Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

The political turmoil that attended many general elections in the country every four years did not go unnoticed by some contemporary Nigerian artists.
Also, landmark events and decisions, such as immigration laws and cheating in global sports festivals that changed the socio-economic life of many, are recorded by some of the artists.
One of such artists is Nigeria’s renowned sculptor and Yaba College of Technology, Lagos art teacher, Olu Amoda, whose solo art exhibition Index Season II opened recently at Art Twenty One, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The exhibition featuring 30 works such as Ensconded Man-Chester, Proof, Proof, Nectar suck, Omoko, Hovercraft, Rumination I and II, Ms Lemon, Ms Black and Meditating, will run till June.
Amoda uses leaves, scroll motifs and cubes welded in dome capsules as a metaphor to evoke a conversation around the socio-economic and political climate in the country. The season metaphor represents the political calendar and the harrowing experience of post-election tribunal re-runs and recounts. The dome shaped pieces painted in various colours of the season; winter, summer autumn and spring mirror the many changes that come with political elections.
But, his free-standing sculptures focus on female figures, such as Man-chester, Ms Lemon and Ms Black (plasma cut drawing) that are near nude to illuminate the collection. To the artist, female forms are very engaging both to artists and the viewers.
A giant piece on United States athlete Marion Jones, who was recently stripped of her medal, is another work on the socio-sculpture-aesthetics. The over 10 feet tall work, which stands at the centre of the exhibition hall, shows the athlete standing with her arms akimbo, looking depressed and her long hair dropping loosely at her back. The expression on the face of the athlete reveals abandonment and rejection by her state following her dope test failure. This is how many politicians feel when out of office.
According to Amoda, the production process of the mixed media on Marion Jones started in 2009 in the US and was made mainly of wood. But on bringing the piece to Lagos, termites ate up the wood hence he reinforced it with metal and it was completed this year.
Hovercraft is Amoda’s commentary on the immigration crises that have bedeviled many continents especially between less developed and developed world. It also shows the high risk immigrants take to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in search of greener pastures. Hovercraft is made from found wood designed as an open vehicle without a roof. Interestingly, immigration issue has been treated in Amoda’s past shows, but it still creating ripples across the globe. The artist concern stems from the fact that up till now, many Africans still use the Sahara desert route to cross to Europe despite the high risk involve in the use of make-shift boats and vehicles as means of transportation.
“I see myself as a vehicle through which the materials and ideas travel. My work is a combination of what I admire and the message. The season is a natural occurrence which is a metaphor of the time we are, while he leaves represent the other side of life,” he said, noting that every object tells him a story and gives inspiration to do something.
“I am an archeologist on the surface investigating how objects were produced like a forensic expert who brings out the flip side of an object like the nail, which is presented in different forms. In fact, used objects have peculiar attractions and characters that help me dialogue with the objects. Everything in the urban squares speaks to me,” he said of his exploration of found objects.
Instructively, the exhibition is an attempt by the artist to draw viewers’ attention to the ‘crisis of political gridlock but watered down with positive images of the sculptures that came out of material exploration that projects hope rather than fear and despondence.’

Preventing genocide and other crimes like what happened in Rwanda is a shared responsibility and a duty of the United Nations, its Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said.
This was his message to this year’s International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda.
Guterres said: “The only way to truly honour the memory of those who were killed in Rwanda is to ensure that such events never occur again. The world must always be alert to the warning signs of genocide, and act quickly and early against the threat.
“History is filled with tragic chapters of hatred, inaction and indifference – a cycle that has led to violence, incarceration and death camps.”
In Nigeria, the day was marked with a briefing in Abuja, organised by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lagos with the Rwanda High Commission and Start-Rite School, Apo Legislative Quarters.
It featured a video message from the UN Secretary-General, film screening, reading of survivors’ testimonies and a drama sketch performed by students of Start-Rite School, Abuja. Along with the pupils of the host school, the event was attended by 300 pupils from seven schools and parents.
In his video message, Mr Guterres urged people to learn the Rwanda’s experience by shunning acts that would lead to violence and work together to build a future of dignity, tolerance and human rights for all.
Speaking on the importance of the day, the National Information Officer of UNIC, Mr Oluseyi Soremekun, enjoined guests to see all tribes and religions as equal and complementary.
“Tribes and tongues may differ but you must stand together in peace and unity. April 7, every year is the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda. We are observing the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda to educate on the lessons of the genocide in Rwanda to help prevent similar acts happening anywhere in the future,” Soremekun said.
The Second Counsellor, Rwanda High Commission, Mr Protogene Nsengumuremyi, in his keynote address, drew attention to the UN Security Council Resolution 2150 which condemns without reservation, any denial of the genocide and calls upon states that have not yet ratified or acceded to the Convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide to consider doing so as a matter of high priority.

In memory of Buchi Emecheta, the Committee For Relevant Art (CORA) gathered writers and others to celebrate her works. Among the literary aficionados was her son, Sylvester Onwordi. EVELYN OSAGIE reports.

How does it feel to be a character in a novel,” ask Sylvester Onwordi, son of acclaimed author Buchi Emecheta.
Onwordi became a character in his mother’s works as a kid. “My mother would write her books and sometimes put me in as a character. It was so bizarre. I was a character in In The Ditch. I remember reading it as a kid and feeling a bit strange. But we soon got over that. We didn’t really appreciate all the things that she had done, because, to us, she was our mother who was always there and gave us a very good upbringing,” he recalled.
Born in Nigeria on July 21, 1944, Emecheta has lived in United Kingdom since 1960, where she passed on and was buried earlier in the year. With In the Ditch, published far back as 1972, Emecheta became a trail blazer writer in Diaspora Literature, warming her way into the hearts of many across the globe through her writing that highlighted the quandaries of the girl-child and women.
After his mother passed on, Onwordi is going through her books again, and he has a different feeling. “It has been quite remarkable. Like a voice beyond the grave, I am understanding them in a very different way. I wish she could have been here today to answer your questions and read as well,” he said.
Onwordi, who described his mother as “an amazing storyteller”and a “fighter”, was in Nigeria for An Afternoon of Tributes in honour of Emecheta.
Organised by Committee For Relevant Art (CORA), the event was a memorable afternoon of tributes, readings, performances and discussions that brought together writers of all ages from abroad and within Nigeria to the Lagos prestigious arty space, Terra Kulture on Victoria Island, the venue.
The significance and influences of Emecheta’s texts in the development of literature, particularly women writings, were brought to the fore. Also, the presence of the author’s son spiced the event. Onwordi hinted that they would relaunch some of her titles in June.
It was interesting to hear him speak of the “Buchi” he knew. Hear him: “I knew her not just as a writer and a mother. We don’t actually call her mother; we call her “Maa”. She was true to herself. She had the civility of being honest, very charismatic and full of ideas. She was very uncompromising. She was very prolific; writing came naturally to her. She wrote 17 novels, three short stories and countless articles.
“I remember her sitting down with us kids, telling us stories. Even though we grew up in the United Kingdom, she would tell us stories about Nigeria: she’d talk about Lagos, the town where she grew up and had her formative years; about Ibusa, a town in the East where her family came from, and how Ibusa also formed part of her life.
‘’Although she spent most of her early life in Lagos, whenever she went home to Ibusa, she would listen to elders tell stories. She was a good listener even as she was a great storyteller. And she actually used a lot of the stories later on in her works, such as in The Bride Price and The Slave Girl.”
In her lifetime, Emecheta wrote over 20 books, including In the Ditch (1972), Second-Class Citizen (1974), The Bride Price (1976), The Slave Girl (1977), The Joys of Motherhood (1979) and The New Tribe (2000). Her works have inspired the pen of many women writers. And even in death, her creative legacies continue to motivate other Nigerian women writers, such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Akachi Adimora Ezeigbo, Sefi Atta, Molara Wood, Chika Unigwe, Sarah Ladipo Manyika, Promise Okekwe and more, says CORA. These women have since taken her concerns even farther.
It was no surprise then, that, two months after her death, the Nigerian literati under the auspices of CORA gathered to celebrate her.
For CORA Secretary-General,Toyin Akinosho, the celebration was deliberate. Emecheta’s early significance as a Nigerian writer writing in the UK and her influence on women writing is worthy of note, according to Akinosho. “She had done works significant since the 1970’s. CORA is using the forum to celebrate significant person. This year’s Ken Saro Wiwa prize will be given to the best reviewer of Emecheta’s works,” Akinosho, who read an excerpt from the writer’s The Joys of Motherhood, said.
The guest list of literary icons included United States-based scholar Prof Omofolabo Ajayi-Soyinka; Executive Editor of The NEWS Kunle Ajibade; Toni Kan Onwordi, and CORA programme chairman and former editor of The Guardian on Sunday Jahman Anikulapo.
The event featured three women writers as panelists – multiple award-winning author Atta from US; the 2012 winner of NLNG-sponsored Nigeria Prize for Literature Unigwe, and literary and critic Wood. Besides talking about how her works and life influenced their writings, the writers read from Emecheta works.
Emecheta works, Atta said, “will continue to resonate”, while praising the strength and depth of the late writer. She read an excerpt from Emecheta’s Head Above Water.
“I admire her ability to write about one generation to the next, yet returning to old traditions; her ability to be naive and insightful at the same time. She didn’t regard other Nigerian women as threats and she embraced all cultures.
“What set her apart from most Nigerian female writers of her time and mine was that she was incredibly resourceful, industrious and tenacious. I am glad I wrote about her novel in mine. Her works were my introduction to Nigerian feminist ideas and I welcome her call for unity,” she said.
On her part, Unigwe, who is based in Belgium, said Emecheta had been her “guiding light for years”. She read an excerpt from Second Class Citizen. “I first encountered Emecheta many years ago at Uzomiri Study Centre at Enugu where I watched a BBC documentary on her. She was talking about living in London and writing with five children, and going to school. That left a big impression on me.
“And many years later, when I was struggling with my PhD, raising four children, writing; every time I felt lazy, I saw the image of Buchi and her kids. And I’d tell myself, ‘Chika you have no excuse’. Emecheta is one of the reasons I persisted in writing. She changed my attitude completely towards looking at writing as a career that can put bread and butter on my plate.”
While decrying that Emecheta was not accorded her rightful place on revered Africa’s literary list, Wood urged that pioneer women writers be “put on the pedestal that men are placed” by African scholars and critics. She noted: “I think that she was not accorded her place in the canon. As women writers of this generation, we also have the duty to help excavate these pioneers of women’s writing similar to what Alice Walker did with Zora Neale Hurston, author of Their Eyes Were Watching God. It’s time we accorded these women their rightful place, it’s time we recognised what they actually contributed.”
She read from her tribute on Emecheta, published on The Nation Life Midweek Magazine on February 16, 2017. “Long before the rise of the new generation of female writers, Buchi Emecheta trod a lonely path, taking Nigerian women’s fiction to international heights, making herself a household name at home and abroad. She wrote important books on what it meant to be a woman, and what it meant to be in a foreign land. She overcame great odds; her husband burnt her manuscript, yet she persevered, setting a wonderful example for every writer,” she read.
Before reading an excerpt from Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood, she also observed: “We talk in the last 10 years about women writers writing sex like it’s so revolutionary. Well, in 1979 or thereabout, she wrote this.”
Prof Ajayi-Soyinka was equally elated to be part of the celebration of Emecheta, describing as “a treasure” worth celebrating. She reiterated Wood’s words, urging Nigerians should do more to celebrate their icons while alive.
She said: “I enjoy teaching Buchi Emecheta, especially outside Nigeria. We are in the country, we take so many things for granted but when we are outside, we learn to appreciate our culture. And I had the added advantage of teaching Emecheta’s books and explaining to my American students who think that everything in Africa is frozen in time. Emecheta is a treasure.
“And I do regret that I never met her. We respect and appreciate her so much. And I hope that this gathering will create a resolution hence that we would start celebrating our icons: not just dead but all writers/artists who are still with us. Our stories need to be told. We often cite western writers and critics because they told their stories. And not only that their stories are kept and cherished. We need keep and treasure our stories.”

Jude Ikegwuonu was a bustling broadcaster. His passion for the job was never in doubt. As an on air personality, he has worked with Nigeria Info FM 92.3, Port Harcourt and Channels Television.
His works have touched so many lives and he dreamt of touching many more. But that dream was cut short by a road accident on July 4, 2013.
That accident damaged his spinal cord. And since then, Ikegwuonu has been bedridden with excruciating pains. Paralysed on all four limbs (quadriplegia), he needs $50, 000 to get his life back.
Even in pain the ace reporter is still bent on touching lives. He is constantly being invited as a guest speaker on motivational programmes. Driven by his passion for broadcasting and believing that his paralysed state is not an obstacle to achieving greater heights, Ikegwuonu has recorded many inspirational videos that have touched many lives.
“I don’t believe that I cannot function even in this condition. I don’t see myself as not being able to make impact in life.  I believe that even in my condition, I still have the ability to function optimally like every other person; touch lives and make impact in the society,” he said.
But each time, he is being carried around by his caregivers for his speaking engagements, he is always in pain. He constantly experiences severe pains in his spinal cord, and would also need to undergo physiotherapy. He has spent over N20 million to see himself through to this stage, thanks to his family.
He said: “My doctor says therapies are very essential in my condition, just like the ones I underwent when I was transferred to India in 2015 where I underwent physiotherapy and occupational therapy sessions for seven months. They helped me in moving my hands to some degrees, even though my fingers are not working.”
He hopes to get back to work someday. To achieve this, Ikegwuonu is calling out for the support of Nigerians to raise the money to enable him acquire mobility aids which include, a stairs-climbing wheelchair, mobile ramps, and wheel chair van.
“If I get these mobility aids, I would go back to work immediately, earn a living and get other needs, even in my paralysed state. This is not a time to depend on others for survival, especially in this economic situation.
“I need the support of Nigerians to enable me live a productive life again. I am experiencing lots of pains and I trust God to touch the hearts of all those that would read my story and support me in any way they can,” he said.
He also hopes to become not just the first Nigerian quadriplegic broadcaster in the world but one that rose back to life. Hopeful, he said: “I want to be in the Guinness Book of Record as the first quadriplegic broadcaster in the world.  To achieve this, I need mobility aids to be able to function.”
Donations can be sent to Jude Ikegwuonu, Guaranty Trust Bank, Account number: 0016988982.