Legacy

 Our Reporter

FCE, Osiele, Abeokuta calls. Ebenezer Obey, an illustrious indigene, obeys.

Both strike a big blow for history, heritage and institutional memory

Nigeria’s greatest contemporary problem would appear the lack of hindsight. Instead of establishing trends, to develop some historic intelligence and perspective, which help to map out solutions to recurrent problems, most problems — poverty, insecurity, reproductive health, etc, all recurring — are often viewed as novel and unique.

The media yaks. Politicians rail. The people wail. Even what happened yesterday is blissfully forgotten. It’s a near-zero absence of institutional memory. But pray, which people make progress without enriching themselves with insights from hindsight? It is what an acute sense of history gifts smart societies.

So, when the Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta in Ogun State, floated the idea of a mini-museum, fired by famous and illustrious Ogun State indigenes donating personal effects to the gallery, one would have thought that was a wonderful idea that privileged class of Ogun natives would jump at.

For one, this class would have bequeathed their “lives and times”, in real terms, by blessing this gallery with their personal effects and other memorabilia. For another, they would have inspired and motivated present students of the school, and other youths visiting the gallery, if the mini-museum is made a public facility, to structure their lives and careers after these living legends. It is such an excellent idea, for which the college authorities ought to reap plaudits.

But as at the last count, only Ebenezer Fabiyi aka Ebenezer Obey, the famed juju musician that, with his illustrious rival, King Sunny Ade (KSA), held the longest-ever spell of musical hegemony so far in Nigerian history, has responded to that call. Dr. Soyele Adekola, speaking for the college authorities, said that much.

“Here we are today. This is what he has done,” he said. “As far as I am concerned, this is the best cubicle in this gallery. He donated it and has spent millions of Naira and we appreciate him for that. You have made our day,” Dr. Adekola spoke directly to Obey, who was present at the cubicle’s opening, “and you are part of history.”

The report on the event published in The Nation of October 9, said former President Olusegun Obasanjo was among the invitees to populate the college’s mini-museum; but that his allotted cubicle was “barely filled with handful of archival items, such as quotations, sculptural pieces and photographs.” The former president can do far better, for the cause is good and noble.

In contrast, the Obey gallery ripples with refreshing life, in form of sparkling personal effects and memorabilia: two guitars, a pair of eye glasses, dresses, shoes, musical albums and sleeves, and iconic photographs of the musical star in his heyday — indeed the rich portrait of the musician as a star artiste!

Obey himself crowed: “I am a proud son of the soil and a legendary music icon, who has been active in the last 60 years and is still active. The journey of my life has been a source of testimony and inspiration to me. I was conceived in Idogo (near Ota, in present-day Ogun State), born in Massey Hospital on Lagos Island, raised in Idogo and Abeokuta before finally coming to reside in Lagos.”

It would get even merrier, when the fawning audience asked the ace musician to render his old numbers. “Okay,” came the riposte from Obey, after many a rendition, “which one do you want?” Without much ado, great Obey hits like Aimasiko, Aye wa a toro, Ota mi dehin le yin mi, Oro Oluwa Ede, ‘Board Members’, Eniri Nkan he, Ori mi koniburu and Kete Kete filled the air: the ace musician singing; the swooning audience singing along.

That was Obey, still very much around, “writing” his own history. But when he is long gone, the personal effects and musical memorabilia he has donated to the FCE mini-museum would tell the story for the coming generation.

But that is only one leg of the story. The other leg Oludamola Adebowale, the curator of the show, volunteered — to inspire present-day students of the college; and show generally the younger generation that they could attain greatness if only they stayed serious and focused.

Still, Adebowale declared a personal triumph, being the curator of the cubicle featuring the great juju musician: “It is not just about telling the story of his selfless and legendary life, but also witnessing his accomplishments, struggles and success at the same time.”

But after-life witnessing is a function of proper documentation; and the more direct and primary the material, the better from the historical point of view. So, the low response from the invitees could also be a function of poor documentation by the people concerned. That calls for better record-keeping culture across the board.

But the invitees could also have been cool towards the project for fear of poor archival preservation capacity. For instance, what is the guarantee that, 10, 20 or 50 years down the line, the Obey materials would still be in tick-tock conditions? That is the guarantee the Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta, should put in place to encourage other donors to follow the Obey path.

Since those invited to populate the mini-museum cut across sectors and professions, can you imagine the sheer historic beauty of cubicles featuring musicians, soldiers, politicians, doctors and allied medics, journalists, judges and lawyers, teachers, engineers, etc, and how they had impacted on the pressing challenges of their own day?

Such vibrant testimonies would go a long way to change the seeming present penchant for holding legacy and heritage in sheer contempt. That alarming atrophy for our own history has gone on for too long. It is time to change tack. That welcome change would boost institutional memory, with the added boon that we will continue to learn from our past mistakes; and therefore fortify our future and that of the coming generation.

That is the promise of historic consciousness. By this initiative, FCE, Osiele, Abeokuta, has shown the way. Let other tertiary institutions follow that route by devising own devices to showcase and celebrate local icons, and therefore boost the history of their host communities.