The Nation Newspaper

Category: Arts & Life

  • Understanding international terrorism

    Understanding international terrorism

    The Acting Head of Department, Jurisprudence and Public Law Department of Babcock University, Dr Yinka Olomojobi, has added his voice to the global menace threatening many nations of the world – terrorism.

    He is out with a new book, etitled: Frontiers of Jihad: Radical Islam in Africa, to be presented in Lagos on Tuesday, September 29.

    The book’s preoccupation is worthy of note as it focuses on the most contemporaneous central issue since the Cold War era—the clash of the West and Islamic civilisation. The 366-page book is timely and a record of well researched facts and a cautionary exposition for the imperative necessity for bridging the gaps between Africa’s have’s and have’s not.

    Even though a substantial intellectual study has grown on issues surrounding the radical Islam since the atrocities of 9/11, Dr Olomojobi’s book provides an enthusiastic and much needed exposition that explores the phenomenon of radical Islam in Africa. The book, which is his third, gives a distinct and comprehensive angle to existing arguments on terrorism.

    Dr Olomojobi, who holds a LL.M in International Law, (University of Liverpool, England) and a PhD (Lancaster University, England), he has also written two books: Islam & Conflict in Northern Nigeria and Human Rights on Gender, Sex and the Law.

    While his first book focuses on the conflicts in a part of Nigeria, his third explores a global perspective to conflicts brewed by radicalism.

    In the Frontiers of Jihad: Radical Islam in Africa, the author reveals quite assuredly the clash of civilisations between Islam and the West. Each chapter focuses on issues about the factors that promote radical Islam in Africa. From Chapter One, the book exposes a careful build-up of arguments and analysis.

    In this chapter the author carefully details and theorises how to probe into the study of radical Islam. Aside from using theories based on political science, he adopts a philosophical approach to his work in order to understand the relationship between Islamists and their notions of jihad.

    In Chapter Two, he argues that theoretical explanations of how religion takes the centre stage in society and in international relations, while demonstrating, convincingly, the new role of religion in a globalised world.

    Chapter Three offers divergent expositions on in Islam and jihad. It highlights the ways in which jihad is understood and interpreted. Dr Olomojobi argues that the essence of jihad “is the desire to fight perceived oppression”.

    Chapter Four affords the reader with in-depth analysis on terrorism and highlights the complexities of defining the term. However, the author fittingly describes terrorism as an act that “generates a psychological notion of fear amongst the citizens of a state. It creates a situation of anxiety therefore using propaganda to channel its grievance to the public, in order to be heard and taken seriously”.

    The keenness and forcefulness of the writer’s thoughts and eloquent prose are illustrated in his expositions of radical Islamist groups in Africa. He, then, takes the reader through the vicious activities of Boko Haram in Chapter Five.

    From Chapter Six to Chapter Nine, the author explores major jihadi groups and their ideologies in Africa. Dr Olomojobi culminates his expository voyage with the nefarious activities of Al Qaeda in the Maghreb in Chapter 10.

    In profiling radical groups, the author does not occupy the reader with contrived arguments, but he highlights facts that have not been compressed worthy of note in understanding the diverse ideologies surrounding terrorism across the world. The author ends with a chapter which reveals the propagation of terrorism through the Internet.

    As one reads through the book, one could see that Dr Olomojobi is a perceptive thinker and a profound political analyst, who delivers his augments with facts, illustrating useful insights from other renowned scholars, whilst provoking intellectual rigour and the ability to provoke and capture critical thoughts of the reader. Because of its juicy fresh addition to the study of international terrorism, the book is a must read to political leaders, leaders of thoughts, diplomats and the public at large.

  • Africa and contemporary artistic production in art history

    Africa and contemporary artistic production in art history

    Africa has often been treated as the mythic origin, and a homeland that people want to return to, but not as a place that participates and contributes to the global world.”

    The above assertion was expressed by Ms Joanna Wild, a doctoral candidate of the Department of Art and Art History, University of New Mexico at a lecture delivered at the OYASAF (Omooba Yemisi Abimbola Art Foundation) Fellowship in Lagos.

    While highlighting the theme for the event, Beyond the Black Atlantic: Contemporary Artistic production in Lagos today, Ms Wild praised the contributions of Africa artists and art scholars growth of world art, urging that they do more to dominate the global art space.

    She noted that due to lack of government funding for artists, absence of galleries to constantly represent artists, and hectic situation encountered by continent-based art promoters has been denied access to the transnational art space for so long.

    Ms Wild lamented that despite the contributions of Okwui Enwezor, a widely-acclaimed curator, towards the validation of contemporary African Art on a global scale and his curatorial contributions, his findings have been faulted and challenged by renowned art scholars.

    “Although many scholars contributed to the global validation of Contemporary African art, Okwui Enwezor, a Nigerian-born United State-educated curator, has undoubtedly taken a lead role. He shaped the field through his organization of large scale exhibitions, his directorship on both newly founded and long standing biennials, and his co-publication of survey texts such as Contemporary Africa Art since 1980 but Enwezor’s curatorial and scholarly work hasn’t been unchallenged. “

    She reiterated Art Historian Sylvester Ogbechie arguement that Africa is written out of art history as a relevant site of contempo-rary artistic production because visibility had only been given to a relatively small selection of African artists, such as Yinka Shonibare, observing that such action has led to the drawback in the sector.

    “Transnational scholars, critics, and curators have neglected African art on the continent. Considerations of the “Black Atlantic” would result in representations of transnational experiences defined by the African emigres relationship to a more powerful “Other.” African expatriates such as Shonibare are overburdened by the expectation that they represent Africa, something they decidedly cannot do.” She said.

    To exhibit how the global space interact with Lagos artistic works, she highlighted works of Shonibare, Peju Alatise and Ndidi Dike. Some of the works included Wrapture, one of Alatise’s solo exhibitions that reflected the effects of religious fundamentalism in Nigeria in the past and in the present and her Textile

    Use; Dike’s Waka-into-Bondage, Drop in the ocean and one way, No easy walk to freedom and Economic fabrics.

    Waka-into-Bondage caught the attention of guests. Exhibited at the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), Lagos in 2008, it was triggered by the visitation of the artist to Badagry a coastal town that used to channel slaves during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the 2007 commemoration event of the 200th anniversary of the abolition hideous act in Nigeria.

     

  • 10th Bamako Encounters opens October 31

    10th Bamako Encounters opens October 31

    The 10th anniversary edition of Biennale of African Photography, Bamako Encounters will run from October 31 to December 31 in Bamako, Mali. The Artistic Director is founder Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) Lagos, Bisi Silva with associate curators Antawan I. Byrd and Yves Chatap. The theme  is Telling Time.

    The Bamako Encounters 2015 is a pan-African exhibition with artists chosen from a call for applications. This year a record number of dossiers were received from the 54 African countries and the Diaspora: a total of 800 applications – four times more than for the exhibition in 2011.

    A statement on the festival’s website said apart from the artistic aspect of the event, this year’s edition will help focus the news from Mali on cultural affairs of a more ‘positive’ nature in terms of image and economic revival. There will also be a retrospective of past editions while the artistic project will be constructed around the narrative of time. Photographers will be invited to create a narrative of Africa, not through a view of things on the surface but, rather, through the way they use the image to delve into the reality of their time. The approach is designed to create a link between the past, the present and the future of the continent. As an approach, it is perfectly suited to deal with the recent upheavals experienced not only by Mali, but also by North Africa with its Arab Springs and, more recently, by Burkina Faso.

    The team of curators hopes to create a fresh view of the creation of photography and video as practised in Africa. There will be both documentary and artistic works, as well as forms closer to installations. It is already evident from the pre-selection of artists process, that a lot of the work is sourced in film and picture archives. Humour abounds and there is no lack of self-mockery on the part of the artists – both of themselves and their countries.

    The religious question arises in a curious and subtle fashion in the works to be displayed, bearing in mind the crisis reigning over the continent at the moment.

     

  • At Freedom Park, agidigbo meets poetry

    At Freedom Park, agidigbo meets poetry

    At the Freedom Park, Lagos, a new entertainment experiment has been put in place to see how traditional music of agidigbo and poetry can be fused together for weekend relaxation.  Edozie Udeze reports.

    Many keen followers of the agidigbo brand of music would think that it is dead now.  But it is not.  This brand of music which surfaced in Nigeria in the early 1970s was invented with wholly local instruments.  The music is basically folkloric in its pattern and presentation, dwelling on stories of human lives and other emotional encounters that define what man sees and does from day-to-day.

    Last weekend at the Freedom Park, Lagos, Captain Jimi Badmus, one of the few survivors of the agidigbo music performed, not only to thrill the audience, but to also bring back memories of this brand of music that hinges on true life experiences.  With him also was Akeem Lasisi, a Lagos-based journalist who has consistently turned poetry performance into an elevated platform to draw people’s attention to love, romance and social issues.  The combination of poetry and agidigbo was done purposely to introduce an entirely new and noble approach to entertainment.  It was an infusion that paid off handsomely, for it enabled most thespians and traditional Freedom parkers to feel a new lease of romantic atmosphere imbued with soothing euphoria of music and chants and theatre.

    With a six-man band, Badmus took over the stage most of the evening rendering soul-searching renditions that truly pierced the heart.  The Agidigbo drums, the maracas instruments and the continuous singing and beatings further melted the heart of many, as people sat in clusters of three and four, sipping their drinks and savouring the beauty of the evening.

    Soon it was time for Akeem Lasisi to join the band on stage.  His introduction of poetry into the arena, along with his Songbirds singers indeed added more vibes to the arrangement.

    Lasisi explained that what took place was a foundation for a regular performance that would soon take off.  It is a foundation where traditional music meets poetry in a way to marry the two for effective musical jamboree.  “Yes, it is for us to perform poetry with the traditional agidigbo music.  It is also a way to see how modern poetry can work with some traditional genres of music and other forms of entertainment,” he said.

    “Tonight was the first time I’d be performing with an agidigbo musician and the first time, I’d be playing with my new Songbirds, a team I have just constituted.  This was why I had to do just three chains of poems.  The first one was just an Ijala, a way to mount the stage and introduce myself and my group.  Ijala, as you may know, is Yoruba hunter poetry of old.  It is a part of my old collection of poetry entitled Wonderland.”

    Using the Ijala to pay homage to the people present, Lasisi and the Songbirds went on to render performances on Eleleture which means not a small word.  It is a love poem which touched on the need for people, mostly lovers and couples to give time enough to love issues in their lives.  After that, a poem dedicated to the Late Bola Ige, was rendered in a way to pay tribute to the Cicero of Esaoke.  The last one titled Udeme was really too romantic that a few lovers took to the stage to romantise the music.  “Yes, we went back to poetry here, to soften the night,” Lasisi intoned.

    And because the atmosphere was ripe to make people feel love in the air, the Udeme output was totally in tune with the mood of the people.  “We went for love poetry also to enable guests relax because this was not an academic atmosphere”

    Essentially, Lasisi has continued to work on his poetry to redefine it as a way to make it musical both in approach and presentation.  This is why he has continued to produce musical albums based on that.  As at now, he has an agreement with some marketers at Alaba International market who will be handling his works very soon “I am happy that as of now, I have up to fifteen poetry videos.  I have exposed up to 3 to the market and others will soon follow.”

    For Badmus, however, the joy of being on stage with his band emboldened him with renewed energy throughout the whole evening.  An old man of 74 years, he did not even feel fagged out as he practically took over the night, singing away and making the drums appeal to the people.

    Formed in 1979, the Salam Salam Agidigbo Natural Band led by Badmus was the trend in those days.  In an interview, Badmus shed more light on the genesis of his musical career.  “I learnt to play the guitars as a kid but I chose the agidigbo drums because of the flavour it gives to my brand of music.  When I began to sing in the 1970s, agidigbo was popular and that was why I joined in playing it,” he said.

    Although he has not waxed any record yet, he finds solace in playing at social functions.  His greatest worry now, though, is how to raise funds to put things right.  “I make small money here and there, but it is not enough to push me on.  People appreciate me and what I do, yet all I need is the necessary push to get to the top.”

    For now, Badmus and his band perform regularly at the famous High Society Club, Fola Agoro, Lagos, where the high and mighty go to watch him most weekends.  For him, agidigbo has to come back now; it is good for the soul.

  • At 83: Onobrakpeya says

    At 83: Onobrakpeya says

    Renowned artist, art teacher and UNESCO Human Living Treasure winner, Bruce Onobrakpeya recently clocked 83. Gboyega Alaka caught up with him for a brief chat at a recent art exhibition held at the sprawling Greenhouse Empowerment Centre in Olambe, Ogun state.

    You look so alert and agile at 83; how have you managed it?

    I think I owe it all to God. It’s God’s design and destiny that we’re following. And every day I wake up, I thank him. Every step I take and everything I do is thanks-giving to God.

    You are a global artist of repute with great works as a printmaker, painter and sculptor. Which of these aspects are you still active in?

    I’m still in all of them, but specially, I’ve built a classroom for myself, which is the Agbarha Otor workshop. I’m still active there, teaching and also doing my own work and allowing the younger ones to inspire me in what I’m creating. So I’m learning from the younger ones, as well as learning from the environment and learning from everyone who can teach me.

    As an artist of teacher of over 50 years, how fulfilled are you?

    Very fulfilled. But one of the secrets that keep me going is the fact that I’m relating to young people. It makes me feel quite young.

    Let’s talk about your work at this exhibition?

    Well, I have these installations on display. It’s a tribute to the Chibok Girls and their plight. You can see the kidnappers hidden behind the leaves; the pillars in the installation represent the Chibock girls, you can see they are all behind the bamboos in the forest; the central piece shows denied or delayed laurels; don’t forget that the girls would have been inching nearer their goals of becoming great people like the women shown there- Dora Akunyili, Oby Ezekwesili, Deziani Allison Madueke and co; if they had not been kidnapped. So it is our prayer that they are rescued alive soon, so that they can attain the potentials that God has reserved for them.

    Do you think the present government is doing enough to secure their release?

    I think government works mainly underground. We cannot tell exactly how much effort they are putting in. All I can say is that God will give the government and other people working towards the girls’ release enough strength to accomplish. I have faith that God will release them to us alive.

    Would you say art is well appreciated in our society?

    Art is getting very well appreciated in the society. It wasn’t as appreciated as this when we started years ago, but all that is changing.

    And the people; are they willing to pay for it?

    What is important is not the payment for it, but the life that art helps the people to live. Art is something that enlightens you; that sets up your spirit; that records your history and gives you inspiration for life. That is what art is. And once we can attain that level of consciousness, then the money aspect becomes a little part of the whole show.

    You’re saying that it is more about fulfilment for the artist.

    Yes, fulfilment for the artist and fulfilment for the general populace. Art is something that elevates the people for whom the art is meant.

    Young artists of this generation seem to be more about the money….

    The thing is that as they grow and get attention, the need to make money or charge a lot of money for their work will become less.  As they grow older, the tendency would be for them to work hard for the true interest, rather than hope to always make millions from every creation.

    What’s the highest price you’ve sold a work for?

    Really, I would like to play down on the money aspect of my work, but to satisfy you, I think the highest a single work has fetched me is about 10 million naira.

    You look so strong at 83, yet there was so much uproar about becoming president at 73; what do you think of that argument?

    I actually think that was a fallacious argument. Even in the Far East, people don’t get near being heads of state until they are 70 and above. So a person who is 70, 75, even 80 is qualified to be head of state. At that stage, it’s the thought that come from them that is important. All other active things will be carried out by the people that work with them.

    Finally, are you afraid you may be nearing the end?

    It is my belief that man really does not die. We don’t know when we’re born and we don’t know when we will die; but the important thing for me is to live every day as if it is the last; and also live as if I will never die.

  • ‘The ideas behind our Season of Plays’

    ‘The ideas behind our Season of Plays’

    Mrs. Olaitan Otulana, the director of the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture, in this encounter with Edozie Udeze, speaks on the Season of Plays and other issues pertaining to the council.

    For sometime now, the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture seemed to have gone into oblivion, with little or no activities to register its presence in the state.  Just last year, the director of the Council, Mrs. Olaitan Otulana along with her team introduced what she termed Season of Plays.  It is a bimonthly affair to do plays that have binding messages and meanings to the society.  It is an idea to draw theatre lovers out of their cocoons and also see how live theatre can be made more permissible to the people.

    Essentially, the Season of Plays has gone places, having been staged at different locations to curry for audience acclaim and appreciation.  According to Otulana, who assumed office barely two years ago, “it is an idea mooted by us to make people have a better perception of the Art Council.  If in the past, people had a different perception of us, that we were not visible at some Federal art events, that might be correct.  In the past years, it had been very challenging for us in terms of paucity of funds to execute most of our programmes,” she said.

    Those years were not the best of times for the Arts Centre, hence there were very few artistic and cultural programmes to showcase.   All along, the government of Lagos State only paid lip service to the funding of the sector.  While the Council made several requests for funds to be released, the artistes waited with almost a forlorn hope to be involved in active performances.  Owing to this, Lagos State which hitherto took top positions in most national programmes, could not even attend either the Abuja Carnival or the National Arts and Culture Festival (NAFEST).

    But Otulana explained that the zeal to achieve and re-register the presence of the Council has led her to invent new programmes that are of deep cultural values to the people.  Even though she pays more attention to infrastructural development at the cultural centre for now, her natural love for artistic aesthetics has led her to renovate the halls and made them more presentable for shows.  “While we waited for money, we looked inwards to see what we could do to sustain the tempo here.  Last year alone, therefore, we had four stage plays that spanned the bi-monthly period of our activities.”

    Also in furtherance of this, Otulana decided to open her doors to corporate and individual sponsors.  Some group of traditional religious organizations also came in within this period to show their solidarity and identify with the Centre.  For her, the centre has more in the offing when most of the facilities would have been completed to make it a totally artistic centre in all ramifications.  “It is only a pity that most Nigerians do not know how to relax.  But by the time we’ve made the necessary adjustments and preparations in these premises, people will naturally love to come in here on their way home from work to relax.”

    Beside the programmes already in place, Otulana hopes to build more recreational facilities that will help the staging of plays more alluring.  “For now, the plays we have had pricked mostly on people’s consciences.  Even though the funding challenges remain, we hope in the nearest future we will be able to do more to be able to perform more programmes.  With the drama and documentation departments and others, we have restructured so far, we have been able to move on ahead in the best ways we could.”

    The programmes which the centre has initiated so far, in the reckoning of Otulana, are meant to impact on the people in every way possible. “Yes, this is in forms of education and entertainment.  The driving force behind it is to have quality programme.  This is basic.  This is why we also do comedy, we also do total theatre in different modes and styles.  We also do literature plays, especially those in secondary school programmes and then take them to schools.”

    So far, many of such works have been performed to help students understand the plays they do in JAMB or WAEC.  This way, it is easier for more students to take to Literature, concentrating more on drama and plays.  What the centre needs most now is funding to reach out to more areas of the state.  Every two years or so, new Literature books are recommended and it takes a full task to put the drama in a format that the students will appreciate and follow up.

    Even though Otulana appreciates the harsh economic reality of the nation now, she explained that she still finds it near impossible to maintain the artistes, buy costumes and props and other materials to make production happen.  “If you do not have good costumes, constantly changed, the essence is defeated.  Our last show at the Terra Kulture was to shift attention away from here.  We also participated at the Countdown programme in Lagos.  We took a play there and we need to appeal to more people to show interest in live theatre.

  • Wewe displays sweet sixteen at Moorhouse

    Wewe displays sweet sixteen at Moorhouse

    Over the last several years, this Ondo State born renowned Nigerian artist, Tola Wewe, has had solo arts exhibitions in prestigious museums and galleries across Europe and America, as well as group exhibitions with local and international artists.

    Wewe has been able to create an identity for himself. His works range from abstract to impressionism, with explorations of sexuality, culture, and individual identity. The simplicity, originality, surface texture and mastery of colour are things of consideration which stand Wewe’s works out. Only those who are familiar with the spirituality and philosophy of Wewe’s works can decode the message he conveys with his pieces. His style is unique. Most of his subjects are usually women.

    His upcoming solo art exhibition entitled Sweet Sixteen, will open on Saturday, September 26 and runs until September 30 at the Moorhouse in Ikoyi, Lagos, where he had a show sixteen years ago. Thus the theme of the exhibition was inspired by this date. The exhibition will feature sixteen paintings and sixteen terracotta pieces of Wewe’s recent works.

    Aside  the date attached to title, Wewe stated that figure 16 plays a significant role in Yoruba Land. “The last time I had an exhibition with them (Alliance Française; the organisers of the exhibition) was in 1999, that is exactly sixteen years ago, and when they asked me the title of the exhibition, I told them Sweet Sixteen. However, he said “figure 16 has a numerical significant meaning in Yoruba land. 16 is perfection. The figure 16 has great spiritual connotation in the Yoruba traditional religious corpus. 16 is 4 x 4 where 4 stands for perfection. When repeated in 4 places, excellence is achieved. That is the numeric’s of the spiritual dimension.”

    During a preview session the works displayed by the artist were full of mysteries, motifs, nudity; vibrant colours that will make you wonder if it was a painting or maybe your imagination is playing a trick on you. To confirm this statement, Wewe said: “Sometimes when I produce a piece I wonder if the work was done by me.” Last year he had two solo shows and this might repeat itself again before the year runs out.

    A breath-taking piece, Daughter of the River, and fascinating, will be on display. Looking at the piece from afar you would think the subject is a fish, but when you take a closer look, you will discover that the subject is a nude teenager, lying on her belly. She is looking at you and at the same time backing you. Her legs positioned in an awkward way.  You cannot but marvel at the composition and its rich alluring colours. Other works will be Ibeji (series), Awon Agba, Truth, Sweet Six Teens, etc. What Wewe thinks and imagines about Sweet Sixteen is what he puts on his canvases.  Some of the works are suggestive and stimulating.  The works celebrate the finest in the artistic study of human anatomy.

    Wewe was born in 1959, trained and graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Ife in 1983. He obtained a Masters degree in African Visual Arts from the University of Ibadan, Oyo State in 1986. And he worked as a cartoonist before becoming a full time studio artist in 1991.

  • Artists make case for change

    Artists make case for change

    •Onobrakpeya writes letter to Chibok girls

    It was an artistic statement that canvassed for change in all spheres of the society. It was the day 12 renowned Nigerian artists set ablaze the creative atmosphere of an Ogun State suburb, Olambe. The 12, led by the celebrated master artist, Bruce Onobrakpeya, joined the on-going conversations on change at the GreenHouse Art Empowerment Centre (GHAEC) exhibition, which opened last Saturday. Their artistic voices called for a people-oriented transformation, reports EVELYN OSAGIE. 

    They came advocating change in the polity, with particular emphasis on infrastructure. They braved the coarse and hellish roads leading to Lagos suburbs of Ojodu through Akute and Iju-Ishaga through Oke-aro to the rustic community of Olambe in Ogun State.

    They waded through muddy puddles, dusty potholes and endured the inclement  weather from rain heavy showers to scorching sun.

    The love for the arts and the calibre of the artists drew guests to the opening of a 12-artist exhibition organised by the GreenHouse Art Empowerment Centre (GHAEC) in Olambe, Ogun State last Saturday. The day also featured the formal presentation of GHAEC Art Journal.

    The dignitaries included Major Bamidele Unigbe; a Director at Skye Bank, Mr Abdul Bello; celebrated poet Odia Ofeimun; Mr David Nwamara; former Creative Arts Head of Department, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof Peju Layiwola; Director, ThirstMate Water Company, Mrs Catherine Bolanle Isijola and The Nation Managing Editor (Online), Lekan Otufodunrin.

    “By the time you get here. You forget the hell you went through to come, on seeing the rich array of works and the depth of artistic expression that welcomes you to the place. It was not easy coming straight from Ondo State to the place. You wonder whether you are lost or still on course.

    “But it is good that one finally made it. It is always a pleasure visiting a place that one can encounter art – old and present ones. To have established such an edifice, I commend founders of the art centre. They remind me of the kind of things I intend to do in Edo State in time to come,”Ofeimun said.

    Perhaps to ease off the stress of the long travel, traditional drummers and dancers began thrilling guests with folk beats and acrobatic steps. Their rendition of the National Anthem was particularly touching, along with the news that the drummers featured a United Kingdom-based lady economist, Modupe Johnson.

    But the highlight of the event was the exhibition and keynote address delivered by the renowned artist, Bruce Onobrakpeya.

    Tagged: Nigerian Visual Artists and Politics, the group exhibition featured works of 12 renowned artists in different artistic skills, including: installations, painting, watercolour, textile, ceramics/pottery, mixed-media, sculpture and photography.

    With the works of Onobrakpeya in the lead, GHAEC artistic line-up also comprised Sam Ovraiti; Ato Arinze; Princess Theresa Iyase-Odozi; Dr Mabel Oluremi Awogbade; Stella Awoh; Kolawole Kosoko Olojo; Juliet Ezenwa Pearce; Bolaji Ogunwo; Stella Ubigho; Oke Ibem Oke and Osagie.

    As if to join their voice with the founders of GHAEC and the people of Olambe on the construction of good roads, the artists advocated change in sectors. Indeed, they joined their voices with the on-going conversations on change and national reorientation. Each of their works expressed thoughts on Nigeria’s political and artistic landscape, policy and infrastructural change, increased funding for the arts, nature, textile and many more.

    Onobrakpeya’s piece is particularly engaging. Through his installation, tagged: Sambisa Forest, guests were reminded of the plights of the over 200 secondary school girls abducted last year at Chibok. The artist, who read from his handwritten letter to the Chibok girls, who have spent over 510 days in the hands of the insurgents, urged the government to look into the plights of the girls by intensifying efforts to release them. He called for a collective and intensified campaign for their release through his letter and the installation which showed naked protesting women at the background of totems representing the girls and the armed insurgents, among other motifs.

    The installation and letter, Onobrakpeya said, were meant to create awareness and rouse the feeling of people on the plights of the girls in the hands of the insurgents. He said: “I am using both to urge the government and well-meaning people, who have the means, to do what it takes to release and get them out of their suffering. Both are both an advocacy and prayer for them. The government knows more than everyone about the situation. They should double whatever efforts they are making to release those girls from suffering.

    “Imagine if they were not kidnapped, some would have furthered their education or learnt a trade. They would have moved on in life like their peers. The government should do more to get them released so that they can continue to live their lives from where it stopped. They should be given the opportunity to progress in life just like any other Nigerian.”

    The letter reads thus:  “09-09-15

    Dear Chibok Girls,

    “This is to let you know that our spirit are there with you in the Sambisa forest, where you have been suffering in the hands of kidnappers for a period of over 510 days. As grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, friends, citizens of Nigeria and the World, we share your pains. We daily work and pray for your release from the Forbidden Forest. I feel intensely what you are going through because I too had been kidnapped as a child during the Ekene festival, but was miraculously rescued before being taken away into the forest.

    “I dedicate this installation called Sambisa Forest to you. It is a prayer to the supreme intelligence for your release.

    “In the picture, protesting mothers parade behind totems which represent you girls, the armed insurgents, denied or delayed laurels, and most importantly staves of empowerment which you will receive at the end of your travail.

    “Finally dear girls, don’t lose hope, your present state may be a design by the Creator to put you at the top of the world.

    Sincerely Obo-me-yoma”

    Onobrakpeya, in his keynote address, entitled: The role of visual artists in people’s empowerment and politics in Nigeria, also called for improved funding for the art and artists. Apart from reflecting the goings-on in society, he said: “If harnessed, visual arts can make a country great. Because it is a desirable commodity of value, it is also a veritable source of wealth and empowerment.”

    Like Onobrakpeya’s, GHAEC’s Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Princess Theresa Iyase-Odozi’s work is equally catchy. Entitled: Nigerian Condrum II, the 4ft by 6ft in mixed media technique, also added the artist’s voice to the “bring back the girls campaign”.  Inside gigantic piece, showing diverse headlines, pictures, drawings of different scenes, people and naira notes, one could see that she was calling for the end of violence, especially in the north-eastern states. The piece also showcased the diverse challenges that the country is passing through.

    She said: “The theme of the exhibition, Nigerian Visual Artists and Politics, afforded me the opportunity to depict the various challenges facing the nation, especially on the eve of the 2015 general elections. It has truly been a year of political challenges and intrigues. My work simply poses the question: ‘Where do we go from here?”

    Having Onobrakpeya as guest artist and keynote speaker, Iyase-Odozi said, was done in recognition of his contributions to the development of the arts sector, especially in Africa. According to her, the master artist “remains an inspiration to me and many artists across the country”.

    Celebrated artist, Ovraiti’s oil on canvas piece, That way out, depicted the tension in the political landscape in the country. The tension, he said, “is caused by lots of unanswered questions that the politicians use as elections promises”.

    Awogbade’s acrylic on bisque ware, entitled: Set me free, advocated the effects of corruption in the polity.

    Arinze’s 6ft scultpture, Debacle 1, which was the first in the series of three masked sculpture, was inspired by Dr Olatunji Dare’s art Debacle in The Guardian during the June 12 Saga.

    As administration has taken on the baton of leadership, Oyovwe-Ubigho’s piece, We can see, depicted the eyes of the masses on the political class.

    Olojo’s pastel painting, Reaction, predicted doom as aftermath of bad leadership. Thus, he called for a political reorientation and improvement in the plights of the masses. “The Reaction shows the mass action by the aggrieved citizens, who took to the streets in protest against misrule,” he said.

    Maja-Pearce’s plastograph plate, entitled: The political-additive, focused on the integrity and vulnerability of the law.

    Other guests included ThisDay Deputy Editor (Sunday), Mr Okechukwu Uwaezuoke, who was the event’s compere; Mrs Abimbola Izu;  The Nation correspondents Taiwo Abiodun and Gboyega Alaka.

     

  • Firm unveils children’s book

    Firm unveils children’s book

    Child’s health advocate, Mrs Edirin Metseagharun, has released two new books on healthy eating and exercise for children under the Parresia Publishers Ltd.

    Following the successful release of her first book, titled: Ola & Bisi Adventures of Health (Eat Healthy and Be Smart) last year, the author has released a sequel, Ola & Bisi Adventures of Health (Fit Kid or Fat Kid), and Ola & Bisi Adventures of Health (Parents Guide to Healthy Eating & Activities).

    Her books, which are beautifully illustrated, highlight the interesting adventure of two children Ola and Bisi the world of healthy living. Using simple language and effortless humour, Mrs Metseagharun highlights topical issues that any child or parent can easily relate to. Through the two personas, the author introduces children and teens into a world of healthy eating and exercise.

    Fit Kid or Fat Kid continues the adventures of Ola and Bisi, two children from a privileged home, presenting kids with lessons on healthy weight maintenance, healthy snacking, healthy drinks and benefits of water and benefits of exercises.

    With the dramatic way it highlights the stigma children have to pass through just for being fat, Fit Kid or Fat Kid will appeal to children and their parents. The book, whose foreword was written by award-winning children’s novelist Uche Peter Umez, also featured informative exercises that introduced children to healthy living.

    Friendship is another key theme dealt in the book and the consequences of being bullied by your peers.

    On the other hand, Parents Guide to Healthy Eating & Activities is a guide to help parents understand and appreciate their children’s health affairs. It focuses on issues, such as how to know if a child has a weight problem; how to provide healthy balanced diet for a child; what to do to make eating out with the family healthy; how to ensure smart snacking for a child, and how to support your child to be active.

    According to the author, books were inspired by her passion for child’s health and fitness. Being a teacher, and a counsellor with lots of passion for children’s health, Mrs Metseagharun holds dear the belief that “any children’s book worth its name must be able to point a child to the right direction”. As the founder and co-ordinator of Passion For Healthy Kids Initiative (PHKI), a non-governmental organisation that addresses childhood undernourishment, obesity prevention, helping children to eat right and be active every day, she brings her experiences to bear on her three books. “For too long, the message of eating right and being active has been focussed on adults only even in the face of rising obesity levels among children particularly of the affluent. Ola and Bisi Adventures of Health presents this message of eating right and being active to children in simple but interesting story format that will get a child engaged.

    “The whole theme of Fit Kid or Fat Kid clearly centres on children having the proper weight for their age–by eating the right food and keeping up the right lifestyle so they do not get overweight or underweight and end up being exposed to health challenges sooner or later,”  Mrs Metseagharun said.

     

     

    The importance of drinking nutritious beverages – such as chocolate and milk drinks and cutting down on fizzy drinks, which are primarily carbonated and full of sugar – is also emphasised,” Mrs Metseagharun said.

     

  • MultiChoice ‘spent $800m on GOtv’

    MultiChoice ‘spent $800m on GOtv’

    Call it a magical night filled with the best of African entertainment you may be right. That was the atmosphere as MultiChoice Africa hosted its second content show at the Outrigger Resort, Mauritius Island, penultimate week. It was a five-day content extravaganza that witnessed DStv’s biggest channels previewing their latest and greatest contents, reports Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME. 

    If the calibre of guests who walked  the redcarpet on to the sensational night of dazzling event was a measure of success, this year’s content show has not only hit the mark, but also achieved its desired objective, offering the biggest week in Africa’s video entertainment.

    Laced with glitz and glamour of Hollywood, Bollywood and Nollywood berthing on the Mauritius Island paradise, guests who included Genevieve Nnaji, Rita Dominic, Desmond Elliot, Ramsey Nuoah, Basket Mouth, Eku Edewor, MC Ik, Banky W, DJ Sose, Flavour, Stoneboy and The Mavins were given the full music and movie-star treatment. It was a night that featured IK and Eku as MCs.

    However, the week-long event provided an opportunity for MultiChoice and its various partners to provide answers to some issues affecting the industry, especially piracy, pricing, repeating of programmes and local contents, among others.

    Chief Executive Officer MultiChoice Africa Tim Jacobs described piracy as a massive threat to broadcasters and right holders across the globe, adding that ‘they are only enriching themselves.’ He said MultiChoice Africa, is however, working with rights holders and broadcasters to tackle it, but that it is a moving target because ‘their infrastructure means they can open new portals as we shut others down.’ He said it’s not easy to evaluate how big the impact is, since by definition, a lot of it is underground and spread through social media.

    Jacobs, who spoke at an interaction with reporters said the challenge is broader as certain competitors broadcast a beam that comes down into Africa. “If you have that decoder and smart card that can pick up a service that is not designed to be broadcast in African territories, that is also piracy because the rights for that territory either haven’t been assigned or they are owned by a mainstream service,” he added.

    Reacting to a question on video entertainment service provider’s pricing structure, Jacobs said MultiChoice Africa is constantly evaluating its cost structures while taking into account the cost of content relative to its different audience groups,” he said.

    He noted that there have been massive increases in the cost of content such as the English Premier League football rights, which MultiChoice has factored into its pricing. He said: “We’re conscious that a large part of the population is looking for a good set of quality content at the bottom end of the market, in the USD10 area, and we make decisions on the price points of our bouquet structure – it’s a continuous evaluation. We’re looking at alternatives too – there’s strong consumer behavior (especially in Nigeria) where many consumers are self-employed, and therefore, not monthly earners, so we’re looking at whether it’s viable to address a different type of model. However, it’s not something that’s on the immediate cards.

    “The market for GOtv is specific, and targeted at viewers sitting on analogue signals. This is a sector of the population that has never engaged on Pay TV. They get a rich experience on a digital platform but at a price point that’s at the bottom of the affordability scale. If you start to move up the value chain, you start to confuse the market between the DStv product, which is aspirational and high-value, and GOtv which is a fun, new, mass-market product. There’s also a capacity on DTT that’s much more restrictive than what we have on satellite, so there are also technical reasons we have to be more cautious.”

    According to him, pay-per-view sounds attractive, but it is actually a red herring. He said an easy example is the Mayweather/Pacquiao boxing match earlier this year, which sold on Pay-Per-View across the world – in the USA at USD99 for three to four hours of viewing.

    “Across the continent, subscribers pay less than that for DStv Premium for a whole month of viewing across all our channels – and in this instance, that included that fight, which was broadcast on SuperSport. That’s the benefit of scale for us. If you segment sports, for example the EPL, the reality is that the cost of that is much higher than everyone thinks because you need to divide up those expensive rights between a much smaller viewing populations so the cost goes up exponentially. That doesn’t mean we’re not looking at Pay-Per-View as an option – we need to be flexible and we get a lot of requests for it. We’re watching consumer demand and looking at whether it’s economically viable. It’s not on the cards right now, though, but we do have a research team trying to work that out,” he noted.

    He disclosed that MultiChoice investment in GOtv n excess of USD800 million, in eight countries across the continent and to recover such money means that MultiChoice cannot roll out towers into every city where the population size and affordability aspect lend itself to Free-To-Air (FTA). This, he said, explained why GOtv cannot be accessed in all regions of the continent, adding that they look at each market on the basis of population size and the economics of rolling out a network.

    “Because we’re a Pay TV service, we can’t offer FTA service like governments do. In those areas, we’d typically pair up with an FTA operator, or the national broadcaster, which is a big part of our offering. We have a limit in terms of where our network reaches – we can generally cover 70-80% of a country. Areas that are remote need to be serviced through our satellite services because of factors including accessibility and terrain – the DTT signal needs to go across ground. Normally the national broadcaster or signal provider has the responsibility to ensure that FTA has national coverage, so they put towers in areas that it’s not economical for Pay TV providers to do,” he said.

    On striking a balance between the inaugration of in-house and independent productions, the M-Net Regional Director West Africa Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu said: “We make productions in-house, but also commission, do co-productions and acquire content from elsewhere. You can’t generate enough content in-house. We need multiple production platforms to be able to service our subscribers with the quality content they desire. Our premise is that our content is created by Africa, for Africa, and we continue to nurture and build creative talent, in the hope of developing future producers and directors.

    “We invest in building them up to the quality standards we want. A good mixture of in-house and commissioned content also allows for greater variety and allows us to engage with audience and local producers – that’s how we build talent on the continent. As the Maisha Magic channels roll out, our business model is to nurture local producers and once the channels are off the ground that’s a strong focus for us.”

    The show witnessed the hosting of DStv’s and GOtv’s biggest channels, such as Sony, SuperSport, Zee World, A+E, Disney, MTV Base, BET, Comedy Central, BBC and M-Net.