Why the Silence?
A letter from Mãe Preta, Mãe Africa's founding Director, paying tribute to one of Mãe Africa's Founding Trustees.
We initiated a pause in our programme and activities since January in acknowledgment of our profound sadness over the passing away of one of Mãe Africa's Founding Trustee members and the organization’s Legal Secretary, Anike Hope, who passed away on January 22, 2020 at 44 years old.
Anike, whose initial is the ‘Ã’ in MÃE AFRICA was my only biological sister. She had a strong and direct impact on the birthing of the Mãe Africa Development Initiative and its vision and mission towards the preservation of cultural heritage and the expansion of creative industries in Nigeria, the African continent and diaspora.
Beyond inspiring my love for heritage through her firm authenticity to self and her innate expressions of culture, Anike was a highly engaged Trustee, ready to offer legal and professional advice and creative perspective at the shortest notice. She registered the organisation’s website domain in January 2007 and offered her unending support and encouragement as the organisation's projects materialized. Anike made particularly valuable contributions in the launching of Mãe Africa’s ‘SCARRED’ project in 2019 – offering insight from her own experience as a bearer of traditional Yoruba facial markings.
Anike with her daughters
A daughter, sister, wife, mother, and aunty, Anike volunteered her time and knowledge across sectors. She was also a bubbly, domestic and global travel enthusiast. Her strength of spirit, love for life, sense of humour and enduringly courageous and positive outlook can never eloquently be described.
In her commitment to a better Nigeria through service as a Public servant and Associate Professor of International Humanitarian Law, she actively and passionately taught and mentored young law students, authored several peer-reviewed journals and published self-authored books on International Humanitarian Law, touching on child protection in armed conflict, peace studies and conflict resolution.
We remember her on the 9th month anniversary of her departure. We miss her insightful commentary on the Nigerian and global social, economic, political and cultural landscape. We also miss her signature “thumbs up”, enduring smile and vivid laughter which were unchanging through all of life’s seasons.
In this significant time period for Nigeria, we pay our respect to all that she stood for and honour her memory by solidly reiterating our solidarity and firm support to Nigerian voices and youth speaking against oppression, censorship, police brutality and all related sources and manifestations of bad governance.