MAPING A BENCHMARK FOR FUTURE GENERATION

We recognized the need to update our knowledge of, and correct the misconceptions about Mkpani society and their culture. This is because a lot of things have been written and said about the people by people who do not have adequate information on the community, and who routinely transpose and proceed to judge them by such norms. For example, Mkpani society is one of those societies, which, until recently, had received insufficient attention from scholars, and consequently had been grossly misrepresented.” It soon became clear that, in order to supply the “missing links” and fill the gap in our information about the Mkpani society and her people, the priorities of Mkpaniland and Mkpani people had to be determined from within – by the Mkpani people themselves. This is logical as it is only proper that Mkpani people tell their own story as a contribution to existing information and knowledge on contemporary society. The statement that no people can map their future in this world without a solid knowledge of their past (i.e. where they are coming from) is a compelling truism. Thus, the fundamental mission of A Survey of the Mkpani Community can be viewed as bringing together a comprehensive body of informed knowledge about the people based on what Yakpankpani think and know about themselves. The achievement of this mission can, no doubt, be a powerful instrument necessary for the future development of Yakpankpani. In particular, Mkpani children wherever they find themselves in this globe cannot truly maximize their potential in the Nigerian, World or whatever context without a sound comprehensive knowledge of themselves. Therefore, this article should be seen as a necessary tool in the arsenal of intellectual weaponry required for nurturing every Mkpani child wherever he or she finds himself or herself to attain the fullest potential possible. Without doubt, this publication has stirred the embers of scholarly curiosity, which, if ignited and nurtured could form the basis of a gigantic project on an epic scale that could light up our path into the documentation of the Mkpani Civilization for posterity. The example, which A Survey of the Mkpani society furnishes as a model or a framework of that project represents a significant head start of that journey of a thousand miles which, as the famous Chinese proverb tells us, must start with one step.