The Nation Newspaper

Category: Arts & Life

‘The Box Office makes theatre boom’

Henry Ndubuisi was once the head of the Box Office at the National Theatre, Lagos. Now as a Deputy Director with the National Theatre, he heads the Marketing Department, a place where revenues are realized for government. Beyond that, he is a culture activist, promoter and comedian. He speaks to Edozie Udeze on the lessons learnt over the years on how tradition and theatre go together to blend life and living.

HENRY Ndubuisi is a Theatre Artiste plenipotentiary. Apart from being a Theatre Arts graduate, he is everything an artist. He works with the National Theatre, Lagos, as a Deputy Director. As at now he is in charge of the marketing, department, which means he is the man holding and supervising sales and marketing section of the Theatre. Before he got to the level of being a marketing and business guru for the Theatre, he was for many years head of the Box Office of the Theatre.

The Box Office is usually the first port of call at any theatre. It is there that the tickets are sold and used for shows. For every theatre or cinema promoter or producer, the Box Office is where the first stage of action which ushers thespians into the hall commences. So for years Ndubuisi was in charge of that and took his time to study the rudiments of the Box Office that his name almost became synonymous with the department. Today, the Box Office has suddenly become a strong pull to the Theatre that most film and drama producers who want their works to be shown at the Theatre now pay more attention to the department.

Ndubuisi has also come to combine his theatricals with his strong belief in his Igbo tradition and culture. He combines all this with jokes; jokes that often throw you off balance. It has been so that wherever he goes his taunts, jokes and witticisms follow him about. He talks more clearly on these in a way that a better part of him is enamored. “Yes, clearly, I combine my theatre calling with the practice of Igbo culture. You see, first I am an artiste, before I became a culture activist and administrator. In all, they all go together; culture and theatre are intertwined. Indeed I am a creative person. On my discovery of my talents while growing up, I decided the best way to nurture it was to give it a sharper bent. Hence, I went to the university to study Theatre Arts”.

Ndubuisi is widely known as okadigbo. But when you push him further he’d quickly add ‘living’ to the okadigbo or simply say to you: ‘I am Okadigbo the second’. This has however come to become his stage name that most people, even his closest associates often refuse to recognize him by his original name. “I went to the university to develop the talent because I’d always wanted to live on theatre all my life. I went to the University of Port Harcourt where I got a degree in Theatre Arts. Thereafter, since 1997 I have been working here as a culture administrator”.

As a creative person, well versed in his field, Ndubuisi always tries to be distinguishable. “Theatre for me is a practical reflection of various aspects of life. This is exactly what I have been doing here in the past twenty seven years. In my leisure time, outside the normal cultural and official hours here at the Theatre, I am involved in home video shows. I have done comedy C.Ds. it is called you must laugh part I. The way Nigeria is now, you must laugh. You have no choice but to laugh, yes, you have to. Very soon, however, I will come up with part II of it. And it will make more people laugh. I have also created a TV station on YouTube. On the TV I post some of my scripts and skits that make people giggle, laugh. The YouTube offered me the opportunity and I grabbed it with all my strength. It is called living Okadigbo station”.

Ndubuisi does not stay away from his local people or the events that usually bind them as one. “I have a good relationship with my people. The Igbo communities in Lagos have conferred on me a chieftaincy title due to my consistent contributions towards the wellbeing and promotion of the ideals of Igbo culture and beliefs. Precisely where I come from in Imo State, I have a special and cordial relationship with the traditional ruler. My town is Owerri-Nkwoji in Nkwere local government area. From the beginning till now, I have covered many programmes for my people as a Master of Ceremonies. This has truly endeared me to them all”.

This was why when he was to get married; the traditional ruler of his town was one of the special guests that accompanied him to his in-law’s place. For this he instantly earned a special place and honour in his homestead that today that respect still rings and lingers amongst his people, home and abroad. He says further: “That, in other words, shows you how close I have been with my cradle. In Igbo culture, you know, it is not easy for your traditional ruler to attend such an occasion. Not only that he accompanied me, he supported me all the way. It was a sign to show you that I am well rooted in my home town”.

Even in Lagos where he is domiciled, Ndubuisi has also earned some place of honour for himself. Not just because he ensures he keeps afloat his links with the people, there are hardly any Igbo programmes or celebrations within reach that he does not attend. He does not only attend, he makes it duty-bound to play pivotal roles when called upon to do so. “In recognition of my little contributions to the Igbo culture, last year, I was conferred with that chieftaincy title. It was a big ceremony that attracted lots of bigwigs in the Igbo communities around the state. The award is a way to thank me. It is for me to do more to ensure most Igbo culture does not die within and amongst us”.

As an artiste, he is seen most times wearing beads on his hands. The beads simply symbolize a titled man. It is not uncommon to see Ndubuisi adorned in native and cultural wears whenever the situation warrants it. The beads on his neck which often come in different blends, colours and sizes point to his traditional estate in life. “The Igbo Speaking Communities in Lagos is a registered association. I am a member and it is where I have been able to play different roles to help our people here in Lagos. Part of that role is to wear the cultural dresses that show that I am Igbo. That is why whenever I can help it I go tradition in my choice of fashion. The welfare of the Igbo in Lagos is also my concern”.

The title indeed is great. The role to play now is to do lots more as a tool to galvanize the Igbo in Nigeria, more so, Lagos. “Yes, in my role for the Igbo here in Lagos, I have gone beyond my local level. I have now gone up to the state level in Lagos that my name is almost known to all. It is not easy to always have time at the slightest whim to help your people realize where they come from. But this is what I and others do often enough to ensure we do not forget our roots. It gives me joy to do so, to be involved in things that promote our interest”.

After he was assessed for this award, Ndubuisi was then presented to the people. This assessment takes time, often done in secret in order not to be induced. So, his was clear from the beginning. And so here we have a man who is an artist in totality, in all spheres. So, this title conferred by the Igbo Speaking Communities on Ndubuisi is authentic they have been invested with the power to do so. So, Obodo-na-ekume I of Igbo symbolizes a lot for Ndubuisi. Simply put, the title means, the people or the town that breathes. Ndubuisi therefore is the source of breathe for the people, for the entire entity called Igbo not just in Lagos but in Nigeria.

With this, it is hoped he does more to help Nigeria, to stimulate the whole essences of cultural ideals for Africa and the Igbo both in the Diaspora and in mother land.

March 19, 2023
‘We worked, rose together as officers’

They are women in the frontlines. Their forte is in defence of law and order. They are those the Federal Road Safety Corps dubs: Women in Uniform (WIU) which is also the title of the yearly event by the Corps to mark the International Women’s Day. With the theme: DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for gender equality, this year’s edition was held in honour of the first woman Rear Admiral, Itunu Hotonu, and other WIU breaking stereotypes. EVELYN OSAGIE reports.

Nigerian women are constantly breaking new grounds and changing the narratives in their careers. This is particularly evident in their achievements in the fields of endeavour – whether in the military, government or private sector. Rear Admiral Itunu Hotonu (rtd) stands out as one of those leading the pack in breaking such stereotypes that have kept them from soaring to higher heights.

This Nigerian Navy first woman two-star general was the toast of the Federal Road Safety Corps’ annual event dubbed: Women in Uniform (WIU) that has since become a yearly event to mark the International Women’s Day.

The event, which was first held on March 8, 2021 at Alausa, Ikeja and in its third edition, had as keynote speaker the Group Head, W Initiative, Access Bank Plc, Mrs. Abiodun Olubitan, and CEO, Cornerstone of Beddings, Temidayo Ogunleke, as guest speakers.

She is an uncommon woman in the frontlines. You could call her a trailblazer who for decades held the fort on the seas in defence of law and order. She was promoted to the rank of rear admiral in December 2012, becoming the first woman admiral in Africa. Hotonu is married to Mr. Abayomi Hotonu, and architect. Her ability to marry her career and a successful family life was highlighted and celebrated at the FRSC’s event that brought together women in the force and the private sector.

Famed for advocating true gender equality in the force, Hotonu often preached that to achieve true gender equality, laws and practices which held women back should be done away with.

As one calling for more enriched empowerment strategies for an improved trajectory particularly for women in the force, Hotonu, who was featured on a Zoom panel, challenged the participants to rise above stereotypes that keep them from soaring. She had often listed the strategies as: “early and focused education, role model and mentorship programme, provision of enabling environment and building women for roles to meet challenges of dynamic leadership”.

“Women are naturally endowed with unique leadership skills, which if harnessed, would further strengthen the maritime environment. Research has shown that economies thrive when there is good gender balance and women are often dynamic leaders of change. Beautiful women in uniform are women of virtue, honour and excellence.”

In the same vein, she advised that they pay keen attention to their personal and family life, while stating: “Remember it’s just a job and you will not be there forever. You need to have tolerance.”

In addition to maintaining a happy home, the retired Rear Admiral linked her success to the love and support of her hubby, who was featured alongside her on the panel. In her view, the freedom she enjoyed at home propelled and gave her the courage to compete, achieve and excel in her career. That encouragement became a big boost to her to a higher pedestal. That is the magic that made Hotonu the woman she became.

“You as a woman should always respect him and forget your post or uniform at the entrance of the house. We worked as a team: we worked and we rose together.”

On his part, her hubby urged men, particularly spouses of women in the force, not to feel intimidated by the wives’ career choice or achievement, while citing himself and his wife’s example. Hear him, “Her achievement is for the whole family not for her alone. As I was making progress at work, she was making progress at work and at home.”

And to her younger colleagues, Itunu urged: “Keep keeping on, raise the standards higher. The sky is your limit.”

Celebrating women achievers in force like Hotonu as signposts of excellence worthy of emulation by those still in active services was the motivation behind the yearly event, said FRSC Sector Commander Babatunde Farinloye.

Praising Hotonu’s efforts and that of Major Gen. Aderonke Kale (rtd.), the first female Major General and the first army psychiatrist, he called to remembrance other women achievers in the force, such as Mrs. Patience Ibekwe and Mrs. Ivy Uche Okoronkwo (both were the first set of women who rose to the ranks of Deputy Inspector General of Police; and late Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile, contributed significantly to combat operations against insecurity in the Northern states.

In highlighting the positive contributions of retired and serving women in the force towards nation building, Farinloye observed that they have often suffered less coverage and reporting.

With the theme: “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for gender equality”, the Sector Commander called for more inclusion and empowerment of WIU, while urging women not to be afraid of competing with the male counterparts or embracing new things like technology.

Farinloye, who was represented by his deputy, Lucas Oguntade, said: “It is no secret that the future is female and giving more opportunities to women, besides being a matter of rights, is also a manifestation of good economic sense.

“In a spirit of celebration, we recognise the manifestly beneficial and vital achievements and contributions of our great country’s inspirational women, especially the ones in uniform who sacrifice their comforts, families and ultimately risking their lives in the line of duty to ensure the security and safety of our dear brothers and sister, fathers and mothers and the general citizens.

“To appreciate the inclusiveness of women in nation building, let us go down memory lane to recognise the contributions of some of our amazing women both living and dead who have left their mark on the sands of time through amazing things that they have done. Women have also broken the barrier of stereotype in FRSC today as it has a record of three females to rise to the rank of a Deputy Corps Marshal including DCM Ojeme Ewhrudjakpor (rtd), DCM Ann Marjah (rtd) and DCM Susan Ajenge.”

Speaking on the theme, Access Bank Plc W Initiative Group Head, urged women not to be afraid to break barriers. Decrying the underrepresentation and maginalisation of women in time past, she called for gender equity. She noted that one way to break the stereotypes is through technological skills.

“Gender Equality means giving everyone the shoes that fit. But we must strive to achieve gender equity. It is high time women were given a voice and platform to thrive as much as their male counterparts. God has planted a lot in women if only we can unlock our full potentials, the sky would be our limit. In addition, we should renew our commitment in technology and also break barriers as women. And that is why as a female friendly bank; one of our core values at Access Bank is inspiring and empowering women in all walks through our W Initiative. We are not preaching SHE-economy but global economy that is all inclusive,” she said.

Also focusing on the theme, the CEO of Cornerstone Beddings, Temidayo, popularly called “theBeddingsMadam”, encouraged participants to take advantage of the social media, noting that it’s a tool that has helped her in expanding her business to larger audience.

Wondering why women often shied away from technology and the digital space, she challenged them to acquire new tech skills, recounting how being tech savvy helped her build her business from zero to a multi-million naira company.

She said: “Don’t be afraid to take online course and digital marketing courses to help expand your careers and businesses. Technology is not cheap but it’s worth it. It’s taking over business in present day. I used to give my phone to someone to operate for me before; but I later decided to learn and enrolled for different courses and today my story is different. Digital marketing helps to sell over the world. Women, all you need is to be open to learn and you’d discover it’s not hard.”

In her goodwill message, Celebrity Marshal Julie Chi-Nwaoha, whose mother was a police officer, charged women to reinvent themselves using technology, observing that tech is key to a successful business on present days. She educated guests on some traffic safety, urging them to pay more attention while on the road. “Also, use social media to groom yourself and your career, including your businesses and try to open up more to technology.”

The event also had in attendance representatives of Police Officers Wives Association ( NOWA).

March 15, 2023
ThePrimer

By Cyan Frank-Hanachor

Propped on scrawny legs with scabby knees, rivulets dribbled on the blanched slate,hunched shoulders still smarting from swats from the stern teacher.

Heart thumping loudly,she willed numb fingers round tightly-whorled doodles the “meanie” had scribbled on the board;terror churning blurred images of the jumbled script of the spelling bee.

Scrawling,head lowered, the stout heart gnawed on trembling lips; shielding hesitant fingers from prying eyes that scorned at her “pretend” seriousness!

Darting a piercing look at imaginary rivals, the cocky :

“Don’t spy on my work!” tremulous in the daguerreotype of “Infant One”.

March 15, 2023
Keys to becoming a productive employee

Title: ’Now That You Are Employed’

Author: Babatunde Jedidiah Omisore

Reviewer: Victoria Amadi

Pagination: 188 pages

With the dwindling rate at which employees dive into employment opportunities and work settings, without patiently and holistically digesting core work ethics, there arises urgent need to address this loophole to bring employees back to assimilating the Do(s) and Don’t(s) of a working environment in producing a competent employee.

It is against this backdrop that an expository and inspirational piece titled; ‘Now That You Are Employed’, written by Babatunde Omisore, comes to the limelight, to address this menace and to expose employees in the public service, to the realities of life at the work place.

To achieve this, the author employs humour, simple and uncomplicated diction which makes it easier for the readers to keep turning the pages, while grabbing a clearer picture of its contents. The simplicity of the diction, also, enables anyone who has average grasp of English language, to easily understand the book.

Its cover is an image of a faceless male figure, putting on suit and tie, which symbolically, represents a civil servant.

Omisore employs expository writing technique, which enables him to calve an edge in enlightening the readers. He also, employed real life instances to portray these work ethics.

The 188-page book, comprises of 68 chapters. Each chapter starts with a quote (which are in alignment with the subject matter discussed therein) from Literates. However, there is something unique about the structuring of the chapters that would attract its readers into wanting to grasp more of its content. This is in the way the author shortened each chapter into either a page, half a page, a page and half or two pages.

The foreward of the book was written by the current Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat.

The book also provides employees with some human relation’s management nuggets to be able to navigate working terrain on how to carefully choose mentors in the fields of endeavour, how to employ financial management strategy, clue on the right dressing ethics, on how to develop emotional intelligence, understanding one’s temperament, how to prepare for retirement and a host of others.

For new entrants into the civil service, Omisore on Page 4 advises: “In your first six months, develop a reputation for being a hard worker. Be the hardest worker in the office. Your bosses know you. People are watching you. They know the dead weights and they know the guys who get the job done. Be part of those who get the job done.”

The author on Page 20, describes salary as ‘the least of the benefits’ while stating two important things that should come before salary as; Contacts and people, development of skill and competence.

On prospective dressing ethics at work place, he writes: “Casual dressing is for casual workers who get casual results for the casual pay. To be a good civil servant, you have to dress well.” Simply put, “your habit of dressing well will put you ahead of the pack.

Discussing the need for developing good emotional intelligence as a Civil Servant, he admonishes; “ …in this environment, you will be graded based on your emotional intelligence.”

“There is politics everywhere, even in civil service. Talent is not enough. Hardwork is not enough. You have to be careful that you are not on the wrong end of office politics.” These and more are some of the secrets to surviving work setting, Omisore encapsulates in the book.

Irrespective of these nuggets of wisdom masked in this literary work, there are few errors one could point out therein. Omisore in the book, documents some experiences which are peculiar to him. The book also, extensively and selectively covers civil servicing in Lagos State, thereby making it appears as a state’s book.

March 15, 2023
Stakeholders push for Japada

Stakeholders at the maiden National Summit on Migration in Lagos rallied against irregular migrations and pushed for Japada.

The summit was organised by the Journalists International Forum for Migration (JIFORM) with over 300 journalists across the continent, covering migration as part of its ongoing efforts to positively change the narratives.

JIFORM President, Dr Ajibola Abayomi, urged government to address both the push and pull factors fueling irregular migration and human trafficking by improving the enabling environment to provide jobs, security, education and other social amenities to the citizens.

Also, he said, the summit would serve as an annual event to encourage capacity building for the media and other stakeholders on migration subsector.

Assistant Director, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr. Wale Akodu, while welcoming the participants, called on the media to do more to dissuade the minds of the Nigerian youths from the option of irregular migration.

Agencies such as the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons (NAPTIP), Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Nigerian-German Centre for Jobs, Nigeria Police Force, and Reintegration (Giz), Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour (NACTAL), Nigeria Police Force academic and others made inputs during the summit.

Keynote speaker, Director General NAPTIP, Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi who was represented by Mrs Comfort Modupe Agboko, the Zonal Commander of the agency in Lagos said advised Nigerians to shun desperate attempts to relocate abroad.

She expressed the readiness of the NAPTIP to work with the JIFORM and other organisations to stem the tide of human trafficking through exchange of quality information with other strategic means.

The guest lecturer, Prof Lai Oso of Lagos State University, Ojo while appraising migration trends and dynamics, recommended integrated communication process to tackle the migration menaces and charge the media to report more positive stories about the nation.

“Irregular migration means several things in different parts of the country. In addressing the issues, we need an integrated communication process that accommodates multiple strategic and deliberate communications to reach different classes of Nigerians,” he said., Team Leader of the Nigerian-German Centre for Jobs and Reintegration (Giz) Sandra Vermuijten said Nigerians should be encouraged to substitute ‘Japa’ for ‘Japada’ which means returning back to base to exploit the opportunities back home instead of being stranded abroad.

She said the Giz was ready to continue to work with the government and other relevant organisations to train and equip Nigerians for job opportunities. “We implement a 360 degree approach to migration – that means that we support both those who want to travel and those that want to come back. We provide information on regular migration and on the risks of irregular – not illegal – migration.

“Once abroad, thousands of Nigerians are being told to return, because they have no legal right to be there. Many arrived irregularly and applied for asylum. However, as Nigeria is not at war and the government is not systematically persecuting citizens, Nigerians are often not eligible for asylum” she added.

Abike-Dabiri Erewa, the Chairman of NiDCOM represented by Abdur-Rahman Balogun, the head of the media unit hailed the contributions of the Nigerians in Diaspora to the economy but was quick to admonish Nigerians to be of conduct abroad.

The NiDCOM boss counseled that every Nigerian willing to travel abroad should endeavour to get the right documentation and be of good behavior to save the Federal Government from spending huge money on those being deported.

The President of Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour (NACTAL), Mr Abdulganiyu Abubakar, represented by the National Secretary, Mrs Ijeoma Dawn Olatubosun, called for effective collaboration between the government and civil society groups to reduce incidence of human trafficking.

March 15, 2023
Creative Industries Development Bill: Right step, wrong time?

The gathering was small but comprised members of the creative industry in Lagos. From writers to publishers, theatre art practitioners, TV producers, filmmakers and musicians, almost every sub-sector was represented. There couldn’t have been a better audience than this to discuss the new Creative Industry Development Bill. Though a relatively stormy session, the interaction afforded each speaker the opportunity to make significant contributions on how to make the Bill richer before the final draft is sent to the National Assembly. Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.

Some stakeholders in creative industry converged on Terra Kulture in Victoria Island, Lagos to ‘brainstorm’ on an Executive Bill, tagged Creative Industries Development Bill that is in its fifth draft. Specifically, the gathering was at the instance of Senior Special Assistant to the President (Country Risk Assessment and Evaluation (CRA&E), Office of the Chief of Staff, Colonel Felix Orevoghene Alaita (rtd). Penultimate Sunday, he briefed practitioners-writers, publishers, theatre art practitioners, TV and filmmakers and musicians among others, on the Bill with the aim of refocusing the creative sector for growth.

According to Col. Alaita, who assured that the Bill promises to make funding available outside of government budget for the creative sector, said there is need for inputs from stakeholders on how to make the Bill richer before the final draft that will be presented to the National Assembly.

Some stakeholders, who praised the initiative, however expressed reservation on the process and workability of the Bill. In attendance were Mahmoud Ali-Balogun, Israel Eboh, Jahman Anikulapo, Dr. Efosa Imasuen, Dr. Victor Okhai, Makinde Adeniran, Anwuli Ojugo, Azafi Omoluabi, Samuel Osaze and a host of culture journalists.

Providing insight into the draft of the Bill, Col. Alaita (rtd) stated that motivation for the Bill partly stemmed from the successful passage of The Nigerian StartUp Act, which he also helped fashion from start to finish. He, therefore, wishes to replicate a similar legal instrument for the creative industry where he has a passion.

“We want to have a platform that will enable the creative industries grow from where they are now to where they ought to be, in a larger scope. We have put together many items that are supposed to help you improve your business landscape. The Bill is going to establish a Commission, which will be an umbrella agency that will oversee everything that has to do with the creative industries, and interfaces with every other Ministry, Department and Agencies (MDAs) on your behalf. The idea is to create a one-stop centre where everything about the industry can be resolved, to reduce the bottlenecks and bureaucracies that we normally face when we do business in Nigeria,” he said.

But at a time when Federal Government is considering merger and scrapping of some ministries, departments and agencies to save cost of governance, how well can the new Bill fly within government circle?

In 2011, the Oronsaye Committee in its report, recommended that of the 541 statutory and non-statutory Federal Government parastatals, agencies and commissions, 263 statutory agencies should be reduced to 161, 38 agencies should be abolished, 52 agencies should be merged, and 14 should revert to departments in ministries.

On the issue of funding, he stated that the commission’s funds will be independent of national budget. “The Bill will also establish a fund that is supposed to create a framework for access to funds at the various layers – from the person who decides on writing a book to the established ones like yourselves, etc. The different layers of funding will be available to you to do your business through a process that will be created in the Act. The Bill also establishes a system in place to ensure that you can use your intellectual property (IP) to access funding, which is a challenge we have identified that a lot of people in the creative industries face.

“I created a concept I call ‘The Whole of Government, The Whole of the Nation Approach to Doing Things’. This ensures that we don’t just sit as government to create things for people to use without getting feedbacks from them on the viability of those ideas or notions. So we’re here today to get feedback from you on what you think should be in the Bill of such nature that will ensure it is fit for the purpose for which it is designed. We need ownership of the Bill. So the more feedback that we can get and input in the Bill, the more ownership you will have of the Bill.

“The Bill is here for you. The Bill puts you FIRST. FIRST is acronym for funding, incentives, research, skills and training. We want the Bill to be strong on training. We understand the need for a pipeline to be established from nursery school to full adulthood where training of various cadre happens to ensure that the industry is at international standard of quality, going forward. We want children in the nursery school to have dreams and desires of becoming writers, publishers or theatre artists and not when they finish growing up, and they’ve learnt everything to be learnt, then they now possibly want to switch. Let it be organic; let it be something that is nurtured from birth to adulthood. The Bill is very strong on training and will find ways to interface with the Ministry of Education, for instance, to ensure that a syllabus for the creative industry is integrated into the school curriculum to grow talents to meet modern-day standards.”

However, some stakeholders lamented that they were never carried along since the first draft of the Bill, noting that as good as the idea of the bill is, the players know what their challenges are than any outsider.

They wondered why it took the bill facilitators such a long time to call for their inputs, adding that the foundation to drafting the bill was faulty and at variance with existing operational environment of many agencies in the Ministry with similar and multiple interests in the creative sector.

They also queried the place of the existing MDAs, which they said, is not clear. “Do they have a buy-in into the bill because without such, there is a likely conflict? Also, there are too many agencies in the sector doing same thing without clear cut guidelines. How well is the Bill positioned to make government agencies perform their functions? How can the commission interface with government agencies in order to implement their laws and mandate?” Eboh asked.

He also observed that there are too many components that are not captured in the Bill, which often lead to lopsided development in the sector.

March 15, 2023
Just Wondering… About Mantra (2)

‘Cos we’re all wanderers

Just wondering…

(wonder no more)

It’s all for that pig-head

That ugly busy-body called Mantra

Mantra is no fool, but she is a fool

She comes, she bestrides,

She sniggers with her over-sized

Nose, mouth – like a wind-pipe

She kicks, she loves, yet

She hates with her tiny tity exposed

She freaks, she frets

She calls me this monster,

This beautiful monster – she’s confused

See your teeth, you ape

She says, jeering at me.

But then I still love you

Ah! How awful to love an ape

Very inconsequential animal like you

I am, Mantra, who loves an ape, a Monster!

I am here to strangle you, beat you to pieces.

You beast always wondering, like a wanderer

Yet, I love you – oh, but that nasty

snoring of yours at night.

Just wondering, but why?

It’s all for the sake of this beastly love,

This endless wandering…

When I shall strangle you,

Take you to the world beyond,

Thus, ending all this business of wondering.

Don’t you know? I am a river mermaid, the bigger Monster.

March 12, 2023
‘My floats enhance street festivals’

Biodun Abe holds fort as the Director of Abuja Carnival. He is also a director with the National Theatre, Lagos, where he is in charge of Events. A thorough-bred event planner and manager, he is an expert stage designer and painter. He is widely known as a float builder. Thus, most of the ideas and constructions behind floats at Abuja Carnivals have his imprints. He speaks to Edozie Udeze on this and more.

BIODUN Abe is a seasoned artiste, culture administrator, technocrat and painter. For many years now, he has held sway at the National Theatre as the Director in charge of Events management. What this means is that he is the one that powers and engineers all the programmes and events that happen at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos. Beyond his official responsibilities to ensure that the sector enjoys endless functional shows, Abe is committed to practical theatricals that embody physical beauties.

He is a technical artiste who builds and designs stages as if he was born with the gift. Many of the most classical and widely acknowledged and celebrated stages in Nigerian theatre scene had been erected by him. This is one area where his professional proficiency and dexterity speaks volumes. All his life he has taken the technical aspect of theatre as his natural forte. But again, he has taken this to another dimension. Now, not only that he is still the director of the famed Abuja Carnival, Abe is the first known Nigerian artiste who built the first flamboyant float that was heralded by many across the states of the federation. A float is one of the best ways to depict and display street carnivals, or festivals or cultural processions if you don’t mind. Abe glories extensively in its beauty, its exteriority that gives colours to razzmatazz.

Now, he says, “float is a decorated platform that is mounted on a truck and towed along in a street procession. It is used in festivals. It is used in different celebrations. It is a significant aspect of a festival or an event. It adds aesthetic values to street theatre or festival. Aesthetics is actually the key word here”. In other words, for a street festival or carnival procession to yield its total beauty in which the public shows unreserved attention, a float is a must. He says explicitly that, “the concept of the festival, its overriding theme or cultural value or, message, must be put in focus while designing the float. In other words, the float must reflect the theme of the festival so that the public is taken along while the float travels along with procession. If you look at the float, at the designs in front of the truck, what strikes you is what the festival portends, what it stands for. The image has to totally convey the message. People should then see the float and relate it to the festival. This is often awesome, exceptionally exciting to see”.

He does not believe however that for a symbol to depict this totally, it has to be an animal or mask image. “But when and where there is no definite theme to work on, you can then display your own ingenuity as a theatre maker and designer. This way, you are not boxed into a corner. That way, you only rely on the aesthetics of the people to produce a design. In most cases therefore, you can then see animals or masks as the case may be. Masks naturally when they are properly presented, have elements of surprise and attention. Animals too, mostly the ones people are familiar with, draw attention in a most brazen form. When you see a truck or trailer turned into an animal, of course you will be amazed. Thus, you see physical elements of visual designs of theatre conveying the message”.

What float does to the theatre is immeasurable. It points to the innate driving force and inner power of the designer. And like it always shows, the artiste who designs the float is the one who thinks the most. By assembling the materials to work with, by employing the competent hands to work with and so on, he is in a position to renew the interest of enthusiasts and the uninitiated into the art, into the illusory act of theatre.

Abe has passionately mastered these over the past decades and has come to stamp an everlasting professional feet on the sands of time in Nigerian theatre scene. Hear him, “replicating animals or mass on a truck can be really exciting. Where I need to do my own thing, I still pick an image that the people can identify with. In doing this, you take into cognizance the overall feelings of the local people. In Nasarawa State at a point, I had to rely on and indeed designed a particular mineral resources common to the people. At another point, I had to turn the trailer into a dove, a symbol of peace and love”.

Therefore for a carnival, a float or floats hold attention more. “Yes, in a carnival, float is the main attraction. The creative ingenuity of the artiste also counts more here. No human being can perform beyond his capacity. For instance if you want to design a frog or toad, since they are not beautiful animals you need to apply elements of beauty. I had also done tortoise before. Yes, it is not a beautiful animal, yet I made it to appeal to the public. In the end, the message was clear; the image of tortoise conveyed the appropriate signal and information”.

You may ask why the emphasis is mostly placed on the float when it goes on ahead in a street festival or procession. It is symbolic. As it goes on ahead, moving slowly, often snaking its way to attract comments, artistes follow behind, doing all manner of dancing, singing and so on. It is to show in totality that an unusual event is in the offing or is being celebrated. As a culture technocrat, tried and tested who has seen it all, locally and internationally, Abe stands a better chance to sing more glorious songs about the ubiquitous nature of floats to carnivals. He has designed for Calabar Carnival a couple of times. Most states of the federation engage him and his workers from time to time to build for them. For this, his floats have either won prizes for him directly or won for the states he designed for. So on and on, he has come to build arrays of youngsters who believe in what he does. There are one or two artisans who have been groomed or tutored by him.

He also engages carpenters, welders, painters and more whenever he is billed to build a float. “Yes, one can live on it if the jobs come often. But you can as well do other aspects of the theatre even when you have a company solely dedicated to float building”, he says with a smile. After all, in all intents and purposes, the name float softens his mien. This is essentially so because his fame in this format of theatre has gone beyond the confines of Nigeria. Abe has built floats across climes. He had been previously engaged by Egypt to do some for the country. In all this, he shows his humility, that unbiased professional but unassuming attitude to proficiency that rarely makes him look mean and imposing.

When you see Abe as a craftsman, down to his workshop overall, you see a dedicated professional intellectual who lives and works to please his clients. Indeed he is a delight to watch while at work. While he gathers the materials with which to work, he considers the contours of the float. The carpenters go to work. Then the painters come in to do the visual. Abe himself is also a visual artist. Apart from theatre where he got his degrees, he is a visual artist. He envisions; he draws, he paints, he designs. He does the draft most of the time, setting the stage in place for the necessary props and other elements of stage to aid performances. The stage designs interpret the play or script or the performance. Generally, he loves verbose, elaborate and all inclusive design that make the audience yearning for more. Colourful, aesthetic applications help to amplify his craft. So, whenever you enter a theatre and behold Abe’s work, you are immediately aroused to embrace theatre, appreciating acting and all the props that have to go with it.

In a way the boat regatta theme in terms of decoration and all are related to float designs. Abe situates both more appropriately. Boat regatta is an imported idea; it is also used in theatre performance. More so, it is used in times of competitions. The colourful decoration of the boat, the displays on water, all lend beauty to it all. “Regatta is a boat or canoe race on water. It is an organized series of canoe race mostly in a competition”, he says. “It is therefore accepted in a festival space. It has come to stay and it is beautiful and artistic. The more colourful and attractive a regatta is, the more its appeal.” And so Abe goes on leisurely living his life amidst these theatrical fantasies.

March 12, 2023
Lagos hosted NAFEST to celebrate cultural diversity – Akinbile-Yussuf

Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Lagos State, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf in this interview with KUNLE AKINRINADE speaks on issues affecting culture, entertainment and how the tourism sector in the state has been rapidly transformed in the last three years. Excerpts:

TOURISM and entertainment is one of the THEMES agenda of the current administration in Lagos State. Give us an overview of some of the activities of the ministry last year and what you intend to do more this year?

I resumed duty on January 18, 2020, as the Commissioner for Tourism, Arts, and Culture in Lagos State. Ever since then, the second “E’ of the THEMES agenda (entertainment and tourism) has had its own fair share in the development of Lagos State. Unfortunately, in the year 2020, we had the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic that brought everything down across the globe.

Fortunately, however, we did not allow that to deter us from achieving our desired goals despite the pandemic.

Immediately after the pandemic, we had a review of what post-pandemic will look like in Lagos, and we had a committee chaired by the renowned actress Joke Silva and some other people from different areas of tourism, arts, and entertainment in Lagos State, including Mrs. Nike Okundaye of the popular Nike Arts Gallery. So many of them were there. At the end of the day, one billion Naira was earmarked to assist that sector and bring it back to life after the pandemic.

Ever since then, so many activities have happened, including, but not limited to support and training.

In 2020, we commissioned Glover Memorial Hall. Also in 2021, the master plan for tourism (in the state) for the next 10 years was presented. In the master plan, we have the immediate, medium, and long-term programmes that we believe need to be done were included.

Now, I can tell that all the immediate on that the masterplan, has actually been achieved, like community-based tourism. In Lagos State today, in all the 57 councils and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), there is a tourism desk office. And we have five particular local governments that we are using to drive tourism in all the five divisions of the state, along with all other tourism desk offices in the 57 council areas and LCDAs because we believe we can only achieve the best of tourism when we localise tourism, not only at the state level, and we have decided to partner with all the local governments in the state to drive tourism.

So, all the tourism products in the council areas have been identified and we are trying as much as possible to promote all these products across the state. That has been a success story as of now.

Also, it was not long ago that Mr. President (Muhammadu Buhari) was here to commission one of our new edifices: the John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History. I will tell you that the edifice is not just a museum as many people think; I call it a knowledge-sharing centre.

It is a place where we can do a lot of research about our culture, about who we are, and about what we need to be doing as Yoruba, not only about Lagos State, it is about the Yoruba race, because we are not promoting our culture as we need to be doing. But with this centre, we can learn so many things about our culture, especially in the olden days.

These are the things you can find and we have a swimming pool of international standard, where we believe that if we are to be asked to host the Olympic Games in Nigeria today, I think John Randle will be one of the centres that we can use as centre for any international competitions and so many other things that the ministry has been able to achieve.

One of our best programmes is the training with the Lagos State creative industry. The programme was initiated in 2020 and the lessons commenced in 2021. As at today, we have trained over 3000 with different partners. We have four major partners that we have worked with. We have EbonyLife Academy, DelYork Film International, Ogidi Studios, and AMMA. These are institutions of international repute that partnered with the Lagos State government to train so many youths in different areas like video editing, script writing, fashion, and so on.

I am happy to let you know that one of their movies has been premiered even at the international level.

When we went to the Toronto International Film Festival, one of our students had her own movie premiered. and it is a pride that the state government is doing what it should do to actually assist and empower the creative industry because we are blessed with o many creative talents and all we have to do is to harness these talents, polish them and make them to shine in a way that the world would be able to see them because Nigeria is the soul of entertainment in Africa and Lagos is the hub of entertainment in the country, hence, the number one in entertainment and tourism promotion. So, when you talk about entertainment, most of the Nigerians making waves across the globe are from Lagos State, both in comedy, music, and acting, they are shaking the entertainment scene across the globe and we are proud to associate with them and everything they are doing. In the past, Nollywood used to be rated third in the world, but today it is rated as second movie industry in the world because of the investment that the Lagos State has made into it and I am sure the industry would soon catch up with Hollywood and become number one movie industry in the world.

As regards the loans we gave, as of today, I have someone that has already paid back everything, and the person is planning to re-access because we give them the opportunity that when you pay back this money, you can reapply and get even more than what you were given the first time. So, all these are ongoing as we speak. The money that was given was given through Lagos State Employment Trust Fund. I am sure that the practitioners that I know that benefitted from this fund, have been paying back.

What is the plan to make the John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History attractive to visitors and how do you intend to keep it functional?

The John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History is not a child of an accident. To the glory of God, that is the only board that Mr. Governor himself stood in as chairman.

This shows that we believe so much in that asset and the vision of having something good.

The operational module has been well conceived. As we speak, we already have the board of trustees in place. We already have the legal team in place and we already have the management team in place. In fact, we are partnering with the British Museum for the training of all the employees. We have the human resource and a competent consultant handling the recruitment of the staff. Also, the National Commission for Museums and Monument are ready to work along with us because we all believe in it and we must ensure that we take absolute control, and in another 20-30 years, that centre will still be there and will still remain the best in Africa. That is the structure that we are putting down.

You said you can only actualise tourism when you localise it, and you’ve done that by establishing offices in 57 local government and council development areas, how do you intend to make those centres at the local level functional?

On Community-Based Tourism (CBT), we are not only partnering with the council chairmen across the state on it, we also have our own pilot centres. What it means is that despite that you have your own staff as tourism officers in the local governments, we have our staff in the five divisions of the state. They coordinate and will be able to sell our own vision and master plan to these tourism officers. We don’t want to let them loose. We want to continue to coordinate and ensure that they have a full understanding of tourism and how tourism business can be done and achieved in our local environment.

Also, we have set aside training for them in this quarter for all the tourism officers with our own staff, so that they will be able to work closely.

In 2021, after the launch of the tourism master plan, I personally visited five of these local government areas to sell this idea to them and inform them about what we need to be doing together. Also, I went to the Ministry of Local Government Affairs to inform them and inform all the local government chairmen. I held meetings with all the 57 local government and Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) chairmen on how we can drive tourism together in Lagos State.

Have you been able to attract foreign investors into the sector through your ministry?

In a way, we have been able to attract foreign investment into the creative sector. We signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the recent Ehingbeti Economic Summit with investors in joining hands with the state government to make sure that our vision for the development of the creative industry come to reality. We signed an MoU with DelYork Film International and o many people are partnering with us through DelYork Film International to make sure that the Lagos Film City in Ejinrin area of Epe, comes to reality.

What are the plans to make the tourism masterplan work and to what extent has the masterplan been implemented?

We have short-term and long-term plans. Everything I about the short-term plan has been achieved in the last few years; like the community-tourism base that I mentioned earlier, is one of the short-term goals, having the annual calendar for tourism activities in the state all in place and also a special website to promote tourism activities in the state too have been achieved. Our regular engagement with stakeholders in line with the THEMES agenda(of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu) which is anchored on using transportation and security to drive tourism because traffic and security key factors in tourism promotion and I can tell you that the tourism masterplan has been more than 80 percent implemented.

The medium-term plan was conceived to provide infrastructure and to provide an enabling environment for the private sector to actually come in and we are planning to implement the tourism promotion agency in 2023. If we don’t use a tourism promotion agency to promote tourism in the state, we would not be able to harness the potential of Lagos State in tourism and we will not be able to encourage investors to key into our vision as far as tourism infrastructure development is concerned.

With regards to the N1 billion post-Covid palliative, fortunately, Lagos State already has a working structure with the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) to give loans to beneficiaries, and as of today, all the money was disbursed to practitioners who to the best of my knowledge have been paying back the loan. I know of someone that has already finished paying back the loan and is currently planning to apply for another facility.

We have the Cultural Heritage Centre in Alimosho Local Government and Lagos Film City in Ejinrin in Epe Local Government. For the cultural centre in Alimosho, we are already done with the design and we have sent it to the Ministry of Work for their appraisal of the design; we are waiting for their report so that we can pass it on to the governor for his approval.

What are the plans to make the tourism masterplan work and to what extent has the masterplan been implemented?

We have short-term and long-term plans. Everything I about the short-term plan has been achieved in the last few years; like the community- base tourism that I mentioned earlier, is one of the short-term goals, having the annual calendar for tourism activities in the state is all in place, and also a special website to promote tourism activities in the state too has been achieved. Our regular engagement with stakeholders is in line with the THEMES agenda(of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu) which is anchored on using transportation and security to drive tourism because traffic and security key factors in tourism promotion and I can tell you that the tourism masterplan has been more than 80 percent implemented.

The medium-term plan was conceived to provide infrastructure and to provide an enabling environment for the private sector to actually come in and we are planning to implement the tourism promotion agency in 2023. If we don’t use a tourism promotion agency to promote tourism in the state, we would not be able to harness the potential of Lagos State in tourism and we will not be able to encourage investors to key into our vision as far as tourism infrastructure development is concerned.

With regards to the N1 billion post-Covid palliative, fortunately, Lagos State already has a working structure with the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) to give loans to beneficiaries, and as of today, all the money was disbursed to practitioners who to the best of my knowledge have been paying back the loan. I know of someone that has already finished paying back the loan and is currently planning to apply for another facility. We have the Cultural Heritage Centre in Alimosho Local Government and Lagos Film City in Ejinrin in Epe Local Government. For the cultural centre in Alimosho, we are already done with the design and we have sent it to the Ministry of Work for their appraisal of the design and we are waiting for their report so that we can pass it on to the governor for his approval.

How have the various arts theatres been put to use so far and the state of the Film City in Epe and Badagry tourism centre?

We inherited three theatres that were not fully completed when we came in, and it was handed over to us. We have two of the art theatre functioning optimally and one of them was razed by a mob during the EndSARS protest in 2021 and we are waiting for approval to reconstruct the burnt theatre. We had waited for the committee set up by the state government to take inventory of the public assets and facilities vandalised during the protest and when it was taking too long we had to take steps to see to its reconstruction. For the Alimosho Theatre, it I running with various activities including the recent training for youths on creative skills with the late Peace Anyiam-Osigwe. The same thing with Badagry Theatre which is also functioning optimally. The fencing of the land on which the film city will be sited I currently ongoing and we have also signed an MoU with the consultant that would handle the project and the design is ready. For the Badagry tourism centre, we have commissioned the slave market and the spot where Christianity started in Nigeria under the Agia tree has been completed now. And by the time we complete all these facilities, people would be able to see the tourism potential of Lagos State. Therefore, we are not folding our arms when it comes to tourism development, it is just that we are taking it one by one as far as the development of the sector is concerned.

What are you doing about ecotourism especially tourism around beachfront and coastal lines?

The development of our beachfront is captured under the long-term project in our tourism masterplan. We are partnering with the Ministry of Waterfront on what to be done about our beaches. Ewe have been to Ogombo area of Lekki and other places to see the beaches but there is still a lot to be done and we are planning to have a tourism endowment fund where IGR derived from tourism promotion can be invested to the endowment fund to be used to develop tourism development and by the time we are done, it would be easy to move faster in developing the tourism potentials of our beachfront and ecotourism. So, we have a long way to harness our waterway to make it a tourism product.

How are you going to use the entertainment sector to sensitise youths against drug abuse?

Not long ago, one of our prominent drummers, Ara, held a meeting with us and went to Mr governor along with the Ministry of Youth and Social Development to discuss this very pathetic story of our young people being into different kinds of drugs and how they can use the entertainment platform that promotes it in the past to speak against it.

In the past, I was the Commissioner for Youth and Social Development and we wanted to start a project called Acada before I left. The project was about finding a way to inculcate the people in the entertainment industry to speak against illicit drugs and their usage.

We are looking at partnering with the ministry of youth to come together with the ministry of tourism and entertainment, to have that Acada project because the issue has eaten deep down into the minds of the youths and children of less than 10 years, smoking different kinds of drugs and it is something that we need to look into.

We would also be involving the ministry of health; we need to know where they are getting these drugs, so we can make it so difficult for them to access the drugs, and do different kinds of rehabilitation and civic engagements to make the public start speaking against it. So, it is going to be an inter-ministerial project for us in the state.”

What are you doing to curb the use of the beachfront around the Badagry area of the state from being used for criminal activities including petrol smuggling?

You cannot isolate security from tourism development because it I only when you have a secure environment that you can promote tourism, so whenever we find any of our tourism assets being used for illicit activities the best thing is to encourage security agencies to prevent such facilities from being used to perpetrate crime. We can be everywhere to monitor but we make sure that we clear such assets from becoming a den of criminal activities with the assistance of law enforcement agencies. So, we are partnering with security agencies to ensure that everywhere people love to visit in Lagos State is free of crime.

What is your assessment of the performance of the state government in the development of the tourism and entertainment sectors in Lagos?

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has been performing creditably well in the tourism and entertainment sectors by creating enabling environment for the sector and practitioners to thrive. We had the end of the year Greater Lagos concerts during the Yuletide in December last year attended by people from far and wide who applauded the state government for organising the shows. You cannot imagine the billions of naira that exchanged hands during the events held across Lagos State. We are actually putting together data to inform the public about the number of people that attended the statewide end-of-the-year concerts; Wizkid was there, Kizz Daniel was there, Asake was there and so many others. Ali Baba also had his own show that was grand, so which another state in the country was able to do what Lagos did in the entertainment sector and promotion of tourism? We also hosted about 7000 delegates during NAFEST. This show that Lagos secure and that government I working efficiently in the areas of tourism and entertainment sectors and if we are to rate the performance of the state in this light, I will say that we have done more than 8o percent in term of performance.

You recently hosted the National Festival of Arts (NAFEST). So, what has Lagos State gained or benefitted from hosting the festival?

We had NAFEST between November 7 and 13, 2021. About 31 out of the 36 states in Nigeria participated in NAFEST and we hosted over 7000 participants during the festival and many commercial activities took place during the event. We have people engaging in buying and selling and you cannot imagine the amount of money that exchanged hands at the event including transactions on hotel booking, and food sellers, that had their well time and we were able to celebrate our cultural diversity and promote peaceful co-existence among ourselves. You will see the people from the north eating what the people from the south are eating and helped in exchanging our diverse cultures and values during the period of the festival and everyone was happy that we will continue to be Nigerians with peaceful coexistence. You can see that Rivers State came to the festival with a huge contingents and it was so large that we were shocked but at then end of the day, Lagos was able to beat Rivers State to clinch the first position during NAFEST, because this is Lagos, and we are always ready to be the first at all times, because this is Lagos and our contingents from all local government areas of the state put up a very wonderful performance to the admiration of participants at the festival.

March 12, 2023
Anatomy of Gendered Trauma
- Poem by Olanrewaju Olajumoke Akinla
March 8, 2023