Mansa Abubakari II

- 'The Explorer King'

Mansa Abubakari  Keita II was an African emperor who ruled Mali in the 14th century and discovered America nearly 200 years before Christopher Columbus, according to African griots. He once ruled what was the richest and largest empire on earth - covering nearly all of West Africa. Abubakari's ambition was to explore to discover if the Atlantic Ocean - like the great River Niger that swept through Mali - had another 'bank'.

In 1311, he handed the throne over to his brother Mansa Musa, and set off on an expedition with 2000 boats to cross the Atlantic.

It should however be noted that Abubakari II was not the first ever to cross the ocean."There is evidence that the Vikings were in America long before him, as well as the Chinese.  Abubakari's fleet of pirogues, loaded with men and women, livestock, food and drinking water, departed from what is the coast of present-day Gambia.

They are gathering evidence that in 1312 Abubakari II landed on the coast of Brazil in the place known today as Recife.  "Its other name is Purnanbuco, which was an aberration of the Mande name for the rich gold fields that accounted for much of the wealth of the Mali Empire, Boure Bambouk."

Another researcher, Khadidjah Djire says they have found written accounts of Abubakari's expedition in Egypt, in a book written by Al Umari in the 14th century. "Our aim is to bring out hidden parts of history", she says.  Columbus, himself, who he found black traders already present in the Americas and those report is still being examined by researchers.

They also cite chemical analyses of the gold tips that Columbus found on spears in the Americas, which show that the gold probably came from West Africa.

The best sources of information on Abubakari II are Griots - the original historians in Africa. The paradox of Abubakari II, is that the Griots themselves imposed a seal of silence on the story. "The Griots found his abdication a shameful act, not worthy of praise. "For that reason they have refused to sing praise or talk of this great African man."

The Griots in West Africa such as Sadio Diabate, are slowly starting to divulge the secrets on Abubakari II.  It is said an even bigger challenge is to convince hard-nosed historians elsewhere that oral history can be just as accurate as written records.

 Abubakari's saga has an important moral lesson for leaders of small nation states in West Africa, which were once part of the vast Mande-speaking empire. "Look at what's going on in all the remnants of that empire, in Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea. Politicians are bathing their countries in blood, setting them on fire just so that they can cling to power. They should take an example from Abubakari II. He was a far more powerful man than any of them. And he was willing to give it all up in the name of science and discovery.

Simon Okadapau

Uganda