The centuries-old statue – known as the Ngonnso had been in Europe (nowi in Berlin) since it had been taken by a German colonialist. In 2018, she promised her grandfather to bring back the Ngonnso.
She began to examine who she really was, after stripping “off all the colonial cultures, all the colonial legacies that I have inherited”.
Ms Njobati returned home to seek advice from her grandfather, who had experienced his own identity crisis and regretted not embracing his Nso heritage and choosing to become a Presbyterian pastor rather than a community leader.
Her grandfather not only expressed sadness about what he had lost but also what the Nso people had lost both culturally and materially, including the Ngonnso.
According to Nso tradition, Ngonnso was the founder of their kingdom, which dates back to the 14th Century.
Following her death, her statue took on great significance. It was seen as a cultural cornerstone for the Nso.
