Category: Arts & Life

The youths of the Ogidi community in Ijumu Local Government Area, Kogi State will take the centre stage as the famous Ogidi Day Festival holds from June 15 to 17.

The Director-General of the festival, Mr. Tunde Ipinmisho, who announced this in Ogidi said the community was making deliberate efforts to involve the youths in all aspects of its life.

He said the festival, tagged Nigeria’s biggest culture event in June, would open on Thursday, June 15 with a youth carnival round the town, followed on the same day by an expedition to the peak of Oda Mountain, which served as a watch tower for the people during the Nupe War of the late 19th century.

The Youth Connect night of dance and drama holds on Friday, June 16 featuring the Sisi Asa (Culture Queen) pageant as its climax.

Ipinmisho said various cultural troupes, age grades, clubs and societies as well as visiting troupes from Osun, Ondo, Edo and Anambra States would entertain guests at the main event on June 17, 2023 at the Community Hall Grounds, Agegbe, Ogidi to which dignitaries from across the country have been invited.

The festival which commemorates the arrival of the new yam in the town is also used as a platform for homecoming for the sons and daughters of the community from around the world as well as to raise funds for various development projects.

• Omolara Akintoye

Creativity, collaboration and commitment, among others will feature prominently at the 2023 Lagos Leather Fair. The fair in its sixth year has been at the forefront in the realization of the untapped opportunities in the Nigerian leather ecosystem and Africa as a whole.

“The annual celebration of Lagos Leather Fair is a proof point of our unflinching commitment towards finding sustainable solutions to scale the African leather industry and ensure that the Made-in-Nigeria Project and Zero-Oil Initiative becomes a reality,” said the founder of Lagos Leather Fair, Femi Olayebi.

“For over five years, we have created an enabling environment for key players to maximise the potential of the leather industry;we are delighted about LLF2023 and look forward to the significant impact it will make in Nigeria and across Africa.”

The fair will bring together indigenous brands, emerging and established designers as well as international brands to showcase their products and services to the defined audience.

During the fair, the LLF Accelerator Programme — a mentoring design and development programme where six selected leather brands – three in footwear and three in handbags, will grow and strengthen their skills and acquire critical knowledge with the help of entrepreneurs who possess the relevant industry experience.

Themed Staying Ahead: Creativity | Collaboration | Commitment, this year’s edition is scheduled to take place from the 17th to 18th of June at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

LLF2023 will feature a series of engaging conversations and masterclasses where selected speakers will be available to share insights on relevant and key topics that affect the African leather industry while featuring a well-curated series of workshops for creatives.

These workshops will focus on the techniques and fundamentals of shoemaking, and on growth and marketing strategies with the aid of social media using case studies. A very special workshop – Cracking Global Markets: How African Brands can go from Local to Global – is also being organised for twenty-five (25) selected brands. This workshop will be facilitated by an International fashion and retail consultancy.

In addition, LLF2023 will feature Pitch-A-LeatherBiz, a pitching session where Individual brands will pitch their business ideas to prospective investors before an audience. Lagos Leather Fair will also be introducing LLF Awards, aimed at recognising excellence and innovation, and honouring outstanding leather designers.

For about six years, the fair has had a significant impact on the Nigerian leather industry which is the third largest in Africa after South Africa and Ethiopia. The platform has impacted relevant stakeholders through its engaging conversations, creative workshops, product exhibitions, and runway presentations.

Professor Chijioke Uwasomba is of the English Department of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State. He has spent almost all his academic life teaching and forming young adults. Most of his former students are already making big strides in the literary world all over. In this interview with Edozie Udeze, he takes a look at the level of literary development in the society and what literature has done and can still do to improve ideas and dreams.

As a professor of the English language and one versed in Literature, what would you say is the state of literature in Nigeria presently?

The state of literature in Nigeria, like any other productive engagement is not as excellent as one would have joyfully expected. Given the complete inability of the ruling forces to run the country with vision and purposefulness, the Nigerian world of literature is grappling with the contradictions. But literature, being what it is, cannot but continue to assert itself in the advancement of the people’s culture. Nigerian writers and their community of critics, in spite of their bumbling leaders(rulers)have continued to wax very strong their creative and critical engagements.

Every year winners are announced by NLNG,the custodians of Nigerian literature prize. What,in your opinion has the prize done towards the promotion of the countrys literary values?

The NLNG Prize is a worthy exercise and its management and the pool of assessors have been commendable. The Prize has helped in the identification of budding writers in particular and the promotion of Nigerian literature written in English.

Literature defines a nation and its many stages of statehood. Has Nigerian literature, in anyway helped redefine the many exigences that trouble the nation?

Nigerian literature has helped in every material particular in the genuine and continuous efforts to define and redefine Nigeria’s nationhood which has been in tatters right from its benighted beginning. Every nation is in a perpetual remoulding and re-engineering for the betterment of her people. This is even more necessary and urgent in backward, dependent, neo-colonial and peripheral contraptions like Nigeria. Post-colonial hell-holes like Nigeria requires a literature that interrogates the contradictions and inanities that have hobbled them and made them unlivable environments on earth. Nigerian literature, right from its beginnings has been an active force in the building and redirection of the country.

Has the Association of Nigerian Authors in any way pointed the way forward to help this entity called Nigeria?

The Association of Nigerian Authors and other literature -promoting platforms have been doing their utmost best in promoting Nigerian literature in the service of the country and the global community.

What areas of literature interest the younger ones most these days?

Younger Nigerians are losing interest in reading because the Nigerian leaders at all levels don’t read and their distaste for reading and exhibition of crass anti-intellectualism have not been in the national interest of the country. The place of reading should be on the national agenda with specific focus on the youths because the future of the country and the world belongs to them.

In what ways has the genre popular literature contributed to literary advancement in recent times?

The broader field of the media and popular cultural studies and activities with detailed engagements and analysis have influenced and contributed to literary production in the country. Every literature is a form of popular culture because of the ontological nature of literature as a cultural tool for the ideologization of the people in their march for progress and full enjoyment.

Program Lead, Terra Academy For the Arts, TAFTA, Joseph Umoibom speaks with Samson Oti on how far the Nigeria creatives have gone in terms of quality to meet international standards.

The creative industry in Africa and globally symbolise power bases of investments. Do you think emerging creatives in the industry are capable – skills and talents – of effectively utilizing such investments?

I do think we have a lot of creatives who are capable and are stepping up to meet the challenges and demands of international bodies such as Netflix, Amazon, and Showmax. Their interest and investments in the Nigerian market are a result of the growth the industry has been through over the years. We also have a lot more creatives who are working to expand their knowledge and be better trained and equipped to deliver the quality standards wanted by those bodies. Their entrance is a welcome development as it will help grow the industry in terms of economics and finances, and will push both emerging and established creatives to go beyond what they are capable of.

As an African filmmaker, why do you think it is important for organizations and individuals to support and nurture young talents?

As the industry grows, we need to create an environment that works for both emerging and established filmmakers. This way, the younger generation will be best prepared to take over where the older generation stops. This succession process is important in order to avoid a vacuum when many of the existing filmmakers retire. By nurturing and supporting them now, they can learn directly from the established filmmakers, as well as help them adopt newer ideas and innovations. The younger generation is more savvy at new technology and these new processes will only make the industry better. The older generation will also benefit by learning new ways of making films and telling stories that will resonate with everyone, irrespective of their generation.

You are the program lead and one of the key figures at the Terra Academy for the Arts (TAFTA). Can you share an overview of the programme and its purpose?

Terra Academy for the Arts (TAFTA), with the support of the Mastercard Foundation, aims to train 65,000 youths between the ages of 16 and 35 in the creative and technical aspects of theatre. Under Bolanle Austen-Peters Production and Terra Kulture, the foremost theatre production outfit in Nigeria, we have been informally training many youths who discovered their talents by learning on the job with us. Through TAFTA, we are formalizing this training programme by offering relevant courses such as Stage Lightning, Sound Design, Animation which is useful in scenic and set design, and scriptwriting. We have also included business and entrepreneurial modules in each of the courses so that our students receive the most thorough education, especially those who will be setting up their own businesses afterwards. The initiative is focused on three states: Lagos, Ogun, and Kano with a particular emphasis on female participation. All that’s needed to register is a Secondary School certificate. Finally, after completion of the programme, we provide relevant internship opportunities for our students to gain practical experience.

 What would you say are the biggest barriers and challenges for emerging talents in the creative industry, and how is TAFTA working to address them?

There are three major challenges affecting emerging and established filmmakers in the industry and they are funding, training, and access to markets. Many find it difficult to secure favourable funding for theatre productions, film productions, and other creative endeavours. We are addressing this challenge by partnering with First City Monument Bank (FCMB), supported by Mastercard Foundation, to provide soft loans with flexible terms. These loans are not only available to students or graduates from TAFTA but to anyone in the industry looking to kickstart a creative enterprise.

What should the public be expecting from TAFTA and its students as they embark on careers in the creative academy?

The public should expect better-trained and better-skilled experts who are transforming the creative industry and the nation at large. They should expect a significant increase in the quality of work being churned out by the industry because of this intervention by TAFTA and Mastercard Foundation. We are creating a pool of talents that the industry can tap into. We have diligently trained these talents and now they are ready for the market. In addition, these talents are not limited to us or the creative industry, they can be utilized in a variety of ways and opportunities.

How does TAFTA plan to expand in the future, and what are its long-term goals for supporting creative youth?

We are looking to possibly expanding the number of our intervention states and also our physical centres. Currently, we have two physical centres in Lagos, Ogun, and Kano States each that provide the necessary equipment and internet access for students who cannot afford to study on their own. We are also hoping to expand our course offerings and venture into more aspects of the creative industry as demand rises. For the students, we plan to continue to support their journey even after graduation. There are sessions with mentors offered for alumni and we are building a strong alumni community. They are always welcome to reach out to us, our faculty, and our body of experts for advice they may need. This is important as our body of experts consists of accountants, lawyers, business entrepreneurs, marketers, and so on, who have shown their willingness to offer free services to students and alumni.

Title: The Lonely Grave and other poems

Athor: Jibrin Baba Ndace

Published: 2020

Reviewer: Edozie Udeze

Poems convey thoughts in deeper and more concise forms. They are feelings of the inner mind that pierce the heart. The words are naturally chosen for proper effects and to also convey the appropriate sounds for the purpose of assimilation. The Lonely Grave and other poems, comes at a time when the Nigerian society is at a crossroads. The poet is very careful in his choice of themes and words, lines and sounds. He takes his time to synchronize and harmonize the rhymes and rhythms, their total effects on the psyche of the reader; indeed, the entire society.

Jibrin Baba Ndace is totally involved in these poems. He tears at the heart of the matter. In very few succinct words in each lyric, he delivers the necessary messages to convey the state of anomie and angst, very chaotic in some circumstances and situations, in Nigeria where the enemy held sway for many years. If we take a cue from the book of Lamentations in the Holy Bible, we encounter the sorrows of Jerusalem replicated in Nigeria. It is clear: “How lonely lies Jerusalem once full of peoples. Once honoured by the world. She is now like a widow…”.

Now, how Ndace handles this war of idiocy. “Like the crackling of bush fires-(the gunshots boom). We hear them around, Ahead of us, They fly in all directions. It is the sound of death. The shots from the guns…” The poems are all on the fight to uproot the menace called Boko Haram. The insurgency began slowly but steadily grew and spread like an irredeemable wildfire. Before the nation realized it the group had spread far afield to all the nook and cranny of the North East of Nigeria. Consequently, those areas -towns, villages, markets, worship places, schools, homes, farms, suddenly became endangered, marooned and cocooned by harbingers.

Then came Lt. General Tukur Buratai as the Chief of Army Staff. Then also came Ndace as one of the embedded defence correspondents. The events unfolded fast and in quick successions. With accelerated despatch, work began; serious counter insurgency happened in which General Buratai and his men regained control while the journalists did their reporting. Ndace followed the events clinically using his curious sense of observation and jotting where necessary to safe keep information. The results are these emotion laden poems. They are poems that take you through the series of traumatic happenstances that disrupted the society. It is the story of the gunshots of men… for the enemies that lurk around….

The poems are sorrowfully delivered. The poet does not hide anything. The feelings are genuine, mean, profound and often infectious, while the enemy is waiting in ambush, to strike. Now, it is only on the way to Sambisa, a coven of sorts, and which is now debauched and defiled in dryness. By indoctrinated rapists…  The rapists that distorted Chibok, harassing young maidens into nothingness, into eternal captivity; sex slaves in their very early years of life. The poems on Chibok , Chibok Angels are truism,  complete reminders of the early stages of the attacks by these marauders. The lines grip, dripping with memories of the things parents do not want to remember, of young school girls who have one day become slaves in very sadistic circumstances.

And in their innocence. They began a journey/to the land unknown/an uncertain voyage, of no return, leaving despair, on their heels… Our girls ‘wifed’ by the beasts. Sexed by the vampires. Made mothers, by the monsters”. It is horrendous, harrowing and heart-rending. These lines touch on the fabrics of homes; on the role of the state to protect and provide, to safeguard and streamline. This also goes to show why the poems are divided into sections. Each section handles appropriate themes and periods in the lifespan of the matters so treated in the collection. Ndace is crafty and smart in this arrangement. And in all, the arrangement works so clearly that once you pick the book, you are compelled to read through. The simplicity of the presentation, the high sense of delivery, all come together to give added impetus and meaning to the poems.

Apart from a rather lengthy acknowledgement, the book is divided into six chapters of sections. This makes for an easy read. The first chapter handles issues of The War of Idiocy, which inadvertently queries the senselessness of the whole episode called Boko Haram. In chapter two, named Famished land, there are problems of Safe traps, Gamboru Ngala, Vulture’s feast and more. The poems are on incidences, on homes, on locations and settlements now shadows of their former selves.

In chapter three- Heroes in boots, individuals, soldiers, generals, all are eulogized for their uncommon roles to dismantle the enemy. The poems come out as more of tributes, eulogies, appraisals, more. In the poems you see the level of sacrifices, commitments, zeal exhibited by the people concerned to save motherland. The poet is critical in his assessment of their roles in most terrible of times to wriggle free of difficult moments for the good of all.

In chapter four, titled Tears of Laughter, sanity has gradually begun to erupt, to surface amongst the rank and file. The Army leaders have begun somewhat to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Time to indulge in The Soldier and his lover, can now be tolerated. It shows, however, that it is not totally a hopeless struggle to freedom. The poet intones: ‘It is a love affair. Not your usual love affair… It is a love affair. Of combatants, And their riffles. Of combatants, And their horses. Of combatants, And their trenches. It is a love affair that must be. It is a combatants’ love affair”. You can now see the taste of love affair. You can now perceive how the army romances love to steady their nerves, to fight on.

In chapter five, Of Drills and Grief, we see another sides of the Army, those unspoken sides that separate them from the rest of the people. It is time to glimpse through the Combatant press up, Combatant movement or It may be the last. All these gear towards the total build up of a soldier to face the rigours of his calling. In chapter six, we encounter Of hope, victory and triumph. It is time to really wine and dine, time to snigger at the enemy and shout loud that we have made it. Here most people come back to welcome the gallant and victorious soldiers, after all, stories of the war are only written by the victors. The villain and vanquished has no stories to tell. So Ndace tells it, General Buratai stamps it and now we have: The Lonely Grave and other poems.