The Nation Newspaper

Category: Arts & Life

  • The sacred staff of indigenous medicine

    The sacred staff of indigenous medicine

    By Adetutu Adebimpe

    Among the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria, few ritual objects carry as much spiritual weight as the Opa Osanyin the sacred staff of Osanyin, the orisa (deity) of herbal knowledge, medicine, and healing. More than a carved artifact, the Opa Osanyin represents the deep relationship between nature, spirituality, and indigenous science in Yoruba cosmology.

    Traditionally forged from iron, the Opa Osanyin is easily identified by its central vertical shaft crowned with a ring of birds, usually eight, sometimes sixteen, arranged in a circular form. These birds symbolize spiritual forces, vigilance, and the invisible powers believed to guard medicinal knowledge from misuse. Iron, sacred to Ogun, signifies durability and spiritual authority, reinforcing Osanyin’s control over the forest and its healing resources.

    Osanyin occupies a unique position among the Yoruba orisa. Unlike other deities with elaborate shrines and public festivals, Osanyin is revered quietly, often in forest groves or sacred spaces. He is regarded as the ultimate custodian of ewe (herbs), possessing knowledge that balances life, health, and destiny. Herbalists, traditional healers, and priests invoke Osanyin before preparing potent medicines, believing that without his consent, herbs lose their power.

    READ ALSO: Tax reform: Lessons for national health financing

    The Opa Osanyin serves both symbolic and functional purposes. It is planted at shrines or carried during rituals to invoke protection, spiritual balance, and healing. In some traditions, it is also used to mark sacred medicinal spaces, warning against desecration or unauthorized access. Its presence affirms legitimacy, authority, and spiritual discipline.

    Beyond religion, the Opa Osanyin highlights the sophistication of Yoruba indigenous knowledge systems. It reflects centuries of environmental observation, botanical expertise, and ethical restraint in the use of natural resources. In an era of renewed interest in traditional medicine and cultural heritage, the Opa Osanyin stands as a powerful reminder that African knowledge systems are deeply rooted, symbolic, and scientifically informed.

    Preserving and understanding objects like the Opa Osanyin is essential not only as cultural heritage but as living evidence of Africa’s intellectual and spiritual history.

    • Adetutu is Principal Asst. Museum Education Officer 1 (PAMEO 1) Education Dept. National Museum Lagos

  • Young author’s enviable feat in book publishing

    Young author’s enviable feat in book publishing

    In a remarkable feat that has sent shockwaves through the indie author community, Anuoluwapo Ogunmoroti has successfully launched three books in one year, In the name of love her debut novel, Diary of a dainty butterfly her poetry book and Escape.- this is a remarkable achievement. This talented Nigerian author has defied odds and shattered expectations, proving that hard work and dedication know no bounds.

    READ ALSO; Arewa, this has to stop

    With each launch, Ogunmoroti’s popularity has soared, garnering her loyal following and critical acclaim. Her unique voice and perspective have resonated with readers, making her books instant bestsellers.

    The author’s achievement is a testament to the power of innovation and perseverance in the ever-evolving publishing landscape. As Ogunmoroti continues to push boundaries, one thing is clear – she’s a force to be reckoned with in the world of indie publishing.

  • Why leadership feels unfamiliar, and how we reclaim it

    Why leadership feels unfamiliar, and how we reclaim it

    • By Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode

    When young people say leadership feels unfamiliar, they are not saying they do not care. They are saying they do not recognise what they are being shown. Leadership once felt real because it showed up in decisions that changed everyday life. You could disagree with those decisions, protest them, even reject them, but you could not ignore them. They shifted power. They carried consequences. Leadership was legible.

    Today, that clarity is harder to find.

    I grew up in a household where leadership was spoken about plainly, not as status, but as responsibility. My father, General Murtala Ramat Muhammed, is often remembered for decisiveness. What mattered at home was simple: the belief that leadership meant being truthful, owning consequences, and being present when it mattered. Leadership was not something endlessly explained; it was something people felt in how decisions were made and followed through.

    That sense of leadership was not unique to Nigeria. Across Africa in the 1960s and 1970s, leadership was tangible because it disrupted power. Governments took positions that challenged entrenched interests and accepted the risks that came with doing so.

    In Nigeria, General Muhammed’s government responded decisively to Western positions on apartheid-era Southern Africa, including the withdrawal of operating rights from a major multinational oil company and moves to strengthen national oversight in key sectors such as banking. These were not symbolic gestures. They altered who controlled resources and who absorbed risk. Whether people agreed or not, leadership was visible.

    Elsewhere on the continent, similar choices were made. Tanzania pursued rural and land reorganisation under Julius Nyerere. Zambia asserted state control over its copper industry under Kenneth Kaunda. Algeria nationalised hydrocarbons under Houari Boumédiène. These decisions were controversial, and they were clear. Leadership was willing to choose and to live with the consequences of those choices.

    That clarity is what many young people struggle to find today.

    The unfamiliarity young people feel is not a rejection of leadership itself. It is a response to how leadership now appears: distant, procedural, and often disconnected from the pace and pressures of their lives. Leadership is encountered through screens, statements, and ceremonies, but rarely through proximity or shared experience. In a world shaped by speed, digital access, and constant visibility, expectations have shifted. Authority is no longer assumed; it is assessed.

    What young people respond to most strongly is not perfection or polish, but presence. Leadership revealed itself, and still does, in who stayed when others grew tired, who listened before speaking, and who honoured commitments when no one was watching. It must be close enough to be felt, yet steady enough to inspire confidence.

    General Muhammed’s leadership offers a useful contrast here. He did not lead with elaborate convoys or excessive distance from ordinary life. His movements were often direct, his style spare. That choice carried risk, a risk he ultimately paid for with his life, but it also communicated something essential: leadership was not meant to be insulated from consequence. It was meant to absorb it.

    That may be an uncomfortable idea today, but it is a necessary one.

    So, how do we reshape leadership for the present, because leadership has not disappeared? It has merely changed shape.

    First, leadership must become time-aware again. Young people live in real time. They see problems unfold quickly and expect responses that acknowledge urgency. Second, leadership must be felt locally. Young people are not waiting for Grand National gestures. They respond to leaders who show up in schools, communities, workplaces, and online spaces and who remain engaged after attention fades. Proximity does not weaken authority; it strengthens trust.

    Third, leadership must be learnable. When leadership appears reserved for a few, it becomes alienating. When it is framed as responsibility, the willingness to act, to listen, and to follow through becomes accessible. Young people need to see pathways, not pedestals. Fourth, leadership must embrace accountability without performance. Young people are not impressed by certainty or spectacle. They are drawn to consistency.

    Leaders who admit mistakes, adjust course, and remain present earn credibility over time. Most importantly, leadership must make space for young people not just as beneficiaries, but as contributors. Young people are already leading in technology, community organising, climate action, and the creative industries. The task now is not to include them symbolically, but to trust them meaningfully.

  • From Storyteller to Juror: The continuing evolution of Anietie Udoh

    From Storyteller to Juror: The continuing evolution of Anietie Udoh

    • By Ojo Maduekwe

    For much of the last two decades, African communicators had been preoccupied with visibility. The goal was to be seen, heard, and sometimes acknowledged by global platforms that defined excellence elsewhere. In recent years there’s been a shift from seeking visibility to authority, and few careers illustrate this trajectory more clearly than that of Anietie Udoh.

    The Divisional Director of Marketing at Marketing Edge Publications Limited, Anietie has spent nearly the same time operating across journalism, public relations, and integrated marketing communications. His professional journey mirrors a transition within African communications from narrating brand stories to interrogating the standards by which those stories are judged.

    At Marketing Edge, Anietie has overseen strategic partnerships that place African creative work in direct conversation with global benchmarks. Under his leadership, the leading publication has deepened collaborations with international platforms such as Cannes Lions, The Loeries, New York Festivals International Advertising Awards, and African Cristal Festival. These are not symbolic affiliations. They are pipelines that expose Nigerian and African creatives to global scrutiny while importing international judging frameworks into local discourse.

    That dual exposure has become central to Anietie’s growing relevance in the industry.

    In 2025 alone, he was appointed to an unusually broad slate of jury panels spanning local, continental, and global platforms. These include the 9th annual Native Advertising Awards in Copenhagen, AME Awards Grand Jury, Effie Awards South Africa, Nigeria’s PR Power List, the International Content Marketing Awards, International ECHO Awards, Digital Marketing Award Kenya, and the Out-of-Home category jury at the Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF).

    Each appointment evaluates his work through different lenses: native advertising prioritises audience integration, Effies foreground measurable effectiveness, ECHO rewards data-driven precision, while LAIF’s OOH category interrogates creativity within lived urban realities. Few African professionals are invited to judge across all these axes simultaneously.

    In January 2025, Anietie joined the global jury of the Native Advertising Awards in Copenhagen, one of the world’s largest platforms dedicated to non-disruptive brand storytelling. Around the same period, he emerged as the only African finalist for the Native Advertising Marketer of the Year award, placing him alongside executives from Business Insider and Fortune Brand Studio. That shortlisting was significant not just for representation, but for parity. It placed African strategic thinking within the same evaluative frame as legacy Western media brands.

    Read Also: Anietie Udoh shines in Ghana as Marketing Advocate of the Year

    By February, he was appointed to the AME Awards Grand Jury, a space reserved for senior evaluators tasked with determining not creativity alone, but demonstrable business impact. In June, he joined the Effie Awards South Africa jury under the theme “You Can’t Fake Real Impact”, reinforcing a growing industry shift away from spectacle toward accountability and real impact. By September, ICMA selected him as a judge for its 2025 edition, citing the need for evaluators who understand both strategy and execution across markets.

    These appointments reflect a quiet recalibration underway in global marketing. As emerging markets such as Africa account for a growing share of creative experimentation, judging rooms can no longer afford cultural homogeneity. Evaluators must understand fragmented audiences, infrastructural constraints, and storytelling traditions outside of Western defaults. Anietie’s background, spanning the newsroom, public relations, and brand marketing, equips him to interrogate work not just for polish, but for relevance and consequence.

    Being one of few African voices in global juries carries the burden of resisting tokenism while maintaining rigor. Anietie’s judging philosophy, shaped by his training in Philosophy from the University of Lagos, leans heavily on first principles: clarity of intent, alignment between insight and execution, and evidence of impact beyond awards entries. In an industry often accused of rewarding style over substance, his judging philosophy is a breath of fresh air.

    His appointment as an Out-of-Home juror at LAIF further sharpens the stakes. OOH advertising in Nigeria operates within complex urban ecosystems where regulation, infrastructure, and audience behaviour collide. Anietie sits precisely at that intersection: applying global standards through contextual intelligence and translating best practice without erasing local truth.

    What emerges from Anietie’s trajectory is not merely a personal success story, but a signal that African communicators are no longer content with building brands that win attention; they are increasingly invested in shaping the rules by which excellence is measured. The shift from storyteller to standard-setter marks a maturation of the continent’s creative economy.

    From Nigeria to Kenya, South Africa and Copenhagen, Anietie’s presence on international judging panels underscores how fluid creative borders have become. More importantly, it reinforces a reality global platforms are slowly acknowledging: African creatives are not just recipients of standards, but contributors and co-creators of them.

    In that sense, Anietie’s jury appointments do more than validate an individual career. They reflect a broader rebalancing of authority in global marketing, one where Africa is no longer positioned merely as a market to be interpreted, but as a laboratory of creativity, insight, and real impact. And as standards evolve, those helping to define them inevitably shape the future.

    • Maduekwe is a communications professional. Write him: mrmaduekwe@gmail.com
  • Music City Central raises bar for live production, industry dialogue in Lagos

    Music City Central raises bar for live production, industry dialogue in Lagos

    Music City Central Festival has wrapped up its maiden edition in Lagos, setting a high benchmark for live music production and industry engagement in the city.

    Organised by SpringBox Africa, the two-day festival, which was held on December 19 and 20 at Orange Island, combined world-class stage production with conversations aimed at strengthening Africa’s music ecosystem.

    The organisers delivered a seamless live experience, marked by strong technical execution and a carefully curated lineup that reflected the depth and evolution of African music.

    Day one closed on a high note with a compelling performance by highlife duo, The Cavemen, whose set blended cultural heritage with contemporary sound. On the second day, Afrobeat artiste Made Kuti showcased technical mastery, reaffirming his place within the famed Afrobeat lineage.

    Afropop acts also took centre stage, with Fave winning over the audience through her emotive vocals, while Qing Madi delivered a confident performance that highlighted her growing influence on the global music scene. Fola added a distinct sonic flavour, further underscoring the diversity of talent shaping Africa’s sound.

    Read Also: How I overcame gender barriers in music video production, stage management – Andrawine

    Beyond the performances, Music City Central stood out for its strong focus on industry development. Panel sessions brought together key stakeholders to discuss critical issues such as royalties, artist management, and the future of the African music business.

    An attendee, Titilayo, an aspiring songwriter, said the festival went beyond entertainment. “The level of professionalism here is on another level. I came for the music, but I stayed for the industry panels and the conversations. It feels like the festival actually cares about building a future for music, not just putting on a show,” she said.

    The festival also tapped into the festive season, boosting entertainment and tourism activities in Lagos. Other performances came from Dunnie, Aniko, We Are All Chemicals, Shmurda, and Twixx, while DJ Lambo, Lats the DJ, and SL the DJ kept the energy high throughout the event.

    By merging high-quality performances with strategic industry conversations, Music City Central has positioned itself as a major cultural platform in Lagos.

    The organisers said the festival will continue to prioritise excellence for both artists and audiences as it looks ahead to 2026.

  • Beaming light on Moonbeam

    Beaming light on Moonbeam

    Title:          Moonbeam

    Authors:    Nigerian Literary Writers

    Edited by:  Anote Ajeluorou

    Reviewer:  Kehinde Folorunsho

    Every age has a depression of its time which is found in the artistic integrity of its writers. The artist – be it poet, novelist, or playwright – explores the agencies of that change through realistic elements. In the case of the short story, the subject matter is stylised into some economy of literary ingredients. This therefore positions Moonbeam as an intriguing anthology that underscores not just a popular derivative of socio-cultural failures but personal experiences of their impact.

    Moonbeam is a collection of experiences, an anthology by Nigeria’s foremost culture journalists. Set in Nigeria’s notable cities across the North and the West, the stories follow the grief, loss, elusive dreams, and existential failures of their protagonists under certain conditions of disillusionment. At the heart of the anthology is inner conflict. X’s condition in one story is similar to Y’s circumstance in another, creating a penumbral submission of a broken generation. In this way, it is almost impossible for at least one of the stories to not resonate with the reader as a background insight into their lived and shared experience of family and social declensions. But more so is the influence of culture. Moonbeam is thus a fine blend of stories which investigate the grip of tradition, the angst of modernity, and the conflicts of contemporary society.

    The most gripping feature of the anthology is its organic unity. Every story brings its protagonist in a biting conflict with their immediate world; they try to spearhead their way out of the abject disenchantment with certain systems. As given in the compendium, there are layers of traditional and cultural obscurities which affect the characters’ contemporary world. Only in not more than three entries do the writers implicitly finger the political system for its overreaching degradation of human capital to the socio-economic development of the narrator’s society. The reader also experiences a sound comprehensiveness about the collection, in terms of the demography represented. This means that while one writer details women’s experiences under a hostile customary given, another explores the fantasies of young adulthood, and others the agony of an unfulfilled existence. The degrees and manifestations of these occurrences are an opulent delivery of narrative textures.

    Closely related to this is the literariness of the entries. Of course, the short story is distinguished by its ability to achieve a certain magnitude with its compact narration. Therefore, the metaphors, smiles, and symbols orchestrate the reader’s experience of the essays. More importantly, the economy of space and words provides a consciousness of raw literature which is exclusive to the short story. A luminary example is Sacrifice, which tells in a few minutes the continuing discourse of political knavery – a fabric of Africa’s lament from which writers have cut their pieces of rendition. It would seem that African leaders are tactfully committed to the project of underdevelopment. While this remains a digestible nugget, a plethora of possible impacts on the reader is clearly effected by the stories. Perhaps the greatest of that signification is suspense. It is the effective deployment of this technique that affords the entries the equivalent of a novel, in addition to other techniques that facilitate the plurality of the protagonist’s representation.

    Read Also: Tinubu laying strong foundation for long-term prosperity – Information Minister

    Ajeluorou edited Moonbeam is way beyond that nomenclature of emerging narratives; it is a foregrounding of viable traditional modes and patterns in what bearers of a value system believe about a world that works. For context, some of the stories are an exploration of traditional givens. Within that landscape, there is the quest for an explainable escape from the elusiveness of erstwhile constructs. And it is compelling how the writers yoke their suspenses in the seeming irresolution of these backgrounds. The writers create a griot-like approach to the very issues that may unsettle us in today’s reality: the predictions have been drawn from the immediate post-modernist angst.

    The intrigues therefore are no strange occurrences. They are the intricate nexus of two successive generations under the same climate of an almost insoluble anxiety. At this rate, the title becomes a critical viewpoint of what the reader is to expect; or what they conceive. It is either a peep into the future or a flashback from the past. This would pass for the metaphor of the title which in itself is a cursory evaluation of the meeting points. The argument here is that the voice, tone, and mood of the stories, when taken as a unitary portraiture, belong indeed to the ilk of realistic individuals who have much to grapple with about the changes – or transitions – that alter their revered realities. This precisely is the germ of characterisation in the stories; the verisimilitude is much too palpable to be disputed as an authentic creation of socio-conscious writers.

    It is no mean feat the themes are immediate deductions of the inescapable. To be sure, the first and the last stories are similar in context and predominant theme but only differ in the cultural aspects. Even so, the emphasis on the protagonists’ hubris and self-contempt shows that the tragedy of modern society is self-immolation as a result of an intractable condition. Among others are themes such as grief, savage customs, the expense of civilisation, the failure of politics, ethnic hostility, and betrayal. The essays achieve the same exoteric situations which the novel will depict in its license to a great number of episodes, scenes and other defining elements.

    Finally, Moonbeam is comprehensive. Virtually all the concerning situations in which the average individual is enmeshed, no matter their circumstance, are given. The stories are practically down-to-earth investigations of personal struggles, and collective depressions. More importantly, the stretch of the narratives remains within the province of the literary brilliance exclusive to the short story. The brevity encompasses the length of appreciation associated with the novel. Another momentous property about the text, which need be emphasised, is the language and style. Differing from writer to writer, the language and the style of expression are suited to one and all audience. It is this fine blend of status-free representations that provide for a universality of the predicaments that move us to the core of human essence.

    Folorunsho, a recent graduate of English from the University of Lagos, won the Ken Saro-Wiwa Review Prize 2025 based on Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Devil on the Cross. The prize is administered by Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF) and sponsored by NLNG

  • When grace speaks loud

    When grace speaks loud

    Reviewer:   Adaora Onyechere

    Author:       Goddy Jedy-Agba

    Book title:   Grace Unspeakable

    In an age crowded with performative memoirs and triumphalist narratives, Grace Unspeakable by Goddy Jedy-Agba arrives as something rarer and more enduring: a contemplative work that treats survival, leadership, and faith not as trophies to be displayed, but as questions to be wrestled with. This is not simply the story of a man who lived through a 25-hour brain surgery, a 31-day coma, and the slow relearning of life. It is a philosophical inquiry into what truly remains when certainty collapses.

    From its opening pages, the book establishes its moral gravity. In Valley of the Shadow of Death, Jedy-Agba writes, “Life is not measured by the certainty of our plans but by the resilience of our spirit when fate intervenes.” This line functions as both thesis and compass. The memoir is shaped by interruption by moments when ambition is halted, identity is stripped bare, and the illusion of control is exposed. What emerges is a voice tempered by suffering, reflective rather than declarative.

    Read Also: Defence Minister to States: Stop negotiating with bandits

    The sections detailing his medical crisis are rendered with unusual restraint. There is fear, anger, even a startling honesty in his spiritual confrontation “Sometimes, it is good to question or even challenge God” yet the prose never lapses into spectacle. Instead, the hospital becomes a philosophical space: a site where the self is dismantled and reassembled, where faith is tested not in triumph but in silence. When Jedy-Agba observes that “every breath, every heartbeat, is a precious gift,” the statement feels earned, not ornamental.

    What elevates Grace Unspeakable beyond a survival memoir is its rigorous interrogation of power. Drawing from his years in public service, the author dismantles the mythology of titles and positions with quiet precision. “The edifices we build, the titles we acquire… mean nothing in the face of life’s profound silences,” he writes. Leadership, in this telling, is not performative authority but interior discipline integrity held when applause is absent and consequence is real. These reflections give the book particular resonance in a political culture often starved of moral introspection.

    Equally arresting are the chapters on family, loss, and love. In The Gift of Beatrice, marriage is not idealized but understood as endurance, friendship, and shared vulnerability. In recounting the deaths of his parents, Jedy-Agba resists sentimentality, choosing instead to explore grief as continuity life demanding motion even when the inner world has fractured. These moments ground the book emotionally, ensuring that its philosophical reach never drifts away from the human.

    Stylistically, the writing is calm, deliberate, and confident in its silences. Jedy-Agba does not rush to impress; he allows ideas to unfold slowly, trusting the reader’s intelligence. His reflections on faith are especially notable for their maturity. Faith here is not presented as immunity from suffering, but as the courage to endure it without losing one’s moral centre. When Christ tells him, “You have an assignment you have not finished,” the line resonates not as mystical spectacle, but as ethical summons.

    Ultimately, Grace Unspeakable is a book about reorientation. It asks difficult questions: What survives when power is removed? Who are we when productivity halts? What kind of legacy is built not in noise, but in conscience? The answers are not handed down neatly; they are discovered through pain, patience, and reflection.

    This is not a loud book. It does not beg for attention. Yet it lingers long after the final page, leaving the reader quieter, more reflective, and subtly altered. Grace Unspeakable is less a memoir to be consumed than an experience to be absorbed a work that invites us to examine our own lives with greater honesty, humility, and grace.

    Grace Unspeakable can be found across all major book stores including Rovenheights and best sellers online book platforms, Selar, Lulu, Amazon and Kobo.

  • When story-telling unites migrants

    When story-telling unites migrants

    Aihawu Victor is an expert on issues of migration.  But more than that, he loves cultures beyond compare.  He uses cultures across Africa to bridge indelible bridges amongst Africans at home and in the Diaspora.  His concern is mainly about migrants across continents.  This is why he uses music, story-telling, fashion, festivals, exhibitions and all to make migrants feel more at home with one another.  Edozie Udeze writes on this man who loves to better the people concerned through his charitable works.

    Africa is naturally noted to have the highest indices of cultural properties in the world.  Counted among all these are diversity of languages that equally embellish the usefulness of cultures that entice.  This is why it is usually said that culture is dynamic.  Culture defines a people.  Culture determines a people’s way of life – foods, clothing, fashion, manners and so on.  It is within this realm of vision that Aihawu Victor can be safely described as a culture activist, a conveyor of those wonderful elements that make Nigeria’s, nay Africa’s, cultures prosper, thrive and endure.

    Victor is no doubt a culture visionary who works everyday to redefine and reshape African cultural identities in the Diaspora.  Over the years, he has been working amongst Africans overseas to keep African cultural identities afloat.  This is the reason it is clear when he is seen as one of the most vocal and visible culture ambassadors abroad.  He is the founder of Cultural Hangout Festival (CHF) which he created in London to act as a formidable bridge between Africans at home and those in the Diaspora.  Victor originally set out to envision a time when culture would become a rallying point, a positive weapon for all Africans irrespective of where they live.

    This was why the initiation of CHF became imperative.  So, in the main, CHF is used by the founder to initiate dialogue, and heighten education for the Africans in Diaspora.  It is a vibrant organ also for story-telling, engaging with music, food, fashion and so on, to keep the brotherly relationship amongst the African Diaspora with their brethren back home.  In a world where avarice and prejudice have tended to keep people apart, what Victor does with his outfit has been seen to be too humanitarian for human comprehension.

    Read Also: Tinubu laying strong foundation for long-term prosperity – Information Minister

    He needs to be commended.  Interacting with Victor shows a man who is concerned about his love of Africans. A Nigerian, almost born into charity work, Victor has encountered lots of hurdles in the process of this mission.  Yet, he is not deterred.  He is determined to fulfill his love for humanity.  Cultural bridges help him to cement love.  Just like football, the culture of inter-racial and inter-ethnic marriages have become like a hub for Victor.  He sees such as some of those cultural ideals that must keep humanity together.

    When CHF was founded in May 2025, in London, to commemorate African Day, Victor used the festival in place to announce his vision, mission and the tenacity of the foundation to help in this regard.  Therefore CHF sounds like a child of necessity built on the relevance of cultures as a unifying factor.  It was instantly that CHF was endorsed by African Union.  On the day of its foundation, Victor and his people manifested so much love for African cultural displays that the AU was moved to give him an official recognition.

    Moved by this, in December 2025, he established a branch of CHF in Abuja, Nigeria.  This was also duly recognized by the Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.  The ministry understands what role CHF is likely going to play to enrich cultural creativity, douse hatred across peoples and then add vibes to music, arts, fashion and folklores.

    He also takes care of Migrants Voice in UK, a partnership he has with migrants in that domain.  His concern is to bring migrants in London and beyond within reckoning.  As a lover of culture, Victor is a peace maker, a bridge builder, someone who discovered before time that story-telling is still a means to bring people together.  And as a lover of people and what their cultures entail, he has indeed succeeded in extending the tentacles of his outfits to global attention, global appreciation.  He has established Centre for Youths Integrated Development (CYID).  This is also recognized by the Central Bank of Nigeria for through this agency Victor has empowered and reintegrated a number of returnee refugees.  It is a big feat only a man with a big heart like Aihawu Victor can conveniently accomplish.  His mantra is: take charge, own and rebuild your life’.  It is a message to the youths to always sit up in all situations, in all circumstances.

    To his credit also is to mention Africa Multicultural and Heritage Promotion Limited.  It is meant to showcase everything African.  In another instance, he has engaged himself in fashion and art shows to further entrench the importance of what defines Africans culturally.  Not done yet, he heads the popular outfit named Platform for Cooperation on Mixed Migration.  This laudable group has over 60 civil rights and society organizations within it ostensibly established to work in all areas to assist migrants in the best ways possible.

    Over all, the world has come to see through the actions, works and activities of Victor that there are still people charitable enough to use their personal touch to rule the world.  Victor as an enviable lover of cultures is hereby seen as a hero, a human being created to help the youths retell various stories, implore music and fashion and dances to reach out and make the desired changes.

  • National Gallery goes to KWASU

    National Gallery goes to KWASU

    Even as the year was about to end in 2025, the National Gallery of Art (NGA) an agency of the federal government of Nigeria in the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, still had time to enter an agreement  with Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete.  The agreement was in form of strategic partnership for NGA to construct an Art Academy within the university premises.  This was on December 17, 2025 and the partnership was themed: Memorandum of Understanding between NGA and KWASU.

    In a statement, Emeka Odiari, Director, Information Services Department of NGA made it clear that NGA will continue to engage in town-and-gown programmes which are aimed at sensitizing art students on the need to take the course serious.  Fine Arts is obviously one of the courses that has been designed to keep Nigerian contemporary and modern arts in the front-burner.

    And since the NGA is entrusted with such responsibility, a town and gown memorandum of understanding is one of the best ways to bring the message nearer to the young and aspiring artists.  Therefore, the strategic partnership has come at a time when the Creative Economy needs the best from the young ones.  The students have a lot to gain from this programme.  Once the space is created, it will sure boast their chances of meeting and mixing with bigger artists when the opportunity calls for it.

    The statement says further: “Under the proposed partnership; (NGA-KWASU Art academy and Creative Hub) the University will provide land for the construction of an Art Academy and Creative Hub that will house studios for painting, sculpture, ceramics; textile; new media and digital art. Others are Exhibition hall; Accommodation for visiting artists and art residences; Art shops; Sculpture gardens; parking spaces and landscaping.

    Read Also: Defence Minister to States: Stop negotiating with bandits

    The Director-General of NGA, Ahmed Bashir Sodangi represented at the occasion by Mrs. Ekene Okoroma, expressed delight that this initiative is finally taking place after it was first conceived in 2022. He noted that this program me is part of the Federal goverment’s strategy designed to strengthen Institutional partnerships, empower youths creativity while making the Creative sector more vibrant and productive.

    Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Shaykh Luqman who signed on behalf of the university, noted that the art academy is to be located at the Osi campus of the university. He praised the DG, NGA, for his unrelenting commitment towards the development of art and the welfare of artist.

    NGA under the vibrant and visionary leadership of it’s DG, Ahmed Sodangi has signed up several collaborations with both local and International cultural organisations, festivals, corporate entities and influential stakeholders in the creative sector. These partnerships have established the NGA as a central hub, significantly expanding oppurtunities for programme delivery and resource mobilization. It also aims to enrich cultural dialogue and encourage broader public engagement in the arts, ultimately elevating the status and appreciation of Nigeria’s rich artistic heritage globally.

  • Foreigners cannot free us from bandits but ourselves – Shehu Sani

    Foreigners cannot free us from bandits but ourselves – Shehu Sani

    Activist Senator Shehu Sani has said that foreigners cannot free the North from  the siege of bandits but  the people themselves.

    Sani challenged the people to free themselves from the shackles of banditry by standing up for themselves. 

    Sani said the people must be fully involved in the battle against banditry. 

    He spoke in Abuja on Thursday at the unveiling of his two books “Perilous path to Europe: the Sahara odyssey and the Councillor.”

    Shehu said time has come for the people to organise themselves to confront the reality of insecurity, which is the central message of the drama from another of his works, “the village and vigilante”, which is aimed at sparking up the light of resistance in the hearts of the people.

    He said: “In the northeastern part of Nigeria, you have ISIS, you have Boko Haram, you have Ansar, and now we are having the Mongrel and Lakurawa terror cells in northern Nigeria. 

    “But I can assure you that if people are united and enlightened and supported by state apparatus, they can defeat those who feel that they own the land and can use the force of arms to subdue everyone. 

    “We should not think that a foreign power will come here and free us from these bandits. We are to do it ourselves.

    “We have a track record of restoring peace and order in other nations. Today, banditry and terrorism is the reality of our time. America will not solve our problems. We are to solve our problems ourselves. And we can do it.

    “We are a nation of 230 million people, and if you put the summation of all these bandits and terrorists, they are not more than 5,000. People should be encouraged, people should be mobilized to stand in the defense of their freedom, and to stand in defense of their dignity and sanctity as human beings. 

    “From Zamfara, to Katsina, to Kebbi, parts of Kaduna State, Niger State, we have seen how bandits have unleashed a regime of hell on our people.They kill our people, they kidnap for ransom, they raze down villages, they displace millions of our people. This was not our life 20 to 30 years ago. 

    “Your security, your peace, and your survival is dependent not just on what the government can do, but how you are able to organize yourself within your own locality and stand up to these bandits and terrorists.”

    Sani said the literature work was part of his contribution towards addressing the security challenges bedeviling the country, especially the north east and north west.

    Read Also: Opposition fueling renewed school attacks in the north — Shehu Sani

    T”he village and the vigilante is a dramatization of a typical situation in Northern Nigeria. So that is what it’s all about,” he stressed. 

    He said the play, the Village and vigilante will be staged across the northern part of the country to help awaken the spirit of the people and give them hope.

    According to him: “And the idea of coming up with a play that will be staged as a drama on stage, that will inspire and encourage communities under the siege of banditry and terrorism, not to lose hope, but to stand firm, organize themselves, and confront the reality and the danger that is threatening their life, their existence, and their survival as a people. 

    “The village and the vigilante is a stage play that will explain the various roles played by the stakeholders in a typical rural area in northern Nigeria. We have the traditional rulers, we have the people, we have the vigilantes, we have the security agencies, all representing different characters.

    “The village and the vigilante, we hope, will send a clear message to the people of our country that the situation which we find ourselves in today is a face in the life of our nation. It’s not going to be with us forever.”

     The book on the Perilous journey to Europe, the Sahara Odyssey, is a documentation of the ordeal faced by our young people that have dreams of greener pastures in Europe.

    He said “They end up in the hands of human traffickers who collect large sums of money, taking them through the Sahara to Libya where they end up as slaves. In Libya, they spend months and years before taking the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean. The island of Lampedusa in Italy has become a camp for many of our young men who believe that life will be better in Europe than it is here.

    “The message to each and every one of us is that if the Indians and the Chinese are moving to Europe like the way we are, they couldn’t have built their own nations. It is for us to know that there are opportunities in your country. Crossing the Sahara, risking your life in the Mediterranean Sea is not the solution. 

    “There is no dream for you to realize in Europe. Your dream can be realized here in your country. 

    He is also of the belief that the book will help in reducing or bringing an end to this dangerous, irregular migration across the Mediterranean Sea.”