The Nation Newspaper

Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

WSICE 2020 virtual exhibition: Celebrating Soyinka at 86

The WSICE 2020 Programme takes a new bearing this year due to the global COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the world. Not disturbed by this distraction, however, the project is moving its vigor to a virtual space.

This also goes for the Program Exhibition which will be held in a Virtual Space this year. Now in its third instalment, ‘Timeless Memories’, is an art initiative series created and curated by Oludamola Adebowale, to celebrate the legacy of Prof. Wole Soyinka and other well meaning individuals in the creative art industry.

According to the Curator Oludamola Adebowale , “the idea of the ‘Timeless Memories’ project series is to project the legacy of Prof. Wole Soyinka and the amazing body of works he has created in new innovative mediums for this generation and the generation to come” In July 2019, the series started with the ‘Timeless Memories: A Decade of Iconic Celebration’ Exhibition which celebrated the 10th year anniversary of the WSICE Project and the 85th birthday of Prof.Soyinka. The Exhibition was well attended by about 2000 secondary school students. An array of archival images spanning over 10 years of activities of the WSICE Project was on display.

In November 2019, the ‘Timeless Memories: Elastic Effects of Wole Soyinka’ was staged at Freedom Park, Lagos. The Exhibition featured illustrative artworks around Prof. Wole Soyinka, alongside a 23-minute Documentary and a 17ft Mural which was on display.

READ ALSO: ‘What makes Soyinka cultural exchange unique’

This year’s Virtual Exhibition is titled ‘Timeless Memories; The Humanity of WS’. The exhibition title draws from the WSICE Theme “I AM because YOU ARE”, and also aims to reinforce the commitment of Prof. Soyinka and the objective behind the WSICE program – which is primarily educating young minds for a better tomorrow.

The Virtual Exhibition will feature new illustrative works, some works from the November 201 exhibition and also an E-Art book that will be available for download for free on the WSICE Website. The Virtual Exhibition will be hosted on the WSICE website. It will run from July 13th to July 1st 2021.

The exhibition is proudly supported by the following Partners; Guardian Life Magazine, ASIRI Magazine, Zmirage Multimedia Ltd, New Dawn Productions, Jaw Media, ZMC and Olu Ajayi.

June 22, 2020
In support of a trado-cultural approach
Brigitte Yerima

COVID-19 pandemic is without doubt, the greatest health challenge facing humanity since last year December. Although pre-empted by many, it seems to have caught the world by surprise. Initially, most nations of the world paid little or no attention to the virus until it became a global phenomenon.

With no proven and acceptable cure even by western orthodox standards up till now, the general response to the pandemic has been by way of western defensive methods: border closure, erection of isolation centers, mobilising medical personnel and facilities as well as enforcing ‘stay at home’ orders or lock down except for food, medical and essential services and facilities. These are also accompanied with hype on personal hygiene. Yet, these have really not helped in containing the scourge.

In the light of the above, the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), a Parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, has assessed the pandemic and post Covid-19 situation in the country and therefore called for a trado- cultural pathway. It is imperative to note that the institute which was established by Act 93, of 1993 came into existence in response to the United Nations Declaration of the World Decade for Cultural Development (WDCD) 1988-1997, which acknowledged the cultural dimension of development and the need to broaden participation in cultural life, among other things.

The institute was set up with the primary responsibility of harnessing our cultural resources to meet the challenges of social integration and to serve as a vital force for energizing the various cultural establishments.

NICO also serves as a focus for orientation of Nigerians and also ensures that the cultural dimension is made central instead of peripheral in Nigeria’s development programmes.

Incidentally, the global pandemic presents an opportunity for Nigerians to plan on how to survive post COVID-19 using the cultural way.

Culture as defined by the cultural policy, ‘ is the totality of the way of life evolved by a people in their attempt to meet the challenge of living in their environment which gives order to their social, political, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and modes of organization thus distinguishing a people from their neighbors.’

Culture comprises the material, institutional, philosophical and creative aspects of a people. The material aspect has to do with their artifacts in the broadest form, such as tools, clothing, food, medicine, utensils, housing, etc. The institutional deals with the political, social, legal, and economic structures erected to help achieve material and spiritual objectives, while the philosophical is concerned with ideas, beliefs and values, i.e. the creative concerns of a people’s literature (oral and written) as well as their visual and performing arts, which are normally molded by as well as help to mold other aspects of culture.

From the above, we can see that culture is a complete and holistic way of life of a people. It is noteworthy here that food, clothing, tools, utensils, housing and interestingly medicine i. e. traditional medicine, which is where our interest lies is at the heart of the material culture of a people.

It is instructive to know that several people have advanced ‘cures’ for the Corona virus pandemic. The US President Donald Trump was quoted as saying that drinking of disinfectant could cure it. This, of course, has been dismissed as being outlandish. The French leadership opined the use of hydrochloric oxide yet none has been approved as a possible cure or a preventive.

Some lion hearts of Nigeria’s traditional medicine and alternative medicine are proudly and confidently bringing out one formula after another as possible cure for the coronavirus. Prof Maurice Iwu led the way by saying he’d found a cure. Prof Ayodele Adeleye, a former microbiology lecturer and medical researcher at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria also said he’s found a cure. Dr. Ben Amodu who owns a 30-bed African Alternative Medicine Hospital in Abuja claimed that one of his patients had tested negative after treatment. He displayed an array of herbal formulas, which he claimed have cured lung cancer, other lung diseases and therefore can cure COVID-19 and most recently the Catholic monks in Ewu, Edo State have also claimed to have made inroads into finding a cure for the virus.
- Yerima is Acting Executive/Secretary NICO
June 17, 2020
Booksellers frown at composition of Committee

Ozolua Uhakheme, Assistant Editor (Arts)

PRESIDENT Booksellers Association of Nigeria and Managing Director, CSS Bookshops Limited Mr. Dare M. Oluwatuyi has frowned at the poor representation of the book sector in the recently inaugurated Post-Covid-19 Committee for the creative industry by Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. He said the association is not happy that in drawing up the list of the committee members, the books sector of the creative industry, and notably the booksellers segment was not properly represented.

“We also want to heavily underscore the fact that the book industry may even be worse hit than the entertainment industry,” he said, noting that one of the effects of COVID-19 pandemic is the shutdown of schools, which also meant the closure of book industry.

“COVID-19 pandemic effect on the book industry today is the fact that schools (the prime patrons of books in the country) are closed down? The simple implication of this is that the book industry has literally also been closed down,” he added.

Oluwatuyi in a statement titled Booksellers position on the inauguration of the Post COVID-19 Committee for the Creative Industry stated that a little more need to be done to help booksellers in Nigeria cope with the travails induced on the sector in particular by the current crisis and going forward.

Decrying the composition of the committee, he said: “When the committee was expanded, all the thirteen entertainment industry (Nollywood) associations had a representative each. In contrast, only Mr. Bala Hassan was picked as a lone representative of the publishing industry to represent the book sector, notwithstanding the fact that the book trade encapsulates group segments like the Booksellers Association of Nigeria (BAN), Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA), Chartered Institute of Practicing Printers of Nigeria (CIPPON), Association of Nigeria Authors (ANA) and Nigerian Library Association (NLA).”

He noted that while not attempting to query the parameters presumably used in arriving at the decisions reached in the choice of new members for the committee, government should begin to do more to give the book the right pride of place in her policies. According to him, in Nigeria’s history, long before the emergence of Nollywood, there have been booksellers (pioneered by CSS Bookshops Limited that was established in 1869), and then authors, publishers, printers and librarians. “Again, different administrations have made the point about the dwindling reading culture in the country and its negative effect on the educational and social fabric of the nation.

But, how will the reading culture be improved when the book industry does not receive the right support from the government? Again, over the years, the book industry has suffered untold hardship at the hands of book pirates almost without let,” he stressed.

He therefore urged federal government to provide more slots for the book industry in the Post-Covid-19 Committee for Creative Industry as the starting point for even broader engagement with the sector.

June 17, 2020
‘Isolation good for artists, art’

Obidike Okafor

ART has always been a part of Samuel Ajobiewe. His love for art makes it such that everything around him serves as an influence and inspiration for when he is creating works. He began with documenting aspects of daily life and his environment, often having his wife – (who is also an artist) and his children – serve as a muse for a lot of his portraitures.

Right from the onset, Ajobiewe explored art as a means of documenting history. Over the years of his long practice, he mastered his craft, documenting the daily life of the everyday man, and then evolved into a social critic. The artworks he has produced lately addresses issues of insecurity, political turbulence, human rights and other distressing issues that have eaten into the fabric of Nigerian society.

After his last solo exhibition at Mydrim Gallery in 2009, Ajobiewe seemed to have dropped off the vibrant art scene in Nigeria. For 8 years, he relocated to Benin Republic not minding of being forgotten by enthusiasts and his collectors. When asked about this, the artist said: “I never really thought about it until I returned to Nigeria in 2012. I didn’t think about the effect of my absence would have on the minds of people conversant with my art. But, when I returned I took part in auctions and group exhibitions.”

In 2009, Ajiobewe left the noisy, busy city of Lagos, to Abbomeycalabi, a quiet town outside the more famous Cotonou in the Benin Republic. Moving there allowed him to heal from some health issues he was having, and a chance to continue developing himself as an artist.

“I moved out of Lagos after I developed some health issues. While in the Benin Republic I realised that my use of oil was part of the things affecting my health, so I moved to pastel and then drawing. I tried sculpture, before experimenting with acrylic. I tried all of this when I found that drawing with oil was part of the things affecting my health. So, using acrylic brought some relief because it helped me get back my essence as an artist and in the art market,” Ajobiewe said.

At a time when ‘social distancing’ and ‘isolation’ are the buzz words due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected many countries in the world, Ajiobewe feels self-isolation is part of the process for an artist to create his works.

“It is important for me as an artist to be isolated. I avoid thiings that could distract me or derail my focus. I go out, but I minimize staying away from my studio, because I need time to do research, study my sketches before finally putting them on the canvas. So in a way, all these processes isolate artists most times,” he said.

After his return in 2017, Ajiobewe has been working on his first solo exhibition in 11 years and has found his way back into the loving arms of the art community in Nigeria. From simply documenting history, which led to being a social commentator by the works he has created, Ajobiewe plans to exert himself as a social critic through art.

Ajobiewe’s love for art stems from his love for humanity, and as such, he is always looking forward to creating works that have a purpose and impacts society.

“Before I paint, I decide what message I want to pass across. I want my messages to be something that everyone is familiar with,” he said.

Even though he is planning to hold an exhibition in June or July, Ajobiewe is now focusing on playing his part through art in reminding humanity of what happened during the pandemic and the lessons that can be learnt.

“Although with the pandemic, artists have the challenge of buying materials to work with, and staying indoors all the time does not help the artist get ideas. It also provides the artist with new ideas. You will see works from artists on themes like social distancing and face masks,” he added.

June 17, 2020
France-based curator donates facemasks to Edo community

Ozolua Uhakheme, Assistant Editor (Arts)

BARELY few weeks after a group of United Kingdom (UK)-based indigenes of Sobe in Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State donated foodstuffs to the elderly in the community, some hundreds of facemasks have also been distributed to residents of the community. This time, it was courtesy of France-based renowned art curator Bose Fagbemi.

The distribution of the personal protection equipment, which was produced locally, was coordinated by Rev. Fr Clement Oddiah and a school teacher Miss Mary Itiku. According to Rev Oddiah, the items were shared among the less privileged and elderly in the community through churches, mosques and commercial motor-cycle’s operators and transport unions who are the likely vulnerable people in the community.

He said the donation was to complement what other groups and government have been doing to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on members of the community, especially the elderly.

“In line with the directive of Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Federal Government that as part of ways of checking the spread of the coronavirus, nose masks were made compulsory for every citizen. So, as a way of giving back to the society, we decided to complement the efforts of the state government in flattening the curve,” he said.

This is not the first time Fagbemi will be giving back to Sobe community. Last year October, she organised a skill acquisition programme at the St. Thomas Catholic Parish ground in Sobe to train no fewer than 40 women and jobless young girls in different skills that will put food on their tables. The empowerment programme included soap and disinfectants making, business development training as well as motivational talks. The exercise tagged Multi-disciplinary Creative, which lasted for a day had Genevieve Egbunno as trainer, while Mary Itiku was motivational speaker. The event was co-organised by Rev. Fr Polycarp, Rev. Fr Clement Oddiah and coordinated by Osas Oburekin.

Recalling her experiences at the training session, Egbunno said: “The participants were taught how to make soap and disinfectant while Itiku took them on the dangers of drug, crime and human trafficking among other vices. They were very responsive and happy to be part of the exercise. In fact, they wanted the event to run for more days.”

Egbunno is a 2008 graduate of Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She is the creative director of Sovieve, a ready to wear women’s fashion brand with the vision to empower young disadvantaged girls and women through free fashion classes to promote economic growth and gender equality. Itiku is a 2013 holder of HND in Animal Production Technology from College of Agriculture, Lafia, Nasarawa State.

But for COVID-19 pandemic, the skill acquisition programme would have become an annual event to empower lots of the teeming youths in Sobe community, according to Fagbemi who regretted the cancellation of this year’s edition.

June 17, 2020
Expert advises Fed Govt on erosion control

Janefrances Chibuzor

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), Dr. Muhtari Aminu-Kano has urged government and other stakeholders to engage in the preservation and restoration of wetlands and floodplains, describing flood management solution; protection of coastal wetlands/ecosystem as natural risk management tool against coastal erosion among others.

He stated that ecosystems like forests and wetlands are critical to human wellbeing and provide enormous biodiversity conservation benefits, adding that degraded forests can be restored by planting efforts. Aminu-Kano, who spoke on: “We need nature, not the other way round” at the virtual interaction organised by The Nigerian Environmental Society, Lagos State Chapter to commemorate World Environment Day 2020 said that nature provides certain crucial services to man.

“Among them are food, feeding, clothes and shelter, environmental education, culture and identity, soil fertility, climate regulation, pollination, habitats, air quality and energy others.

‘’Nature provides herbal medicines, which is considered as the best solution to treat diseases. It shows clearly how much of nature we need. This we should focus on and promote as it is easy to access and so affordable,” he added.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shodex Garden Mr. Olusola Adekoya, who spoke on To care for ourselves, said we must care for nature, stated that nature provides us with services that make our existence on earth possible and enjoyable.

He observed that the earth is undergoing unprecedented degradation and as a result it is dying so ‘we need to heal her for our common good.’

He said: “Ecosystem services are our live line on this earth without which we cannot survive as humans. All human needs and wants are centre around these services and the healthier the natural environment is the better we get these services.”

According to him, the way we care for ourselves and our families, and the way to sustain this future generations of human beings is to care for life as a whole. He believes that our future depends on ecosystem everywhere.

“Let us explore more, a systematic perspective, holistic thinking and integrative consciousness that acknowledge our participatory intimacy with universe as fundamentally interconnected and continously transforming whole manifesting as patterns of every matter and mind, matter and spirit are not separate but intertwined” he added.

Former Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Babajide Alo, who spoke on Biodiversity degradation: Time to re-build for People and Planet has called on Lagos State Government, corporate bodies and individuals to embrace greenery as a way of improving the health and wellbeing of the citizenry.

urged the state government to return and improve on the parks and garden beautification era to provide and make the state more natural and greenery.

June 17, 2020
Obioma mirrors humanity’s battle with COVID-19

By Ozolua Uhakheme, Assistant Editor (Arts)

One of the emerging United States-based Nigerian visual artists Obinna Obioma is among brilliant minds whose works have traversed the globe seeking a new order.

Obioma, a self-taught artist and fashion photographer, had his education in the United Kingdom and at the International Centre of Photography, New York, United States (US). Currently, he shuttles around UK, US and Nigeria, where he runs a private studio.

But central to his creative photographs is investigating the human condition, touching on specific themes such as individuality, African heritage and identity, which are mostly portrayed best with his love for people and portraiture elements while still celebrating his strong African heritage. His work has metamorphosed from simple portraiture to having its defined style, theme, motives and direction.

In his Diaspora Blues, he examines issues that most young people are facing or have faced in their lives. With globalisation, many young people find themselves born in countries that are not their ancestral homes; creating an “other” factor for these young people who find themselves in an identity comatose.

The work, through still photographs, investigates this phenomenon through the view of first generation Africans and Caribbeans born in the US, who see themselves as the other in both their ancestral counties and the country of their birth, showcasing and celebrating their dual cultural identities of being African and American.

But, in reaction to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that is ravaging the world, Obioma dedicated his Through The Screen project to interrogate the redefinition of human interaction, no thanks to the scourge.

“Humans have always had an unquenchable need to connect with one another; be it through pigeon messages, notes in bottles, telegraphs, phone calls or through the internet and social media, we have always found a way to stay in touch. With the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), spreading like wildfire predominantly through touch, killing thousands and causing a global pandemic, with no immediate vaccine for the virus, the world was plunged into social distancing to halt its spread. This meant that the fabric of human nature – to physically connect – was also being attacked,” he said.

With the aid of photography, Through the Screen investigates people around the world during these unprecedented times, showing how they are dealing with the new guidelines to socially distance, work from home and, in some worse cases, quarantine. Using technology and the internet as a means to connect with these individuals in isolation but also cuts across borders, the work creates and captures the images of these persons in their self-quarantine and social distancing spaces.

On his Noir project, he said: “I embarked on a photography project called Noir Project, which is an open-ended project that cuts across creeds, age, gender, nationalities, ethnicities and locations. At its centre, is individuality and identity, this is why the images are created in black and white and lit with just natural (window) light to remove all distractions from the subject.”

His Alter Ego series and its creative direction were birthed from themes of identity, individuality, otherness and African heritage using both conventional photographs and having fashion illustrations. He also draws emphasis on the styling as a tool to further talk about identity and African heritage.

Alter Ego, through still photographs, investigates this phenomenon buttressed through the lens of fashion, the view of a woman showcasing and celebrating her dual cultural identities of being African and Western.

Obioma has worked with major brands and clients in Nigeria and abroad; and his works have been published in major magazines, such as Picton, Vogue Italia, Ellement, Elegant, and Bella Naija.

His subjects include Jacqueline Norberto – New York, Nafisa Bukar – Berlin, Tosan Esangbedo – Paris, Salem King – Abuja, and Paula Jemitola – Milton Keynes.

June 10, 2020
‘Soyinka’s, Obasanjo’s books highly pirated’

Can the war against piracy be won any time soon? Director-General National Copyright Commission, Mr. John Asein is very optimistic that victory is feasible. In this chat with Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME, he speaks on how to end piracy, save the life and soul of books, among other issues.

At popular bus stops in cities such as Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Aba and Onitsha, you find heaps of books on the floor. They are in different sizes, colours and qualities. From Holy Bible to motivational books, bestsellers and popular biographies, the collection is varied. Unfortunately, they are mostly pirated copies and photocopied versions.

A closer look at these books shows the pathetic quality of paper, printing and the dull colours on their covers. Unfortunately, they are sold at give-away prices or market prices to unsuspecting buyers. Many times, these cheap versions are sold at one-fifth the market price set by publishers and authors.

Worried by this growing economic sabotage, the Director-General, Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Mr. John Asein, has raised the alarm that piracy has taken a more dangerous dimension, noting that the fight against piracy was not for the commission alone but for everyone. He said there must be a comprehensive action plan against all forms of piracy and copyright abuses.

He disclosed that some of the authors whose books were highly pirated included Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as well as the media adviser to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Olusegun Adeniyi.

According to Asein, “one of the things you must invest in is the protection of works. So, if you invest in movies, you must put a little in percentage to protect that movie.”

To him, “it’s not about the collaterals; it’s about providing safe corridors for them to get to the market and to sell; and what we commit to is that until an investor gets a return on investments, government must watch closely to ensure that there are no hemorrhages along the way.”

Some of these pirates don’t see anything wrong with this illegal act. To them, piracy is a victim-less crime. A lot of these books are usually school texts. The next are bestselling books from contemporary foreign authors and motivational books, whose authors are unaware of this parallel universe of illegal copies of their writings.

“The agenda of pirates is not to develop but to steal, to kill and destroy. Pirates steal from creative industries; they kill creativity and destroy the national economy,” Asein declared.

Continuing he said: “The business is highly organised. Once a research is complete about bestselling books, payment is made by all involved to an importer, who does all the transactions including printing. On arrival in Lagos, each person picks his luggage,” he said.

According to Asein, when, for instance, you see a container load of Bibles, they are all pirated. At a recent meeting with Christian Booksellers Association, three major Christian booksellers said they had stopped selling books. “One of them used to be a former president. The other said she now sells stationeries only. One said he did not import serious books anymore. Why? Because the pirates just came in, took over the market. You know, these things are easy. If you go to the streets, you see all these motivational books, Nigerians read a lot of that now and the pirates know and they say, ‘no, the authors are not here, so, why are you worried?’ But you have to be worried because we should be concerned about those books; the way we also want those countries to be concerned about our own books, and you know our films are also going out now. If you go to Ghana, Liberia, Sierra-Leone, Nigerian films are being treated the way we treated American films, so you see over 20 films in one. It has to be stopped.

“We have a choice to silence piracy and spare the life and soul of books or allow piracy to grow and let the book go under,” Asein stressed.

Unfortunately, because of the zero duty on books, unscrupulous importers make false declarations either to evade payment of duty or as a decoy to smuggle in prohibited goods.

Recounting his experiences, Asein said all what pirates do is to go to China and India to print and bring them into the country. He noted that from investigation, the variety and choice of pirated books one finds in the market are functions of a well- researched and updated finding in terms of popularity. Piracy is one of the biggest disservices any industry can do to the hard work and efforts of authors. Such a parallel and illegal economy and sale of their books can deeply impact the legitimate volume of sales from the publishers and distributors side.

Asein, however, blamed the poor investment climate for this. “We found that the reason why people go out is because the paper mills are not working and it’s a shame. I think we should have investors who can go to the paper mills and revive them, because one of the biggest components of the book is paper and that’s why it will always be cheaper to go out and print.”

Recently, a container load of suspected pirated books, valued at over N20 million, belonging to different publishers, was impounded in a joint operation by NCC and Nigerian Customs Service (NCS). In the case of the intercepted container, the Children’s Bible Stories were intended to conceal the pirated books.”

He recalled that three broadcasting facilities engaged in pirating the broadcast signals of several right owners, including Star Times, Communications Trends Nigeria Limited (CTL) and MultiChoice Nigeria (MCN), were closed down during joint enforcement operations carried out by NCC and the Department of State Services (DSS) in Aba and Umuahia, Abia State.

The illegal stations, he said, were sealed and broadcast contrivances impounded for being deployed in the illegal distribution of pay TV channels and unauthorised retransmission of other cable TV’s protected contents in violation of the Copyright Act.

Based on intelligence and surveillance reports, the broadcast facilities of Popular Broadcasting Service (PBS) and Modern Communication Limited (MCL) being used for copyright infringement activities were confiscated on Thursday, March 12, 2020 while employees engaged in broadcast piracy were arrested during joint enforcement operations by three separate teams of NCC and DSS operatives.

June 10, 2020
Isolation-good-for-artists-art-

By Obidike Okafor

Art has always been a part of Samuel Ajobiewe. His love for art makes it such that everything around him serves as an influence and inspiration for when he is creating works.

He began with documenting aspects of daily life and his environment, often having his wife – (who is also an artist) and his children – serve as a muse for a lot of his portraitures.

Right from the onset, Ajobiewe explored art as a means of documenting history. Over the years of his long practice, he mastered his craft, documenting the daily life of the everyday man, and then evolved into a social critic.

The artworks he has produced lately addresses issues of insecurity, political turbulence, human rights and other distressing issues that have eaten into the fabric of Nigerian society.

After his last solo exhibition at Mydrim Gallery in 2009, Ajobiewe seemed to have dropped off the vibrant art scene in Nigeria. For 8 years, he relocated to Benin Republic not minding of being forgotten by enthusiasts and his collectors.

When asked about this, the artist said: “I never really thought about it until I returned to Nigeria in 2012. I didn’t think about the effect of my absence would have on the minds of people conversant with my art. But, when I returned I took part in auctions and group exhibitions.”

In 2009, Ajiobewe left the noisy, busy city of Lagos, to Abbomeycalabi, a quiet town outside the more famous Cotonou in the Benin Republic. Moving there allowed him to heal from some health issues he was having, and a chance to continue developing himself as an artist.

“I moved out of Lagos after I developed some health issues. While in the Benin Republic I realised that my use of oil was part of the things affecting my health, so I moved to pastel and then drawing.

I tried sculpture, before experimenting with acrylic. I tried all of this when I found that drawing with oil was part of the things affecting my health. So, using acrylic brought some relief because it helped me get back my essence as an artist and in the art market,” Ajobiewe said.

At a time when ‘social distancing’ and ‘isolation’ are the buzz words due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected many countries in the world, Ajiobewe feels self-isolation is part of the process for an artist to create his works.

“It is important for me as an artist to be isolated. I avoid thiings that could distract me or derail my focus. I go out, but I minimize staying away from my studio, because I need time to do research, study my sketches before finally putting them on the canvas. So in a way, all these processes isolate artists most times,” he said.

After his return in 2017, Ajiobewe has been working on his first solo exhibition in 11 years and has found his way back into the loving arms of the art community in Nigeria.

From simply documenting history, which led to being a social commentator by the works he has created, Ajobiewe plans to exert himself as a social critic through art.

Ajobiewe’s love for art stems from his love for humanity, and as such, he is always looking forward to creating works that have a purpose and impacts society.

“Before I paint, I decide what message I want to pass across. I want my messages to be something that everyone is familiar with,” he said.

Even though he is planning to hold an exhibition in June or July, Ajobiewe is now focusing on playing his part through art in reminding humanity of what happened during the pandemic and the lessons that can be learnt.

“Although with the pandemic, artists have the challenge of buying materials to work with, and staying indoors all the time does not help the artist get ideas.

It also provides the artist with new ideas. You will see works from artists on themes like social distancing and face masks,” he added.

June 3, 2020
In support of a trado-cultural approach
By Brigitte Yerima

COVID-19 pandemic is without doubt, the greatest health challenge facing humanity since last year December. Although pre-empted by many, it seems to have caught the world by surprise. Initially, most nations of the world paid little or no attention to the virus until it became a global phenomenon.

With no proven and acceptable cure even by western orthodox standards up till now, the general response to the pandemic has been by way of western defensive methods: border closure, erection of isolation centers, mobilising medical personnel and facilities as well as enforcing ‘stay at home’ orders or lock down except for food, medical and essential services and facilities.

These are also accompanied with hype on personal hygiene. Yet, these have really not helped in containing the scourge.

In the light of the above, the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), a Parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, has assessed the pandemic and post Covid-19 situation in the country and therefore called for a trado-cultural pathway.

It is imperative to note that the institute which was established by Act 93, of 1993 came into existence in response to the United Nations Declaration of the World Decade for Cultural Development (WDCD) 1988-1997, which acknowledged the cultural dimension of development and the need to broaden participation in cultural life, among other things.

The institute was set up with the primary responsibility of harnessing our cultural resources to meet the challenges of social integration and to serve as a vital force for energizing the various cultural establishments.

NICO also serves as a focus for orientation of Nigerians and also ensures that the cultural dimension is made central instead of peripheral in Nigeria’s development programmes.

Incidentally, the global pandemic presents an opportunity for Nigerians to plan on how to survive post COVID-19 using the cultural way.

Culture as defined by the cultural policy, ‘is the totality of the way of life evolved by a people in their attempt to meet the challenge of living in their environment which gives order to their social, political, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and modes of organization thus distinguishing a people from their neighbors.’

Culture comprises the material, institutional, philosophical and creative aspects of a people. The material aspect has to do with their artifacts in the broadest form, such as tools, clothing, food, medicine, utensils, housing, etc.

The institutional deals with the political, social, legal, and economic structures erected to help achieve material and spiritual objectives, while the philosophical is concerned with ideas, beliefs and values, i.e. the creative concerns of a people’s literature (oral and written) as well as their visual and performing arts, which are normally molded by as well as help to mold other aspects of culture.

From the above, we can see that culture is a complete and holistic way of life of a people. It is noteworthy here that food, clothing, tools, utensils, housing and interestingly medicine i. e. traditional medicine, which is where our interest lies is at the heart of the material culture of a people.

It is instructive to know that several people have advanced ‘cures’ for the Corona virus pandemic. The US President Donald Trump was quoted as saying that drinking of disinfectant could cure it. This, of course, has been dismissed as being outlandish.

The French leadership opined the use of hydrochloric oxide yet none has been approved as a possible cure or a preventive.

Some lion hearts of Nigeria’s traditional medicine and alternative medicine are proudly and confidently bringing out one formula after another as possible cure for the coronavirus.

Prof Maurice Iwu led the way by saying he’d found a cure. Prof Ayodele Adeleye, a former microbiology lecturer and medical researcher at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria also said he’s found a cure.

Dr. Ben Amodu who owns a 30-bed African Alternative Medicine Hospital in Abuja claimed that one of his patients had tested negative after treatment. He displayed an array of herbal formulas, which he claimed have cured lung cancer, other lung diseases and therefore can cure COVID-19 and most recently the Catholic monks in Ewu, Edo State have also claimed to have made inroads into finding a cure for the virus.

Outside the shores of Nigeria, the government of Madagascar claimed it has found a herbal cure for the virus through a herbal tea derived from Artemisia, a local plant with proven efficacy in the treatment of malaria, a claim which is of interest to the Nigerian Government as we woke up to the news that the Federal Government has ordered a trail of the Madagascar’s “cure”

While we view this as cheering news, the Institute also wants to encourage and lend a voice to the efforts of the Presidential Task Taskforce, Federal Ministry of Health, NAFDAC and others in canvassing for a home based solution to COVID-19 pandemic.

Nigerian herbal medicine practitioners have been treating malaria and other ailments for centuries. It will therefore be wise to look their direction.

We urge that it is time for us to jettison our standoffish attitude towards traditional medical practices, which we have always considered as ‘local’ and backward. This has always been the bane of trado-medical and cultural practices in the country.

As a cultural institute, established with the primary responsibility of harnessing our cultural resources to meet the challenges of social integration, we advance a way forward that Nigerians and indeed the global community need to embrace a culture related life style both now and the post-pandemic period.

While we advise Nigerians to change their lifestyles and be more conscious in terms of how we relate with one another and not neglect the basic issues of personal hygiene, we are certain that there are a lot of herbal plants that can cure many ailments that orthodox medicines cannot- corona virus inclusive.

We urge government at all levels as well as creative entrepreneurs to invest heavily in researches into them as a sure way towards achieving national development.

We must take pride in our cultural materials, which have sustained us over the years and give room for more researches into the different aspects and dimensions of our rich trado-medical practices.
- Yerima is Director overseeing the office of Executive Secretary National Institute of Cultural Orientation (NICO), Abuja.
June 3, 2020