Popular American preacher and founder of the Potter’s House, Thomas D. Jakes, popularly known T.D. Jakes has traced his origin to Nigeria saying his “ancestors were Igbos.”
The cleric who is based in Dallas, Texas, revealed this during an interview with BBC Igbo.
He said: “It all started when Henry Lewis Gates, who was at Harvard, decided to do this DNA testing to see where my ancestry came from. It was me, it was Oprah Winfrey. It was Quincy Jones and others.
“Mine was traced back to West Africa, to Nigeria and particularly Igbo. My ancestors were Igbos. It’s indescribable. It gives something that we the African-Americans don’t have, which is roots.
“It gave me an understanding of my roots. It was interesting to see how similar my personality is to how Igbo people are described. They’re described as hardworking, industrious and innovative.
They have strong business acumen. I deeply relate to that. It explained me to me. It’s odd that I was never born there, yet, see so many traces. I’ve always had a strong business acumen.
“I’ve been aggressive in business. Although I’ve been known for the faith aspect, I have several companies and I’ve owned my own resources. My children all started studying ancestry about Igbos, and even more about Africa. I’ll like to reconnect with our brothers and sisters over there.
“When I’m in Nigeria, I experience the food. I eat the fufu and the jollof rice. I have those kinds of experiences. I’ve had more than I can name. I go to Accra in Ghana and Lagos quite often.
“What I know about the food is that it’s almost always hot and spicy. I ate it before but the food over there is so hot it makes your head sweat. And I like it.
“One of the tragedies of slave trade is not just that we were taken from our home, culture, people, and food. We lost our history. African-American history is taught over here from boat landings.
“And we assumed a name that does not define us. Jakes is a German name that only signified who owned my ancestors. To reach beyond the boats in chains to touch a soil where I’m from.
“To understand that my ancestors were something before they were a slave is extremely gratifying. It really confirms why I have such fascination about the continent of Africa.”
Speaking on what is in store for Africa concerning international trade and globalisation, the popular preacher stated that he hopes that Africa’s dealings with world powers don’t obliterate its culture and history.
“Colonialism affected you as slavery did us. So we’re still trying to untangle ourselves from the after-effects of some of the atrocities that did not dignify us,” he said.
“They were more interested in the land than the people. So they divided up the land at the expense of the people. And I think we’re still trying to overcome that. I say ‘we’ because we were there too.
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“I deeply respect and understand that there’s a passion amongst may Igbos to recede from Nigeria to develop their own influence and culture. We’re grappling with the after-effects of colonialism.
“We need to re-understand ourselves beyond white supremacy and reconnect. We can’t become so tribal that we do it to disintegrate opportunities that come through trade and interconnectivity.
“There’s huge opportunity for Africans and African-Americans to come together for business and prosperity. The more we explore each other, the better for our civilization.
“My hope for Igbos; Africa is that, as superpowers come in with technology, culture isn’t snuffed out. And that they understand that ownership is critical in the deals they make with the world.” (THEWILL)
