The Nation Newspaper

Category: Arts & Life

  • Isese festival kicks off today

    Isese festival kicks off today

    The Isese Festival of Oke-Odo land in Agbado Oke-Odo Local Government Area of Lagos State begins today, the Baale, Dada Saliu Babatunde, has said.

    The celebrations, which will climax tomorrow, will feature diverse cultural activities and displays at the Baale Palace.

    Baale Dada said the essence of the feast is to promote their cultural heritage, adding that the safety of indigenes and guests throughout the celebrations is uppermost in the agenda of this year’s festival.

    He made the statements while receiving youths of the community on courtesy visit to his palace.

    The Baale, who addressed his guests in Yoruba, praised the youth for their courage and enthusiasm in the forthcoming festival, promising them an exciting festival that is different from the previous years.

    He said: “Arrangement has being made to ensure the security and safety of both the indigenes and the visitors. The people have nothing to fear but to pray for the peaceful hosting of the festival. We holding the festival to promote culture and bring harmony and common interaction for unity of the communities and the state at large.”

  • Taking literature to the grassroots

    Taking literature to the grassroots

    Book reading has become part of the promotion of the reading culture.  Edozie Udeze writes on a book reading that took place last weekend in Lagos and how it was used to dissect the literary firmament.

    The steaming argument that often attends the gathering of the literati in Nigeria of whether literature is thriving does not seem to end soon.  In addition to this argument also is whether the reading culture among the teeming Nigerian youths is ebbing or growing.  All these debates and discussions and positions are indeed good for the development and expansion of literature, the reading culture and even writing in the society.  Above all, it is good that those who feel up to it, now put series of programmes in place to entice literary enthusiasts and also ensure that the sector is never bereft of ideas and the cross-fertilization of ideas.

    But can literature really die in the form we know it today even if the internet has come to stand as a wedge between it and the so-called age of technology?  These and more were some of the knotty and burning issues raised last weekend in Lagos when the literati gathered for a book reading orchestrated by Victor Ehikhamenor and Toni Kan.  The venue was the Gele Art Gallery, Onikan, Lagos and the crowd was really impressive and responsive.  The duo of Victor and Kan who have been churning out series of fictional and non-fictional works in the past years read from their latest works.

    While Victor read from his book, Excuse me, Toni pelted the crowd with stimulating lines from his collection called Night of the Creaking Bed.  They were all stories that related to the people, cutting across age, generation and class.  As Victor read excerpts from his short story entitled, My Mother, Information Management Czar, the crowd cheered and jeered and applauded.  He said: “when I was growing up, my mother took me up on public behaviour, and information management.  I wonder if the KGB, DSS, SSS, CIA, can go through the kind of drilling we got from mum.  She truly designed all that for me.  Growing up in the village there were unwritten manuals by mum on how to grow up and survive the rough terrain.

    “My mother started early on me because I appeared too free and went round freely, too trusting.  She knew she needed a strong hand to manage me, and told me too to cut or control my enthusiasm whenever visitors were around.  This was so because many people came to my father to resolve their differences.  At that young age I would hear all sorts of things and arguments from adults…  Each time I defaulted, my mother was ever ready to scold me silly.  If I thought I could run to evade her, her legs were always faster than mine to catch me and discipline me in return.  At Christmas I would be so carried away by the excitement in the air that I would be walking around knocking down China bowels and breaking tumblers forgetting the information management my mother gave to me.  Whenever my excesses became too much, she would excuse herself from the visitors and took me away to discipline me…”

    Also reading excerpts from a short story entitled Love Letters, Victor took the audience back and forth into the throes of love and romance; into the memories of how teenagers used smooth words and soothing lines in those days to catch the women they fancied.  But more than that, he chronicled how the letter writing issues soon became part of his past time as a village champion; an expert in crafting wonderful letters for village women who sought for his services.

    One day, however, one of the love letters he wrote to a lover landed him in the principal’s office because the go-between for the delivery of the offending letter did not like the writer.  Then instead of giving it to the owner, she sent it straight to the principal’s office just to create trouble for him.  “A good love letter made things easier for a boy who was interested in a particular girl,” Victor informed.  “We had no money to give.  We only had sweet things to write to entice our women.  Then part of the letter would read, you are the flowers I see every morning, the soothing stars I gaze at in the skies.  You are the reason I am alive, the flower of my life.  My life can never have meaning if you do not love me in return.

    “But when was the last time you wrote a love letter?  Victor asked the chagrined audience.  Of course, no one present could remember or even knew what a love letter sounds like these days.  Yet the story took people into the lovely past when romance was at its peak; when lovers were genuine and true to each other.  Interestingly, most of the lines drew laughter from the audience since it zeroed down into the fabric of the nuances of love.

    Reading from the Night of the Creaking Bed, Toni Kan told of the engaging encounter between an average citizen and the police every day in Nigeria.  What is the role or place of the police in Nigeria?  Are they to correct erring offenders or help them to compound their situations when they are in trouble?  Series of such encounters have so far jeopardised most situations for people who otherwise would have been cautioned and left off the hook.  But making some of these happenings into a story helps to enlighten the public and probably dissuade the police from being too harsh and binding on the people.

    In an interview, Kan reiterated that people who still show interest in literature are ever eager to have new works of literature to make their day.  “Oh, yes, people are reading,” he enthused.  “See, when you are inside a bus or driving through the Third Mainland Bridge, you’d see young people sitting in their cars reading books.  The essence of what we are doing is to continue to do our bit as writers and reporters.  Most of the books people read are all second-hard foreign books.  So why wouldn’t we write to suit their tastes?  To give them what they desire to read?  Whether it is motivational book or not, but they are reading.  May be we are not writing what inspires people.  This is what we need to look into.  Now my last book has sold ten thousand copies.  Who read it?  Why is Chimamanda Adichie selling?  We need to know as writers to be able to know how to navigate our works to capture the people.

    “Yes, now, I think we need to begin to change what we write.  I think that’s the problem we have.  Why not write stories that sound like Nollywood?  Why couldn’t we think in that direction since that is what propels people on?  No, we don’t have to write like Soyinka or Achebe to get it right.  We need to write for our own purposes, for the reason we are who we are at the present moment.  What I mean is that we should write what people will find accessible and also relate with.  Okay, where are the books now, the thrillers, the bestsellers, the type we get from other writers?  Where are they, for our people to read?  We need to begin to do that now,” Kan, a seasoned journalist, novelist and poet, asserted.

    He stressed that in truth people do not find what they really want to read in Nigerian book stores.  “You could see the crowd and the sort of reactions they gave to the stories read out to them.  It was quite encouraging and that shows that people really need to be ignited somewhat towards literature and writing.  When books are read out like this often, why wouldn’t people show good reactions?  We always shy away from saying that we are making money as writers.  As a writer shouldn’t I make money for God’s sake?  Where else do you want us to make money from?  Are they not our works; our creative talent?”

    As Kan raised these fundamental issues, the point most people noted was how to stop the internet from bastardising the standard of the English Language.  A lot of younger ones do not want to make out time to read to master the language very well.  Everybody goes into the net with all sorts of rubbish in the name of literature or short stories.  This, most of the people that responded said is not good enough to promote literary issues in the society.

    In his own reaction, Olayinka Oyegbile, a Lagos journalist, berated the over-reliance on the new technology of internet as the hub of the problem.  “In those days, if you wrote a letter to the editor and once the editor opened it and noticed that the first two sentences were correct, he would use it.  And once he used it, you also were a champion.  But what do we get these days?  It is so disheartening,” he offered.

    Oyegbile was not alone in this contention.  Most people who spoke argued that even though technology has helped the expansion of knowledge, it has its own limitations.  Text messages done in short hand and more confusing sentences have influenced the way some people reason, write the English language and even react to serious and committed issues.  Wana Udubong who anchored the programme was of the opinion, however, that hard core literature cannot fizzle out.  Internet, to her, is just a phase that can only aid and not totally obliterate the core values of literature.  How do you undo hard copies of books or bookshops or even publishing houses in a society?

    Internet has been on for decades in developed worlds, yet hard copies of books have not died.  So it is only the problem of control and teaching children to read to know English better, both in terms of speech and writing that can help to prosper literature.

  • Honouring a man of letters

    Honouring a man of letters

    It is not always that the Nigerian Academy of Letters inducts a non-academic. Sam Omatseye, Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Nation, has become one of the few to be so honoured.  He and two others were inducted into the Academy on Thursday. Edozie Udeze reports

    It was a moment to remember and cherish.  It was a moment of reflection on the pains and growth of the Nigerian society from the time past.  In fact, the bulk of the matter raised during the convocation lecture is whether science and the humanities can blend together to ignite the desired change, growth and development in the Nigerian society.  At the 17th convocation and the investiture ceremony of new fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL), which took place during the week at the University of Lagos, the main lecture delivered by Professor Moses Akinola Makinde centred on the Humanities and Societal Change with emphasis on Reflections on the Pains of Growth of a nation.  But above all, the theme dwelt on the programmes put in place by successive governments to truly make for a concerted change in a society like Nigeria where the populace and the leadership have been polarised along ethnic, religious and political lines.  It is a place where dichotomy of all sorts have tended to tear the society to shreds since 1914 when the Northern and Southern protectorates were amalgamated to form Nigeria.

    Before the lecture proper took place, the president of NAL, Professor Benjamin Olatunji Oloruntimehin had hinted on the need for writers, artists, humanists and those responsible for reordering the society through their creative endeavours to come together to ensure that the leadership is made responsive and responsible to the yearnings of the people.  Most of the issues raised were indeed directed at the three new inductees in the persons of Mr. Sam Omatseye, Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Nation newspapers, Professor Amechi Akwanga of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Professor Jacob Kehinde Olupona of the Harvard University, Massachusetts, the United States of America.

    These three new fellows have been using their works, their professional roles and callings to enrich the people and then call for change.  Omatseye, for instance, was described during the citation by Professor Dele Layiwola of the University of Ibadan, as one writer who is not only fearless but blunt and courageous.  He dares where others fear to tread.  Therefore, his love for championing the cause of the people via his numerous writings is unequivocal.  As a Historian, Omatseye has come to be so analytical and critical in his handling of national issues as they pertain to leaders and their innocuous behaviour that today, he has become a reference point; a writer to reckon with.

    Layiwola said: “Here is a Historian, a human rights activist, who is not just a thorough-bred journalist and the chairman of the editorial board of The Nation newspapers, he equally serves on the Governing Board of the Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos.  He is a prolific writer, deep in his thinking, whose works of art span over the years.  He has written two volumes of poetry, one prose fiction, a collection of his column known as In Touch.  In addition, Omatseye has edited a couple of books on politics and leadership in Nigeria.  His works harp essentially on the rudiments of politics and the exigencies of leadership where those at the helm of affairs appear rudderless, clueless, mindless and ineffectual.

    This is one man of letters who has won the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award three times; he has also capped it up with the Diamond Award on three different occasions.  Being a focused humanist, Omatseye is said to be in the habit of combining fiction with reality to make for more classical stories, for which he is known world-wide.

    Layiwola did not only trace his professional career as a journalist and a writer, he described him as a brave reporter who did not mind his own safety on several occasions to get his exclusives.  This is one man who even as a young reporter dared the military for which he immediately became a marked man.  Yet in the face of all these difficulties and threats to his life, Omatseye has continued to excel.  This is why he was even admitted into the Academy because based on his commitment and his call to duty, he has used his numerous works for the growth and emancipation of the society and the common man.

    Even though his firebrand style of writing has earned him too many foes and also garnered for him those who truly believe in what he writes, Omatseye has never shrieked his responsibility.  His role, his thrust, and his central focal point to contribute to a meaningful change so that Nigeria will one day become one of the best societies among the comity of nations has not waned.  In an interview, he confessed that his inclusion as one of those to be inducted into this highly revered Academy came to him as a surprise.

    “I didn’t expect it,” he said.  “But once my name was announced as a member I took it with philosophical calm and contentment.  It is for me to do more and that is all I can say.”  But then, he harped on the urgent need to have a society where change is permissible; where leaders should hearken to the people.  “We have a new government in place now and from what has been happening the issue of change is possible.”  Omatseye’s attitude to change has always been crystal from the beginning.  His open aversion to inept leadership, to the corruptive tendencies of people in corridors of power has not been hidden.  His column in The Nation every Monday has been devoted to tongue-lashing a set of people or cabal who have consistently chosen to milk the nation dry.

    As a populist writer, given to robust and poetic innuendoes and water-tight logic, the Academy of Letters quickly discovered that here is a man whose place in history is indeed incontrovertible.  Or how else do you describe or categorise a writer whose works have traversed all genres and manner of literature and who finds the appropriate time and space to tackle myriad of issues for the good of the society.

    Responding on behalf of other inductees, Professor Olupona said: “This will make us more soul-searching, more committed to help in finding ways to make Nigeria better.  Nigeria has the potentials to be great.  We are only part of the instruments to make the country really great.  To me, that is the main point of this outing today.  The humanities are critical in solving the problems of Nigeria and so let us use our positions to continue to agitate for Nigerians.  For Nigeria will be great someday soon.”

    The atmosphere outside the auditorium after the lecture showed the sort of person Omatseye is, as friends, well-wishers and people of like minds gathered to wish him well and join in the euphoria of the moment.  Even older members of the Academy, seasoned professors of many years running, like Professor Emeritus Ayo Banjo, Professor A. I. Asiwaju, Professor Jide Osuntokun, Professor Olu Obafemi, and others, were among those who mixed freely with the crowd.  It was indeed a sight to behold; a rare moment to be happy and reflect on the gains and pains of nationhood.

  • ‘Why I became an art dealer’

    ‘Why I became an art dealer’

    Not too many people these days really understand the concept of an art dealing in the visual art world in Nigeria.  When the issue of what the responsibility of an art dealer is raised, many people tend to see it as an aberration.  But in real life and in most developed societies of the world where visual art business thrives on a daily basis, the role of an art dealer is most welcome.  His role is factored into the arts business in order to help artists themselves be involved in the marketing and sales of their works.

    Tayo Rotimi Awokoya is one of such dealers.  A Nigerian resident in London, Awokoya has been in this business for decades, only shuttling between England and Nigeria to make Nigerian contemporary works have a place in the English market.  He explains his role thus: “Overtime it just seems that the trust between some artists and dealers is falling.  That has been the case for quite a while but I do not think it still obtains.  I can only say that it is quite a difficult job.  Usually, sometimes, you get a client who does not pay on time.  And the artist gets impatient about it.  This also affects you and what you do and the trust we are talking about.  At times, when you have sold the work, the client is a bit reluctant to release the money,” Awokoya, a product of the University of Ibadan, said.

    He said, “and then you know most of these artists are genius and geniuses frown at imperfections.  That is another thing you have to manage.  I always love to be an art dealer, to be a-go-between between an artist and a client who loves and wants to buy his work.  My first contact with the visual art was in 1977.  From that moment, I told myself I would have close contacts with this aspect of the art.”

    Now, if you look at Monalisa, today, there is only one original, but there are so many other copies.  “So, people who cannot afford the original, can afford the print.  That is the whole essence of it all.  This is why we are also into prints but a lot of people do not seem to appreciate it.  Most people who are into art development cannot afford to buy the actual work because of its high price.  Now, whether they can pay for it immediately or later is even another story.  These are some of the things we battle with in this business of art dealings.”

    Yes, before an art work is sold, the level of agreement and what price to be sold is indicated and finalized between the dealer and the artist.  This is so in order to avoid distrust or rancor in this regard.  “What we do is that we put it in paper, to be done and dusted in black and white.  So if an artist later comes to claim what is not, you refer him to the agreement which is even written and made clear.  Then when you show him the proceeds of what has been sold, there will be no doubt in his mind.  He has to receive his commission there from.”

    Awokoya whose outfit is called Art Innundated is also into tourism promotion where he does Yellow Pages to help tourists into Nigeria to know where to be once they are in town or in any other part of the country.  “As you can see, the world is global now and we need to do more for one another.  No matter where you are, you can see the world; you can assess the internet to get the information you need.  So, both Art Innundated and the Yellow Pages can be assessed on the net.  Now, let us see if the new leadership in Nigeria can help fix things especially the health sector.  That is one of the ways to bring back some of our physicians who are now in Diaspora.  In England alone, there are thousands of such Nigerian experts and if the federal government is not prepared to pay them well when they come, we are doomed.”

    A Political Scientist trained in the days when education was taken seriously, Awokoya berates Nigerian leaders for the woes that bedevil the society and says, however, that even the standard of Nigerian visual art works in Europe cannot be compromised.  “Nigerian art works are good.  Nigerian artists are also good; they can compete with their mates anywhere in the world.  But the government itself should have something substantial for the poor.  Things that ought to benefit the poor should be factored into the programmes especially in Lagos State.

    “Yes, for a long time we’ve not sold works.  But we are not the type of people who believe in immediate profits.  It is even hard to convince artists to give us their copyright.  But we are pushing, we will continue to push.  If you go to our website, you’ll see a lot of works that belong to Nigerians.  Basically, we deal with Nigerian artists and a few from West Africa.  A lot of Nigerian singers even market works from other climes by using foreign names.  Even though Nigerian musicians are doing well in the world, they need to be able be market themselves.  This is what the visual need now and that’s what we are into.  Even in the auction art floor, Nigerian arts are doing well.  They are known; they can be reckoned with.  But what we also find in that South Africans have given a lot of support to their own market.

    The reason for this, Awokoya reiterates, is that the society is more organized.  “South Africans have multinationals here in Nigeria.  How many do we have over there?  This is how organized they are and their works in the contemporary art often tend to be more in place than those of Nigerians.  Therefore, let us try to get it right, for art can be used to overcome the world.  It is a gold mine indeed,” he asserted with gusto.

    For now some of the artists he deals with include Sam Ovraiti, Edosa Oguigo, Biodun Olaku, and more.  “These are the middle artists because we have the masters in the persons of Kolade Osinow, Ben Enwonwu and lots of others in that category.”

  • Honours for founding fathers

    Honours for founding fathers

    They were there when it all started. They gave their all to make it work. Fifty years on, their efforts have etched an enduring legacy in the world of arts, giving birth to an outstanding edifice for all to see. Welcome to the grand celebration of the “New” Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos (UNILAG), which feted its founding fathers and others who have contributed to its advancement over the years. EVELYN OSAGIE writes.

    It was a banquet of awards. It was a feast of creativity garnished with professionalism. The masters came to dine and wine – the takings, a gold-plated key.

    The week-long feast of music, comedy, play, seminar and exhibition climaxed with the awards of excellence to founding fathers and others.

    As they arrived at the Department of Creative Arts of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), they scanned the edifice. It is the Department of Creative Arts reloaded. They beamed with pride – their years of commitment and perseverance have paid off.

    They smiled and walked into the department’s Theatre Complex, with heads raised in poised satisfaction. Past memories kept flooding back. They were home with honours.

    Full with dignitaries, especially from the arts and entertainment worlds, and students, a grand reception was awaiting them. This was the day they dreamed 50 years ago. They beamed at protégés and students in acknowledgement as they were cheered to their exclusive seats. The ovation was at its loudest as they took their seats.

    “Welcome home!” screamed the compere, Mr Olatunji Sotimirin a teacher in the department. “We are proud, honoured and happy to have you with us.”

    And the masters and founding fathers, Prof E.J. Alagoa; Eze Ijikala II, Prof Edward Nnanyelu Laz Ekwueme and Prof  Abayomi Barber, nodded in response. Each had played key roles in ensuring the creative legacy lived on. Alagoa was the first director of Centre for Cultural Studies; Ekwueme was the first Head of the Department and Barber built the department of Visual Arts and after retirement, remained a point of reference.

    Along with others who had made immense contributions to the growth of the department, they were treated to a feast tagged:  Homecoming cum “Grand Celebration of the “New” Department of Creative Arts”.

    The award recipients were divided into four groups: former lecturers/directors that contributed department’s growth. In addition to the founding fathers, they included Prof Akin Euba; Prof Ebun Clark, two-time director of the Centre for Cultural Studies; Prof Dele Jegede; Prof Bode Osanyin, who was represented by Lilian Osanyin; Prof A.V.E. Anthony V. Ekwemezie Mereni;  Prof Duro Oni,  who served as Director and later as Head of Department; and others served either as directors of the Center for Cultural Studies or as Head of Department, and Prof Abayomi Sherriffdeen Adetoro.  The contributions of General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire ministries, Dr Daniel Kolawole Olukoya; Dr Bruce Onobrakpeya and Chief Yemisi Shyllon earned them the “excellence award”; while Mr Demola Olayiwola’s meritorious service to both the Center of Cultural Studies and the Department of Creative Arts got him “long service award”.

    The department also honoured journalists who had done their bit. The Nation’s Assistant Editor (Arts), Mr Ozolua Uhakheme was part of the last group of recipients. Others included former Sunday Editor of The Guardian, Mr Jahman Anikulapo; Mrs Tolulope Lamidi of Television Continetal; Mr Tajudeen  Sowole of The Guardian and Ms Chioma Okpara of Nigerian  Television Authority (NTA).

    The feast brought together former lecturers and past students. They were elated to meet with their predecessors. It also featured performances from the former students, who have become icons in the entertainment industry.

    When in 1975, the authorities of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) established the Centre for Cultural Studies that later metamorphorsed into Department of Creative Arts, they did not imagine how far it would go. But those men did. They gave their sweat and blood, envisioning a future where their products would rule the arts world. And so, for Igwe Ekwueme, now a monarch, and his contemporaries, it was more like a “harvest of dreams”.

    “I am very glad to be here today. We have come a long way from where we started. Fifty years after, I am proud to be honoured and be asked to be part of this. We have performed greatly and produced many excellent performers in whatever genre – all icons in their own rights.

    “This centre has taken tours to different parts of the world. I hope the department would continue to grow from strength. I am proud that here are members of the certificate class that rose to be profession and great artistes and icons,” he said.

    Recounting the old days, the traditional ruler said it was not an easy task, ensuring that high standards were maintained.

    He recalled: “It was rough then but we were determined. It gives me special pleasure to see Abayomi after a long time because even before there was Creative Arts Department, there was African and Oriental Studies and from this small school was formed, the Centre for Cultural Studies.

    “There was the late Ayo Bankole, myself and Alagoa, later others were added to us and we then started the Performing Arts Troupe in 1974, and 1975, Centre for Cultural Studies was born. It is good to see what our efforts had become.”

    After leaving UNILAG for the Niger Delta, Alagoa said his experience at the institution paid off. “Coming back here, the memories of the time when I was here all come back to me. I am glad at what it has grown into. Moving from Lagos to the Niger Delta, it was like another country, but the experience I gathered from here were very useful,” he said.

    Former lecturers and students also shared the experiences. It was the old versus the new as each sought to outdo the others in their reminiscences. But the performance/recollection of popular comedians, Helen Paul and “Princess” Damilola and Wole, graduates of the department, were particularly engaging.

    Wole took guest down memory lane. While declaring the greatness of the contemporary and future artistes that the department would yet produce, he reminded guest of its great past. Guests sang with him, Abe Igi Orombo, when he sang  some popular Yoruba folksongs and nursery rhymes.

    While Comedian and DSTV host Paul involved the audience in a mind game by mimicking different lectures in voice and action, Princess encouraged young ones to keep their dreams alive by paying attention to the teachings of their lecturers.

    “Theatre is now very  sweet and easy. But in our time it wasn’t so. We were competing with others for space. We were drilled and tasked; and would in most cases rehearse under trees and in the open because of space. Today all that has changed,” Paul said.

    Princess said: “The trainings I got from this place are what have kept me going. At that time, I hated it because they were tedious; the lecturers would drill you. But in the end the trainings I received have taught me discipline and determination.”

    Olota, thrilled guests with his performance of a popular hymn, Then Sing my Soul and the late Bankole’s Iya, saying: it gives me great pleasure to be back home.

    The award ceremony, like other activities marking the Homecoming, was meant to bring together “those who have worked so hard to create the foundation on which the department is built”. It also marked the end of the tenure of the Acting Head of Department, Dr Peju Layiwola, which was from August 1, 2013 to July, 31, 2015.

    Having produced alumni that have distinguished themselves in the fields of music, performing arts and the visual arts, Layiwola said the occasion was also a scorecard for the department and reflection on the progress it has made.

    She said: “It is a time for us to recall institutional memory and in many ways thank those who have invested time and resources in shaping and people since 1975. We are celebrating the homecoming of several persons who have served in the Department of Creative Arts and also others who contributed immensely to the old Centre for Cultural Studies from which the Department evolved in 1997.

    “This event is coming at the close of my tenure as Acting Head of Department The multilayered event heralds our entry into the new Creative Arts Complex, a complex which has the most iconic mural in the University of Lagos.”

    While listing the names of its alumni, Dr Layiwola added: “The award is shaped as a key. This is metaphoric of the awardees valuable contributions to humanity. Speaking metaphorically, they are the keys that have and is shaping many lives. Notable amongst these alumni are Patricia Uwaje-King of the midnight Crew Fame; Famed classical act, Pat King of the Midnight  Crew  fame, Olota; Seun Olota; Mo Cheddah, Femi Brainard; Pricess Tessy Iyase-Odozi; Wole Ojo; Kachi Nochiri; Seun Ajayi; Princess; Paul, Mercy Aigbe; Segun Adefila; Dare Art Alade; Stella Damascus and many more.”

    Also, 40 popular arts/entertainment icons also received honourary mention, including the late Afolabi Alaja- Browne; Dr Sheri Ajasin; Stella Monye; Olu Adeniregun; Amos Oludotun; Olu Amoda; Ras Kimono; Cybil Amuta Kimono; Richard Bucknor; Francis Igboke and Margaret Henshaw Dacosta.

    Other activities of marking the Homecoming events include lectures on Traditional Textile/Contemporary Art by Art Historian and Research Fellow at Boston University and Clark University United States, Prof Jean Borgatti; and What about Art Markets in Lagos (Early XXIth Century) by Dr Emmanuelle Spiesse Fourchard, a Research Associate lecturer and, LAM of Bordeaux (Science Politiques). There was also art confab introspection on Dele Jegede at 70 by the Society of Nigerian Artist (SNA). Bolaji Ogunwo’s Art Exhibition also held at the Theatre Complex. There two performances on different days: Felix Okolo’s The Walking Stick as directed by Felix Emoruwa and Wole Soyinka’s Kongi’s Harvest by Crown Troupe of Africa.

     

  • Benue to support Aokpe Pilgrimage Centre

    Benue to support Aokpe Pilgrimage Centre

    After decades of neglect, Aokpe Pilgrimage Centre is being considered by the Benue State government as a priority tourism project for development, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports. 

    Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has promised to support the Aokpe Prilgrimage Centre, near Ugbokolo.

    He spoke at the 21st anniversary of the centre at the Our Lady of Aokpe Mediatrix of All Ages.

    Ortom, who was represented by Director of Tourism, Mrs Dooter Ajoko, reiterated his administration’s commitment to promote  tourism, saying that the government takes pilgrimage seriously and has spent much on sponsoring people on pilgrimage.

    He said tourism is a big money spinner which can boost the economic fortunes of a country.

    He said indices abound of what countries such as Kenya, Gambia, Bahamas and cities like Calabar benefit from their investment in tourism.

    He stressed that time had come for a diversification of the economy from the mono-oil economy to a multi-economy and that tourism is one of the preferred sectors.

    “The Aokpe apparition ground has become a prominent religious tourist site/destination that deserves international attention and which I believe the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation would project considering its significance as a pilgrimage centre. The importance of pilgrimage to Christianity and Islamic religion cannot be over-emphaised. If you consider the volume of pilgrims who troop to Mecca, Jerusalem and Rome for pilgrimage viz-a-viz the monetary value on the economy, and you imagine that replicated here in Aopke, not only would the rural economy get a boost but the state and country at large would benefit from the multiplier effects of these,” he said.

    Ortom stressed that as soon as the pilgrimage centre is authenticated, some of the pilgrims would come and perform their religious duties at Aopke, noting that government is very willing and ready to provide the necessary enabling environment for the realisation of authentication of Aokpe as a pilgrimage centre.

    Director-General, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs Sally Uwechue Mbanefo, said Aokpe Pilgrimage Centre is one of the many religious sites in Nigeria that needs to be promoted within and outside the country. She noted that NTDC in line with its statutory mandate recognises and identifies Aokpe Pilgrimage Centre as a religious tourism site worthy of recognition and onward publicity on the corporation’s website to attract more foreign pilgrims all over the globe.

    “This will form part of religious tourism like the Winners’ Shiloh and Redeemed Church convention which hold every December in Ota and Lagos respectively. In view of the importance of this site to the good people of Benue State, Aokpe community and Nigeria at large, I hereby approve and authenticate Aokpe Pilgrimage Centre as religious tourism site under the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation Act which encourages religious tourism in Nigeria,” she added.

    Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Tourism Mr Sekav Dzua Iyortyom recalled that 20 years ago, the story of apparition in Aokpe of mother Mary started and her consistent appearance to Christiana Inebu Agbo.  He noted that there were apparitions in Mexico, France, Portugal, Egypt and Rwanda but that ‘our own joy today is that we are also recognised by nature to see with our own eyes what we used to hear.’

    “Today, as Aokpe comes on the Nigerian Tourism map, we should expect that the world would also come here to our door step just as we go to Israel and Mecca for pilgrimage. God in His infinite mercy has provided us what we have been praying for, it is now left for us to sustain it,” he added.

    Mrs. Ajoko assured that the government was determined to develop tourism as income from oil has continued to dwindle. She said tourism is one of the priority areas the new administration is given attention to generate income alongside agriculture, entrepreneurship development and creating enabling environment for industry to strive.

    She said Aokpe is of interest to the state because it has spent much money on pilgrims to abroad. “With Aokpe, government intends to promote it to encourage domestic tourism instead of spending foreign exchange on pilgrimage abroad. Unfortunately, not many people in Benue are aware of the centre at Aokpe. So, the government wants to promote and develop the centre,” she said.

    According to her, the state government has concluded plans to revive the Makurdi   airport and construct the access road to Aokpe recalling that past administrations in the state started the seven kilometre Ugbokolo-Aokpe  road project, which was abandoned. Mrs Ajoko praised Mrs Sally Mbanefo led Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) for the promotion of domestic tourism, which she said, has lots of multiplier effects on job creation.

    Director Benue State Council for Arts and Culture, Mr  Terseer Aernyi, assured that tourism can drive the economy because the state has all it takes – cuisine, dance and folklore to offer tourists. He however observed that for Aokpe Pilgrimage Centre to thrive, the road leading to it should be made accessible and conducive for pilgrims. He added that government is keen in turning the centre around as one of the best in Africa.

    On what kept the state troupe successful, he said: “We have had lots of encouragement from successive administrations. That has been our source of strength and it forces us to do more.”

    The visionary Mrs Christiana Agbo Ejeh, a lawyer, said the Blessed Virgin Mary started appearing to her since 1992 when she was 12 and that Virgin Mary told her She would appear on August 4, 1994 to bestow grace on her children.

    “Virgin Mary told me that every August 4 should be set aside to celebrate a special day of grace,” she said.

     

  • Nigeria Breweries unveils 12 art finalists

    Nigeria Breweries unveils 12 art finalists

    I came to Lagos in 2001 broke. As a young artist, I approached Biodun Olaku an older artist to ask him how  I would survive on art. He told me to come back in five years time to get an answer. But, 4 years later, I met him again and he recognied my face, saying he has changed his mind to tell me the answer to my question. I told him I am no longer interested in the answer and that I have gotten the answer. That’s the spirit, he said to me.”

    These were the words of 2008 winner of African Artists Foundation /Nigerian Brewery PLc’s organised National Art Competition Emmanuel Dudu in an answer to a question on how to found his feet in the Lagos art scene in 2001.

    Today, Dudu has not only succeeded in the art practice but has also become a role model for other younger artists. After a successful group art exhibition at the Gallery 23 in Dubai, he has moved from being a local artist to an international artist being sorted after by foreign and local art galleries. Dudu spoke at the unveiling of this year’s 12 finalists of the 8th National Art Competition held at the Nigerian Breweries Plc, Lagos. The theme of this year’s competition is, Future Histories.

    Unveiling the 12 finalists, NB Plc Corporate Affairs Adviser Mr Kufre Ekanem said the competition has been organised in the last eight years to promote the conceptual development of contemporary art in Nigeria as well as to raise awareness on relevant social issues through the use of diverse creative artistic expressions.

    The 12 finalists include Adetunwase Adenle, Funmi Akindejoye, Michael Enejison, Chineneye Emelogu, Mariam Kazeem, May Okafor, Stacey Pkparavero and Komi Olafimihan. Others are Ngozi Omeje, Babatunde Oyeyemi, Folami Razaq and Sabastine Ugwuoke.

    Ekanem said with the competition, the organisers were projecting  arts as a tool for reengineering of society towards the objective of achieving progress for the nation.

    “This year’s edition is challenging budding artists to come up with interpretation to the theme, Future Histories. With this theme, our intention is to stimulate our participating artists to think literally about the social, political and cultural climate of their local communities while exploring their creativity,” he said.

    Director African Artists Foundation (AAF), Mr. Azu Nwagbogu, said the competition would continue to run on merit while pushing for increased awareness drive across the country.

    Reacting to the absence of artists from a section of the country in the final shortlist, he said the jurors gave no consideration to ethnic or regional affiliation in screening the entries.

    No fewer 200 entries were received from across the country out of which 12 were shortlisted. The panel of judges led by Prof El Anatsui considered each proposal on the grounds of its originality, creativity and clarity in relation to the theme.

    The description of materials and technique submitted in each artist’s application is also considered by the jurors and is an important tool for sharing unique aspects of the creative process and the works represented.

    Following the selection of the artists, they held a retreat from August 3 to 5, during which they participated in workshop that focused on exchange of ideas among others. The retreat will be followed by three-month within which the artists will execute their final projects.

    First prize winner of the three finalists will get N2million, solo art exhibition and a trip to Dubai while the second and third place winner get the outstanding concept and outstanding prizes of 1million naira each.

    This year’s competition is being supported by the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) and Samsung Electronics West Africa.

     

  • Ogakwu’s Illimite holds at Terra Kulture

    Ogakwu’s Illimite holds at Terra Kulture

    Illimite, a solo art exhibition by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tresor D’Afrique, Chinedu Ogakwu has held at the Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos showcasing his latest creative works.

    The subject of the exhibition is premised on the fact that the mind of an artist is  unrestricted in terms of ideas, media and styles of artistic expression.

    Ogakwu said the theme was informed by the notion that the Arts, as forms of creative beauty, are really everywhere, and that there is art in whatever we find ourselves doing as humans.

    The 40-year-old mixed-media  painter and holder of a Higher National Diploma (HND) in painting from the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Enugu, started painting at age six.

    Ogakwu’s Afrocentric art company, Tresor D’Afrique, which implies Treasures of Africa, is focused on producing artistic works that are mostly historical and cultural in nature. These works, according to him, convey strong messages as they relate to the primitive life of an African man. “My vision as an artist is to really remind Africans and the world at large of the former’s root and cultural heritage which should not be allowed to fade away,” he urges humanity.

    On the guiding philosophy of his style of artistic expression, he remarks: “The life we live is also an art … the exhibition explains the unlimitedness of our talents in a general perspective. We all think and live a common life, but in our own unique ways. This makes you different from the other person.”

    Professionally, the Tresor D’Afrique CEO, who discloses that his greatest influence in the arts are Messrs Segun Aiyesan and Olusegun Adejumo has continued to learn unconventional ways of using various materials while honing necessary skills to advance productivity in his trade. “My artistic process has continued to develop and undergo many transformations,” Ogakwu says with enthusiasm.

    Ogakwu,  a member of professional groups, including Pan-African Circle of Artists, Imago Mundi Artists, Society of Nigerian Artists and Port-Harcourt/Enugu Messenger Group of Artists, has participated in various solo group exhibitions in Nigeria and overseas. Such exhibitions include ‘Stone Age: As Old as Man’ at Sofas Furniture /Art gallery (2013); ‘Chronicles of Truth’ at My Drim Art Gallery; ‘Solidarity and Sharing’ at Total Village, Port-Harcourt; ‘Art in Minded’ at Bricklane Gallery, London, UK; ‘Africa and Post Coloniality 2’ at  Dakart Biennal, Senegal; ‘Lagos Art Auction’, in Lagos, all in 2014.

    His past exhibitions include those held at the Art Fusion Gallery, in Miami,Florida, United States; Monument de la RenaissanceAfricaine, Senegal;National Art Gallery, Lagos; National Museum of Unity, Enugu; Nike Art Gallery, Lagos; as well as The British Council, Alliance Francaise, Ofu Obi African Centre, in Enugu.

     

  • Idanre Oke (for victims of bombings)

    Idanre Oke (for victims of bombings)

    poem

    O Rock of defence
    To you I bring my greed
    My lust goes out to thee

    I long to possess
    What you earnestly keep
    Forgive my thirst for thee

    I’d give my life
    To possess your peace
    I’d steal from you your bliss

    O let me drink from your alluring zest
    Now that death is near
    I see your beauty true and clear

    O let your shielding presence
    Hide me from man-made threat
    O save me from terrorist earth

    When time and night have come and passed
    Do preserve me from wear and tear
    That comes with passing of age and fear

  • Quotes and wisdom of life

    Title: Wisdom, understanding, greatness… ‘Memorable Quotes’
    Author: Adam Babatunde Akande
    Year of Publication: 2014
    Publishers: Deepfont Limited, Lagos.
    Reviewer: Wole Balogun

    When in search of sagely sayings, enriched with wýsdom, sound knowledge, edifying truths and instructive messages, among others which could make life more meaningful and challenging, the book, Memorable Quotes by Mr. Adam Babatunde Akande, retired diplomat and elder statesman, becomes one among others.

    Akande’s Memorable Quotes is a compilation of over 5,000 witty sayings from philosophers, social crusaders, clerics, sages, great politicians, professionals, academics, leaders, saints, and great teachers among others.

    Painstakingly put together by the author to provide sound moral teachings and instructions to readers, Akande’s ‘quotes’ are probing and challenging.

    The author, being an elder himself, has found the quotes quite useful, essential and highly instructive for many who wish to love a life well guided by sound moral and spiritual teachings.

    According to him, the desire to hand out enduring and edifying values made him to compile the quotes. “I want to recommend this book to serious minded people and also religious people. There are a number of factors that has made me compile the memorable quotes. First, morality has been eroded in our way of life these days; this has led to a lot of social ills, insecurity, perversion, armed robbery, unhealthy craze for materialism among our youths, lack of zeal for hard work and widespread corruption among others. Also, there is no longer zeal for reading, the new generation has been kept in the dark because they don’t have a virile reading culture and this is sadly contributing to our backwardness as a nation,” he said.

    Akande’s book of memorable quotes has been segmented into phases, based on the issues of life they illuminate. The segments include: God and Religion, Life and death, Ambition and Enthusiasm, appreciation, character, charity and kindness, family, courage, freedom, justice judgment, friendship, growth, growing youth, happiness, knowledge and education, among others.

    The segments are presented in chapters and in each of these chapters, there are at least hundred memorable quotes to illuminate the idea or ideas chosen.

    In Chapter one for instance, God and Religion are gýven significant illumination with quotes that are quite enlightening, enlivening and pondering.

    To grasp a deeper understanding of the nature of God, His relationship with humans and how humans could relate better with Him among others, quotes are drawn from many great books of religion, leadership, philosophy, politics as written by poets, sages such as Plato, Aristotle, great leaders and philosophers, scientists, writers, clerics, and academics among others. So also are probing quotes presented to explain the concept of religion to mankind.

    Here is a taste of some of them; “ They, who love God with all their hearts, find that His ways are ways of pleasantness, and all his paths are peace. Such joys, such brim-full delights, such overflowing blessedness do the saints discover in their Lord-C.H Spurgeon “

    And another: “We should speak to God from our own hearts and talk to Him as a child talks to his father-C.H Spurgeon

    And yet another: “If you serve others for reward of gaining their admiration and gratitude, then your reward will be fleeting and ultimately dissatisfying. If you serve others for the reward of bringing pleasure to your Father God’s heart as you work side by side with Him, then you will gain eternal reward-Anonymous.

    “Trust the past to God’s mercy, the present to God’s love and the future to God’s providence-St Augustine”.

    In Chapter two, Akande exposes as well as unearth the concept of life and death so deeply that the reader would be awed on discovering the purposes of life and the significance of the inevitability of death. A few of the quotes would help throw light into this assertion:

    “Your life is like a book, the title is your name, the preface your introduction to the world. The pages are a daily record of your efforts, trials, pleasures, discouragement and achievements, day by day, your thoughts and acts are being inscribed in your book of life. Hour by hour, the record is being made that must stand for all time. Once the word FINIS must be written, let it be said of your book that is a record of noble purpose, generous service and work wel-done-Greeville Kleiser.”

    “A Great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men-Albert Einstein

    “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty-Mohanda Gandhi”

    “My husband often told the children that if a man had nothing that was worth dying for, he was not fit to live-Coretta Scott King.”

    From chapters one to twelve, Akande makes his reader to get a grasp of such concepts as appreciation, courage, happiness, truth, family, justice, judgement, charity, kindness, and friendship and such like. His quotes here make the reader fully understand these virtues as part of what make life meaningful, joyous and challenging. With the quotes presented to explain the concepts, the reader is encouraged to cherish his life and make it more beautiful, eventful and enjoyable by observing the moral and spiritual instructions passed across through the quotes. Hence: “ A truth that is told with bad intent, beats all the lies you can invent-William Blake.”

    “Where there is marriage without love, there will be love without marriage-Benjamin Franklin.”

    “A wife is the joy of a man’s heart-Talmud

    “Well-married, a man is winged, ill-matched, he is shackled-Henry Ward Beecher.”

    “One man’s justice is anotheraks injustice, one man’s beauty another ugliness, one man’s wisdom, another’s folly-Ralph W Emerson.”

    “You have seen how a man was made a slave, you shall see how a slave was made a man-Federick Douglas.”