The Nation Newspaper

Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

  • Yewa Development Forum honours ex-UNILAG VC Bello

    Yewa Development Forum led by its National President, Alhaji Ayo Adeyemi, will hold a reception in honour of immediate past Vice Chancellor University of Lagos, Prof. Rahmon Bello at the Rotary Centre in GRA, Ikeja, Lagos.

    Adeyemi said the success of Bello as UNILAG VC was worth celebrating, adding that the forum believes that honouring him would inspire other Yewa indigenes, especially those in leadership positions across disciplines, to always put in their best.

    He explained that the association would use the programme to garner support for developmental projects it had embarked upon.

    He said  that the forum is committed to values that would ensure development, which includes building of Yewaland TV, encompassing Internet TV and video on demand; development of a data base for Yewa indigenes, youth and women empowerment programmes, a business directory and production of Who-is-Who and a Hall of Fame publication. Adeyemi said the forum was soliciting funds to this effect.

    Professor of Applied Micro-Biology, Tope Popoola, said Bello had done well for himself as a scholar, a son of Yewaland, a Nigerian and for humanity as a whole.

    He said: “Prof Rahman Bello deserves to be celebrated based on his strides as UNILAG VC. We don’t have many of his type coming out of our land. Although many people have also excelled in other fields, he stands out clearly as a role model both in terms of the educational and administrative careers and as a perfect gentleman.

    “He had the opportunity of engaging in politics when he worked as a commissioner in Ogun State. He later went back to the university and eventually made it  to the office of the VC. Yewa has not really produced many people at that level.”

    According to him, it is good that the programme is coming at a time that Yewaland is trying to assert itself culturally and socio-politically. He called on all stakeholders to rise above stereotypes and ensure the unity of its people.

    “Yewa are a diverse people, but we are managing our diversity.Some say Yewa and Awori are divided, but I believe this is not so. It is the anxiety of someone thinking they are being pushed into the minority that often fuels the myths. In Yewaland are the Awori, Agatu, Egun and Anago. But we all remain one. For instance, the dialects of the Yewa and Awori people are one. We intermarry and do a lot together. So, we are managing our diversity the way every other diverse people do,”Popoola said.

    Former Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Alhaja Salmot Badru will chair the event, while Senator Kola Bajomo will deliver a lecture titled Ogun Project: Stemming Erosions of Economic and Political Agitation of the Underdeveloped West. Adeyemi, however, noted that royal fathers and notable politicians, including Senator OlamilekanAdeolaYayi, and businessmen were also being expected.

     

  • So what’s new?

    After all the excitement and celebration of crossing over to 2018, several people still wonder about the “unnecessary hype” of a new year. “What is new except for a change in the calendar?” they ask. Bad jobs don’t automatically change with the calendar. Frustrating marriages don’t change. An errant child doesn’t change. Debts don’t supernaturally get paid. After the holidays, people simply pick up from where they left off in 2017 and life goes on. So what’s new?

    People are looking for newness in the wrong places. Physical things may or may not change but the greatest change is in you. If your attitude to life doesn’t change, no other change will matter. A new year offers new opportunities:

    • For self-evaluation: now is the time to make all your past mistakes count by converting them into lessons. What worked or didn’t work last year? Failure to evaluate will lead to making your best investments in your worst ventures. If you don’t evaluate, you will devote more time to what gave you the least returns last year. Build on your strengths not your weaknesses.
    • To take responsibility: for most people, things don’t change because of their lack of involvement. They make new year resolutions without any commitment to change their habits. Les Brown once told a story of a man who walked by a family sitting on a porch with a dog groaning at their feet. When he asked the owner of the dog whyit was groaning, the owner replied, “Because it’s lying on a nail”. Surprised, he asked why the dog didn’t get up and the owner replied, “Because it’s not hurting enough to get up!” There are several people who sit right in the middle of their uncomfortable circumstances and just complain! Don’t ever think you don’t have a choice in life. Don’t just lay there and complain like the dog in the story; get up and move on! Take responsibility for the change you desire. That undesirable situation may remain so until you do some things about it.
    • For a power start: athletes are usually strongest at the beginning of a race. The burst of energy propels them towards their goals. There are no two starts in a single race; you’ve got to get it right the first time. An athlete may have lost the last race but standing at the starting line is an opportunity to win a new one. See only your goals and blank out on the rest. Your life will never be the same again once you breast that tape.

    You must make a choice that 2018 will not end like any other year. Decide to make some sacrifices so that you can enjoy the benefits later. Don’t only plan to make changes; take the bold step no matter how difficult it seems and you will be glad you did. Remember, a temporary inconvenience is nothing compared to a long term enjoyment. No one is ever rewarded for what he/she ALMOST did.

    I look forward to reading your stories of great successes and your comments. Share your views with me by visiting www.olanreamodu.com and following me on twitter @lanreamodu.

  • 2018: Year of promise, innovations

    2018: Year of promise, innovations

    2017 was a mixed grill for players in the creative sector. In this report, they recount their experiences as they look forward to a more thriving 2018, writes EVELYN OSAGIE.

    The curtain may have fallen on  2017, but its memories linger in the minds of industry players in the creative sector.

    Diverse creative events marked the year, with many of its players breaking new grounds. Still, not all would call the year pleasant.

    In this piece, scholars, gallery and theatre owners, artists, poets, novelists and playwrights recount their experiences in 2017 and projections for the New Year. They include literary and Arabic scholar and novelist Prof Kole Omotoso; veteran artist, Chief Muraina Oyelami; artist and professor of Art  Historian Peju Layiwola and Prof Ahmed Yerima; artist/owner of GreenHouse Art Empowerment Centre in Olambe, Ogun State, Princess Theresa Iyase-Odozi. Others are artist and the current director of the Harmattan Workshop, Sam Ovraiti; founder and Executive Producer of the Thespian Family Theatre & Productions, Ayo Jaiyesimi; oil and gas lawyer and poet, Ms Donna Ogunnaike; artist and founder of LENS Talk Academy, Yemi Royal, and novelist Obinna Udenwe.

    To survive 2017, I did everything I said I’d never do – Prof Omotoso

    2017, like years before, was harsh in the way simple things are harsh mainly because of unpunished corruption, unpaid employ-ment and reality and pomposity of trailers on our bad roads. It is against this background that I continue The Travels of Trouble in the Sunday Guardian and trying to write a novel The Book of Change.

    To survive, I have done everything I said I would never do: buy generators, sink borehole, rent security, be a one household local government. Projection for this year is more of the same recurrent cycle/circle of Nigerian stupidity. Answers to living problems are not available to Nigerian powers that be. And don’t even mention prayers. Personally I want to finish this novel, that’s all I pray for.

    2017 was an eventful year – Chief Oyelami

    The year was eventful. A travelling Exhibition of 50 Years of Osogbo Art sponsored by Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU) was mounted in Osogbo, Abuja and Wilmington Delaware in the United States.  Also, it afforded me the opportunity of participating in international shows like the last Lagos Art X that featured some of my recent works.

    As an active practitioner who has been working for over 50 years, God has continued to give me the needed creative energy to love and continue my practice with harmony and peace.  My big dream of having a visual and performing arts institute in Iragbiji, where young and potentially talented artists would be trained, is now becoming a reality. The Abeni Institute of Visual and Performing Arts would soon take off, where Aso-Oke weaving, batiks, drumming and drum-making will feature in our programmes. We hope to take-off during the first quarter of the year, God willing.

    It was a milestone for me – Prof Layiwola

    2017 was a great year for me.  It was, indeed, very fulfilling.  It was a milestone for me as I attained the zenith of my profession in the visual arts.  This elevation fulfils a lot for me and the profession. It provided me with the opportunity of having several international conversations about art.  In terms of the Women and Youth Art Foundation, it was a time for taking stock both at the personal level and also at the level of community engagement. We celebrated art within the community as we marked   13 years of our commitment to using the visual arts as a transformative agent in disadvantaged communities. We also raised a formidable team of volunteers who helped continue our project in taking art back to public schools in Lagos State. 2018 promises to be a more fulfilling year. I hope to consolidate on the work done in previous years.  New projects will be unveiled this year and  I am hopeful for the possibilities that it presents.

    2017 was a good year for me as a playwright – Prof Yerima

    2017 was a good year for me as a playwright. I wrote four plays – Iyase, Pari, Odenigbo and Drugga. These plays reflected the kind of literature my immediate-society demanded from me. Society itself provided the materials because of its organic nature. For thematic relevance and connect I felt fulfilled as a playwright. As I advance in age, and the volatile nature of the security of my country, I was more calculated in terms of fund expenditure, personal desires and needs and self preservation, I was generally careful about budget planning and what my movement capabilities were. The social condition in a near dysfunctional society as 2017 was, demanded caution from the individual. 2018 seems to be a good year. More issues of society will serve as materials for the concerned writers.  Hopefully production opportunities for the literary works we create will come. Again I pray for the Muse of creative to flow. I have finished my first 2018 play, Hendu which is based on the Fulani herdsmen crises. The Nigerian writers must learn to build coalition with society that needs such works. The works must first, project the anxiety of their immediate society. And second, the angst and expectations of society must be projected. Most of all, I hope 2018 will provide avenues for funding, because no writer writes well on an empty stomach. Good luck all. I wish us all a happy new creative and productive 2018.

    Development of the Berger-Ojodu-Olambe-Ijoko roads will improve art patronage – Princess Iyase-Odozi

    With respect to GreenHouse Art Empowerment Centre, Olambe in Ogun State, the gallery was on the quiet side for several reasons, which include the following: dearth of qualified art-oriented staff; the poor state of our roads and ensuing traffic congestion, particularly during the rainy season. This led to mass relocation of many residents who work in Lagos and, consequently, reduced patronage of our activities; the lack of external support, both financial and material, for our programmes, thereby limiting their coverage and frequency. Although our centre operated at a low tempo for most of the year, we kept it open to the public.

    Also, towards the end of the year, we had a public lecture based on the Grail Message and hosted many guests. We were able to survive by right-sizing the staff complement and embarking on various cost-saving initiatives, particularly power consumption.

    But an artist art comes to me as the air I breathe in and has become my life and world. I live art, think art and do art. I have no other choice than to do art either through a direct transfer of my ideas on to a surface or through empowering fellow human beings by giving and training. Given the numerous competing engagements that I have to contend with and the limited activities at my disposal, I had to reprioritise and strive to achieve more with less. As an art researcher and practitioner, I periodically carry out a thorough survey of things that need be done and conceptualise and translate my ideas into reality. Such conceptualisation and execution sometimes takes months and even years to accomplish. After my 2015 exhibition entitled: Spiritual Contemplations. I decided to take the next step – in 2017, I embarked on a fundamental shift towards exploring new ways in the world of tie & dye and began preliminary work for a new exhibition under the mentorship of Madam Nike Okundaye of Nike Arts Gallery.  Over the years, my art had been eclectic in style, encompassing historical, mundane, abstract and spiritual dimensions of art.

    We are full of hope and expectations for our country, our local community and, of course, our organisation in 2018! Our optimism is founded on ongoing massive infrastructural development activity both at the federal and state levels. Indeed, we can see infrastructural transformation of the Berger-Ojodu-Olambe-Ijoko roads, which definitely will improve the inflow of visitors and the patronage to the gallery. In short, the tempo of activities in our gallery will depend largely on the progress made in completing this massive road construction project.

    Meanwhile, we plan to organise some empowerment programmes, including soap and cream productions, and particularly textile production and tie & dye. As an artist I am also full of hope and expectations but also a lot of hard work in 2018! My major tasks are to successfully complete my academic research studies at the University of Lagos and concurrently stage an exhibition, based on my research on tie & dye, with Madam Nike Okundaye at the Nike Centre for Arts and Culture.

    2017 was for me a year multiple awards – Ovraiti

    2016 and 2017 were eventful for me as these years saw multiple awards conferred on me by various institutions in recognition on the work I have done in the area of training young and upcoming artists and my contributions in the professional art scene.

    Apart from seizing every opportunity I had to educate artists on the need to let their art be the focus of their attention, I also made sure I got involved in a number of art projects both public and private, in addition to such significant exhibitions that kept my brand above waters. This new year, together with what I call the usual such as art workshops, exhibitions and expanding on my neighbor creativity, what will be on my front burner will be to begin to build my school of professional art practice which is geared at providing the needed resources for artists, both young and old when want to achieve extraordinary success in the area of their professional art practice.

    2017 was a mixed bag – Jaiyesimi

    2017 was a mixed bag. It was exciting because we broke new grounds and had very well-received productions. However, it was also a year that most companies cut their sponsorship budgets. On strategies adopted: we have some very dependable corporate and individual sponsors who support our aspiration to educate, engage and entertain. We diversified our entertainment services and products and also cut down on production costs by developing in-house capacities in some areas and outsourced some elements, while engaging on a number of collaborations which helped in responsibility, cost and risk sharing. This new year promises to be exciting. We celebrate our 15 years of existence and that is a key milestone. We have assets that have been created, which we would showcase this year; we are working on our second television programme and open our space – The Thespian Könà.  Looking ahead, 2018 should be exciting!

    2017 was a year of growth, boldness for me – Donna

    2017 was an interesting year for me as I was able to implement a crazy idea I had which was to create an experiential experimental art installation during the Lagos Theatre Festival hosted by the British Council. It was a diary which experimented with healing minds through nostalgia using poetry, music, contemporary dance and film. I was afraid it would be treated with scepticism by the audience but it was well received with many positive reviews locally and internationally. We were then selected to present the event at the World Cultures Festival in Hong Kong and were the only Nigerian representative. I was also able to put up a show in Abuja and performed poetry at very many events in Lagos including the Afro Champions Initiatives dinner where President Mbeki, Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki, and his predecessor Governor Adams Oshiomole and many top executives across all of Africa were present. I did this alongside a hectic work schedule as an Oil and Gas Lawyer and Partner in the Law Firm of ACAS-LAW. I believe 2017 was a year of growth and boldness for me as an artist in both poetry and theatre. It was a hectic but very special year. I learnt how to breathe. I would find quiet places and just let my heart be calm. I also learned very heavily on Mrs. Bianca Odiete, who co-managed both the administrative and logistical aspects of all the events in 2017. A solid support system is necessary and I would not have done it without her and a few others who helped with the heavy lifting. I also sought counselling and would pour out my fears to my parents, Prince and Rev. Mrs. Ogunnaike, my friends (especially Ms. Abiola Adekoya), my partners and colleagues in the firm and Ms. Brenda Uphopho who would not let me give up on the project. No one should have to do it alone, delegation, talking and finding calm in the midst of chaos goes a long way. The experiential and experimental event, Strelitzia, has been curated by the British Council for the 2018 Lagos Theare Festival coming up at the end of February. It is an honour for me that this happened and we are going to be serving people through art. Apart from this I will be executing other projects in the arts, God helping me, so watch out for Donna Ogunnaike; this journey still has a long way to go!

    It was a busy year – Royal

    2017 was very busy for me. I was busy with trainings, busy traveling and busy developing new sets of skills and ideas. For my art, it’s been very tasking. I have been busy sketching and preparing for my next exhibition coming up hopefully in 2018. My strategies are simple. I called it the 3Ps which stand for Passion Persistence and Perseverance. Passion keeps me going, due to the undying love I have for my job. Persistence keeps me afloat and retains my relevance in the industry; while Perseverance gives me the assurance that i will get result in due cause. 2018 is going to be what I call the ‘art year’. A year dominated by photography activities and events. More artist/photographers will be discovered.

    It was big year for me – Udenwe

    2017 was big for me. In January, I took a big decision to overhaul my novel in-progress, which I had been working on for going on seven years. I deleted over 180 pages of the manuscript and started afresh, basically. I changed the story in its entirety and I was delighted I made the decision. It has been provisionally accepted for publishing and I hope that happens this year.

    Last year, I also decided to cut down on the number of short stories I write in a month but to write strong, energetic and poignant stories – even if it’s two or three for the year. And I did accomplish that. So, in all, I would say that I improved the quality of my art in 2017 by making tough decisions and taking bold steps. Only a few artists in Nigeria survive through their craft alone. To survive we engage in other activities but the art also contribute lot. Towards the end of 2017, I submitted stories to different journals of International repute and I look forward to seeing those works published in 2018. I also look forward to seeing them get deserved recognition. I hope to see my novel published this year.

  • Life’s Journey: Orara’s ode to Adaora

    Life’s Journey: Orara’s ode to Adaora

    Three years ago, one of Nigeria’s prolific contemporary artists Zinno Orara lost his wife Adaora.

    To him and his four children, that loss was an end to years of pain, anger, fear and tears. Yet, it was the beginning of a new life, without a wife and with no hope. But, the journey of life continues for all of them.

    “Life for us was an extremely sweet and smooth journey until October 2007 when my wife was diagnosed with cancer…We laughed together, cried together for seven long years. We got to a point everything was at a standstill. The very long roster of friends reduced on daily basis. Experience was gained. Bitter and useful lessons learnt,” Orara recalled in the exhibition brochure.

    All of these form the content of most of the paintings exhibited by Orara in his solo art exhibition tagged Life’s Journey at the Terra Kulture Gallery in Lagos early this month. The exhibition was a commemorative show to mark the third anniversary of Adaora’s passing.

    Expectedly, Orara presented paintings that dwell on many aspects of man’s journey on earth and beyond. Using his late wife as a central theme, the artist offers 45 paintings through which viewers can have the opportunity to think deeply and ask fundamental questions about life, people and places as well as what life’s journey means.

    One of such paintings is The Thoughts of You, a piece done in 2016 but embedded with lots of memories and emotions. The imagery the painting, (a female face, her eyes partially closed and tears dropping down the cheek) leaves in the minds of viewers is as strong as the lure of the beauty it exudes. It is also a fresh reminder of what the late Adaora went through during her seven years of pains and agony. Closely linked is Praying Wife (2013), a surreal painting that captures the mood of a strong and prayerful wife, which the late Adaora would have been to Orara’s family until her death.

    Little wonder the artist said: “God and a good wife are the two best things a man can have. Anyone can show up when you are happy. But the ones who stay by your side when your heart falls apart are your true friends.”

    The collection also provides paintings that highlight the many challenges single parents go through in life. Strength in unity, The storms of single parenting and Commune are among such paintings that reassure the hopeless and the troubled. The colour scheme of the paintings depicts the mood and emotions captured in the each of the paintings.

    The storms of single parenting is a painting that shows a female figure walking down a lonely road using an umbrella as cover from weather- rain or sunshine.  The artist captures the storms in deep purple and patch of red colours while the yellow bright colours in her fore ground symbolise hope. Despite these challenges the artist projects the female figure walking towards the bright light, which shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

    Other paintings on display included The independent woman, My street, my stream, Signs of time, Life’s journey, Life Journey 11, The eyes of faith, Because they are girls, Should be in school, Dependable, The other woman, One big family and Unlocked potentials.

    Orara is a 1988 graduate of Auchi Polytechnic, specialising in painting and illustration and has had 13 solo exhibitions and over 25 group exhibitions held across Nigeria and other major countries in the world.

  • Museum Commission gets acting DG

    Emeka Obiora Onuegbu has been appointed acting Director-General (DG) of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments.

    Onuegbu, a lawyer, was the commission’s Director of Administration and Supply. He took over from the former chief executive, Mallam Yusuf Abdallah Usman, whose tenure has ended.

    According to a statement by the commission signed by Dapo Sijuade, the appointment takes immediate effect.

    Onuegbu is a graduate of Political Science and Administrative Studies, University of Maiduguri. In 1993, he obtained a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from the University of Lagos and was called to the Nigerian Bar two years later.

    He is a former Special Assistant to the Special Adviser to the President on Relations with the Civil Society.

    He is a certified Advanced Personnel and Human Resources Manager, and member, Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered).

  • New year, fresh start

    Congratulations, we made it to 2018! Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. There is something interesting about life- it is a never-ending cycle. Towards the end of 2017, there was an excitement about ending the year. We all looked forward to it as though we had lived the entire year just to see it end. Now, 2017 has ended and we have entered into a new year. The race has begun again. A few minutes before 12am on January 1, 2018, we waited and prayed. We held our breath as though awaiting the unveiling of a special package. Now the package has been unveiled; it is time to make the best of it.

    Believe me, 2018 is worth the wait because this is your year. If you’ve ever dreamt of achieving something great, this is your opportunity. There is something special about beginnings. The foundation of a building determines how high it rises. This is the opportunity you’ve always prayed for. My intention is not to stir up your emotion so that you can feel good about yourself. If you feel good after reading this piece, consider it a bonus. What I hope to achieve is to make you see that you have a fresh opportunity to take the right steps that can take you to a desirable destination.

    A lot of people pray for miracles to change their fortune; unfortunately, they are expecting a magic. People want their lives to change without their commitment to do anything about it. You can’t succeed without your involvement. Les Brown, one of the world’s leading motivational speakers, told the story of a young man who walked past a family sitting on a porch, with a dog groaning at their feet. Out of curiosity, he went back and asked the man of the house, “Sir, why is the dog groaning?” “Because he’s lying on a nail” the man answered. “So why didn’t he get up?” he asked, confused. “Because it doesn’t hurt enough for him to get up” the man replied. Have you ever met people who were not satisfied with their lives, jobs, relationships, etc, and they did nothing but moan about it? No one ever changes undesirable situations by complaining.

    Zig Ziglar said he spoke to people in Psychology, Psychiatry and Ministry who had experience in counselling, and they all agreed that not everyone who came to them with a problem wanted it solved.  A lot of people just wanted to tell someone about it to get sympathy. Zig said that if you solve the problem, you spoilt it for them because they won’t be able tell people about it anymore. According to him, “They want the attention that goes with the problem”. I have even heard of people who preferred to be ill because they got the attention of some people they felt had previously ignored them. The big question is this: “Are you complaining about something you can change, without being willing to change it?”

    This is your year, but you must be ready to do what you have never done. How can you keep doing the same thing or do nothing and expect a different result? You may not be able to change other people, but you can change yourself and how you react to circumstances. Take responsibility for your life in 2018. I wish you a fulfilling and prosperous year. I look forward to us having a great time on this column this year. Share your views with me by visiting www.olanreamodu. com and following me on twitter @lanreamodu.

  • ‘Why govt should take risk with creative industry’

    ‘Why govt should take risk with creative industry’

    Dean, School of PostGraduate Studies, Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Prof Rasaki Ojo Bakare, speaks with Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME on the state of the creative industry and his expectations in the New Year, among others. 

    How are courses in cultural studies (literary, theatre and visual arts) fairing in the academia?

    There are new creative works by scholars all over the country. More departments of literary and theatre arts and cultural studies are springing up. Almost every new university that is established runs those courses. Interestingly, courses in these departments are heavily subscribed.The enterprise of teaching and acquiring knowledge in these fields is growing but we are heavily incapacitated. The extent to which we succeed in research and other duties depends on availability of fund.

    We are succeeding but this is relative given the circumstances in which we work.

    I do more work in university than on the field but I am still very visible on the field. I just completed a production of Ojukelekun in collaboration with Dele Odule. In 2017, I handled three highly successful productions, which is a far cry from my record way back. But this is because I am heavily tied with administrative duties in the university.

    How much of entrepreneurial training does your varsity offer its students?

    That is the focus of my department in the university. Our curriculum is a little different from those of old varsities. The focus of our training in art in our departments is to teach our students how to do. The university has entrepreneurial tilt, so that reflects what we do in the departments. We emphasise skill and not load students with general information. Our curriculum emphasises specialisation for students as from third year.

    As Dean of PostGraduate Studies, you are expected to do things differently, especially in resolving perennial delays that characterise many post graduate programmes in older universities.  How are you handling all this?

    I am lucky to have lots of experiences, having worked in older universities, such as University of Calabar, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Abuja, etc and I had the opportunity to study the structures of the post graduate studies of the varsities. I will build on the strength of those varsities, borrow from what they are doing and avoid where they have lapses.

    We are going to stick to universal rules and standards. Also, we are going to be very fair to the candidates.

    If a candidate is not a material for a master degree programme, we kick him out. If a candidate is good for the programme, he should finish within the stipulated time. There cannot be a third alternative. The same goes for the Phd programme. The School of PostGraduate Studies, Federal University, Oye, Ekiti will be different from others. We will not produce scholars that will be injurious to the intellectual health of the nation.

    You have traversed the town and the gown as a theatre scholar. How much of the field works impacted on your career growth?

    Without my extensive works on the field (dance, theatre and culture industry), I would not have been what I am today. My scholarship has been greatly influenced by my practice. There is no data or research that is current than what you get on the field while working. Between 1989 and now, I have worked in almost all states of the federation. I have run dance, theatre, training workshops and productions almost in every corner of this country. As far back as 80s, I was a consultant choreographer to Cross River State, co-director to late Basil Effiong. As a Youth Corp member, my community project was the establishment of the then Anambra State Performing Troupe in Enugu. I did that with the late Nelly Uchendu, a singer who supervised the project on behalf of the government. When the late Nelson Mandela of South Africa visited Enugu in 1992, the troupe performed, which was its first outing. The state retained the troupe and that is what the Enugu State inherited and built on. For five years, I was the consultant to the Rivers State Troupe and led them to national festivals. From Rivers to Ogun, I was the consultant to the performing troupe of Ogun State. Then to Nasarawa State, which was the watershed. All the productions that brought Nasarawa its winning laurels at national festivals were done during my era. I have done the same for Ondo State for about a decade. However, I did it for my state Ekiti briefly. I was in charge of the Imo State Troupe as a consultant, Akwa Ibom State and many more, including private troupes, such as International Centre for the Art, Lagos (ICAL) led by the late Ambassador Segun Olusola.

    Outside of Nigeria, I was in charge of the Gambia national troupe from 1994 to 1996 under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Technical Aids Corps. Also, I have worked with the National Theatre and Troupe of Jamaica under the cultural exchange programme. I have led Nigerian troupes to international festival, such as North Korea festival in 1997, where we won gold. In 1999, we went to Austria with ICAL with Salt, a 30minutes version of the production and we came first. We also took Ahmed Yerima’s Yemoja to Mexico and Nigeria also won gold. I have directed three inauguration performances of three presidents. In fact, I wrote and directed the Voyage for the Yar’Adua inauguration, which toured the world. The list is endless.  With these, a high percentage of what I teach in class is derived from the field.

    I am glad that younger generation of artists, such as Segun Adefila, Dayo Liad, and Kudus Onikeku are doing very good works.

    What is your assessment of the creative industry in the last one year?

    In terms of availability of talents, quality of works, I am happy with the industry because of the contributions of the named artists above. They are improving on the existing works. But the efforts of the new generation and we of old, is not complemented by government support. Therefore, what you still see in the industry is poverty and lull, as if nothing is happening.

    In terms of government having a holistic idea of how to move the industry forward is nil. Individual expressions in art does not build an industry and especially in this present administration. This is sad for me because I am a supporter of this administration.  In fact, it has virtually killed the art and culture as nothing is happening. Take for example the Abuja Carnival I handled for five years. Since I handed over in 2013, we don’t know what has become of Abuja Carnival. NAFEST is no longer the festival we used to know. I had thought that in the spirit of change, it would put the affairs of culture in front burner by activating the Endowment Fund for the Arts and ratifying the Cultural Policy.

    This government should take a risk and invest in the creative sector and see if it would not yield return on investment. In fact, the government must intervene in the sector via funding, employing competent people in right places, stimulating investments, among others.

    However, many heads of agencies in the industry cannot identify the products in the industry, not to talk of how to produce, package and market such products. It is as bad as that. Because of ignorance, they don’t know how to sell their organisations to government and let government have confidence in them.

     

  • Pleasurable Infinite treasures

    Pleasurable Infinite treasures

    Infinite Treasures III is the third in the series of pleasurable treasures of paintings on canvases, drawings on papers, wood and metal/bronze sculptures.

    The exhibition was opened on November 4 and closed on November 13 at the Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    The first and second shows of the same title, which held at the same venue were staged in 2015 and 2016.

     Infinite Treasures III is a good example of real and core professional display. The exhibiting artists are Kolade Oshinowo, Reuben Ugbine, Abiodun Olaku, Bunmi Babatunde, Sam Ovraiti, Edosa Ogiugo, Duke Asidere, Alex Nwokolo, Fidelis Eze Odogwu, Diseye Tantua, Lekan Onabanjo and Joshua Nmesironye.

    “Evening Market”is one of Oshinowo’s oil on canvas exhibits. His market scenes are lengendary and ever in demand. This is one of the master’s masterpieces in his usual busy market scenario of a rural setting with unhindered commercial messages in the forms of traders and wares dragging the audience into the fray without stress. There is an easy of colouring in the painting with quaintly employed hues of brownish houses, earth and people dominated landscape. Oshinowo aided the browns and umbers with touches of ochres, reds and greenish boughs in the distant background reaching out to the uninterested sky in branches of commercial camaraderie.

    Kolade Oshinowo’s “Evening Market”, oil on canvas, 31″ x 60″, 2008.

    Owambe is another Oshinowo’s oil painting. The title, Owambe is a Yoruba word or slang for a big party, a well-attended shindig. The work is a visual documentary of gorgeously dressed ladies in matching Yoruba attires of buba tops, wrappers and head wraps with matching jewleries. It is an ‘aso-ebi’(uniform dressing for special occasion among the Yoruba) visual display by Oshinowo.

    Abiodun Olaku’s “Northern Shadows” is oil painting of slightly shadowy realism of a Northern Nigeria scene before darkness enveloped the daylight while heralding the arrival of night. “Golden Embrace (Oko Baba series)” is a typical Olaku realism cum romantic display of his mastery of night scenes and dancing rays of light reflections on water surfaces. It is another painting of a night scene hulled out of Oko Baba water side landscape before darkness covers everything up. Olaku masterfully depicts the shadowy shanty structures spread across the moon lit night. The moon is realistically stationed in the sky while her rays of light romance the water surface of Oko Baba riverine neighbourhood in a glorious ‘golden embrace’. Olaku’s “Lucifer’s Call-Card” is a painting on the ugly side of socio-religious subject of fundamentalism, fanatics, extremism and terrorism which is a hidden form of Satanism. Lucifer is Satan, the devil: Satan is Lucifer vice versa. The work is a subterfuge message to religious fanatics and extremists, who engaged in burning down other people’s place of worshiping God, like the burning churches in some part of Northern Nigeria. After some time, they started attacking Muslims and mosques too. Thus, exposing themselves as children/urchins of Lucifer, and as certified Satanists, devils in human forms who are only carrying out “Lucifer’s Call-Card”. Olaku masterfully employed black and umbers of gloom and doom in the painting. The inferno of burning fires of wars and woes from Lucifer’s children is represented by the orange, yellow and white flames spreading skyward with blazing terror. Defiant silhouette structures of churches or whatever religious edifices on fire are depicted still standing; symbolically because God is the Almighty of all ages.

    Sam Ovraiti’s “The Paradise of Indecision” is a mixed media on canvas of faces of two ladies in the dilemma of indecisiveness. One of the ladies is staring into the interesting space before her while the second beautiful head is already dreaming her ways to paradise in deep slumber.

    Mostly a brown composition with emotion laded textured canvas expressing the not happy mood of the ladies therein. The grayish faces and features of the ladies makes one wonder whether they are Africans or Europeans? Well, it only adds to the mystery and globalised aura of the work from a master of his artistic odyssey. “Colourful Generation (Prevailing Culture)” is an abstractly stylised painting on canvas in Ovraiti’s usual style and colours of yellows, few blues, greens, magenta, browns and others.

    He used discernable stylised forms of fashionable ladies primping for men, parties and happy times. Use of African mask forms and motifs marked the work out in a distinguished manner. “Make-Up Generation” is another oil painting by Ovraiti. It is a social commentary on the excessive application of make-up on faces by ladies nowadays. Edosa Ogiugo’s “Memories” is an impressive hazy oil on canvas landscape. His command of the colours is usually a standard statement with Ogiugo. The impressionistic mastery of the painting is the fact that it is finished without too much finishing which might kill the work. It is rare for an artist to paint from a life model in this society that was what Ogiugo did in “Seated Model (Life Painting)”. He is a master of his palette and figures. Ogiugo also exhibited some dramatic drawings in charcoals and pencils.

    Duke Asidere’s “The Celebrant” is an abstract expressionistic painting on canvas with an induced message. A deeper study reveals the hidden forms of celebrating figures in hue of blue greens, browns and purples among others. “Why” is the painting of a seated lady in Asidere’s peculiar expressionistic chromatic mood. The work is executed with a palette dominated by blues and violets. “A New Search” and “No Word” are two oil paintings by Asidere on the theme of seated ladies without heads. But, he gave the seated lady in “The Experience” a mask-like face, thus giving the head a metaphoric interpretation. Apart from “The Celebrant”, Asidere’s other paintings on display are thematically on seated ladies. Probably, like most men, he is still having problems understanding women. Master artist or whatever, he should realize that women are a mystery, and accept the old maxim that ‘one never really knows with women’. Alex Nwokolo’s painting; “Yellow Market” is a yellow dominated market scene. It is an interesting dilly-dallying between different stylistic tendencies. A scenic impression of endless hustling from one end to another was successfully created. “Power Play” is a mixed media by Nwokolo whereby he folded papers into desired shapes and paints to create simplistic figures of four with some assumed but unseen crowd in the background of the power players. Contextually, “Power Play” is probably a socio-political commentary on the ethnic political rivalry in Nigeria. I wished the work had more colours for deeper and more symbolic significance.

    Lekan Onabanjo’s “Solitary Walk to Freedom” is an oil canvas painting. It is thematically unique in its black surrounding with the lone male figure moving towards the immediate foreground from a first door way towards the main exit point is symbolic. It is contextually about moving from darkness (sadness and woes) to light (joy and success). Onabanjo’s “The Mahogany” is an acrylic on canvas work. It is a visual documentation of a traditional African personage of high rank’s main door piece with an aura of power embedded in this unusually attractive door. It is contextually about security and preservation of lives. Joshua Nmesirionye’s “Rhythm and Forms” is an acrylic on canvas work. The painting has rhythmic formal adventurism and balanced colour harmony. Nmesirionye’s sublimely interwoven unclad figures were rendered running freely in their own world. Diseye Tantua’s “A City at Work (Series)” is an acrylic on canvas illustrative painting. It is a story in nine different canvases of comical illustrative cartoon based pop art, Tantua’s world of fun and topical issues. They are witty and interesting depictions such as old mammy wagons, old beetle cars, okada riders and passengers coupled with numerous slangs and popular inscriptions on the vehicles and other objects. Among the inscriptions, mostly in pidgin English by Tantua are “No Time for Nonsense”, “Level must Change”, “No License 4 Nonsense”, and “No Monkey business”, among others. “Shit Business is Serious Business” is another acrylic piece by Tantua. The title was boldly written in graphic details in the work coupled with a shit (faeces) clearing truck and planes in illustrative forms. It is another interesting piece from the master of pop art.

    The sculptures in the show are in wood, welded metal and bronze. Reuben Ugbine’s “Reclining Form” is a regular theme on a reclining figure carved in wood. It was treated in a unique form by Ugbine. “Metamorphosis III” is another wood sculpture by Ugbine. It is a huge stylised head in a cubist style of angularised triangles and squares which crystalized into a prismatic finishing. His “Metamorphosis IV” is a black wood sculpture of three stylised mask like faces, not one in this case, in the same cubist formal finishing as noticed in “Metamorphosis III”. Bunmi Babatunde’s “First Born” and “Gbamu Drummer” are bronze sculptures while his “Twisting Torso” is a wood sculpture. “First Born” is the ever constant, never ending thematic story of mother and child. The mother turned her head backward while trying to see the baby (first born) on her back in a tenderly manner. “Gbamu Drummer” is a historic peculiar documentation in sculptural form of a personalized Gbamu drummer in an African society. “Twisting Torso” is a well-polished slightly twisting torso in semi abstract format without the head. It is strictly about the torso which was successfully captured without any unnecessary exaggeration. Fidelis Eze Odogwo’s “Emergence”, “The Matron”, “Exaltation” and “Ecstasy” are all welded metal sculptures. His peculiar continuous flow of welded tiny cuboid metals into a whole sculpture is ever refreshing and unique. “Emergence” is the image of an emerging figure which was further enhanced with bright colours of lemon yellow and orange that fades into the brownish welded metal background. The combination of hues and metals gave the work an inspiring and charming outlook. “The Matron” is the image of a mother figure with stretched out open hands for her onrushing, yet to be seen, children to run into with love. “Exaltation” is the image of a woman with her two hands raised upward in well expressed exaltation. “Ecstasy” is the figure of a woman bending over backward in joyful ecstatic mood.

    Many wonderful artworks on display, but I was on the lookout for some cutting edge works or something else? Maybe I was asking for too much before I got wind of the financial challenges encountered by the exhibiting artists. I was informed that unlike the previous show, this year’s edition was staged without a sponsor. Thus, the participating artists had to squeeze themselves really hard for cash to hatch this show. Yet, the air wave is always well weaved with stories of Nollywood artistes, musicians and other showbiz personalties been paid millions as brand ambassadors of different products and organisations. Even for a short advert, they are paid fortunes. Yet, there is no sponsor for one of the best collections of contemporary Nigerian artists’ exhibition. Surely, it must be pointed out that the visual art sector is really suffering. Or, are visual artists, the endangered species of the art and culture sector in Nigeria?

     

    • Amodu, an artist, art historian/critic, lives in Lagos.
  • Pleasurable infinite treasures

    Pleasurable infinite treasures

    Infinite Treasures III is the third in the series of pleasurable treasures of paintings on canvases, drawings on papers, wood and metal/bronze sculptures. The exhibition was opened on November 4th and closed on November 13th at the TerraKulture, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. The first and second shows of the same title, which was held at the same venue were staged in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

    Infinite Treasures III is a good example of real and core professional display. The exhibiting artists are Kolade Oshinowo, Reuben Ugbine, Abiodun Olaku, Bunmi Babatunde, Sam Ovraiti, Edosa Ogiugo, Duke Asidere, Alex Nwokolo, Fidelis Eze Odogwu, Diseye Tantua, Lekan Onabanjo and Joshua Nmesironye.

    “Evening Market” is one of Oshinowo’s oil on canvas exhibits. His market scenes are lengendary and ever in demand. This is one of the master’s masterpieces in his usual busy market scenario of a rural setting with unhindered commercial messages in the forms of traders and wares dragging the audience into the fray without stress. There is an easy of colouring in the painting with quaintly employed hues of brownish houses, earth and people dominated landscape. Oshinowo aided the browns and umbers with touches of ochres, reds and greenish boughs in the distant background reaching out to the uninterested sky in branches of commercial camaraderie.

    Kolade Oshinowo’s “Evening Market”, oil on canvas, 31″ x 60″, 2008

    “Owambe” is another Oshinowo’s oil painting. The title, Owambe is a Yoruba word or slang for a big party, a well-attended shindig. The work is a visual documentary of gorgeously dressed ladies in matching Yoruba attires of buba tops, wrappers and head wraps with matching jewleries. It is an ‘aso-ebi’(uniform dressing for special occasion among the Yoruba) visual display by Oshinowo.

    Abiodun Olaku’s “Northern Shadows” is oil painting of slightly shadowy realism of a Northern Nigeria scene before darkness enveloped the daylight while heralding the arrival of night. “Golden Embrace (Oko Baba series)” is a typical Olaku realism cum romantic display of his mastery of night scenes and dancing rays of light reflections on water surfaces. It is another painting of a night scene hulled out of Oko Baba water side landscape before darkness covers everything up. Olaku masterfully depicts the shadowy shanty structures spread across the moon lit night. The moon is realistically stationed in the sky while her rays of light romance the water surface of Oko Baba riverine neighbourhood in a glorious ‘golden embrace’. Olaku’s “Lucifer’s Call-Card” is a painting on the ugly side of socio-religious subject of fundamentalism, fanatics, extremism and terrorism which is a hidden form of Satanism. Lucifer is Satan, the devil: Satan is Lucifer vice versa. The work is a subterfuge message to religious fanatics and extremists, who engaged in burning down other people’s place of worshiping God, like the burning churches in some part of Northern Nigeria. After some time, they started attacking Muslims and mosques too. Thus, exposing themselves as children/urchins of Lucifer, and as certified Satanists, devils in human forms who are only carrying out “Lucifer’s Call-Card”. Olaku masterfully employed black and umbers of gloom and doom in the painting. The inferno of burning fires of wars and woes from Lucifer’s children is represented by the orange, yellow and white flames spreading skyward with blazing terror. Defiant silhouette structures of churches or whatever religious edifices on fire are depicted still standing; symbolically because God is the Almighty of all ages.

    Sam Ovraiti’s “The Paradise of Indecision” is a mixed media on canvas of faces of two ladies in the dilemma of indecisiveness. One of the ladies is staring into the interesting space before her while the second beautiful head is already dreaming her ways to paradise in deep slumber. Mostly brownish composition with emotion laded textured canvas expressing the not happy mood of the ladies therein. The grayish faces and features of the ladies makes one wonder whether they are Africans or Europeans? Well, it only adds to the mystery and globalized aura of the work from a master of his artistic odyssey. “Colourful Generation (Prevailing Culture)” is an abstractly stylized painting on canvas in Ovraiti’s usual style and colours of yellows, few blues, greens, magenta, browns and others. He used discernable stylized forms of fashionable ladies primping for men, parties and happy times. Usage of African mask forms and motifs marked the work out in a distinguished manner. “Make-Up Generation” is another oil painting by Ovraiti. It is a social commentary on the excessive application of make-up on faces by ladies nowadays. Edosa Ogiugo’s “Memories” is an impressive hazy oil on canvas landscape. His command of the colours is usually a standard statement with Ogiugo. The impressionistic mastery of the painting is the fact that it is finished without too much finishing which might kill the work. It is rare for an artist to paint from a life model in this society that was what Ogiugo did in “Seated Model (Life Painting)”. He is a master of his palette and figures. Ogiugo also exhibited some dramatic drawings in charcoals and pencils.

    Duke Asidere’s “The Celebrant” is an abstract expressionistic painting on canvas with an induced message. A deeper study reveals the hidden forms of celebrating figures in hue of blue greens, browns and purples among others. “Why” is the painting of a seated lady in Asidere’s peculiar expressionistic chromatic mood. The work is executed with a palette dominated by blues and violets. “A New Search” and “No Word” are two oil paintings by Asidere on the theme of seated ladies without heads. But, he gave the seated lady in “The Experience” a mask-like face, thus giving the head a metaphoric interpretation. Apart from “The Celebrant”, Asidere’s other paintings on display are thematically on seated ladies. Probably, like most men, he is still having problems understanding women. Master artist or whatever, he should realize that women are a mystery, and accept the old maxim that ‘one never really knows with women’. Alex Nwokolo’s painting; “Yellow Market” is a yellow dominated market scene. It is an interesting dilly-dallying between different stylistic tendencies. A scenic impression of endless hustling from one end to another was successfully created. “Power Play” is a mixed media by Nwokolo whereby he folded papers into desired shapes and paints to create simplistic figures of four with some assumed but unseen crowd in the background of the power players. Contextually, “Power Play” is probably a socio-political commentary on the ethnic political rivalry in Nigeria. I wished the work had more colours for deeper and more symbolic significance.

    Lekan Onabanjo’s “Solitary Walk to Freedom” is an oil canvas painting. It is thematically unique in its black surrounding with the lone male figure moving towards the immediate foreground from a first door way towards the main exit point is symbolic. It is contextually about moving from darkness (sadness and woes) to light (joy and success). Onabanjo’s “The Mahogany” is an acrylic on canvas work. It is a visual documentation of a traditional African personage of high rank’s main door piece with an aura of power embedded in this unusually attractive door. It is contextually about security and preservation of lives. Joshua Nmesirionye’s “Rhythm and Forms” is an acrylic on canvas work. The painting has rhythmic formal adventurism and balanced colour harmony. Nmesirionye’s sublimely interwoven unclad figures were rendered running freely in their own world. Diseye Tantua’s “A City at Work (Series)” is an acrylic on canvas illustrative painting. It is a story in nine different canvases of comical illustrative cartoon based pop art, Tantua’s world of fun and topical issues. They are witty and interesting depictions such as old mammy wagons, old beetle cars, okada riders and passengers coupled with numerous slangs and popular inscriptions on the vehicles and other objects. Among the inscriptions, mostly in pidgin English by Tantua are “No Time for Nonsense”, “Level must Change”, “No License 4 Nonsense”, and “No Monkey business” among others. “Shit Business is Serious Business” is another acrylic piece by Tantua. The title was boldly written in graphic details in the work coupled with a shit (faeces) clearing truck and planes in illustrative forms. It is another interesting piece from the Nigerian master of pop art.

    The sculptures in the show are in wood, welded metal and bronze. Reuben Ugbine’s “Reclining Form” is a regular theme on a reclining figure carved in wood. It was treated in a unique form by Ugbine. “Metamorphosis III” is another wood sculpture by Ugbine. It is a huge stylized head in a cubist style of angularized triangles and squares which crystalized into a prismatic finishing. His “Metamorphosis IV” is a black wood sculpture of three stylized mask like faces, not one in this case, in the same cubist formal finishing as noticed in “Metamorphosis III”. Bunmi Babatunde’s “First Born” and “Gbamu Drummer” are bronze sculptures while his “Twisting Torso” is a wood sculpture. “First Born” is the ever constant, never ending thematic story of mother and child. The mother turned her head backward while trying to see the baby (first born) on her back in a tenderly manner. “Gbamu Drummer” is a historic peculiar documentation in sculptural form of a personalized Gbamu drummer in an African society. “Twisting Torso” is a well-polished slightly twisting torso in semi abstract format without the head. It is strictly about the torso which was successfully captured without any unnecessary exaggeration. Fidelis Eze Odogwo’s “Emergence”, “The Matron”, “Exaltation” and “Ecstasy” are all welded metal sculptures. His peculiar continuous flow of welded tiny cuboid metals into a whole sculpture is ever refreshing and unique. “Emergence” is the image of an emerging figure which was further enhanced with bright colours of lemon yellow and orange that fades into the brownish welded metal background. The combination of hues and metals gave the work an inspiring and charming outlook. “The Matron” is the image of a mother figure with stretched out open hands for her onrushing, yet to be seen, children to run into with love. “Exaltation” is the image of a woman with her two hands raised upward in well expressed exaltation. “Ecstasy” is the figure of a woman bending over backward in joyful ecstatic mood.

    Many wonderful artworks on display, but I was on the lookout for some cutting edge works or something else? Maybe I was asking for too much before I got wind of the financial challenges encountered by the exhibiting artists. I was informed that unlike the previous show, this year’s edition was staged without a sponsor. Thus, the participating artists had to squeeze themselves really hard for cash to hatch this show. Yet, the air wave is always well weaved with stories of Nollywood artistes, musicians and other showbiz personalties been paid millions as brand ambassadors of different products and organizations. Even for a short advert, they are paid fortunes. Yet, there is no sponsor for one of the best collections of contemporary Nigerian artists’ exhibition. Surely, it must be pointed out that the visual art sector is really suffering. Or, are visual artists, the endangered species of the art and culture sector in Nigeria?

     

    • Amodu, an artist, art historian/critic, lives in Lagos, Nigeria.
  • ‘I will draw and paint till I die’

    ‘I will draw and paint till I die’

    Oluwarotimi Farore, a Benin based artist, has said he will draw and paint till he can no longer breath. This, he said, was because he discovered his talent and passion in the arts early in life and decided to pursue it.

    Speaking at the exhibition of Beauty of Life, Farore said he decided to exhibit his works in Benin City not to make money, but to send a messsge that good things could come out of Benin.

    His words:”As an artist, I discovered myself drawing as a kid. I discovered my talent early in life. People started telling me what I was doing was good. I learnt that if your talent is not putting food on your table, there is an error somewhere. So, I have to put extra effort to showcase my works.

    “Art exhibition in Benin is not a failure. I don’t know why people are running from Benin. There is good business in Art in Benin. If you look at all the work, I put effort in doing each and every one of them. I will have no regret if I did not make any money from this exhibition.

    “I choose the title Beauty of Life because God is the best artist. He took his time to create humans and use only voice to develop every other thing. When you look at the sky, butterflies, birds, without those things there would not be any beauty. Imagine this world is painted blue. It would be dull. No beauty. When you see varieties of colour, you will enjoy the beauty of life.”