when it becomes much easier to support sponsorships, we will have more money to do even more. The program is now still entirely self-funded, which puts a lot of strain on the teams.

That being said, we are conscious of the issues, some of which were even predicted. We are still going through the teething phase, but things will undoubtedly improve.

African leaders’ idea of a single passport for the continent, in my opinion, is unrealistic for our lifetime. Instead, they should follow Rwanda’s lead and allow anyone with an African passport to go to any other African nation. They should be allowed to travel as long as they can prove that they paid the lodging and have the necessary funds.

Basic fees need to be paid. The state should also be in charge of the infrastructure, support networks, and system. We take into consideration elements like the tourist attractions and the transit infrastructure.

Has the host city for FESTAC 2025 been selected?

Though not many people have expressed interest, the answer is “no.”

I would like to expand on this, though, as 2026 marks the 60th anniversary of the first FESTAC and 2027 marks the 50th anniversary of the second edition. In 2026, I would like us to return to Senegal, and in 2027, to Nigeria.

Given that Nigeria is your home nation, do you receive any kind of official assistance from it?

We have written to several ministries and institutions, but none of them have responded to our correspondence.

If, on the other hand, we are failing to contact the appropriate individuals, kindly get in contact with us and we will give you our full attention. Our goal is to improve conditions across the continent.