The Nation Newspaper

Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

  • Sango, Queen Amina, Shaka Zulu, others resurrect in Legends the Musical

    For three days, theatre buffs will be treated to inspiring and spectacular stage performances when LEGENDS the Musical lights up the stage at MUSON Centre, Onikan Lagos, from October 19 to 21.

    The musical drama is a collaborative production of Seeing Through the Arts and Declassical Arts & Entertainment, in partnership with 22nd MUSON Festival of the Arts.

    Though, in the past few years, the genre has had rather trickling success in the country, there is a new “Sheriff in town”, who seeks to shake up the landscape and raise the bar. The LEGENDS is outstanding for its masterful concern with the deeds of a select African leaders and making their ancient, lofty achievements relevant to the 21st CenturyAfrican, in order to revive self-belief and reliance on their capabilities as a people.

    In appearance are five popular African heroes: Sango (Nigeria), Nana YaaAsantewaa(Ghana), Neferneferuaten Nefertiti (Egypt), Shaka Zulu (South Africa) and Queen Amina of Zazzau (Nigeria) drawn from different African countries, who must come together to save ‘Modaland’ from a common foe.

    Theatre veteran and artistic director, Crown Troupe of Africa, Segun Adefila, is one of the lead characters saddled with the role of Sango. In this interview with him and Segun Dada, they spoke on what the audience should anticipate at the show.  For Adefila, LEGENDS is a unique production for so many reasons.

    Considering your background, what makes the LEGENDS unique?

    “First and foremost is the approach of the producer and director. These guys are phenomenal.  I have seen a couple of their works in the past—musical and then dances. For me, though my approach to theater is different, I find their approach unique because it is a huge attempt at looking where our arts should be focusing on at the moment. The idea of telling our story in a language that can be understood by all generations.

    “When you hear the names of these legends, they wouldn’t be strange to you. And if you are young and don’t know anything about your culture or tradition, the way the idea of the musical drama has been deconstructed makes it easier for you to appreciate and understand. There is a somewhat level of blend and that is what I think our arts should be doing at the moment— repositioning all the materials we were given, recreating modern narratives from cultural or traditional narratives, and bearing in mind that, everything called traditional today was once an innovation.

    These are ancient leaders; how important are their past glories in today’s modern society?

    All the things our young people look at and tag “old school” were innovations some years ago. LEGENDS the musical is placing these under a new lens for us to reevaluate and then talk about who we are. There is the metaphor in it too, a lot of humour and spectacle. Ultimately, there are plenty things to take home from these ideas. Man is the solution to his problems. If there is any enemy to defeat, it is you, and once you can conquer self, then, you are in control of every other thing. You become deified and gain ascendancy over everything. All of these legends we are talking about had some level of control over themselves, over the things they could do.

    Popular people we venerate today such as pastors, we must go and find out some of the sacrifices they made to be who they are. They dare not do the things we as ordinary humans do and this already places them on a pedestal. It doesn’t mean they are flawless either but the ideas LEGENDS the musical tries to explore and the reasons for such endeavor are interesting to me, which is the approach to tell our own story in our own way without too much attempt at appropriating western values. We are saying to the world that our Legends are the real deal. You could bring the legend out of Sango, you could bring the different foreign legends out of ours, but we are not bringing ours from your point of view. What we probably might do with our costume for instance, is a hybrid of ideas, to say listen, Africa is not isolated but developing with the rest of the world, which is a global village. We are developing with you but with lots of our rooms.

    The idea of Sango for me is one of the most contemporaries of all ideas. Let’s take it from the dance, Bata dance is a contemporary dance till tomorrow because, people keep reinventing it and it responds and never gets stuck. Basically, it is about Staccato beat and movement.

    Sango in today’s age and time would be the minister of mines and power because of his ability to conduct electrical energy. Mark Zuckerberg in about two thousand years from now would have become a legend due to his current innovative ideas. I have not been able to place Sango or any of the legends in the past with the way the script has been   treated, I can only see them through a modern eye in the light of things that confront us.

    A rising star in the industry, Segun Dada is quite a familiar name. In his words, LEGENDS he musicalis the best thing that has happened in a while. He plays the role of the South African warrior— Shaka Zulu, and shares his thoughts and excitement in this incisive conversation.

    How has it been like in the rehearsal room bringing authenticity to your character?

    I have done some musicals in the past, which were great but the first time I read this script; the idea of bringing past legends and icons, and the concept of fusing them into the present era is fascinating. You want to know how these legends behave and of course, the story to fight one common foe is really charming. It has been good so far trying to tell the story and absorb the Zulu character.

    Have you found the unique accent and click sounds of the Zulu language difficult to learn?

    I have had to take lessons, and do researches into the character, the accent, the pronunciations, bringing all of these together into the rehearsals. Working with Gbenga and Ayo has been really good. Basically, those are the challenges; giving life to this character. I am not a South African, but I am doing my best to create believability, here are three clicking sounds in Zulu language. Fortunately, I don’t have too much of the click sounds in the character. Learning the accent has come natural to me being an African. I am really looking forward to the audience having a swell time while we do what we like doing and bringing authenticity to these characters.

     

  • EDOFEST to grow tourist traffic, entrepreneurs

    About N500m has been earmarked by the Edo State Government  for this year’s Edo State Festival of Arts and Culture (EDOFEST).

    The event will hold between  December 17 and 22 at various venues in Benin City, the state capital. After its successful debut last year, the festival, which has as theme: Harnessing Arts and Culture for Sustainable Economic Development, will put the rich cultural heritage of the state on the world stage while empowering local entrepreneurs.

    Commissioner for Arts, Culture, Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, Mr. Osaze Osemwegie-Ero, who disclosed this at a briefing in Lagos at the weekend to announce plans for the 2018 edition of EDOFEST, said the state has approached many corporate bodies and well-meaning Nigerians for support and sponsorship. He noted that the festival will provide ample opportunities for sponsors to get returns on their investments, adding that the state plans to leverage investors’ confidence in the state to grow tourist traffic, using the repackaged EDOFEST.

    According to Osemwegie-Ero, one of the highpoints of the festival will be a photograph exhibition, featuring no fewer than 1000 pieces of stolen Benin artefacts housed in various museums and private galleries across the globe. The exhibition, he said, is to generate effective advocacy for the restitution of the stolen objects.

    The photo exhibition, according to him, will hold at the Oba of Benin Palace. He added that the collection is courtesy of a German photographer, who will curate the exhibition that will be declared open by the Benin Monarch.

    “Edo State is deeply rooted in culture. The arts of Benin Kingdom are a global brand. Benin artefacts are among the most exquisite and coveted in the world history and represent the earliest civilisation among blacks, especially Africans,” he added.

    The commissioner listed activities lined up for the 2018 EDOFEST as carnival parade, theatre show, food and fashion exhibition and gala/awards night.

    Assuring that this year’s outing will build on last year’s success, he said Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration places high premium on the culture and tourism sector.

    According to him, a tourism master-plan being developed by the state government will spell out the roles of stakeholders in the development of the sector to unleash the socio-economic benefits, which the sector holds.

    He noted that several tourist sites have been identified across the state and discussions with investors are ongoing to develop the sites and take advantage of the prevailing investors-friendly climate in the state.

    Apart from the Oba of Benin Palace, Ring Road and Ramat Park are other venues for the festival, which will run till December 22.

  • Columnists rally to promote good governance

    The League of Nigerian Columnists (LNC) has been unveiled in Lagos. At its birth, the group revisited the reading culture and the media’s role in reconstructing Nigeria by checking bad governance, reports EVELYN OSAGIE.

    The value of a columnist to an editor or newspaper cannot be understated,” began “The Oracle”, Akogun Tola Adeniyi. “Controversy moves newsprint like no other. This challenging wordsmith gets away with expressing opinions the editor daren’t utter; it is the columnist, not the newspaper that attracts the flak.

    “The column is a space accounted for and so is someone else’s problem. Most important of all, there is neither news nor sport feature that can draw and keep as many readers as can the columnist.” Welcome to the world of the “Columnist” as an “agenda-setter” and “change agent”.

    A league is born

    The occasion was no media symposium, but the unveiling of the League of Nigerian Columnists (LNC) held in Lagos, where Adeniyi, the league’s National President, stressed the importance of the columnist to media and the nation at large, especially in checking bad governance and corrupt practices.

    The event brought together leading columnists from across the country. The league’s foundational members at the event were Mr Yakubu Mohammed (the National Vice President); Ray Ekpu (the chairman  of the league’s editorial board); Henry Boyo; Ben Lawrence; Dele Sobowale; Dan Agbese; Director for the Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies (CIASP), Prof Anthony Kila (LNC National Secretary),Chief Jimanze Ego-Alowes;  Editorial Board Chairman of The Nation, Sam Omatseye; Dare Babarinsa; former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr Reuben Abati (Vice Chair, LNC editorial board);  Martins Oloja;  Director of Media and Public Communications, Coalition for Nigeria Movement, Akin Osuntokun; Ikechukwu Amaechi; Managing Director of ARISE News Channel Africa, Ijeoma Nwogwugwu and Gabriel Akinadewo.

    The columnist as nation’s conscience

    Like men and women on a mission, the group said it was set to serve the public good, as its members have been doing in their individual columns and shall do as collectives.

    And so at critical and crucial moments in the nation’s history, the league is out to make history as it serves Nigerians by checking bad governance and more, it said.

    “It is our strongly held view that the Nigerian columnists that have made their mark must come together and carve a respectable identity for themselves and jealously protect that identity to ward off quacks and pretenders,” Adeniyi, said.

    According to him, the league would “continue to drum to the ears of leaders that their powers are held in trust for the people to whom we are mandatorily responsible”.

    He said: “Our objectives include, among other things, to contribute to the attainment of the goal of holding governments accountable to the people as enshrined in the Constitution and provide coordinated intervention on important national issues through press releases and or press conferences or policy intervention as the need may arise.

    “It would be  recalled that because of the array of columnists assembled by the great Babatunde Jose of the old Daily Times in the late 60s and 70s, the then Head of State General Yakubu Gowon made it a duty to call Dr Jose on daily basis!”

    And although some may write columnists off as “people who scribble on the backs of advertisements, Adeniyi insisted that there are very few that carry as “much influence as the challenging publish–and-be-damned columnist.”

    Change agent

    While charging the league to be a voice for change and for the voiceless majority, the Chairman of the Police Equipment Trust Fund (PETF), Chief Kenny Martins, described the establishment of the league as timely. “Disseminate, influence, educate people and take a positive stand on national and global issues until Nigeria becomes the Nigeria of our dream,” he urged.

    On his part, Babarinsa said the onus of reconstructing Nigeria does not lie with the columnists alone. According to him, the requirements of having a proper democracy is not just about what Nigerians expects of the league, but having a reading mass and a participatory democracy.

    While recalling the reading culture of the days of the seasoned columnist, Chief Joseph Kaka, he argued that to reclaim Nigeria from the claws of bad governance and corruption, its citizenry must also recover its appetite for reading. “If we don’t recover our appetite for reading, then we may lose our country. And you lose your country when you don’t have a say in it and the columnists have done a lot over the years, but you must participate by buying and reading newspaper.

    “The people should participate in the thinking process of taking decision. They should participate in the consciousness of holding the leaders accountable. In the old days, employers/organisation buy at least one newspaper per day for staff, and people bought and read the papers. But, today, all those things are gone and the circulation of newspaper has dropped. The destiny of our country is in our hands, we must work for it,” Babarinsa said.

    For veteran journalist, Lawrence, the reason the country is where it is because it had not been sufficiently covered by the media. He called on the media to step up its game as watchdog and maintain the highest professional standard as of old.

    He said: “I remember we reported the war very well that the soldiers couldn’t do anything to us because we were professionals. There is a decline in professional reporting; that is why the country is suffering. People stealing and loading dollars into vehicles, burying them in houses and in the ground, and the press didn’t see it? We would have known in those days. Many people would know. What has happened… were you participating with them?”

    The columnist as the news breaker

    Reiterating Babarinsa and Lawrence’s words, Oloja charged columnists to go beyond opinion writing to breaking stories just like any seasoned reporter would, while urging the media to use as quotes some of the informed writings of columnists in their articles and reports. “When they are reporting CNN and other digital platforms, great reporters quote extensively from great columns to illustrate their stories. This is because columnists can break stories. Reporters should read stories by great columnists,” he said.

    The columnist abreast with the times

    While observing that contemporary knowledge, and most of the readership are now on the Internet, Omatseye urged the league to take advantage of the vast influence the virtual world weighs in today’s world by creating an online presence for members in its bid to reconstruct Nigeria.

    As part of its response to the times, the league is also set to give members online presence even as it moves to reconstruct Nigeria through constructive articles, according to Kila. He stated that articles by members of the league published in the papers on different days would be on the websites, adding that a spot has been allotted in the website to celebrate late columnists who have made their marks. These are among other online initiatives, the league would be unfolding as time goes on. “We would be publishing an official newsletter, a book of Best Columns, an encyclopaedia of Nigerian columnists living or dead, any other book, magazine or pamphlet as the League thinks fit; hold yearly lectures, workshops, seminars and colloquiums to enhance the practice of column writing, and promote and sustain a high standard in the practice of column writing, and so on,” Kila said.

    Taiwo Adenekan of Canada University Press praised the efforts of columnists over the years in serving as watchdog and voices for the voiceless in Nigeria. He called for government recognition for their efforts and posthumous recognition for those who have passed on. Hence, a one-minute silence was held in their honour at the event.

  • Anambra launches portal for tourism growth

    Anambra State Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, Indigenous Artwork, Culture and Tourism (DICT), Mrs Sally Uwechue-Mbanefo, has described tourism as arguably the fastest-growing economic sector and the largest employer of labour in the world. She said tourism is estimated to grow continuously at an average of 3.3 percent yearly until 2030, noting that it has become a cash cow that can never fail.

    Mrs Uwechue-Mbanefo, who spoke at the launch of tourism portal and celebration of this year’s World Tourism Day with the theme Tourism and digital transformation in Awka, reiterated the state government’s commitment to put to great use the emergence of new technologies in tourism. This, she said, would be put to service by expanding the digital transformation beyond the analogue backwardness of the recent past.

    She disclosed that investors were already showing tremendous interest in partnering the state government to develop the various sites, including Igboukwu Museum and Ogbunike Cave, which she said, is another United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (U NESCO) approved heritage site that Anambra State counts on.

    She reassured that as former Director-General of Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), she would bring her experience to turn around tourism in the state and create jobs for the youth. “My vision is to use my experience to make Anambra the centre of tourism in Nigeria,” she added.

    She stated that in line with the United Nations World Tourism Day celebration with the theme, ‘’Tourism and the digital transformation’’, it is incumbent on her to explore, promote and showcase Anambra’s huge tourism potential to the rest of the world through digitalisation.

    “Again this comes at an auspicious time that the state is on a spirited rebranding drive astutely led by Governor Willie Obiano. It is no longer news that the old traditional methods of marketing tourism have of course been overtaken by digitalisation. It is based on this fact that the ministry is launching her very first portal  the 27th of September to mark the celebration of the World Tourism Day, alongside the rest of the world. We are working in tune with this year’s theme to reposition tourism in the state through the vast network of the digital transformation of the modern day. The revolution in digital broadcasting and the media at large has put on the front burner, the significance of tourism in the social, economic and political values of the people,” she said.

    Continuing, she added: “The importance of digitalising our tourism sector cannot be overemphasised. Our portal link attached Https://anambradiaspora.ng holds information on our tourist sites, historical heritage sites, indigenous artworks, local cuisines, traditional festivals investment opportunities and infrastructure. Also included in this portal is the opportunity for registration of NdiAnambra in Diaspora, local artistes and our Igbo made easy to be launched soon.”

    She stressed that her ministry is poised to make tourism a source of revenue through the large awareness created by the digital transformation (our new web portal), the world will be very much aware of the many tourism possibilities of NdiAnambra.

    Listing some of the heritage sites in the state, she described Blessed Iwene-Tansi as a hallowed site to behold, while The Obu Gad, which holds the historical origin of the Igbo people, located in Aguleri is a famous tourist haven. These sites, she said, can attract visitors from across the globe while stressing the need to promote the Aguve tree, which is called the Trinity Tree by documenting its mystery.

  • Okpoyo at 75: Celebrating a life of service to God, humanity

    In historic moment like this, we are reminded of the fundamental truth that everyone born into this world has an obligation to contribute to the growth and development of humanity, to make the society better than we met it through our vision, philosophy, realistic dreams, actions and individual commitments to the ideals of positive existence.

    Whereas not many may have been blessed with the clairvoyance and personal ability to know quite early in life why they were born, where they were going or given the gracious opportunity to live long enough to fulfil their dreams, the life and bold footprints of Sir (Amb.) Etim Okpoyo KJW as he clocks 75 years on earth – still strong, hale and hearty – clearly single him out as a man with the special grace of God. It is a testimony that simply points to the fact that in spite of his human nature and the many inescapable hurdles on the precarious road of life, Sir (Amb.) Okpoyo is indeed a special creation of the Almighty God who in His omniscience reserves longevity for great minds like him because of the significant roles he was born to play in the advancement of humanity. It is therefore gladdening that Sir Okpoyo has neither disappointed the Supreme Order nor humanity in his eventful sojourn for 75 years now.

    Born in 1943 into the famous Okpoyo family of Eyulor-Oro in Urue Offong Oruko Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Okpoyo grew up in firm touch with his life’s dreams and unwavering determination to see them fulfilled. His educational journey began at District Council School, Urue Offong Oruko. He then proceeded to the Lutheran High School, Obot Idim for his Secondary Education; then later to the Yaba College of Technology and thereafter to the Fourah Bay University, Sierra Leone, consistent strides that shaped and equipped him for the world ahead.

    One of the things that is permanently identifiable with this great Oro and Akwa Ibom son has been his doggedness to get to the top of whatever he finds worthwhile to engage his talents and hands on. As a seasoned civil engineer, his unshaken focus and forays to make a mark progressively took him to the zenith of his professional carrier when he retired as Head of Civil Engineering Department, Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited in 1991.

    Sir Okpoyo’s public life and ungrudging readiness to serve his people informed his decision to join active politics that spans through decades and countries. Sir (Amb.) Okpoyo saw in politics a vehicle to deliver community service and on account of his loyalty and competence he instantly stood out when he was appointed the first democratically elected Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State from 1991 to 1993. Closely thereafter, he became Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Republics of Italy and Albania between 2000 and 2003 as an icing on the cake for his selfless stewardship to his fatherland.

    In a trampled political culture such as ours where many have manifested poor individual ideology and crass unworthiness with boomerang consequences, Sir (Amb.) Okpoyo remains an iconic example of political stability and steadfastness in what he believes in, supporting every government that has come into power in spite of divergence in ideologies, refusing to be a fair-weather politician of no distinct identity and destination, and thus becoming one of the greatest loyalists of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the time the party came into existence in 1998. In appreciation for his leadership perspectives and immense contributions to the socio-political development of his state and country, the people of Oruko Community across the country elected him to the prestigious office of President General of Oruko Development Association in 1989. Sir (Amb.) Okpoyo is a devout Christian of the Methodist Faith, happily married to beautiful Lady, Mrs. Atim Okpoyo, and blessed with children.

    It is therefore no exaggeration to say that both in his professional carrier and political exploits, Sir.  Okpoyo has not only seen the luxuriant borders of his dreams but by sustained favour of Providence, hard work and self-determination, has reached the promised land that has given him a comfortable edge over his contemporaries and others who today look unto him as a genius and a model of excellence.

    Sir Okpoyo unarguably belongs to the stronger breed and golden generation of our socio-political experience and disquisition. He is a repertoire of the purest quality of our cultural and political values, a symbol of unity of our tribal diversity, an icon of coexistence in the multiplicity of opinions, and a sage of inestimable credentials.

    Sir Okpoyo’s inelastic trust in God, tenacity of purpose, audacity of hope and large-heartedness towards the emancipation of mankind are certainly the secrets to his resilience and good health even at the special age of 75.

    The 75th birthday celebration of the legend commences on Saturday, September 29, 2018 by 4pm, with a music concert, while a Thanksgiving Service to round-off the event shall take place on Sunday, September 30, 2018 at Methodist Church Nigeria, Immanuel Cathedral, Itiam Etoi, Oron Road, Uyo, to be officiated by His Eminence, Dr. Samuel C. K. Uche, Prelate Methodist Church Nigeria.

    Some of the eminent Nigerians expected at the memorable event include the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Moses Ekpo.

    Also expected are former governors, National Assembly Members, (former & serving), Speaker and Members of the Akwa State House of Assembly, Members of the State Executive Council, among others.

    It is believed that the occasion of the 75th Birthday of Sir (Amb.) Okpoyo, an eminent community leader and politician of note will provide an open opportunity for the celebrator to thank God for His benevolence and magnanimity, share experiences and transfer more knowledge. It is therefore expected that the present generation would demonstrate sufficient humility and eagerness to tap from the wealth of experience of this great Nigerian.

    Sir, your rare pedigree as outstanding Elder-statesman, quintessential leader, patriot, diplomat, nationalist, astute and renowned politician, advocate for the oppressed and strong believer in democracy and rule of law have indeed endeared you to all well meaning minds across the globe.

    As you celebrate 75 years of God’s amazing grace and faithfulness upon your life, I join all progressive and patriotic Akwa Ibom citizens at home and in the Diaspora to say congratulations, Your Excellency.

    • Okpo is an Uyo-based journalist and public affairs commentator

  • Beer Festival holds October 25

    The Second Nigeria Beer Festival billed to hold from September 25 to October 1 has been shifted by one month. It will now hold between October 25 and 31.

    Its organisers, On and One Events (001) Limited, explained that the postponement was to allow the rain to subside and guarantee a more conducive environment for participants.

    Following an assessment by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NHSA) showing that all indices of flood disaster were manifesting in many states, the Federal Government had warned that flood was imminent and hence the decision to raise the alarm.

    General Manager, 001, Mr. Akinola Oluwaleimu, noted that the warning was timely considering the volume and days of rainfall especially in Lagos of recent. He added that the shift became expedient in the interest of the exhibitors, participants and the thousands of fun-seeking Lagosians who are looking forward to the entertainment and the tourism potentials of the Beer festival.

    “All the stakeholders are in agreement on the need for this shift for better safety, better planning and better result. The festival is an outdoor event and we must take note of the weather and the warning from the experts,” Oluwaleimu said.

    He reiterated that the Lagos State government, which is passionate about tourism, is committed to providing massive institutional support, particularly security, emergency response and related logistics for the event, which will enrol Nigeria into the league of Beer Festivals around the world and boost the country’s tourism opportunities.

    The   event, which promises to propagate responsible drinking among drinking-age (18 years and above) consumers at all its touch points, will be held at the Waterfront Bar Beach grounds, Eko Atlantic to give it a carnival atmosphere.

  • Ayoola hits The Route in UI

    Sand painter, artist Wole Ayoola has set out to take art lovers to The Route, the title of his ongoing exhibition at the Cornelius Adepegba Museum of African Arts, Institute of African Art (CAMAA), University of Ibadan (UI).

    The art show, which opened  penultimate Thursday, and runs till this month, left viewers spellbound to his unique style of using sand, clay, acrylic and other media to produce exceptional art pieces.

    The graduate of visual art of the Adeyemi College of Education and  the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has Prof. O. I. Pogoson as his curator.

    The artist   is a full time studio artist based in Ibadan. As a young boy growing up in Ile-Ife, he  showed interest in everything related to art: drawings, colours, cultural activities as well as exploring junks.

    The Route, featuring 50 Ayoola’s works of paintings, mixed media and drawings, is Ayoola’s maiden solo outing.

    “The 50 works on display present my own narratives; my non-verbal statement as I continue this artistic journey. Since graduation 19 years ago, it has been art, art and nothing but art; having worked as a graphic artist, illustrator, production assistant for agencies and as an art teacher and author of creative arts books. Obviously, every artist is a story teller; this is the route I have chosen to tell my stories, ” he said.

    According to the artist, he became more interested and attracted to fine arts at Oranmiyan Memorial Grammar School, I     l               e-Ife where  first encountered some of the finest art teachers.  They include Mr. Ajidahun, Mr. Anthony Owoeye and Mr. Momoh, a Youth Corps member. Thus began Ayoola’s journey on The Route.

    He recalled: “The attraction became more intense when I gianed admision to Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo. My interaction with my mates, diverse experiences from the senior students in the department and different encounters I had with the likes of Dr. Kunle Filani, Mr. Tola Wewe, Prof. Bankole Ojo (Banky), Mr. Igbaro, Mr. Bada and Mrs. Akinlami, gave me my first taste of professionalism in art.

    “At Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, the creative fire set at

  • Artists celebrate Nigeria, Wheatbaker

    As part of activities marking the seventh anniversary of Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos, a group art exhibition, The Contemporaries 11, opened on Monday, featuring works of three contemporary artists: Kainebi Osahenye, Kenny Adewuyi and Kelani Abass. The exhibition is also to mark Nigeria’s 58th Independence Day. It will run till October 15. Simultaneously, it will open tomorrow till October 7 at 1.54 African Contemporary Art Fair in London, the largest fair of African Contemporary Art that attracts over 18,000 visitors yearly. The exhibition is supported by the Wheatbaker and Louis Guntrum Wines.

    Director, Wheatbaker Hotel, MrMosun Ogunbanjo, said celebrating Nigeria’s Independence Day together with Wheatbaker’s seventh anniversary as well as the exhibition reaffirms the hotel’s commitment to celebrate the very best of African creativity.

    ”The second edition of The Contemporaries continues the impressive standard set by the first quarterly exhibition we hosted in 2011, providing a regular platform for celebrating our exceptional local and international talents,” he said.

    Curator and Founder, SMO Contemporary Art, Sandra Mbanefo Obiago, who is delighted to showcase the artists on two important platforms at the same time said art is an important avenue for addressing global issues, adding: ‘We depend on our artists to be good global ambassador for Africa.’

    The group exhibition, which features 38 sculptures, paintings, and mixed media works from the artists, showcases strong visual narratives and powerful figurative abstractions, which explore historic socio-political narratives, the dignity of labour, technology, and the environment vis-vis unbridled consumerism.

    Osahenye, who majored in painting, combines spray paint with oil, pastel and acrylic to convey the idea of melancholy in his isolation series like ‘The Sky Gets Brighter Than Grey Shades of Your Thoughts—you used to be as sweet as pink,’ and others like ‘Broken Spirit,’ ‘Some Have Eyes But Cannot See,’ and ‘My Eyes Have Seen and My Eyes Have Heard 11.’

    According to the artist, pain is a part of life. Pain can drive one to a place of isolation. “In my work, the weight of darkness seems to overwhelm the sometimes anguished form layered beneath the somewhat grey and bright surfaces. The surface can exude grief, but I also like to camouflage this somber mood with colours that radiate energy. The energy that I seek or display in my work, in a way, appears like a prayer. And prayer to my mind possesses the potential to deal with pain,” he said.

    Osahenye’s work, which explores figurative gestures that interrogate society’s insatiability, said Nigerians have had bad times and still treading on rough edges.

    “The marks of pain are now deeply edged on faces of people across our landscape. We continue to sit and wait for a change to come. Indeed, Nigeria has been in a reclining position for too long waiting for her light to shine. Blinded by her corrupt practices, she is unable to see and utilise the enormous treasures buried within her,” he said.

    Coming from a printing press home, Abass, who finished from Yaba College of Technology, Lagos with distinction creates intricate multi-media works, in which small mechanical parts retrieved from his family’s printing press, are layered with photographs and archival materials as the artist explores personal stories against the background of social and political events frozen in time and memory. His ‘man and machine’ series on canvas explore the interchangeable co-dependency between man and technology.

    Abass’s oeuvre questioned common history and character of men and machines through a wide range of different media including installations, acrylics, oils, pastels and charcoal,  ”I engage the use of technology with the printing press, which I use as metaphor for obsolete materials, transporting them into modern relevance, usurping outmoded machinery and tools such as printing cases, letterpress types, metal plates, rubber blocks and the stamping tool to generate new contemporary narratives,” he said, adding that he is intrigued by how the past and present blend.

    “I attempt to make a statement on the future that concedes the interdependence of different moments in time. I explore these themes through painting, photography and printing, using archival materials to highlight personal stories against the background of social and political events frozen time and memory, he added.

    Adewuyi, one of the leading experts of emotive sculptures of elongated figures and exaggerated limbs, uses it in recognition of humanity’s universal struggle for survival and sustained livelihoods. His iconic sculptures are cast in bronze using the lost wax technique dating as far back as the ninth century in eastern Nigeria, keeping alive an ancient artistic tradition.

    “My sculptures express my inner feelings and communicate how I interpret my immediate and extended environment. Humans are social beings who cannot exist in isolation. My figurative bronze sculptures, in exaggerated and elongated forms, explore the day to day difficulties and challenges of human existence,” he said.

  • No, No…Yes!

    Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 as one of the 17 children of Josiah Franklin. Though his father wanted him to school with the clergy, there was only enough money for Benjamin to go to school for two years. He had to continue his education through personal voracious reading. At the age of 12, Benjamin became a printing apprentice with his brother James who founded The New-England Courant three years later.  Benjamin wanted to seize the opportunity of his apprenticeship to write a letter for publication in his brother’s newspaper but it was denied. Therefore, he created the fictitious name, Mrs. Silence Dogood, a middle-aged widow, and wrote letters to the paper. Not only were the letters published, they became subjects of conversations in town.

    Benjamin Franklin later achieved outstanding feats such as becoming one of the founding fathers of the United States of America but those are not the focus of this article. Our focus is that he did not allow a “no” to keep him from achieving his goal. Those letters written by “Mrs. Silence Dogood” are today valuable pieces of the American history.

    Several people’s lives have been marred by the “no” responses they received. They have chosen to be discouraged and have given up because someone said “no”. You must learn that when people say “no” to you, it doesn’t mean you are worthless. It is an evidence of their slowness or outright failure to recognise your worth. If one person does not see it, another person will. I don’t know how long you have to keep going until you find someone who appreciates your talent; all I know is that you have to try the next person.

    You think you are the only one who has been rejected? Try this for size. William Golding wrote his first novel, Lord of the Flies, and hoped to have a good career in writing. The novel was, however, rejected 20 times before it was published. Even after it was published in 1954, only 3,000 copies were sold. Amazingly, it has been adapted to film twice, was listed by TIME magazine in 2005 among the 100 best English-Language novels from 1923-2005, and William Golding won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1983. I wonder what would have happened if he gave up after his 19th “no”.

    Gone with the Wind, written by Margaret Mitchell, was rejected 38 times before publication in 1936. By 1937, the author had received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for the novel and a National Book Award from the American Bookesellers Association. Gone with the Wind polled twice (in 2008 and 2014) as the second favourite book among American readers after the Bible. The novel was adapted to film in 1939 and it received 10 awards at the 12th Academy Awards, setting a record that took a while to beat. It also became the highest-grossing film produced up to that time and held the record for another 25 years. Can you imagine how all these would have been lost if Margaret gave up and kept the draft under her pillow?

    The stories of those who persevered until they succeeded are the ones that inspire us; no one is motivated by the story of those who gave up. We may not be able to control other people’s reactions towards us but we can determine our response. Why should someone who is too blind to recognise your talent rob generations unborn of the blessing of the gift you have inside you? Surf on the ‘No” until you get a “Yes”.

    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!

  • Poverty alleviation tops NAFEST 2018

    Preparations for this year’s National Festival for Arts and Culture (NAFEST) holding in Port Harcourt Rivers State between October 21 and 27 have reached top gear as the state contingents are putting finishing touches to their participation.

    After a successful meeting of all 36 state Commissioners and Directors of Arts and Culture at Port Harcourt recently, the organisers of the festival, National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC) is not leaving anything to chance as the outing in Port Harcourt promises to re-launch the unity festival into global acceptance and inclusiveness.

    Beyond the regular presentation and showcasing of Nigeria’s culture, arts, crafts and fashion, this year’s NAFEST in Port Harcourt, will create a strategic learning curve on how to alleviate poverty and enthrone a new rural sustainable cultural economy through skill acquisition and exposure to other multi beneficial contents related to Nigerian culture.

    Last year in Kaduna, which was the first under the watch of NCAC Director-General, Otunba Segun Runsewe there was a strategic manifestation of an enduring change and perception of the once neglected festival. But, the Port Harcourt edition of the festival will herald a massive repositioning of the entire gamut of Nigeria’s culture value chain beyond the pedestrian dance drama and accolades of mere street observers.

    According to Runsewe, the unity festival is coming at time Nigeria is becoming the destination to watch as President Buhari diplomatic shuttling across the globe has attracted some massive interest in Nigeria beyond the traditional business frontiers hence the repositioning of culture as the central bank of our creative wealth.

    In the same vein, at the just concluded private sector trade fair in Lagos, Runsewe showcased interesting sidelines of what NCAC will do in Port Harcourt. Already, Governor Wike of Rivers State has promised an enhanced and progressive collaboration to effectively re-jig policy orientation on Rivers very rich and unique culture.

    Interestingly, there are strong indications from the states thatthere is a very strong wind of competition among participants while the message of mainstreaming culture as an economic catalyst will be taken serious.

    Runsewe who is noted to have changed the narratives of Nigeria’s tourism evolution when he held sway at NTDC noted that NAFEST in Garden City will ‘gong’ to the world the best of Nigeria culture, its economic baseline and its diplomatic, unifying influence for national socio-economic and political development.

    He also noted that Nigeria culture which is very diverse and unique will help bridge gaps in the quest to build a conscious and consistent appreciation to the multi ethnic cultural colouration that abounds in Nigeria, regarded as a mini united nations.

    Given the level of preparation of the host state, Governor Wike may use the event to redirect cultural tourism traffic to the oil city and south-south region of Nigeria in general.