History rediscovered - Emeka Keazor at TEDxEuston

my name is anneka keys oh yes I studied law and you know well that just be a background this whole thing why did I do what I did it's not as simple as that I grew up in a house where my father was a lawyer the juries the books were reading you know I'm talking about early 70s not for me before you start to talk that in about young you know when within our we are NBC TV which open at 5:00 o'clock so during our holidays we had to do something otherwise and go outside and play football I was very really good my father had books on everything from particularly military history my father was a major history addict the world war two in particular he was an expert the books of the world war series edited by Barry Pitts was what I was reading at age of seven so the man gave me a choice you know that's what I was socialized on anyway as my journey went on studied law my greatest hero was allow Aloha kibosh on that I saw him I changed my university the 80s I love this man I wanted to be him laws an issue enough social engineering but unfortunately being pressed for making sure you eat food change that I go to the UK have a firm firm collapsed I'll take responsibility for the choices are in who I did business with so I had to move on I thought look you know what let me go do it go take a different path eventually I started working with Age UK as a legal specialist doing what I'd wanted to do reference that which will be an instrument of change using law cancer came sadly and I had time to think about life I wanted to get fortunate II now to say thank you to two great friends fact three several great friends patty patty called me constantly came to my house with Rosie about food Shukra called me and well I'm particularly close I want to say thank you to them with this opportunity to thank these are great great people wonderful people anyway it's Pattaya love this talk is rediscovering Niger scaling the walls of fallacy in assumption let us read this carefully my fellow Africans please listen to me as Africa's I read what this man said as Frederick do tree Lagarde in character and temperament the typical African of this race type is a happy thriftless excitable person lacking in self-control discipline and foresight he lacks the power of organization and is conspicuously deficient in the management and control alike of men of business he loves the Display of power fails to realize his responsibility Frederick new guard dual mandate in British tropical Africa that was his assessment that's not the first time this was 9:26 in 1897 Oh 1898 II have actually written an assessment of Nigerians nontheless in his reports the first report of the role was african frontier force the army the niger and i mean essentially which he set off from the remnants of john Glover's house' Glover houses let's not go into that the abuse plenty but anyway at this just just just hold on to this ok those just hold on to this so let's move forward you know the story about how I thought after you know cancer and all that I look man I'm child of this 18 our journeys it's in our long bay journeys I want to do something else with my life so I started writing I was writing a blog called civil 67 subliminal codes in Texas which you came back up late because lots of people are plagiarizing my work and claiming as their own I won't call names but they were and I was meeting lots of wonderful people I wrote random articles men on a group called the ace of cops the very first female rock band in the world in the California Bay Area Denise Kaufman and if this is watching but god is all about you you know Denise contacted me and she was like great article thank you very much I mean she was like you know young when his girlfriend in the 60s yan when I was a guy who found a rolling stone and she liked what I wrote and I wasn't writing about Nyjah but then Lou God's words did not leave me I said you know what what is this all about now I was driving with my kids in the car and there was no these phonies where you have this right-wing ideologue vnp heavy and then it was a black academic in the and the radio and then a guy called came in saying all kinds of Tina black he would never contributed anything Africans in sub-saharan Africa never contribute anything toward history now I was like yes brought show him finish him destroy him anyway the sum total of my brother's argument was this do you know I'm have a PhD in history I have I taught I told Mike my kids were like daddy calm down I said no no no no luck and I come back this one I just finished those this is a chance so I said you know what you know what this is not it's not about if you feel something about it you start fellas said if you feel something about it do something about it so I said I writing I said let me go find out what exactly is it what exactly have we contributed who are we in the course of our differences right researching like a madman in my off work hours I'd work sometimes two o'clock in the morning so Frank said bros this thing you are doing yeah why don't you know know that I'm saying is not a good thing why don't you burn do a an academic kid do this thing I cannot get a page do to somebody is true so so I went you know and I saw it you know that process anyway after all my work suddenly they noticed my brother and friend obeah Sica owner of a company called stone 360 one of the most vibrant forward-looking entertainment companies in Nigeria whose company I registered I was a lawyer registered a 22 years ago sitting over a beer and fish pepper soup at Berkeley's bar in Lagos Island yes Bobby is listening because he's already tweeted this okay Opie was like I after a single I said Roskam I see yes what is it he said I would like you to write my father's biography I was like why because you can because you can do it well I say that all the people said no because you can do it well and I started an incredible journey a controversial character but that's more reason why the story had to be told I went back to how I was going constantly to Nigeria I'm interviewed dr. Alex of crime a American yoga when I had the famously the Balrog Norview the general himself now let me just put it this way one of the most challenging interviews because an extremely intelligent man but a man very very strong character it was a difficult interview but the thing is it showed that you can ask difficult difficult questions without offending somebody and the thing is I didn't want to be too offensive I was in his house hey anyway a Nigella starter project an online history base focus group on Facebook I was a contributor and eventually I was asked to be part of the process and did for Athena magazine called me as a contributor right and I wrote on music African music music history you know I particularly wrote an article on the history of the palm wine which I which is one of my guilty pleasures one of my great loves which I actually performed the Guardian newspapers I became a similar like regular columnist cuz obviously my friend I plead how the Klan interest the editor was my party so you know when he didn't pay any way then they after they all this water walk then suddenly they sent him is he brought home whom it wasn't a hard decision because let's be frank you know I've been through let's just say when they went to I shall are in the greats for the teacher said may your root beer off he meant it in my place and this was a chance to connect with whom my parents were getting old you know my two sisters lived abroad my younger brother was in Nigeria wasn't different so this is my chance to be home close to my parents I was going to miss my kids but second times which I cannot discuss here was such that well my kids gave me their permission well like look we understand you can go anyway so I went first me first I wrote a book on the history of Nigerian football commissioned by the Lagos State Government and a Nigerian football federation we only there with the influence of my good friend Oba chica well received such that this guy here Christian Karen Berg the the France international fell in love with the book and I took say okay yes you can fall in love but mega take for two so I can use it down here to put your back which we did anything is I was so stressed shocked we brother was like well done belt on you know send me some foot to this and went away so when I guys are happy now but anyway much love yeah I'll are GMT Yousef the format idea for me Inspector General of Police finish Lee actually during the time that philosophize was raided you might wonder why would you want to write the biography of such a man well then you should go and read Carlos Moore's biography a Carlos Mo's biography of fella in which after that incident fella said you know I love this man he was not a corrupt man he was not proud man a man of integrity without him they would have denied rent police would have committed more atrocities you know when he retired fella went to his house with a like a box of a gift he made for him to gave he said M de su shed tears at the law fell I showed him even after fella had lost everything under the auspices or not this police for the army still in progress an incredible journey a wonderful man the Nigerian centenary um through the auspices of outsourced media which is what we a circus company I was asked to be the consultant historian to the official documentary if you go if you go to youtube is a documentary called where Nigeria as a genital multi-mission produced by in Corsica a director the MD of our art source media but which I provided 90% of the images they are because I'm also an archivist part from a historian the jayjay Okocha foundation documentary on the history of Nigerian sports JJ had of my work through football the book and also through my friends at Google and asked me to secure it this to to do the air to do the interviews to do the research it's in progress and hopefully should be out by next year now after all that now mom was like yes but let me I can as short as there's a great rock band called the spin doctors like Indian 93 who when their fans hear that they got in a multi-million dollar deal they had to come at some issue a denial we would like to assure all our loyal fans that we're still gloriously poor I assure all of you that is a lie anyway after all that I said okay okay okay also you know what I still have my personal issue with you God look at and I still have our beef so let me go back and carry on so I came up with a car I came up with a concept called the hundred greatest Nigerians we never knew which essentially was dick unearthing great gems in Niger in history heroes real heroes agents of change who were never in the limelight you ask Nigel as what a great lesson ideas about McCauley and Nadia clear sadhana I said okay let's do this thing properly I honor that Sutton smaller hidden gems such as the fact that in the 1568 we beginning of the 16th century Benning sent a diplomat to the court report of Portugal or hand open and a local priest who was on an exchange program with a Portuguese ambassador to be named Alphonse one a fun sort of arrow or help them through the portal forgotten of which was a priest travel to Portugal or at all sorry nervous I can see so many people out here oh I thought travel travel to Portugal was Brittany respected for his intellect lent to speak Portuguese and came back the very first envoi to a European Court in European country from Nigeria Oh borrow bar above Benning in 1553 when Wyndham the first Englishman to set foot in I joined soil came to Nigeria he was taken to been in and met a king a dignified king who not only spoke Portuguese read Portuguese and wrote Portuguese he met a well-organized administrative setup Minister a nerve utility public utilities a public utility system a security system basically a modern state for the time in 1553 Angelo Solomon log lugar I don't know if is a freemason but if his other famous in his bosses were now Angelo Solomon aka mama Dee market was a slave taken from kanakaria from Bono a present-day bono State who grew up in the course of Sicily and eventually became a nobleman in Vienna he he joined the Vienna lodge and became deputy Grand Master and he it was who introduced the practice of the scholarship and the study of science into the tenets of the Freemasons yes if you'd ask me going to be famous inside not a smile the first known Nigerian poetess the daughter was one down for you who encouraged actively encouraged and promoted the education of women through a cadre of teachers called the judges in keeping with us monde and folios requirements that women be educated so get it into your ears who's mindin done for it not a lot of women women must be educated and she promoted this how poor happens astilbe study states mean study till today without one because obviously my times already up i awful as usual you know some well her habit pairs one of the most forward-looking businessman businessman african history you know in niger in history dr. gonzalez acara both of the first night journal i alexander chaparral first a doctor who was educated in edinburgh in 1881 who in first introduced the practice of using local herbs in medical therapy actually use it in officiously and a cholera epidemic of 1918 or agreeing the first african pharmacist talking about a lady who acquired several qualifications here in 1917 in the first world war you know I obviously I have to have to be brief long because I do have to stop August a bowl of brown they call they said we're a bunch of cows lily-livered selfish cowards August Iguala Brown was an IJ young likely go Sheehan who traveled to Poland during the war the first were about 1939 when the Germans invaded Poland he didn't run like everybody else said he stayed became a fight an underground resistance fighter who fought throughout he defended Warsaw and he will up to three to four years later he was cited after the war after his claims were verified he became a hero of the underground resistance alexander animal oh who was nominated for nobel prize in superconductivity in physics yes he was most wouldn't actually know him Albertson in job Bobby who invented a cholera vaccine from the labs of Biafra who came out and was this this this vaccine was a cada WH er accreditation I'm actually used in a cholera epidemic in 1972 I could go on and on and on even one amongst us hears on my list you know a young man who came is essentially emerged from the ashes of Biafra even though he was actually living in Lagos came here and brought pride to us by achieving the pinnacle of his profession like attending the rank of Queen's Counsel but then you guys probably know him but 95% of Nigerians do not know him I'm talking about mr. Orban subbu who's sitting right here in front of us now I didn't finish the oh I said I'm not going to leave this man I must show him I travelled round Nigeria essentially investigating historical sites recording geo data and conducting interviews let me just keep it brief that this is the governor minaret the governor minarets was actually is actually a mosque built in 1385 under the reign of so certain Katsina muhammad Parral 1385 the first europeans reached in 1470 the governor minaret was actually a campus of the university of san curry because as you know mosques in Islam in traditional Islam actually sensitive learning we had a university in Nigeria in the 14th century and one of our finest mathematicians Muhammad even Muhammad artisan our we traveled to Egypt the invasive al-azhar and invented a form of MAGIX prayers complex mathematical theorems for which he was it was Britain celebrated in the Arab world first up when he died he was given a two-page obituary in al Jabar cheese modest like the Encyclopedia Britannica of of the Arab world from this from universities almost 80 years before the first Europeans arrived here this man over here is actually the war on chief of a town called a local where the about women's rout started because we didn't start enough by side another look which is narrow Modica I got there after a five and a half mile journey on an al Qaeda because you know I was doing this journey that I told you I didn't have money in other mean but then I covered close to 5,000 miles around my country as far as Katsina as far as Murad II you know I went I discovered things that I had never imagined I would ever see Rosa Cathedral with origins going back to the 17th century one of the very first churches but actually a traditional religious center I discovered my country things I had seen I had probably walked past Legos I am a Legos boy things that workers were never appreciated and appreciated the beauty and dignity and splendor of the gland that I called my own I have found my Nigeria and it gave me a chance to now look at my friend boo God I see my friend you know look can I just say this is all a Brit bashing 82nd I'm actually a very proud brits as well as being a Nigerian because at the end of the day you soon where are the walls in it they're one of the most the largest official view of civil engineering in ancient times was rediscovered by dr. Patrick darling of Bournemouth University the Boca finds which showed that there was actually a sophisticated Kingdom which had trade with Oliver with it with it with Middle East as far back as a thousand ad was made possible by the work of dr. Thurston shorter British archaeologist so it's a long way narrative all the bridges are bad the hitters lugod is my problem so thank you very much just to end my presentation I want is just a few myths that I found on my way now you know they say that flourish or this is I'm sorry I'm being here flourish or Lu God's chick like she founded the worship formula to the world Nigeria in 1897 now dig this guy's look at that 1862 can you see that 1862 life in the niger circulated by any nigerian you cannot have nigerian without nigeria people so it wasn't flourish or take that lugar sorry i know i know it started and another thing i found out which will actually be slightly embarrassing to transmit Abuja was this city amalgamation help took place at our capital but Nigeria's first capital was actually some Giri they said it took place in a generate on January 1st 1914 in sugery Xilai he didn't it took place in Lagos are the all Supreme Court building where we now have tunable square this is it there's a photograph I'm glad the unable ministers gone now anyway I have to report back to my Constitution I spent time talking to children our legacy schools telling them what I had found out you have heroes okay the 409 boys the fraudsters the kickback artists and not your heroes there are heroes who do not have the limelight please leave those people and think about these ones now my friends at Google invited me to launch 300k Nyjah Kirk and actually invited me to deliver the opening speech which I did here as you can see in my traditional Chieftains Chiefs Hut anyway was it worth it absolutely I was at a fair a charity affair some of the kids had spoken to rank to me and Matt hey uncle uncle I see that's the uncle daddy uncle who talked to us and I took a group photograph with them wonderful one feeling loved it you know it was a real thing of pride you know I'm also when my collecting committee design of the national flag I was invited to speak about his life and the tears in his eyes afterwards will always stay with me you know when I talked about his life I paid tributes to him most important these are my kids all this is for my kids and their generation remember who you are because when you reengage when you were two when you tell a child he's a fool you tell a child that he can do nothing with his life that he is useless and have known as no potential nope no hope he would believe it after some time you call me and knock ahead I believe it anyway this is for my kids and their generation and this is for like for the struggling African who go through the struggling Nigerian so every day battle the odds but still smile thank you so much for listening

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 19,807

Rating: 4.8740158 out of 5

Keywords: tedxeuston, ted talks, emeka keazor, TEDx, ted x, tedx, tedx talk, tedx talks, ted talk, ted

Id: ZN3hCjbA_dw

Length: 20min 39sec (1239 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 21 2014