The Nation Newspaper

Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

  • Ngor’s heritage narration

    Ngor’s heritage narration

                                       Book review

    Title:                      NGOR: A Historical, Cultural, Pol;itical and Socio-Economic Analysis

     Author:                Jossy Nkwocha, Ph.D

    Pagination:         120 Pages

    Publisher:            Igbo Heritage Foundation Publishers Inc.

     Reviewer:           Chikodi Okereocha

     

    As a history graduate and a journalist, I was quite curious to read this book entitled NGOR: A Historical, Cultural, Political and Socio-Economic Analysis, authored by Dr. Jossy Nkwocha, former General Editor of Newswatch magazine.

    Books of this nature are usually very controversial because to x-ray the historical, cultural, political and socio-economic analysis of a community will involve stepping on many toes.

    In a very crafty manner, Jossy meandered the minefield of Ngor history and politics. As a senior journalist, Jossy deployed seductive prose to make the book quite compelling to explore his community, Ngor, one of the 28 autonomous communities in Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State and the ancestral headquarters of the Ngor-Okpala people, the acclaimed food basket of Imo State.

    I must confess that after reading the book, I came to the conclusion that Jossy Nkwocha wrote a great book that has the potential to transform Ngor community positively. The book is divided into three parts, namely the historical, cultural and socio-economic analysis; historical events to remember; and a 13-pont roadmap for development.

    Part one begins with a map of the community  the first of such. From the historical perspective, the author traced about 500 years of Ngor’s existence to show that the ancestors were brave warriors that were feared by neighbours. This gave rise to the saying, “Onye je Ngor nga chi jiri”, meaning “who will go to Ngor at night to commit crime.”

    Ngor was so prominent that it became the foundation stone of naming the clan called Ngor-Okpala. The book showed why Ngor people are self-esteemed people who usually introduce themselves as “Nwa Ngor Eze-Ogboro”, meaning “prince or princess of the Ngor royal dynasty.” The book also brought out, for the first time, the history of Umuneke Ngor, the headquarters of Ngor-Okpala-Okpala, which is fondly called “Ekeneze” — a people known for their aggressive lifestyle.

    From the cultural viewpoint, the book projected the rich cultural heritage of the Ngor people. It threw up an intriguing ceremony called “Akaraka Ngor” an annual event at which a jar of palmwine goes round the entire celebrants of about 350 persons.

    The political dimension is likely to arouse the greatest interest of most readers. Jossy depicted Ngor community as being politically backward, and suffering from dire political exclusion. He extrapolated his thesis to include the fact that Ngor-Okpala is supposed to be three or four LGAs as some other clans in Imo State.  A map of Ngor-Okpala vis-à-vis that of Imo State provided in the book is eloquent evidence that indeed Ngor-Okpala is being marginalised politically.

    In the social sphere, Jossy’s book explored the traditional marriage system in the community, the traditional criminal justice system, resolution of disputes, and security through community policing. The author proved that in the olden days, Ngor people had a good social system that ensured peaceful co-existence.

    Part two of the book, chronicled the emergence of Christianity and western education in the community, the Biafran war as it affected Ngor people, the Umuohie-Umuanyika wars tht claimed many lives in the community and the biography of a great man called Okere-Onyeoma who single-handedly built a road to link Ngor to Aba-Owerri highway.

    Part three of the book is perhaps the greatest contribution of Dr. Jossy Nkwocha to the Ngor community. He outlines 13 areas of intervention needed to transform the community economically, politically and socially.  According to him, these include functional education, entrepreneurship development, a positive mindset, community mobilisation, market development, the power of Diaspora indigenes, and so on. Jossy concluded by proposing what he calls Ngor community anthem, dripping with fervent Ngor spirit and consciousness.

    Finally, the book contains some historical photographs that would certainly excite many Ngor people, especially the pictures of their first university graduates, the man whose action stopped the Umuanyika-Umuohie war and the legendry Okere-Onyeoma.

    The book, NGOR: A historical, cultural, political and socio-economic analysis exposes Jossy’s deep sense of Ngor-ness in him, his uncommon love for his community, and his rare capacity for research and seductive prose. With this book, Jossy Nkwocha has put his Ngor community on internet and global literature. Apart from a few typographical errors, I find Jossy’s book quite readable, and commendable to all and sundry. Indeed, Ngor will surely be better!

  • ‘Nigeria’s situation fuels my creativity’

    ‘Nigeria’s situation fuels my creativity’

    One of Nigeria’s foremost design artists and a lecturer at the School of Arts, Design and Printing, Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) in Lagos, Mr Raqib Bashorun, has said most of his exhibitions were influenced by the prevailing socio-political and economic situations in the country. Such challenges fuel his creative energy to produce works of art, he said.

    “Touched by our indifference to our wasteful life styles, I embarked on this Evolving through Waste journey to advance through works produced, the gospel of cleansing all aspects of our life of this cancerous attitude. Believe it or not, we waste everything in this country; spiritual, material, labour, manpower, lives, energy, time, mind, money, words; the list is inexhaustible. How does one see a scenario at traffic lights point where you find three police officers, four traffic wardens, two LASMA officials, four neighborhood watch officers, all waiting for traffic light offenders…

    “At takeoff, I was not thinking of the popular expressions such as waste to wealth or trash to treasure, rather, I saw waste in the artistic sense of ‘art form’ and I sourced for some, which readily or through modifications I could connect with forms I created in wood to further my mission. My approach to employing these forms was that of exploration, experimentation, commitment and passion,” he said.

    Bashorun who spoke at a sneak preview of his on-going art exhibition, Evolving through waste at the Omenka Gallery, Ikoyi Lagos, stated that many Nigerian artists have been producing art works that threw up issues of national concern as captured in some of his works. He noted that maybe Nigerians have not looked beyond the aesthetics of the works to assimilate the messages therein.

    He recalled that since 1997, when his attention was first enveloped by the degree of waste polluting his visual fields, his quest has always been on ‘power of number’. This, he said, led him to create a piece titled, Full Moon on Waste Station; which was how he saw the society at that time.

    Bashorun finds wood very interesting to work with. In fact, he loves the challenges of also working with found objects such as soda can, metal and aluminum.

    “I particularly loved the challenge of working with the soda can tabs considering their sizes and the quantity required to create a piece. What I enjoyed most however, was the innovative and time consuming technique of stapling them one after the other to the supporting forms. This technique gives me the confidence of durability and I hoped that over time, the anticipated changes in appearance of the staple pins if any will enhance the depth of the works. I also hoped that the dazzling visual sensation created by the nature of aluminum will draw viewers into the pieces and create a web of connection for them,” he said. The found objects are symbolic of the everyday waste of man, labour, time and other resources in the country.

    The exhibits include Black gold, Cat walk, Charm, Frozen promise, Greed, Peace meal, Ripples, bubbles and rhythm, Seek and hide, What’s your story? Waste gift, Transparency, Stars in my city, Ebb, Treasure mine and Re-construction. Most of the exhibits are very instructive of the present situations in the country. For instance, Frozen promise (aluminum and glass) is a critique of the state of the nation’s human and material resources that are seemingly trapped and in a standstill position.

    Greed (aluminum, metal and wood) is a visual commentary on the corruption tendencies in the society, which constitute the greatest obstacle to national development.  With his Peace meal (1 and 11) he lends his voice to the on-going crusade for peace to reign in the country.  Apart from the strong  messages, Bashorun’s wood works are done with utmost finesse, which continues to sign post all his exhibitions. In fact, he takes precision and finishing more serious than conception.

    On why he has no studio assistants working with him, Bashorun said raising studio artists as disciples is difficult these days because most youths don’t have enough patience. “As long as I have the energy, I will continue to do my work without studio assistants. However, I am not happy that I have no studio assistants and disciples I am training. Unfortunately, the youths don’t have my patience,” he said.

    The Yabatech lecturer observed that art works such as painting will not enhance the country’s technological advancement unlike design works that involve concept of assemblage and fitting together of pieces of woods and metals. “Government must look at design, technology and architecture to explore their skills for national development,” he added.  Evolving through waste will run till May 30 at Omenka Gallery, Ikoyi Lagos.

  • ‘Writers should be conscience of society’

    Writers have been urged to play more active role in nation-building. To critics, authors are not doing enough in the discharge of their duty to the society. They called for a more proactive participation by them in nation-building, urging the writers to take a cue from the likes of the late Ken Saro-Wiwa and the late Christopher Okigbo.

    This plea was made at the Authors’ Groove during this year’s edition of the Nigeria International Book Fair (NIBF) held in the University of Lagos (UNILAG). With the theme: Emergence of e-book and the survival of physical book in Africa, the yearly fair featured sale and various display of books spanning different disciplines of human endeavour, exhibition, seminars and workshops.

    According to the organisers, NIBF seeks to promote reading culture and education and is a hub for bringing together book companies, publishers, authors, literary enthusiasts and booklovers under one platform. The Authors’ Groove organised by the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Lagos State Chapter, was one of the highlights of the yearly fair.

    ANA Lagos Chair, Mr Femi Onileagbon said it is aimed at sensitising authors across the country while creating an avenue where literary minds come together to devise a way of solving the nation’s many problems from the literary point of view.

    The event featured ace poet Odia Ofeimun; an environmentalist and human rights activist, Adesola Alamutu; a teacher of African Literature at the University of Lagos, Dr Chris Anyokwu; a writer and medical doctor, Dr Eghosa Imasuen, Austin Njokwu (poet) and Dr Tola Ajayi.

    Being a writer, Onileagbon said, is more than a hobby, “but a profession”. He said: “It is high time, writers started being more forthcoming about the discharge of their duty in the society. Authors are not doing enough.”

    Ofeimun urged the writers to defend nobody, saying: “Anything you don’t like about the society or whatever change you want to make, write about it. Writers should learn more on how to defend their art and defend the society we write in. We should also learn to match truth and duty, as these are the basics needed for effective writing.”               Dr Chris Anyokwu noted that writers have the power to change the world through their works. He, therefore, enjoined writers to borrow a leaf from the examples of the late renowned writer and poet, Okigbo, who fought in the Nigerian civil war, by being more active in nation-building.

    “A writer is the imaginative consciousness of the society and possesses greater intellectual power than the common folks. And as such, the ruler and the ruled look up to him as a form of moral barometer in the society. Hence, the role of the writer places him on a high pedestal because it makes him a sort of a secular clergyman  that can be looked upon as a morally upright person,” he said.

    While Njokwu observed that some writers lead a completely different lives from what they profess, urging that “writers should live what they write”, Alamutu said writers do more to document historical events for future generation.

    A mobile application named Worldreader was another at the groove According to a team member of Worldreader, Alexander Polzin, it seeks to bring the book closer to the people by ensuring that regardless of their financial status, everyone gets access to books. He spoke on the package’s usefulness, adding that it enables authors to relate with other authors.

    He said: “Worldreader is an application which can work on any phone, but currently available on Java and Android phones. It is currently in use in San Francisco, Barcelona, Accra, Nairobi and just partnered with the ANA in making sure that Nigeria is not left out in the digital publishing venture.”

  • New helmsman at Nanna Museum

    New helmsman at Nanna Museum

    The coastal town of Koko in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State is famous for its sea port and the free export processing zone. In 1987, it however got media attention when an Italian firm dumped some ‘drums of death’- toxic waste on a piece of land in Koko owned by Mr. Sunday Nana.

    But, there seems to be a new lease of life in the coastal town as the Nanna Living Museum, in Koko was declared a national monument in 1990 by the Federal Government. The designated monument is to serve as a treasure house of Chief Nanna of Itsekiri where all the relics are stored and exhibited for the public education, research and enjoyment.

    Considering the contributions of the late Chief Nana of Itsekiri to trade development in the Niger Delta area of the country in pre-independence Nigeria, one would appreciate the richness of his collections in the 24-year-old Nanna Living History Museum.

    As part of efforts to reposition the museum, the Mallam Abdallah Yusuf Usman- led management of National Commission for Museums and Monuments last month appointed Mr. Wilson Onime as the new curator of Nanna Living History Museum, Koko. Until the new appointment, Mr. Onime was at the National Museum, Onikan Lagos as a chief curator in documentation department. He is highly experienced, professionally skilled officer who has received training both within and outside the country such as at the British Museum, United Kingdom and the Museum of Anthropology and Archeology, Cambridge. While at the National Museum, he coordinated several programmes such as the yearly national painting competition for physically challenged children.

    Since resumption, Mr. Onime has found the new environment exciting especially the volume and quality of collections within the museum. He is hopeful of making the best of the situations on ground as Koko indigenes are ready to collaborate with the curator in promoting the museum. “I hope God gives me the courage, wisdom and power to make the positive changes the station needs,” Onime said.

  • ‘How to stop Boko Haram’

    ‘How to stop Boko Haram’

    An academic conference has been held in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, to find solutions to religious intolerance and extremism. Femi Macaulay, a member of The Nation Editorial Board was there.

    “Have you heard?” This was the question on many lips as the news spread that Boko Haram Islamist terrorists had bombed the Nyanya Motor Park in Abuja. No fewer than 75 people were killed and 164 injured. It was the opening ceremony of the All-Comers Colloquium on Fundamental Imperatives of Cohabitation: Faith and Secularism organised last month by the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU) and the  Osun State Government  at the centre’s auditorium in Abere, Osogbo, the state capital. A moment silence was observed for victims of the bombing.

    This coincidence was not only striking; it also mirrored the timeliness of the event, which the conveners said was “organised against the background of perceived religious war by Boko Haram and tension in some states, for example Osun, where religious differences are being exploited to cause trouble.” CBCIU Chairman, Professor Wole Soyinka, stressed that the colloquium should not be seen as just a direct reaction to the Boko Haram terror campaign which has escalated in the northeastern part of the country since 2009, saying, “The conference has been conceived in many minds for decades in the face of rising problems.” In a fundamental sense, therefore, Boko Haram is not simply an identifiable physical group of religious extremists; it also has metaphorical signification, referring to all manifestations of extremism based on faith. Nevertheless, Soyinka described the Boko Haram insurgency as “a non-partisan situation.” According to the Nobel Literature laureate, it is “a war situation, which is a strictly security situation.”

    On Day Two of the colloquium, Soyinka was proved right as the terror champions raised the bar with the April 15 seizure of over 200 students at the Girls Senior Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State,  an indescribably scandalous move that continues to  trigger emotionally charged responses worldwide, particularly as most of them are still missing. In his opening day speech, Soyinka had pointed out that “we cannot underestimate the religious inspiration”, suggesting that religious adherents could go to unimaginable lengths to further their cause. Boko Haram has never hidden its contempt for western education and values; neither is it apologetic about its ambition to Islamise the country.

    It is precisely this lack of limit, especially in the context of secular society, that the colloquium was organised to address; and Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who is a Muslim occupying a secular office, expressed his standpoint at the forum, saying, “My position is that religion should not be a source of rancour, misery and cheap death as we have in Nigeria today. Accommodation of one another should transcend the context of faith.”  The desirable separation of faith and secularism and the necessity for harmonious cohabitation in the country’s multi-religious situation was dramatically captured by Soyinka with the imagination of a master playwright. He said: “I admit that I’m not a particularly religious person, but I believe in the spiritual quest; every human has a portion of himself which seeks transcendence.  Sometimes I wish religionists would leave us to develop the earth, and go to paradise or wherever; they can take a spaceship to another planet where they can live by faith.”

    The three-day conference, with four plenary sessions and 18 papers, was marked by open and frank discussions, and participants explored the essence of the concept of secularism as it applied to the country in particular. The papers included Primordial Spirituality as Agent of Development by Prof Dawud Noibi; Religion and Development by Mr. Modupe Oduyoye; Equilibrium that Adjusts the World by Dr. Abiodun Agboola; Pluralism and Accommodation in a Democratic Society by Pastor (Dr.) Michael Adekunle; Quest for Peace by Mr. Mustapha Adebayo Bello and Personified and Objectified Persons by Dr. Olujide Gbadegesin.

    Others were From Violent Crises to Insurgency by Dr. Bimbo Adesoji; Theocracy and Secular Mind by Dr. Kamil Koyejo Oloso; Reinventing the Wheel of our Life by Ogbeni Funmi Odusolu; Secularism and Pluralism Nexus: The Nigerian and Sudanese Experience by Comrade Jide Olutobi; When Faith Makes Sense: Religion as Catalyst of Progress and Development by Engr. Moses Oludele Idowu and You Must Find Your Own Way by Mr. Femi Macaulay.

    Additional papers were Mythologies and the Test of Humanity by Ms. Folakemi Odoaje; Where the Rain Began to Beat Us? by Engr. Moses Oludele Idowu; From Mysticism to Technology by Dr. Tunde Adegbola; Rational Religion by Araba Ifayemi Elebuibon and What Shall We Teach Our Children? by Abdul-Hakeem Ajilola.

    There was a perceptible tension between advocates of “strict secularity”, which implies a “relegation of religion in public affairs”, and those who are comfortable with “quasi-secularism”, which suggests “minimum religious penetration of state affairs”.   However, it was generally agreed that there is a need for cohabitation in the context of “secularism that respects and appreciates the reality of diverse faiths without promoting any religion at the expense of others.” Aregbesola said, “We need an organised intervention in this area.”

    A central issue in the various perspectives was the observed religionisation of politics by the country’s leaders, which continues to complicate the fundamentals of secularity. Soyinka noted, in words that had implications for the political class as well as others who misuse religion for non-religious purposes, “The mind is where it started and ultimately the mind is where this disease will be cured.”

    In the end, collective recommendations emerged as a way to the ultimate objective of inter-faith harmony in the pursuit of peace for social progress. The proposed path to arresting the troublesome Boko Haram spirit came in the form of certain identified answers, specifically, constitution review to reflect religious diversity; tightening legislation to address religious violence; non-politicisation of religion; value reorientation; programme of compulsory education for social enlightenment and establishment of a national centre for inter-faith studies.

  • ‘Wage war against election fraudsters’

    Nigerian youths have been urged to take their destinies in their hands, and be agents of change. This they can achieve, by being purpose-driven and self-evaluating. As the 2015 elections draw near, they have been urged not to dopt the siddon look posture; but to be actively engaged in the electoral processes and wage relentless war against election fraudsters.

    Thiswas the thrust of submissions by speakers at this year’s National Youth Summit held at the Afe BabaLola Hall of the University of Lagos. The theme was: ‘The Nigerian youth in an uncertain terrain: Hopes and aspirations”.

    For a dramatic improvement in the nation’s democratic governance fortunes, youths must learn to be more productive than they presently are, considering  their numerical strength, agility, knowledge, and their mandate as the nation’s future leaders, said the Director-General Centre For Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC), Prof Gabriel Olatunde Babawale.

    Babalakin who chaired the occasion, noted that the roles of youths in nation building cannot be underestimated, drawing his premise from global experience where youths have often been in the vanguard of protest that resulted in either  change of government or government policies.

    His words: “In every society, youths have always taken the lead. Youths  must play their transformational roles. They have a responsibility to be part of the vanguard for general change in our society.

    “To this end, you must see yourselves as change agents, an important role you must reflect on as elections draw near. You must see to it that no one steals your vote. You must educate the public on the importance of their votes as their power. You must enlighten your colleagues not to engage in election malpractices and at the same time resist anyone that wants to perpetrate electoral fraud.”

    The Chairman House Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa lamented the spiralling corruption which she said now pervades every aspect of Nigeria’s life.

    Rather than hold corrupt leaders accountable, Dabiri-Erewa said some youths have chosen to sit on the fence, a situation she said makes the youth also culpable. The lawmaker said youths have more work to do as they must extend their crusade beyond election fraud alone to every aspect of the nation where corruption permeates. She, therefore, challenged them to intensify their efforts  and  always hold the leaders accountable.

    “Corruption thrives in Nigeria because there are no sanctions. As long as you see corruption and you do not say anything, then it will continue to thrive in our society. If you do not fight against corruption, things will then continue the way they are,” she warned.

    Speaking on the topic: Electoral responsibilities of the youth, President, Campaign for Democracy and Woman Arise for Change Initiative, Dr. Joe Oke-Odumakin who described the youth as ‘lubricant for the success of any society’ also frowned over recruitment of youths as election riggers by certain unscrupulous politicians.  She warned them to henceforth turn down such entreaties, and further expose the antics of such elements bent on truncating the nation’s growing democracy.

    In his contribution, the Lagos State Director, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Waheed Ishola, who identified unemployment and poor reading culture as some of the major problems affecting youths, suggested creativity, innovation and acquisition of vocational skills as some of the ways the youth can be economically independent.

    Earlier speaking, the convener GreenPath Convergence organiser of the event, Comrade Abiola Ojo, emphasised  the aim of the summit.

    He said:  ”The aim of this summit is to bring into sharp focus the various challenges, solutions, possibilities and strategies of achieving a viable and conducive environment for human development.”

  • Exploring Pan Africanism as tool for good governance

    Exploring Pan Africanism as tool for good governance

    The Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC) has held an international conference on Pan Africanism in Kingston, Jamaica. Africans and African Diaspora discussed developments at the event, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.

    For two days, scholars and top government functionaries drawn from strategic institutions in Africa and the Caribbean converged on the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica to chart a new roadmap to confront the numerous socio-economic and political challenges facing the African continent and the Diaspora using Anthropology, Archaeology, History and Philosophy.

    The ninth international conference with the theme, Toward a New Pan-Africanism: Deploying Anthropology, Archaeology, History and Philosophy in the Service of Africa and the Diaspora was organised by the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC) in partnership with the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica, the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica (ACIJ), the Pan African Strategic and Policy Research Group, (PANAFSTRAG), the High Commission of South Africa in Jamaica and the Nigeria High Commission in Kingston, Jamaica.

    According to a communiqué, participants resolved that African scholars and public intellectuals must deconstruct Eurocentric tendencies and dependencies and develop epistemologies that are reflective of African realities, relevant to Africa and her Diaspora, responsive to the challenges of socio-political, economic and intellectual development of Africa and the Diaspora. The statement said that Pan Africanism is capable of creating enabling environment for viable and sustainable economic growth and development.

    It also recommended that “in encouraging Africans from the Diaspora to visit Africa, CBAAC and similar African organisations should provide a database of interested Diasporan Africans who would like to go to Africa as well as those in Africa who are willing to host brothers and sisters from the Diaspora.

    “The production of films, movies and documentaries on historical figures and experiences from the continent and the Diaspora should be actively pursued. Africans should value one another. This means respecting our past, our ancestry and embracing courageously the challenge of building our future together.

    “We need our scholars to communicate with us, they must be accountable to the African youth, be more approachable/available to engage with the grassroots community. Elitism must be discouraged.

    Provide funding to create a Brain Trust of best minds “experts” and ‘community stakeholders’ who will be able to design the strategic plan for Africa and Diaspora development and implement the solutions needed.”

    The communiqué added that “we must develop a language we can use similar to how the European languages are taught by strengthening the mandate of the African Heritage Project,

    •Create a database of curriculum in a format easy to use by teachers, parents and community members and made available via the internet for free, create a skills database of African intellectuals and professionals in order to identify what they are doing and could be part of Africa’s development agenda,

    •Create partnerships with historical black colleges and university that can become sister universities with African universities, evaluate the role of education and curriculum and tie it into the findings of the needs assessment,

    •Create a comprehensive needs assessment which is adaptable to each country’s needs. This assessment will be the guiding document for the creation of education and training needs for each country and will tie into internships for college students, develop international relationships between CARICOM, African Union and the Americas,

    •Develop youth entrepreneurial programmes to begin to create future business people for Africa, broaden trade opportunities between Africa and the Diaspora, open up travel opportunities and remove visa  restrictions between Africa and the Diaspora and establish African administrative structures on solid intellectual and academic traditions.

    Earlier, Nigeria’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke stressed that Pan-Africanism marked a significant watershed in which people of African descent forge a common front against impediments that delay  African development. He said it represents an attempt by African and its Diaspora at destroying the leviathan and vestiges of slavery, colonisation, racism, neo-colonialism and all negative identity syndrome that have become characteristic of places inhabited by people of African descent.

    “Pan-Africanism played useful and significant role in Africa’s decolonisation process. Lamentably, years after we attained self-rule, we are yet to realise the lofty dreams of the great people that led our agitation and struggle for independence,” he added.

    Duke observed that Africa bears half of the burden of world’s misery and that life expectancy is rapidly declining while infant mortality is on the increase. According to him, at the political level, ‘we are developing and improving on culture of violence. The continent is a hot bed of frightening inter-state confrontations, civil wars and genocide.’

    “On the continent, the culture of accountability and peaceful conflict resolution is gradually paving way for recklessness, impunity and violence. These are, therefore, demands that we retrace our steps by revisiting the ideology that drives the struggle for independence in the first instance. Given the problems on the continent, an international conference that explores other ways of surmounting Africa and Diaspora’s numerous problems is appropriate and timely,” he added.

    He noted that the ‘Pan Africanism ideology is capable, if employed objectively, of providing us avenues for peace-building which can help in promoting democratic governance and respect for human rights. Pan-Africanism can also aid our quest at fostering continental integration and seeking beneficial partnership with the industrialised world.’

    Director-General, CBAAC, Prof Tunde Babawale noted that despite decades of experimentation with different economic policies and programmes, the world’s absolute poor still live on the continent.

    He said except for few, most countries on the continent are caught in the poverty trap, with more than half of the population living below the poverty line and on less than $1 per day.  “Poverty is so severe in Africa that about 22 out of the 25 poorest countries in the World are in Africa.  The problem of poverty has been compounded by needless political crises that often resulted in violent conflicts on the continent,” Babawale said.

    He stressed that the conference was organised to among others, create the desirable space and forum for African and African Diaspora experts, students, scholars and researchers to meet, debate, exchange ideas and present their work particularly the humanistic and social science disciplines of history, the arts, philosophy, anthropology and archaeology. It is also to foster understanding of the relationship between Anthropology, Archaeology, History and Philosophy and identify politics in Africa and the Diaspora;

    * To examine the extent to which Anthropology, Archaeology, History and Philosophy have promoted or hindered development in Africa and the Diaspora;

    *To enhance the understanding of Anthropology, Archaeology, History and Philosophy and how they could be explored and utilised to advance the frontiers of Pan-Africanism.

    Present at the conference include Prime Minister of Jamaica, Her Excellency, Rt. Honourable Portia Simpson-Miller, High Commissioner of Federal Republic of Nigeria to Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica, His Excellency Ambassador Olatokunboh Kamson, The High Commissioner of the Republic of South Africa to Jamaica and CARICOM, Kingston, Jamaica, Her Excellency Ambassador Mathu Joyini, Prof Augustin Holl, Professor, Université Paris-Ouest Nanterre La Défense, France, Chairman, Nigeria’s House of Representatives Committee on Culture and Tourism, Hon. Ben Nwankwo, The Chairman, Nigeria’s Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism, Senator Ahmed Barata, The Pro-Chancellor & Campus Principal, the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston, Professor Archibald McDonald, Chairman, CBAAC Governing Board, Senator Brimmo Yusuf, Vice-Chancellor, the University of the West, Kingston, Prof E. Nigel Harris, The Director General, Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation, Prof. Tunde Babawale and The Executive Secretary, PANAFSTRAG International, Gen. Ishola Williams (Rtd.).

  • Molue: From scrap to vehicle of knowledge

    Molue: From scrap to vehicle of knowledge

    The Goethe Institut in Lagos hosted Emeka Udemba’s Witness, an exhibition of Molue as an interactive way of taking art to the people while interogating critical issues in the society. Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.

    Imagine the popular Lagos yellow passengers bus Molue, parked at a busy bus stop on a Lagos road during peak period of traffic on Monday morning. An army of anxious commuters rushed to the bus struggling to gain entrance into it. Workers, market women and students were all part of the mad rush. “Hey stop. This is not a passenger bus, please all of you get down,” a voice from one of the few seats at the back end of the bus shouted.

    Surprised and shocked, the frustrated commuters wore long faces as they looked out for the real Molue. However, they did not leave until they discovered that the refurbished and attractive bus was a Molue Mobile Museum of Contemporary Nigerian Art with a  vehicle  registration number LND 100 XF.

    Inside the bus is a medium-size flat screen television screening a documentary on the operation of Molue on Lagos roads, food and drug hawkers, newspaper vendors and shouts from the unfriendly conductor form the staccato of noise from the documentary. There were also four paintings of faceless figures (two on each side) of the spacious bus.

    Also arranged on a platform at the back end of the bus are copies of journals, books, brochures and hand bills on art. It is a mini-library of sort, which is serviced by 10 comfortable covered seats

    Apart from the footage, the narration of the documentary is a historical journey of when Molue bus came to be, its challenges, characteristics and mode of operation among others. Welcome to Molue Mobile Museum of Contemporary Nigerian Art, which hosted its inaugural exhibition titled Witness by Germany-based Nigerian artist, Emeka Udemba at the City Hall premises, Catholic Mission Street, Lagos. It was organised by Goethe Institut, Lagos and supported by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Lagos, Mercedes Benz, British Council and Ayenibiyi Limited. The mobile exhibition which will run till July 26 will move round some major streets and neighbourhoods in Lagos.

    Present at the opening included Muson Centre’s Artistic Director, Thomas Kanitz, Chinwe Uwatse, Ndid Dike, and representatives of British Council, Lagos.

    To the organisers of the exhibition, the refurbished Molue, which costs about N2 million  is a rare symbol of public transportation system in Lagos after the scrapped Bolekaja, a wooden commuter Bedford truck. Witness according to director, Goethe Institut, Lagos Marc- Andrea Schmachtel, is not only a way of addressing the public through art but also to take the art to the people. He observed that the medium became necessary in Nigerian fine art scene, though novel in this part of the world as a way to promote art. “Fine art scene is greatly influenced by physical gallery space. But there are other forms of presenting art, this is one. Molue is iconic in Lagos transport system. But it is going out of use soon hence we are interested in transforming the popular bus to other uses. The Molue don’t need to be demolished and scrapped as it can be used for different purposes such as mobile museum or library,” he said.

    There are many aspects to the Witness project. Through it a serious missing link-a befitting art gallery- in a mega city like Lagos is being brought to the fore. And the medium being used to draw attention is an iconic object such as Molue.

    According to Emeka Udemba, one of the major challenges facing contemporary art, especially in Africa today is the issue of the context, representation, presentation and documentation as well as the question of how to map the evolution of contemporary art in Africa. He raised the following posers:

    “How can we engage or appropriate a critical form in the way we show and interact with contemporary art to suit our local environment and in so doing make culture more accessible to the public?

    “To what extent is a museum of contemporary art capable of interrogating real issues that affect us? How do we engage the public in a more participatory and collaborative way as part of the creative process? How can we generate more interdisciplinary exhibitions that are focused and in multiple spaces,” Udemba wondered. But importantly, the primary concept behind Witness is hinged on reinventing space while simultaneously preserving an icon of the Lagos city urban transportation heritage- the Molue.  It is the hope of Udemba that this iconic means of moving from point A to B, (which is being phased out by government), can serve as exploratory exhibition spaces, host exhibitions, educational programmes, screenings, performances, discussion sessions,music and workshops.

    “The goal is to shift from the static to the flexible, harnessing the opportunities of social mobility within the urban space,” he noted, adding that art is not complete without the participation of the viewers.

    On the characters of the operators of the buses, Udemba said: “The questionable technical condition of most of these Molue buses and the recklessness of the drivers is a constant threat to other road users. When Molues breakdown, as they often do, the drivers and their conductors often abscond leaving the passengers to their own devices.

    “Like bullies on the road, Molue drivers epitomise the broad culture of impunity in the larger Nigerian society.

    They are always impatient, they frequently flout traffic rules, and they stop to pick up or drop off passengers outside designated bus stops. This often exacerbates the perennial traffic jam and traffic chaos in the city.”

    Hoewever, the Molue bus, to some extent, captures the spirit of optimism, resilience, and adaptation to the daily challenges of survival of the ordinary Nigerian citizen.

  • Macmillan holds youth cultural day

    Macmillan holds youth cultural day

    Nigerian youths have been urged to shun any act that will constitute a setback to national development. Rather, they should channel their energy and creativity towards national unity and development by exploiting their culture for their benefit.

    The Chairman, Macmillan Literary Events Committee, Mrs Francesca Emanuel, made the call last week at Macmillan head office, Ilupeju, Lagos. Emanuel said the aim of Macmillan Literary Committee is to encourage students to take advantage of literature and their culture to preserve the cultural heritage of Nigeria. She noted that it is also to give the youth the window to believe in themselves and their nation.

    For this reason, six schools in Lagos State: Ifako International Private School, Agege, Focus Secondary, Ebute-Metta, Edidoto College, Badore Ajah, Jubril Martins Memorial Grammar School, Iponri, Methodist Boys High School, and Yaba College Teacher Staff School  will  compete among themselves today at Agip Recital Hall, Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos. It is the second  edition of Macmillan Youth Cultural Day; with a theme: My Country, My Pride.  The competition which is to celebrate centenary existence of Nigeria, will focus on sub-themes such as religion, education, security, governance and culture. It will feature  about 60 students drawn from other schools in Lagos to watch and support their fellow students as they perform; while two reputable judges, which the committee said they will like to keep secret, will anchor the competition. The  participants will be awarded prizes in various categories while certificates will also be awarded.

    “At a time like this, channeling the thoughts of our youths in the direction of this theme will encourage them. Despite all challenges faced by the country, we can still remain strong, united and equipped with all the capacities needed to build a country that we all can be proud of.

    “To drive home the chosen theme for this year, six schools have been invited to use our cultural values and aesthetics to interpret the various sub themes,” Emanuel said.

    She noted that the future is still bright for Nigeria even though “it might be true that we have not been reaping the dividends of our immense natural wealth and the democracy that the move to civilian government was supposed to have ushered in, yet we do not have to give up. There are some green shoots to show that there is hope for the country. And these shoots are symbolically, the young ones.

    “Everyone should appreciate the fact that Nigeria is still a work in progress. Thus we should all be encouraged and challenged everyday to keep building in spite of various obstacles that we may be facing. Nigeria is a great nation that any citizen can be proud of. The country has produced many resourceful, intelligent and talented sons and daughters, who have exhibited strong passion to take the world to great heights. Every day, these men and women all over the world keep contributing immensely to global development,” she stated.

    She advised Nigerian youths to show love, and respect to the country and to one another. “We should stop the destruction of lives and wasting of our talents. We should rather come together to realise and harness our diversity and potentials for the development of our nation.”

  • Adeyemi College of Education honours Babalola

    Shortly after breakfast tomorrow (May 22), another colourful feather will be added to the already well adorned cap of the elderstatesman, farmer and educationist, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN. The Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo will present him with its Distinguished Fellowship Award for his remarkable work as an educationist and as part of the activities marking the College’s Golden Jubilee.

    The college has rolled out the drums since Monday (May 19) to celebrate 50 years of its existence and its 23rd Convocation, which grand finale comes up tomorrow.

    This Award is coming 22 days after the Forum for International Green Sustainability (FIGS) crowned the multiple chief and many-sided man as the Africa Man of the Year in Food Security 2004 for his exploits in  food security, job creation as well as the monumental investment he has made  in  his ABUAD Enterprise Farm.

    FIGS is a  Non-Profit organisation with Tax Exempt Status in the United Kingdom. Its   mandate is to bridge the widening gap of extreme hunger and poverty in every home in Africa, one crop at a time. It was inaugurated in Nigeria as a Regional Chapter in Abuja in 2006 with 52 mentors and over 1,000 Volunteers in the six geo-political zones of the country.

    The erroneous perception of farming being old fashioned has become the anchor of FIGS global campaign while championing the cause of youth inclusiveness in sustainable agriculture, capacity building amongst farmers, stakeholders and Green initiatives and Food Security in over 23 Countries including Sub -regional Africa.

    Babalola whose formal education ended at Emmanuel Primary School, Ado-Ekiti, where he obtained his Standard Six Certificate because of paucity of funds for him to go further in those early days, went on life with an unbending determination and by dint of hard work to obtain two Bachelors’ degrees (B. Sc. Economics and LL.B) by private study.

    Since then, Babalola, who was at various times a pupil teacher, a secondary school teacher, vice principal, university lecturer, economist, auditor, administrator, farmer and educationist, has been so many things within the country’s educational landscape, so much so that he is a former winner of the Senior Teachers of Nigeria Award by Association of Nigeria Teachers.

    The unflinching contributions of Babalola, a man who has built and donated towering edifices to many tertiary institutions in Nigeria, started with his patently selfless wavering of a 5 million British Pound Sterling legal fee in 1982 just for a federal institution to be established in his home state of the bigger Ondo State then.

    It was this altruistic and patriotic gesture that gave birth to the Federal Polytechnic, which was first sited in Akure before it was relocated to Ado-Ekiti, Babalola’s homestead, when the Federal University of Technology took off in Akure. It is on record that as Chairman of the Federal Polytechnic, which he part funded, Babalola did not take any allowance, rather, and on a continuous basis, he kept on expending his own resources.

    In 2,000, Babalola, a man bitten by the bug of excellence, was appointed Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council of the University of Lagos, during which time he was able to see first-hand and bare-facedly the rot and decay that characterized the nation’s educational landscape. Together with his colleagues in the Council and the University Administration, they were able to turn the fortunes of UNILAG around so much so that that university became the best around that time and he was voted Best Pro-Chancellor twice (2005 and 2006).

    But because that was not enough for him and more importantly because of the urge to change things for the better, to give education a befitting face lift and to show that it is possible to have good quality, functional and reformatory education, he establishedhis wave-making AfeBabalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), to lead others by example in quality, functional and reformatory education.

    The University, which began academic works on January 4, 2010, has received many accolades from eminent personalities and notable institutions within and outside Nigeria. For example, the All African Students Union with Headquarters in Ghana acknowledged the university as the “fastest growing private university in Africa”, the European Business Assembly in Oxford gave it Socrates Award for the Best Enterprise in Africa, 2011.

    The university, though only four years old now has been rated by the Global University Webometric as the second (2nd) Best Private University in Nigeria and number thirteen (13th) of the totality of the 157 universities in Nigeria. It recently secured 100 per cent accreditation in all the fourteen Programmes presented to NUC for accreditation in 2013. The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) has also accredited all the seven engineering programmes. Similarly the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) also granted full accreditation for its computer programmes.

    The Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC), the Regulatory Body for Education in Nigeria, described it as a model, benchmark and reference point, former President of Nigeria, Chief OlusegunObasanjo described it as a model, former military leader, Dr. (Gen.) Yakubu Gowon (retd) described the setting as “superlative and impressive with nothing of its kind that I have seen so far in this country or anywhere”, President Goodluck Jonathan also described it as “Notably one of the most outstanding individual contributions towards government educational project”.

    At the international level, UNESCO, which acknowledged ABUAD as one of the prestigious universities in Africa, has invited  the university to collaborate with it on issues relating to education, particularly on the Flagship Programme 2 of Operational Strategy for Priority Africa (2014-2021) titled “Strengthening Education Systems for Sustainable Development in Africa: Improving Equity, Quality and Relevance” and further volunteered “to publicise UNESCO-ABUAD initiatives on its website”, thereby ‘portraying the university as one of the shining beacon of excellence in its endeavour to be one of the best universities in African and the world’.

    The university operates the collegiate system and has seven of such colleges: the College of Law, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, College of Engineering, College of Social and Management Sciences and College of Arts and Humanities as well as the College of Education. It also offers Entrepreneurial and Leadership training to make its graduates all-rounder human beings that do not have to wait for anybody to give them white collar jobs before they can be gainfully employed.

    As leaders in functional, quality and reformatory education, the university initiated and developed programmes in Social Justice, Intelligence & Security Studies, Human Biology and Mechatronics.Today, ABUAD is the only university in Nigeria offering such programmes and NUC has gone ahead to adopt them as the benchmark for any university that may want to offer these programmes in future.

    It also has a gigantic Entrepreneurial Talent Centre with26 different sports, a rare phenomenon in any university around today and an Agricultural Enterprise Centre which has been designated by IITA as a Centre of Research where students learn many areas of Agriculture.

    The Centre boasts of      110,000 Mango trees,    500,000 Teak trees, 310,000 Gmelinatrees, a Moringafactory worth over N1 billion, 600 fish ponds with at least 5,000 fishes in each of them, and a    Feed Mill worth over N500,000.00 as well as an Animal section made up of a Piggery, Snailery, Turkey, Guinea Fowl, Quail and Mushroom as well as an incubator.

    Today, the mustard seed that was planted four years ago has grown and blossomed into a great oak tree as the first set of our 103 students from the College of Sciences and the College of Social and Management Sciences were released to the world at a very colourful maiden convocation ceremony on October 21, last year. Testimonies abound about the respect and honour appreciative members of the society accord these ABUAD Ambassadors.

    It must be in appreciation of all these national and international recognitions and encomiums that the new College of Industrial Development (UID), Ghana, appointed the four-year old university to mentor it as the ‘Mentoring Tertiary and Affiliate Institution.

    Undoubtedly, ABUAD is an ‘incubator’ that would enable Babalola to ‘replicate’ himself in the ‘leaders’ of tomorrow through function. Certainly, ABUAD and its Founder are going places.

     

    •Tunde Olofintila wrote from Lagos.