⁣The Diamond Empire
1 Feb 1994


⁣SEASON 1994: EPISODE 9


Second only to Christmas, Valentine’s Day is the holiday when diamonds are most often given as the ultimate token of love. Central to the diamond’s role as a romantic symbol is the belief that diamonds are one of the rarest, most precious gifts for a loved one. But it’s only a myth–diamonds are found in plentiful supply. FRONTLINE examines how the great myth about the scarcity of diamonds and their inflated value was created and maintained over the decades by the diamond cartel. This report chronicles how one family, the Oppenheimers of South Africa, gained control of the supply, marketing, and pricing of the world’s diamonds.

There are moments in history when a people decide they have had enough. Moments when silence becomes betrayal, and fear gives way to fire.

Chief Tola Adeniyi, former Editor-in-chief of the Tribune takes us back to one of those moments, the dark, combustible days of 1965 in Nigeria’s Western Region. A time when politics lost its soul, elections were twisted, and the will of the people was trampled under the weight of power. The result was chaos. Streets burned. Trust collapsed. A nation trembled.

It was called “Operation Wetie”—a phrase that is a warning bell across generations.

With the burden of memory, Adeniyi draws a chilling line between that past and the present. He reflects on the patterns of power, the dangers of electoral manipulation, and the fragile line between order and anarchy. In his view, history is watching for an opportunity to repeat itself.

As Nigeria moves under the leadership of Bola Tinubu, he raises a question that refuses to go away: are we learning from history, or are we rehearsing it?

John Coltrane Quartet at Birdland - Afro Blue (1963)

Personnel: John Coltrane (soprano sax), McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), Elvin Jones (drums)

from the album 'COLTRANE LIVE AT BIRDLAND' (Impulse! Records)

African women of antiquity were legendary for their beauty and power. Especially great were the Queens of Ethiopia; Queen of Sheba (960 B.C.), Candace of Meroe and her defeat of Alexander the Great (332 B.C.), Amanirenas, Amanishakhete, Nawidemak, Amanitore (Acts 8:26-40), Shanakdakh, and Malegereabar.

Sarah Vaughan Doodlin' (1959) Count Basie Orchestra.Doodlin' by Horace Silver.

Chief Linguist Kwame Frimpong Manso Adakabre shares the wisdom and knowledge of the Akan Proverbs. He explains the meanings, origins, and uses of proverbs.
(Contact yenkassa@gmail.com for use.)

Kwame Ture speaks at Florida International University in Miami in 1992.

From the LP ‎"Asubonten" - Diram ‎– LDR
1977

We are our ancestors! It's a declaration we all champion. But if Afrikans are their ancestors are not europeans their ancestors as well? If this is true why are we embracing "white allies"? We answer that question and more in this episode.

Music Video for song "Imani" by Tamu Mazama & Bled Miki
Shot in Guadeloupe, Directed by Dylan Farah

Choreography: Coco

Part 1 - Spark 0:00
Part 2 - The Age of Invention 58:30
Part 3 - Revelations and Revolutions 1:56:50

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In this three-part BBC Horizon documentary physicist and science communicator Jim Al-Khalili takes the viewer on a journey exploring the most important historical developments in electricity and magnetism. This documentary discusses how the physics (and the people behind the physics) changed the world forever.

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BBC Horizon 2011