The Nation Newspaper

Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

  • Alex Ekwueme: A culture architect

    Alex Ekwueme: A culture architect

    T AFAS Art Gallery  founder, Chief Timothy Adebanjo Fasuyi, has described former Vice-President Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme, who died in London on November 19, as a thorough-bred man.

    He recalled that the late politician designed most of the Federal Government Colleges in the 70s that have designs, such as octagon shape complex.

    He said the late politician nicknamed him Principal No because of my strict and principled approach to issues while serving as Principal, Federal Government College Enugu.

    “In 1975, when I was principal at Federal Government College, Enugu, many of the facilities were not ready.  At that time, Dr. Alex Ekwueme had just completed his twin-duplex at Enugu.  I lived in one of them, while he lived in the other. We developed some friendship and we shared same security guards, was her man, post-man, among others. He always had lots of mails because he was always reading and he had about five degrees in different disciplines.  He was not the hostile type of landlord. I learnt lots from him about humility.

    “He was a professional architect and he was very much involved in the construction of Federal Government Colleges. He was very educated and could talk on any subject. He was a gentle straight forward man.When he makes a request for help from you, he would not hold it against you if you could not help him.

    ‘’However, the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) underutilised his capabilities. He was simply ceremonial, maybe he was not the typical Nigerian politician. But he was a founding member of the party,” he added.

    According to him, Ekwueme was very friendly and had lots of friends as lecturers at the University of Nigeria, and when he was Vice President, “I had his direct line and we related well. He believed in the traditions and culture of his people. He was a man worthy of emulation. When I left service, I was following his life style in politics and each time I had reason to talk to him, I do so.”

     

  • Celebrating distinguished jurist Oyebode at 70

    Celebrating distinguished jurist Oyebode at 70

    There couldn’t have been a better time to celebrate Prof Akindele Babatunde Oyebode than now that he has met the mandatory retirement age as a professor at University of Lagos. Naturally in all human endeavours, whatever has a beginning must have an end; however what makes this one a unique happy ending is how eventful the academic career has been, coupled with the special grace of finishing well by celebrating 70th natal day anniversary, which has made it a double celebration for the Oyebode family. No doubt, family members and friends of the erudite legal luminary have every reason to appreciate God for the marvelous thing He has done in the life of Professor Akin Oyebode. His students, professional colleagues, wide range of multifaceted associates, kinsmen and old school mates do have so many beautiful things to say about the brilliant professor of jurisprudence. That the academic and jurist of repute stands out in reputation may not be a surprise to those who have known him over the years.

    Most of the distinguished people in the contemporary world often have something outstanding usually peculiar to them and what a remarkable gem is often noted for is a reflection of the inner self and values that drive the person’s convictions. One thing that cannot be taken away from Professor Akin Oyebode is the fact that he stands for honour, integrity and honorable ways generally. His word is his bond. A discerning person can figure out his position and views on national or world issues and you can know where he stands with you at every point in time without pretenses. Relatively, most upright people are comfortable with him while he keeps the company of respectable citizens. His inimitable personality earned him a consistent respect in the academic community and various constituencies he is associated with.

    On December 9 1947, the prominent Oyebode family of Ikole-Ekiti was blessed with the birth of an exceptional child, christened Akindele Babatunde. The notable child was born in Ado-Ekiti to Chief Zacheaus Oladipo Oyebode and Madam Janet Olarewaju Oyebode. His father was a product of Christ’s School, Ado-Ekiti with the school number 38/012 and at various times the patriarch served in the army, worked as a school teacher, party apparatchik and social worker in the civil service. His parents wanted the best for their children as reflected in the schools Oyebode and other members of the clan attended.

    The academic brilliance of Oyebode started in Christ’s School, Ado-Ekiti where he had his secondary education from 1960 to 1966 with the school number 60/057 and his excellent character earned him a place among the school prefects in his senior class. He passed out with grade one in his West African School Certificate Examination. A product of Harvard Law School in 1974 to 1975, holds LL.M. with Highest Distinction (Otlichnik) from Kiev State University, Kiev, Ukraine in 1973 and Doctor of Jurisprudence from Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, Canada in 1988. His scholarship, prizes and fellowship include JFK Essay Competition School Level Winner in 1966, Soviet Institute of World Economy and International Relations Scholarship in 1967, Harvard University Tuition Fellowship in 1974, Ford Foundation/International Legal Center Fellowship in 1974 and York University Graduate Assistantship 1981.

    The professor started his academic career at University of Lagos in 1973 as an Assistant Lecturer. He became Lecturer Grade II in 1976, Lecturer Grade I in 1978 and Senior Lecturer in 1981. In 1992, he became professor and dean, faculty of law, Ondo State University now Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti. Some of his administrative activities included being a member of the university governing council in 1994 to 1997, member of finance and general purposes committee in 1994 to 1997, member of development committee in 1992 to 1997, member of committee of deans in 1992 to 1997, member of Senate in 1992 to 1997, member of appointments and promotions committee in 1992 to 1997, member of senior staff disciplinary committee in 1994 to 1997, member of housing loans committee in 1992 to 1994, member of joint committee for the appointment of Vice-Chancellor in 1993, chairman, security committee in 1994 to 1997, chairman of committee of inquiry into the missing dumpy level in 1994, chairman of committee on financing a functional university health centre in 1994 to 1995, chairman of committee on merger of the physical planning unit with the department of works and services in 1995, member of sub-committee on planning unit structure       in 1993 and chairman of committee on excess workload in 1995 to 1996. He held appointment as the Head of Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, University of Lagos and the Vice-Chancellor of Ekiti-State University in 2002-2004.

    At the University of Lagos, his exposure to administrative duties included being a member of appointments and promotions committee in 1999 to 2000 & 2006, member of Senate Honours Committee 2006, member of selection committee for the appointment of University Registrar in 2005, Head of Department in 2004, member of the board of school of postgraduate studies in 2004 to 2006, member of academic programmes committee, school of postgraduate studies in 2004 to 2006, chairman of postgraduate students’ disciplinary committee in 2005, chairman of International School Management Board in 2000, member of central research committee in 1999 to 2000,  chairman of faculty research committee in 1999 to 2000, co-ordinator of the faculty LL.M. programme in1989 to 1990, member of 5-year LL.B. curriculum committee in  1990, the faculty/departmental representative at post-graduate board of studies in 1986 to 1990, member of post-graduate school admissions committee in 1989/90, member of university publications committee in 1988 to1990, member of committee on sexual harassment in 1990, member of selection committee for the appointment of university registrar in 1988/89, member of advisory committee on students’ feeding  in 1988/89, member of Senate of the University of Lagos in 1988 to 1990 and 1998 to 2017, chairman of ad-hoc panel of investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Master S. A. Ogundubore at the University of Lagos swimming pool in 1998, member of ad-hoc panel of investigation into the constitutional controversy within the university students’ union in 1989, chairman of the faculty committee on admission requirements in 1989, member of committee of inquiry to investigate alleged activities of proscribed students’ societies on campus in 1984, member of university library committee in 1981 to 1983, Assistant Warden, New Hall, Phase III in 1980 to 1982, member of the faculty admissions committee in 1979 to 1981, member of faculty departmentalization committee     in 1978, member of LL.B. (evening) regulations committee in 1977 and faculty examination officer in 1978/1979

    Some of his travel grants and awards were:

    • First Foreign Graduate to be inducted into the Permanent Roll of Honour of Kiev State University in 1973
    • UN Travel Grant for the International Law Commission Seminar, Geneva  in 1976
    • UN Travel Grant for the Seminar on the New International Economic Order, Geneva in      1977
    • French Government Travel Grant for the Colloquium on the Life of the Law in Africa, Centre d’Etudes Jurisdiques Comparative, University of Paris 1, Sorbonne 1977
    • Travel Grant to attend the Joint Annual Convention of the British International Studies Association and the International Studies Association, London in 1980
    • Juche Academy of Science Study Tour of North Korea in1989
    • National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADL) Distinguished Jurist Award, 2002
    • Nigerian Association of Law Teachers Long Service Award in 2004
    • Outstanding Law Teacher Award, Justice Chambers, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in 2005
    • Best Lecturer Award, Final-Year Students, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos in 2005, 2006

    He is a member of front-line learned societies and leading professional associations, such as Nigerian Society of International Law, American Society of International Law, International Law Association, Nigerian Association of Law Teachers, Nigerian Bar Association and Nigerian Institute of Management. He has over 31 books and monographs, over 82 journal articles as well as many research works and numerous unpublished major conference and seminar papers to his credit

    The other activities of Oyebode include being a guest lecturer in public international law, law of the sea and outer space at Foreign Service Academy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lagos; member of board of directors of African and African-American Foundation on Science, Education and Economic Development Inc., New York; chairman and editor-in-chief, Nigerian Journal of Contemporary Law; member of editorial board, Lagos State University Law Journal; member of editorial board, University of Jos Law Journal; member of editorial board, Journal of Human Rights Law and Practice; member of editorial advisory council, The News; contributing editor, Environment Network; expert consultant, National Boundary Commission; consultant, Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO); member, advisory board, Centre for Human Rights and Development; consultant, UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, Vienna; Chair, International Advisory Board, Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law; chair, board of governors, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre; member of board of Trustees, National Association of Democratic Lawyers; member of board of directors, Centre for Advanced Social Science; editorial consultant, The Guardian; chairman, Catholic secretariat of Nigeria think-tank; member of advisory board of Leadership Watch; and member of the Board of Trustees, Ekitipanupo Community Development Association.

    The international jurist and an academic of note is an exemplary family man. God in His faithfulness blessed his marriage to Chief Morenike Abosede Oyebode, who retired as a senior official of West African Examinations Council; with successful children: Akintunde, Akindeji and Olajumoke. To the glory of God, he is a grandfather.

    Oyebode is indeed a blessing to Nigeria having produced many qualified lawyers in the country that have occupied and still occupying strategic positions in government at states and federal level. Naturally, he is a pride of Ekiti people which unequivocally earned him the position of pioneer leadership of Ekitipanupo Forum, the preeminent indigenous intellectual roundtable for Ekiti people at home and in Diaspora. He represented Ekiti State in the last national conference during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    What else can one say to this towering profile of an intellectual giant? It would amount to understating it that I admire Oyebode a lot. It is a rare privilege for me to be associated with him. It gives me great joy that he has confidence in me and trust me as his stockbroker. When I needed him, he stood by me with his substance as one of my encouragers and inspirers in my professional career path. Thanks for believing and for the integrated support over the years each time I approached him for one thing or the other including Ekitipanupo initiative. I wish oga more years in good health with peace of mind in retirement. Happy 70th birthday and fruitful retired life, sir.

  • Your Highness, your ride awaits you

    David felt a slight touch; then another touch. It appeared someone was trying to wake him up. As he struggled to open his eyes, he heard the most surprising words of his life, “Your Highness… Your Highness your ride awaits you”. “If those words are meant for me,” he thought, “I must still be dreaming. I should keep sleeping then”. He heard the words again, this time, the touch was firmer. Finally, he opened his eyes and saw the best-looking, well dressed and cultured man he had ever seen. It was strange though that the man looked like him.

    “Sir”, the man said, “You don’t want to miss your ride do you?” Then it all came back to David. He was to make a year-long journey into 2018 and had packed his things. The prospect of the journey was so gloomy that he slept off in depression. Unfortunately, he couldn’t sleep away his misery because there he was again facing the very life he wanted to escape. But he wasn’t supposed to travel with anyone so who was the man?

    “Your Highness, are you ready?” The man asked him. “What is this ‘Highness’ nonsense you are saying? You’ve got the wrong address.” David told the man. “No Sir! I’m in the right place.” The man replied. “Does any ‘Highness’ live in a ‘Lowness’ place as this?” He asked the man. “Well” the man replied, “It is not where you live that determines your royalty. It is who you are. We are all waiting for you.” Very alarmed, David screamed “We? All? Who else is there?” The man replied him gently, “There can’t be a ‘Highness’ without a kingdom, right? You think you are alone in life but whatever you say or do affects other people. Some people smile just because you smile and some give up because you discourage them. Look around you, more people are influenced by you than you know.”

    David thought for a while then he told the man he wasn’t ready to leave. But the man answered, “Fear is not a problem; thinking you don’t have a choice than to fear is the problem. Whether you are ready or not, you must still make this journey to 2018 at the stroke of midnight. You can either prepare for it or spend the entire year wondering what hit you.” “But I don’t have anything valuable to take along,” David argued. The man answered, “All you need to begin with is your life. Death is the only way to escape the journey and we don’t want that. To know how valuable the life of a king is to a kingdom, ask yourself why an entire kingdom will go to war to defend its king and why there is no succession until a king dies. No one can replace you in the entire universe.”

    Grudging David said, “Ok, let’s go.” Surveying the room, he said, “I’ll soon be back anyway”. But the man said, “No Sir! You will never return here. It will only remain as a memory forever.” “What!” David screamed. “But I love it here! Ok, not that I love it here but I feel safe here. I feel protected here.” The man answered, “That is exactly why you need to leave. Venturing out is risky but it is the only path to success. You will never know how much you are capable of until you step out to try. A king that waits for battle to come to his castle before fighting has lost already. The past must never become a distraction from your future. Let go of 2017 and embrace 2018.”

    Find out the identity of the elegant man and what happened to David next in the next article. I look forward to reading your stories of great successes and your comments.

     

  • Celebrating Fela’s Kalakuta Queens

    Celebrating Fela’s Kalakuta Queens

    Eight years ago, FELA! The Musical made its debut at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre in New York City, United States. It was played to 500,000 people in 15 months. It came to Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos. Everything centred on Fela without any mention of his women, who went through a lot with him. On December 17 at Terra Arena, Victoria Island, Lagos , Fela and The Kalakuta Queens will showcase these women’s roles in the late musician’s life. Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.

    Lemi Ghariokwu, a self-taught artist and famous illustrator of the late legendary Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s records, is not a stranger to his musics. He was among selected critics who watched a two-hour rehearsal of Fela and The Kalakuta Queens at Terra Arena, Plot 1376, Tiamiyu Savage, Victoria Island, Lagos, last week.

    The rehearsal, also watched by Fela’s daughter and ace dancer Yeni Kuti and Duro Ikujenya, was part of the fine-tuning of the musical drama that will make its debut on December 17 in Lagos.

    Ghariokwu, who designed about 26 of Fela’s album covers, and over 2,000 other album covers in the last 38 years, described the new production as being distinct from the popular Fela on Broadway because the two productions focus on different aspects of Fela’s life.

    He said the production was conceived to highlight, among other virtues, the positive roles the women played in the Kalakuta and Fela’s musical career, especially as they were always brutalised, dehumanised by the security operatives, castigated by family and the public for identifying with Fela. “Fela and The Kalakuta Queens is pointing directly at the role the ladies played in Fela’s life and to showcase that role, especially when the issue of gender equality was always raised by feminists against Fela. So, in a way, the play is beaming the right light on it, which will make the feminists have positive disposition to the issues. Significantly, Fela on Broadway deals with Fela as a revolutionary musician,” he said.

    According to Ghariokwu, the Kalakuta queens were not just ordinary ladies as they were strong inspiration and pillars to the sustenance of Fela’s music empire. This, he said, necessitated Fela marrying all the 27 wives as a way of providing some forms of social security and cover for them when they were been tagged negatively.

    He recalled that Fela sought the views of his lawyer friend, the late Tunji Braithwaite when he decided to marry the 27 women during the one year anniversary of the burning of Kalakuta by unknown soldiers, adding that no single musical drama can capture the totality of Fela’s life and works, hence the production of the new musical focusing on Fela’s women.

    For Yeni Kuti, the production of Fela and The Kalakuta Queens showed that Fela is still fresh in the minds of Nigerians despite his passing on 20 years ago.

    “However, I do not want to bother myself whether they are differences between this production and Fela on broadway until I watch the performance on December 17. On whether it is long overdue or not, I think no time is late depending on the person behind the project. The most important thing is that the project is done professionally,” Yeni said.

    Fela and The Kalakuta Queens (one epic story on a single stage featuring 27 strong women for 11 days in Lagos), is being sponsored by MTN Foundation, and will run on stage from 23 December to January for 10 days during the yuletide. There will be 18 shows and the cast is massive. The producer of the play, Bolanle Austen Peters disclosed how the musical drama was conceived. “About a year ago, we started compiling the story of Fela and the girls. No one had even told the story of Fela’s girls. These women are fashion pacesetters. Their face paintings are global styles copied by the likes of Beyonce. Fela and The Kalakuta Queens brought a prowess to African dance,’’ Austen-Peters said.

    After successfully raising the bar with the local and international success of Saro and Wakaa the musical, Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions will use the new production to celebrate the women in Fela’s life. “We celebrate their essence, resilience and strength. We celebrate unity in the face of adversity. We celebrate Black power and black women. We celebrate the sense of regal and beauty they possessed,” she said.

    Fela and The Kalakuta Queens chronicles Fela’s birth, activism and his non-traditional family. It explores the life of the legend Fela, and the women, who were an integral part of his band. It is a unique insight into the inner walls of Fela’s Kalakuta Republic. It reveals the women and their unique fashion, their unique dance and their unique African identities.

    They were a source of strength and inspirational support to Fela. They endured intimidation and torture from the Police and the general public due to their involvement with Fela. Fela and the Kalakuta Queens is a never been told historical piece, depicting the lives of Fela’s women.

    According to a statement by the producer, “When the spirit of truth is come… He will show you things to come. This was the case of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who not only used music as a righteous and powerful weapon against corruption and oppression, but also became an artistic prophet whose music is very much relevant today as most of the things he said in his songs are prevalent till date. However, Fela was popularised by not only his deep political songs, but also by the women in his life.

    ‘These women helped play a significant role in making him and his music a matter for public interest. They collaborated in his music, his revolutions, his struggles and his strife. Their collaborative fight against political injustice and social ills matched with their exotic costume and makeup made a profound impact in the society and culture that can still be felt today. Through the trials and travails, through the military ransacking and bulldozing, they were on ground from Kalakuta Republic to Dodan Barracks…. Sadly, these women simply were not recognised by the society. Their roles cannot be ignored. Their untold story must be told; strong, brave, bold and loyal. They are the Kalakuta Queens,” the statement said.

    Beyond all of these, Fela and The Kalakuta Queens is one credible window to educate Nigerian youths, especially those into music on the quality and philosophical depth of works left behind by the late legend, which remain unrivaled till date.

    The marverick musician and his genre, Afrobeat have become parts of Nigeria’s intangible heritage, the nation must not only promote but also preserve as authenthic Nigerian contributions to the music world. That  fela was Nigeria’s first on broadway confirms the ingenuity of the legendary musician and his acceptability in the world. yet, unlike jamiaca’s reggae, Afrobeat beat is still not fully explored by Nigerians. Goodnews is that Fela and The kalakuta Queens is a big fillip.

    Fela and the Kalakuta Queens has been made possible by the support of MTN, FIRS, Bank of Industry, Dormanlong, Lagos State Government, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, The Federal Ministry of information and Culture, Africa Magic, Beats Fm, Ebonylife, IBST, Mixta, Access Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, amongst others.

  • Portrait of a Nigerian marriage in a heartbreaking debut novel

    Portrait of a Nigerian marriage in a heartbreaking debut novel

    The two narrators of Ayobami Adebayo’s stunning debut novel — a Nigerian woman named Yejide and her husband, Akin — remember the stories they heard when they were children, and they hope to pass on these stories to their own sons and daughters. They are folk tales featuring talking animals and magic potions, but while they often come with an old-fashioned moral (“He who has children owns the world”), Yejide devises her own versions, adding new bits and pieces as she goes along, turning them into allegories that speak to her own life and that of her country.

    Like those fables, Adebayo’s “Stay With Me” — a beautifully produced book with a Matisse-inspired jacket that felicitously captures the spirit of the author’s writing — has a remarkable emotional resonance and depth of field. It is, at once, a gothic parable about pride and betrayal; a thoroughly contemporary — and deeply moving — portrait of a marriage; and a novel, in the lineage of great works by Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, that explores the pull in Nigeria between tradition and modernity, old definitions of masculinity and femininity, and newer imperatives of self-definition and identity.

    Beginning in the 1980s, a period of political tumult in Nigeria, and moving on through 2008, “Stay With Me” fluently explores the interface between the personal and the political, and the precariousness of stability and safety in both realms: how public events — be they elections, protests or coups — take place while people are getting on with their daily lives, eating or opening a window, fighting with a spouse or taking care of a sick child; how dreams, ideals and romantic relationships can be shaped by distant but momentous developments on the national stage.

    Adebayo — who was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and who studied with Adichie and Margaret Atwood — has two master’s degrees in creative writing, and “Stay With Me” is deeply informed by a knowledge of contemporary and classic literature.

    But while readers may pick up on this novel’s many allusions and borrowings (for instance, its nods to Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl” and Lauren Groff’s “Fates and Furies,” in creating a stereoscopic portrait of a marriage), “Stay With Me” feels entirely fresh, thanks to its author’s ability to map tangled familial relationships with nuance and precision, and her intimate understanding of her characters’ yearnings, fears and self-delusions.

    “Stay With Me” pivots around a series of secrets Akin has kept from his wife — and the terrible, unspooling consequences those secrets will have on their marriage, and on the life of Akin’s importunate brother Dotun. The novel’s one flaw is that it’s hard for the reader to believe that Yejide, however naïve she might be, would not have immediately grasped the first of Akin’s lies, but Adebayo’s orchestration of the emotional chain reaction set off by those deceptions is so assured that this stumbling block is soon forgotten.

    Akin tells us that he loved Yejide from the moment he met her, but four years of childless marriage blunted his belief that “love could do anything”: “If the burden is too much and stays too long, even love bends, cracks, comes close to breaking and sometimes does break. But even when it’s in a thousand pieces around your feet, that doesn’t mean it’s no longer love.”

    When they married, both Yejide and Akin said no to polygamy, but as years pass without a child, their relatives insist that Akin take a second wife, Funmi. Yejide is told to accept Funmi as a “younger sister,” a “friend,” a “daughter.” Akin’s mother cruelly says: “Women manufacture children and if you can’t you are just a man. Nobody should call you a woman.” She goes on: “We are not asking you to stand up from your place in his life, we are just saying you should shift so that someone else can sit down.”

    Yejide, whose own mother died in childbirth, becomes desperate to have a baby. She gets hospital tests, and the names of doctors, pastors and herbalists. In one sad, comic sequence, she treks up the “Mountain of Jaw-Dropping Miracles” to visit a healer named Prophet Josiah, who has her dance with a white goat she’s dragged to the summit as his chanting followers swarm her. She soon believes she’s pregnant, despite doctors’ insistence that there is no baby.

    These events are recounted with a mix of sympathy, humor and suspense, but as the novel progresses, it shifts into a more minor key, as Yejide does become pregnant, only to face the prospect of sickle cell disease in her children. Instead of bringing the couple closer together, this fear accelerates the fissures in their marriage, as Yejide realizes that Akin has withheld painful truths from her from the start — that she had refused to see “things standing in plain view.” It’s a realization that forces her to question traditional attitudes toward women in Nigeria — including the primacy of motherhood and deference toward their husbands — and to try to sort out her own expectations from those she’s inherited from her family and society.

    Adebayo, who is 29, is an exceptional storyteller. She writes not just with extraordinary grace but with genuine wisdom about love and loss and the possibility of redemption. She has written a powerfully magnetic and heartbreaking book.

  • Oladiran explores his golden experience

    Oladiran explores his golden experience

    In commemoration of his 50th birthday, artist and publisher Olumide Oladiranx has put forth his golden experience in a two-year project exhibition designed to reflect on series of experiences and activities in his life.

    Oladiran exhibited 50 art works, celebrating 17 years’ classroom experience in teaching art and craft from 1989 to 2006, 11 years in publishing and printing and painting from 2006 till date.

    “The fifty art works on display for this second solo art exhibition are reflections of journey of my life, my thought, belief about the society and environment, new innovation in arts, comprising about the past, present and the believe about the future. All the works are represented with my favorite media of expression such as acrylic on canvas, oil on canvas, mix media and water colour on paper”, he said.

    According to him, the aim of the exhibition tagged Golden Experience is to showcase African motifs and reliefs with the use of acrylic. The reliefs which were done before painting formed the majority of the works exhibited.

    “I used relief and batik together in order for people to experience and see the Africanness in it, when you move close to it, you see the African motifs which are on relief. Acrylic helps me to achieve my aim faster and I can also control it, it dries faster and oil doesn’t. It requires patience for oil to dry and I am an aggressive painter and that’s why the 50 works exhibited have been done within the space of two years.”

    Present at the exhibition were a senior lecturer in the Department of Fine Arts, Yaba College of Technology (YabaTech), Rukewe Noserime, and some of his colleagues including Dean, School of Arts, Design and Printing Technology, Dr. Kunle Adeyemi, Sorunke O. Taiwo of Yusuf Grillo Gallery, Hon. Justice Omotunde and some students.

    International Churches of Christ, Lagos Senior Evangelist and artist Evangelist Emmanuel Emmeh; Osolo of Imesi Ile, Osun State, Chief Olasupo Akinola; wife of former Head of State Mrs. Mabel Obasanjo.

    According to Oladiran,  he loves using red blue and purple in his paintings. He also made good use of abstract, sub-abstract and realism in his works.

    Evangelist Emmeh said: “Oladiran’s works are unmistakable. His choice of colours reflected joy and hope, even in the midst of hardship. He noted his passion for creativity cannot be compromised, derailed, detoured or delayed, and that he is an embodiment of what he has studied and believed in.”

    Another senior lecturer in the Department of Fine Art, YabaTech, Adeola Balogun, said of Oladiran’s works: “Oladiran’s adroitness in the application and articulation of numerous exquisite patterns and motifs to form texturally symbolic abstract art pieces is novel and deserves our commendation.”

    Mrs Oluwakemi Popoola, the proprietor of KEMOPOP School made tribute to Oladiran. “Mr. Olumide Oladiran as I know him is a reliable artist and publisher of high repute. Though, he is my husband’s friend, his diligence and consistency used in publishing ‘I Can Colour’ made me as a proprietor to adopt  his book for my school. I have no doubt in the success he has made for himself in the publishing and in his artworks in general” she noted.

  • ‘Help our son to live’

    ‘Help our son to live’

    All Precious Iyanu Akinyemi need to live is N3,830,000. Precious has a hole in the heart, otherwise called rheumatic heart disease with severe mitral valve regurgitation. This is coupled with Large PDA (patent ductus arteriosus), and Pulmonary Hypertension.

    According to the father of 11-year-old Precious, Mr Bayo Akinyemi who is a driver, his child was admitted, last year, at the Paediatric Cardiology Unit of the prestigious Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba based on his not feeling too well, “on getting there he was subjected to different medical examinations, by the medical team. We did all the screenings and the final diagnosis revealed he has hole in the heart with hypertension. I and my wife, Bukola, who is an apprentice in  clothe selling have gone ahead to empty our life savings on the diagnosis, and medications, with the hope that our son will get well, alas, we were told he needed to undergo more screenings, and later, we were told it’s not possible in LUTH.”

    According to the consultant pediatrician, Prof Christy Okoromah Clinical evaluation of the child revealed that he has symptomatic Acquired Heart Disease, which was confirmed by echocardiography to consist of a severe miral regurgitation with moderate aortic regurgitation.

    She said the child will require further cardiovascular evaluation, and possible open heart surgery to correct his heart defects in order to forestall irreversible, and life threatening complications.  That can be done in India, which is the cheapest that can be found.

    Not giving up on Precious, the parents rallied round, including getting passport for travelling down to India but that was a dream yet to be visible, as all they could raise since last year and now is barely N300, 000.

    The parents contacted director and chief paediatric Cardiac surgeon at MIOT Hospitals, Chennai, India, Dr Robert Coelho who is ready to operate the child, for $10, 500. But the realisation of the money is yet to suffice.

    Dr Coelho said he evaluated the child based on the provisional diagnosis done in Nigeria, and it is a case his hospital can handle, which must be quickly done for Precious not to degenerate, and his hospital will be responsible for the reception, immigration formalities and departure of the patient and attendants on conclusion of the medical treatment of the patient, once the money is ready.

    The parents appealed to Nigerians to assist the family bear their cross in ensuring their 11-year-old son survives this ordeal. Nigerians with milk of Altruism can pay into the boy’s account number: Precious Iyanu Akinyemi- Zenith Bank-A/c No: 2050675988.

    Breakdown of the cost as given to Akinyemi by the Indian hospital is: Complete evaluation comprising of pre-operation investigations- X-ray, ECG, Echocardiography and pre-operation blood investigations (hematology, biochemistry, microbiology, and blood transfusion services cost $1000. Open heart Surgery (MV repair) package including surgery, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and hospital stay, medication, post-operation investigations will cost $6500. Supplementary expenses, including attendant’s stay $1000. Cost of annuloplasty ring plus Valve prosthesis equals $2000. All these total $10, 5000. Precious’ expected total duration of stay in the hospital is 12 to 14 days.

     

  • Auchi artists return in Golan Heights Renaissance

    Auchi artists return in Golan Heights Renaissance

    The Reunion of Strokes was the theme of a three-day workshop, which brought 12 creative minds and alumni of the famous Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State, together at the Art Asylum, Egbeda, Lagos.

    During the workshop of still life drawing, the group known as the Golan Heights Renaissance revealed that “the Auchi school has gone some kind of cold and its former students are becoming rustic”, while other alumni from other schools are occupying the art space.

    “Presently, we (ex-students of Auchi) are like dispersed Israel. We want to bring back everybody together to form the really Golan Heights people,” said Francis Denedo, who spoke on behalf of the group at the last day of the workshop.

    “Our aim, first of all, is to gather all from home and in the Diaspora. We want to let the world know why Auchi was noise when it was Auchi,”he said.

    They also plan to render help to the less-privileged, create a new list of art collectors, give awards to best graduating art students from Auchi Polytechnic as well as create awareness.

    “Even as modern as we are today, some people still see art as something for loafers, they don’t know that artists are very educated people. Some parents would even see their children drawing and they beat them. They don’t know that there are billionaire artists. Though it is not really about the money, but the passion you put into it. We would build these children into becoming good artist, and thereby affecting their society.

    According to them, “what we are trying to achieve goes beyond exhibition and making money for our personal gains.  We are going to be paying clinical role in the Nigerian art society, enlightenment role; to educate people”.

    The members consist Godfrey Afebuame; Gbenga Olatunji-Aguda; Tony Ebvodaghe; Emmanuel Isiuwe;  Denedo, Angela Isiuwe; Azuka Nnabuogor; Ademola Akinleye; Ogbemi Heymann; Ademola Akinleye  and David Abdul-Jabba.

    This December the group will be having a salon at the Art Asylum, where you can get a typical Auchi work. They hinted that some of the money made from the show will go to charity. While their median exhibition will hold next year.

    “For the short period we have formed, we discussed that we want to go back to the school, we could get the best student in art and then maybe from each department, give them tokens so that they would recognised that ex-Auchi students are doing something about them, not that when they come out they would be like loners; like people that have no parents.

    “A lot of artists today are roaming the streets. They have this thing in their head, but they have not been able to express themselves to the highest. So, we want to be like parents to them. Maybe go to motherless babies’ homes paint their walls, try to make art relevant to the society.”

     

  • Omenka hosts Becoming Mariam

    Omenka hosts Becoming Mariam

    Becoming Mariam, a solo exhibition of recent works by a contemporary artist Buki Animashaun opened last Saturday at the Omenka Gallery, Ikoyi, Lagos. It will run till December 23.

    The exhibition features works from her series, Space Between Us, an exploration into what separates us and the process of connecting. Using the theme of an outer space nebula, from first contact, the series is a visual representation of how authentic connections can change our experiences.

    Also included are works from Success Metrics, a series that uses statistical data tools as visual representations for how to measure successes. To serve as illustration, the piece Time plot visually encourages the viewer to consider what it means to be bold and the inevitable reward of growth over time. The piece has bright colours and mixed media with her signature bold lines. Both of these series are connected by themes of authenticity, uniqueness and self-motivation; which the artist describes as tenets of her art and my life.

    “Many African communities are still largely homogenous bodies of similar ethnic and regional influences. Our strong cultural influences systematically guide how we interact and connect with one another; connections that still have significant room for growth in authenticity and accommodation. The advent of digital communication and media tools facilitates our ability to connect more truthfully,” Animashaun said.

    Animashaun was born in Lagos Nigeria to a Muslim father and a Catholic mother. She earned a BA in political science, African studies and French from the University of Florida (2008) and a graduate diploma in law from the BPP Law School, England. In 2012, Animashaun worked as a partnership development manager at Rocket Internet GmbH and from 2008 to 2010 as an executive assistant at Timbuktu Media Ltd (NEXT Newspapers). She is presently the communications consultant at Anne Thomas Media.

  • Be Thankful

    Be Thankful

    Several years ago, I read a book about a man who was visited by an angel. Among other things that they discussed, the angel drew a picture frame on a plain sheet of paper and he put a little black dot at the centre of the frame. The angel then explained to the man that all the goodness he had experienced and all his prayers that had been answered were represented by the space within the picture frame. The black dot, however, represented the desires that were yet to be fulfilled. The angel explained that people usually focused their attention on that little black dot so much until it would grow to fill the entire picture frame, creating the impressing that there was nothing good in life.

    This is the time of the year when we settle down to evaluate our year. We are just a few days away from 2018, and we need to assess our performances in the outgoing year. No doubt that at the beginning of 2017, we made a list of the things we hoped to achieve during the year, and now is the right time to take stock. As humans, there is the tendency to focus on our unfulfilled desires and unattained goals. We beat ourselves up for falling short of our expectations or other people’s expectations of us. But come on, 2017 has not been without its glorious moments! There is a lot to be thankful for. While I cannot claim to know what is happening in your life, I can give you a few reasons to be thankful.

    • You are still here: ok, tell me it’s cliché but that doesn’t erase the truth does it? Life is a gift that you ought to be grateful for. There were people with great dreams and potentials who didn’t make it till the end of the year. Some had even achieved all you wished for yourself but they couldn’t enjoy the benefits. Being alive means having another opportunity to turn your story around.
    • Open up, don’t close up: when you focus on the things that are not working in your life, you close yourself up to the possibility that you are making progress. You may not be where you want to be, but you are not where you used to be. Whether by flying, running, walking or crawling, you must have moved forward. Open up to that possibility and be thankful for what you’ve got.
    • Being thankful doesn’t mean being satisfied: this doesn’t mean that you are sealing off your achievements; it just means you acknowledge that things could have been worse.
    • If you don’t see anything good in 2017, there may not be any in 2018: now hold it a minute before you turn cold on me! This is not a curse. Ungratefulness is not an action but an attitude. Whoever didn’t see anything worth celebrating in 2017 may fail to see same in 2018. Little things add up to make big things; whoever fails to see the little things in life may miss the big ones too.
    • Don’t judge yourself by other people’s standards: A lot of people set their goals in competition with other people. If you want to beat people in their own games, of course you will lose. The best person to compete with is yourself. Considering your capacity at the beginning of the year (and completely ignoring other people’s standards), do you think you have made some progress? That calls for celebration doesn’t it? As we look forward to 2018, let us spend the remaining days in gratitude.