Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

By Ozolua Uhakheme

Six years after it was first released to the cinemas, Oloibiri, an expose on the plight of Niger-Deltans abandoned by government and oil multinationals is set for the film streaming site Netflix. The movie is based on true-life events and produced to drive change.

Sharing his views on the need to put the film on the streaming platform Netflix, the producer Rogers Ofime said the message of the film Oloibiri is ever green and will continue to be relevant even in another 10 years. He hoped that change comes to the community so that the message can then become about when Oloibiri was in ruins.

“It is an original Nigerian story, it is a beautiful work of art and every day technology gives us ways to document art, education and entertainment for posterity. We also believe that the message of Oloibiri is ever green and will continue to be relevant even in another 10 years. We just hope that change comes to the community so that our message can then become about when Oloibiri was in ruins.

“We told the Oloibiri story; unfortunately it is replicated across the Niger-Delta we did not address insurgency we addressed the trigger that has led thousands of youths seek redress through violence which is never truly the answer to conflict resolution. We would say we rather were objective in our creative approach to the plight of the Oloibiri people,” he added.

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The action thriller film is directed by Curtis Graham and stars Nollywood legends such as Olu Jacobs, Taiwo Ajai-Lycett and Richard Mofe Damijo among others.

On the impact of the film on the community since 2015 when Oloibiri was produced, the Canada-based filmmaker said: “A major change has been the current administration’s approval for the take-off of the OMRC (Oloibiri Museum and Research Centre), which has been in works for over three decades, we were able to get the government attention back to the community…A wider audience means we can reach more well-meaning Nigerians in the diaspora especially of Niger-Deltan heritage do more especially the cleanup of the rivers and provide a drinkable water system that works.”

Ofime, who spoke online, disclosed that two of his other projects are coming on Netflix platform soon, which are dear to his heart. They are Mystic River a six-part series and Voiceless that just left the cinemas.

He did not dismiss the likelihood of a revisit of Oloibiri story in future given the changes that may have taken place.  “It is in the works. We hope to do a sequel to show the improvement and the good things that has happened to the community since after filming,” he said.

According to him, Oloibiri makes it easy to comprehend the plight of the Niger Delta people abandoned by the government and oil multinationals. It is also a movie based on true-life events, the abandonment of Oloibiri, a historic town to the oil and gas

Goethe-Institut Nigeria in collaboration with Lagos State Ministry of Health and SURPIN (Suicide Research and Prevention Initiative), an NGO,  and Art4Life ((an Initiative of the Lagos State Ministry of Health with the mandate to introduce art practice into health care process), has set up Art and Soul to create awareness on mental health and art therapy.

The project will hold an international digital conference on May 6 and 7, where German and Nigerian doctors and therapists will exchange ideas on issues surrounding mental well-being and suicide prevention.

The conference is designed for German, Nigerian and international professional audience (physicians, psychologists, art therapists and other professionals working in this field as well as medical students in various Nigerian universities). The conference will provide insights into current developments in the treatment of mental illness and the use of art therapies.

Penultimate Saturday at Alliance Francaise de Lagos/Mike Adenuga Centre, Lagos a documentary play titled SNIPER was held and praised by the Lagos State Commissioner for Health Prof. Akin Abayomi, Permanent Secretary, Lagos Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, the German acting Consul General Mr. Alexander Ernst and the Swiss Consul General Mr. Thomas Schneider.

The project aims to use theatrical tools as well as critical discussions to contribute to urgent debate surrounding suicide and mental health problems. It comprises two parts; the first part features collaboration with Nigerian theatre group Kininso Concepts, which has made a documentary play titled SNIPER. SNIPER will be screened in the coming months in a series of performances across universities in Lagos State as well as across neighboring states.

Among the German experts to speak at the conference for the two days are Prof. Dr. Phil., Dr. Med. Andreas Heinz, Professor of Psychiatry, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, a joint institution of the Freie Universität Berlin and the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Prof. Dr. Kathrin Seifert, certified art therapist at the University Hospital Bonn, Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and at the University for Arts in Social Life, Ottersberg Mrs. Maria D’Elias, art therapist and president of the European Federation of Art Therapy. Others are Commissioner for Health Prof. Akin Abayomi, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, and Prof. Abidun Adewuya, Provost Lagos State University, College of Medicine.

By Evelyn Osagie

Twenty Six youths who graduated at a free vocational training at the Skill Acquisition Centre of Bolakomo Ventures in Akure, Ondo State capital have been charged to advance their lives with the skills they have acquired.

The charge was made by the Chief Executive Officer of the centre, Princess Olubola Akomolafe-Adeya at its high-profile graduating ceremony.

The vocational centre, a subsidiary of Bolakomo Ventures, headed by Prince Adekunle Adeya and his wife, was established as part of its corporate social responsibility.

Mrs. Akomolafe-Adeya admonished the apprentices to also embrace the spirit of giving to others who might need their support.

She said: “The Bolakomo Ventures was officially opened in April 2019; and barely three months into the operations, we decided to commence the process of giving back to the society. The call for free training in both the fashion school and hairdressing school was made with assurance of free equipment of work at the completion of training.  The first batch of training and empowerment programme took place early 2020, but for the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the organisation would have graduated another batch before the end of 2020. At the end, I am happy for who made it.”

It was a day of rejoicing for 26 youths that made the graduation list out of 120 which enrolled last year in different vocations. The graduands who were praised for their doggedness, were not only trained at no cost for six months, but were empowered with equipment to kick start their career.

Some of the graduands, who spoke with newsmen, were filled with joy narrating their experiences. Mrs Funke Jegede , a graduand, mentioned that the training programme formed a milestone in her life. “Without asking us for a dime, sewing machines were procured by the management. This will greatly help me and my family. I pledge to impact others positively,” she said.

For Miss Abioye Precious, who spoke about her challenge to further her studies after leaving secondary school for years, the training came as “a breath of fresh air”. She was part of the seven female graduands.

She said: “When I got the news about the opportunity of free training and empowerment, I jumped at it without hesitation. I thanked the management of the company for bringing up such opportunity for young people and other indigent people in the society. They don’t know how much what they have done has brought succour to us who are beneficiaries.”

Giving back, according to Prince Adeya, has become a way of life. “Nigeria will be a better place if privileged individuals prioritise giving back to society. I congratulate the 26 determined enough to sail through. They have become a shining light to others,” he said.

Recounting the journey towards the establishment of the vocational centre, he said: “Prior to the training,  donation of sewing machines and hair dressing kits to the apprentices of the school of Fashion and Hair dressing school, the founder of Bolakomo Ventures has been a consistent advocate of poverty alleviation. I am a firm believer in supporting the efforts of government on job creation.  I developed the passion of helping people due to my background and the many humanitarian activities of the Catholic Church, I experienced.”

The highlight of the event was when the management of Bola Komo Ventures announced that fresh training began on Monday, April 26, while calling for registration.

Bolakomo Ventrues is a hub for hospitality facilities ranging from Hotel accommodation, Car mart and Hire, Eatery, Hair Dressing Training School, Fashion School, Bar and Life club.

AFter some years of inaction, the annual Beere Festival made a big return as the ancient town of Saki in Oyo State recently hosted this year’s festival amid pomp and pageantry.

The ancient town of Saki in Saki West Local Government Area of Oyo State was agog as the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III led over 50  Yoruba Obas and other prominent leaders to the town for this year’s Beere Festival.

Beere is a common grass, which grows only on the plain land used mainly for thatching houses. The grass is considered as the most opulent of all materials used for covering houses.

The festival originated from a careful thought by Oba Khalid Olabisi Oyedepo, the Okere of Saki to devise means by which the grasses could be preserved to repair the existing thatched roofs used for the people’s houses as well as to build new ones and it’s been a unique celebration in celebrating cultural ingenuity.

Beere Festival is an age-long traditional festival that runs for nine days, celebrated by the Okere and the people of Saki, bringing together indigenes from home and in diaspora to receive royal blessings.

Congratulating Oba Khalid Olabisi Oyedepo, the Okere of Saki, Oba Adeyemi prayed for peace and tranquility in the town, adding that Saki is known for its rich cultural heritage.

Underscoring the importance of culture, the first class traditional ruler identified a non-charlant attitude to upholding core values as a causative factor of moral decadence and other societal problems in contemporary times. According to him, preservation of culture and traditions play an important role in ensuring that a society’s unique identity is not lost, thus encouraging generation transfer.

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Stressing the need for the continued preservation of the rich culture of the people, Oba Adeyemi said the cultural identity of the people should be preserved and projected to the world at all times in order for them not to lose their identity.

Olowu of Kuta, Oba Adekunle Makama, praised  the Okere for the wonderful cultural event, which he encouraged other Royal Fathers to emulate in their various kingdoms.

Chief host and traditional ruler of Saki town, Oba Khalid Oyeniyi Olabisi Ilugbemidepo Oyedepo III, reaffirmed his commitment to the promotion of cultural values and customs that properly portray the true identity of Saki people. According to the monarch, the significance of the festival is to pray for tranquility and peaceful coexistence in the community during the nine days it normally lasted.

“As you can see, all the sons and daughters of Saki from far and near are rejoicing, it is like a homecoming where they come together to celebrate the ingenuity of people of Saki. He also used the opportunity to appeal to youths to desist from drug abuse and other social vices.

Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN), advised the Federal Government to summon an emergency meeting of all stakeholders to solve and put an end to the lingering security challenges in the country.

While congratulating the Okere and the people of Saki, Raji emphasised the importance of culture preservation, and the vital role it could play in bringing peace to communities.

Chairman, Beere Festival, Local Organising Committee (LOC) and Bagii of Saki Land, High Chief Adegoke Ghazaal Abdur-Rasheed said the festival is a cultural heritage, which provides avenue to showcase the cultural uniqueness of the people of Saki land. The festival, he said, is an old long festival which is as old as Saki, but this year’s festival is the first of its kind in a while.

“We are using Beere Festival to promote Saki heritage and take the festival to the next level, we want it to be internationalised and go beyond the shores of our land. We want to showcase the beauty of our land. This year’s outing is to showcase to the world that Saki is hospitable,” Adegoke said.

Among dignitaries that graced the occasion were Prof. Adeolu Akande, Chairman, National Communications Commission board, the Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Munta Abimbola, Justice Mohammed Owolabi, Prof Hamdallat Olaniyan, Senator Abdulfatah Buhari, Rep members Jide Olatubosun, Shina Abiola-Peller, Alhaji Jimoh Bioku of Baoraj Pharmacy.

Rite Foods Limited, a proudly Nigerian food and beverage company, through its Bigi premium brand, is sponsoring the Nigerian Idol Season 6 to pave way for the discovery of music talents among young Nigerians as well as the promotion of the entertainment industry in the country.

The company’s Managing Director, Mr. Seleem Adegunwa, stated this while explaining the rationale for partnering DSTV in the reality TV show, which will commence live performance on May 9 and culminate with a grand finale on July 11, where the winner will have the prize of a recording contract with a leading record label and N50, 000,000 worth of prizes.

He disclosed that Rite Foods’ Bigi carbonated soft drink brand will continue to promote talent discovery in music through the Nigerian Idol, while espousing the company’s interest in the creative platform where abundant talents abound in the country.

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The Rite Foods boss said the sponsorship is to ensure that talents are nurtured in order to produce stars that would take the music and entertainment industry to enviable heights, like the recent achievement of Burna Boy, who have now become a global star after winning the Grammy.

To effectively demonstrate its intention in attaining that, Rite Foods recently held a mini Idol show christened the Bigi Media Idol for content drivers, to further reinforce its sponsorship of the Nigerian Idol reality TV show and its commitment in advancing its good cause for the entertainment sector.

At the event, one of the highlights was the microphone stunt used on stage, which was used to depict the 12 Bigi soft drink variants, a scenario that got the audience amazed at such innovation from a leading brand that is making impact in the food and beverage sector of the Nigerian economy.

No Child Left Behind, a solo art exhibition held at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja revealed Master Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo-Okeke’s painterly skills on acrylic, oil and water colour. His collections offer insight into the brilliant mind of the calm, autistic child, SAM ANOKAM reports.

The average day in the life of a family managing a child/children suffering from autism is a long and stressful one. Even for those who have been able to successfully design a work and activity plan for the kid(s), managing their meltdowns, picking the right foods and tutoring them is not an easy task at all especially as the kids grow older. No wonder there are instances where a lot of parents isolate these kids from the rest of the world because of the fear of societal acceptance….but for how long?

In Nigeria today, there is little or no existent data on the number of cases existing and not much is known about the statistics of children on the spectrum. This is due to several challenges including the following areas such as social stigma, lack of awareness, inadequate testing facilities, lack of knowledgeable personnel, lack of adequate government support and religious beliefs

It is with this background information that the Kanyeyachukwu Autism Society KAS, a non-profit established in 2017 and aptly named after the young art prodigy Master Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo-Okeke, decided with the help of his art works, to draw attention to children and adults living with autism by hosting a yearly art exhibition tagged “Fabulous Autistic and Talented.”

This year’s exhibition aptly themed: ‘No Child Left Behind’ was a hugely successful follow-up to the debut which held in 2019 and which featured art works and performances by various children living with special needs.

And just as his other exhibitions, what a display of the beauty, grace and gift from God it was.

Obviously Kanyeyachukwus’ parents, teachers and handlers have been busy, as his works have graced the walls of several galleries and museums in Nigeria, Europe and other parts of Africa in the last three years and even during the lockdown last year, gaining wide acceptance in the art world with art collectors and enthusiasts viewing, purchasing and reviewing his works.

His art has been described in the past as “deep, highly intelligent, and unbelievably very mature for his age” – Dr. Kolja Kramer, Curator Moya Museum Vienna, Austria

Back home, it has also been described as “one that infuses the deep colors of our society and in his own way, brings it to life on canvas.“ – Joseph Umoibom, art Curator and GM Terra Kulture art and studio, Lagos Nigeria.

Speaking with his parents, one comes to the conclusion that aside the awards and reviews, they still go through what every parent of an autistic goes through when managing their child. In fact it looks to me like they have been made to double their efforts for as an internationally acclaimed artiste, kanyeyachukwu has on many occasions had to attend award ceremonies, press interviews, exhibitions, photoshoots etc and all with these occasions come the “lights, the cacophony of voices, musical instrument”s etc, which are usually a trigger to huge meltdowns suffered by autistics.

By Adekanmbi Oluwafemi

Archaeologists and anthropologists heavily rely on arts and artefacts to fill in the blanks in their study of man’s way of life. Arts express the strength of human imagination and provide the cultural trajectory of people’s culture and societies. Hence, art is the window to our past and the time capsule for our future.

The global art market is valued at about $67 billion with over 40 million artefacts sold and Nigerian arts made their own contribution to this exotic trade. It is natural for the lucrativeness of the business to attract illicit transactions and create a very busy black market; to this also, Nigeria has fallen victim.

For instance, in 2014, the Museum of Fine Arts returned eight  artefacts from the Royal Palace in Benin with one stolen as recently as the 1970s. In 2020, a terracotta sculpture of Ile-Ife origin believed to be about 600 years old, was returned from the Netherlands.

As more artefacts are making their way back home, they may have left the shores of the country belonging to a particular ethnic group or culture, but they return amidst national cheer and jubilation, as national treasures as symbols of Nigeria’s commonality of culture despite our diversities. This perfectly describes the unifying factor of arts.

In the words of Australian artist and illustrator Leni Kae, “art inspires us to visit the concept of unity and see ourselves as part of a bigger universe”. Art encompasses our dance and musical performances, colourful fabrics and literature.

Meanwhile, all kinds of visual arts exist within a spectrum which ranges from purely aesthetic purposes at one end to purely utilitarian purposes at the other. Such a polarity of purpose is reflected in the frequently used terms, Artist and Artisan, the latter being understood as one who gives considerable attention to the utilitarian.

Moreover, the arts, also known as fine arts in its entirety, utilises modes of expression that uses skills or imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences which can be shared with others.

In music, our traditional rhythms and melodies birthed the likes of Palmwine Music, Akpala and Afrobeats which remain our foremost exports to the rest of the world. From the Calabar’s  Ekombi Dance, Yoruba’s Bata Dance, Igbo’s  Nkwa umu-Agbogho Dance to the Hausa-Fulani’s  Koroso Dance or the Tiv’s Swange dance, our colourful and flamboyant dances are famous in Africa and beyond. They may be ascribed to their respective ethnic groups here in Nigeria but they are simply identified as Nigerian dance to the rest of the world.

Also in literature, the likes of Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka and other contemporary authors such as Chimamanda Adichie have educated people of the cultural richness of Nigeria through their art. With our craft, we have painted a unified picture of our nation in the face of our apparent current disunity.

Little wonder that a Southeastern Cyprian Ekwensi was comfortable to promote a typical northern lifestyle through the vivid authoring of the bestselling Passport of Mallam Ilia.

It is safe to say that Nigeria has been contributing to universal unity through our arts since the 15th century. However, going by the spates of agitations and skirmishes in the country, we are in dire need of that same commodity we have so graciously been giving the world – the unifying factor of Nigeria’s arts.

Therefore there’s serious need to rejuvenate our Arts and improve on it just like other countries because its neglect will rather continue to birth so much disunity amongst us.

• Asiwaju Adekanmbi Olufemi, a former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Ondo State.