Like literature, history, medicine and the arts, the field of education, also has its unique icons—intellectuals, practitioners and theorists—who translated theories and practices into a passionate agitation for the transformation of education as a driver of change in Nigeria. Several names come straight to mind—Babatunde Fafunwa, Alvan Ikoku, Samuel Bajah, and of course, Ayotunde Yoloye.
The recent demise of Emeritus Prof. Emmanuel Ayotunde Yoloye is an occasion, both for celebration and for reflection. It calls for celebration because we have an opportunity to reminisce on the life and time of a teacher of teachers, whose entire life, private and professional, tells a story of passion and commitment. His professorial status was really a trajectory of a lifelong dedication to a cause. Indeed, Professor Yoloye represented a trajectory of accomplishments that is worth celebrating.
Professor Emmanuel Ayotunde Yoloye—father, husband, teacher, science educator, evaluator extraordinaire, educational psychologist, professor of professors and “the Bloom of Africa”—lived a very good life that was attested to by all. But that is not the reason I want to celebrate him. Rather, I find in Prof. Yoloye a solid template that combined theory and practice, and research and policy in a dynamic framework that enabled education to speak directly to developmental issues in Nigeria. This is significant for me as a researcher, political scientist, policy worker, and public administration reformer, who has been walking the tight rope between theory and practice for a long time. Bridging the gap between research and policy is a delicate endeavour. It requires a sensibility that is neither too academic nor too professional, yet a smooth blend of the two that makes one a genuine member of both worlds. That is one of the uniqueness of Prof. Yoloye’s life. I enjoyed the privilege of inviting him as a significant member of the Technical Advisory Team, which supported an endeavour that I co-ordinated between 1999 and 2002; the Education Sector Analysis (ESA) project. The study backstopped education strategy development and policy work in the Federal Ministry of Education at the time. His wisdom, erudition, expertise and time were crucial items that I drew on in the landmark project which attempted to bridge the data gap in the education sector as well as create a baseline statistics upon which many policy designs affecting pre-primary, basic and upper secondary schools, vocational/technical, and higher education, cross-cutting reform issues, etc. were fashioned.
However, more than the celebration that attended Professor Yoloye’s exit was the need to reflect on his legacy and what that translated to in terms of larger concerns surrounding Nigeria’s development. As an educationist, Yoloye occupied a field, unlike literature and medicine, which speaks directly to the development of Nigeria, especially in terms of human capital development and learning achievement.
Take a famous example. Prof. Babatunde Fafunwa is renowned today because of his bold attempt at relating education to national development through the mother tongue experiment. The critical issue he confronted was that of how to create a critical mass of human capital that would take on the burden of national development in all spheres of human endeavour, and the role of mother tongue in such a project. What role, in other words, does culture play in manufacturing a vibrant and knowledgeable workforce that could relate her peculiar cultural undercurrent intimately with Nigeria’s development challenges? Prof. Yoloye was doubly relevant because he dedicated his professional academic life to another significant dimension of this project.
He was effectively a part of the long lineage of Nigerian educationists, including Prof. Chike Obi, who were convinced of the relevance of science education to a profound transformation of Nigeria’s development profile in the twenty first century. Yoloye and others should be seen as the lone voices in the wilderness calling on the nation to engage its own reluctance and take the bull by the horn. They are right, and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education now makes the case that these foresighted precursors have been making for years. STEM signals the triumph of an educational and curriculum policy that attempts to generate competitiveness in school with regards to the study of science and technology and the implication of such a curriculum for national development.
This makes it doubly tragic that a country like Nigeria that urgently needs to upgrade its development profile has not deemed it fit to engage the policy end of the STEM challenge nor seek to unpack the relevance of Yoloye’s science education research as basis for deep-seated reform. This research is all the more requisite because it advocates the teaching of science from the primary school level within the frame of integrated science, which was one of his inventions, and wherein the scientific spirit could first be firmly ingrained in the educational quest of the children.
His involvement in science education at the primary school level was indeed, revolutionary since it led to the transformation of the lukewarm attitude to science education. Through the African Primary Science Programme (APSP) and then later, the Science Education Programme for Africa (SEPA), Prof. Yoloye and others breathed proactive life into curriculum, teaching methods, teacher trainings, enrichment of science education and the development of publishing initiatives for science education project.
From a pan-African perspective, Yoloye’s original research passion, intelligence testing, allowed him to unravel the fallacy behind Eurocentric biases, which undermines the African’s capacity for abstract and scientific thinking. Science, indeed, is a universal endeavour and Nigerian children have a right to its promises as a prelude to Nigeria’s human capital flowering.
Prof. Ayotunde Yoloye had more in terms of educational legacy that speaks to Nigeria’s human capital impasse. It is as if he had been telling us all along that if Nigeria is to transform her development fortunes and achieve the capacity to make her educational dynamics the hotbed of human capital development, the best place to commence is not only the active cultivation of science education, but also the active measurement and evaluation of educational processes, institutions and programmes.
Educational evaluation is a gatekeeping mechanism in education that allows for adequate quality control of educational programmes and the evaluation of student learning dynamics. If education must become a fulcrum for development advancement in Nigeria, then educational evaluation becomes a crucial ingredient in the reform of Nigeria’s educational sector. Innovative progress in education requires a rigorous evaluation framework that balances new ideas with environmental imperatives. And Yoloye saw this necessity and dedicated his entire career to pushing the boundary of theories and practices in this regard.
It should be straightforward, for instance, to connect Yoloye’s research outputs in educational evaluation, his promotion of science education and his advocacy of mastery learning into a firm and robust educational philosophy around which a STEM framework for curriculum transformation in Nigeria could be grounded. Mastery learning foregrounds a pedagogical strategy that inculcates a mental and practical reassessment of learning. At a primary school level, mastery learning provides sufficient motivation that allows young minds to achieve the mastery of scientific attitudes and challenges. If science itself is considered broadly as the mastery of the universe and its physical laws, then a pedagogy premised on mastery learning as the foundation of science education promises a lot for the reassessment of Nigeria’s educational policies and philosophy.
Ayotunde Yoloye had many policy initiatives, especially with regard to the evaluation of educational programmes and curriculum development. But the large and damning question is whether we have integrated his ideas on curriculum development, measurement and evaluation and science education while he was still alive to pragmatically refine, redefine and reassess them. Now, Professor Emmanuel Ayotunde Yoloye is gone. And he left a body of insightful and revolutionary ideas and practices around which a solid educational practice in Nigeria could be built. Alongside other education icons in Nigeria, there really is no need to reinvent the wheel of educational advancement beyond the pragmatic frameworks which these patriotic educationists have provided. Yoloye did not stand alone; he was one great name in a firmament of other great names who have invested a lifetime in education reform in other to excavate a rich package of ideas and ideals around which Nigeria can overcome its development lethargy. If we must develop, we must rigorously guide the content of our educational programmes. This is one of the significant lessons Yoloye was asking us to learn as a nation. Emeritus Professor Emmanuel Ayotunde Yoloye has truly gone, and we mourn and celebrate his passing; but it is not too late in time to put his legacies and ideas to good use to salvage our educational predicament.
•Dr Olaopa is the Executive Vice-Chairman, Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (ISGPP).
Category: Arts & Life
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Ayotunde Yoloye and the future of education
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25 years of promoting Nigerian arts
The Experience Nigeria Art Show has marked its 25th anniversary, with over 100 works of various media at the National Museum, Lagos. EVELYN OSAGIE reports.
Prof Bruce Onobrakpeya was staring at the wall inside the exhibition hall of the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos, with a smile on his face. The acclaimed artist is a sight to behold at art events. His black Awo cap and his grey Niger Delta outfit were perfect accompaniment to his grey hair. But it was not just his looks or the twinkle in his eyes that captivated guests at the 2016 Experience Nigeria Art Show, organised by African Art Resource Centre (AARC), it was the plastograph print, which he was looking at.
The guests followed his gaze. They saw, a metal foil deep etching artwork that had imprints similar to that of the acclaimed artist. But as they took a closer look at the work titled: Hunters…traditional hunters in the forest, they saw that it belonged to a young artist, Rabiu Adeleke.
“It is a very good work. I got attracted to it the moment I saw it. The plastograph print is an art form that is very dear to my heart. Although I established the plastograph print, a deep etching technique in which aluminium foil is used to draw the engraved images, it is exciting to know that the young ones are keeping alive that art legacy. I am going to buy it and have it in my collection. This is indeed, good to see,” Onobrakpeya said.
Adeleke’s work, which was sold for N150000, was one of the over 100 artworks exhibited at the 2016 Experience Nigeria Art Show. Adeleke belonged to AARC’s Experience Nigeria Art Show “Class of 1996”. But he was not the only one whose works drew attention.
To mark its silver jubilee, the organisers held the 2016 edition with over 100 works of various media, including those of established artists, such as former Ondo State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr Tola Wewe, Ato Arinze and Adeola Balogun. For 25 years, the art expo has featured and created opportunities for hundreds of established and emerging Nigerian artists. This year’s edition was unique.
With Fresh Forward: Refreshing for the future, forming the theme of the exhibition, rich a heritage of the show were highlighted by bringing together past participants from the previous years, and showcasing their recent works.The journey so far
Over the years, the show has brought gains to artists and encouraged them to use their talents to influence social change. Despite last year’s economic downturn The Chairman, AARC Board of Trustees, Dele Olaopa said the organisation was more determined to ensure that the vision behind the art showcase did not die. But the 25-year journey has not been an easy one, according to him.
He said: “Running Experience Nigeria Art Show consistently for the past 25 years has been a challenging, yet fulfilling voyage. With a mind of celebrating and promoting Nigerian art, the show has been supporting and nurturing the creative development of emerging artists in Nigeria. During that time, hundreds of artists have benefitted from its programmes, including Mr Wewe. Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Steve Ayorinde, wrote about the show in the ‘90s while he was a reporter with The Guardian newspaper
“But despite the difficulties, especially the economic downturn in the country, we are glad that we have been able to sustain the vision of creating opportunities for emerging artists, which is the essence of the show. This year, we invite past participants from previous years: it is great to be able to showcase their works; including those that have passed away and some of them that are abroad now.”
Award galore
The event also featured awards ceremony, and later a Children’s Creative Camp. Olaopa said the awards have made immense contribution to the development of the arts, adding that the recipients were also contributors in their own rights. For instance, the Gani Odutokun Award For Excellence in Art, he said, was in honour of the late art master, Odutokun, who passed away recently.
Prof Onobrakpeya led the list of recipients. He was given the Lifetime Achievement Award. “I commend the organisers for the initiative. We all know how challenging it is economically, but they have continued to encourage artists for 25 years. It is indeed, commendable,” he said.
Clara Aden could not hold back tears when her work, Hopephobia, out of 100 works by 50 shortlisted artists, won the N100, 000 award category.
“I was shocked when I heard my name. It is one thing for you to have the talent, it’s another for you to be nurtured and rewarded for your efforts. And Mr. Olaopa has always been there for younger artists, even if you have not sold any of your work, he will tell you, to keep on doing what you know how to do best.
“I remember my first exhibition was 2003. I remember him saying my work as a female pencilist. Today, I have won several awards. This is due to the legacy of AARC. I, not only participate, but they also nurture us to greatness,” she said.
On the final day, 150 children (aged five to 12) were hosted at this year’s edition of the Children’s Creative Camp. They were treated to a day of art and crafts activities designed to nurture their creativity.
Mr Dotun Alabi of Federal College of Education bagged the 2016 Art Teacher of the Year award, while the Sammy Olagbaju Award for Sponsor of the Year, went to Mr Ranti Omole of the Radial Circle Group.
“Art is abstract; it’s never respected. But we have our young ones day-in day-out, who are interested in becoming artists. So, that means we also have to find a future for them. Just like selling any other thing, there has to be ready-made customers for it to build the industry. And the customers will not come from the moon, but from amongst us. It is high time we began to pick interest in supporting the arts and artists among us,” Mr Omole, an engineer, urged. -
A review of Chinyere Elizabeth Okoroafor’s ‘Abiana – Born To Die’
Title: Abiana-Born To Die
Publication: Amazon ebook
Pagination: 32
Writer: Chinyere Elizabeth Okoroafor
Reviewer: Justice Ndubuisi OtunneThe playwright uses the four-act play to dramatise religious fanaticism.
In the first act of the play, we encounter Iyaji in conflict with her son-in-law Pius, who is depicted as a Pius Christian. Ijayi who has come to give her granddaughter, Maria, pieces of meat has Pius, Maria’s father, to contend with as he would not allow his daughter to share in what he calls “meat sacrificed to wooden gods”. Anna, Pius’s wife, who comes to save the situation gets a bit of Pius’s anger as he pushes her down. Iyaji laments the effect of the Christian religion on her son-in-law and wonders what would become of her if she dies, with a son-in-law like Pius. Nwedo and Adiewere are also present in this scene. They have come to set matters straight between Pius and his wife, who are engaged in a fight over the so-called sacrificed pieces of meat Iyaji tries to offer Maria. Pius falls out with Adiewere who tries to rationalise that Iyaji would not bring trouble to the house of her son-in-law.
He accuses Pius of taking the Christian doctrine too seriously. Both Nwedo and Adiewere are of the opinion that Pius went too far in assaulting his mother-in-law because he thinks that the meat she brought is sacrificed to idols. They argue that most things are not produced by Christians, hence, in a sense; we all consume things produced by pagans.
Maria’s scream startles everyone. She is in trance saying “No! No! I’m not responsible! My father! My father!”, Pius gets holy water and begins to sprinkle on her as the shout increases. A priest is invited who comes and commands the evil spirit believed to possess Maria to depart from her while others present chorus Amen! As the priest prays, Maria jumps from her mother’s lap, where she has been held and breaks into a run as they chase her.
Scene two of the play opens in a shrine. Iyaji has gone to visit a diviner to inquire about the cause of her granddaughter’s ill health and a possible cure. Even before she makes her intention of coming known, the diviner claims to know what brings her. He admits that he cannot give Iyaji a solution to her granddaughter’s problem. Iyaji is broken to hear that she cannot find solution from the diviner. The diviner shocks Iyaji the more when he reveals that Anna, Ijaji’s granddaughter, is an Ogbanje, and that death stares her in the face. At this Iyaji falls flat on the floor crying and asking the diviner to save her daughter. All the while, the diviner sits on his chair unruffled. He scolds Iyaji for committing sacrilege by crying in his shrine. Ijayi appeases the gods by providing money for chickens. The diviner explains the cause of Maria’s yelling, saying that the lake goddess wants her back because she has not been thanked since Maria’s birth. Among the solutions proffered by the diviner is to call Maria Ogbuide and call on the lake goddess to welcome her. Yet another task is to make a pot of shrine and keep close to the little girl. Iyaji does not see how this is possible given that Pius, Maria’s dad would not allow Iyaji to bring a shrine to his house in the name of saving the dying girl. She begs the diviner to look for another solution. The diviner tells her to get the whiskers of a living lion or get the ailing child to him. None of the conditions seems attainable for Iyaji, she collapses on her chair. Thinking she has died, the diviner begins to scream, shaking Iyaji. His wife walks in and joins in the screaming, as she shouts Iyaji opens her eyes and flees upon casting a glance on the diviner who gives her a hot chase. He comes back to ask for food from his wife who makes for the kitchen as he faces the audience. The diviner compares his job to that of priests in the church. He laments that even though the priests do little or nothing, they still feed well through tithes and other means, but people expect him, a diviner, to perform miracles on empty stomach. He resolves to eat, work or no work, like his counterparts in churches.
In act three of the play, we see Iyaji who has come to Pius’s house to find out ways to carry out the diviner’s instruction towards a cure for Maria, her granddaughter. She hides when she sees Pius coming out of the house and reemerges as he goes out. Iyaji speaks to the audience wondering how Pius hopes to cure Maria’s Ogbanje by taking her to the priest. Her daughter emerges and they have discussions. Ijayi tells her daughter what the diviner said about a cure for Maria. Anna expresses fear that her husband would not allow any of the solutions suggested by the diviner. Iyaji reveals that Maria is an Ogbanje, a child born to die. Iyaji expresses anger over Anna’s decision to marry Pius despite the warnings. Anna is left in a dilemma as to which course to take to save the life of her daughter.
The play ends in act four. Here Iyaji walks into the stage carrying the corpse of Maria, blaming Pius for the death of her grandchild. Pius maintains that she is a witch, while she calls him an ignorant fool for relying on a foreign approach to a local problem. This blame and counter blame goes on until Adiewere steps in to mediate. He tells them to stop the blame game as it would change nothing. Iyaji insists that if a traditional approach had been adopted in the case of Maria, she would not have died. Adiewere advocates peace, he suggests that the “dead child should be buried along with all religious differences for which she died”. At this Iyaji and Pius embrace each other in a show of reconciliation, bringing the play to an end.
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How death killed the trading dream of Kano’s limbless girl
Popular Kano limbless girl known for her trading prowess died on Christmas day after a brief illness, writes Kano Correspondent, Kolade Adeyemi
Rahama Haruna, 20, who died in Kano on Christmas Day after a brief illness, lived a life that impacted positively on people. She used her inability as a tool of strength. No wonder Kano was thrown into mourning when the news of her death spread like a wild fire last Sunday. When she was born 20 years ago in the tiny community of Ungwan Sarki, Lahadin Makole village in Warawa Local Government Area, she came into the world as a complete and normal human being, but six months after her birth, Rahama was attacked by a strange illness that defied all medical solution. Her legs crippled, just as her two hands got deformed. She lived her entire life inside a bowl which aided her mobility.
The parents who showed her love until her death did all they could to cure Rahama, to no avail. At the end of it all, she accepted her fate living with ability in her disability. She was a friend of all and her situation. Coupled with kindness and love for her fellow human beings, she became an asset to the family as she grew up currying good will from kind-hearted people, organisations and even Kano State government who gave her support and ensured that she and her family did not live a life of want.
About 25 kilometres away from Kano, Ungwan Sarki, an agrarian and livestock community looked unsettled as villagers kept on trooping into the late Rahama’s compound to comfort the parents and siblings. The sympathisers could not hold their tears as they continued to speak good about the dead. Rahama’s is a life lived with joy and happiness even with her disability. She never attended school, but what she never lacked was common sense, mixed with a sense of humour and native intelligence which stood her out from her peers. All the villagers who spoke to our reporter about the life and times of Rahama testified to her goodness and love for mankind. “We will really miss her. She was a nice person and very friendly with people around her. Her presence attracted the attention of very important people who always come to this village to visit her. The goodwill she gets from philanthropists also spread to us who are close to the family. “Rahama was generous to a fault and I am yet to believe that she is really dead,” Hajiya Zara Jubril, a villager, said.
Grief was written all over Rahama’s mother, Fadimatu Hadi Haruna (45), who gave a vivid account of Rahama’s life on earth. According to her, “when I was carrying the pregnancy of my daughter, I was very healthy and sound. I delivered her hale and hearty. After a period of six months, a strange ailment befell her. Immediately, her dad and I started going round in search for solution to her sickness. In the quest for finding cure to her strange ailment, we went to over 33 traditional healers but none of them could proffer any solution to the problem. Rather, we were advised by these same traditional healers to stop.
“As her health continued to deteriorate by the day, anytime I wanted to lay her on bed or on a mat, she always screamed of serious pains; she slept in tears and woke up also in tears. She couldn’t sit, only to be placed inside a plastic bowl. That was when she was six months old. At nights, I usually took her out of the plastic bowl and lay her on a mattress in the compound. The mattress was given to her by one Good Samaritan.
“The coming of Rahama to this world through us turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Whenever Rahama was being taken out, she’s always brought back home with gift items from various sympathisers. God brought helpers to us. We lacked nothing to cater for her and the family during her lifetime. We did have enough to eat and drink. We enjoyed because we did have virtually all we needed from philanthropists. Up till the time to her death, Rahama was always in serious pains before sleeping and at waking up from bed. These were the challenges I went through while nurturing her.
“I love Rahama very much, even the world also showed their love for her because of her challenges and her disposition to life. I gave birth to Rahama on a Sunday, by 2pm in 1996 and her death also came on a Sunday at around 2pm on the 25th of December (coincidentally on a Christmas Day). Now, I am completely devastated. My world is empty without Rahama who was the bread-winner of the house. She was the eleventh among her siblings. Five among her elder siblings passed on before her due to similar strange ailments. None among them went through the severe pains Rahama experienced during her lifetime. Anytime Rahama went out, due to her compassionate condition, people would be moved in pity to give out alms/gifts to her.
“This in-turn brought blessings to our home. Even the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who was moved over her pathetic condition and other philanthropists, sent gifts like foodstuffs and other items to us. Most at times, I would try to persuade Rahama to remain indoors and not to go out seeking for alms, but she would always insist that whenever she stayed at home, her sickness weighed her down. By this, she sneaked out of the house without our knowledge to Kano. Sometimes, she even went as far as borrowing money for her transportation. It was just her hubby moving out to see friends and looking around the city.
“Today, the cold hands of death have snatched my beloved Rahama from me. Am grateful to all those who have in one way or the other catered for Rahama and the family. God in His infinite mercy will continue to reward them in abundance. Now we are helpless and dumbfounded as we have nobody to help us again since Rahama is gone. Because of Rahama, we did have enough to eat, drink and clothes to wear. We even had surplus to share with our neighbours. Now, Rahama is no more. What is left for us? Six of our children have been committed to mother-earth through strange illnesses, but only Rahama was able to make it this far. Since her demise, I have been through serious emotional trauma; I have been weeping ever since. I wonder how my life would continue without Rahama. The only thing is to pray for her and commit everything in the hands of God because He knows the best. He brought her into this would through me to assist the family and He has decided to take her back at His appointed time.”
For the father, Malam Haruna Hussaini (47), death did him a serious blow by taking Rahama, his favourite daughter, away from him. Speaking to our reporter on Rahama’s death and how she spent her life while alive, he said: “Rahama was born like every other child; without any deformity or abnormality, but her plight started when she was six months old. As we started noticing some strange deformity from her legs, up to her arms, our initial assumption was that she had some form of dislocation, but it turned out not to be something else which we could not comprehend. From there, we started visiting various traditional healers in search of finding cure to our daughter’s problem. Anytime we were given some medicines to administer on her, her health condition would worsen.
“It started from her legs and then moved to her arms, as a result of which turned her limbless because they all got shrunk. I expended all my money and other resources on her to make sure she got the best treatment available, but to no avail. All my savings and earnings went to her treatment. To some extent, I was living comfortably with my family, but now, I can’t boast of anything in my life. I used to be a cattle trader with many herds of cattle and also a successful farmer before the coming of Rahama, but her health challenges consumed virtually everything I had and left me with nothing. Her mother was restless, likewise me too. I walked the length and breadth of our village and beyond in search for a remedy to my late daughter’s health, but no solution was forth coming. At some point, she would show some signs of relief, and the next moment, the sickness would resurface.
“This time, more severe than it used to be. By the time Rahama was being taken out to seek for alms, we started receiving blessings from good Samaritans; even one of them was so kind to donate a wheelchair to my daughter. Based on the assistance from the state government and some philanthropists, my daughter was asked what she would like to do. All that came from her was that she was interested in trading. As you can see here, I built a shop for her, where she intended to start her trade as a shop owner. Rahama was exactly 20 years before she passed on. Rahama has done everything for me in my life, she was my everything, even to the family and neighbours. I am devastated over the death of my beloved daughter. The death of Rahama has created a big vacuum that can hardly be filled because she was our everything in life. “Dignitaries came to the house in which, if not for Rahama, we would never come across them. She brought joy and happiness to the family. Since the departure of Rahama from this earth, whenever I sight/see anything of her properties, I get traumatised. I am bitter. I had just a pair of clothes on me for over a period of one year, before Rahama wiped my tears. God knows the best. May God forgive her of all her trespasses, bless all those that have in any way assisted and showed compassion to us.
“Rahama was a girl that people loved. Anywhere she was, people surrounded her because she was jovial, kind-hearted and hardly got annoyed. These were the qualities people saw in her which prompted people to always want to carry her to places; to visit families, friends and neighbours. The death of Rahama was a big shock for the people of Lahadin Makole, her home town. What this innocent girl did in my life is immeasurable. All I can do is to pray for her soul to rest in peace.
“All the traditional healers that we visited arrived at one cause of her ailment. They said it was a spiritual sickness that defied medical treatment and I was advised not to be worried because the more we applied any medicine, the more her life would be at stake. As we wouldn’t want to lose her to anything, we had no choice than to leave her alone. I have never seen any kind of sickness like this in my entire life. Rahama lived all her life in agony. She slept on her back with her face upward, went to bed in pains and tears, got out of bed in pains and tears all through the 20 years she spent in this life.”
Though she is no more, Rahama’s story remains an inspiration to many disabled people around the world. Though she faced challenges, she lived a life laced with joy and happiness. She had strength in her weakness and made sure that all who came across her benefitted from her large heart and generosity, just as she became a source of life to her parents who looked up to her as the bread winner of the family.
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Itan, the story for the season
While the yuletide lasted, the theatre sector bubbled with life and activities that kept theatre lovers enthralled and entertained, reports Edozie Udeze
The culture sector was agog with activities this last yuletide when various stage plays, films and comedy shows predominated. At both the Muson Centre, Lagos and the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, there were many thrilling shows to keep thespians and art enthusiasts busy. One of the most outstanding shows of the moment was Itan (the story). Itan is a stage play involving both dance and music in which different stages of events of the old and the present times were told to enable art lovers see what has happened before now and what the situation is like presently.
Involving such great artistes like Hafiz Oyetoro (Saka), Efe Mayford Orhorha, Paul Adams, Yinka Davis, and more, the dance drama written by Ayo Jaiyesimi and presented by the Thespian Family Theatre, was so intriguing on stage that the 90 minutes it lasted did not indeed assuage the audience. When it mounted the stage at the Muson Centre, Saka’s presence almost melted the heart of thespians. His unique way of bringing complete life into his craft has made him almost a household name, a special artiste, an enigma.
An award-winning epic-play, it was laced with both cultural and contemporary dance drama that kept the audience on their toes. The story dwelt on various stages of changes in the society. In it, there was a heavy revelation of cross-generational conflicts. It is the conflict between the modern-day world and what happened in the olden days. On stage, it was like a battle royal between a village elder called Pa Latinwo and his grandson who was the leader of a gangster in the city. His name is Deekay. Together both characters represented the everyday clash that exists between these two people of different generations. The dance-drama, infused with both music of yesteryears and the contemporary ones exposed the intrigues involved in the show.
While the old refused to yield to the dictates of the young, so did the young stick to his beliefs. And so the dances went on endlessly as Asiko (Time) come in to intercede to settle the matter. He was able to play the tape of the old and that of today. There was a meeting point somewhere to show that no time is more important than the other. The artistes brought their professional acumen to bear on the play. It showed how the old, the present and the future can come together to bring a well-blended society. It was so glaring that the mediation by Asiko doused all the tension that existed on stage.
In the film titled Taxi Driver part two, which was shown at the National Theatre, the audience was taken through an old story of the love escapades of a taxi driver in the city of Lagos. Most theatre lovers were happy to see the theatre back to live. The groove was so enthralling that children were seen in their numbers jumping about, playing and having fun. The taxi driver was estranged from his wife. There was a complication and lots of things also happened in the process. Suddenly, his son began to trouble him, thus compounding his situation. At this stage, he met another woman with whom he fell in love. His love for her was so strong that her luck began to open new doors for him.
The film featured Jide Kosoko, Adeyemi Afolayan and others who were able to bring to life those intricacies of the life of a taxi driver popularly called Oko Ashawo in Lagos social parlance.
In another film called Kadara done in Yoruba language, there was a social problem in an unnamed kingdom. The king needed a suitable husband for his princess. For this, he instituted a wrestling contest for all the eligible young men in the kingdom. The strongest was to be declared her man and this was to be the prerogative of the king himself. Children were the most thrilled here because this was one of the few films that eulogized prowess and determination, a lesson some of them were eager to imbibe. It also featured Jimoh Aliu, Lere Paimo, Lanre Hassan and others.
There was also Ose Mefa (six weeks) done in Yoruba, featuring Rykardo Agbor, Yemi Solade, Jide Kosoko, Fathia Balogun and lots of others. Generally, holiday makers had the opportunity to watch shows that appealed to them. And for once, the theatre sector defied recession to keep afloat.
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Inside the world of three Nigerian sculptors
Sculpting has a long history in Nigeria and like every craft that is nearly as old as time itself, some thrive, others strive, while many are comatose. Dorcas Egede, in this report, examines the viability of sculpting in the country
Sculpture in Nigeria is much older than the country itself. From the Nok art of around 500 BC to the terracotta and bronze works of Ile-Ife and Benin from the 12th to15th centuries, to tribal wood carvings of a vast and varied range (which, research has revealed, inspired Pablo Picasso’s cubist wonders), the pre-Nigerian civilisations within what would eventually be declared a nation-space in 1914 are crucibles of art envied by even the West.
In what state is this awe-inspiring craft in modern Nigeria? Alive and sprightly or tottering and exhausted? The experiences of three Nigerian sculptors will reveal the answer.
The portrait of the constantly evolving sculptor
As you meander your way through the dusty, uneven paths that lead to Veronica Otigbo’s home and studio, the question that pops up in your mind is, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Her studio is seated in Ibafo, outskirts of Lagos, away from the pomp and pageantry of city life, but inside it is an entirely artistic world, a beauty to behold. Her living room, where she also displays her art works is artistically furnished; from her curtain to the throw pillows on the sofas, everything speaks of art. Right inside that serene environment, Otigbo is constantly conceiving and creating new masterpieces. She says the serenity of the environment inspires and helps her to stay focused.
Otigbo is a wood sculptor, even though she prefers to be addressed as a universal artist because she does virtually every kind of art work, from sketching to painting, fibreglass sculpting, metal sculpting, button arts, etc. Art, for Otigbo, had been a childhood passion. She began developing the flair for art by trying to sketch some cartoon characters from comics she read as a child. “As a child, I read a lot of comic magazines, Batman, Spiderman, and the rest. So, I started by trying to draw those things in the comics exactly as I saw them. And back then, I used to compete with my older brother and a friend; we drew and compared to see whose drawing was best. That was how I started developing the flair for arts.”
She believes however that one has to have the innate ability before it can be expressed. “If it is not inborn in the first place, the interest will not be there. There are many other people who read the same comics as I did, yet they didn’t turn out to be artists. If it’s already in you, you’ll only just need something that will push it out. Arts can be used as a message of hope, a message to help people to be focused; it is still a way of healing the inner soul. It is just the beauty of life being re-echoed,” she says.
Having noticed the interest in arts from childhood, Otigbo decided to pursue it. With the help of good people around her, who nudged her to make the best of the talent, after her secondary education, she enrolled in Lagos State College of Education, now Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, where she studied Fine Arts. From there, she moved to the University of Lagos to bag a BA and later an MA in Applied Arts, specialising in Sculpting.
Otigbo believes that her passion for the arts cannot be disconnected from her root. A native of Edo State, a state known for its rich cultural heritage and having a long history in all forms of visual arts, this creative daughter of the soil says, “Somehow, there is an attachment to my root. I just believe that, because sometimes, when I go back to my Bible; reading from Exodus 31:37, I see the first artist that God created. And God said he has put his knowledge and wisdom in us to do all that he has asked us to do. God is a perfecter of everything.”
After training under Bisi Fakeye, who taught her the rudiments of arts, Otigbo says she was able to garner a lot from him and other artists at the National Museum. She began practising right after she left the college of education. “My first exhibition,” she reveals, “was at the National Museum.”
Otigbo, being the experimental person she is, has tried her hands on every form of arts, from sketching and painting to fibreglass sculpting, metal sculpting, button arts; she keeps thinking of new things to create. She however has, as her core, wood sculpting. She creates something beautiful out of waste and what the ordinary eyes perceive as useless; from burnt wood to tree roots, buttons, rope, name it, Otigbo sees beauty in everything nature has graciously given humanity.
Asked how much she sells her art works, she says, “At the beginning, we used to peg the prices of our works rather high, but over time, we began to consider the desire of the buyer. Someone may want to buy an art work and not have the amount for which you want to sell, so most times we have to try and reach a compromise with the buyer.”
On how long it takes to create a piece, Otigbo says that from start to finish, to do a big wooden sculpture takes about two weeks, but smaller jobs, she says, can be done in a day or two. She gets materials (hard wood) from “Lafenwa in Abeokuta, Ogun State and I get the burnt wood from somewhere in Ketu.”
To thrive in the sculpting business, Otigbo says, “It takes perseverance to make a break in the arts, that’s why I always advice my colleagues in the industry not to take arts as their major source of income; rather they should do it as just a hobby, a passion, something they enjoy doing, while they look for other income generating things to do.”
Otigbo who exhibits her works at the National Museum and Terra Kulture from time to time, says there is often the challenge of imitation, which is why she has chosen to be a universal artist, an artist who isn’t tied down to a particular art form alone. “Some people just come to your exhibition, see your works and go ahead to produce something similar, and they tell you that ideas are flexible. You can’t stop that, really; that is why artists that are experimental will still have an edge, because we keep on discovering new things and others will follow.”
Stumbling forward, along the road less taken
Right inside the Universal Studios in the ever busy National Theatre, Lagos, Boma Joejim is seen chiselling away on a wooden sculpture, working on the creation of yet another masterpiece. He has been a sculptor for about 25 years, which incidentally began right there at the National Theatre. From very crude pieces of hard wood from felled trees in thick forests, Joejim and his kind, make beautiful artefacts. Asked the process of wood sculpting, Joejim says, “You get the rough log of wood, sketch the design you have in your head on that log and with the use of your instruments, motor saw, chisel, a hammer and other instruments, you carefully take out the unwanted parts of the log until you get to where you want; stop and do your finishing.”
Joejim, with his long years of practice, makes wood sculpting sound very easy. But is sculpting so easy and not fraught with many challenges? His reaction to that is, “There is no profession that doesn’t have its own challenges. The challenge I have as a wooden sculptor is that material-wise, it is very difficult to get wood. Most times we get it from Oyo State, after which we have to transport it to Lagos. This costs a lot. When you bring the wood down again, to sculpt is a different ball game altogether. You see, when it comes to wood sculpting, it’s not like any other aspect of arts that you can easily get materials and do in a rush. We have so many students who come here on industrial training; not many of them are interested in sculpting; most of them go for painting and modelling, and this is because sculpting is very challenging. There is no short cut in wood sculpting; you have to start from the beginning to the end.”
So, what does it take for one to become a wood sculptor, considering how challenging it is? Joejim’s honest answer: “It takes someone with a lion’s heart to thrive in the arts industry. And one needs a persevering spirit to do sculpting; you can stay for up to six months without getting a job to do. What will sustain you in the art industry is perseverance and passion for what you do. If you lack these, you’ll fall by the way side.”
Asked if people still appreciate art works such as wood sculptures; Joejim’s quick response is, “The patronage is encouraging; but you see, you have to have a persevering spirit, because it’s not everybody that wants to buy art, and when it comes to sculptures, it is the kingmakers that buy them the most. For instance, if you do not have your own personal house, you can hardly buy some kind of sculptures, especially because of space constraint. However, people who live in rented apartments sometimes buy handy sculptures that can be placed on a table top or on shelves. But, the major art collectors that I know have their own houses; they are well-to-do people.”
On imitation of art works, Joejim says it is possible to reproduce another artist’s work, just that it must be done in such a way that the works do not look exactly the same, as there are copyright laws guiding artists as well. Explaining why imitation seems inevitable, he says, “Sometimes, people come to you with a model in mind, likely an art work they have seen somewhere. We call such jobs commission jobs. But we often advice such clients that if it is someone’s creativity, we can’t reproduce it exactly how it is, we would have to alter some things.”
Ideas are like butterflies, people say; isn’t it possible for different sculptors, maybe in different parts of the world, even, to have a clash of ideas and therefore produce the same piece of art? “Ideas clash, there’s no doubt about that. But one thing you must know is that, if we are working on the same subject, the way I will interpret it is different from the way you will interpret it, because we have different personalities, different experiences too. Such works could look alike, but cannot be the same because they are not coming from one source. Even when they are coming from one source, there’s usually a slight difference. If I want to reproduce my work, for instance, there will be slight differences. Where you can have a replica is in a situation where you work with a mould.”
Why did Joejim choose arts? “I didn’t exactly choose arts, I stumbled into it”, he says. Pausing as if to recall vividly, he adds, “It all began in 1988 when I moved to Lagos from Port Harcourt. I was looking for what to do, but I couldn’t find anything, so my elder brother now introduced me to Mr Bisi Fakeye, a renowned sculptor. He was at the National Studios at the time. He accepted that I train under him, and I did so for nearly four years and started practising thereafter.
“I didn’t have any formal education in arts. I was a studio-trained artist and I’m proud to be one. Even those who have formal training can’t do as much. You see, education is good; peradventure you can’t study to the higher level, the skills you have can move you on. This is what makes the Chinese great, not certificates, which doesn’t necessarily take you far.”
Asked the price range for sculptures, Joejim replies, “It depends. Art does not have a fixed price. It depends on the passion of the person who is buying. Sometimes, someone will want to buy a particular sculpture and you tell him the amount, he may not have the amount you mentioned and may begin to beg you. As a seller, when you see the passion of this person, the way he is begging you, you want to show pity on him and sell at the price he is asking for. But some people come and they may just buy at the price you call, without haggling.”
Immersive Art: More work, less talk
In the stall beside Joejim’s stall is a rather shy man, head bowed, working away on a mould. This man, who later introduced himself as Mr Patrick Agose, is a brass sculptor. His initial reluctance is near discouraging. After a little bit of persuasion however, he agrees to a conversation. “I’m into modelling and casting.” He begins. “I make a model of clay, after which I do the casting. I use fibreglass and bronze (forms cast in metal are called bronze or brass). Inside a mould called mother mould or encasement, we cast our model made from clay. To make a bronze sculpture, you first melt iron; the molten form is called bee wax. It is this wax that will be poured into the mother mould to give you a bronze image.
About the accessibility of work materials, Agose says, “Bronze used to be easy to come by, but now, most of my workers in Benin are complaining that these Chinese have taken over the market. I do my casting in Benin. The materials are often gotten from Benin, but sometimes, we buy from Owode Onirin. What we usually need is all those tap heads, made from brass and copper, for it is a combination of brass and copper that gives you bronze.”
Agose, who is a graduate of Yaba College of Technology, has been practicing as a sculptor since 1992, three years after graduation from the college, where he studied Fine Arts. Like his colleague, Joejim, Agose also began practising right there in the Universal Studios. He says, “I started from here. It was formerly National Studios when we were under National Theatre management. We were using the studio free of charge; later they demolished that place. When we were displaced, we the artist there gathered and met the National Theatre management, so they gave us this place.”
So, how has the sculpting business been since venturing out? Agose says, “It’s been both rewarding and challenging. In any field, there are challenges; we only trust God to help us weather the storm. But one thing about the arts: if you’re consistent over many years, and you have a name, people will begin to seek your works. Like me now, I don’t go looking for jobs; people who have seen my work come to me.”
Does he, like Joejim, have people bring other works for him to reproduce? Agose gives a resounding yes. “They do. We call such jobs commission jobs. For instance, some people request that you sculpt a bust of their late mother or father, so they bring pictures and we make the mould and sculpt.”
On how long it takes to sculpt a bronze piece from scratch to finish, Agose says, “For the clay work, if a model is available, within a week I can get the clay work ready; then if it’s fibreglass, it will take another two weeks, so in all, it will take three weeks to produce a fibreglass sculpture. But if it is a bronze sculpture, taking the mould, sending it to Benin for casting, this takes a little more time, say up to a month.”
How about clay sculptures? Do people request for just clay sculptures? Agose says, “It’s not possible to have just clay work, because it breaks easily; except one wants terracotta, where the clay sculpture is made to pass through fire, so that it comes out hard, but this isn’t common. Right now, people go for bronze because that’s where you get value, as it appreciates with the years, and in case you want to sell it, you can sell for more than you actually bought.”
Sculptors seem to have the same perception when it comes to pricing, because from Otigbo to Joejim and Agose, they all gave the same response as regards the cost of their sculptures. Agose says, “One thing with this market is that it depends on the personality who is buying and selling. When you are old in the business, your job cannot sell for a penny anymore, because you might have been recognised and your work will be more valued, and the more valued your work is, the higher it will be priced. In fact, if you peg your price low, your customers will even query you. That’s one thing we enjoy in the field, the older the better. I cannot therefore say this is the amount we sell our works. But right now, all my bronze pieces don’t go for less than NGN 300,000.”
Why did Agose choose to study Fine Arts? His is a case of passion, he says, “I’ve always had interest in the arts, right from my primary school days. Those days, I usually featured in drawing competitions. This continued even when I got into secondary school. In fact, one of the definitions of arts, which says that arts is a helping subject to other subjects, is true, because my knowledge of arts really helped me in my science subjects. Secondly, it helped me in my performance academically; right from class one to class five. I used to top my class because I leveraged on my arts subjects to stay at the top of the class.
“But after my secondary education, I never knew that I would study Fine Arts, I must say the truth. I was actually to study Pharmacy, and I gained admission to study Pharmacy at the University of Ekpoma; but that same year, I also gained admission to study Fine Arts at Yaba Tech, so I had to choose between Pharmacy and Fine Arts in Edo and Lagos respectively. Looking at my humble background however, I decided it was better to stay put in Lagos. At the time, I was staying with my elder brother in Lagos, and the financial support wasn’t hundred percent; so I opted for fine arts to stay close to where I could get little help, even if only with the basic necessities of life, like food and shelter.
“And I tell you I have no regrets. Now, we have a number of people who studied accounting, but have abandoned the practice of their profession to understudy what we do here, and they are doing well too. So, I have no regrets at all.”
Proudly showcasing some of his works, he says, “I made this bronze sculpture using the portrait of one student who came here for training some time ago. I just liked her structure and asked her to sit for a capture. I produced this masterpiece and did a little bit of alteration here and there. As you can see, I made the shoulders and chest region rough; that’s not how her body is. I will be displaying it during an art exhibition at the National Museum some time during the week.”
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Easy way to financial stability
Title: Man and Money – the hidden secret revealed.
Author: Patrick C. Anyatonwu
Publishers: TWC Media Limited, Lagos
Year of Publication: 2016
Reviewer: Edozie UdezeMan and Money – the hidden secret revealed, is not really your kind of everyday book. This is a special manual, a real compendium on those ingredients necessary for a man to make money and become not only rich but a pride to humanity. The author, Partick Anyatonwu, a journalist, opened the book with a peep into his own background. He was a pen pusher for many years and this did not give him any financial respite or breakthrough.
He then tried his hands on a few other professions, yet poverty remained his lot. Then he began to think, to put himself in a position that forced him to think deeply, to read books on areas that pertain to wealth creation, wealth generation, et al. Consequently, he is not just a motivational speaker today, he is also an employer of labour, a wealthy man who no longer live from hand to mouth. The book is the story of an author who has grown from rags to riches, from a servant to a master. This is why the author makes it clear that any business man or entrepreneur who doesn’t believe in the inseparability of money and blood is like a farmer who doesn’t believe in the application of manure.
In order to help the reader grasp the total message embedded in the book, the author classifies the chapters in such a way to make the comprehension easier. They are: origin of money, financial blueprint, the mind, the conscious mind, the subconscious mind, what is your chief goal? Words are powerful, visualization. Others are: is it all about money?, why we talk about money, where will I start from? investment windows, income cooperation, portfolio income, passive income, and more. The book also has other ideas on how to have a good habit of saving money, budgeting, amount to be saved, financial intelligence and lots more. The book makes the issue of different approaches to money-making so amenable that reading the book itself is a delight. Most issues people usually take for granted about money really help a positive minded person to begin to have ideas on how to think big. The author says: “nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not, nothing is more common than unsuccessful man with talent. Genius will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan press on, has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. Although taken from Calvin Coolidge, one of the best motivational writers in the world, it also incorporates the central ideas of what this book espouses concerning money and wealth creation.
But it shows that every man has every thing he needs to be rich. In the section on The Mind (chapter 2) the book is more comprehensive and explicit on the role the mind plays in defining who we are and what we can achieve. The mind is the brain box of every human being. He therefore defines the mind as the set of cognitive faculties, that enable consciousness, perception, thinking, judgement and memory. In popular usage, mind is frequently synonymous with thought: the private conversation with ourselves that we carry on inside our heads. Thus, we make up our minds. Change our minds or have two minds about something.” Thus, the mind is where our thoughts first come to fruition before materializing into action, into reality.
What the author is saying invariably is that any man who regards himself as a creature built on a certain mental plane and incapable of any material change himself is beyond an improvement of the faculties already being expressed or manifest more than a small part of their talent power… Man is meant to achieve a great success when his mind is put in its fullest form. Whatever we are and whichever direction we are headed in life, emanate mostly from our conscious mind. From here we can think and create wealth. This is the whole essence of the mind therapy, or theory for without it, no man is capable of being a human being. Yes, the mind is the ultimate.
As an entrepreneur, ready to go the extra mile to be rich, never say or imagine that you cannot do it, or ask yourself where will I start from? For, in all, you can do as much as you can. Never be afraid of yourself, for fear, drowns a dream, fear peters out that drive you have buried in your inner self. Keep nudging the mind on, keep asking or telling yourself that you can do it. It is a mantra every purposeful mind should adopt to be able to push on to make more money. Great people like Bill Gate, Oprah Winfred, Joyce Meyer, Ben Carson and more, had little or no opportunity in life, yet they kept on the faith to be where they are now. It is incredible.
However, once you’ve been able to achieve this, you should have good habit of saving money; you should also adopt sound financial intelligence, where you have to be conscious of little expenses. Like Benjamin Franklin says: “A small leak will sink a great ship” and more of such cautions.
This is a book appropriate for people who want to be liberated from the clutches of poverty. Read it, sieve it, and let it sink in.
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‘Ours is to discover and nurture young artistes’
The Artistic Director of the National Troupe of Nigeria, Akin Adejuwon, in this chat with Edozie Udeze, harps on the mandate given to the Troupe to reach out to the rural communities and various states to discover and develop young artistes both for continuity and professional dexterity and more
For sometime now, the National Troupe of Nigeria has been involved in a project to help dramatise literature text books that are on the WAEC syllabus for secondary schools across the nation. It is a project that is not just very dear to the heart of the Artistic Director of the Troupe Akin Adejuwon, but one he says is compulsory and which the management of the Troupe is totally committed to. When one of the plays, Othello, written by William Shakespeare, was staged by the Troupe in Umuahia, Abia State recently, Adejuwon told The Nation in an interview that “this project is not an intention, it is one that is mandatory for the Troupe. In our mandate as the National Troupe of Nigeria, we have up to five subject areas where we are expected to show interest. One of them is to discover young talents. Not only that we are expected to also develop these talents to meet with their expectations in life. This also includes school dramas, for this is the best level where we can discover these talents and develop them.
“We know that interest in literature is going down and there is need for us to do what we must to help revive the interest. So it is not an intention, it is a project we have no option but to embark upon. It is our duty now to go from one zone to the other to dramatise some of these plays so as to make the books not only simpler to understand but also make the images register in the minds of students. This way, the interest will come back; the students will see the characters perform their roles on stage. This is for us also to remove that age long belief that this is a National Troupe only stuck at the National Theatre, Lagos. No, we have to move around to places to register our presence, to make our impact felt. Of course, this is a National Troupe of Nigeria. It is for us all and we are meant or even mandated to be felt nationwide. We have to remove those inadequacies that are not the best for the National Troupe of Nigeria.
“Now, from the very onset we have gone on the streets with the best plays and dances to demonstrate that we are prepared to go to the grassroots to prove our mettle. We have done this in different states and we are prepared to do more. Now, we have extended it to secondary schools across the nation. We were once in Osun State to do what we’ve just done in Umuahia, the Abia State capital.
“It is now time to take theatre; I mean schools dramas to the grassroots. It is time for them to feel real theatre; to see how these books can indeed be made real. Let them see, feel, and be a part of this process of reality on stage. This is why we have chosen the six geo-political zones of the country. What we have now for the South-East is for this season and that is why we are here now. From here, we hope this model can be taken further afield to other zones. We hope also to take this to other states of this zone in order to make this play known to more students, more schools, thereby ensuring that the interest is totally revived.
“Now the interest in Othello was raised particularly by the students themselves. We discovered that the difficulty in understanding Othello as a literature text is real. The age of setting and the language of the book make it quite a challenge. This is why we have chosen the book. And you could see how the artistes were able to demonstrate and simplify the text on stage. The students were thrilled and were able to follow from the beginning till the end.”
Adejuwon also believes that the lessons in Othello, though written in Elizabethan English, are multifaceted. “On one hand, you could see a good army general who could not also control his inner being in terms of his love life. And on another hand, it shows that when a man is strong, he needs people to help him in policy making and decision process. A man who must get assistance must also be humble; he must lower himself, so that people will be there to be of help to him when he needs them. No matter how evil thrives, it will soon be brought to an end. This is the lesson in this play and we all have to learn one or two things from it.”
For now, the Troupe is planning to take its travel theatre to other parts of Nigeria, but only being hampered by funds. To this end, Adejuwon, said, “We will resume the tour as soon as we have the funds to do so. Once we have enough funds again we are coming to the South-East. There’s even a strong pressure now that we must go to the Midwest – Edo, Delta and so on. This is so because of the strength of culture in Edo State. It is a centre of culture and the new Oba of Benin is also a total image of total culture. His dream now is to start an Academy of Art and also the senate chairman on culture Senator Matthew Orhogbide who is from Edo State is insistent on us taking street theatre to Edo State. So we will be in Edo very soon with our repertoire of street theatre”, he concluded.
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When authors confronted terror
What came out of the just-concluded 18th Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF) that truly made it a book fair was the harvest of new books by writers. Essentially, the theme of the festival was on the terror of knowledge. It was deliberately chosen to pinpoint the books written so far that dwell more on the current socio-political situations in different parts of the world. Some of the books include: This Time Tomorrow, Roots for the sky, Season of Crimsons Blossom, Frontiers of Jihad to Africa, Eat the Heart of the Infidel, Born on a Tuesday, Yacoubian Building, Satan and Shaitans, After They Left, My Name is Okoro and many others.
According to Toyin Akinoso, the secretary of The Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), organizers of the fair, the theme was chosen to “discuss as extensively as we can the sociology of insurgency and what it means for the decimation of our common humanity. However, because of kidnapping, rampant, unrequited killings and general insecurity, the vibrant nightlife experienced in Lagos cannot be taken for granted anywhere in these former bespoke towns, which were one-time sites of comfortable urban living.. Therefore, the Lagos Book and Art Festival is dedicated to promoting literacy through advocating the joy of reading. It is indeed CORA’s contribution to transforming the population into true human capital”.
It is noteworthy that every year, CORA concentrates its attention on new books – fiction and non-fiction, to sensitise the public on the place of books in the society. Books help to unearth events in the world. They help to expose demeanors in different parts of the society. They expose the ills that plaque humanity. And so in the end, artistes, different authors on different themes, topics and issues converged to discuss and harp on the need for the public to be aware of the trends going on now. This has been the tradition of CORA in this regard. And it has been quite helpful and rewarding.
It was more poignant this last LABAF, for it afforded more authors than ever before the opportunity to discuss with one voice the unfortunate developments in different guises worldover. Then, what is terror of knowledge? Why did it become the overriding decimal for a book festival? There have been terrible developments in the world occasioned by the rise of socio-political and religious imbalances everywhere. The youths have been more restless and restive. The economic situation, coupled with recession, have eaten deep into the fabric of nations.
There have been occasions when world leaders refused to see what to do to ameliorate world-problems. There have been also situations where stronger nations lorded it over the weaker ones. Consequently, wars have taken over places where peace otherwise would have been the lot of the people. These and more have given rise to insurgencies, kidnappings, killings, religious dichotomy and lots of other ills bedeviling the world. When the authors gathered to discuss these issues, emphasis was more on why they wrote their books; what informed their themes and subject matters and so on. Terror also affects knowledge because authors have to write about them. The more hopeless or otherwise the situation becomes the more an author has more materials for his work.
However, what role does terror play in the lives of the people? Even though terror is not good for human existence, even though it comes with it some negative effects that distort the peace of the society, it is still good for authors to engage their ideas and attention on such issues in order to make the society a better place for all.
The role of CORA in this regard calls for commendation. Over the years the fair has helped to bridge the gap between all genres of the art. It is usually a meeting point for both books and the visual arts. There, the convergence has brought these two together for further engagements necessary to prosper the sector the more. Arts have to examine and interrogate the society. Arts have to harp on human conscience, have to seek ways to improve the lots of the people. So, the issue of the power of knowledge and what terror does to humanity must always be the preoccupation of man from generation to generation.
Jahman Anikulapo, chairman of CORA summed it up thus: “18 years after, the LABAF and its chief dreamers remain steadfast on the vision to help deepen the quest for knowledge inquisition and merchandising and to spread the gospel of mental and mind development through massive literacy. This is done especially through engagement with the text – written, visualized, crafted, spoken.
“It is a vision to help deepen the culture of deeper engagement by the people of the development of their environment. It is a vision to help fast-track the full harnessing of the human capital resources inherent in our people and harvest for our nation’s capital development.
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Mare Festival ‘has come to stay’
In February 2017, he will be bowing out as governor of Ondo State. Last Wednesday Governor Olusegun Mimiko hosted his last Mare Festival, a mountain climbing cum cultural event, which he initiated eight years ago. He took stock of the programme, saying it has come to stay, irrespective of who governs the state. Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.
winners
Marathon race (Men)
Osuolale Taiwo (first)
Fatoyinbo Gbenga (second)
Olayinka Peters (third)Marathon (Women)
Olamide Oluwaseun (first)
Ogunyemi Omoyemi (second)
Balogun Elizabeth (third)Mountain climbing (Junior category)
Akinde Olanrewaju (first)
Adeboye Clinton (second)
Owolabi Odunayo (third)
Mountain climbing (Senior female)
Ayodeji Folasade (first)
Akirolayo Aina (second)Mountain climbing (Senior male)
Adekunle Adedoyin Sunday (first)
Abudu Abiodun (second)Beauty pageant contest
Contestant Number 1 (Overall winner) N150,000
Contestant Number 3 (1st runner-up) N100,000
Contestant Number 7 (2nd runner-up) N50,000The air was full of excitment. Children and young adults that thronged the Olofin Grammar School Playground at Idanre in Ondo State defied the dusty cold weather as they gathered in the vast open field.
Many of them arrived four hours before the start of the concert. All through the night till the early hours of Thursday, the fun-seeking crowd danced to the music of no fewer than 10 musicians including the 74-year-old Baba Francis Akintade and Orente crooner Adekunle Gold. Governor Mimiko and some members of his executive council were not left out in the grove. It was the grand finale of Mare Festival 2016, a mountain-climbing cum cultural festival. Other musicians and comedians that performed were Lexi J, Kunle Orlando Owoh, female talking drummer ARA, Blackman and Adeola the rapper.
The concert was not entirely for the youth alone. For the first time, it attracted the attendance of a top traditional ruler in Idanre, Oba Fredrick Aroloye, the Owa of Idanre Kingdom and his wife who at different times took to the dance floor. It got to its crescendo when Pa Francis Akintade was on stage reeling out some of his evergreen numbers. This became a ‘naira rain’ of sorts for the 74-year-old musician.
But, the concert was more than entertainment for Mimiko. Symbolically, it was like a valedictory session as he spoke with deep reflection on his eight-year tenure as governor especially his dream for Mare Festival and the development of a tourism corridor in the state.
“The 8th edition of Mare Festival is incidentally the last of my tenure as governor. However, it is one of the best organised festivals. Mare Festival has come to stay and I have no doubt in my mind that the incoming government will do all to sustain it. God has endowed Idanre with natural resources and there are no two towns like Idanre. I can see a new tourism corridor in Akure/Idanre and this we have been developing since 2009,” he said.
Mimiko, who was at the all-night concert without his wife, Olukemi, reiterated that his administration impacted the Idanre people tremendously even though some of the projects have not been completed. He pledged that the road between Technical Junction and Yaba would be rehabilitated before February 2017. “It is my parting gift to Idanre people that gave me incredible support in my eight years as governor of the state,” he added.
Earlier at the presentation of gifts and prizes-standing fans, deep freezers, generators, pressing irons and GOTv decoder- to winners of the raffle draws and marathon race, Mimiko, represented by the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade recalled that in 2009, his administration promised to turn Idanre hills into tourism site as Mare Festival brings different people from across the state to Idanre every year. “We hope incoming years will be more rewarding and successful. I assure you that in and outside government, we will always partner you to make Mare great,” he said.
Ondo State Commissioner for Culture, Tourism and Special Duties, Mr. Femi Adekanmbi said Mimiko has projected Idanre to the globe through Mare Festival, adding that the people of the state and Idanre people in particular cannot forget the contributions of Mimiko to the development of tourism in the state. “With the attention paid to the festival, we are hopeful that the next administration will not abandon it because the advantages of Mare are much,” Adekanmbi said.
Since it made its debut eight years ago, the annual Mare Festival in Idanre featured mountain climbing and marathon race and beauty pageant. Out of the 18 local government councils in the state, only eight councils participated in the festival’s cultural parade held on the final day. They were Owo, Akoko North East, Ilaje Ese Odo, Akoko South West, Ondo West, Akure South and Idanre. Other groups that featured included Isese Organisation (Ondo chapter), and Isua group. Ondo West won the first position followed by Owo and Akoko South West in second and third positions respectively. The highpoint of the night was the presentation of award by Governor Mimiko to Oba Aroloye for his steadfastness and support for the state.
In attendance at the festival were Oba Aroloye, Secretary to State Government Aderotimi Adelola, Toyosi Adesanya, Onileola Bukola and Kemi Adesanya among others.Dark spot
Tourism stakeholders are however worried by the poor state of the multi million naira leisure facilities constructed few years ago at the foot of the Idanre Hill site. Facilities such as Water Fountains, Thatch huts and wooden rails linking one spot to the other are in a state of decay and no longer fit for human use. These facilities were exclusives to special guests to relax in during previous editions of the festival. Today, they are left to kids. If the dream of getting UNESCO to enlist the site on world heritage list will be realised, the site must be maintained and made functional by restoring these facilities among others.
Like the facilities, the numbers of food vendors, arts and crafts sellers and participants at this year’s festival were a far cry from the boom recorded at previous editions no thanks to the recession. Unlike past editions, only one motorised float designed as a giant canoe featured in the street carnival accompanied by some dancers and singers. Guest artists at the musical concert also dropped considerably.