When Dr. Clement Apaak (top), a Simon Fraser University-trained archeologist, set up Direct Assistance Network, an organization to help poor and needy students in Africa earlier this year, he never knew he would be embroiled in a controversy so soon.
It all began when the SFU-based One world, One Vision (iVow) decided to collaborate with Apaak’s outfit to raise funds for female students in his native Ghana on World Peace Day (September 21, 2010). iVow had planned a splendid musical show with Somali-Canadian hiphop star K’naan being the main attraction.
Unfortunately for everybody including SFU students who had bought tickets for the show, K’naan did not appear. The reasons: the student organizers did not fulifill their part of the bargain. Yhey were supposed to pay $40,000 up front but could only come up with $18,000. Also, according to K’Naan’s handlers, the production facilities in place where not up to the standards they required.
The K’naan no-show did not lead to a huge explosion of anger at SFU (as was feared) although a number of students did express their displeasure (see video. Apaak is on the right of speaker). Apaak, who later admitted that he dd not have all the facts on the incident, said some harsh words about K’naan’s tour manager Lydia B and is expressing a desire to meet with her and personally apologize to her even though he had already apologized on Facebook and twitter. A contrite Apaak says he deeply regretted his remarks and strenously maintains that he is not racist and hopes to meet with or talk to Lydia pretty soon to clear the air.
K’naan.
Clement Apaak is from Ghana and is a former president of the SFU student society. While a student at SFU, he also founded another organization, Canadian Students for Darfur. Direct Assistance Network is one of his new ventures that has been gatheirng momentum in the last few months.
Some observers blame K’naan and his team for the fiasco, saying the rapper should not have asked for money from a charity or for charitable work to help suffering people in Africa while others say he should not be expected to work for free, adding that the organizers should be blamed for not fulfilling their part of a mutually agreed on contract. K’naan also blamed the organizers (iVow) who had also accepted blame and apologized to their patrons and supporters.
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