The Nation Newspaper

Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

  • ‘ANA convention will leave Lagos a better city’

    With the theme, Mega City, Mega Narratives, Lagos is set to host writers from within and outside Nigeria, under the auspices of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). From tomorrow to Saturday, writers will light up the stage with their creative zest at ANA’s 37th International Convention. What does Lagos have to offer the visiting writers? In this chat with EVELYN OSAGIE, Local Organising Committee Chairman Akin Adeoya, a writer and businessman, speaks on the convention and more.

    What is unique about this year’s convention?

    A unique feature of the convention is that Lagos, the Centre of Excellence, has not hosted the convention for 26 years; and the last convention Lagos witnessed was a sad one, because right there at the convention ground, Odia Ofeimun, who was then president, walked into the University of Lagos auditorium and announced that the Abacha regime had just executed Ken Saro Wiwa, who was a strong member of ANA. It was a sad convention and, since then, for some reasons, Lagos has not hosted a convention. And so, we are really very excited that the National Executive determined that Lagos should organise this year’s convention.

    Another unique feature is the colloquium, which is holding today. This is the first time a local organising committee is putting together such, in partnership with private organisations, to help the aspiration of writers to be commercially vibrant and successful.

    Thirdly, the level of organisation, I must say, is one of the most articulate in recent times.

    What does Lagos hold for writers?

    Well, the first thing that they would see are the huge opportunities that Lagos offers, especially writers. Lagos is a huge market for books, and as such has a huge potential, but those potentials are not tapped. A lot of people think that bookshops should go because of the Internet. Bookshops are still going to come back in a big way, because books serve a particular function. You can read books online or your phone and computer, but the experience cannot be compared to that of going through books, especially for children. It is something that I hold very high. So, the market is in Lagos.

    Secondly, we have taken the convention from the university into the heart of the commercial space. Whether they are visiting Lagos for the first time or not, they will have a taste of its robust nature. I think we are going to have a good time.

    And what does this convention hold for the economy of Lagos?

    Well, let us first of all talk about the value of the written word. The written word is the very basis of civilisation, the very basis of technology, logic, and it is the only reason why you develop. If you cannot document, you cannot develop. Writers are the ones, who lead this vanguard. ANA champions the reading and writing culture. A lot of us started writing because we are associated with ANA. A society that does not take that kind of association serious is itself losing out substantially in the march towards growth and progress.

    Like I have always said, the only reason why the African civilisation is backward in the world today is because our ancestors did not learn how to write, or how to document their discoveries. That is the problem we face here. India, which suffered far more oppression, and colonialism, has quickly shaken off the effect of colonialism. they now wear their own clothes, they speak their own language, the country is becoming one of the greatest technology hub in the world, because they have a culture that they can trace back to thousands of years, written down. The same with China, the oldest living civilisation, they can trace back to five thousand years. Look at Europe, all the entire philosophy and technology of the western civilisation is based on grave thoughts and ideas.

    And so, today, we still talk about Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. What will our children be talking about in 500 years’ time, when we do not encourage them to read, and encourage them to write, when even the history of our country as of today, 20 to 30 years ago, we cannot agree, for instance, on what really led to the Nigerian civil war. Nobody is sure on who the first professor of Mathematics is, some people will mention Alele Williams, some people will mention someone else. Nobody knows where the first lawyer came from, no documentation. Government is not investing on documentation.

    The Marina archive is now for the last several decades home to rats, rodents, and rail. You can see the files bursting out of it; these are issues that ANA have been campaigning about. So, when ANA approaches an organisation, asking them to support one thing or the other, people need to see that we are not trying to make money, but to propagate the idea that will advance the society.

    So, if we talk about enthusiasm, I don’t think that it is enough, I think we need more people to take interest and understand what this is all about. The government has shown some enthusiasm, but we need more, we need government and the organised private sector to understand what ANA stands for, and to understand the need to partner ANA, and to help drive these habits that we are talking about, through schools, universities and the society. These are life-changing ideas, and it is only people, who have the grasp for the written-word that can help

    What the colloquium meant to address?

    The first thing I want to do is to hail my colleagues, who have over the years continued to write and publish against the odds. Because personally, many years ago, I just felt, I will continue to write, but not necessarily publish.

    Why?

    This is because a lot of people, who publish do not reap the reward of their works. You find out that immediately a book becomes commercially viable, it is the pirates that rush to reproduce it, and they sell thousands of copies, and then they buy jeeps, build houses, and the guy, who created the work, just languish in untold poverty. So, in my interaction with ANA, this has become something that you hear all the time, even when the Federal or Lagos State government takes a writer’s book and look at it, the writer gets nothing out of it. Yet, hundreds of thousands of copies are being sold.

    So, there is that problem, and then we ask how we begin to deal with this problem. So, we said this year, apart from the regular talk show and conferences, let us do a little business. There will be many colloquiums around the subject of how to advance the course of the writer, but this particular one is about digital publishing, where we try to address the knowledge gap, because a lot of people produce works, and they don’t know how to sell them, they just go to the printer to print, and they lose out.

    But now, there are so many opportunities on the World Wide Web to sell your works, and we are bringing in experts, like the Pan- African University, the University of Ibadan, and a lot of other organisations, like Okada books. They are going to help in disseminating knowledge, and it is free. We are very thankful to some of our supporters, especially Nigerian LNG. Digital realities Limited has been of tremendous help, they have printed a lot of stuffs for us for free, and also the Nigerian Breweries has always been supporting us.

    We are talking to the state government and we are very confident that something we come from there, so that we can have a hitch-free convention.

    Where does it leave Lagos State at the end of the event?

    Well, we think that Lagos will be better for it, because we are not just writers, we are also business people.  Don’t forget that when we bring so many people to Lagos, first, business benefits from it. so there will be a long lasting effect, and we believe that ANA will be more like want to organise more conferences like this in Lagos. And we believe that a lot of writers are going to leave Lagos with ideas about Lagos that can lead to a positive relationship in the nearest future.

     

  • Osadebe’s long journey home 54 years after

    Fifty-four years after his last exhibition in Nigeria, United States-based Nigerian artist, playwright, theatre director and teacher Prof Oseloka Osadebe, 84, made a big return to the Nigerian art scene with a retrospective solo exhibition, Inner Light, at the National Museum Onikan, Lagos, last Saturday. Osadebe, who taught theatre and set design at various universities, including Jackson State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Tougaloo College, Spelman College and Central State University, retired in 2007 and he has since then been reviving his passion for visual arts at his studio in Jackson, Mississippi, US. He speaks with Sandra Mbanefo-Obiago, curator of his exhibition, on his sojourn to the US, his shift from visual art to drama, why he did not return to Nigeria after the war, his legacy and other issues.

    Due to your father’s job as a pastor, you travelled around Eastern Nigeria, describe your secondary school years.

    As part of my father’s job, each year we were moved to a different town, like soldiers’ families. We travelled extremely often till I completed Standard Six. I attended a school nine miles outside of Onitsha, called Merchants of Light. It was founded by a missionary who came to Nigeria as a principal to one of the best grammar schools in the area. He served as a principal for quite sometime, all the while saving money to build his own school. The name of the school, Merchants of Light, was inspired by the boat with which he had travelled to Nigeria, as well as his desire to market education as a means to make people smarter.

    Demas (Nwoko) and I went to high school together. I was a Prefect at the time and when he came everyone said he was as good in drawing as I was. So, we met, galvanised and became friends right away. And we continued being friends.

    At 19, I moved to Lagos. In line with my artistic gift, I was quite skilled in drafting and got shortlisted at my job in The Post and Telegraph for a scholarship in England to pursue a career in drafting and engineering. Unfortunately, as somebody from the East in Western Nigeria, there was a slight issue of tribal profiling going on in my department, which led to a hesitation in my name being submitted for the scholarship.

    In order to enjoy scholarships for overseas study, I had to work for the Eastern region government. I was then given a condition by the regional scholarship board that in order to attain the scholarship, I had to spend a year earning the rights to the scholarship, which led to my application and acceptance to attend Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria.

    When I got admission to Ahmadu Bello, we travelled by train, but we encountered a ghastly accident at Lalupon when the train hit another train head on and killed so many young people. For a year, my name was listed among those who were killed. Due to the accident, I had to return to the East, and many people did not know I had survived. But I did.

    Demas Nwoko and I had been admitted the same year, but I did not make it because of the accident. This resulted in my being a year behind the other members of the Zaria Art Society, such as Demas Nwoko, Yusuf Grillo, and Uche Okeke. I would have been their classmate had I not gotten into the accident.

    Because I was so religious and read the Bible, my father thought that God brought me to replace him when he retired as a church minister.  Therefore, he used to punish me when I came first in (art) class because he concluded that I spent all my time doing art and leaving out my religious factor, which was important to him. You should have heard him calling me, “Oseloka! Oseloka!” I knew there was no way out. Eventually, he realised that all the things he was trying to do to sidetrack me from art (was not working) and he realised and said: ‘Maybe God wants you to do that.” So, not only did he let me go, he also began to pray for me. Unfortunately, he did not survive to see me graduate.

    Now, can you talk about Zaria?

    I arrived in 1958 and left in 1962.  Zaria was good. I used to have stomach problems so I only ate rice pudding and milk. And I had a straw hat and I used to put it sidewise, and I was almost a tennis star. Then Uche was a bit aloof and eventually he, I and Demas Nwoko became very close. There are a number of photos with us three.

    What brought about the establishment of the Zaria Art Society? Historians looked at that society as being the bedrock of the contemporary art movement in Nigeria. What made you become a member and what was special about the group’s outlook?  Why was the term of “Rebels” given to your  group? What were you rebelling against?

    We had professors, who knew it would be helpful for us to form some society. There were students, who were very good and clever and Uche Okeke was quite ahead of us. He had like a sixth sense, and he worked very hard and also formed a small group of his own. We all looked up to him because he did not make mistakes and worked very hard. Those students like Uche, who were a year or two ahead of us, had the courage to challenge the professors.  There was a head of department, who had an exhibition at an advanced age. Uche and Demas took him to task. His paintings were very good, but the fact that he was more than twice the age of the oldest students and he considered himself a young artist. We said he had no right to do that. Consider the fact that students had the kind of level of education to challenge the professors and not to mention the head of department. Eventually he found out what we were saying about him. But, there was also a great deal of reaction that had some political impact.

    The concept of Negritude was growing. Even though we in the arts did not quite comprehend the (entire) philosophical side of it, but we knew that there was something going on at that time in some of the African countries like Senegal. Like Leopold Senghor, who was very powerful and in some ways he was considered as the African philosopher.  And Kwame Nkrumah and Azikiwe were very close friends and Nkruma was boasting with a portion of the Bible that says “seek you first, the kingdom of something..” and so unfortunately for him, when he began to say that he was the one spearheading what Azikiwe was doing, then Nigerians rebelled against him.  I wasn’t deeply into the political area and I couldn’t quite imbibe strong political views.

    So, you eventually graduated from Ahmadu Bello University and got a job teaching art at Nsukka before you got a fellowship to study art in Chicago. Tell me about that experience.

    I was now standing on my own. It was 1965. I was very young and those tools that I brought from my mother’s womb were beginning to work. I thought sculpture was it for me and I did bronze casting. The idea of the lost wax process was intriguing to me. That you could melt the wax and then the metal will finally turn into bronze and go into the recesses. And I learned not to make the space so that the bronze would not be too heavy.

    The Art Institute of Chicago became very good for me. My Master’s Degree was two years and when I graduated I made a design that I called Iba and it comes from the traditional house. I took my professor to my home in Onitsha, behind St Saviours Church, and he ended up getting his Phd in African Art. My family home is directly behind St. Stephen’s Church.

    Why did you pick the iba concept?

    Because the original house was the religious enclave where only the man can go in when he is doing some ceremonies and fasting. The design was so good. It’s rectangular and there are vents that protect it. The concept was beautiful. My Master’s thesis was one of the two works selected for exhibition at the Art Institute and I wore a complete white outfit like the people that take the Ozo title. My picture came out in the biggest newspaper in Chicago, what more can you ask for?

    So, your Master’s degree was looking at the interpretation of religious motifs in traditional architecture?

    Yes. And Uli became popular.  Uche Okeke’s mother was a great story teller and he learned a lot from her. He wrote two books on African folktales that I got a lot of inspiration from.

    You eventually developed a deeper interest in theatre. How did that transformation happen; from visual art to theatre?

    It was inevitable because I needed to get funding. Once I got my Master’s they said they were not going to pay for my doctorate in art, but they would pay for a Master’s in theatre. They knew I was interested in it because I had done some sets while I was in Nsukka, and so Northwestern University opened their arms and received me. But, before that I went to Goodman School of Drama, where I did another Master’s degree. Then when I finished, the Nigerian Civil war was over, but it was not safe to go home so my brothers and sisters said, “don’t come back, or they will draft you into the army”, which was an easy way to get killed.

    These are some of the reasons for continuing in theatre, especially when I went to do my doctorate. It made me to spend 30years in theatre. A friend of mine, an artist and sculptor, who was in the Art Institute would always say, “Come home. Come home. Remember you have tools.”

    Why did you not go home? After the war there was reconstruction, but you stayed away for over 50 years.

    I don’t know. Some of it was like I was conquering a new territory. My theatre focus was in scene design, which was the closest thing to visual art, so that  was an attraction. And rightly, I used those skills that I brought into visual arts. It was so interesting to use visual art to create set design.

    Reflecting on your long and rich career, what were the highlights in terms of art and theatre – what are you particularly proud of?

    I am very proud of the fact that I brought great plays to the schools I worked in. After spending quite a few years in theatre, my concern became creating a legacy.

    So what is the legacy you want to leave behind?

    I consider everything that I have done, including my exhibition this November, my legacy.  I believe I made some important choices, which led to Ikemefuna. My concept of reincarnation as well as other religious and mystical concepts that led to the works that I have done. I have a large work I am currently doing called The Eternal Comings and Goings, which focuses on reincarnation, a topic that is very deep and important to me.

    What does the Inner Light series mean to you?

    The Inner Light series is about the inner man, if you are familiar with the concept of reincarnation; the fact that God created humans. However, we have to learn to perfect ourselves. There is a personality inside each of us, the soul, which is pure and we humans don’t have the power to dictate to the soul. But, the soul is the real master. But there is a personality, a kind of purifying of this inner man. The soul helps purify us each time we reincarnate; there is a new growing process that gets purified. The soul is God within us trying to help us perfect our outer selves. Jesus Christ is pure enough that he is not going to reincarnate anymore. Every human being has the potential to that, but not everybody will reach the point where they are going to be absorbed into the God-head. The inner man and the inner light; the Eternal Comings and Goings is a step up from Inner Light.

    My latest one is the Ugo Oma Negute Ozi Oma, which is essentially about Agbogidi as the King, as well as the symbolism of Ugo (jewel). Therefore, it says Ugo oma that brings ozi oma, a good idea about life.

    We have a number of major threads running through your work, such as Inner Light, Ikemefuna, Tree of Life…..Let’s talk about your Piggly Wiggly series; what are they about?

    Well, on the surface there is a caricature of the pig’s face which is used, but it is also a mask for every member of the family. They all have a long snout. So, there is a full family just as Picasso had a family of hybrids. You have a son, daughter, grandfather and grandmother. I came across this idea and it was so good. It was as if something was moving my hand. I have never done anything in all my artistic life, which was so quick and so good and all about the same size.

    Tell us about Ikemefuna.

    This was inspired by two black singers, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. Ray Charles in his book says he didn’t consider his blindness a setback, and Stevie Wonder shares the same mentality.  Both men have overcome a setback that often hinders people from achieving fullness of life. Every human being goes through the same thing, except that there are so many people, who do not see the positive in whatever they have. God has created all of those. We go through life and the  fact that somebody has any kind of physical impairment…if they come to understand and recognise that there is something positive in that thing, they can overcome that thing. Ray Charles was not born blind. He had sight. But God created us and through understanding things that may look like a hindrance or set back in our lives we come to understand that we can overcome. And the reverse is that if you see that as a problem, it takes away from the kinds of achievement that one would make. So, I am using Ikemefuna as almost a verbatim statement of what Ray Charles and Steve Wonder said. I see that as a big lesson for all of us.

    How about the Tree of Life series?

    There is a big theme that connects my family. When I was quite young, my parents told me and my sisters that my older sister, when they were playing outside were not alone.  Somehow, they would see a young person, who did not have wings that played around them. They didn’t talk to my sisters and brothers, but they kind of mingled in their group. Somehow, when we got older, as teens, we asked our parents, what happened? Why did we not see those angelic beings mingling with our sisters and brothers? The  understanding was that they were heavenly bodies, and they were mingling and protecting them.  So, my Sister Dora asked, why can’t we see them  now?  So,  the answer was given, now that there are more people in the house, both young and old, there is no need to have the angelic bodies come out and protect them. The elements that will do the protecting are present now.

    So, it made sense to me that though the question that Dora asked is still pertinent, why don’t we see them? Are we not pure or religious or holy enough to see those presences? So, the way I used it in my artwork is that Jesus Christ was a baby watching over his  mother Mary.  He brought a pink gem almost as big as a coconut, and he said to her, this is the symbol of your goodness and purity. Some day you will recognise the importance of what you are and you will appreciate this. In the Bible it was said that Jesus and Joseph were still troubled by the fact that the public was concerned that there was no sexual connection and Joseph was continually worrying about what the public thought – but the point is that Jesus said to his mother that you are as good as anything and I don’t care what anyone says. Jesus gave the gem to the mother.  And there is a song that I tried to write where he says to the mother, that someday you will come to appreciate how good you are. You are as good or better than this gem.  So, I am combining the two stories.

    Do you listen to music when you are doing your creative work?

    Oh yes. And let me tell you, when I was at Merchants of Light School, I thought I was going to be a pianist. I played the harmonica and all of those instruments. But one thing or another prevented me from pursuing music. One of them was that my piano teacher was also a student, so when he left, I lost my chance. I am not sure if I might have grown to become a great pianist one day?

    What type of music do you like? What is on your preferred playlist?

    There was a time I was interested in classical music and I had 50-60 long playing albums, and I played classical music. I had Mozart and Beethoven, and many others. I like Handel’s Water Music.  There are a lot of African musicians that I also particularly like.

    So, what do you think about America under Trump?

    Well, I don’t understand Trump.  I am not sure there are lots of people who understand him. And he does not really care whether people like him or not.

    Do you think we have made progress, especially considering racism in America?

    Since he was elected? I don’t think so.

    So what’s life like in the southern part of the United States?

    I don’t think it is different from what it used to be, but there are quite a few people who are moving up north. So, maybe they want to consider moving up north for progress.

    Well you’re doing great. You have a very independent life here.

    I would have been dead if I couldn’t help myself. I thank God. The good Lord is looking after me.

    Do you also cook for yourself?

    Oh yes. I do some serious cooking. There is a breakfast that I make with sunflower seeds and I have spinach in everything I cook. If you come to my fridge, spinach is the biggest thing in my fridge. I eat it in everything I cook. I am even thinking about learning to put it in ice-cream (laughs). God has blessed me greatly and now I realise that I am not grateful enough, considering what my mates are going through. God has blessed me with patience and told me that good things in life come when you deserve them.

    What’s your prayer for this exhibition?

    My prayer is for success. Also, that many young people and aspiring artists would get good inspiration and continue to create. I can’t complain when I see and hear about other people having problems. I am 84 almost 85 years old. The idea about having the show is a wonderful thing. It is like a fantastic Christmas celebration.  When I was born, God put in both my hands tools and paint brushes. There is so much creativity that God has given me and I cannot exhaust the creative force that God has given to me and which continues to manifest itself.

  • Boy with kidney failure needs N13m for transplant

    While other kids head for school every morning, enthusiastic about the long day ahead, Uwais Usman, a 15-year-old boy, lies on his hospital bed, writhing in severe pain and agony, wishing he had functioning kidneys to enable him go to school.

    He was 15 on October 1, but it gripped his mother’s heart that his birthday was with severe pain and agony, and blurry hope, as she continues to source for money to pay for his kidney transplant.

    For close to five months, Uwais has been in IBB Specialist Hospital, Minna, Niger State, battling kidney failure. Although one of them failed sometime in 2016, and later picked up; both kidneys have now failed and his health is deteriorating.

    “His condition is very critical and severe,” his mother, Hajiya Halima, said on phone with a trembling voice, full of worries and uncertainties. “When he started, it was way better than this. But now he is always lying down…too much fatigue; too much weakening,” she said.

    She explained that she was informed at the Bennett Medical and Kidney Center, Abuja, where Uwais was first admitted, that the boy needs a kidney transplant to replace the malfunctioning ones.

    “According to the doctor, the transplant costs about N8.5 million if carried out in Abuja, and about N13.5 million if performed in India, which is far better,” she said.

    Asked how much she has been able to realise so far, Hajiya Halima with utmost sadness,  replied: “Four hundred thousand Naira…for all this while that we’ve been sending messages and appealing on social media. Yet, we spend nothing less than N87,000 weekly on just dialysis and injections.

    “We had to move down to Minna because we thought the Niger State Government would help. But we haven’t got a good response from them. We have pleaded and pleaded with the Ministry of Health, they keep saying there is nothing they can do. I just don’t know whether the government will help us, but it is just not working out yet,” she said.

    A couple of weeks ago, Uwais lost his right eye to this deadly ailment, after having suffered severe eye pain as a result of high blood pressure.

    “For about two weeks now,” his mother recounted, “when he looks at you, you might think he is seeing you, but he is not. His right eye is gone. And even his left eye cannot withstand light for long. Whenever light penetrates into the left eye, it enters into the right, and then he starts screaming. Most times, I tie black cloth around his face to cover his eyes. I am afraid that he might soon lose his left eye too.”

    While appealing to members of the public for help, Hajiya Halima said an account was opened for Uwais in Fidelity Bank, with the account number 6150980918 (Uways Usman A.).

  • My footprints, 20 years on the grind

    Nigeria has a band making waves in the entertainment industry. Two decades ago, Akinloye Shuga Tofowomo took the plunge to help rewrite live band music in Nigeria. Widely recognised as one of the prominent bands in Nigeria, based on reputation, gigs, and awards, Shuga Band is 20. Two decades on the tortuous, but rewarding journey, Tofowomo’s life has become an inspiration to his peers and the coming generations. The band rolled out its drum to mark the milestone with a musical fiesta, tagged: Shuga Coated Concert at the Eko Hotels and Suites last Sunday. EVELYN OSAGIE writes on the man Shuga, his foray into music, band and more.

    In a quiet corner of Ogba, Lagos, the bright sun lit up the fields where a converted container’s shed, hosting the band’s rehearsal equipment, was. Then the beat dropped: the new song blended with the setting seamlessly as though it’s been there forever. The energy created by the beat was fantastic, and the ambience at the rehearsal studio was warm.

    In the centre of the shed stood a gentleman in his mid-40, of an average height, in a cable-knit jumper and plaid jacket. Nearby was an  archive of computers, synthesisers and tapes that told their long story. It was a remarkable one: from a resolutely successful 1990s, to a hugely fruitful 21st Century that included long periods of working independently, rehearsing and jamming the biggest gigs over 20 years, creating soul and brilliant noise.

    This wasn’t just any crooner, hawking his craft on the music scene, though: it was arguably the single, most influential live band musician. Yes, Akinloye Tofowomo is still thriving after 20 tough and rough years on the grind. The live music scene, acclaimed to have been transformed by the influence of the man from Ile-Oluji. He turned live band music from a rather unappreciated genre, to a pop-culture craze and one of the most sweeping artistic movements of the 20th Century. The man has an inspiring history that would make an epic novel.

     

    Polio at five

    At five, the dreaded life-changing condition reared its head like a hydra-headed monster, hitting him, but Akin, as he is fondly called, could not be stopped. Despite the fact that every child in the family had chores they were expected to perform, the condition didn’t hamper him. With adequate show of love, childhood became his launch pad into greatness. “Three years after, realisation dawned on me that I was, indeed, different from others, and that, most crucially, there were physical limits to what I could do as a child. This marked a defining moment in my life as a child.

    “Growing up under the tutelage of a father, who traversed the length and breadth of Nigeria, having worked in places like Calabar, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, and Lagos to mention a few, those years and, indeed, the environments rubbed off on me as a musician,” he said.

     

    Challenge in following my musical dream

    From the ancient town of Ile-Oluji in Ondo State, aside English and Yoruba, he speaks Igbo fluently. Graduating with a Diploma in Business and Industrial Law from the University of Lagos and an alumnus of Berklee College of Music, Boston, Massachusetts, Tofowomo found himself at loggerheads with his father over his career path. His father saw music only as fun, and not something that could put food on the table. “With my late uncle, who operated a hang-out on Allen Roundabout, Ikeja, my escape into real profession of music found expression,” Tofowomo stated.

    From the classics to his genre-defining Nigerian vibes, Tofowomo set out to leave an indelible mark on Nigeria’s musical landscape.  An outspoken patriot, mentor to young artists and a road warrior, Akin Shuga, as he is known on the music scene, has parlayed his passion for music into a multi-platinum career and a platform to support the less-privileged, the hopeless, the down-trodden and others in need.

     

    My early voyage into music

    From the beginning, Tofowomo’s interest in music was apparent — as was his ambition to become a unique brand of star. Though he was surrounded by the kind of songs he’s lately taken to singing, he also listened to distant broadcasts of Rhythm and Blues, Jazz Highlife and Old School, following the rapid evolution of early live band music. By the time he became a young adult, he was playing local gigs.

    The Pintos, a place where he rapidly became a magnetic fixture, should by now be considered a Shuga Band landmark, as the site of a talent show, he played with his band in an influential period of his early career life.

    His voice, a gift, with a striking presence, brought him audience, and the testament then – he was a talent to watch, even till date.

    At Pintos, he played  various genres of music and brought it all back home.

    Though a man of unsung glory, his stage craftsmanship, rich, musical career and powerful influence set a new bar for popular music, and countless artists.

    Unlike anyone else, he could and still writes songs that combine timeliness, universality, poetry, and melodic brilliance.

     

    Challenges on the road to success

    Tofowomo is fast becoming an icon of Nigeria’s progressive music movement. His recent song: “I can walk”, a clarion call for a reorientation, speaks of his growing disenchantment with the folk scene, and signalled unambiguously that he was aiming for something even bigger than what he’d become.

    Making a living as a musician is hard. Tofowomo might sleep on a mattress stuffed with Naira bills in a house made of Rolex watches and Ferrari parts, but down at the other end of the scale, for working performers, life can be tough.

    ‘‘The choice is a tricky one: to establish a career takes an enormous amount of work and time. The cycle is difficult to break. For the early years on the grind, you can’t help but sacrifice girlfriends, houses and comfort to a lifestyle of hard work, constantly touring and playing anywhere between 10 and 15 premium gigs every month. With a growing healthy reputation, niche following and a humongous workforce as a ferocious live band, things barely improved.  You are able to afford the good things of life money can buy, but it’s more work. We make enough money to let the band live, but we don’t go beyond our means, ever. We scrimp and save. We never spend anything we don’t have, and when we do, it’s got to be painfully important. To some, it must seem like a baffling choice. But then, standing onstage at a wedding, birthday or a funeral reception, singing feels more than worth it,” Tofowomo said.

     

    Music: my labour of love/my winning ace

    An astute businessman and talented musician, as diverse as his live shows have always been, his repertoire has also reflected his love of multiple genres. An ubiquitous in the ’80s and early ’90s pop culture, this balding, middle-aged Nigerian is absurdly a rare breed. If the middle of the road had an equator, it would be Tofowomo.

    On his 20-plus years in the music business, he enthused: “I love what I do. I look forward to entertaining people.  When show time gets here, I’m ready to go, ready to go play for them.  It’s a labour of love.  I just thank God I make a living from what I enjoy doing.”

    He career as a live band musician, during which he normalised playing from memory, rewrote the rule book on what kinds of pieces could and should be played at functions, thereby, changing the public tastes. As a teacher, he’s also been instrumental to drawing attention to talented emerging bands, which are not just getting the gigs, but are finally getting the recognition they deserve too through the Association of Music Band owners of Nigeria (AMBON), where he is President.

    With a multi-dimensional style history, Tofowomo  is the king of reinvention.

     

    The accolades keep coming

    Over the course of his career, he has received numerous accolades, including humanity music service award-Toronto.  He’s been presented the City People lifetime  achievement award 2017, band of the year 2013, 2015-2017, beatz awards band of the year 2016-2017, ThisDay best Nigerian band-2017, and was honoured as a Rotary Club of Nigeria Polio Ambassador in recognition of his fight against polio.

    Any conversation with the renowned performer, however, rarely include any of his accomplishments.  He’d rather turn the spotlight on the many causes that are close to his heart.  He’s always been a staunch supporter of Polio survivors, and for the past several years, he has provided scholarships for countless underprivileged youths. Tofowomo also lends his time and talent to numerous other charitable organisations he’ll rather keep off the radar.

    Not only is the Shuga band’s success impressive, but the band also did a lot to make live band music popular in the mainstream. Besides being complete musician, Tofowomo is a poet, writer, philanthropist, and activist.

    Watching him today— a singer-songwriter, constantly touring and playing mostly new material — it can be hard to put his achievement into perspective. To celebrate his 20th anniversary and his new single, he held Shuga Coated concert at the Eko Hotels and Suites last Sunday amid much pomp and ceremony. “I am grateful to God for everything,” the elated Tofowomo stated.

     

  • Origin, relevance of Ikeji festival

    Ikeji Festival, which takes place in Arondizuogu in Imo State, is believed to have as many as four versions of its origin. The first version talks of how a warrior named Dikeji from Arondizuogu conquered a village and made it compulsory for the defeated ruler to pay him tributes. The tributes stopped coming after some time, which made Dikeji to return to that village and behead the king. He took the head back to his home town where the event was celebrated as Ikeji Ugwo.

    The second version talks of another individual named Izuogu, who is the founder of Arondizuogu. He went to Arochukwu where he was kidnapped. He was fortunate to be saved by three masked figures believed to have come from Abam. Upon gaining his freedom, Izuogu led a celebration that was initially regarded as Jim Aga.

    The third version is a bit odd as it is connected to the slave trade. The Aro people always had the Omu charm to protect them, so they were never afraid of being captured as slaves. In a scenario where they were captured without their Omu charm, all they had to do was utter the words “Aka Ike Jim” meaning, strong hands are holding me, and the slave masters will release them in fear of incurring the wrath of the famous “Juju” of Arochukwu. The cultural celebration began as a commemoration of the Aros killed during the slave trade.

    The last version asserted that the festival is connected to the new yam festival. Yam is very important to the Ikeji festival. In the ancient Arondizuogu society, only men are allowed to plant yams. The Aros take some of their names and tittles after yam.

    Such names are as follow:-Ugoji- the eagle yam, -Ezeji- the king yam, -Ikeji- the strong yam, -Umeji- the loveth yam, -Oparaji- the son of yam.

    Ikeji Festival holds annually in April and it sometimes coincides with the Easter celebration. The Ikeji festival spans four days with the celebration used as a time for thanksgiving, felicitations and propitiation as the festival marks both the end of planting season and the beginning of harvest. The celebration is filled with masquerades with much music and dancing. Each of the four designated days has special activities. On the first day known as “Eke”, the best farm produce is brought to the Eke market, where they are sold off to the public at a very cheap price. The second day is called “Orie”, slaughtering of livestock and feasting is the order of the day. “Afor” being the third day will see the masquerades come out to display with several dance groups joining them. The fourth day, “Nkwo” is the grand finale of the festival. The big masquerade, Nnekwu Nmanwu, makes its appearance, dancing with regal steps to the sounds of Nkwa Egwu.

    Nkwo-Achi, which is the center of the whole celebration, witnesses dances, magical displays that defy the laws of science and nature. How efficient your charm is will be known on that day as they are tested out. The main “juju” contest involves the loosening of a ram tied to a post by a piece of string, which the ram ordinarily could easy break away from, but unable to. Other people are now given the challenge to untie the ram and only the most powerful of charm can accomplish such a mission. The eventual winner takes the ram home as his prize.

    If you have visited Imo State and you haven’t witnessed the Ikeji Festival, then you need to visit again with the sole purpose of witnessing the amazing cultural celebration. If you have witnessed or partakn in it before, share with the experience.

     

  • Falana, Olukotun for book launch

    Human rights activist and Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) and a scholar, Prof Ayo Olukotun, will speak on indigenous culture and the Nigerian child at a book presentation and symposium titled: Tolu’s October 1st Birthday at NECA House, CBD, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos today.

    Falana, who will chair the event, will, with the Special Guest of Honour, Prof Olukotun, give in-depth exposition on dearth of culture among children is affecting raising great children and a great nation. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Compact Communications, Mr. Chuddy Oduenyi, will be the book presenter at the epoch making day, while the Acting Editor, Saturday Independent Newspaper, Mr. Yemi Adebisi, an award winning culture writer and author, is the Book Reviewer among other dignitaries.

    Author of ‘Tolu’s October 1st Birthday, Grace Modupe Oluwa Edema, a journalist, creative writer and public relations expert, said she was motivated to write the book by the norms of culture, described as a staple of the society from which knowledge, art, moral, law, customs and other capabilities and habits are acquired and developed by children who are the future leaders.

    She said the book also encourages parents, teachers, guardians and governments to imbibe indigenous culture in Nigerian youths, through their actions and inactions, for greatness of children and the nation.

    “The book is words carefully woven together for the purpose of raising great children. It tells how children can inculcate indigenous culture in selves and celebrate Nigerian cultures by showcasing our native dresses, foods and drinks of different tribes in the country. Nigerian culture is great,” she said.

     

  • The Good Citizen Radio Show Partners Domino’s Pizza For Giveaways

    The Good Citizen Radio Show, a show promoting active citizenship, created by CSR-in-Action Advocacy, and sponsored by ACT Foundation, has partnered Domino’s Pizza for giveaways.

    With this partnership, callers on the show will stand a chance to win boxes of Domino’s new American Classic Cheeseburger pizzas through proffering correct answers to weekly quizzes.

    “Also, participants who engage us via our various Good Citizen social media platforms by providing correct answers to questions posed also stand a chance of winning Domino’s Pizza.

    Seeing as the show is aimed at young adults, the partnership with Dominos would mean that they get rewarded while they enjoy interesting discussions from the show’s presenters, Bekeme Masade (Chief Executive of CSR-in-Action) and Tosyn Bucknor (popular On-Air Personality).

    The Good Citizen Radio Show was launched in May 2018 in partnership with Inspiration FM and is a first of its kind radio show, geared towards the discourse around practical active citizenship opportunities, and through that, motivates Nigerian citizens to adopt good ethics and values, towards the transformation of our nation.

    This will encourage a unified and collective approach for solving national issues, stimulate community dialogue and discussions on good citizenship and recognise and reward outstanding efforts. The show comes on air at 8p.m. every Friday.

    Bekeme Masade, the Chief Executive, CSR-in-Action, stated: “I love cheeseburgers, and I’m sure that show enthusiasts would be happy to share in the cheesy delight that are Domino’s’ American Classic Cheeseburger pizzas. I truly believe that this partnership will foster progress in promoting good citizenship across the nation”

    In the same vein, the Marketing Manager of Dominos Pizza, Ilyas Kazeem asserted that ‘their support of the Good Citizen Radio Show is in line with their brand strategy of creating happy moments in the society via their brand offerings in promoting togetherness and increase in love and friendship amongst Nigerians which is intended to result in socio-economic development. The pizza thus serves as a morale booster in this regard.

    The Show, which airs every Friday on Inspiration 92.3FM, with intensive studio discussions with hosts Bekeme and Tosyn, on leadership, democracy, gender equity, payment of taxes, waste management other aspects of active citizenship, has gained a lot of listenership with over 500,000 listeners every episode since June 2018.

  • I’m Just Too Much

    Motorola is a world-class brand, no doubt. The company started as Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in 1928 after two brothers, Paul V. and Joseph E. Galvin, bought over the battery-eliminator plans and manufacturing equipment of the bankrupt Stewart Battery Company at an auction. When its first product, battery-eliminators, became obsolete due to advancement in radio technology, the company began the production of inexpensive car radios, which became a huge success. This success led to the rebranding of the company as Motorola.

    The Motorola Company pioneered several technologies such as the first hand-held walkie-talkie in the world in 1940; hand-held AM SCR-536 radio that was vital to Allied communication in World War II; radio equipment for most NASA space-flights for decades beginning in 1958 with Explorer 1(the famous words of Neil Armstrong from the moon “one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” were said on a Motorola transceiver in 1969); the world’s first large-screen portable transistorized cordless television; the world’s first commercial cellular device; and of course, the world’s first wireless cable modem gateway in 2002, among several other landmark achievements.

    With such seemingly unbeatable number of “firsts” recorded by Motorola, the company should top the list of the world’s leading companies, don’t you think? Well, that is where we are wrong. According to Forbes’ list of the “World’s Largest Companies 2015″, which measured the companies based on revenue, profit, assets and market value, Motorola is not in the first 500. What could have caused the fall of such a great company? Here are a few suggestions, which I believe we can also avoid in our lives:

    1. First doesn’t mean best: it is a feat to pioneer development but it is a greater feat to stay ahead in the process. Each time Motorola came up with a new invention, other companies followed suit. The problem came when those companies started to do it better.
    2. The stumbling block called success: one of the best ways to deal with success is to quickly put it behind and face the next goal. Success is progressive so it has no end. If you are done innovating then good for you; someone else is taking over! Knowledge doesn’t stop with what you know. While we are celebrating our achievements, someone else is working on an improvement on our efforts.
    3. Disconnect from the end user: it was reported by Network World that Motorola missed the opportunity to migrate to 3G because the US wireless carriers, its biggest customers, weren’t interested in it. Unfortunately, the end users were ready for the migration. We cannot overemphasize the importance of staying in touch with every level of those who use our products or services.
    4. Failure to adapt to changes: I found this very strange considering Motorola’s commitment to research and development. However, we cannot deny that the company’s technology gradually became obsolete in the face of competition. Finding out new ways of doing things is the way to the future. Steve Jobs had this to say, “I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next.”

    Thanks for reading my article today. I would really love to hear from you. So, do share your views with me by sending SMS to 07034737394, visiting www.olanreamodu.com and following me on twitter @lanreamodu. Remember, you are currently nothing compared to what you can become. Don’t lock your potentials in; let them breathe!

     

  • Ankara Festival holds in Essex

    After a successful celebration of its maiden edition last year, Thurrock African Group (TAG), a voluntary organisation, is partnering Feferity Media Group, a media management company, to kick start this year’s Ankara Festival.

    The event, which will hold on Friday at the Civic Hall, Blackshots Lane, Essex, is part of celebrations for Black History month, which will discuss growing interests in the Ankara fashion world.

    Thurrock African Group (TAG), which is aimed at supporting Africans living or working in Thurrock, United Kingdom, also champions events, which promote African culture and entertainment.

    According to Mr Seun Fajemisin, Co-Founder of Feferity Media Group, the festival is going to be larger, entertaining and commercially diverse.

    “It is going to be an evening of glamour. Red carpet and cocktails, fashion shows and catwalk, exhibitions and displays of fabrics, accessories and services, appetising continental food and desserts, cultural variety shows and live band entertainment. The evening will also offer a genuine opportunity for socialising and networking,” he said.

    Bukky Okunade, Chairperson, TAG  said TAG’s aspiration for its members is to be more active in the community in order to fully participate in available opportunities for personal as well as community development exploits.

    She also added that Ankara Festival in the UK has grown larger every year and that there has been lots of interests towards the festival, which continues to surpass the group expectations.

    “As a group rooted in the community and focused on the social and economic well-being of our people, TAG is inviting the public to attend and celebrate together. Last year’s event attracted many people, and we trust that with more attendees in 2018, it will be a great place to showcase products and services. We enjoin SMEs, other businesses and service professionals to take advantage and be part of this growth. The exposure of your brand to the multitude of potential attendees and participants will be hugely beneficial to your organisation and will be evident in the dividends that will accrue to your organisation afterwards,” he said.

  • Sanwo’s Line and Legacy to preserve heritage

    In the last two decades, Kehinde Sanwo, one of Nigeria’s most gifted artists in documentary art, has been using his paintings to document old architecture of select cities. In Lagos, he has documented standing and extinct old buildings such as Kings College, Darocha Legacy, Olaiya House and Petesi Andrew.

    Inspired by the destruction of Ilojo Bar (Olaiya House), which was over a century old at the Tinubu Square, Lagos, two years ago, Sanwo thought of showcasing some of his collection of such buildings he had documented.

    One other impetus for the show is Sanwo’s encounter with his daughter’s home assignment, which concerned creating objects on paper. It inspired the use of coins in his drawings.

    On Sunday October 21, One Draw Gallery, at Ikoyi, Lagos, will host Sanwo’s first major solo exhibition titled: Line and Legacy, a mixture of lifestyle and architecture. The exhibition is also One Draw Gallery’s first solo show in the past one year and it fits the quality and caliber of artist that enhances the reputation the specialised gallery is establishing.

    Sanwo will be featuring about 30 drawings, which include the architecture series and figurative drawings on women’s fashion, which tell stories of how females wear their hair styles. The works include Ilojo Bar (Olaiya House), Kings College, Darocha Legacy and Ebun House (Petesi Andrew). Others are old style hairdressing of native Yoruba like Arewa-Onile gogoro, Ori-owo-patewo, and Ewa dunni-ojo n’peti.

    Sanwo said the drawings were mainly in charcoal as a way to bring fresh texture to the collection. “And I thought rather than using colour it is better to apply charcoal for a change. Since 2016, I started compiling the works, particularly, using lines with limited hues. Earlier in 1997, I also used lines for a salon exhibition. From that point, I developed using lines,” he said at a preview session.

    Director, One Draw Gallery, Mr. Segun Adejumo, said the need to leave something behind for posterity propelled Sanwo to record the fast disappearing historical landscape of Lagos. He noted that the artist has engaged viewers through his paintings over the years and now through his lines, he draws attention to a way of life that ‘we are unconsciously letting of’.

    “Sanwo’s works are in line with our core values in One Draw Gallery, which are: to build up a strong drawing culture in visual art, where a stronger basics give rise to much stronger artistic expression; to preserve our testament of greatness in our history as a people, Nigerians; to write our own story as it is expressed from the horse’s mouth,” Adejumo said.

    According to him, ‘he waited for this long for a solo to allow people understand drawing as a specialised area of art. One Draw is a specialise gallery that is focusing on drawing as an art. It goes beyond just selling art, but includes skill acquisition for artists and art enthusiasts. We have sharpened artists’ skills here by offering training and retraining classes. We do run classes for adults and other art enthusiasts and Master classes for seasoned artists.’ Line and Legacy will run till November 2.