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Archbishop Sentamu strikes a cord but …
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God’s gangsta, Dr. John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York who famously donned a hooded jumper top to highlight the plight of young people stereotyped for their choice of dressing, was again at his charitable and influential best, in fact his publicity best, when he camped under canvass in York Minster Cathedral recently. |
The former Ugandan high court judge, 57, who pitched his tent in the sanctuary of the house of Lord (mind you, not the worldly House of Lords in Westminster) to show solidarity with those who suffered on both sides in the Israeli-Lebanon conflict attracted a lot of publicity worldwide.
However, whilst the world praised his vigil for peace in the Middle East as a selfless act, he raised some discordant undertones among the African community here for failing to use his influence to also highlight the many problems faced by the continent of his birth.
The Archbishop who when was spat at by four young white men saying “Nigger, go home” reportedly replied “You have wasted your saliva”, has grown from being an unknown asylum seeker to be very influential person worldwide.
Thus, it is felt within the African community that he should use some of his influence to the advantage of the continent. A Ugandan who refuses to be named argued, “What he is doing is hypocritical, selfserving, and I can’t understand it”. The man questioned, “What has he used his position to do for Africa other than his drumming and dancing? He can also talk and make a lot of noise about the famine, diseases, hunger, wars, poverty and injustices faced by Africa. ” And I absolutely agree with him on his second point. What a media circus it would have been should the controversial Archbishop decide to leave the sanctity and sanctuary of his church and palace for week to live amongst the emaciated men, women, young and vulnerable people in war-torn Sudan, say, and be on the receiving end of the kind of flak, torture, rape, hunger and the fear of death in solidarity with them.
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Although, some of the accusations may seem a little bit sharp, I totally agree, again, that in all his spin-offs and ‘publicity projects’ very little is focused on the problems in African. But, to be fair to Dr. John Sentamu, who is said to possess a “street cred” by his own church, he has done remarkable things. He worked on the inquiries into both Stephen Lawrenece and Damilola Taylors’s murders.
He has also worked to support MG Rover car workers, some of whom are Africans. And these are but a few of his achievements. I believe that there are /may be countless number of things he does to support Africa but what we are talking about here is the ability to also showcase this in one of his trademark stunts in a world where intense media attention pricks people’s minds to act.
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Dr. Sentamu, who during his judiciary days in Uganda famously jailed Idi Amin’s cousin is seen in the African community as someone with will, zeal and reach to help bring our problems to the fore, both home and in the diasporas.
However, if there is one thing that stands out as his contribution to the continent in the eyes of many Africans in the UK, then it is the pride he’s shown over the years to be African. He has always identified with his African roots through cultural displays and things like that but Africa needs more than that.
The problems faced by the continent cannot be tackled by cultural displays alone. It requires the constant showcase, reminders, and campaigns to whip up empathy levels for the right actions. It is by all means good and important to do all the things he does to attract attention to problems in other parts of the world but disappointedly very little is seen or heard from him in his stunts on the many campaigns on Africa’s predicaments.
As a church minister and the second most senior person in the Anglican/Church of England hierarchy, it is understood that he is a very busy man. It is also understood that as a person representing a universal church he should not be seen as inward looking. That is not what the call is for from his African community.
Concerns are that African also has real and serious problems and that his voice is very needed because he is listened to. Now, the ball is in his court.
When we contacted the Archbishop’s office for his reactions immediately after his weeklong fast/vigil for the conflict in the Middle East, which he had forfeited his holiday for, we were told Dr. Sentamu was on rest break from his vigil. The communications man for the Archbishop of York, Irun Arora told yours truly, “He is recovering from his fast and that he will be away for two weeks.”
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