Tribute to Emmanuel
Nnakenyi Arinze
Elected AFRICOM President, October 2003
By Chédlia Annabi, Interim President, AFRICOM
Emmanuel Arinze has
left us; on 10 February 2005 his light went
out prematurely. He still had so much to offer
to the museum and cultural communities in
Africa. He has certainly left us but he will
always be with us, as we shall keep in our
memories his gentleness, his amiability and
his experience, his knowledge of people and
how to approach them. I did not know Emmanuel
Arinze for long, but I saw straight away that
he was a moderated, courteous, and knowledgeable
man who, in rare moments when we had the opportunity
to meet, could moderate the euphoria of some
and bring those present to an understanding
- something he was always able to do. He always
had the right words to calm even tempestuous
discussions, and to reconcile even the most
obstinate.
I certainly did not
know him well, but I remember our last evening
at the Abungu home, where at one point during
the evening he went to sit alone. Those of
us who were there that evening did not understand
at the time, but today we understand the sentiments
of the moment that were a sign of things to
come. We were in Nairobi for the meeting of
the Board of Directors, which he chaired with
good judgment and firmness. Even when everyone
was not in agreement, the tone of the meeting
was never heated and voices were never raised.
I believe that his presence enabled us to
readjust our views and abandon any hope of
needless arguments.
Everyone knows his
passion for African heritage, and he was part
of every association that had links with the
defense and promotion of heritage and, essentially,
Africa. A big part of his life was dedicated
to the development of museums in Africa and
to the promotion of African heritage that
he wanted everyone everywhere to know about.
He has left us when
he was chairing our young organization, AFRICOM,
to which he had a particular attachment. He
has left us when this young organization needed
his advice the most. In memory of this gracious
man, we must continue to excel for the greater
good of the organization, and to tighten the
reigns and to join our efforts to guarantee
him lasting sustainability, which all African
museums need.
Death of AFRICOM President
