France's President Macron uses Fela shrine visit to emphasis importance of youth in development

FRENCH president Emmanuel Macron has urged Nigerian youths to get involved in politics in order to change the narrative of the nation as no one else can change the image Africa has on the global stage apart from Africans.

Speaking in Lagos during a visit to Fela Anikulapo's famous shrine, President Macron, in the company of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, spoke at an event tagged Celebrate African Culture. He  noted that only Nigerians can change their image before the comity of nations, pointing out that the future of Africa and the task of making it great rested with Africans.

At the event, President Macron described the Afrika Shrine as an iconic place of strength, music, culture, adding that the late Fela was a politician who wanted a change for the society. While there, the president also announced the launch of the 2020 African cultures season in France, adding that the event would help create a unique face for African culture in Europe.

President Macron said: “Africa needs a new generation of Africans to share the new narrative about Africa all over the world. I am very happy to be here and let me remind you that this shrine is a music place as well as politics, which is needed to change the society.

“Politics is important because it is a tool to change the society. So, I will say to the youths, politics is important, be involved.”

Other dignitaries who attended the event include former Anambra and Ogun state governors Peter Obi and Segun Osoba, Professor Wole Soyinka and Senator Ben Bruce-Murray. President Macron, who visited the presidential villa in Abuja too, recalled his days in Nigeria, when he worked as a diplomat, saying he never imagined he would return as president of France.

President Macron added: “I mean Fela, Femi, Seun Kuti are obviously very famous in France and Europe, I mean they are big successes but the Shrine is a cultural hub, an iconic hub and it is very important for me first on a personal level. That is why I want to say with a lot of humility that I recognise the importance of this place of culture in this current environment."