REPORTER: NDU CHRIS NWANNAH
An African- American politician and Mayor of the City of Georgia, USA, Guffin Lotson has traced his roots to the Igbo nation in Nigeria.
Mr Lotson is from Gullah Geechee, a Sea Island located in the southeastern USA coast, which stretches from North Carolina to Florida.
Gullah Geechee indigenes are reputed to be the descendants of enslaved West Africans, who later resettled in the Islands.
The key Islands in Gullah Geechee are Sapelo in Georgia and Saint Helena in South Carolina.
Speaking in an interview at Abagana in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State, Mr Lotson, stressed that his roots to Nigeria was tracked through the DNA.
“My connection to Nigeria is through DNA, and also to my culture, which is Gullah Geechee, which comes from the United States of America”, he said.
He explained that his mother was desirous of knowing her roots before her death, stressing that this was uncovered through the DNA tests carried out using modern scientific technology.
“We are connected mostly to the Igbo s learning from Trans- Atlantic trade. So, I am not just an American, I am not just a Gullah Geechee, I am Igbo of Nigeria because of what happened to my relatives and now to the modern technology – DNA”, Mr Lotson stated.
Mr Lotson, who is now 71, has been the Mayor of Georgia in the last 10 years, worked in the USA National Museum as well as with President Barrack Obama and other presidents in the past 13 years.
He commended some Africans in the Diaspora for their commitments to helping African- Americans to trace their roots.
Mr Lotson, particularly, expressed happiness over the efforts made by a renowned Nigerian Medical Practitioner in the Diaspora, Doctor Nwachukwu Anakwenze in locating and helping them to rediscover their roots.
He described himself as a proud Igbo person, but regretted that his mother, who desired to set her foot on the soil of her ancestors, did not realize such dream before her death.
“Even though she is on the other side with her ancestors, I believe she is smiling now. She never had an opportunity to set foot on African soil… But I was brought out of her, so she is here now in Nigeria”, he asserted.
Contributing, a United States based Medical Expert, Doctor Nwachukwu Anakwenze said he was happy over the desire by Mr Guffin Lotson to explore the roots of his ancestors.
Doctor Anakwenze, who is the Onowu and Regent of Abagana, insisted that blacks had made enormous contributions to the economic transformation of America and other parts of the globe, stressing that their potential was also needed to bring innovation and prosperity to Africa.
He, however, urged political leaders in Nigeria and other African nations to set the tone for a new agenda to infuse global change and impact in their governance and economic systems.
Doctor Anakwenze said, this was necessary to attract more of the Africans in the Diaspora, who were willing to visit home and engage with their ancestral relatives.
Doctor Anakwenze noted that he would continue to map out strategies, which would attract African- Americans to rediscover their ancestral roots and help in bringing development to the continent.
