SPEECH BY THE CUBAN AMBASSADOR IN NIGERIA – MIRIAM MORALES AT THE 7TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EXIT OF COMMANDANTE FIDEL CASTRO, November 25th 2023.
Fidel’s legacy is in the concept of Revolution written by him in 2020, and he says
“Revolution is a sense of the historical moment; It is changing everything that must be changed; it is full equality and freedom; It is being treated and treating others as human beings; It is to emancipate ourselves by ourselves and with our own efforts; is to challenge powerful dominant forces within and outside the social and national sphere; It is defending values in which one believes at the price of any sacrifice; it is modesty, selflessness, altruism, solidarity and heroism; it is to fight with audacity, intelligence and realism; It is never lying or violating ethical principles; It is a deep conviction that there is no force in the world capable of crushing the force of truth and ideas. Revolution is unity, it is independence, it is fighting for our dreams of justice for Cuba and for the world, which is the basis of our patriotism, our socialism and our internationalism.”
Fidel, human being and exceptional leader to whom we pay tribute as a great friend and comrade, promoter, main architect of unity and a tireless fighter for humanity.
One cannot talk about the legacy of Fidel’s thought as an internationalist, without talking about Africa. He always stood out in speeches linked to the African continent that spoke of his people as actors in his history.
When he made his historic tour of several African countries in 1972, he always showed interest in appreciating the life of the populations up close. 
Since then, it is the African people who will occupy an essential place in his oratory and in the projection of his revolutionary work.
Since 1966, he constantly reflected on the need for unity of the African and Cuban peoples, since imperialism sought precisely to disunite the revolutionary forces, and that is why a common front had to be formed: and he stated “if the fight against the forces that threaten peace, against the remnants of colonialism and the still unconquered power of imperialism, becomes more difficult and risky if we must undertake that battle when our forces are broken by disunity.
Fidel identified early on that colonialism, neocolonialism and imperialism are synonymous with interference not only in politics, but also in culture. That is why he always highlighted the consequences of colonization and imperialism with respect to cultures; In his speeches, poverty is not only related to the economy, but goes further, referring us to colonial cultural plunder and its desire to impoverish the identity of colonized countries.
Fidel Castro argued at the time the “duty of compensation” that Cubans had with Africa, by virtue of the crucial role played by Africans and their descendants in the independence and revolutionary wars, in their contribution to the construction of the Cuban nation and in the creation of wealth that successive generations of all races have enjoyed.
I ended my intervention with a quote from Commander Fidel in a speech in Havana on March 21, 1962 and that is completely valid today and he says. “(…) in no other minute of human history is peace so necessary, because in no other minute of human history does war mean so much destruction and so much death. At no other minute in human history is the idea of war as terrible as at this moment.”
Now I invite you on behalf of all the members of my embassy and my people to plant a Royal Palm dedicated to our beloved Fidel Forever.
The royal palm was chosen as the national tree in Cuba for being the most numerous of its trees, for being the most notable species in its landscapes, resistant and durable, for its beauty, for its usefulness and for being represented in the national coat of arms.
Here this palm will grow, and it will endure like the ideas of our beloved Commander in Chief, Fidel
Fidel Castro: 7th Anniversary Of His Mortal Departure Was Commemorated With Palm Tree Planting At Cuban Embassy In Abuja
