African Renaissance Monument

Standing atop a 100-meter high colina overlooking the Atlantic Ocean exterior Dakar , inward Senegal , stands the gigantic Monument to the African Renaissance. At 49 meters , it’s the tallest statue inward the whole of the African continent , fifty-fifty taller than the Statue of Liberty yesteryear several feet.

Meant to pay homage to the African people , the statue has instead drawn huge criticism for everything — its $27 meg cost tag , the Stalinist-style machismo , its un-Islamic depiction of women , too the utilization of unusual workers.

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Photo credit: Sbreitinger/Wikimedia

When it was completed inward 2010 , Wade faced criticism for spending also much coin on the statue when the province was reeling nether an economical crises. The financing itself was based on a controversial organization inward which a individual developer paid for the structure inward central for a lucrative package of authorities solid seat down close the airport. To brand affair worse , Wade began to claim intellectual belongings rights of the statue , too insisted that he live on paid 35 pct of the profits raised equally royalty.

Wade also came nether burn for falsely claiming the statue’s Senegalese rootage , when it was revealed that it was designed yesteryear a Romanaian architect too built yesteryear a North Korean sculpting companionship famous for diverse projects too large statues throughout Africa. Few people understood why a statue celebrating African liberty too renaissance had to live on build yesteryear unusual nationals.

Then , at that spot was about who took offence at the scantily clad adult woman revealing business office of her breasts too thighs , calling it a sacrilege against Muslim culture. Others pointed out that the facial features of the statues didn’t acquit resemblance to African people. Some fifty-fifty rumored that its manful someone human face upwardly was crafted to resemble Mr. Wade. Most concur that Soviet-style statue is out of house , too represents the macho sexism of African authoritarian rulers than anything else.

The monument is ane of the close visited inward Dakar today , only the revenue generated from the handful of visitors is yet non plenty to comprehend the site’s operating cost.

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