The Nation Newspaper

Category: Arts & Life

  • A bouquet for poet Okara

    A bouquet for poet Okara

    The  literati will  converge on Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital next month, for  a literary festival in honour of a nonagenarian poet Gabriel Imomotimi Gbaingbain Okara. It is being organised by the Institute of Arts and Culture of the University of the Port Harcourt as a special bouquet for the literary icon who will turn 96 on April 24, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.  

    Renowned literary icon and author of Call of River Nun, Fisherman’s Invocation and winner of Commonwealth poetry prize and the NNLG prize, Pa Gabriel Okara, who will turn 96 on April 24, will be honoured with a literary festival.
    The Gabriel Okara Literary Festival, according to the convener, Prof Julie Okoh, director, Institute of Arts and Culture of the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, is borne out of the desire of some intellectuals to celebrate the literary icon.
    Okoh said at 96, Okara is still writing and mentoring young writers, adding that such a mentor should not be celebrated after his death. “We strongly believe that we should not only celebrate our heroes when they are dead, but that they should also be part of that heroic celebration. Hopefully in April, Gabriel Okara will feature prominently in all the programmes of activities of Gabriel Okara Literary Festival. He will read, sing and dance as much as his health and strength will permit,” she added.
    The festival is a brainchild of the Institute of Arts and Culture and her affiliates, and will run from April 25 to 28 at the University of Port Harcourt. The institute was established in 2011 to promote arts and culture.
    Okoh noted that the content, scope and magnitude of the festival are different from others, such as Port Harcourt Book Festival. But the purpose, she said, remains the same, which is to promote literature and reading culture in the country.
    She disclosed that a budget of N16 million has been earmarked for the festival and that fund raisers have been sent to the government of Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states, corporate bodies and individuals for sponsorship.
    She also debunked the insinuation that the Gabriel Okara Literary Festival is a subtle replacement for a festival organised by Rainbow Book Club in Port Harcourt, saying: ‘’How can? Impossible! Gabriel Okara Festival cannot be a replacement for Rainbow Book Club’s literary festival.’’ The latter, she said, was principally a government conceived, nurtured and sponsored initiative unlike the Gabriel Okara Literary Festival.
    On the sustainability of the festival at this period of recession, she said: “There is nothing assured in life. But that doesn’t prevent one from making attempts. Whatever one does, one should be optimistic that it will succeed. So, the organisers are optimistic that the Gabriel Okara Festival will succeed and will, by the special grace of God, withstand the test of time.”
    She acknowledged that there is a growing interest in the promotion of literature via festivals, and that the more festivals there are the better for the country. But what differentiates Gabriel Okara Literary Festival from others? She said: “The vision of Gabriel Okara Literary Festival is to become one of the most popular literary festivals in the country and to be a common meeting ground for creative writers, literary critics, lovers of literary works and publishers. It is a forum where they can all meet, create, discuss and feel the power of creative writing through readings, panels and workshops. Participants can listen to the reading of some of the world’s greatest writers, read their own works, participate in debates and enjoy special affiliated programmes.”
    According to her, the festival, which has as theme, Nigerian Literature since Gabriel Okara: continuities and departures will feature Gabriel Okara yearly legacy lecture, book presentation, paper presentation, panel discussion, workshops, readings, performances, cultural excursion, book exhibition and an award dinner.
    Keynote speaker is Mr. Odia Ofeimun, while guest lead paper presenters are Dr Kudo Eresia-Eke and Dr. Barclays Ayakoroma. Chairman of the event is Emeritus Prof Nimi Briggs, Pro-Chancellor, Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State.
    Sub-themes for papers to be presented include theory and criticism in Nigerian literature, oral tradition autobiography in Nigerian literature, art and culture management and Nigerian literature, Nollywood and Nigerian literature.
    One interesting aspect of the festival is the two literary awards: the Young Writers’ Award and Nigerian Young Poetry Award.
    According to the convener, the objectives of the festival include to promote reading culture in Nigeria, open up platform for creative writers and artists to exhibit their works, organise seminars, conference and symposium that will serve as a forum for creative writers and literary critics from Africa and the Diaspora to meet and discuss emerging Black aesthetics, encourage readings from some of the most distinguished international voices alongside prominent African writers, expose emerging Nigerian poets, prose writers and playwrights by creating a forum for them to read from their works.
    The focus will be on a different genre yearly, offer a workshop that will also help to hone the craft of participants, organise literary competitions for adults and, especially, youths, stimulate and develop creative writing skills in youths and promote young writers by editing for publication a series of anthologies of creative writing.
    Others are to bring unrecognised/hardly recognised old writers to limelight, and organise an Award Night and stimulate tourism.
    Born in 1921, Okara is the first renowned English language Black poet and the modernist writer on the continent. In 1960, he became the first African to be published in the prestigious literary journal, Black Orpheus.
    In the same year, he also became part of the journal’s Editorial Board. In 1953, his poem Call of river nun won the best prize in literature in Nigeria’s festival of arts. In 1979, his collection Fisherman’s Invocation won the Commonwealth Poetry prize. In 2005, he bagged the highest prize in Nigeria, the NLNG prize.
    At 96, he is still engaged in literature and appears as a guest writer in major literary gatherings.

  • ‘Juju, Fuji music are levellers, unifiers’

    ‘Juju, Fuji music are levellers, unifiers’

    The socio-economic and cultural impact of Nigeria’s popular music genres, Juju and Fuji, on the life styles of the Yoruba people was examined by scholars, musicians, traditional rulers and writers at a forum in Lagos last week.
    The stakeholders, who converged on the Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos for the first roundtable on Yoruba music, Ariya Repete, commended Goldberg Lager Beer for the initiative, which they said signalled a cultural rejuvenation among the Yoruba.
    Centre for Black Africa Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC) former Director-General Prof Tunde Babawale, in a keynote paper titled: Our music as a Socio-cultural lubricant: Casestudy of Juju and Fuji misic of the people of Western Nigeria, said the rich cultural heritage of the Yoruba provided the foundation on which the music genres of Juju and Fuji are built.
    He noted that the attachment of the Yoruba people of Southwest to music and celebration has earned them the appellation of Owambe, a reference to their love for ceremonies and celebrations. He described the two genres as unifiers and levellers in the society, noting that they cut across all strata of society in the Southwest.
    He traced the origin of Juju music to the old Saro (Olowogbowo) quarter of Lagos, where the genre emerged from asiko music associated with area boys in the quarter, adding that the genre incorporated Brazilian Samba elements and the guitar style of Kru sailors from Liberia.
    According to him, the music of the culture, such as Juju and Fuji, has impacted every area of life of the Yoruba, including the reduction of socio-economic tension and the prevalence of religious tolerance.
    Music, he said, does more than educating the people as it serves as a social commentary to promote moral value, religious and cultural education.
    “People take solace in their lyrics and have hope in life, it provides employment opportunities, promote Yoruba language and strengthen traditions in age when parents don’t teach their children, it promotes harmonious co-habitation among religious people and serves as a unifier,” he added.
    A prominent Fuji musician, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall (KWAM 1), thanked the organisers and speakers for what he described as an educative initiative meant to preserve Fuji and Juju, vital aspects of the music and culture of the Yoruba.
    Sir Shina Peters, a frontline Juju musician, also praised Goldberg for providing such a platform to discuss indigenous music. He called on other corporate organisations to emulate the effort.
    Radio broadcaster with Faaji FM Ambrose Somide, who was a panellist at the roundtable, enjoined young musicians of Yoruba extraction to endeavour to sustain the genres for the promotion of the Yoruba culture.
    While welcoming guests to the forum, Mr. Kufre Ekanem, Nigerian Breweries’ Corporate Affairs Adviser, who was represented by Patrick Olowokere, the company’s Corporate Communications and Brand Public Relations Manager, disclosed that the Ariya Repete initiative was borne out of the company’s respect for tradition and values of the people.
    Special guest of honour, Oba Adeyeye Babatunde Enitan Ogunwusi, (Ojaja II), the Ooni of Ife, represented by Oba Adebiyi Asoya, the Asoya of Ile Asoya Kingdom, reiterated the need to sustain the cultural revival among Nigerians as championed by Goldberg lager beer in indigenous Yoruba music.
    The roundtable, the first-ever on Yoruba music in Nigeria, attracted stakeholders from traditional institutions, the academia, the entertainment industry and the media to provide thoughts on sustaining and promoting the rich heritage of Fuji and Juju music.

  • Poetic narrative on Nigerian history

    Poetic narrative on Nigerian history

    Sam Omatseye’s new narrative poem Scented Offal is a 48-page piece that touches on the many-sided grind of Nigerian history dating back to its pre-independence era.
    In five sub-heads: The big three, Independence, The West Burns, Military coup and Civil war, Omatseye captures in poetry format some significant historical facts about Nigeria since the 19th century through to the attendant military coups and civil war of 1967.
    In a chronology, the author narrates the Nigerian history, its dreams and realities that shaped the people’s faith in the entity called Nigeria. But from the start of the poem, he acknowledges that the ‘century was of tribes and fights, and of harmonies unrealised in a rage of battles among brothers who could not confess to any sort of kinship.’ He addresses each of the issues in order of occurrence.
    Like a series, Scented Offal published by Topseal Communications Limited is an offshoot of the author’s latest fictional work, My Name Is Okoro, a novel that deals with the Civil War and its devastating effects on minorities and non-Igbo in the Southsouth geopolitical zone during the 1967-1970 war.
    He states that Nigerians wrestled into one and duelled into brotherhood in battles, such as Kiriji, Ekitiparapo, Latosa and Kurunmi wars while the Bini ‘bowed’ to the superior power of the foreign invader-British army in the 1897 infamous expedition.
    “We wrestled into one, even the Yoruba in the 19th century dueled into brotherhood, Kiriji, Latosa, Ekitiparapo, Kurunmi, made myth out of spears and fears, the Bini never bowed to a foreign invader. But drew majesty out of a travesty to mark their place in the pantheon. Historians call it massacre, but indigenes who fell because they marched rename it resistance though futile they wove pride out of their pyre,” he states.
    In his response to the recurring politics of ethnicity that has continued to … Nigeria’s political growth, Omatseye highlights the contributions of key players such as Obafemi Awolowo, Herbert Macaulay and Nnamdi Azikiwe in the struggle for independence from British.
    He cites the election into the Western House as one of the early incidences where the arrangement played out. He said against Zik of Africa’s seeming success in the West, ‘Awolowo rallied his tribesmen the Yoruba under an umbrella whose weight was part albatross, part banner for the rest of his life. For Zik’s tribesmen cried and called him the John the Baptist of tribal hate. He robbed their icon the right to stand as premier of the Western Region.’
    In Independence, the author recalls the unpreparedness of the political leaders to take charge of the leadership vacuum created by the British administration after independence.
    “So a feigned bliss was the glitz/Of our October din/With flags and songs and the parades/And the humble exit of the Union Jack/Not faraway beckoned babel prides/With tribes and fear of tribes tying/Us to the unseen prophesies of our accidental/Being/Peoples penned together in forced destinies/By outsiders who knew little about us but knew enough/To profit and prop an empire/On our backs.”
    This, according to him, manifested in the popular Wetie (The West Burns) in the Western Region that signalled the end of independence euphoria occasioned by the political manoeuverings between Obafemi Awolowo and Ladoke Akintola, who later pitched tent with Tafawa Balewa to rock the western boat. What followed remain evergreen in memories of politicians and historians of then.
    The author simply did not ignore the accusation and counter-accusation that trailed the first military coup and the consequences of that on the Nigerian state till date.
    “To this day the debate still singes/With Nzeogwu’s kinsmen denying any sin, adding that the cup of hate hung on the lips of the foes up north/Though Ironsi the army head /And first soldier of the realm/Did not breathe his last in the coup/Because his kinsmen spared him, another Igbo man.’’
    Omatseye’s account on the civil war highlights how the avoidable war witnessed many battlefields that turned into a curse of cousins, ‘though Biafra war lord Emeka Odumegu Ojukwu ‘lost the battle not the rattle of his heart.’ Yet, the Igbo, according to him, though prostrate in ruins stood like a leopard.
    “Fighting still in the glory of a proud people, its inventions, its starvations, its abysses/All footnotes/Where the heart of the men/Brilliant like the yellow sun/Swaggered either to the death or to the fall,” he says.
    Scented Offal is, indeed, the author’s own way of coming to terms with the history of Nigeria since the nineteenth century. But, the lessons and significance of the poem to every Nigerian, especially students and politicians is unquantifiable. And at a time the nation is going through more ethnic-influenced protests and crises, the book becomes handy and instructive in resolving some of these distrust.

  • ‘Art makes a way for me’

    ‘Art makes a way for me’

    With Lagos and its eccentricities as his thrust, Visual artist, Emmanuel Umoren, last Tuesday opened his exhibition, Art Throb at Freedom Park, Marina, Lagos

     

    Sponsored by British Council, the exhibition forms part of the activities of the annual Lagos State Theatre Festival which closes today.

    Explaining the concept behind the exhibition, Umoren said that Art Throb is a pun referencing his love for the arts.

    “Art is something I like doing right from childhood. It is a gift. I grew up painting and drawing on the sand, even before I went to the university. When I got to the university, lecturers would tell other students in my class to emulate me,” he said.

    With most of the works done with acrylic and other mixed media, the artist admits that the exhibition is tilted towards showcasing the city of Lagos.

    “Yes, mostly, it is about my experiences in Lagos. Rush Hour for instance is about traffic. Wear And Tear and a couple of others are also about Lagos,” he said.

    The work, Wear and Tear, focuses on the transport system in Lagos.  He uses mixed media to depict a situation where the roads are unsafe for both motorists and pedestrians alike. Upturned vehicles and roads littered with vehicle parts aptly portray the impatience drivers in the former federal capital are known for.

    Why the focus on Lagos? He explains that he has been here for over twenty years and there is no better way to describe twists and turns he has experienced.

    After my National Youth Service in Sagamu, Ogun State, I had no where to stay, I knew nobody. So I walked into Lagos alone and I survived it till date. This talent always makes a way for me. As I got into Lagos, the first two companies I applied to took me, and one of them was Newswatch Communication which I later settled for. I used to do their cover illustration. That was how I came to settle down in Lagos. So the experience of jumping molue is not strange to me. I was squatting around Idimu in Egbeda. One morning, I was going to work and I fell from a bus. So the experience is what is reflected in these works,” he explains.

    Another thing viewers can glean from the body of works is that the painter is also influenced a bit by his schooling period at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in the north.

    Away from his locality, the artiste does something for people who love fashion with the piece, Fashionista. The trend in recent times is, as he explains it, for people to make bold statements with their choice of clothes. Fashionista pays tribute to the new development.

    “If you look at what people wear now, everybody is bold. Everybody breaks the norm. You can decide tomorrow to wear red shirt on a green shoe. So we are daring and breaking the norm. The work is for people who love fashion,” he said.

    In his usual style, the piece is done acrylic mixed media adorned with real jewelries and fashion apparels to drive home his point.

    Although most of the works for Art Throb are done with acrylic, he reveals that he is not limited to a particular medium.

    “I can paint with oil. I can also draw, I can cartoon and I can design. I presently work in a design company. I’m the head of a design unit in the company,” he states.

    In all, Umoren says that the exhibition should serve as an eye opener and as a challenge to young people struggling with their talents.

    “Like I said, I’m doing another job even though I majored in painting in school. And my regular job should not make me abandon the arts. So it is a challenge to young people who have forgotten where their brushes are. So it is an open door for me as a person to bring in some kind of investors and for young people to see that there is always an opportunity out there,” he further stated.

    Festival Producer for the Lagos Theatre Festival, Brenda Uphopho, said that this year’s event seeks to surpass what has been done before.

    I’m hoping that we’ll surpass that as we have created a wonderful lineup of events that will not only thrill Lagosians but will entertain and educate at the same time. We have performances from children living with disabilities to arts performances to experiential art installations and drama. So we have something for everybody. We have conventions for comic fans, gaming zones for gamers. We have a lot of stuff going on for the festival,” she said.

  • A HERO’S WELCOME (1)

    (Scenes from a Nigerian Political Circus)

    SCENE ONE

    Let the pigeon hear and tell the partridge

    Let the river hear and tell the road

    Our long-expected hero is back again

    Ogidigbodigbo, Warrior with scarlet shadows

     

     

    Noble Graduate of the Queen’s Majestic Prison

    With a diploma calligraphed in glittering letters

    Gallant Ambassador of our lucky tribe

    He honours us all with his priceless trophy

     

     

    Roll out the drums

    We say roll out the drums

    Let our prodigal ground quake

    With the thunder of jubilant crowds

     

     

    Gidigbo gidigbo gidigbo, ogidigbo digbo

    Scion of our Soil, gem of our race

    Who strode through prison, a noble felon

    How so majestic in his prison stripes!

     

    Didn’t you see him in his famous mug shot

    Hair low-cropped, forehead so fabulous

    Eyes wildly open, lips limp and lovely

    Our global celebrity in his five-star pose

     

     

    They call him “Thief”

    To us he is “Chief”

    Garlanded gangster, horrendous hero

    Scion of our Soil, Doyen of our Delta

     

    Let the pigeon hear and tell the partridge

    Let the crocodile hear and tell the creeks

  • Beautiful echoes

    Beautiful echoes

    Title: Echoes Of The Mind
    Author: Chuma Mmeka
    Reviewer: Benita Brown
    Pages: 56
    Publishers: Adfinity Media

    Echoes Of The Mind is a book of poems by Chuma Mmeka. Like its editorial review says, the collection which is Chuma’s second revolves around themes of patriotism, friendship, satire, child protection, sadness and death.

    The poetry is no doubt well written and activist in nature. This does not surprise me as Chuma is said to have been an activist and writer from childhood, and like he wrote in Live My Life: _”I have lived a full forty years”. What does surprise me is his introduction of an almost questionable style of blending regular English with the pidgin as found in “The Free Minds“; and I didn’t stop to wonder if the interesting 55 stanza-long piece that speaks out against Female Genital Mutilation would not have been better off written as a short story.

    I had read his first poetry book “The Broken Home” a couple of months back and must confess that I preferred the writer’s zeal and coordination in that collection, to the ‘free moral agent’ writing style he exhibited in this “Echoes Of The Mind”. That said, there are several poems in the latter collection that are simply mind blowing. As a lover of good poetry myself, I found these poems to be quite edifying.

    From the beginning, “We Are Not Equal” (with eight stanzas of three lines each),

    “Not Because I’m Gemini”:

    “… I’m real, I’m always willing to explore;_

    I can bake, I organize events and I act.

    I sing, I’m fit, I also play chess with tact;

    Reality and my exposure made me more

    Not an idealistic zodiac or worship bore.

    _ _

    Don’t bother with sentiments:

    I’m tired of religion as well as astrology,

    Both are pawns in this life’s dirty orgy.

    I believe in myself and I do my stints,

    But I never dwell on unrealistic glints.”

    “Stop The Hard Knocks” (eight lines), and “Once Like A Pearl” (eight lines), even the later sonnet “No Perfect Marriage” all stand out as impressively inspirational, revolutionary and top-rateable. But they are quickly followed by “The Safe Child” which sounded more like a commercial for vulnerable children.

    “Throes of Orphans” is another story that came in the form of a free verse. Very touching, it’s a story by two little African children recently orphaned probably as a result of HIV/AIDS; how they were banished and their home razed down to cleanse the land of their ‘witchcraft’. “Chu” and “Chi” were exploited even as they were out of school and living in the bush until the police picked them and insisted they bring their parents.

    “My Gem” and “Keep My Heart” tended towards love, while “Hello Dear Friend” and “A Poem For Betty” brightly appreciates friendship; “Rich And Poor Justice” seemed to reveal an anger against the world’s ‘better offs’. In “When Will You Come To Me?” the writer expressed a passion that was almost scary. He wanted a thing so badly that he announced his readiness to go to desperate miles to get it:

    “… Do I at this age remain a fool

    Do I break the horn of a live bull?

    Do I kick the tall and very fat sky

    Or the very depths of hell pry?

    _ _

    …Tell me when and how to meet with you

    _Is it at the hour of the clouds of blue?

    _Or beyond the place of man’s rearing?

    _Tell me now! For I’m almost done caring.”

    A most motivational aspect of this work of poetry would be the promotion of a necessary belief in a supreme being and a rekindled faith in oneself and attributes. “I Believe” and “Live My Life” fall into this category. Then there is the mystery embedded in “Higher Glory” and ”A Better Day”; and the heavy patriotism exposed in “Mama Nigeria”:

    “… Oh Mama Nigeria! Wake up now, come forth and don’t shy way

    Rise up from your sleepy slumber for there is no more time

    Please act, for the threats are much and the odds are high

    Do not drip another drop of blood for these heady children

    Tell us all to behave! Or Mama, it’ll be wisdom to use your cane.”

    And in “Have You Ever Dreamed?” Chuma Mmeka shows his love and aspirations for his fatherland:

    “… Have you ever dreamed

    Of a Nigeria where all is well;

    Where the streets are cleaned

    And everywhere is safe to dwell?

    __

    … Have you ever dreamed

     

    Of a Nigeria where peace and unity is secure;

    Where tribal sentiment discords are doomed,

    And terrorism and militancy becomes obscure?”

    I recommend the entire book to all lovers and collectors of great poetry. There is something interesting for every taste inside it.

  • ‘Fiction is my life’

    ‘Fiction is my life’

    Dr Lola Akande is a senior lecturer in the department of English, University of Lagos, and the author of What It Takes and In Our Place. In this interaction with Dorcas Egede, she discusses the thematic thrust of her new book, her zeal to create fictional works and more things to expect from her, among other things

    How long have you been writing?

    I started writing in 2011. This is not my first novel; actually I started by writing short stories by 2010, and by 2011, I completed a collection of short stories. I haven’t published it even as we speak, but in 2012, I got to know that Evans Publishers were calling for submission of short stories for an anthology. I submitted three stories from my collection. They wrote to say they accepted my story, and it was published in an anthology.

    I published my first book in 2012, “In Our Place” and it was published by Macmillan. Sadly however, it never entered the market. Even though it got reviewed in virtually every newspaper, I didn’t like the presentation. I remember I personally made the effort to take the book to media houses and a reporter would look at it and say, “This is children’s book.” The Guardian in reviewing it described it as a novella. I couldn’t blame them because the presentation of the book made them view it that way.

    So, I had a meeting with the managing director of Macmillan and expressed my displeasure about the way they presented the book. He apologised and explained to me that it was so packaged to make it affordable for their target readers – secondary school students; which I understood. But then it wasn’t going to serve my own purpose. So, I asked if there was a way they could upgrade it until it became a recommended text for secondary school students, then they could start producing it to suit that purpose. After several meetings, we couldn’t reach an agreement, so I had to ask them to return my right.

    What inspired your new book, what it takes?

    I had a very difficult PhD from the University of Ibadan. One of the reasons it was very difficult would be that I also had my own problems before I went in for the programme. I had recently lost my job owing to a government decision to liberalise the pension industry and created the pension reform act of 2004, which allowed for employees to contribute to their pension, alongside their employers. Prior to this time, we were private sector pension managers, employed by the federal government to compel employers in the private sector to save mandatorily for their employees.

    With this new act, we were all told to go home. I’m a widow and have two children. When I had this job, I used to tell people that I would die if I should lose my job, because I couldn’t think of how I was going to survive without it. I depended solely on my salary, and then I lost the job. Many of my colleagues went into business, some were so traumatized that they died from the shock and maybe the thought of how they would continue living without a source of income.

    I had to start thinking of a way out; then I recalled that during my first degree at the University of Ilorin, many of my course mates used to call me professor, because I used to read a lot, even at home, they used to say, “Lola is so academic.” Recalling these things, I decided to go back to school; so I registered for an MA in English at the University of Ibadan. This was between 2004 and 2006. There was no break for me, for as soon as I finished the Masters programme in 2006, the University wrote to me that they wanted me to continue with my PhD. And that’s what happened.

    However, I found out that it wasn’t so much about how much effort I made or how good I was, there were other factors, politics, intrigues I didn’t really reckon with. Now, before I started the programme, my children were in secondary school, and I was hoping that I would be able to finish and get a job, and then be able to see them through the University. But then, they finished from the university and I was still running my PhD programme.

    It took me six years to finish the programme, and that was even because of the system we have in UI; the system saw that every PhD programme terminates at the sixth year. So, I didn’t register for the seventh year because my supervisor and I would have been queried. It didn’t need to have dragged on for so long. Besides, I wanted to do a full time programme, but my supervisor didn’t allow me, even after I told him that I didn’t have a job and all I wanted to do was study.

    It was very difficult. I suffered humiliations that I didn’t imagine possible. I can’t begin to describe it. Frankly, if I saw half of what I went through before the programme, I wouldn’t have gone for it. In the end, the end did not justify the means. I nearly lost my life. Do you know what it means not to know how you’re going to feed, yet you have a programme you’re running? You continue to pay fees. This programme is about writing, and you’re writing without anybody reading it; you don’t know if you’re making progress or writing nonsense. My supervisor did not touch my thesis until five years after I started the programme. Do you know that can make one go crazy?

    So, when I eventually finished, I had to sit and ask myself questions, “Did I go through all this suffering just to get a PhD and apply for a job? There had to be more than just getting a job with the certificate. Through the programme, I had grown accustomed to being hungry, to not having money, to begging for my daily bread, crying before my children because I didn’t know how I was going to get their school fees, to my children playing the role of mother and telling me not to worry. My chidren also attended the same university. They had seen me being humiliated many times. I needed to find out why, I concluded that maybe I was wrong thinking the PhD was to give me a meal ticket and help me take care of my children. Maybe God wanted to use me to conscientise the system; maybe – just maybe God just wanted to use me to use my writing to correct the ills in the system; and see how much impact my writing would have.

    How much of your personal experience formed material for the book?

    I was never sexually harassed by any lecturer. Anything about sexual harassment in the novel is fiction and a little bit of other’s experiences. So, it’s not all about my experience, I also asked questions from colleagues. In fact, some of the experiences were from my first degree.

    How would you bring your unpleasant experiences to bear in your relationship with your students, now that you’re also a lecturer?

    I put down my experiences from my bachelors degree to my masters, you know, while I was in the civil service, I did a masters degree in public administration to further enhance my career. Little did I know I was going to lose my job. So, what I have in the book is my experience and those of other colleagues over the years.

    How will your bitter experiences, as it were, affect your relationship with your students?

    Well, first I have to acknowledge that we’re all human beings and therefore, we’re all flawed and we tend to react differently to pressure. Now, as a lecturer, I understand some of the pressures my own lecturers were going through at the time in terms of workload, which I also tried to put into the book. They are under pressure with so much to do. Therefore, even when they do not intend to act badly to students, they could. A student just came in to see me, but he can’t because I’m busy. But then, he may not understand what we’re doing is important; to him, we may just be chattering away. Sometimes the student doesn’t know what the lecturer is going through. The story is actually told from the perspective of a student and the way he sees the system, it may not necessarily represent the entire truth. But having said that, I have also seen cases where people finish their PhD programme and become lecturers in the same department with their supervisors. Now, because of what their supervisors made them go through, they become enemies. This is one of the problems we have in the university. Having had a rough PhD programme myself, I’m able to appreciate more what students go through, so I try as much as possible not to behave or act in ways that will frustrate them. I can only say that I try; my students will be in a better position to say how I’m faring in that regard.

    How long did it take to put the book together?

    It took about a year, because I didn’t have a job. When I came to the realisation that I needed to write, I told myself I didn’t need to look for a job immediately.

    What has been the response so far and how far do you see this work going?

    The response has been encouraging so far. I sent it to some universities’ heads of department of English, as at yesterday, I had received messages from four of them, telling me that they had recommended the text for their students and they will call me next week to tell me the number of copies. While one university’s HOD said to me, “I have your book in my hand; I’ve read it and I’m not comfortable with this. Why will someone in the system write a thing like this? I’ve also read about it in the media and I don’t like what I’ve read. Most of my colleagues have read the book and their responses have been encouraging. About how far I see the book going, I want to trust God to help take it far, and that those who are concerned will accept it in good fate, and not see it as someone trying to criticise the system, because literature is not public relations; it’s supposed to be about praising. It is supposed to teach the truth, and value and reform a society till it becomes better. I hope it gains universal appraisal, such that universities across the globe, Africa especially will adopt the text. This is so that we can use the powers that we have as lecturers with caution and compassion.

    Any other work in the offing?

    I am repackaging In Our Place, then before I took the decision to write what it takes, I’d started working on something and had written up to chapter two before the idea to write this one came up and I abandoned that. I look forward to going back to it. And of course, there’s also my collection of short stories, which I’m yet to publish.

  • Building bridges through art

    Building bridges through art

    The fourth edition of Art of Friendship exhibition organised by the National Gallery of Art, Abuja, in collaboration with some embassies, has been held at the FCT Exhibition Pavilion, Garki, Abuja.
    It featured diverse and interesting collections of artworks from China, Czech Republic, France and Nigeria. “As the name, Art of Friendship implies, it is an exhibition set up to foster friendship among different countries,” the curator of the exhibition, Ngozi John Uyah, said.
    There was an uncommon display of art from the Czech Republic, that are ‘dry point’ pieces. They are from a collection titled, Excerpts from a Pilgrim’s diary by a young Czech artist, Jakub Solin. Apparently the artist got his inspiration from the Bohemian forest and, as he put it, the collection best conveys his experience ‘as a pilgrim through life.’ The images were quite detailed and engaging not just because of their small sizes but also due to their subtle reflection of nature. The Czech Ambassador, Mr. Pavel Mikes who expressed his delight over the participation of Czechia in the exhibition, said though the pieces on display were quite enjoyable to look at, what was more important was ‘the meeting and discovering of each other.’
    China showed off – yes, showed off – a beautiful collection of pictures of the mountainous region of Jiangxi. The originator of the pictures is unknown but that did not detract from the beauty of misty mountains, lush green land, colourful operas and more. It seemed China intentionally put those pictures on display to tempt world travelers to board the next plane headed east into China!
    According to the Chinese ambassador, Mr Zhou Pingjian, 2017 marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Nigeria and China. He added: “China looks forward to further strengthening and enhancing its cooperation with Nigeria in the future.”  On the Jiangxi Province on display, he said ‘it enchants people with its picturesque scene of misty mountains and fresh water lakes.’
    Strangely, France chose a Nigerian artist to represent it at the exhibition- Ugwu Bede Ifeanyi, the first winner of the Institut Francais’ Young Talent Award, 2016. Ugwu contributed five interesting installation pieces which were produced in Styrofoam, wood and calabash. The piece that seemed to catch the most attention was “Nursery” which was indicative of a bird’s nest with its chicks nursing in it.
    Speaking, the French ambassador, Denys Gauer, stated that France “aims to boost young artists and foster their professionalism” by showing off their works to important stakeholders in the art world.
    The ambassador announced that a major art exhibition Metropolis Afrique Capitales scheduled to hold in France later in the year will showcase two Nigerian artists, Ugwu Bede Ifeanyi and Modeopula Fadugba.
    Nigeria featured a collection of works from a number of different artists. The works included ceramics, terracotta, paintings, mixed media, photography and metal sculpture. The works varied from abstract works of art to reflections of humans in their real environment showing everyday behaviour. One of the works that captivate the audience is a painting by Clement Nwafor titled, Unity, which depicts a handful of children joyfully washing a large Nigerian flag together. The image is so emotional it made you want to hug your neighbour beside you irrespective of which ethnic group he or she came from.
    Minister of Information and Culture,Alhaji Lai Mohammed represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs Ayotunde Adesugba commended NGA for the initiative. He expressed his delight at having the four countries participate at the event and called on other countries to join in future editions pointing out the importance of art as a tool to ‘bringing countries together and in so doing engendering world peace.’ Chairman of the occasion, former Governor Abia State, Dr Uzor Orji Kalu, who has been an avid supporter of the Art of Friendship, expressed his delight at the continuous mounting of the exhibition series restating his commitment to the noble cause.
    Director-General, NGA, Mr Abdullahi Muku said the programme provides a ‘single platform for collaborating countries to showcase their unique artistic heritages as a basis for cross fertilization of ideas and cultures. He stressed that with the pains it takes an artist to produce an art piece, even though bought and sold, it is actually priceless.

  • 50 winners vie for VoTC top prize

    50 winners vie for VoTC top prize

    Poetry performances and reflections by some past winners of the yearly Vision of The Child arts festival formed part of the opening ceremony of an exhibition: Sisi Eko @ 50 held at Diamond Bank Headquarters in Lekki, Lagos, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.

    An exhibition, Sisi Eko @ 50, has been held at the Diamond Bank Headquarters in Lekki, Lagos. A prelude to this year’s yearly Vision of The Child (VoTC) arts festival, its opening ceremony featured poetry performances and reflections by some past winners of VoTC. The festival, sponsored by Diamond Bank, will run till May has taken a new dimension. It was designed to showcase Lagos@50, a celebration that was flagged off by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode last year May. Apart from that, the festival would feature international participation of US-based world-class brand, Goodwill Ambassadors and Champion.
    About 50 past winners of the competition since 2012 till date are expected to produce literary works such as essay, story and poem on a chosen feature that best illustrates the festival motto: Enhance the heritage, advance the future. These may include architectural (building or landscaping), street décor, transportation, motor park, leisure park, public or private institutions, public facilities, government policies, performances, innovations, educational models, films, campaigns, market and factory in Lagos.
    Project Director, VoTC, Foluke Michael, said this year’s edition of the festival would not involve call for entries but carry along past winners since 2012 under the theme Past winners’ choice. She stated that participants are expected to provide an exposition on their choice via painting or drawing to illustrate aspects of such composition (perhaps its origin or social history).
    Michael, who spoke at the opening of the exhibition, said participants would also undergo series of training, networking and group pairing in the form of a reality show before their final presentation before a live audience.
    “Participants as usual, will be drawn from schools in Lagos and are expected to make their creative presentation before a live audience by April 2017. They will go through series of training, networking and group pairing in the form of a reality show before their final presentation before a live audience.
    “The participants are expected to begin their project work from the 21st of February by registering online (www.visionofthechild.com.ng) through their customised page. Submission will be opened till March 31st. Workshop begins from March 10th where participants will have opportunities to discuss their project work with art tutors, literature teachers, poets and educationist that will guide them throughout their adventure.
    “On Saturday May 3, the 50 Past Winners of Vision of the Child (VoTC), will participate in a live painting and literary arts competition at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
    The VoTC exhibition will be opened formally later in the month of May; followed by an Award Dinner on the May 27,” she added.
    Diamond Bank Executive director Mrs Chizoma Okoli described the festival as one of the programs Diamond Bank is firmly in support of, adding that ‘we are happy to be part of it as it aligns with our going beyond banking to impact the people.
    Head of jurists, former Ondo State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Tola Wewe, disclosed that participants’ projects would be scored based on their creativity, proficiency and imagination among others. The overall winners of this year’s edition will have direct engagement with the Atlanta based global brand.
    The day’s event got to a climax when a 10-year-old girl Miss Sophie Okonkwo of Sureville Montessori School, Ikota, Lagos recalled how she was forced to participate in the competition. “My cash prize is still in the bank. My mother said until I turn 18 years before I can collect the money. I never wanted to participate but my teacher and art teacher forced me to take part. They insisted I must participate so that I can win a prize to decorate the house. However, my parents are punishing me now for spending too much time drawing and painting,” she recalled.

  • Ekpuk draws 58-foot long mural for Memphis

    Ekpuk draws 58-foot long mural for Memphis

    The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art will host Victor Ekpuk, a Nigerian-born, Washington D.C.-based artist, from March 6 to 17. He will be painting Drawing Memory, a 58-foot long mural for the new African art galleries.
    His art is inspired by Nsibidi, a sacred means of communication among male secret societies in Southeastern Nigeria. Evolving out of the graphic and writing systems of Nsibidi, Ekpuk’s art embraces a wider spectrum of meaning to communicate universal themes.
    “The subject matter of my work deals with the human condition explained through themes that are both universal and specific: family, gender, politics, culture and identity,” explains Ekpuk.
    He re-imagines graphic symbols from diverse cultures to form a personal style of mark making that results in the interplay of art and writing.
    “Our centennial year continues with the reimagining of our African Gallery. Victor’s art will set the stage for the Brooks’ collection of the Art of Africa in a dynamic, thought-provoking way,” said Executive Director Emily Ballew Neff.
    Museum visitors are invited to watch him create the mural that will be on the third floor of the museum across from the hands-on family art gallery-Inside Art. Visitors are also invited to a gallery talk featuring Ekpuk on Saturday, March 11 at 1 p.m., which is during the museum’s annual ChalkFest.
    This mural begins the renovation of the African Gallery, which will culminate in Fall 2017 with a reinstallation organised by Dr. Christa Clarke, Senior African Curator at the Newark Museum.
    “We are thrilled to be reinstalling the African Gallery with Drawing Memory as the centerpiece. Victor has been an artist in residence at museums across the country and visitors have been inspired and deeply moved by watching him work,” said Chief Curator Marina Pacini. “Memphians too will enjoy the experience of seeing a work of art being made, especially one that is designed specifically for the Brooks and the city. The process is fascinating, which is why we will post time-lapse footage of his progress daily.”
    Ekpuk’s artworks are in such collections as the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African Art, Newark Museum, The World Bank, Hood Museum, Krannert Art Museum, United States Art in Embassies Art Collection and Fidelity Investment Art Collection.