Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has praised Lagos-based Academy Press PLC for showing confidence in the economy through its investment of N2 billion on acquiring modern equipment within one year.
The Minister, who spoke while inaugurating some of the company’s equipment in Lagos, noted that the company has continued to grow since it started production 51 years ago.
He said: “I am happy to learn that unlike other local organisations, you have sustained your operations for over 50 years. You have not only sustained operations, you have grown with time to a world-class printer that is comparable to what is available anywhere else in the world.
‘’While acquiring and maintaining the best of equipment, boasting of highly-skilled personnel, you have equipped yourself with up-to-date technology, ensuring that Nigerians get nothing but the best as far as print production is concerned. It is also gladdening to learn that you have localised staff and management and you have a structured training system to develop skills for your own use as well as for the use of the industry.’’
Mohammed said the government would continue to create enabling environment for local industries to thrive and compete favourably with their foreign counterparts to stimulate the nation’s economy through job creation and conservation of foreign exchange.
He said: “On our own part in the administration, we will continue to formulate policies that will enhance and strengthen these ideals. We will encourage the industry to develop its own support raw materials such as bond, craft paper and newsprint as well as ink and other chemicals. We will provide the enabling environment for this and other industries to thrive. It is imperative that government agencies patronise our local industries, and for us to read our own Nigerian-authored books, printed by our own printers.
“All documents, including security materials, must be printed locally to save jobs and scarce foreign exchange. For the enemies of the industry, the copyright pirates, lovers of foreign products and smugglers of such, it is time they change their ways. This is because this Administration is committed to protecting copyright owners so that they can reap the fruits of their hard work.”
The Minister, who was taken on a guided tour of the expansive company, saluted the vision and courage of its founding fathers, while underscoring the invaluable contribution of the Printing, Packaging and Publishing sub-sector to the nation’s economy.
“This industry used to be dominated by foreign organisations, mostly from the UK, in the colonial days and shortly after. Today, our newspaper houses are fully localised by the organised private sector, just like our book publishing and printing industry, with many of you having attained international standard. This is in line with the policy thrust of this Administration, which is to look inwards, diversify the economy and to achieve self sufficiency in all spheres of life,” he observed.
Mohammed decried the importation of 70 per cent of the books used in the country, adding that companies like the Academy Press could meet the nation’s demand for educational books. He challenged players in the sub-sector to continue to engage the government on how to reverse the trend.
Academy Press Chairman, High Chief Simeon Olusola Oguntimehin, said the company can produce 100 million standard books, 24 million magazines and annual reports and several million copies of sensitive and confidential print yearly.
“Today, we can boast of having one of the best printing facilities in sub-Saharan Africa. We make high volume delivery at incredible speed,” he said.
High Chief Oguntimehin appealed to the government to consider the print industry in the allocation of foreign exchange for the importation of raw materials and review some of the policies that prevented the industry from competing favourably with its foreign counterparts, particularly the high tariff imposed on raw materials used for local printing.
The printing equipment inaugurated by the Minister are the Muller Martini Concepta, a six-colour press with output of 40,000 impressions per hour, and the Dimuken Hologram Applicator Machine for applying hologram seal and hot foil stamping for security print and other sensitive documents.
Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine
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Minister unveils Academy Press’ N2b equipment
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UNIC director: Achieving SDGs depends on fight against corruption
The prospects of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is dependent on the fight against corruption, Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Nigeria, Mr Ronald Kayanja, has said.
According to him, the SDGs would not be achieved if nations do not diligently fight corruption within their systems.
He spoke at an anti-corruption dialogue to commemorate the International Anti-Corruption Day.
This year’s theme was Corruption: An impediment to the Sustainable Development Goals,.
The event was organised by UNIC Lagos, African Youths Initiative on Crime Prevention (AYICRIP) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
“Any setback to the attainment of the SDGs by 2030 portends a great danger to the planet earth and the people of the world,” Mr Kayanja said.
Relaying the message of the UN outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the International Anti-Corruption Day, Kayanja said: “No country is immune, and every country bears a responsibility to end it. Corruption strangles people, communities and nations. It weakens education and health, undermines electoral processes and reinforces injustices by perverting criminal justice systems and the rule of law. By diverting domestic and foreign funds, corruption wrecks economic and social development and increases poverty. It harms everyone, but the poor and vulnerable suffer most.”
He called for commitment to ending the deceit and dishonesty that threaten the 2030 Agenda and the efforts to achieve peace and prosperity for all on a healthy planet.
In his welcome address, AYICRIP Executive Director, Mr Chris Ibe, noted that the country would not have a future if corruption was not wiped out and the nation’s value system redefined.
UNODC Lagos office Project Officer, Mr William Wu Shiyin, said the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Country Office was supporting the government to fight corruption and other crimes.
He added that it was important to take preventive measures against corruption.
He urged substantial reductions in corruption and bribery and the development of effective, accountable and transparent institutions.
In the communique, the participants resolved that anti-corruption campaign of the government should focus on the youth; that the government should anti-corruption agencies
It also said the government should consider regular publication of corruption convicts register and establish a court to try corruption cases. -
Documenting Ooni for posterity
Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has celebrated his first anniversary on the throne. A researcher/author Oluwaseun Okunnuga, has written a compendium on the monarch’s efforts to unite the Yoruba. ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMAILA writes on what inspired Okunnuga.
A researcher, Oluwaseun Okunnuga, has taken note of the efforts of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II to unite the Yoruba race since the monarch mounted the throne over a year ago.
Okunnuga captured the Ooni’s exploits in the last one year in a compendium entitled: Spiritual king of the source: On a mission beyond mortal dream.
The Oonirisa’s ascension to the throne, Okunnuga said, could not be separated from his modest upbringing.
According to him, the Oonirisa’s in just one year, is rewriting the history of the traditional stool. “His gospel of peace and his resilience to unite the troubled Yoruba race continues to reverberate among his kinsmen at the home front and in the Diaspora. He remains focused to his slogan: ‘One people: One tribe’ which continues to earn him accolades among his kinsmen.”
Okunnuga praised the monarch’s diplomacy, saying he often leaves his spiritual abode in Ile-Ife to honour invitations from other kings, and using same avenue to rub minds with them on issues germane to the progress of the Yoruba race. Barely a year in the saddle, the Oonirisa has continued to extend olive branch to even older monarchs, especially across the Southwest region.
According to him, “Yeye, as he was fondly referred to in his boyhood, was a ‘corporate’ cobbler at 14 years. Four years later, he hawked beans and soft drinks on the streets of Ibadan Oyo State. This, he did, to support his struggling parents who were fending for his four other siblings. In his 20S, he struggled to attain the status of a daring entrepreneur. Before hitting 30 however, he already had an agenda with fate which had catapulted him among a handful of successful realtors in Nigeria.
Speaking with The Nation, the author, Okunnuga said the yet-to-be-released compendium contains articles, pictorials, monographs and speeches of Oonirisa from when he was enthroned.
The book, according to Okunnuga, not only highlights Ooni’s quest for unity among the Yoruba, but also his numerous efforts towards reawakening the consciousness of Ile-Ife as the cradle of Yoruba race.
The author said: “It chronicles the distinct, pacifist, and ethereally, yet mystifying actions of the monarch, along with his commendable representations on behalf of the Yoruba empire, the cultural renaissance through various strategic acculturation and social and economic development of Ile-Ife, his mindful efforts that has continued to raise people’s consciousness about the ‘source of civilisation’.”
Okunnuga said the 10-chapter book espouses Oonirisa as both physical and spiritual idol, budding entrepreneur, a personality with humility and candour and an emblem of hope for the black continent. It also beams a searchlight on Ooni’s virtues and various escapades in realising his mission.
Going down memory lane, Okunnuga said owing to illiteracy, many of African oral literature could not be properly documented for posterity. He lamented that worse still, the authenticity of some of those already in print are either being distorted, or contested simply because they were not captured at the time of existence. This, Okunnuga observed, is what his book hopes to correct.”Records are not kept simply to assist the weakness of memory, and to operate as guides to the future. I, therefore, owe it to myself and posterity to ensure that these facts are permanently placed on record; bringing together a compendium of scattered articles, monographs and sophisticated intellectual document, which, if not done now, could have been lost to the dustbin of history,” he said
The author noted that despite the enormity of his power, Oonirisa has remained largely lowly, balancing his authority with social reality and spreading his arms to all regardless of individuals’ social, economic and religious affiliations. Okunnuga praised Oonirisa’s unparalleled generosity is fast reversing the age-long tradition where a king is expected to receive and receive while giving little or nothing back to his subjects.
“He said: “Indeed, within a limited time, he has touched base with his people given his humanitarian activities which have transformed lives within and outside Ile-Ife. The Oonirisa has opened a new vista for unison of his countrymen and by extension the diaspora; but more important than this fact, he has continued to fortify the position of ‘Arole Oodua’ on the tablets of contemporary history as the preeminent keeper of ‘seal’ of Yoruba nation.
“It is instructive that God, in His infinite grace, got him out of his Lagos abode, crowning and instructing him to promptly reunite the Yoruba race; a mandate to spread Yoruba custom, cultures and their very way of life beneath the blue sky. Inevitably the celestial has further thrust tasks at him, and which he must accomplish. Even now, the cultural renaissance through various strategic acculturation and social economic development in Ile-Ife is unprecedented. His efforts towards building a thriving economy around ‘our enterprising culture’ and monuments has continued to raise people’s consciousness about Ile-Ife, the foremost cultural centre of the world.”
The book, he said, will be ideal to students of History, African Studies and young and old seeking inspiration from individuals who rose to become role models. -
Ita-Giwa opens restaurant in Calabar
It was gathering of the crème de la crème when a top class restaurant, The Fusion, opened in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
Established by a politician and philanthropist, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, the outfit aims at nurturing the “well-being of clients through fine dining”. It also aims to be a melting pot of society, hence the name, The Fusion, according to its proprietor.
The event was attended by dignitaries from within and outside the state.
Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade promised to support indigenes who invest in the state. He lauded the efforts of Mrs Ita-Giwa, describing her as “a pride and great asset of the state”.
He said: “We laud you for having the courage to come here and invest in the state. Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, you are a dream and pride of Cross River State. You are one of those great assets of the state. As part of efforts to encourage you, all the bills at the opening of this restaurant will be paid by the state government. As Ben Ayade, I am donating the sum of N5 million. This is to show the people of the state that if they come to invest in Cross River, the government would be there to support them.”
Beyond serving meals that would take into consideration the wellbeing of whoever eats its foods, Ita-Giwa said: ‘’The Fusion is aimed at uniting all members of the society, hence the name, The Fusion.
“This place is going to unite children, young and old, forward-looking and hardworking people and so on. We are going to have food that will take your well-being into consideration. You will eat and have energy and look like I do at 70 – still very energetic. I don’t have joint pain, no knee pain.
‘’I am the only 70-year-old that does the 12-km Carnival walk. So, if you eat The Fusion’s food, you will be like Ita-Giwa. Everything here is measured.”
The salt here is sodium-free. The oil here is cholesterol free.
What I am serving here is what I eat and I like my life; and I want to share,” Ita-Giwa said.
Other dignitaries at the event were former Cross River Governor Donald Duke; former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso and a Senator from Kogi State, Dino Melaye, among others. -
Religious interplay in nationhood
A Prof Olufemi Vaughan’s book supremely holds the reader’s interest, fittingly fires her curiosity, and graciously gives her the pleasure of an intellectual high. It tells—with ease and fluid prose—the complicated but important story of Nigeria’s state-society development in the context of, in interaction with, and in antagonistic and agonistic relationships with religious forces.
Vaughan argues that religious forces are decisive within the process of state formation, civic association, political mobilisation, and political culture in Nigeria. Religion and religious identity are important not only for individual citizens’ self-understanding, but also for conception and realisation of the national project, “the making of Nigeria.”
This book demonstrates that state formation finds itself increasingly between the rock of religious past and present and the hard place of welding different groups, ethnicities, kingdoms/empires into “one nation bound in freedom, peace and unity.”
To the extent that the Nigerian project has gone on this far is a testament of leaders and ordinary citizens’ capacity to take a diagonal path between the rock and the hard place.
Vaughan demonstrates a similar capacity to take a diagonal path between regnant intellectual debates. He deftly navigates and yet avoids falling in line with the scholarship that maintains that Nigeria’s state formation processbegan with Britain’s subjugation of the peoples and groups that came to be known as Nigeria.
In the same spirit, he does not tell the story of Nigeria’s state formation along the usual lines of historical periodisation. He demonstrates that the Nigerian state and society started before 1914, before Lord Lugard’s amalgamation.
He captures the continuities within the local settings that fashion the character of the Nigerian state. In his analysis, colonial activities or the rupture that was colonialism are not elevated beyond everything else. Colonialism is just one of the factors that have been mixed with local agency, indigenous skills, memories, institutions, and religions to fashion the Nigerian state.
Vaughan’s perchance for taking the lonely intellectual pathway in search of truths is most amply demonstrated in the way he presents the Nigerian story of religion and state formation. He shows two forces playing in a common field over a long period of time. Christianity and Islam, interacting together in one common field of state-society formation over a long time. Scholars often resort to other common fields (violence, class/economic interests, etc.) when analysing how these two world religions interact on the Nigerian soil.
But Vaughan, the Oxford-trained political scientist and historian and renowned scholarchose a different common field of interaction: state-society formation. This is, perhaps, the oldest, widest, most continuous, and longest running field of play so far. How does this approach change the way we interpret inter-religious dialogues, comparative religion, state, civic culture, pluralism, and religion and political theory?
Vaughan shows a way forward. I admire Vaughan’s book for his attention to historical analyses, critical engagements with cutting-edge paradigms and theoretical perspectives, and the large and penetrating lens that he brings to elucidate his research topic.
All these are made possible, in part, by his use of a robust methodology that is well suited to understanding Nigeria’s structural and systemic problems and for providing appropriate responses to them. His book adopts the methodology of longue duree of history, enabling him to provide a robust or sophisticated perspective on the nature, logic, and dynamics of the problems confronting Nigeria. His book nudges the reader to move his or her gaze from well-worn binary oppositions to the grand and longue duree process of state formation, institution building, and search for state legitimacy. He does this by clearly showing how the forces, logics, and ethos of religion (Islam, Christianity, African traditional religions), indigenous social institutions and traditions, and Western ideas and practices intersect and intertwine in the long and ongoing processes of state formation in Nigeria.
Religion and the Making of Nigeria shows that at the root of the state formation process are religion/religions and the values, attitudes and sensitivities it (they) promotes. Second, religion is not something external to the state formation process, it is integral to the whole process. Religion is an internal process that powers the state formation process from within and also powers the agency of major actors and their followers. Religion is not a tool the key actors in the nation’s history take from a toolbox to tackle the state formation process.
There is no binarism/duality: religion here and state over there. Religion is part of the referential totality of the horizon of the state formation; it is part of the purpose, process, meaning, and spirit of the state formation, and helps to make sense of the state-society formation itself. Religion and state formation are part of one large and complex process of development, yet he shows us how to parse them for analysis and understanding.
In conclusion, let me state that Vaughan’s book has implications for how we think about socio-economic development in Nigeria. His book demonstrates that at the root of Nigeria’s development or civilisation is a non-material core of values, religion and ethics. We cannot foster our civilization or development if we ignore religion and religious difference. -
Tourism workers laud DG’s appointment
The Staff and Management of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) have hailed the appointment of Boniface Eboka as Acting Director-General (DG).
At the inaugural meeting with the DG at the Tourism Village hall in Abuja, the workers said the appointment, was the best thing to happen to the corporation.
Eboka solicited for the workers support to move the corporation forward.
He said: “I want to encourage every staff to be united in projecting the overall interest of the Corporation. Until we are united, NTDC cannot move forward.”
He added that the desired changes can only come about when there is unity. In an interactive session, members of staff of the corporation bared their minds on the state of the tourism industry and the way forward.
The workers urged the helmsman to focus on: Amendment of the NTDC Act to ensure tourism inclusiveness in view of the multiplicity of standards operating in the country, strengthening the revenue generating potential of the corporation through its subsidiary the National Travel Bureau and other avenues that are within the Corporations area of mandate, capacity building of o1cers through training and re-training of the workforce on a regular basis, hosting of NTDC-based stakeholders engagement to discuss current treads in the tourism industry.
Others were authentication of tourism sites and festivals for better marketing and promotion of the countries potential, making zonal offices more viable.
The Ag. director-general thanked the staff for their contributions and called on them to put all hands on deck to ensure that NTDC moves along with the plans of the Federal Government to help in the diversification of the economy. -
Traditional pots, their uses in religion
Traditionally, African pottery is hand-built. They have the advantage of low cost and thermo-shock resistance quality which make them suitable for all use.
Pottery has been described as one of the cheapest arts practised in virtually all the ethnic groups in Nigeria and heavily dominated by women.
The raw materials used in making pottery are clay and water, which are common as well as found throughout the country. Likewise, the implements used for both gathering the raw materials and molding the pots, such as shovel diggers, hoes, machetes, trowels, pick-axes, calabash or basins as the case may be are not far-fetched, they are universal.
Generally, pottery making involves digging the clay at water–side or stream, pounding, soaking, sifting, kneading, and shaping them into various styles like cooking vessels, food bowls, water fetching pots, storage red pots, drinking cups, flower, decorative, frying, or dyeing pots, funerary urns etc.
They can be of various types, such as pitchers, plates, kettles, lamps, which in Yoruba language are ikoko, ladugbo, ape, isaasun, isa, kete, fitila, sago, oru, amu, ikoko (ilu), etc. After molding is decorating, and finally, firing the pots to make them strong follows.
Clay pots are important items in traditional Nigerian worship. They are characteristically decorated with reliefs of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic (use of animal) symbols. In the use of clay pots for traditional worship, the design often reflects some of the attributes of the divinity the pot is used to venerate. They are used in various ways, such as containers for storing sacred water and pebbles, medicinal or magical preparations, and other items of worship or as pot drums. Traditionally, clay pots are used in various ways.
A special pot called bridal pot stool is given to a newly wedded bride on the night of her wedding to sit on. This pot stool acts as a ’detective’ of the virginity state of the bride.
The pot is strong to be used as a sit irrespective of the weight of the bride and if it withstands her, she is a virgin. However if the pot stool breaks, it means she is not a virgin and she is shamefully returned to her parents.
Another is a twin shaped pot known as Akwe-Unga which is used for storing poisoned war weapon such as arrows, gun powder, bullets, in the ancient times.
The perforated pots Ajere are incense burns used during traditional worship. They are usually hanged on the wall with strings passed through holes in the rim. The clay lamp Fitila oloju merindinlogun is used for illumination at night during traditional ceremonies and to light fire for rituals which empower warriors or hunters but the fire must not go off until they come back from the war front or hunting expedition.
Small size medicinal pots konjo are tinning traditional pots that are used for keeping medicinal rings (ikoko oruka ere) which are hung up and kept which must not touch the floor. The rings are used for family planning, spiritual power against attacks at war, cure for dizziness etc.
Isaasun Agbebi: Is used as container for placenta, to pray for the child’s long life before burring it. Ikoko agbo (concoction pot) is usually filled with herbs and roots of various kinds . They are boiled; ritual birth is taken by warriors, hunters, herbalists, etc. to empower them. The content of the pot must not be poured nor the pot be broken else the owner will be in trouble because it is a source of spiritual power for them. That is why the custody of the pot is given to a very trusted person in their absence.
In some parts of Nigeria, it is the tradition to mark the grave of some personalities with traditional clay pots. Numerous shrines and graves are indicated with ceramic alters representing monuments erected by the living to celebrate the dead. The graves of chiefs and important personalities including hunters and priests are decorated with figures called Dakakari (sculpture of animals such as camel, mounted on a clay pot with a base) symbolising the greatness of the dead man especially if the dead lived a good and acceptable life in the community. Also, cooking pots are placed on their women’s grave to demarcate the female’s graves from that of male.
Lidded burial clay pots are used to contain the corpses of “special people”; such as hunched back, children, and those who died of inflicted diseases in their community as a coffin which is then buried in the ground. Likewise, is Banglu, which are ceramic vessels, produced to contain the spirit of deceased chiefs; these are kept in enclosed grass shrines and sacred groves to appease the ancestors.
In some areas of northern part of Nigeria where clay pots play significant roles in their traditional religious beliefs, Wandipa’ta Baxanda pots are produced for healing diseases like small pox, chicken pox or even fierce anger and the likes, usually by filling the pots with medicinal mixture and hung in the patient’s sleeping room for cleansing to be rubbed or dabbed on the shoulder, navel, back or whole body as the need arises until the patient recover fully.
Other uses of clay pots in traditional worship include: as cola nut receptacle – Awo Obi for keeping and serving cola nuts at the shrine during rituals. Plates used for serving medicine: Awo Sobi. Plate used for serving concoction at the shrine: Awo Afebi.
Storage water pot specially made for a widow Isa Opo as a reminder of her late husband as she takes water from it.
Pottery making for traditional use is common in Nigeria among many ethnic groups. However, some customs and taboos are associated with their making and use. Some of which are; at a joint Yoruba clay pit, the women break cola nuts to appease the goddess of pottery Yeye Erefin before collecting clay but pregnant potters and those under menstruation are exempted from collecting. No man is allowed to pass through the arena where women fire the pots. In case he must pass, as a matter of compulsion pick some sticks and throw them into the open fire first.
Potters whose husband is still alive irrespective of age and women of childbearing age should not produce “ajere”- the perforated pot which is synonymous with creation and destruction. Also sexual promiscuity and stealing especially another potter’s clay are forbidden. One other belief that is upheld especially among potters in Yoruba land general is that pots should not be counted and prices should not be fixed on them before firing.
In addition, mourning at the clay pit, ebu as it is called in Yoruba language is a taboo. Any potter that loses husband or close relative she should stay away from the ebu until her period of mourning is over. In recent times, industrialisation and transition in religious practices has invariably influenced and reduced the demand for and the common use of clay pots drastically. However, the culture of clay pots for traditional worship is not and may not be eradicated.
•Oluwaseye is of the National Museum of Unity, Ibadan -
Sustaining indigenous black soap
Black soap, otherwise known as Ose-Dudu in Yoruba, is a handmade soap that is gentle and alleviates skin ailment. It consists of an emollient derived from natural source, combined with the nutrient rich ashes of native African plant materials.
Different tribes, who manufacture these soaps have their own typical way of making recipes that make the final product in varying qualities. The colour of the soap is never in uniform, it ranges from light brown, beige, gray to jet black, depending on the indigenous ingredients and method of production.Benefits and uses of black soap
Black soap has a lot of benefits. It is an antibacterial and antifungal property, oil controlling properties and a face cleanser. It has also skin healing property that clears acne, soothes psoriasis and eczema,reduces fine lines and wrinkles, and provides relief to children suffering from ring worms and measles. Black soap is a great moisturizer that is mild and good for sensitive skin. The soap is said to be rich in vitamins A and B. Jennifer S.LI (2015). The emollient properties of the ingredients are suitable for dry hair and alleviate dandruff. If well packaged, it could serve as a source of income whereby the unemployed could be self reliant.Materials for making black soap
Materials for making this soap include clay pots, base oil (palm oil, palm kernel, shea butter), peels of plantain, cocoa pods, shea tree bark, coconut husks, palm leaves, regular banana leaves or palm bunch, (either of these are sundry or oven dry then burnt to ashes), fire wood, cooking stand (Adogan) tripod stand (Aaro), water, local fryer (Agbada), Bowls and lighter.Procurement and installation of a black soap making industry
To establish black soap industry, the first thing to think about is a space for the installation of the equipment. At least 25ft X 50ft (half plot of land) will be needed. Buy at least three big clay pots (ikoko) and three smaller ones made purposely for Okiti (site of black soap making). The big pots will have holes at the bottom while the smaller ones will have at the side that will be able to contain a small bowl.Installation:
The three smaller pots will be half buried and arranged close to each other, while the bigger pots with holes will be placed on the smaller ones. The big pots will be filled with ashes while leaves are placed on the holes at the bottom to stop the ashes from dropping into the smaller pots during the processing. The three big pots are filled with ashes and mixed with water for draining.Methods of production
Production of Black soap involves the following: step I: Select a base oil which could be palm oil, palm kernel oil or shea butter. If using palm oil, you can extract it yourself by processing coconut palms in a hand press. But since this is a laborious work, and palms are hard to get in some regions, you can purchase palm oil that has already been extracted. The quantity of base oil needed will vary depending on the quantity of soap you wish to make, the quantity of oil to be used should not exceed half the capacity of your double boiler. However, those who wish to make a large quantity of soap generally process it in batches. Here are the steps:
Step II: Remove the cocoa beans from the pods and burn over low flame until they turn to ashes, Oven roast the plantain skins (or alternative ingredient), burn the plantain skin creating an ashes that will be beached to release its component parts. Step III: Fill the three big pots with the burnt ashes, number the set of pots A – C, add water to pot A. STEP IV: The filtered drain from pot A will be transferred to pot B, that of pot B will be transferred to pot C. At this point the water must have been highly concentrated. This will now be transferred to the flat iron pot for cooking which can last for a day or two, until the water becomes very thick. STEP V: Heat the base oil over low heat until it is melted and heated through. STEP VI: Pour the thick heated filtered water to the heated base oil, while stirring; add more until you achieve the desired shade of dark brown or black. Continue stirring over low heat until the liquid is smooth. STEP VII: In the process of stirring, a frothy, waxy substance will begin to form at the surface. Scoop this liquid soap from the surface of the boiler as it forms, continue until all the water has boiled off. Transfer it into a mold or pound in the mortar to make the soap smooth , then cut to the shape desired. The finished product will now be used or sold.Challenges
As good and laudable as this black soap is, there are still challenges facing its production, ranging from materials and time of producing it. Rainy season is not a suitable season to get the materials. Plantain skin, cocoa pods and the likes may not dry easily as a result of constant rainfall. Oven roast may not be reliable because of electricity failure. The skill is gradually going into extinction because most producers of this soap are growing old and they have refused to transfer the skill to the younger ones. Black soap may have negative reaction on some peoples’ skin probably as a result of high potassium content, thereby damaging the skin. Moreover, the production of the soap work is a tedious one and time consuming. It takes between two and four days to complete a batch of production. Many people associate black soap with fetism because of the colour. Since there is difficulty in drying the materials during rainy season, recipes should be made and preserved during dry season to make production hitch-free.
Financial assistance through bank loan that attracts low interest should be granted to the producers of black soap to purchase the modern gadgets like oven and powerful generators that can power the Oven. This will make the materials available at all seasons. Adulteration should be discouraged. There should not be alteration to the original product. In addition, museum should organise teachers’ workshop whereby the museum professionals will train the trainers. For those with tender skin, the user should discontinue the usage it has negative effect. Moreover, emphasis should be laid on promoting the production and usage of black soap through sensitisation programmes.
In conclusion, the production and usage is not fetish but our cultural heritage. Hence, the wide use of black soap is, therefore, recommended to all generation.•Jolayemi is Chief Museum Education Officer, National Museum, Ilorin
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Anenih: From policing to politics
He is a recurring decimal in Nigerian politics. Like him or hate him, you cannot ignore him. Such is the stature the author has acquired in our political firmament that his name continues to reverberate across political divides and from generation to generation.
This nation has never seen and may never see again a politician with such an enduring credential and impactful sagacity. Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah succinctly captured the man, Tony Anenih, when he posited: “Chief Anenih has traversed and adapted to the ever-changing landscape of Nigerian politics with a combination of unobtrusive survivalist instincts of both a chameleon and a cheetah. He has displayed an uncanny ability to adapt to the political temperatures and temperaments around him and exhibited a phenomenal staying power — in truth, no matter the controversy, no other Nigerian in history, living or dead can make the claim of having been such a central and sturdy hub in the politics of the nation- Today, Chief Anenih has come to be more famously known as Mr. Fix it. Some say it with admiration while others mouth it with approbation. What is not argued is that Chief Anenih fixes the problem he is called to manage at any particular point.”
What, however, stands Chief Anenih out is not his capacity to “fix” things euphemistically speaking or his cult-like followership and popular reverential acknowledgement as “leader” in political circles, but his decision to personally document his thoughts in this book, that will endure for all times. In doing this, Anenih has avoided a debilitating Nigerian malady that tends to prevent our political leaders from documenting or chronicling their political engagements for posterity.
Today, therefore, I join all men and women of goodwill in saluting Anenih for this significant achievement, for his industry, tenacity of purpose, research acumen, scholarship and penetrating logic.
The autobiography is titled: My Life and Nigerian Politics. Published by MINDEX Publishing Company Limited, the 257-page book is divided into three sections and eleven chapters. An idea that was conceived in prison in 1984 took the author 32 years to accomplish. Here, the author has given a personal account of his life’s sojourn, chronicle events as they unfolded, corrected impressions, put things in proper perspective and make projections for the future.
It is instructive to mention that this autobiography enables the reader and, indeed, Anenih’s admirers to appreciate his early life in the village setting of Arue, his humble beginning, primary school education at Government School, Uromi, his failed ambition to get into Teachers training college and his enrolment at Police College on July 1, 1951 to kick-start what turned out to be a brilliant career in the Nigeria Police. By a letter dated January 14, 1976, the Police Service Council accepted Anenih’s application to voluntarily retire from service.
The litany of commendations while in the force, some for bravery and others for devotion to duty, including the long service medal, which an officer receives only if he has a clean record, bear eloquent testimony to a character trait which was efficiently deployed in his numerous triumphs in the political arena.
Anenih also had a stint in business before venturing into politics. His approach to business clearly underscores his attributes as a tactician and strategist who covers his flanks excellently and effectively. By establishing a super market in Warri, Chemist in Benin city, electronic shop in Enugu, sale of frozen meat from Bauchi, oil palm plantations, import and sale of fast-cars, Anenih successfully “fixed” his way into lucrative business.
It should be said that but for the author’s incarceration for 18 months after 1983 coup, this autobiography would not have been conceptualised.
But his detention marked the collapse of his business and the beginning of life in politics. As a strategist that he is, the reader will greatly appreciate Anenih’s choice to commence his political career from the grassroots from where he was sucked into the vortex of Nigerian politics.
Starting as sympathiser and financier of N.P.N in 1980 under President Shehu Shagari, he became the chairman of National Peoples Party (NPN) in the then Bendel State. He was instrumental to the enthronement of Governor Samuel Ogbemudia in 1983, Odigie Oyegun in 1992 and Lucky Igbinedion in 1999.
Anenih’s election as National Chairman of Social Democratic party (SDP) marked his entry into the centre stage of the political orbit of Nigeria. Chapters six and seven of this autobiography lucidly and comprehensively accounted for the events, circumstances and authentic narrative of June 12, 1993 election and outcome. As a major actor in the drama that unfolded after the annulment of June 12 election and the intrigues that made the Interim National Government an imperative, Anenih’s perspective ideally is compelling and undeniably convincing. The reader will also find Anenih’s incisive exposé on the Abacha regime in Chapter eight, profound, illuminating and most engaging.
The author devoted Chapter 9 to the emergence of the Fourth Republic and the New Democratic Experiment. Again as a major actor and participant in the theatre of politics, clear account is given of his preference for PDP; why PDM supported the candidacy of General Olusegun Obasanjo, his role in the victory of President Obasanjo when personally invited by the General to strengthen his campaign as an acknowledged political strategist; the making of Vice President Atiku Abubakar; and his appointment as Minister of Federal Republic of Nigeria in charge of Works and Housing.
Two Issues that the author addressed with a lot of introspection are the tag of “Mr Fix It” and the circumstances that led to re-nomination of President Obasanjo for the election. It is evident that Anenih enjoyed being called or addressed as ‘’leader”. In his words “my past records and antecedents show clearly that I have always led well and those whom I have led appreciated my leadership qualities. If such people refer to me as leader, of course, I will accept it. It is by performance and not something you buy from the market. If you have not earned the position of leadership and you are called a leader, you would be ashamed to answer it. It was General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua who gave me that name when he was campaigning for his presidential nomination. I earned it. I did not buy it. I did not seize it or force it on people.”
Unlike his acknowledgement of “leader”, Chief Anenih is not too favourably disposed to the tag of Mr Fix it . Readers in page 165 of this autobiography will read his total disapproval of that appellation. According to him:
“I am aware that some people call me ‘Mr Fix it’. I think such people call me that name, either in contempt or in admiration. It is possible that they are being mischievous. A few questions arise here. Am I “Mr fix It” as a reformer or someone who always does things right? Am I being portrayed as one who gets things settled or fixed? Am I being held out as someone who, by hook or crook, achieves results with the belief that the end justifies the means? In any case, I do not enjoy this appellation. I have always believed in what I do and I always make sure I achieve successes, without listening to the crowd of voices. If I am called an achiever, that sounds more complimentary, satisfying and positive than the ambiguous impression, which ‘MR FIX it’ Connotes”
Any keen follower of political developments in Nigeria will be captivated by the author’s narration of how the plot to stop President Obasanjo’s re-nomination for 2003 election was thwarted largely through his instrumentality. The reader will appreciate how certain information hitherto considered as rumours have been confirmed by Anenih in this book.
In Chapter 10 of this book, Mr. Achiever, Anenih, took time to capture his legacy. This is something that appears to be lacking among Nigerian leaders and politicians- a sense of history and the significance of legacy in governance. To have been able to meet the targets he set for himself is not only worthy of commendation but a cause for admiration. When you have been involved in coronation of Presidents, enthronement of governors, blazed the trail as a Minister of Federal Republic of Nigeria, led political parties successfully at state and federal levels, chaired the B.O.T. of the largest political party in Africa, you are no longer simply a leader, you are, undoubtedly, an institution. These are the legacies that are well chronicled in this autobiography.
But beyond politics, there are also legacies of philanthropy, of traditional nobility as Iyasele of of Esan land. Over and above all these is the legacy of fidelity to friendship. Anenih, in his acknowledgments, painstakingly mentioned all those who impacted his life story one way or another.
The litany of names lend credence to his belief in enduring relationship and loyalty to friendship
One noticeable lesson that flows from this book is the obvious advantage or edge the author has as an autobiographer over those who have either failed to document their thoughts at all or who left their destiny in the hands of biographers.
Chief Tony Anenih alluded to the challenges of an autobiographer when he stated as follows in page 197.
“One serious problem, which is difficult to overcome and which confronts anyone attempting to write his own biography is the inability to praise oneself, without being regarded as over – stepping the bounds of decency and modesty. It raises the question of how far one can go in exposing one’s qualities and achievements without being accused of exaggeration, unwarranted encomiums and intemperate self adulation. Quite a lot of people, therefore, refrain from writing their autobiographies. Some even go to the extent of refusing to grant interviews to speak about themselves or answer questions requiring an elaboration of their life’s achievements. But if one remains guided by the limits of truth which, most of the time, is public knowledge, the constraints in an autobiographical account can be minimally overcome.”
This is Chief Tony Anenih’s words on the marble, which will endure for all times. It is also an invitation to our statesmen, leaders and members of the political class to strive to render an account of their stewardship by writing their autobiographies.
This autobiography is in readable prose, elegantly crafted and devoid of stylistic infelicities.
The use of pictorials added colour and vibes to the book. The reader will appreciate the use of Appendix to present original documents, which, ordinarily, can only be found in the archives of a dramatis personae .
Your Excellencies, distinguished ladies gentleman,
It gives me great pleasure therefore to present this world class autobiography to the Nigerian reading public and the world at large. Generations of Nigerians yet unborn will derive immense pleasure in ready this autobiography of a highly distinguished Nigerian, a consummate politician, quintessential statesman, a leader, achiever, philanthropist, humanist, officer and gentleman, traditionalist, business mogul, Iyasele of Esanland and an illustrious Nigerian who bestrode our political landscape like a colossus and left an indelible footprint in our national consciousness. -
Argungu Festival shines at UNESCO’s session
The famous Argungu fishing and cultural festival has been inscribed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
The inscription was made during UNESCO’s 11th Session of Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).
The festival was finally adopted into the Representative List of the Safeguarding of ICH of Humanity, following its nomination. It was adopted at the session held at the Conference Hall I, United Nations Building, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Amid critical assessment of the Nomination File by the evaluation body, the Executive Secretary/CEO, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Dr Barclays Ayakoroma said an amendment to the dossier was sponsored by Palestine, based on added information from NICO. It was defended by Senegal and adopted after receiving no objection from states’ parties.
Ayakoroma, who led Nigeria’s delegation to the ICH conference, said the adoption was an honour to Nigeria.
Ayakoroma said in his appreciation speech: “Nigeria is a country of over 170 million people; with abundant festivals. Our beloved country, has a diversity of cultures that have not been given the needed attention. There are hundreds of thousands of edifying cultural practices and expressions that demonstrate the diversity of the Nigerian people. Consequently, there is the need to raise awareness about their importance through inscription on the Representative List.
“The Argungu Fishing Festival is just one among the numerous fishing festivals in the country. This is a festival that started as a community initiative. In the words of Ibrahim Hussain’s Kinjeketile, “A man gives birth to a word; the word grows… and it grows bigger than the man who gave it birth”. Today, the Argungu Fishing Festival has gone beyond a village gathering, attracting and unifying people nationally and internationally.”
While citing Nigeria’s two cultural elements on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, he called for more to be safeguarded.
“Mr Chairperson, there are cultural elements in various communities in Nigeria that require urgent safeguarding measures for them to be sustained for future generations to come. We believe that the ICH programme is a veritable window for us in Nigeria, and indeed Africa, to bring to the fore our unique cultural endowments. We like to recall that, so far, Nigeria has only the Ifa Divination System and the Ijele Masquerade on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. These two elements were inscribed in 2008 and 2009, respectively; while the Oral Heritage of Gelede, a multi-lateral element with Benin and Togo, was inscribed in 2008. Today, we have made history with the inscription of the Argungu Fishing Festival on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.”
He restated the delegation’s commitment to documenting Nigeria’s intangible cultural heritages. He said: “The Nigerian delegation reiterates its position to be more committed to carry on with the documentation of our rich and cherished intangible cultural heritages. The elements are there in abundance. We have the will; and as the saying goes, ‘Once there is a will, there is a way’. We will further strategise and make a rebound in the preparation of more Nomination Files on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.”
The evaluation body had approved only two of five of the Nomination criteria, meaning that the file was to be referred to another Nomination cycle; but, according to Ayakoroma, the Nigerian Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Ambassador Maryam Katagum, “never gave up and insisted that NICO, the UNESCO Focal Agency on the ICH in Nigeria needed to provide additional information as an Amendment for the file, which was done”.
With him to defend the nomination of the file were Mrs Edith Okoro (Delegate Counsellor, Nigeria’s Permanent Delegation to UNESCO); Mr Ibrahim Lawal (Coordinator, NICO North-West Zonal Office); Mr Law Ikay Ezeh (Deputy Director/SA-ES); UNESCO accredited Nigerian ICH Advisory Experts, Mr Joseph Ogieriakhi (WACIPR); Dr Casmir Ani (CEPPER); Mallam Babagana Abubakar (KDA) and Dr Marie Agatha Ozah (Executive Board Member of the International Council of Traditional Music, ICTM).