Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

The Badagry Heritage Museum was an idea conceived and executed by one of the greatest political icons Nigeria ever produced – Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress National Leader while he was Governor of Lagos State from 1999 – 2007. He inaugurated the museum on August 22, 2002 amidst jubilation and excitement by the people of Badagry. The museum was established as part of the attractions put in place to celebrate the then Black Heritage Festival which was originally inspired by Badagry historiography.

It was meant to be a memory site for the African descents in the Diaspora who were the main target audience of the festival. The intention was that through gradual re-integration and subsequent engagement of the diaspora a solid relationship that would culminate in positive prospects for the diaspora to engage in socio-economic development of the State would be engendered.

Such relationship would facilitate their involvement and consolidate their sense of belonging, and build institutions to implement coherent diaspora engagement policies for Lagos State. The Badagry Heritage Museum was then to serve as an integral component of attractions for the visitors.

The museum building was not purposely built. The building as it reflects today was a historical building built in 1861 as administrative block by the colonial masters after the Badagry Treaty of Cession signed by Great Britain and the King and Chiefs of Badagry. It must be stated that in history the building stands today as the first administrative building for the colonial administration in Nigeria.  It gladdened the heart of the people then that the building that had stood desolate and in steady dilapidation for decades was eventually converted to a purposeful use and that for this reason it was believed the structure will be preserved as historical monument. But the building since its conversion to a museum with some paltry renovation has continued to suffer neglect and depreciation even the contents, that is, the objects and material evidence it houses are not exempted.

There is no gainsaying the fact that the Badagry Heritage Museum has the most comprehensive collections on the history of the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade in Nigeria today. There is yet to be any such museum in Nigeria with the collections on slave trade as exhibited in the heritage museum. The concept of the museum as specific theme on slavery aimed at reconnecting the present with the past memory of the tragic slave trade in Africa using Badagry historiography was one of the greatest legacies of the Tinubu’s Administration in Lagos State. Tinubu, through the establishment of this museum has done to Africa and Nigeria in particular what the Israelis in collaboration with some international organisations have done with the history of the holocaust memorials by establishing Holocaust Museums all over major cities of the world both in America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. The intent is not to reignite vengeance or to celebrate the holocaust memorials but admonish humanity that never should such genocidal expedition of the Nazis under Hitler be allowed to plague it again. The history of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade which was greater in magnitude, scope, figure of casualty, and timeline deserves to be preserved for humanity and that was exactly what Tinubu has done with the establishment of the Badagry Heritage Museum. But simply because it was established in Badagry and the fact that the Black Heritage Festival which inspired its establishment is no longer what it was meant to be, the museum is not seen as legacy of value to reckon with by the past administration, particularly the Ministry of Tourism during the second term of Fashola’s administration. Hence its values and what museum stands for in real sense of the word continues to decline and depreciate in abject neglect and desolation. Right from the entrance of the museum from outside one could notice neglect all over the outside walls and the main gate to the premises which are being held by ropes! The bushy, dirty and dusty environment with shanties standing on the wall to the right and back of the museum within the premises corroborated this assertion.  The great potential of museums lies in the flexibility of the idea they project and the potential for continuous development.

A museum, according to International Council of Museums, is a non-profit making permanent living institution in the service of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education and enjoyment, the tangible and intangible or the material evidence of people and their environment. The modern museum is concerned about visitors’ experience, that is, visitor-centered issues: what visitors could experience, where we could see evidence for visitors’ needs and expectation and how the objects in exhibition could impact them. Virtually none of these criteria is met in the Badagry Heritage museum’s presentation as it stands today. For a stimulating visitors’ experience it is imperative to create an environment that supports the content; that is consistent with the intent of development, and keeps visitors experience as the top priority thereby putting up an exhibition that is engaging, reinforcing, comfortable, and meaningful to visitors’ experiences.

The establishment of the Heritage Museum in Badagry considering the three principle of context, content and container seemed perfectly conceived. There would have been probably no other place in Lagos State more deserving to house the Heritage Museum.  In the aspect of the context the heritage museum is situated in larger context which is Badagry itself reputed for its slave trade activities as a major slave market and port from where millions enslaved Africans were bought and transported to sugar cane plantations in Europe and the Americas.  The content of the museum refers to its array of collections which are specifically collections on the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade hence there is perfect interaction and correlation with the history of Badagry itself and the theme of the museum. The container which is the museum architecture/building is a historical building reflecting the vestige of history of colonisation in Nigeria.

But the state of this museum in relation to its present condition regarding its context, content and container is appalling. The micro context of this museum reflects very bad image of Lagos State as the environment looks un-kept and undeveloped. It’s absolutely lacking in aesthetics with no standard on-site amenities like good toilets, potable water supply, signs and labels, standard souvenir shops, litter bins, seating and disabled provision as well as relaxation facilities. The value of a successful museum lies in its potential to stimulate high qualitative visitors’ learning experience which will not only make them a new person but excite and enchant them to make repeat visits. This is no so of the Badagry Heritage Museum.

Apart from its contents which are not even properly and professionally conserved as many of the exhibition objects and images are withering and some already broken due to lack of due preservative attention, the container which is the museum architecture itself and environment it sits is in abject state of disrepair and dilapidation.

 

 

 

 

•Ex-Commissioner relives 16-day ordeal in kidnappers den

Four years after his kidnap, former Delta State Commissioner for Higher Education Prof Hope Oghenerukevbe Eghagha has broken his silence over his 16-day ordeal. He was a guest at the Faculty of Arts Seminar Series at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) where he read excerpts from Your Death Hour is 10 O’clock, a short narrative on the ordeal, which will form part of his soon-to-be published collection of short stories. In this chat with EVELYN OSAGIE, the professor of English, called for people-oriented job-creation programmes and a special anti-kidnapping unit in the army and the police to stop the lethal trade. 

Why did it take you so long to come out with this narrative?

It took me this long because I had to come to terms with what happened to me. It was a scary ordeal. I spent 16 days in the kidnappers’ den. This September will make it four years when I was kidnapped, but the incident is still fresh on my mind. I was not sure I would come out alive.

I also felt that I should come out with the narrative after I left the government, when I had pulled back a bit and tried to understand why it happened and what lessons I should learn. And, indeed, after that, I said let me go public with it. This is a short story, but subsequently I would do a play out of it. And I do hope that it would go into a film as well.

What lessons did you learn from your kidnap?

The first lesson is one must be close to God at all times. Another is one should not take anything for granted – anything you think you can do today, don’t postpone. It also brought me face-to-face to the very rough guys in society; and I saw the depth of their anger. It also brought me closer to ordinary people of society. But the overall thing is that it brought me closer to God.

Can you recall the morning the incident took place?

It is still very raw on my mind. When I left the house that morning for Asaba, the state capital, I slept off. When we got to Eku, I woke up, saw that we were in Eku and dosed off again, because I went to bed late the previous night. My wife and I had a prayer session from about 12 midnight till about three, so I didn’t sleep until past three. And then by half-past five, I was up again. Inside the car, as soon as we left Warri, I slept off, got to Eku, I woke up, then slept again. When I woke up again, we were in Abraka, then I slept off. Indeed, when I woke up finally and I found that I have been kidnapped, I thought we were still in Abraka. But we were in a very deserted area of the road, so I didn’t even know anything. I didn’t hear those shots – 11 shots as I counted later.

The way I’ve explained it is that God just shielded me because if I had been awake, perhaps I would have tried to take some steps and actions that would put me in harm’s way. But I was in a very deep sleep, such that shots are fired at your car and you don’t hear. For me, it was a very deep experience.

What goes through your mind each time they stepped into the room, saying “the death hour is 10 o’clock”?

Of course, when it started, it used to put fear in me – when the guy would say that “your death hour is 10 o’clock”. That scared me. But as it continued the first day, second day, third day, I said “maybe they didn’t mean it, they were just trying to put fear in me”. But you see when you are in that condition, there is no certainty about anything – anything could just happen.

 Did you know that you’d ever come out alive?

There was no certainty. Indeed, I said my last prayers three times – I didn’t say that publicly. Because they had so threatened me, I thought they were really going to kill me so I had said my last prayers three times. But, much later I found that they didn’t want to kill, they just want to threaten. But you know, sometimes death is accidental; sometimes, they don’t plan to kill. So, I give the glory to God that I came out alive.

 Have you been able to overcome the trauma?

I’m still on some of those pills. I saw the psychologist for three months and psychiatrist for six months. I was given some pills and kept taking those drugs. I was coming for a session here in UNIILAG from Asaba to see a psychologist for months; I wanted to understand what was happening. Abroad, it is the routine when one goes through such trauma; here in Nigeria, people don’t have the time to go and see a psychologist or counsellor; they feel they don’t need it. But I do need. So, I go evaluate myself. Mental health is very important. Your attitude to things; how you react to pains, worry and bad news are important.

Going by your reminiscence earlier today, it appeared you had the premonition before the trip?

Yes. Somebody called my wife that they’ve sent kidnappers around me but I said when you are in government, you’d hear all kind of things – they’d tell you all kinds of stories. If you live your life guided and guarded by those people and determined by prophesies and warnings, you are not going to go anywhere in life.

 You also said one of them described your place.

Yes. What it means is that they’ve had connection with me before that day. He described my house – the building. He was asking some very personal questions about the house. And incidentally, about eight months before then, my security man told me that a group of four boys came to the place in an Audi car without a plate number and they were asking “where is your Oga?” And he told them that I hadn’t been there for three months. And then, this happened later. So, I’m sure that they had gone to look at the place and knew my house before they struck. I don’t have any belief that it was organised for any political reasons. They were hoodlums looking for money.

 Seeing that the boys had been spotted at some point checking the place, especially by the security, one would have thought such would have inspired some level of preparedness and safety consciousness. What does it spell of general safety/security consciousness?

Kidnapping is a worldwide phenomenon. Over 500 people are being kidnapped in America every year. Why it is so prominent here is that Nigeria already has a bad name. So once it happens, they say: “there they go again”. For me there should be a people-oriented programme that would create jobs for the young. Also, the security network should be better: a special unit on intelligence should be created in the police and army. And anti-kidnapping squad created so that they can evaluate kidnappings. If, for instance, the rate of kidnappings goes up in Yaba, for example, somebody should be able to say, “last week a new criminal moved into this area”. And then they pick up the person. Intelligence gathering is very important. These are not spirits. They are boys; you can easily pick them. So our security agencies still have to do a lot of work.

Should we be expecting a novel on your experience soon?

Yes. It is out in a short story form but I would do a full-length work on it.

 Why the choice of the ‘third person’ narrative?

It is because I wanted to detach myself as Hope Eghagha from the major character. That way, you could say and do certain things, express certain thoughts and ideas that people would not necessarily attribute to you, then you’d be very free. But if I use the ‘first person’ narrative, it would just be taken that everything that I’ve said is something that I have put together.

What is next for you?

I am back to my classroom as a teacher. I’m here. I am still writing.

Besides this short story, what new work should we be expecting from your stable?

I am working on a collection of short stories, poetry collection and a biography on somebody.

 Which of these will come out first?

I want the short story collection of about 10 stories with the title Your Death Hour is 10 o’clock to come out first. It’s captivating isn’t it? Look out for it.

 

The fight against diarrhoea got a boost when Reckitt Benkisser, the world’s leading consumer health and hygiene company, upped its commitment to its eradication among Nigerian children. The intervention could not have come at a better time than now when the nation is battling other health challenges, such as polio, Lassa fever and HIV/AIDS.  But, what are the socio-economic implications of its multi-billion naira partnership with the Federal Government to fight the scourge? Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports. 

Unknown to many, diarrhoea is much deadlier than AIDS, malaria and measles combined as it kills 2,195 children daily. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention described diarrhoea as a common illness and a global killer. Diarrhoea accounts for  one in nine child deaths worldwide, making it the second leading cause of death among children under the age of five. For children with HIV, diarrhoea is even more deadly; the death rate for these children is 11 times higher than the rate for children without HIV.

Despite the sobering statistics, strides made over the last 20 years have shown that in addition to rotavirus vaccination and breastfeeding, diarrhea prevention focused on safe water and improved hygiene and sanitation is not only possible, but cost effective: every $1 invested yields an average return of $25.50.

According to the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF), the diarrhoea prevalence rate in Nigeria is 18.8 percent and is one of the worst in sub-Sahara Africa and above the average of 16 percent. Diarrhoea, it said, accounts for over 16 per cent of child deaths in Nigeria and an estimated 150,000 deaths mainly among children under five occur yearly. It is mainly caused by poor sanitation and hygiene practices.

Respiratory infections kill another 240,000. The body observed  that trends in the past five years allow for cautious optimism that significant progress will be made in reducing  the number of people globally, who practise open defecation.

According to the Director of Project, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria –Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health, Remi Adeseun, no fewer than 195,000 children died of pneumonia while about 150,000 lose their lives as result of diarrhoea in Nigeria yearly.

Diarrhoea is also closely linked to mal-nutrition, a condition that is associated with more than half of all under-five deaths. Undernourished children, in turn, have compromised immune systems and at higher risk for developing pneumonia – which also contribute to high children mortality in the country. This chain reaction illustrates that good hygiene practices such as hand washing are critical for child survival and development

In fact, 2008 was declared by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Year of Sanitation with the primary objective of mobilising both political and financial support for accelerating progress on sanitation development.

In Nigeria, the Hand Washing Campaign is one of three targets outlined in the Action Plan developed by stakeholders for commemoration of the 2008 International Year of Sanitation (IYS). The two other targets are creating enabling environments to sustainably expand sanitation and hygiene programmes and construction of one million latrines.

 

Timely Interventions

 

However, it is not all gloomy for the Nigerian children. Already, the federal government in partnership with other NGOs and corporate bodies is determined to eradicate diarrhea among children. Recently, Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, who admitted that these are tough times, assured that Nigeria has an ambitious plan to introduce new life saving vaccines over the next several years to tackle children related illness such as polio.

On January19, in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, Reckitt Benkisser upped its commitment to the eradication of diarrhoea among Nigerian children with the announcement of a multi-billion partnership with federal government to fight the scourge of diarrhea among Nigerian children. This was disclosed when officials of the company paid a courtesy visit to the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo where they presented the ‘Save a Child a Minute’ N7.2billion  programme to him. Under the programme, Nigeria will receive N1.2 billion towards creating what the company called, a Healthier and Prosperous Nation.

The RB delegation included- Rahul Murgai, Managing Director, RB West Africa; Andrew Fleming, Deputy Head of Political Section, British High Commissioner and Patty O’ Hayer, RB Global Head of External Communications & Affairs.

Others are  Chairman RB Nigeria  Chief Olu Falomo, Marketing Director RB West Africa Oguzhan Silivrili and Chief Financial Officer RB West Africa Alasdair Peach, Deputy Country Director, Save the Children Kwame S. Boate and  Director of Advocacy and Media, Save the Children Dr. David Olayemi.

Murgai stated that RB’s global vision is “to provide our consumers with innovative solutions for healthier lives and  happier homes”.

He disclosed that RB has been operating in Nigeria for over 50 years and remains one of the key priority markets for continued focus and investment. Accordingly, he maintained that RB has been working to create a culture of health and hygiene and is present in country with its portfolio of trusted brands like Dettol, Nurofen, Strepsils, Gaviscon, Durex, Harpic, Mortein, and Air Wick.

He said RB is not looking at the Nigerian opportunity over short term but see a longer term potential and that Nigeria will remain the epicenter for African growth and plays an important strategic role in serving and developing other key markets in West Africa.

“With Dettol, a trusted name among Nigerian households and mothers, we have been actively partnering with Ministry of Health, Nigerian Medical Association, Save The Children and other NGOs to create scaled awareness around good health and hygiene. As part of our ongoing commitment, we have already reached five million mothers and 3.9 million school children over last six years to improve maternal health and reduced infant mortality in line with Nigeria commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals.

“However, these interventions though in right direction, need much greater participation and scale from like-minded corporate NGOs and government if we were to build a truly healthier and prosperous nation.

‘’We believe that the implementation of National Health Act, Rota-Virus and Wash Policy will all contribute to making Nigeria healthier,’’ Murgai said.

The impact, according to the RB boss, is startling in human terms- as ‘one child dies every minute’ under the age of five from preventable diseases, specifically diarrhea.

“Accordingly, we are announcing the ground breaking ‘Save a Child a Minute’ programme in partnership with Save The Children and Lagos State government being piloted in Shomolu LGA where we are working to reduce prevalence and incidence of diarrhea by 50% and mortality by 80 percent.

“What  makes the programme ground-breaking is that for the first time, a holistic approach on the WHO Seven  point plan is being implemented in Africa. The knowledge is being shared with the Federal government in anticipation of creating a national movement to fast scale the programme,” Murgai added.

Speaking specifically on Dettol’s commitment to increasing awareness around the importance of adopting healthy hand washing habits among children, Murgai revealed that the Dettol School Hygiene Programme (SHP) which was launched in 2009 has reached more than 3.9 million children since inception with various education materials and school visits to enlighten the pupils on the importance of personal hygiene

”Every year Dettol reaches over 1million new moms in hospitals and 1million school children through hand washing programmes in schools to reduce infant deaths and improve maternal health through its Dettol grassroots hygiene programmes,” he said.

Not a few analysts agree that these joint interventions have become very critical as the Water and Sanitation Programme Research reports that Nigeria loses N455 billion yearly, which is 1.3 percent of the Nigeria’s GDP to poor sanitation and hygiene which increases the risk of disease and malnutrition.

Diarrhea disease remains a leading cause of mortality and morbidity of children in Sub-Saharan Africa, where unique geographic, economic, political, socio-cultural, and personal factors interact to create distinctive continuing challenges to its prevention and control.

A number of different social, political, and economic factors are present in Sub-Saharan Africa which contribute to the constant morbidity from acute and persistent diarrhea, as well as intermittent epidemics of cholera and dysentery common to this region of the world.

This continuing epidemic deserves sustained programmatic and research attention as international public health moves on to confront newer issues in infectious disease and the changing burdens of disease associated with the demographic transition.

There are a lot of scientific evidence showing the significance of hand washing at critical moments to reduction in diarrhea which is the second leading cause of death amongst Nigerian Children (after malaria). The most recent study indicates that hand washing can reduce diarrhea episodes by about 30% and up to 47% reduction has been achieved in some cases.

Globally, UNICEF is supporting 50 countries, including Nigeria, to implement Community Approaches to Total Sanitation (CATS) such as Community Led Total Sanitation. This is aimed at empowering communities to identify their sanitation challenges and take necessary actions to end open defecation.

Considering the critical role of healthcare system in a nation’s well being, no amount of partnership between corporate bodies and government will be too much in order to provide adequate and effective healthcare services to Nigerians especially the children under-five years. It is expected that multinationals and other corporate bodies should key into initiatives in critical sectors that truly touch lives.

Little wonder that four northern states refused to let down their guards in the fight to kick polio from the region even though Nigeria has been delisted from polio endemic countries. Recently, the states signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Dangote Foundation, a pact worth about $100million to provide technical assistance to eradicate polio in the region.

Aliko Dangote, while speaking at the ceremony in Kaduna, hailed the fact that Bill Gate believes that immunisation is life-saving, cost effective and a cornerstone of every primary health care system.

 

Prevention and control

 

There are key measures to prevent diarrhoea, which include: access to safe drinking-water; use of improved sanitation; hand washing with soap; exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life; good personal and food hygiene; health education about how infections spread and rotavirus vaccination. Diarrhoea is usually a symptom of an infection in the intestinal tract, which can be caused by a variety of bacterial, viral and parasitic organisms. Infection is spread through contaminated food or drinking-water, or from person-to-person as a result of poor hygiene.  Interventions to prevent diarrhea, including safe drinking-water, use of improved sanitation and hand washing with soap can reduce disease risk. Diarrhea can be treated with a solution of clean water, sugar and salt, and with zinc tablets.

 

Causes of diarrhoea

 

Infection: Diarrhoea is a symptom of infections caused by a host of bacterial, viral and parasitic organisms, most of which are spread by faeces-contaminated water. Infection is more common when there is a shortage of adequate sanitation and hygiene and safe water for drinking, cooking and cleaning. Rotavirus and Escherichia coli are the two most common etiological agents of diarrhea in developing countries.

Malnutrition: Children who die from diarrhea often suffer from underlying malnutrition, which makes them more vulnerable to diarrhea. Each diarrhea episode, in turn, makes their malnutrition even worse. Diarrhea is a leading cause of malnutrition in children under five years old.

Source: Water contaminated with human faeces, for example, from sewage, septic tanks and latrines, is of particular concern. Animal faeces also contain microorganisms that can cause diarrhea.

Other causes: Diarrhoea disease can also spread from person-to-person, aggravated by poor personal hygiene. Food is another major cause of diarrhoea when it is prepared or stored in unhygienic conditions. Water can contaminate food during irrigation. Fish and seafood from polluted water may also contribute to the disease.

On Monday, the Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) will be 50. In this interview with reporters, BSN General Secretary/Chief Executive Officer Rev Richard Dare Ajiboye speaks on the society’s achievements and its challenges, among others. Joseph Eshanokpe was there.

Why are you celebrating?

Although we are celebrating 50 years, Bible work started in Nigeria in 1807 by The British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS), The American Bible Society and The Scottish Bible Society. The three of them were in this country. American Bible Society will be 200 years old by May this year while the BFBS was founded in 1804. This our building was donated to us by The British and Foreign Bible Society when they were in Nigeria. They were operating from here.

Between 1959 and 1971 we had three expatriate General Secretaries. Rev James Taylor, Ross Manning and Jacob Wood. The first indigenous General Secretary was Most Rev Dr. Joseph Soremekun; he took over in 1971. And from then till now we have had seven and I am the eighth indigenous General Secretary. When translation started, the first Bible to be published was the Efik Bible in 1868 but in 1965 the then Eastern state Governor Sir Akanu Ibiam agitated for the establishment of a Nigerian Bible Society and in February 8, 1966, The Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) was formed. Since then we have been doing our best to translate the word of God. In addition to what was done by the ABS, BFBS and The Scottish Bible Societies, we now have the complete Bible in 24 Nigerian languages and this year we should be able to add the 25th.

We are celebrating the goodness of God to us as an organisation. If I am the eighth General Secretary, having eight succession is not a joke. For an organisation to pass through such generation of leadership and still standing in an environment like ours in Nigeria, it is not a joke. In our Bible distribution, in 2000, we distributed less than 300,000 Bibles in a year, but last year we distributed 2.3 million copies. In translation, before now, we have never completed any translation project in less than 38 years, but we started some projects last year and we are trusting God that before the end of 2020 we should be able to dedicate them.  These projects are Epie and Ogbia Languages in Bayelsa State. We are also starting this year Okun Bible Language translation. The language is spoken in Kogi State. We believe God that these projects will not take up to 12 years to complete.

For an organisation that depends on donations, considering the nature of things in the country to survive for 50 years, it is the grace of God. That is why we have to celebrate. This would kick off on January 31, with a thanksgiving service at the Cathedral church of Christ, Marina. On February 2, we would be in Enugu for a lecture to be delivered by Most Rev Emmanuel  Chukwuma to be chaired by Chief Emeka Anyaoku and on the 4th in Abuja for a lecture to be delivered by Bishop Matthew Kukah. It will be chaired by General Yakubu Gowon and on the eighth in Lagos, a lecture to be delivered by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and chaired by Mr Felix Ohiwerei. On February 6, a luncheon with staff and former staff and our donors. On February 5, a Mary Jones’ Walk to replicate what Mary Jones did in 1804. She was a young Welsh girl who loved the Bible so much and the parents could not afford it. So, she would go the church to read, but not satisfied, she was going to the house of a neighbour to read. Her parents could not buy, so she saved money for six years to buy the Bible. She walked a distance of 40 kilometres to buy the Bible. When she got to the place, the only Bible left had been paid for by a priest. When she was told, she broke down. The person selling the Bible had to arrange accommodation for her because it was late and gave her the copy, saying that the person that had paid for the Bible would wait until they got another consignment. So, we want to demonstrate what she did that led to the formation of Bible Societies. When the priest that sold the Bible to her got to London, he narrated his experience and asked the people, why don’t we form an organisation that will make the word of God available and be waiting for people, rather people waiting for Bible? That was how the British and Foreign Bible Society was formed in 1804. On the sixth we have another thanksgiving at Fountain of Life Church.

We intend to give out 100,000 copies of the Bible free if the funds are available. This will cost us N50 million. We will unveil our legacy Bible. It is meant to be handed over from generation to generation. This process of bequeathing it can last as long as 200 years.

What does it take to be executive officer of this organisation?

Well, it takes the grace of God. Before now, I thought I had known much about leadership having occupied leadership positons at different levels, in this organisation until I became the General Secretary; I now know better. To influence people, for an organisation like this, you need the help of the Holy Spirit. You need also to be deeply rooted in the Word of God. You must be able to balance discipline in line with the word of God. I have seen that in a Christian organisation, people do not believe that discipline should be maintained. They will remind you that the Bible said we should love our neighbours as we love ourselves. So as a leader you should know when to draw the line and discipline people with love. Besides the spiritual competence, occupying this position requires that you have sound leadership competence. Now I have to think of how to pay the salary of about 200 staff members and, for me,  to do that, will not an easy task. It requires leadership competence. So, it means you must be versed in leadership skills. You must be sound in both educational and professional competence. Your attitude to money, women must be impeccable. You must have a good home to occupy this seat because you must be of good example to others.

Does BSN have a printing press?

Our business is not like the secular businesses because we are not profit making. We do not have a printing press because we cannot afford it. I went to China to find out the cost of a small press that can print two million copies of the Bible in a year. It will cost about N2.5 billion to buy such a machine. We do not have such money.

What are BSN’s challenges

My greatest challenge as the CEO is funding and the second challenge is piracy. If I have fund, I will drive away pirates out of the market.

How has BSN contributed to national growth and development?

In Nigeria we are near zero when it comes national growth or economic development. Nigeria is one of the poorest countries in the world. Her per capita income is very low. When we talk about economic growth, it is about increase in Gross Income or our Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  In essence what other companies produce in a year can increase in terms of volume but if it does not translate into the personal life of people, in basic amenities, we cannot claim to have economic development. Translating to having housing, basic needs, transportation, security etc will mean economic growth and development. Let me relate BSN to national growth and development. In BSN, we are contributing to securing our culture. Somebody said that the death of a language is the death of a culture. Some of the languages that are dead today are dead because they did not have any orthography. They were not in any written form so when the older generation that could only speak the language pass on the language dies. Nothing for anybody to refer to. We have translated to 24 Nigerian languages and are working on 13 at the moment at the cost of N40 million per translation project. By this, we are securing the language and culture of the country. Culture, to a large extent, is communicated through language. By translating, publishing and distributing, we employ people and pay them salary. We pay salary of over 200 staff, helping them earn income which contribute to economic growth. We pay the Customs to clear our Bibles; we pay the shipping companies. So with all these, we are contributing to national growth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Nigeria, most of the spirits of the dead ancestors are represented by masquerades wearing masks, headdress and ancestral figures. The ancestors are believed to continue to exercise control over the living. It is believed that these ancestors return to earth from time to time to judge, punish, curse and bless the people.

There are many ancestral figures from various ethnic groups in Nigeria, such as Osamasimi wooden head from Owo, Ikenga wooden staff from Igbo people of the East, Haba ancestral figure (Alusi) from Anambra State, Edjo wooden ancestral figure of the Urhobo in Delta State and Ekpo mask in Akwa Ibom State.

The ancestral figure of the Mumuye people, named after the people of Mumuye, is believed to protect them from diseases, sicknesses, theft and bless them with abundant harvest whenever sacrifices are offered. These sacrifices are for protection from danger as well as clean their lands of evils.

With a population of 70,000, the tribe is located in Northeast of Adamawa State.  They occupy the Adamawa province – between Jalingo and districts of Modo-Balewa and Maio-Feran. They are the predominant tribes in Zina, Turro, Ardo, Kola, Lau, Gassul and Gasharka. It is believed that the Fulani invented the term Mumuye, which means the people.

These groups of people were pushed into their areas during the Fulani holy wars, which extended from the 17th century into the early 19th century; they have a lot in common wit their neighbour. They fled southwest into the hills of Eastern Nigeria, where they divided into communities that remained relatively isolated from one another.

The isolation forms the village area of local groups. They started living in hamlets. It comprises some extended families which are related to each other.

The major occupation is farming and hunting and it is done by both sex. The people are very strong and hard working and you hardly know the difference between a man and a woman when it comes to work.  They are the largest producers of yams, millet and March, nothing can be grown on the soil. Then the soil is a scrub like land. Millet is the basic crop in the region and is used to make flour and beer.

They comprise small villages made of one or two extended families and the spouses who have married into those families. Individual lineages are identified with a totemic spirit that is metaphorically embodied in certain animals. The families that might be unrelated may develop political ties, because they both belong to same spirit. The result of this relationship is decentralised power structure that permits the member of each totem groups mentioned above to be of primary importance in Mumuye religion. For a lineage, membership in a certain group is defined by the group to which their ancestors belonged.

Offerings and sacrifices are made to the family ancestors to appease the ancestor and then, thank them especially during harvest seasons.

 

Mumuye ancestral god

 

The Mumuye ancestral god is a wooden figure made of males and females. In tradition, it is believed that our ancestors are our fore-fathers when they are on earth. Those that lived good lives before they died, their spirits are invoked on the wooden figures  where they are used for worship. The Mumuye ancestral gods are involved in their  activities of the people because sacrifices are  offered to the ancestral gods for their works and intentions. Each family has an ancestral figure that prevents them from evil.

The Mumuye ancestral god is worshipped by the family; every family has ancestral figure and as such have desires for them. Daily, prayers and sacrifices are offered for their need. There is a Mumuye ancestral figure for the community, which protects the village from harm. It cleanses the land from danger. The sacrifice is done during the festival held once a year. During this period, every family will bring out his Mumuye to the resting place of their ancestors (grave). The priest in charge of the community will stand and everybody will bring his offerings and sacrifices to appease his Mumuye .

Thereafter, the Mumuyes will be returned to their families, but the community Mumuye stays at the resting place of their ancestors (grave) and the priest of Vabo/Vodosu is the custodian of the community Mumuye.

These deities are used to put married women in order. A wife that disregards her husband, the husband of such wives will connive with the head of the kindred to send the masker to the house at night, the masker will speak through the horn and accuses the woman for depicting the Dosu, because she despises her husband. She will be warned to amend her ways.

These deities are used to keep the young uninitiated lad in order. The masker always  appear with whips and he will chase stubborn recalcitrant boys or anyone who has the effrontery to remain within his reach.

In this aspect, each kindred escorts their masker to another kindred’s quarter at night by doing this, they exchange gifts in the name of genius and the other kindred in due course returns the compliments.

Another benefit gained by the people during the celebration is the bush cow mask dance. It signifies a secret society whose main purpose is to ask the ancestors who are associated with the bush cow for abundance and agricultural fertility.

 

The importance of the

ancestral gods

 

The Mumuye people believed that the skulls of their ancestors is considered the resting place of their souls. The carved wooden statues (Mumuye figure) represent the dead and are placed near the skull of the deceased persons. It is believed that the spirit is able to enter the statue, which can be transported into the house where it is involved in their lives.

 

• Nnadi is of the National Museum, Lagos.