The Nation Newspaper

Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

  • Lokoja’s untapped treasures

    Lokoja’s untapped treasures

    Some of the colonial monuments in Lokoja the Kogi State capital are suffering from abuses and neglect. They are begging for rebirth, writes Tosin Makinde who notes that the midwife of Nigeria’s amalgamation in 1914 Lord Lugard used to live in Lokoja.

    Remember those famous colonial monuments in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital? They include the late Frederick Lord Lugard’s residence and office, Iron of liberty, Mount Panti, the cenotaph, the oldest school, prison and hospital in northern Nigeria.

    All these monuments make Kogi the state with the highest concentration of colonial historical relics and monuments in the country. But, lack of interest and patronage from the people and the government are threatening to throw the glory they brought to Lokoja into the dark alley of historical obscurity.

    Aside poor patronage, some of the monuments’ premises are being abused by people who have turned them into dump sites. The development is making the state to lose internal revenue that would have been generated from tourism.

    But one of such monuments brings back old memories of colonial administrator’s living environment. Sitting in his colonial-styled British-made arm chair, the late Frederick Lord Lugard is spotted dressed in his highly decorated British military colonial officer uniform. Inside his pent Rest House built strategically on top of the 458 metres Mount Panti, which beholds the majestic River Niger, he consistently filled his pen with ink. That setting was perhaps the needed ambience for him to write one of the most controversial colonial books, Dual mandate in which he stated that an average African “lacks the power of organisation, and is conspicuously deficient in the management and control alike of men or business…

    “Perhaps, the two traits which have impressed me as those most characterise of the African native are his lack of apprehension and ability to visualise the future”.

    Callous and untenable, one might want to argue about Lugard’s view of Africa and Africans, the present realities in Lokoja where majority of Nigeria’s colonial legacies lie shows that Lugard’s views could maybe true to some extent.

    How does one explain a situation where students of History and International Studies in Kogi State higher institutions cannot name nor describe the location or know the existence of those colonial monuments that define Lokoja and for which Lokoja is known? A lecturer got a shock when he asked his students about what they know about the colonial monuments in Lokoja and none of them could tell him anything tangible about them.

    It is not only the students that are showing indifference to the monuments in Lokoja. Some residents show same, thus, giving credence to what Lugard said in his book that Africans.

    One fact is that Nigeria’s colonial history is woven around Kogi State, particularly Lokoja remain incontestable. But one worrisome fact is that the people care less about the existence or significance of these monuments, which if well maintained could fetch the state fortunes as tourists’ sites.

    For Abdul, a Motor-cycle operator in Lokoja, the only thing he knows about the cenotaph, which was erected in honour of soldiers that fought in the First and Second World wars is that it is a place where soldiers converge in January every year for match past. He does not know where the colonial cemeteries are located.

    Abdul is not the only culprit in this show of ignorance. According to Mr. Samson Oyetunde, a staff in one of the universities in Lokoja, it is not that the people don’t know of these places but they know next to little about what they represent or their significance. “We know that these monuments are there but we don’t know what they stand for or what they symbolise. We don’t put them in mind”

    To him, it is the government that should take the initiative in creating the needed awareness about the significance of these monuments to the development of Lokoja and Kogi State in general. “If the government is proactive and comes up with initiative that aim at creating awareness for these monuments, the people will change,” he said.

    However, the General Manager, Kogi State Hotels and Tourism Board, Mr. Olowolayemo Joseph thinks differently about the state of the monuments. To him, the people’s lackadaisical attitude towards the promotion and celebration of these legacies cannot be justified saying that government has put in place various programmes aimed at creating awareness about these monuments and gearing up the interest of the people. “The attitude of the people is uncalled for, it is a sad situation that even foreigners care and show more interest in our legacies than our people do,” he lamented.

    He said that among the initiatives of the government in ensuring the promotion of the significance of the legacies is a programme on youth sensitisation on the Nigerian Television Authority among others.

    “NTA usually shows clips of these colonial monuments every day before reading the News. We are also planning to launch a book during this centenary period titled ‘Nigeria in the eyes of Lokoja,’ which will be available to the public and help increase the awareness,” he revealed, stressing that one cannot talk about Nigeria history without mentioning the city of Lokoja.

    True. Writing Nigeria colonial history without the mention of Lokoja will only amount to half measure not with the array of first Governor-General of Nigeria, the late Sir Fredrick Lugard leftovers. It was reported that it was in Lokoja that the name of Nigeria was coined by Miss Flora Shaw later Mrs. Lugard while admiring the majestic River Niger.

    Not wanting to do away with some of the colonial legacies of the city, the seat of the state government used to serve as Lord Lugard’s office and residence.  It retained its original structure with minor renovations as the ambience at the entrance to Kogi State Government House speaks volume about it.

    In 1900, the Charter given to the Royal Niger Company to administer Lokoja since 1866 was revoked and the protectorate of Northern Nigerian  was declared with Fredrick Lugard as the High Commissioner. The spot where that revocation took place is still standing till today and it is marked with a concrete pillar measuring about 2 ½ metres tall. The European and African Cemeteries in Lokoja are another set of colonial monuments worthy of visiting. Here Europeans and Africans missionaries and soldiers were buried in three different places within Lokoja Township- harbouring about six hundred graves.

    Lokoja was also a very important town during the slave trade era especially after the abolition of the trade by British government. It was in Lokoja that slaves that were rescued from Slave Merchants ship were set free. The spot where such slaves were freed from slave merchants is marked with two pieces of iron poles referred to as ‘Iron of Liberty”, a crusade championed by the late Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther, this Iron Of Liberty is located inside the compound of Crowther Holy Trinity School.

    In the area of colonial education, Lokoja can boost of being in possession of acclaimed oldest school in Northern Nigeria –the Holy Trinity (Bishop Crowther) Primary School constructed in 1865 by the Church Missionaries Society (CMS) and still in use till date as the Holy Trinity (Bishop Crowther) Primary School.

    Other colonial monuments that will make one wonder why the people and residents of Lokoja hardly take note of them or take interest in them are the Graveyards of deposed Northern Emirs who were deposed to Lokoja for refusing to be used as agents of colonial masters, the Lord Lugard’s senior staff quarters, which are a set of prefabricated buildings whose materials were brought from England and being used today as the office of Kogi State Hotels and Tourism Board.

    Probably the most celebrated tourism treasure and rightly promoted and made use of by Lord Lugard during his time but not being used to its fullest by the government and the people in today’s tourism world is Mount Panti. Overlooking the Niger River and hemming the town westward is the towering Mount Panti standing 458.3 metres or 1,500 feet above sea level with a stretch of 15 kilometre square plateaus. This wonderful gift nature bestows on Lokoja overlooks Lokoja like a monolith making it possible to view the scenic plain that surrounds the city.

    His Excellency, the late Lugard so much fell in love with this natural beauty that he built his resting house on it from where he savoured the beauty of nature outlay in Lokoja.

    Other colonial monuments in Lokoja include the Oldest Hospital in Northern Nigeria, the Oldest Prison in Northern Nigeria, the Safe of the Oldest Treasury in Northern Nigeria and the Cenotaph erected in honour of the Nigerian and African soldiers who fought in World war 1 and 2.

    All these monuments, no doubt turned Kogi state into one with the highest concentration of colonial historical relics and monuments than any other sates in Nigeria. But the lack of interest and patronage from the people and the government is threatening to throw the glory they have brought to Lokoja into the dark alley of historical obscurity.

  • ‘Why I want to build 774 libraries’

    ‘Why I want to build 774 libraries’

    Dr. Raphael James, researcher and CEO of Center for Research, Information Management and Media Development in Lagos, has a strong passion for reading. In this chat with SULIAT ABODUNRIN, he speaks on his love for reading, why he founded a private library and a photo museum in Idimu, a Lagos suburb.

    Where did the twin ideas of the photo-museum and a library come from?

    The idea for the library came when I noticed that youths who patronised the business centre I owned then, would come with someone else’s result maybe Senior Secondary School Examination (SSCE) or General Certificate of Examination result, and they would demand for a typist  and a sheet of paper. They would use it to cover the person’s name, then write their name on that particular result and make photocopy. So, I started asking them, when you use somebody else’s result to look for a job or gain admission, how are you going to defend it? Then I realised that the problem we are having, especially in our educational system, is not about passing exam, it’s because we don’t read, then I decided to start a library, hoping that the library would give people an opportunity to get access to books.

    How about the museum?

    Nigerians do not document history. This is particularly depressing because for you to move forward you should know where you are coming from. I understand that in most schools in Nigeria today, the history of Nigeria has been removed from their curriculum which is very terrible. A good number of youths today do not know anything about the history of Nigeria. So in order to fill this gap, the idea of the museum came up.

    How did you start?

    For over six years now, I had been compiling some pictures. But along the line, I lost the pictures when my system crashed. But I didn’t give up, I lost more than three thousands pictures. I started all over again. We have over ten thousand pictures telling the story of Nigeria and I thought that it would do no good if I have the pictures in my computer, the world won’t see it, I wanted a place where I could exhibit them and that was how the idea of the museum came up. We got an apartment and it’s been capital-intensive, the first time I realized we had spent over 2 million naira, I got worried and I started asking myself, are you sure you are doing the right thing, I remember querying myself so much that I thought that I had wasted money, but the encouragement I get when people come around goes a long way to show that they appreciate what I am doing and that has kept me going. We are trying to set the record correct and we are trying to make the history of this country to be updated, if you visit the national library in Onikan, you would discover that the last set of pictures there are photographs of when Nigeria had only 12 states and we are talking about more than thirty years back so there’s no improvement. Recently, I made a tour and I visited about three other museums, I was at the National Museum in Benin, I saw the pictures there and I told that I have 99% of their pictures, at the National War Museum in Umuahia,

    Is that concept from your working experience at the government house?

    Not really, like I said, the whole idea or part of what I regard as training came from my first job, when I left the university, I worked with Newswatch Communications Limited, and I was employed in their Special Project department. In fact, they used to call us The Newswatch Dream team and part of our job in Newswatch was to provide research material, based on the ongoing project, the Newswatch Who is Who in Nigeria and occasionally, we did provide research materials for the editorial team I want to come in as a research consultant to document their past publications and they accepted so that was where the idea came from that if media houses are actually lacking these process of getting information and if I can start it, probably, I might survive on it.

    Has there been any assistance in the past, either by the government or anybody?

    The government has not assisted in anyway but individuals have. The Rotary International once donated about a hundred books to the library, they sent some representatives who came and checked around and they said they love what I was doing; the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs have also sent a representative to the library and they donated about a hundred books too, the National Library also sent some representatives all the way from Abuja but they have not responded up till today, as that is more than five years now. There was an elderly man that donated a set of encyclopedia to us, he was just passing by and he saw the library and he said that he could scarcely believe that in his lifetime, he would see a library in Ejigbo, so he donated a set of encyclopedia and took me to his house, he told me had two set of encyclopedia, but he would donate one set and he would watch if I don’t fold up in one year, he would donate the second set. Unfortunately, after the first six months of the donation, there was a fire incident in his house, and the other set of encyclopedia in his house got burnt, so we missed that one.

    What is the link between psychology and media and where did the zeal come from?

    During my youth service year, I wrote two published books and my HOD called me told me that I was going to be a good researcher and I didn’t like it then. He probably said that because I was doing a lot of research job even as a student  that I didn’t even realize it, I know as an undergraduate, I was probably the only student that did three projects for my final year project, I did one in year one. I did some research work during my years in school that earned me recognition from the HOD and I discovered I had so much fun doing them.

    So what are the challenges?

    What I would call the major challenges, then and now is that we have a poor reading culture. I know people would expect me to talk about finance. Yes finance is there but it is the least of the problem, what I see as the challenge is that people don’t come to read because even the little I have been able to provide or put together, people do not come to read them, I remember for the first six months or so, hardly did I see anybody walk in the building to read and even when student started coming in, they came because they either wanted to write the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE), Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination or General Certificate of Examination. On the other hand, when workers came in, it was because they were preparing for professional exams like ICAN, and immediately after the exam, everybody will disappear, so the library is there, and we had books. We were buying newspapers on a daily basis. At a point I thought to myself that this is wastage, because it was affecting my family, since I didn’t have any external sponsor.

    How can we revive reading culture?

    I think the government should provide libraries. Some people want to read, but because they either don’t have access to a library or they don’t have enough books or cash to buy the books. So I have one ambition of establishing 774 libraries in all the local government across the nation. If I am made the Minister of Education, I will establish these libraries without using federal government money, I would not demand one naira from the government but I will establish those libraries. I have been in this business so I understand how it works; I know what it involves so I understand how to go about it.

    So where did you get the photographs in the museum?

    What we did before we started gathering the pictures was that we first tried to understand the history of Nigeria, we then did a historical analysis of those who had played prominent roles in Nigeria and then gathered their names and the year which they operated, after that we …. The search took us into different areas, we consulted books, we consulted old magazines as far back as the 80s and the 60s we consulted old newspapers. Occasionally, we go online to search for the ones we don’t have. We also make visits like my recent visit to the museum, the pictures I didn’t have, I had to plead with them for an exchange programme, I offer them 10 of my pictures that they don’t have, for one of their own.

    Do you think both library and museum are serving their needs?

    I am convinced that these landmarks will live after me and for the sake of posterity; I want to be rest assured that I have, in my own way contributed to the sustenance of an intellectual community.

  • Duke presents N173 million to 37 antiquity vendors

    The Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Mr Edem Duke, has presented N173 Million to 137 antiquity vendors in Abuja.

    The vendors under the aegis of Artefact Rescuers Association of Nigeria (ARAN) had, on different occasions, sold rescued artefacts to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) for the past five years.

    Presenting the cheque  in Abuja at the weekend, Duke reiterated the resolve of the Federal Government to protect the artefacts, saying the payment was another means of checkmating illicit trafficking of artefacts.

    He enjoined the vendors and other stakeholders in the culture industry to partner with the government to ensure that the sector enjoyed its pride of place.

    The Director-General of NCMM, Mallam Yusuf Abdallah Usman, dismissed media reports that the failure of the commission to pay vendors was hinged on perceived corruption, saying the release of funds for such payment usually followed due process.

    His words:“The commission had to write through the minister of tourism to the coordinating minister of the economy for the release of intervention funds to enable us pay the antiquity vendors the outstanding debt owed them.”

    Commending the vendors for their patience, he added, “I want to particularly thank the vendors for their understanding and also request that they continue to keep faith with NCMM”.

  • Honeywell donates to orphanage

    Honeywell donates to orphanage

    Honeywell Flour Mills Plc has reiterated its commitment to positively impact on humanity by giving back to the society through effective Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. Managing Director, Honeywell Flour Mills PLc, Mr Lanre Jaiyeola noted that company would continue to support good cause in the society, especially those that have direct impact on human development.

    He spoke during a visit to some orphanage homes in Lagos where the company donated its products, equipment and cash.  The event also coincided with the Children’s Day celebration where the company sponsored a jolly train ride with children of select schools in Lagos. The train ride, which took off from Ebute Metta Station went through Oshodi, Ikeja, Abule Egba to Ijoko and back to Ebute Metta.

    Jaiyeola who described the trip as a delightful experience for the children, said Honeywell will continue to seize opportunity to make its impact felt in the society, listing such opportunities to include support provided sporting events, entrepreneurship programs, vulnerable groups, etc. “It is our own way of adding value to the people that we believe should have needs within the society, and our own way to alleviate poverty, suffering in the land”, he said.

    Among beneficiaries of latest gestures are the SOS Village, Isolo, Little Saints Orphanage and Bethesda Home for the Blind.

    Executive Director, Marketing, Mr Benson Evbuomwan said: “Every good organisation should have a corporate social responsibility on its objectives because we cannot do anything without the people we are serving. Everything is not just about buying our products, we should also be seeing to be improving the welfare of the people we are serving. We should be giving back to the community and there are so many ways we have been doing that”.

    At the orphanages visited, the founders and administrators were full of praises to Honeywell commending it for the humanitarian gesture, while also listing their areas of needs that require further attention. Common among their challenges include the need for more funding, renovation and building of new structures as well as more support from the government, individuals and corporate organisations.

  • My first encounter with Achebe, by Tambuwal

    My first encounter with Achebe, by Tambuwal

    Speaking literally, where did House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal first meet the late Prof Chinua Achebe? At the State House; university or the late author’s Ogidi, Anambra State hometown? None of these places. He first ‘met’ the late Prof Achebe in secondary school. Tambuwal spoke of his first encounter with the late literary icon when the 50th anniversary celebration train of Arrow of God stopped in Sokoto. Are there lessons for Nigeria to draw from the book? Yes, say guests, reports Evelyn Osagie.

    Nigeria was not left out in the world celebration of the 50th anniversary of Arrow of God, a  novel written by the late Prof Chinua Achebe.

    The book is being celebrated across 71 countries. The Nigeria leg held in eight cities – Ibadan (Oyo STate), Otuoke (Bayelsa), Abuja (Federal Capital Territory), Lagos, Awka (Anambra), Port Harcourt (Rivers) and Sokoto.

    Although the month-long celebration may have ended, its memory lingers.

    As in other cities, the one-day Sokoto event featured intellectual discourses, music, dance and drama. The  trying times Nigeria is going through, especially the abduction of  over 200 school girls, dominated discussions. To discussants, it is not too late to learn from  the book, if the tragedy of bad leadership that befell its main character, Ezeulu and his  community, is to be avoided.

    The event took place at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University.

    In attendance were the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Waziri Tambuwal; the Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji; the Catholic Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Revd Fr Matthew Kukah, who was represented by Revd Fr Victor Mordi; Senator Ahmad Muhammed Maccido; Ambassador Bolere Ketebu, who serves as in Ireland; Chairman, House Committee on Disapora, Honourable Abike Dabiri-Erewa and Sokoto State Commissioner for Information Danladi Bako.

    For Tambuwal, the event brought back fond memories of his university and secondary school days. Achebe’s contributions to national development through his works like Arrow of God, he said, has not only immortalised him but also ensured he lives on in the minds of many worldwide.

    “Just like many other Nigerians of my age group, I first met the late Prof Achebe through his books way back during my secondary school days. My interaction with this great Nigerian continued over the years through his many valuable contributions to the nation’s literary, political and social discourse in his many literary submissions. I also saw him as someone who was eager for Nigeria to attend high levels of democracy and governance. He also discussed albeit in a fictional way, the challenges of leadership and governance and how the abuse of both can lead to catastrophe.”

    Praising the organisers for  celebrating the icon and his ideas, the Speaker expressed the hope that, like him, others would borrow a leaf from the book’s lessons. Tambuwal said: “It is my hope that those of us who by the grace of God are today saddled with the noble duty of steering the ship of this great country will learn from the characters in this well accepted novel. This is more so in a year when members of the National Confab are looking for ways to salvage this great country of ours. More so as we prepare to decide on those who will take over the mantle of leadership of our country come 2015.”

    Revd Fr Kukah said Nigeria is the way it is because those at the helm have failed to heed the warnings in the late Achebe’s writings. While observing that the issues in the book remain germane 50 years after it was written, he urged leaders to hearken to the voices of the masses if they intend to remain popular and relevant. “Then as now, the themes he threw up, the troubling sense of turning and turning in the widening gyre, with the falconer not hearing the falconer, its consequences continue to confront us with evidence that we are learning very little as we witness things falling apart. Our political class can learn one or two things from this book. Ezeulu went against his people for his selfish interest, and that was what led to his downfall.

    “It is unfortunate that our nation did not heed some of the lessons in his writings, and that is why we are in the state we are today. The lesson here is that African leaders and politicians, nay, Nigerians, in this era of Boko Haram, must understand that it is their neglect of the common good that has opened the floodgate of our pain and suffering. It is time for us to retrace our steps before sunset,” Revd Kukah said.

    Noting that the teachings in the book can bring about the resolution of the problems facing the nation, the university’s Vice Chancellor, Prof Riskuwa Arabu Shehu, said this informed the school’s hosting of the event.

    Dr Ahmed, who gave the keynote address, said the book serves as guideline on leadership. “I am happy that this event took place when we are having the national conference. The mistakes that befell Ezeulu can be used as a guide to leadership, and, most importantly, our leaders should do what the people want.”

    Mrs Dabiri-Erewa said it was expedient that the leadership should get it right. She called for more women in politics, charging Nigerians to take back their rights to power by trooping out in large number to vote. “If every leader knows that one vote counts, they would sit up.And if the leadership gets it right, the followers will follow suit.”

    Ketebu, a former President of the National Council of Women Society (NWCS), said it is unfortunate that many Nigerians, especially the womenfolk, prefer to stand on the fence.

    To the women, she urged: “We seem to take a lot of things for granted. If you see power lay your hands on it.Women make up a large number of the critical mass of essential stakeholders in development.”

    In addition, she called for more proactive projects such as the quiz competition organised that held during the event, saying it is a way of reviving the dwindling reading culture in the country.

    “Since our children are not reading, fewer jobs are being created. I hope the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) can use the opportunity of this celebration to kick-start a revolution in the literary sector. I also want to see more of the quiz competitions, since it is one of the surest ways we can actually encourage our children to be reading more.”

    Other guests included Dr Kabir Ahmed of the Institute for Legislative Studies, National Assembly, Abuja; former House of Representatives member who doubled as the Chairman of the National Organising Committee (NOC) for the Arrow of God at 50, Dr Wale Okediran; a retired Permanent Secretary in the Presidency and author, Dr Bukar Usman; Vice-President of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Mallam Denja Abdullahi and ANA, Sokoto Chapter Chair, Mallam Kabir Assada, among others.

    Okediran expressed joy over the successes of the eight-city events, adding that they were geared towards reviving the reading culture in both young and old and eliciting national discourse on governance and leadership through the novel across the country. “As we celebrated the Arrow of God milestone across the eight cities, including Sokoto, we are used the opportunity to engage our scholars to dig deep into the book and bring out issues that could be used to foster national development. We are really glad by what we have seen so far. It also gave us the opportunity to emphasise the need to bring back the reading culture among our people, especially among school children.

    “That is why we organised a quiz competition based on the book for secondary school students in all the cities. I know all the success witnessed here today is chiefly because the late Achebe was an alumnus of this institution, having been awarded an honorary doctorate degree in 2009. I particularly praised the efforts of the university and members of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) led by Prof Asabe Kabir Usman towards a successful event,” he said.

    The quiz competition saw Zainab Busari of Nakowa International School came first, while Aisha Abdulkadir Mulid, also from Nakowa International School came second, and Jahu Nimeti Ekondo from Federal Science College, Sokoto, came third. The day ended with a staged adaptation of the novelby the university students.

  • Rally for Sofowote

    Rally for Sofowote

    A photography exhibition held at Freedom Park, Lagos, attracted eminent Nigerians. The fundraising event, RAYMOND MORDI writes, has rekindled hope for the continuation of the treatment of Motunlayo Adefunke Sofowote, a multi-talented philanthropist, who is recovering from cervical cancer in Germany.

    rom landscapes of mountains to trees, clouds, flowers, buildings on expance  of woodlands, birds in flight, sunset, and animals in action close-ups. All these were captured by Mrs Motunlayo Adefunke Sofowote, 67, in still pictures showing interesting facets of life in the world. The photographs were put on display at a one-week exhibition that ended on Sunday May 11.

    The exhibition, which took place at Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos, was put together by a group of friends of the beneficiary, Adefunke Sofowote Cancer-Fighting Fund Team. It was a subtle appeal to raise N35 million to continue the medical treatment of the ailing impulsive amateur photographer and founder/president of Glowing Channels Foundation, who is  in a German hospital battling with cervical cancer.

    In a terse foreword to the exhibition brochure, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka said it is the duty of all to ensure that Mrs. Sofowote’s memorable photos do not turn prematurely memorial.

    His words: “That memorable photos turn prematurely memorial? This is what we are all in common duty bound to prevent.”

    What is particularly interesting about the pictures is that majority of them were shot during this illness.  The pictures were taken over a period of time and in different countries and continents.

    According to Charles Ayo Dada, a member of the Adefunke Sofowote Cancer-Fighting Fund Team and coordinator of the exhibition, a few of the pictures are dated 2006 and 2010, but  majority of them were taken in 2012 and 2013, when she was already afflicted by the ailment. Similarly, in the midst of her battle with cancer on her hospital bed in Lubeck, in the northern part of Germany, she has written a book, her fifth book, titled “His Wondrous Presence: A Peep at His Greatness.” Indeed, Mrs. Sofowote indicated in a transcript of a recording published in the exhibition brochure that no matter the severity of the pain and the agony, “I shall remain happy, I shall remain cheerful, I shall remain committed in absolute confidence, in trust, of the Love of the Almighty Father.”

    With careful composition and appropriate lightening, she was able to produce a stunning record of beautiful photographs, which capture the beauty and fascination of nature in almost every conceivable guise. As Ajai-Lycett aptly puts it, “With this collection of photographs, Funke the naturalist, by force of will and thought, illustrates how everything in nature contains all the powers of nature, is made of one hidden stuff.” With this, Ajai-Lycett enthused, the photographer bears witness to the interconnectedness of the universe, which man as a creature is part and parcel of. “And so, here we are, at this exhibition, being entertained to a graphic realisation of the infinite abundance of the universe and how wonderful and comprehensive is the plenty of the Divine Universal Mind,” she added.

    Mrs. Francesca Emanuel also noted that the title of one of the photographer’s poems, A Peep at His Greatness, is the thematic chord that runs through the entire collection. Her words: “Combining visual content with poetry, she suggests to us that we contemplate the complexity, wonder and vastness of nature, either in its detail or in gross, and realise how insignificant we may seem as part of a Greater Whole. Yet as humans with the ability to think, to contemplate these things, to consider them philosophically and spiritually, Motunlayo reminds us that therein lies a manifestation of the Almighty in the Everyday.”

    In a way, the pictures at the exhibition looked very much like paintings. Dada says such effect is the hallmark of a good photographer “because photography is also art when you take it to a very high level.” He noted that Mrs. Sofowote obviously has a heightened sense of beauty to be able to capture such rare moments that would have eluded a lot of people. “First and foremost, she was able to capture such rare moments through the lens of her spirit before allowing the camera lens to capture it,” he told The Nation, adding that basically that is what happens to a painter. His words: “First, a painter would visualize his subject and sees with his inner eye something worth capturing, before putting it down on canvass or some other medium. In photography, the person taking the shot must be able to recognise a unique moment and capture it for everyone to see.”

    The idea of the exhibition was conceived in January by Mrs. Sofowote on her hospital bed in Lubeck, Germany. By that time, the need for a large pool of fund to finance a crucial aspect of her treatment had already become palpable. As a sensitive and considerate woman, she did not want a situation where she would be going cap in hand, begging for money without giving back anything in return. “Even though many generous donors had already latched into the idea of donating towards her treatment and her extended stay in Germany, it is more prestigious for her to give back something in return, so that there would be balance. Even if what she is giving is disproportionate, at least she has made an effort to reciprocate,” Dada noted.

    But, the Adefunke Sofowote Cancer-Fighting Fund Team  started planning for the exhibition mid February. The effort was succesful in spite of the fact that photography is not widely considered as a form of art yet in this part of the world. Though a group of artists such as Uche Edochie, James Iroha and photographers like Sunmi Smart-Cole have made photography very appealing, with their pioneering efforts in that regard, the idea is still novel in Nigeria. As a result, the Nigerian art collector would feel more comfortable relating with an original work of art more than he would relate with photographs as a form of art. This is perhaps due to the fact that a photograph has the potential of being replicated, so it can be argued that it is almost semi-craft.

    The exhibition, which took place under the theme, ‘She Lives On!’ attracted eminent Nigerians, including the wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dame Emmanuella Abimbola Fashola, Prof. J.P. Clark, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, Olusegun Ajanlekoko, Prof Duro Oni, Dr. Abayomi Aiyesimoju, the Fadesewa of Simawa, Oba Gbenga Sonuga, Taiwo Ajai-Lycett among others.

    Leader of the Adefunke Sofowote Cancer-Fighting Fund Team, Dr. Lateef Adewale Ogunbadejo said Mrs Sofowote chose the theme of the exhibition. By choosing to float the exhibition under the theme, ‘She Lives On!’, Dr Ogunbadejo, who is also the Medical Director of Aniyun Hospital, Gbagada, Lagos, noted that Mrs. Sofowote probably sees the possibility of her own experiencing being used to fight cancer for others in the future.

    The ailing Sofowote has spent the last 16 years providing succour for the needy and less privileged, through her charity, entertainment and merit-recognition organisation, Glowing Channels Foundation. The 67-year old woman is a bundle of talents. She is a writer, singer, motivational speaker, administrator, organiser, trainer in corporate practice and etiquette and an impresario.

  • Museum collections make connections

    Museum collections make connections

    The theme of this year’s International Museum Day Celebration is Museum collections make connections, which is a reminder that museums are living institutions that help create bonds between visitors, generations and cultures around the world.

    The interpretation of this theme is that museum collections, which represent the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment, are vehicles for or means of communication to its visitors.

    Little wonder that the President of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the umbrella body for museums and museum professionals all over the world, Prof. Dr. Hans Martin Hinz while emphasising the significance of this year’s theme said that “museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples”. This assertion is particularly instructive and relevant to the state of the Nigerian nation before the civil war when the people’s ignorance made them frown at cultural practices and material culture from certain geographical areas which tended to undermine the unity of the country. But with the adoption of the Federal Government policy after the civil war to have, at least, a museum in each state capital, there has been a change of mentality, attitude and widening of horizon through exhibitions of admixture of museum objects from different parts of the country to make a statement that there exists cultural affinity amongst the Nigerian tribes though tongues and tribes may differ.

    With the proliferation of museums in the country, there has been an explosion of connection facilitated by museum collections through exhibitions, educational study materials etc. in our various museums. The corollary of this is that more people are being edified and informed and thereby demystifying the stereotype beliefs held about people who do not belong to the same cultural group. What is more, the museum exhibitions have been able to bring to the fore the similarities in Nigeria’s cultural heritage which has helped to douse intolerance and suspicion and bring about peace and mutual understanding among peoples of diverse culture.

    Museums serve a variety of useful purposes. As professional repositories of tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment, they have become firmly established in societies. Among other things, they are particularly suitable environments for the collection, preservation and interpretation of objects of every kind. This in turn, makes them valuable sources of information for reference and research. In the area of information explosion, museums can and do speed up the process of acquiring information because collection of original objects invite discovery and pull together threads of what is known. Thus, museum collections are an especially valuable and veritable avenue of international communication in a world of many languages and dialects as well as widespread illiteracy. This is because the visitor, through the displays is urged to see what he knows or does not know, to know what he sees, and in the process he may discover he knows more than he thought he had known or that he knows nothing. In this way, ideas buried in the mind come forth to fit into the jigsaw puzzle of learning.

    Museums as the treasure houses of human race store the memories of people, their cultures, their dreams and aspirations. The increasing importance of resurgent national, regional and local identity where museums can serve to reflect objectively change and continuity in traditional cultural values and development is of critical significance in museum development. Museum collections have a key role to play in providing an understanding of identity and a sense of belonging to a place or community. In the face of immense and often painful cultural change in many countries owing to colonialism, museums through their collections can provide a valuable sense of connection by preserving the past, capturing the present, serve as a spring board for inspiring the future, projecting culture and tourism.

    Museum collections are also vehicles for cultural exchange among nations in a world divided by phoney cultural barriers and restrictions. Museum collections have been able to bring about cultural exchange among the nations of the world.  Following the International Council of Museums recommendation on the exchange of cultural property in 1976 for museums to encourage cultural exchange between nations in the face of stiff opposition to the return of cultural property or its restitution in the case of illicit appropriation to its countries of origin championed by UNESCO, tremendous success have been achieved in this direction which has helped to douse tension on the volatile issue and bring about mutual understanding and enrichment of cultures. A few examples will suffice here. In 1979, Nigeria went into cultural exchange with Hornimann Museum, Forest Hill, London through exchange of Nigerian objects prominently ere ibeji (twin statuettes) in return for Nigerian past currencies when she wanted to stage an exhibition titled “Money in Nigeria” curated by late Prof. Ekpo Eyo, the then Director of the Federal Department of Antiquities and later Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments. The cultural exchange profited the two countries to the extent that it did not only enrich their collections spanning the time of the loan but also broadened the understanding of visitors to Lagos and Hornimann museums and by extension facilitating access of both countries to material culture that would have been inaccessible and which were not available in their respective collections.

    But more importantly, museum collections have in recent times become an instrument of cultural diplomacy arising from the connection they facilitate. This is not surprising because museums are the only institutions in the world that employ the use of objects as universal language for communication. It is against this background that many museums, especially in the third world countries, have begun to use objects in their collections to speak to members of the international community with a view to understanding them better as well as correct certain misconceptions about her peoples. The bronzes of imperial Benin, the Nok terracottas, the Igbo Ukwu bronzes, the naturalistic Ife bronzes and terracottas, the Tsoede monumental bronzes, the Owo terracottas, the Ikom monoliths to mention but a few have become Nigeria’s cultural ambassadors and even a show window to the outside world. They speak, not only to Nigerians alone, but to mankind and in so doing have helped to shape international opinion about Nigeria.

    A good reference point of how museum collections can be an instrument of cultural diplomacy can be gleaned from the exhibition titled “Treasures of Ancient Nigeria: Legacy of 2000 years” which toured Europe and America in the 1980s for about six years. Decades of European scholarship had portrayed Africa as a man without a past, no history, no art and no science and consequently relegated to the dim world of stone age culture and folk art which they dubbed as ‘primitive’ because knowledge of it was confined to wood sculptures which are known not to last for more than one hundred years in the tropics. The import of this misconception was that these objects were made by persons with no artistic training and residing in cultures of a low order of social development. Owing to this lack of knowledge of different facts of African art which has robbed Africa of its rightful place in the artistic hierarchy of the world, the exhibition under reference was able to debunk certain misconceptions widely held in Europe and America about African art. The exhibition, everywhere it went, attracted multitude of international visitors not only by their intrinsic beauty but also by the revelation that Nigeria’s art tradition is as old and rich as those that constitute the hall mark of European civilization. The exhibition was able to extol the universality of man and his creativity which the Europeans had completely ignored in their myopic arguments.

    Against the backdrop of this year’s IMD theme, it is my considered view that the celebration calls for a sober reflection and stocktaking both on the part of the management of the museum institution and the supervising government ministry. They need to ponder over some pertinent questions in view of the low ebb to which the establishment has sunk over the years since the departure of the ‘fathers’ of the museum service in Nigeria which terminated at the glorious epoch of late Prof. Ekpo Eyo, the first indigenous Director of the Federal Department of Antiquities and Director General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments. These include, but not limited to, whether the primacy and integrity of the museum collections are still being maintained in terms of care and use of collections, ethical consideration for museum collections, selection of dictated personnel and putting the right pegs in the right holes, relevant staff training and development, vigorous research work across the country and publication, settlement of antiquities vendors, pursuit of aggressive educational activities in all museum stations just to mention a few. These, to my mind, as someone who has seen it all in the museum service, are mind-boggling questions begging for answers.

    There is no gainsaying that things have gone awry in the National Commission for Museums and Monuments; a situation that calls for urgent surgical intervention to stem the tide of decadence.

    In fact, my heart bleeds anytime I x-ray the state of the present museum service in Nigeria which had experienced what I can refer to as Eldorado during the times of Kenneth C. Murray, Bernard Fagg and late Prof. Ekpo Eyo. May their gentle souls rest in peace. It is for this reason that I consider the IMD theme of this year’s celebration as not only auspicious but also contentious within the context of the Nigerian museum service today. If our museum collections must continue to make connections as ICOM experts, the malaise that is inherent and destroying the Nigerian museum service today must be addressed for the benefit of mankind because our heritage speaks not only to Nigerians alone but all humankind. Remember that a good museum is assessed by its collection.

    Except for the regimes of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo when he was the Head of State and Executive President respectively, it is unfortunate that successive governments in Nigeria since after independence have always treated cultural matters with a wave of the hand. Whereas culture is the fulcrum of any meaningful development of a nation for in the words of late Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the celebrated Afro beat musician, “if you do not know where you are coming from, you will not know where you are going”.

    Government should pay more attention to her cultural facilities by way of empowerment to enable them carry out their statutory responsibilities. The status and standing of many countries today is to a large extent measured by the attention they pay to their cultural facilities. International tourism and the widespread economic gains it brings now represent a major reason for investment in museums.

    Therefore, realistic support for museums in terms of adequate resources to allow for effective staff training and development programmes, proper standards of collection care and management, timely restoration of monuments such as Museum of Traditional Nigerian Architecture (MOTNA), and other monuments and sites high quality facilities of different sizes and a commitment to seeking new audiences through well considered marketing programmes is essential if the museum service is to flourish to the benefit of the country and mankind. A stitch in time saves nine!

     

    •Akanbiemu is Resident Curator, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta

  • ‘Insurgency is product of bad governance ’

    ‘Insurgency is product of bad governance ’

    The whereabouts of the over 200 abducted Chibok schoolgirls remains unknown, 51 days after their abduction. In this chat with Senior Correspondent Evelyn Osagie at a literary event in Ikenne, Ogun State, the Editorial Board Chairman, The Nation, Mr Sam Omatseye, spoke on this issue and others.

    Do you see what is happening now, especially the insurgency, as a repeat of history going by what happened before the Civil War?

    The insurgency is a more complicated issue. The insurgency is a product of bad governance, especially in the North, over a long period of time. It is a product of Nigerians moving into a psychology of self-help. In Nigeria, we have been helping ourselves with so many things: we have been helping ourselves with water, electricity, education, transportation, accommodation and employment. We have been in a situation where individuals have been involved in a lot of self-help. Violence is also another manifestation of self-help. They are using violence to get whatever they wanted. And they seem to be dangerously committed to it and getting away with it.

    This is what has led to the kidnap of the 276 girls at Chibok. Even at that the government’s immediate reaction did not show leadership. The president has not inspired anyone: he is acting as though there is no emergency. He went to dance Azonto when mothers cannot find their wards that were taken by randy bigots. We don’t have a country and we are just pretending.

    It appears that the future is bleak and Nigerian youths are worried. Where do we go from here?

    Nigerian youths today are very irresponsible. When we were students in the university, if this kind of abduction happens, the whole country will shut down. University students now do not act as though the kidnapped students belong to their generation. What are they doing with their time? They are involved in “yahooyahoo” and all kinds of resort to self-help and so on.

    In those days, for matters that were not even as grievous as this, we’d shut down the country. We made sacrifices because we knew that the country belongs to us.

    Over 200 youths are missing. The only people protesting are elders. Where are the young people? We have seen the mothers protesting across the country; what are the young people doing about the abuse of their own generation?

    Youths are suffering from self-abuse. I am not saying that the youths are the only ones responsible for this problem. My generation created the problem for the present generation. After protesting and showing the sense of responsibility when we were young, we got into position of powers and we have forgotten the values that we fought for. But the younger ones need to regenerate themselves; that was what we did when we were young. We separated ourselves from our leaders and parents and said: “we wanted a society that was better”.

    Don’t you think their reaction is a result of their disillusion towards a country that seems not to care about their plight?

    Then, the youth need to fight for themselves for what is right for the country and for s better tomorrow.

    What do you think of the North’s positions on revenue allocation to be reduced to five per cent and on separation of power?

    Reducing the oil revenue of oil producing states to five per cent does not bear relevance to the fact that the people who own the oil are supposed to have their oil. In a true federal state, those who produce should enjoy it. When you are producing 100 per cent and you are only getting 13 per cent, it is an insult to the people who are producing the oil. And still some are saying that the 13 per cent is too much. I think that such statement was very provocative and irresponsible. It does not really pursue any agenda of national unity or national sensitivity.

    That the North funded the civil war was even a false claim. They created the Civil War. On what resources did they fund the war? At the time of the war, Cocoa was booming in the South-west; we had rubber and farm produce in the East and in today’s Niger-Delta, where there was already oil. We had groundnut in the North then, which was just a subset of our large natural resources. But to say that the North funded the civil war is untrue.

    They did not even know how to fight the civil war. The North is a vast territory with a lot of natural resources. But their leaders are building a feudal state of hunger and exploitation of resources.

    Some say the conference is dead on arrival, others say its a repeat of what others, like the ‘Oputa Panel’, sought to achieve. What is your take?

    The conference is just an opportunity for some to fret out emotions. There is nothing going on there that is unique. We don’t have a national conference. We don’t have a real template for what we are to do. Watch out for what is going to happen with all the discussions that happen there! As always, it is going to amount to nothing. It is just a place for people to vent emotions, arguing over resource control, devolution of powers.  Do the people who are there even represent Nigerians? They were handpicked by the elite to discuss elite’s problems. Does the ordinary man have a say on who is there?

    Even the journalists did not know who were there to represent them. I am a top editor in Nigeria, but I had to know much later who would be representing the Nigerian Guild of Editors. That place is not representative of anybody. It is just a group of people coming together to collect N4 million a month and then waste our time.

    Sir, what advice  would you give to best curb insurgencies?

    We need to hold France to account.

    Why France?

    During the time of Charles de Gaulle, all French-speaking countries in Africa, except Guinea, went into an accord to get protection, economic co-operation and all sorts of agreements to subject themselves, even though they had Independence, under the French government. France has an overwhelming influence over the French-speaking countries in Africa. If we want Cameroun to work with us and they are unwilling, we need to hold France responsible internationally, in fact blackmail them, if the need be, internationally and make them do to Boko Haram, in those place like Cameroun and Chad, what they did in Mali to wipe out the insurgence there. They can do it if they want to; but we need a leadership that understands geopolitics to do that.

    Having said that, if they say Boko Haram is outside Nigeria, and that they operate outside and run inside, when they are inside, what have we done to hold them in? It is one thing to say that a rat spoils what you have in your kitchen. Why not block where the rat is coming from? Even at that, you have to know how to deal with the rat when it comes to your house because that rat is already under your control. The same logic should be applied when dealing with Boko Haram.

    Imagine the scenario where men went to school and abducted over  200 students; it is not like having just a few students taken away in a private car. It was like a convoy. How did that happen in a state of emergency? It’s like vehicle after vehicle, moving through town. How did that happen in a state of emergency? Have we answered that question? Did we have to wait till the world started shouting before we could understand the brunt on our national ego or before spurring into action. We are just not serious.

  • Nigerian artists’ works break London auction sales record

    Nigerian artists’ works break London auction sales record

    From May 20 to 22, the British arts community held top flight art events-auction, tours of Tate Modern Gallery, Buckingham Palace and dinner in London to mark Nigeria’s centenary celebration, reports Assistant Editor (Arts) Ozolua Uhakheme.

    EnowNed Nigeria artists’ works were the toast at the London Bonhams auction, Africa Now. Prof. Ben Enwonwu’s 1976 master piece, Princess of Mali and Yusuf Grillo’s Woman with Gele broke auction sales record.   Princess of Mali led the pack with the highest price of £92,500 followed by Woman with Gele  that fetched £80,500 against a pre-sale estimate of £30,000 to £50,000. Also, Grillo’s The Flight went for £62,500.

    Both works of Grillo were described by director of Contemporary African Art at Bonhams, Mr. Giles Pepiatt as ”undoubtedly the finest examples of the artist’s work to appear in the open market in the past decade. But, the organisers said the Africa Now auction, which featured other African artists resulted in sales of works by Nigerian and Ghanaian artists especially totalling in excess of £1million and saw new world record prices for 10 different African artists.

    Other artists auction records included a graceful sculpture by Bunmi Babatunde (£31,250), a 3D triptych by Peju Alatise (£17,500), a market scene by Ablade Glover (£15,000), a chair made of decommissioned weapons by Goncalo Mabunda (£10,000), a coffin in the form of a Porsche by Paa Joe (£6,500) and paintings by Amon Kotei (£9,375), Aboudia (£9,375) and Uzo Egonu (£9,375).

    Bonhams Head of Contemporary African Art, Hannah O’Leary, commented that ‘since our inaugural Africa Now auction five years ago, this market has gone from strength to strength. While artists from at least 15 African countries were represented, the top prices were reserved for the best pieces by the Nigerian Masters, which seems appropriate for a country celebrating their centenary and that recently became Africa’s largest economy’.

    The celebration also attracted some of Nigeria’s great writers to London’s October Gallery for an exploration of the country’s creative future tagged Nigeria Now: Innovation and Imagination. The writers at the literary evening included  Associate Professor of creative writing at George Mason University, regular Guardian UK reviewer and author of Waiting for an Angel, Measuring Time and Oil on Water,  Helon Habila, Nkem Ifejika, BBC World Service reporter and presenter, Chibundu Onuzo, the youngest woman novelist ever to be signed by Faber and Faber, winner of the Betty Trask Award and shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and Commonwealth Book Prize and Ike Anya, a Nigerian public health doctor and writer.

    Others were Ike Echeruo, an investor focused on Africa, a Co-founder and Managing Partner of Constant Capital, a leading African investment firm, Abidemi Sanusi, an author, photographer, budding film-maker and founder of Ready Writer Ltd, Abemi’s novel, Eyo, was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize in 2010, Feye Fawehinmi, works in financial services in the UK for the past 8 years, Zainab Usman, a doctoral candidate in International Development at the University of Oxford and  Jude Anogwi, the artist behind the installation piece on the event invitation. Jude is director of Video Art Network and is currently working with the British Council in collaboration with David Dale Gallery, Glasgow as part of the Glasgow 2014 cultural programme for the Commonwealth Games.

    The literary evening was chaired by Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, an independent editor, critic and broadcaster whose work has appeared in British newspapers including the Guardian, Independent, Observer and Telegraph. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and was awarded an OBE in 2011 for services to the publishing industry.

    Minister for Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, representatives of the UK government, the British Council and the Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK, Dr Dalhatu Sarki Tafida were at the events, along with many other government officials, culture enthusiasts and business personalities.

    Chief Duke considered the power and impact of a nation’s culture on its place in the world, saying: “Nigerian art and culture has proven to be our commonwealth. It defines the endurance of our harmony as a people. It strengthens the resilience of our creativity and provides the bedrock of the definition of who and what we are. It is the greatest collateral upon, which we must build the future of our great nation and rekindle the faith of our people.”

    The three-day programme began with a tour of the Tate Modern Gallery on London’s South Bank, with particular focus on the Meschac Gaba Museum of Contemporary African Art exhibition.

    Interestingly, Her Majesty the Queen of England has a long history of appreciation of Nigerian art, and of the work of Ben Enwonwu in particular. In 1957, he became the first African to be commissioned to sculpt her.

    So, it was a singular honour for guests to be given access to the Queen’s private collection at Buckingham Palace to see some of Enwonwu’s finest works.

    Pride of place among them was Rising Sun, a bronze representation of the Igbo practice of saluting the rising sun in honour of ChiUkwu, the Great Spirit. Bonhams notes “the noble figure is considered the pre-eminent expression of what Sylvester Ogbechie describes as ‘the aspirations of the Nigerian nation and Enwonwu’s personal intercession for its survival and growth’.

    A small-scale version of the famous work mounted on the façade of the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos, the current lot is one of Enwonwu’s most significant sculptures. The title Anyanwu (eye of the sun) invokes the Igbo practice of saluting the rising sun as a way to honour ChiUkwu, the Great Spirit.

    Enwonwu’s Anyanwu is commonly cited as among the artist’s most accomplished works, not only formally but also in terms of its positioning in Nigerian cultural history.  The sinuous bronze form is a masterwork of sculpture. The figure represented in Anyanwu is the powerful Igbo earth goddess Ani. In his depiction of the goddess, Enwonwu extends his exploration of the spiritual and elemental facets of womanhood – a theme prominent throughout his career.

    The first Anyanwu sculpture (1954-5), made for the National Museum, Lagos, was so popular that another was commissioned for the United Nations headquarters in New York (1961). Moreover, a smaller version, including the current lot, was cast in a small number from two different molds.

    Recalled that the late Ben Enwonwu once said: “I will not accept an inferior position in the art world, nor have my art called African because I have not correctly and properly given expression to my reality. I have consistently fought against that kind of philosophy because it is bogus.”

    The organisers noted that the events of Nigeria @ 100 have demonstrated the ‘power of Ben Enwonwu’s words as the Bonhams auction proved his point. Culture is at the heart of the way people perceive one another, and it is this that makes it such a powerful tool for diplomacy and advocacy. Nigeria @ 100 demonstrated clearly that when the Nigerian art community has the opportunity to ‘express its reality’ it can be a powerful tool in strengthening the alliance between Nigeria and the UK’.

    Among guests granted rare access to the Enwonwu collection were the Chief Duke, Director General of National Museums and Monuments Mallam Yusuf Abdallah Usman,  the General Manager of the National Arts Theatre, Alhaji Kabir Yusuf,  Chairman, Heritage Council,  Igho Charles Sanomi II and Funmi Ogbue, editor-in-chief of Fascinating Nigeria Magazine.

  • Rich country, poor people

    Rich country, poor people

    Book review

    Title: Rich country, Poor people

    Nigeria’s story of poverty in the midst of plenty

    Author: Prof Banji Oyelaran Oyeyinka

    Reviewer: Prof Kayode Soremekun

    This book by Professor Banji Oyelaran Oyeyinka speaks to these times. The book, titled: Rich Country, Poor People, has a familiar ring. In a sense, it is an echo of street wisdom on one hand and what can be called a particular version of another book by Terry Lynn Karl, who has done a much more generalised study-titled: The Paradox of Plenty: Oil Booms and Petro-States.

    Another difference is that Karl can be viewed as an outsider. Certainly, one cannot say the same thing for Professor Banji Oyelaran Oyeyinka. Indeed, if he must be described, one can view him as an outsider and insider. This much is evident from his own admission in the book’s acknowledgement, when he contends that this work is the outcome of his research experience and reflections over several years of working and teaching in Nigeria and within the international system, especially the UN system.

    Thus, flowing from the above, what runs through the book is the anguished voice of a patriot who incidentally and unconsciously admits to his patriotism by contending that he has been motivated in large part by a deep love for Nigeria. This is understandable if only because even if he does not admit it, there is a sense in which throughout the book we cannot but sense the comparative phenomenon. By comparative phenomenon, we refer to a situation in which from his base, Professor Oyeyinka in the course of his studies and work experiences has seen diverse social formations in their respective primary contexts.

    But clearly, Oyeyinka has done more than seeing, courtesy of his training and work experiences in places like Sussex, Maastricht and Nairobi, the question of the contrast between Nigeria’s opulence and her poverty must have been tugging at his mind. I have gone into his mind, but this familiar phrase must have been bugging at his mind: “why are we so cursed?” For those who are familiar with literature, the phrase, why are we so cursed is really a play on another phrase, why are we so blest. And talking of literature, what came to the mind of this reviewer in the course of reading this book is, Wole Soyinka’s book entitled: “The Interpreters”. For those who do not know “The Interpreters” as depicted by Wole Soyinka were members of the emergent and cynical elite in the early years of post independent Nigeria. If I may take into account generational dynamics, I can safely assume here that given the anguish and I dare-say vibrant pessimism of Professor Oyeyinka, one can easily assume that Professor Banji Oyeyinka is a member of the generation that can easily be called: The Post Interpreters. Unfortunately for the author, he could not unlike a Soyinka, take refuge in the world of fiction.

    Rather, and as can be seen in this book, what he has done, is to virtually confront head-long, the various indices of the brutalising reality in contemporary Nigeria.

    It is, therefore, not surprising to note that in the opening chapter with the title: Paradox of Penury in the Midst of Plenty, the author highlights factors like colonial legacy and what he described as the deepening poverty in the Nigeria social formation over the years. With facts and figures, it was revealed that between 1980 and 1996 Nigeria’s poverty level rose from 23 to 66 percent. In the same vein, it was demonstrated that GDP per person was 860 dollars while in 1996, it was 230 dollars. At the moment, it has been reported to be 290 dollars. Meanwhile, in numerical terms, 17.7 million people lived in poverty in 1980. Such a population rose to 67.1 million in 1996.

    As a follow-up, the author contends that in qualitative terms what has occurred is really a failure of development. But he quickly corrects himself by arguing that development has not really failed. Rather and according to him, development was not really on the agenda in the first instance! As true as the immediate foregoing may seem, I do not want to agree with the author. This is because, a close reading of the literature on our founding fathers and mothers, will reveal that they were indeed committed to development. Sure, there were free-loaders and carpet baggers among them, still some of them put in place some of the structures which constitute an integral part of modern Nigeria. I refer here to institutions like: the University of Lagos, the extension of the Railway line in the North and the building of the Ports in Apapa. In saying this, I am not attempting to take anything away from the narrative of the author, this is because in  subsequent sections, he goes on to dwell on what can be called the regression of the Nigerian state. In this respect, he argues that the notion of the developmental state routinely associated with East Asia is less of a phenomenon in Africa and by implication Nigeria.

    This regression coupled with the crisis of governance is, according to the author, mainly responsible for Nigeria’s failure to come to terms with her manifest destiny. Indeed, far from being a developmental state, it was revealed that ours is indeed a fragile state. This fragility is best exemplified in contemporary times by that fact that the on-going drama of the abducted Chibok girls has drawn in various indices of the International community. Meanwhile, and in another vein, the consequence of the industrial decline and low-level agriculture has given rise to a contagious issue: unemployment.

    According to the author Prof Oyeyinka symptomatic of the lack of industrial dynamism are the level and rates of unemployment rate. It was further revealed that the unemployment rate is seven times the population growth rate; meaning that not only is there dearth of opportunity for the newly employable but existing industries is also shedding jobs.

    The immigration test tragedy in which nobody has been brought to book till date aptly illustrates the deposition of the author. What is particularly instructive in this section of the book is the author’s intellectual pre-occupation and wrestling with the notion of poverty. Here he begins by giving us Seebohm Rowntrees’ definition of poverty … which according to him is a situation where total earnings are insufficient to obtain the minimum necessities for the maintenance of mere physical efficiency. He goes on to state that despite the controversy among scholars about the concept of poverty, all are agreed, that the poor exist in a state of deprivation, that to quote the author, “poverty is a condition in which the standard” of living of the individual poor falls below minimum acceptable standard. In this same section, we are treated to very comprehensive and novel conceptions of poverty.

    According to the author, and since Rowntrees definition, it is indeed possible to effect a taxonomy of poverty. Specifically here, the author has disaggregated the notion of poverty into various forms. These include: relative poverty, absolute poverty, the dollar-per-day measure of poverty; and subjective poverty. For this reviewer and particularly from the perspective of what can be called the national question; the most interesting of intriguing dimension is relative poverty. It was revealed that, the Northwest part of the country recorded the highest poverty rate in the country. This is something of a paradox because in a way, it speaks to the counter-productive nature of the Lugardian scheme. In more explicit terms, my puzzle here is this; in view of the data provided by Professor Oyeyinka and given the privileged access of the Northern elite to power at the centre, why and how have these areas turned out to be the poorest zones in contemporary Nigeria.

    Beyond the nature and content of poverty, is another interesting and abiding concern in the work. This time, the emphasis is on the elusive sociological cum economic animal: The Nigerian middle class.

    In this respect, the Nigeria in middle class as defined by the author is characterised by an average monthly income of N75, 000 – N100, 000 naira.

    And the profile of this middle-class was disaggregated along the following lines: education and work, attitude, car ownership, banking habits; spending habits, ownership of household appliances; travel habits, sources of information and perception about Nigeria. I am not too comfortable however with aspects of the quantitative identification as regards what constitutes the middle-class. That lower base of N75,000, as far as I am concerned is very unrealistic. In a context like Lagos, a salary of 75,000 naira for a family of four really puts that family on the edge of poverty. In the subsequent chapter, the author focused on a numbing and plaintive note by contending that Nigeria’s power elite has blocked every attempt at Nigeria’s industrialisation and the attendant structural transformation by corruptive actions that result in widespread abandoned projects. Such projects include: the iron and steel plants; sugar factories, expensive dams and fertilizer plants.