Although the goats are now being grazed by the hawkers who are planning to build Akon’s ‘Wakanda’ city, he says those who are afraid of him will be seen as “very foolish” in the days to come.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC, the Smack That singer assured fans waiting for refunds from his Token of Appreciation cryptocurrency campaign that they will receive their money back, and that he will have to pay for it out of his own pocket. .
Akon, who was born in America but some years ago was raised in Senegal, announced two major projects in 2018 that were supposed to show the future vision of the wider African community.
First City I was supposed to be worth 6 billion dollars and it was supposed to have high-rise towers. It had to be combined with his second plan- which is a new cryptocurrency technology called Akoin.
Only a few years later, both projects were plagued by problems and delays and the site where the city was supposed to be built is now empty.
One day in September 2020, Akon, wearing a blue jacket, walked and stood boldly on the ground of the tape in the unused dust. There was a group of journalists from all over the world who had gathered to cover the official opening of the artist’s work in a sprawling city with an intriguing design.
The people of the area applauded when the curtain was opened to reveal a sketchy blueprint of what the building would look like. Only years later, the question of whether the plans will be fulfilled will divide the residents of the area.
“We thought we could do the work at this rate, maybe our children will do it,” one resident told the BBC. “We still have confidence that this project will be done. We hope that our children will stay here to work.”
Another resident says they have no confidence in the project before adding that “when it’s time to do it, if it finds us here, we’ll look at how to set up our own.”
Akon City has previously been compared in the press to Wakanda, the iconic African capital depicted in the Black Panther movies and comic books. The first part of this city was supposed to consist of a road, university, shops, hostels, hotel, police station, school, taka station and solar plant, which was supposed to be completed by the end of this year 2023. Only after the delay time and time again, few things seem to have changed since the day the event was officially launched.
Some celebrity financial sites estimate Akon’s net worth at between $60 and $80 million, while others wonder where the money will come from to make this project of such magnitude possible. His team says that there are international organizations that will support the investment sector itself.
Akon said that the excavation work here will start before the end of the year, adding that additions will be announced at the youth center that built the rural residents of the area. Construction work in the city, Akon says, is “not fully completed.”
Akon’s hometown has been dubbed “Crypto City” and in August 2020 Akon said the city’s financial infrastructure would be “built” from his Akoin currency. Only that currency has been facing various challenges and delays.
He admits that he has not been represented and monitored properly. Here I accept my responsibility and role and I do not depend on anyone else.”
Before the official launch of the Akon cryptocurrency, the Akoin website announced a space for sale, a campaign called Token of Appreciation (TOA).
The campaign was announced more than two years before the Akoin cryptocurrency became available. It was raising money to cover the cost of launching the Akoin currency and it will be available.
Funds sent to TOAs are referred to as “funds” on the Akoin TOA website only including the special reason for depositing funds at this time. Depositors were told that for every one dollar they deposited they would receive up to four TOAs which would then be converted into Akoin currency in equal amounts.
