Category: Arts & Life

As part of its corporate social responsibilities to its host communities, the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLG) Limited has established Finima Nature Park on Bonny Island, Rivers State to conserve nature and biodiversity. According to the company’s latest Facts and Figures, the park was established  to preserve the natural environment of its host communities. The site of the nature park is the natural habitat of salt water Hippopotamus, now rare in Nigeria, and other interesting flora and fauna prevalent on Bonny Island.

The park was established in recognition of the importance of the flora and fauna, the sacrifices of Bonny people, and their aspiration and commitment to keeping a permanent record of their natural heritage and culture. It is also part of NLNG’s contribution to the national and global conservation objective, in line with Rio Agenda 21, Ramsar convention and convention on Biological Diversity.

Named Finima Nature Park and measuring approximately 1000 hectares, is for conservation, recreation, and research on the fanua, flora and cultural heritage of Bonny Kingdom. At present, the nature reserve is managed by an NGO, the Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF). However, in the future, it will be managed by a Board of Trustees drawn from the host community, thereby encouraging community buy-in and sustainability of the initiative.

The reserve area covers the rain forest and mangrove swamps, as well as an ecologically important area of sandy soil with fresh water ponds and tall timber between the swamps and the beach. This diversity is a good representation of the Niger Delta ecology, which affords a unique opportunity for research and educational activities. Already, the reserve is home to some wildlife species of high conservation value, a variety of mammals, bird species and reptiles, such as the Mona monkeys, crocodiles, snakes and alligators.

In addition, Finima Nature Park is home to a number of species classified by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) such as the African Grey Parrot-Psittacus erithacus. A number of studies including ornithological surveys are also regularly carried out at the park.

There is steady growth in the population of indigenous species in the park as a result of measures put in place. The NLNG discourages hunting in the park and encourages the preservation of natural habitat.

In pursuing its environment objective, the company considers public consultation and enlighten fundamentals to fostering good relationships with its neighbours. Hence, it has initiated forest protection and biodiversity conservation enlightenment campaigns in accordance with recommended EIA mitigation measures.

Finima Nature Park is policed by park rangers, who prevent encroachment, monitor movement of animals, rescue animals and provide guide tours within the park and adjoining areas.

The rangers during their routine park walks in October 2014 discovered and retrieved whale bones that were washed ashore along the coastal boundary of the park. A total of 69 pieces of the whale skeletal parts were collected and assembled and are currently being preserved at Finima Nature Park.

The company has partnered with community-based organisation such as the Bonny Environmental Consultants’ Committee (BECC) and such non-governmental organisations as Niger Delta Wetlands Centre and Nigerian Conservation Foundation in outreach programmes to schools, organisations and settlements within Bonny Kingdom with the objective of establishing conservation clubs in primary and post primary schools and entrenching the culture of conservation early in the youth.

FOR painter and art critic, Chuu Krydz Ikwuemesi, art is a tool for re-enacting experience and re-negotiating reality.

He said: “There is so much motion. Globalisation takes its toll. The world changes. But, we have not changed much. We are meaning-seeking animals trapped in a world where meaning has remained meaningless and ever elusive. The world, the expansive, but small village square we now all share, continues to challenge us; we are ever surrounded by the same worries and forces that shaped the consciousness of those who have gone before us.”

Ikwuemesi is also a ethno-aesthetician and cultural entrepreneur. In 1987, he was admitted into University of Nigeria, Nsukka,  to study art. He graduated in First Class in 1992. In 1991, he founded the Pan-African Circle of Artists (PACA) and is the Emeritus President of The Art Republic (also known as Centre for Arts and Cultural Democracy), Enugu.

He will be holding his solo art exhibition, The Village Square,at the  International Institute for Creative Development (IIDC), Maitama, Abuja.

The exhibition, which is conceived as a composite installation that alludes to the compactness of the present world shaped by the forces of the cyber revolution, will open tomorrow by  6pm and feature his recent works.

Director of the IIDC, Mr Ndubuisi Ahanonu said the exhibition is one of their biggest for the year and he is hopeful that it will attract many important visitors. Based on the Igbo uli technique, Ikwuemesi’s art explores the connection between ‘our time and eras gone by and thus can be a datum for mediating memory and desire.’

Ikwuemesi said: “In this exhibition, I am looking at the compactness of the wide world in this age of the cyber magic… The new world is a village, after all; it is the old village that has always been. We have been here before and will ever be. We go forward, no doubt. But we will return, now and again, like Sankofa, to seek new crumbs along foot-beaten, old tracks; to seek new meanings in old visions.”

In view of its recourse to uli, The Village Square exploits a pattern established by the Nsukka artists in the last 40 years. It re-engages the uli idiom in a refreshing way and also reflects Ikwuemesi’s interest in Ainu art and ethno-aesthetics. As Emeritus Professor Simon Ottenberg of the University of Washington has said, “Prof Ikwuemesi has for many years been both an artist and a student of uli. It is, therefore, most reasonable that he combines these two interests in this exhibit… He believes strongly that this wonderful design systemshould not perish, but should be transferred into the modern world, blending ancient design and modern art skills.”

Among guests expected at the exhibition’s opening include His Majesty, Nnaemeka Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha; leading art collector, Prince Yemisi Shyllon; US Ambassador, His Excellency James F. Entwistle; Mr Hideki Sakamoto First Secretary and Head of Information and Culture, Embassy of Japan, Abuja, and Dr Abdulahi Muku, Director General of the National Gallery of Art. The exhibition will run till May 27.

Mrs Ayodele Jaiyesimi is a theatre amazon to watch out for. The founder of the Thespian Family Theatre (TFT) Productions has brought her over 30 years  experience in  banking and human resources consultancy to bear on her passion – theatre. She seeks to mentor youths and stir up conversations and new thinking about theatre and its practitioners. She hopes to, through her organisation, put theatre on Nigeria’s economic map. In this conversation with Evelyn Osagie, she speaks on  issues in the industry.

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Mrs Ayodele Jaiyesimi is an avid lover of Contemporary and Theatre Arts. She has through the Thespian Family Theatre (TFT) Productions, showcased her unique creativity and expressed her love for the arts through the plays she has written and produced.
The Crystal Slipper, as with Ayo’s other plays such as The Mad King of Ijudiya, The Five Maids of Fadaka, and Siddon de Look, is an extremely thought-provoking and entertaining theatre piece overtly mixed with a potpourri of dance, suspense, drama, comedy, music, traditional language and adulations.
Two of her plays have been directed by Tunji Sotimirin (lecturer at the Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos) and Abiola Segun Williams (Popular TV Soap Opera ‘Tinsel’ actor). Besides writing and stage production, she is passionate about youth mentoring, change, supporting the less-privileged and community groups.
She is on the Board of Trustees of the Societal Positive Impact Initiative (SPIIN). She is a human resource practitioner and chartered accountant with about 32 years experience in public service, consulting and financial services industry.

Spending about 32 years, working across various sectors of the banking industry, have been quite exciting. I started out as a chartered accountant. I have been in the public service, worked with an accounting firm. I’ve been a human resource  practitioner, worked as a banker and have just retired to pursue my passion – theatre. I think I can say I am a theatre practitioner now. I intend to use my HR background to improve and develop human capacity in the performance art sector.

 

Bank executive, human  resources consultant and theatre aficionado

 

Whether it is banking business, human resources or theatre, it is all about people.  The theatre is an industry about people; a way of communicating with people through a dramatic form. As a human resource practitioner, you find out that if you are trying to mould people into an organisational structure, you’d have to work on them and ensure that there is an alignment with what the organisation wants to do and its people. You’d also develop them through coaching and mentoring. In the performance art industry, especially the theatre, you have a lot of fantastic potentials. So, when we are looking at Nigeria’s economy, this is where, in some years to come, the goldmine is. And, therefore, we do feel in Thespian Family Theatre that we should help these young and upcoming talented Nigerians to find jobs and develop themselves so that they can have the skills to cope with their careers and make the best of their potentials.

 

Growing up

 

When I was young, I was always good at fine art. I was into dance and acting. But when I wanted to do fine art, my parents said: “you are very good at the arts that you do, why don’t you find a professional course to study and then you can always pursue your passion as artist”. And that was what I did. I did my professional course, but still practised my arts. Then, theatre artistes or anyone in the arts industry are seen as the dreg of society – happy to have around when there is any form of entertainment, but you can’t bank on them having a stable income or means of livelihood.  Then they didn’t know that they make any money.

 

Voyage into stage production

 

I have been doing stage productions since 2003, but not on a large form. We started off in 2003 under the name, Thespian Family Theatre (TFT) Productions and because we believe there is potential in the industry, we started restructuring in 2013. Our board chairman is the co-founder of I-REP, Femi Odugbemi. Then, it started as a mentoring platform. It was firstly about our love for the arts and how we can touch lives of the people in the Theatre industry. So, we started with the students in the University of Lagos (UNILAG). We have those, who started off from our troupe that are now on some TV series and programmes, like the guy who came second at the AMBO, Kachi Nochiri.

 

My 12-year theatre experience

 

I must say it has been exciting. We have a thriving theatre industry. I have watched a lot of exciting plays and we have done some ourselves. Stage production is particularly expensive. Initially, when we started, there were very few theatre organisations, now the number has increased and with it, the stage productions hold. When I conceived it there were fears.  But as it is unfolding, I am seeing it work.

It is tough though, because there are lots of gaps in the industry. We lack basic infrastructure. It is too expensive to manage. We don’t have theatres even the best that we have here are not necessarily standard theatre spaces. So, what you then find is that even when you are trying to express and have productions that are world-class, you have to cut down on how adventurous you want to be or spend a whole lot to make it work. You’ve got to get a sound engineer and sound systems and the lightings…it is cumbersome. That is why whenever I think of what is happening with the national theatre where we had everything, something in me cries. They had the future of theatre when that was built. And because it is too expensive it makes it very difficult for those who are practising.

And also sometimes you try to change the mindset on how we want to operate, not to be a straight jacket theatre group. But we have been relatively lucky. We have quite a few partners. We have First Bank Plc, Leadway Assurance as partners. But it is not just about luck, we have been able to build a sustainable partnership model where there is mutual benefit for us and the organisation that sponsors us.

 

Theatre’s economic potential

 

I’d start with human capital base. In terms of potentials, this country has a lot of it. Our young people are simply fantastic. They are very creative and are coming out with new models, such as the merging of theatre and multimedia. As a country we haven’t recognised the economic potential that the industry holds. Take for instance, the brand Disneyland brings its country millions yearly. I was there sometimes and it was so much fun. People want to relax, be entertained and educated. You could actually use performance to douse tension, as education and employment. I do hope that the government would do more to support us in the industry.

I think theatre is an area that private investors should consider putting their money in. It holds the economic value to attract private investors. For instance, apart from giving some visibility to Nigeria, staging a play like The Gods Are Not to Blame in the United Kingdom (UK), is also financially viable. We are just saying that they should encourage us more and do a bit more.

 

My notion of theatre

 

I have met fantastic people in the industry. Sometimes, I do ponder how one can replicate a Joke Sylva, a Genevieve Nnaji, Olu Jacobs and a Bimbo Manuel. We want more of them–theatre practitioners, who know how to produce plays, have a good outing and understand the business of the industry. Also, we should bear in mind what our value proposition to the nation is such that we begin to have a voice and start to shape this nation. That is how we can change such mindsets and stay relevant.

When we started off at TFT, we were aware of the power the industry weighed; the stage is a very powerful platform to champion the cause of societal reorientation. We, therefore, felt that our team must understand the power they have and need to be empowered. Artists should serve as good role model that many, especially the young, should be able to emulate. But many lack knowledge in financial and personal management. Hence, when we started with those students, subtly, in the middle of rehearsals and performances, we would chip in a little word here and there to help mould them.

 

The leader theatre sectors needs now

 

Nigeria, in terms of natural and human resources, is blessed. It is so painful to see such a blessed country living in poverty with so much corruption around us. A lot of people are not even expecting; they are just living everyday as it comes.
We hope to see  leaders, who understand what leadership is all about, emerging. People, who are purpose-driven, selfless and have a burning passion in their hearts to take Nigeria to where we ought to be as a nation, such that our educational system and industries can work again, and unemployment be reduced.

 

TFT selling point

What makes us stand out is that we are an organisation that is purpose-driven. We’ve had great productions and reviews. I believe that we are quite known in the market for our professionalism. It is one organisation, probably the foremost in the industry in Nigeria that has tried to set up a structure. Also we are grooming a troupe of young people, who eventually would stand on their own and in two/three years become stage/movie icons with a difference.  I am proud to say that we showcased Nigeria in the United Kingdom last month. We staged Ola Rotimi’s The Gods Are Not to Blame  in Londonbecause we have a lot of Nigerians in the Diaspora and people, who love our culture. It was done in collaboration with UK-based Heavywind Media and Lukman Sanusi, the director.  Most of the young do not know so much about home, we want to take Nigeria abroad and trigger nostalgia in them; and show to people of the United Kingdom that Nigerians are a set of warm people.

 

My advice to aspiring theatre managers and producers

When going into the industry, they should have a sustainable model in mind because most times theatre practitioners are carried away by the production. In addition to that, they should work on how to make enough to be plowed back into the organisation and translate it into a livelihood. They also have to consider funding; raising the initial funds might be a little bit difficult. They can reach out to quite a lot of organisations that might be willing or people, who are art-lovers who could see that you have a sustainable business and be willing to partner with you. Then, on those who would work with you, depending on what you are trying to do, you may hold workshops for, counsel and give them opportunity to showcase their talents, which would help build their confidence. And get involved in the lives and progress so as to inspire them.

 

A  society is not built out of material opulence but out of higher matters of love and care. It was in realisation of the fulcrum of this statement that supporters of The Irede Foundation, a non-governmental organisation defied the fuel scarcity to participate in a walk aimed at creating awareness and raising funds for 24 children living without limbs.

Tagged “Out on a Limb”, the May 1 walk  started from the YMCA building to the Falomo bridge in Ikoyi, Lagos. People came out in their  hundreds wearing branded shirts with the inscription “Out on a limb”.  Prominent among the ‘walkers’ were Alleluya Akporobomerere aka Ali Baba and other top players of firms, corporate organisations, associations and Christian bodies also joined in the walk to raise support for the foundation.

After the walk, supporters converged to listen to testimonies of adults amputees who shared their life experiences stating the difference a prosthetic fitting has made for them while also urging support for children currently living without limbs saying that they should not be made to live life with limitations.

The Founder of The Irede Foundation, Mrs Crystal Chigbu, herself the mother of a child amputee revealed to the gathering that two indigent children would be able to get prosthetic fittings thanks to the supporters of donors who sponsored branded T-shirts for the walk. “We are focused on providing 24 prosthetic limbs for indigent children this year. This is to ensure that amputees are empowered and can live life to the fullest. Our mission is to help them and their families live a life of fulfilment and help the children rise to the challenge with an attitude and behaviour that says ‘I can’.

The chairman of the board of trustees of the foundation, Mr Kunle Akinkugbe who gave the votes of thanks appreciated the crowd for ensuring that the walk went well despite the challenge of the fuel scarcity.  He stated that The Irede foundation is special because it operates in an area that is not ordinarily in people’s consciousness.  Recognising the effort of those who publicised the event on social media, he added that the organisation has grown through the commitment and support of the main drivers, members of the board of trustees, staff and donors. “I personally believe there is a lot of  money in Nigeria looking for good causes to support  and if we do not go out, we would not be able to exceed our expectation for this year”, he added.

I told them that I don’t know who Toyin Akinosho is; that I have never heard that name in my life before’

This is not a screenplay.

Perhaps the key character in the narrative would have wished it was one – for a Nollywood flick with the title: Your Oga or Your Life or The Lucky Escape or the like.

Mumuni (not real name) is the driver of the Publisher ofAfrica Oil and Gas Report, Toyin Akinosho.

On the morning of 20 March, before boarding a flight to Abuja, Akinosho gave Mumuni N5,000 to buy fuel for the generator at his residence on the outskirts of  Lagos. That was what took Mumuni out of the house at about 7 O’clock that evening.

He had not even got to the neighbourhood filling station when the drama started.

Mumuni takes over from here: “As I came out from our street to enter the main road,  I saw a white Hilux (mini truck) following me. I wanted to branch into another road, but because they were still following me, I decided to go straight. But they still followed me. At 41 Road, there is a junction that you can branch from, to Ikoyi or to the (exit) gate. It was at that spot that they blocked me with their car and stopped me. They came down and were asking me ‘Where is Toyin Akinosho?’ and I told them that I don’t know who Toyin Akinosho is; that I have never heard that name in my life before. I also told them that (the) publisher’s car is my personal car and that the name Toyin Akinosho does not ring a bell. It was at that point that they returned into their vehicle and drove off.”

Mumuni recalled that the suspected assassins were five.

He continued the narration:“They entered their car and I kept moving because I thought it would be unwise for me to go back home right away. As they moved, they were moving slowly and then later turned to the roundabout that leads to Ikoyi, but I went straight to gate. But as I looked into my side mirror, I saw that they were still following me and I thought to myself that if I went home, they might still trace me to the house to know where we were staying. So, I went straight and bent towards Four Points (By Sheraton Lagos hotel) area. The car has an e-tag (pre-paid toll identification) so I just passed the toll gate, but it was like they paid and were delayed a bit. But the traffic light stopped me; it wasn’t up to one minute that I was at the traffic light that I saw that they were coming but then, the light passed me so I drove off. I passed in front of Four Points and followed Ajose Adeogun Street. On that street, there is a club that Oga goes to. It was there that they caught up with me and rammed my car by the side and I ran into a culvert and the bumper was damaged.”

What happened next? “Then, one of them came out of the car and slapped me on my face and said, ‘We are asking you for the last time, where is Toyin Akinosho?’ I told him that I don’t know the person who bears that name. On hearing that, another one said to me: ‘I can waste you o’ but I told him that if he wanted to kill me, he should do so, but I insisted I neither knew Akinosho nor ever heard of his name. Then they left me there and entered their vehicle and left. People that were around there started coming out to assist me drag the car off the culvert.”

But the saga didn’t end there. Mumuni decided to sleep in the car where the incident happened on Ajose Adeogun because the impact on the steering affected its controlling mechanism. He chose the option of sleeping in the car because “we had recently bought two new tyres and I didn’t want them to loosen the tyres at night because that place is usually lonely and quiet at night before day-break.” Apart from the tyres, Mumuni thought that the battery could also be stolen. “Whatever happened would still be on my head,” he said, not giving a thought to the danger he exposed himself to. “I know that it is not worth my life, but I just can’t leave the car there,” he reasoned.

Something happened during the small hours.

The men were back. There’s this line in Ian Fleming’s Goldfinger: “Mr Bond, they have a saying in Chicago. ‘Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it’s enemy action.”

Yes, this time, it was “enemy action” or an action that suggested that the suspects were not friends.

“As I was sleeping in the car, around 2am,” Mumuni continues, “they came to meet me and used the edge (barrel) of a gun to wake me up. They then collected my phone and the N7,000 that I had on me and left saying that since I did not want to say the truth, they’d go with those.”

Mumuni has a theory: “It was like they went to check the (Contacts on my phone) whether they would see Oga’s name on my phone but I saved Oga’s number with the name ‘MAE’”

What is MAE?

“Nothing,” said Mumini, who is from ….., explaining, “I just saved it as such because to spell his name, Toyin Akinosho Alfred, is difficult for me.”

His theory could be right. “Around 5 a.m, they came back and dropped the phone on my body. I was even asleep then, but I felt something drop on my chest as they threw the phone at me.” After he was threatened with the gun, Mumuni, somehow strangely,  decided to sleep atop the booth instead of inside the car where he had first slept. “That was where they came to give me back the phone and told me that I was lucky,” he stated.

Soon after he was rammed into the culvert, Mumuni had called Akinosho to narrate the incident. The latter advised him to “be careful.”

He has been grounded since then. Now, who were The Five working for? Lingering question.

 

The British Council has announced Shakespeare Lives, a major global celebration of celebrating the late literary icon, Williams Shakespeare. The programme aims at reaching over half a billion people around the world.

Shakespeare Lives, according to the British Council, is “an invitation to the world to join in the celebrations by participating in a unique online collaboration and experiencing the work of Shakespeare directly on stage, through film, exhibitions and in schools”.

The global programme of events and activities celebrating Shakespeare’s life on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of his death is billed for 2016.

British Council Chief Executive, Ciarán Devane, said: “Power struggles, brutal politics, murder, love, passion, bitter feuds, human weakness and plain farce are universal themes as relevant now as they were when Shakespeare was writing. Shakespeare Lives will engage audiences overseas and in the United Kingdom (UK) with both the work of the Bard and with the best of contemporary Britain and will open up opportunities for UK institutions, businesses and organisations to work around the world, and for organisations around the world in the UK.”

According to a statement, the British Council and the Great Britain campaign are working with host of British theatres, museums, educators and artists on brand new productions of Shakespeare’s plays, film adaptations, public readings and educational resources for schools and English language learners of all ages in the UK and around the world. Research carried out for the British Council in five overseas countries in 2014 showed Shakespeare’s enduring status as the UK’s greatest cultural icon in the eyes of the world. “When young adults were asked to name a person they are interested in and associate with contemporary UK Arts and culture, William Shakespeare was by far the most popular response,” it said.

“Engaging over half a billion people launching this autumn, Shakespeare Lives will run throughout 2016, exploring Shakespeare as a living writer who still speaks for all people and nations. Activities across English, education and the arts will explore the story of how a playwright from England came to be shared all over the globe. A major highlight will be All The World’s A Stage, a mass participation project that will invite people from all over the world to upload and share clips of themselves performing lines from Shakespeare plays. It will culminate in a record breaking, crowd-sourced performance and a new digital version of Shakespeare works”.

Other highlights of Shakespeare Lives include: “A MOOC (massive open online course) aimed at intermediate level English language learners exploring the key themes and characters in Shakespeare’s plays and his continuing resonance around the world. Other teaching resources include Shakespeare-themed lesson plans for all levels, a series of webinars for English language teachers and animated Shakespeare stories for children.

“The British Council is offering ten research and development grants for artists and companies to develop new collaborative project ideas, one of which would be for a project in Nigeria; global short filmmaking competition in partnership with straight- eight called Bitesize Bard that invites budding filmmakers from around the world to reinterpret one of eight iconic Shakespeare scenes in a single take. The twelve best films would be selected by a renowned panel taken from the world of theatre and film with prizes awarded.

“A new education pack developed with the RSC, exploring some of the broad themes that run across his writing – themes that still have a resonance to people all over the world today. The pack would be distributed to all 25,000 schools in the UK and would be promoted around the world through the British Council’s school network. Inspiring global celebrations of Shakespeare Day a downloadable toolkit would be developed in partnership with Shakespeare Birthplace Trust that would include a Shakespeare speech available in many world languages and fun resources such as a Shakespeare quiz, Elizabethan recipes and playlists; and a touring programme of the best British Shakespeare films available to screen internationally in partnership with the BFI. This will include everything from early silent films to new productions.