The Nation Newspaper

Category: Arts & Life

  • Artistic fumes from Art of Friendship

    Abuja residents got a refreshing bouquet of art when the National Gallery of Art, Abuja, held its art exhibition tagged: Art of Friendship 2.

    It featured works by artists from Nigeria, Republic of Czech, France, Italy and Korea. The exhibition was held at the Federal Capital Teritory (FCT) Archives and History Bureau, Abuja, and it attracted an impressive crowd that included the Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, Director-General, National Gallery of Arts Abdullahi Muku, Ambassadors of participating countries and their Cultural Attachees, the management and staff of the gallery, artists and art lovers.

    There were 40 works on display comprising paintings, mix-media, drawing, sculpture and printmaking. Nigeria’s works for the exhibition were some of the best of the national collection with artists cutting across the six geo-political zones of the country, of different generations, schools, movements, training and styles.

    They included Kolade Oshinowo; Kunle Adeyemi; Jimoh Buraimoh; Olu Ajayi; Mufu Onifade; Monday Akhide; Mu’azu Sani; Abiola Idowu and Kaltume Gana. Artists from the Czech Republic were Boris Jirku and David Ledvinka, who according to Czech’s Ambassador, Pavel Mikes, are “representing two generations of contemporary Czech artists.” Czech visual arts have a long and famous tradition of glass sculpture. At the exhibition both artists presented paintings and pastel drawings respectively.

    The Republic of France featured Pascale Bigot, a French artist with special interest in mix-media, using pastel as a base, applying paper or fabric as a creative complement. According to the Ambassador of France to Nigeria Jacques Champagne de Labriolle, Bigot’s presentation in this exhibition “is a selection of figurative and landscapes of Provinces in the South of France.”

    The Republic of Italy had Isabella Catoni, who according the Ambassador of Italy to Nigeria, Fulvio Rustico, lives and works between Italy and Nigeria. It was gathered that Isabella only spent a year in Nigeria, but inspired by the rich and vibrant cultural scene which resulted in the series of paintings called I sell fish out of the sea.

    The Republic of Korea, otherwise known as South Korea, is the fifth of the countries with interesting and large number of participating artists only next to the host country, Nigeria. The South Korea featured 10 artists equipped with high sense of artistic exploration and experimentations. According to the South Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Choi Jong-hyun, majority of the Korean artworks displayed, depicts the encounter between the East and West in the areas of techniques and materials applied in creating the works on display. There is this synthesis in the application of western pigments alongside Eastern coloration on traditional Korean mulberry paper called “hanji”. Other techniques used by the Korean artists include mosaic of stamped tiny seals such as the case of Kim Seung-hee’s Mt Namsam (2006), using  stone powder and creating images carved in high relief such as Lim Jong-doo’s Flying to the sky (2005) and Oh Jae-hoan’s Mountains and Rivers (2005).

    Apart from effectively representing their countries, all the artists through individual creative construction of forms produced works of art emitting artistic fumes made up of aesthetic vitality, pictorial sincerity and solidity, which could readily arouse visual attention. Their imageries are visibly modernistic, technically satisfying, humanistic in content and culturally revealing. One also commend the artists, especially the foreign participants for their ingenious manipulation of media as well as their unalloyed commitment to pursuance of technical excellence which definitely will help promote the much needed cultural exchanges and creative/artistic alliance among the five republics.

    According to Abdullahi Muku, the exhibition was a forum to use cultural fiestas to preach the message of peace while Ngozi John-Uyah, the Curator of the exhibition sees it as “a cultural conversation between five countries, from three continents speaking with one voice.”

    The National Gallery of Art (NGA),  which initiated the Nigeria Visual Arts World Tour (NIVATOR) in 2010, maintained and sustained platforms where Nigeria’s art collection are jointly exhibited with other foreign pieces in a single exposition. It is another dimension to NGA’s numerous platforms of showcasing, promoting and projecting the contemporary material culture in Nigeria.

    •Nnadozie, a painter, is the Curator National Gallery of Art, Lokoja.

  • Coffers of faith

    Worship to the unseen.

    Spiritual fray to the unclean.

    Reflected by praise and hymns.

    A disaster emerges within.

    In a colosseum of divinity.

    Hope and pray to the majesty.

    ill luck picked her day.

    To rain fire and brimstones all the way.

    Would there have been a secure venue.

    The shrewd craft of a believer.

    Weaved to everlasting existence.

    Crumbles built upon architectural elegance.

    Deaths upon deaths at the scene of a battlefield.

    Only but few can relate to this eulogy.

    We never died for once.

    The coffers of faith remains untouched.

    Written and edited by

  • Wash your hands to save your life

    Wash your hands to save your life

    DespitE the containment of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the country, the Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, has urged Nigerians to continue the habit of frequent handwashing with soap.

    According to her, frequent handwashing with soap could prevent many communicable diseases. She added that clean hands save lives.

    She spoke while addressing  over 500 puils from four schools at Falomo Senior High School, to commemorate this year’s Global Handwashing Day.

    The event was organised by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lagos in collaboration with the Lagos State Government (LASG).

    To mark the day, 13 handwashing points including the one provided and donated by UNIC Lagos were put in place. The Senior Public Information Officer, UNIC Lagos, Envera Selimovic, noted that handwashing was not meant for the Global Handwashing Day alone, but should be done as many times as required every day.

    The ceremony  was witnessed by the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Public Health, Dr YewandeAdesina who explained in details the eight steps to washing hands and getting rid of germs.

    Dr Adesina urged the pupils to thoroughly follow the procedure of washing hands and to make sure they do not turn off the water tap with their already clean hands. She advised that wrist or elbow should be used.

    Afterwards, the Honourable Commissioner for Education led the dignitaries and students to wash hands in confirmation of the fact that ‘Clean hands save lives’

    The Tutor-General and Permanent Secretary for Education District III, Mr O.G. Olatunji, delivered the welcome address at the programme anchored by the National Information Officer of UNIC Lagos, Oluseyi Soremekun.

  • ‘Bring Ilojo Bar back to life’

    Anyone who visits Tinubu Square on Lagos Island, Lagos, will hardly notice one of the oldest monuments in Nigeria, as traders, car owners and commercial bus drivers constantly block the building. The signpost which indicates that the place is a National Monument is also not spared.

    This was one of the issues raised last week by the Assistant Chief Heritage Officer of the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos, Mrs. Nkechi Adedeji, at the weekly seminar organised by the National Museum Study Group, Lagos.

    Mrs. Adedeji in a lecture tittled: Management of a Cultural Heritage; expressed her displeasure about the activities going on in front of Ilojo Bar Monument in Lagos.

    “The presence of motor park in front of the structure defaces the monument and another trend is the parking of cars and buses in front of the building where they detract the architectural interest and beauty of the sight,” she stressed.

    She examined a number of issues affecting not just Ilojo Bar Monument but also other monuments in Nigeria. She said: “Funding, legal protection, lack of awareness, interest and institutional framework are few of the challenges affecting these monuments.”

    She emphasised the need for a legal back-up for maintenance of the national monuments, awareness campaign, routine inspection by heritage officers, and request for assistance from cooperate and international bodies can go a long way in restoring the monuments, as well as  boosting the interest of people towards national heritage.

    “Historic monuments which are cultural heritage constantly subject to decay and distress. These take various forms and may consequently jeopardize the safety of the building itself.

    “Historic Monuments in most countries presents a conservation problem that requires attention. It is the duty of the current generation to preserve these monuments bequeathed to us by our ancestor for the future generation, she added.”

    According to her, the stakeholders involved in the management of Ilojo Bar at the moment cannot adequately maintain the place to desirable standard.

    She revealed that the monument will be renovated according to architectural standards, accompanied with a view to training local students of architecture and technical workers in the restoration of building.

    “Assistance is presently being sought from other organisation such as Legacy, an historical and environmental group, towards the restoration of Ilojo Bar.

    ‘The Brazilian consulate has also initiated the renovation of Ilojo Bar into a cultural centre to be dedicated to the erstwhile Atlantic Slave trade.

    “The innovation will take into consideration the period of the faced but the interior area could be converted to other uses such as exhibition room and library

    An appeal fund will be launched by the stake holders which is aimed at attracting interested individuals, cooperate organisations, NGOs etc to assist in the maintenance of the Ilojo Bar Monument.”

    While giving a brief history of the monument otherwise known as Case de Fernandez, Adedeji said the building was built in 1855 by the Fernandez family from Brazil, which the Fernandez family later sold to Mr Alfred Omolana Olaiya in 1933.

    Ilojo Bar Monument is located in front of Tinubu Squire on House 6 Alli Street/2 Bamgbose Street in the old nieghbourhood called Brazilian Quarters in Lagos Island, Lagos and was declared a National Monument in 1956.

    She also described the place as “Living-Monument as there are inhabitants occupying the building.

    Some notable monuments which have received international awareness are: The Colosseum Flavian amphitheatre in Rome, a popular monument of the Roman Empire., The Cristo Redentor, a modern religious monument in Brazil. The Statue of Liberty, the symbol of the United States’ freedom. The Taj Mahal, a mausoleum in India. The Eiffel Tower, in Paris (France), a monument commemorating the French Revolution for its centenary The Great Pyramid of Giza built almost 5000 years ago as pharaoh’s tomb, one of the Seven Wonders and enduring symbol of ancient Egyptian civilization, The Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and US Capitol. The US capital Washington D.C. is built around monuments commemorating founding fathers of the United States.

    As these countries constantly receive tourists from around the world and earn a huge income, this cannot be said about Nigeria as people still loot national treasures and make mockery of some National monuments, just like the case of Ilojo Bar.

    “Despite the management challenges associated with Ilojo Bar Monument, it still maintains the historical value, Brazilian architectural style and other distinctive features which give it the status of a National Monument. These attributes still accord the monument the potential of a tourist destination and a source of revenue generation for the country,” she asserted.

  • Ali Mazrui: An academic who lived for humanity

    Ali Mazrui: An academic who lived for humanity

    Ali Mazrui, one of Africa’s most firebrand and revered scholars and critics, died during the week in his residence in New York, USA, aged 81.  Edozie Udeze takes a look at the man, who, through his many incisive and profound works, attacked African leaders whom he blamed for the economic and social retardation of the continent, among other issues he focused his attention on.

    The death, last week, at 81, of one of Africa’s most celebrated and outstanding scholars, critics, teachers, authors and political historians, has yet depleted the rank.  Professor Ali Mazrui, author of over 30 books, 2000 monographs and academic papers in different journals of the world, was a Kenyan citizen.  He was more or less a world citizen, someone who did not limit his gaze or attention to the continent of Africa, but used his wide and global connections to champion laudable programmes and ideals for the good of Blacks at home and in the Diaspora.

    Born in Mombasa, Kenya on February 24, 1933, he was educated at the famous Makerere University, Uganda where he graduated with a first class distinction in Political Science.  In 1960, he did his Master’s  degree at Manchester University in Great Britain and his Doctorate in Philosophy at the Oxford University (Nuffield College) in 1966.  Upon completion of his studies, he returned to Makerere University Kampala, Uganda, where he served as head of the Department of Political Science and later Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences.

    Exile

    In 1973, he was forced into exile by Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada, the defacto head of state of Uganda at that time.  Amin, who had followed Mazrui’s academic progression and his keen observation of the deeds of most East African leaders, said he did not find it comfortable with Mazrui so close to his regime.  From that moment on, Mazrui remained in exile until his demise a few days ago.

    He had lampooned African leaders as iron-fisted people whose roles could not help Africa to move forward.  Once he was driven out of Uganda, Mazrui headed to the University of Michigan, USA, as a Professor of Political Science where he was later appointed the Director of the Centre for Afro American and African Studies.  A restless and incisive scholar, with a big heart to create his own ideals for the sake of humanity, in 1989 he moved to the University of Binghamton, the state of New York as the Albert Schweitzer Professor of Humanities and the Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies.  This was a position he maintained till death.

    However, Mazrui’s research interests centred more on how to improve the lot of Africa and Africans.  In serving on the editorial boards of more than twenty international scholarly journals, he was offered the opportunity to breathe down on despotic leaders in Africa.  He never spared them for being the architects of the retrogression of the African peoples.  Even when he was widely sought after to help in fashioning new ideals by most of the heads of states and governments in Africa on political strategies and alternative thoughts, Mazrui never lost the chance to tell them the truth.

    Writings

    An Uganda-born Professor of History and International Human Rights, Amii Otunu, who teaches at the University of Connecticut, USA, described him as a great Pan-Africanist.  “Yes, Mazrui turned his life into a great Pan-Africanist in the mould of Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.  He was a great African, one of the most prolific and controversial African writers.  Indeed, he was one of the most revered Pan-Africanist of the century.”  He was an innovative thinker, someone who put Africa on the world map of popular African ideals.

    Otunu further stated that he used biography and juxtaposition of ideals to explain Africa in a way no one else could have done it.  He did so especially with his 1986 Africa: A Triple Heritage documentary which was jointly produced by the BBC and the Public Broadcasting Service in Washington in association with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).  That film exposed the innate social and political and economic potential of Africa and then zeroed down on how some of these are being daily siphoned by the cabal to deprive the youths of their own golden chances.

    Professor Tunde Babawale of the University of Lagos who had close contacts with Mazrui described his death as a big loss to scholarship in Africa.  “He was indeed one of the foremost African intellectuals of this century.  His commitment to Africa’s autochthonous development is unequalled.  He was a powerful advocate of African cultures as a tool for independent development.  He also dealt extensively with the positive role Islam and Islamisation has played in African politics.  Mazrui has become one of the loudest voices in the need to democratise the continent as well as the need to have a more politically oriented leadership for the continent.”

    Mazrui, whose second wife, Pauline Uti, is a Nigerian, attracted the ire of most sensitive Nigerian leaders when he suggested that the Muslim North are meant to rule Nigeria in perpetuity.  A great advocate of Sharia and the rule of law, he held vehemently that Sharia should form part of a democratised society.  This was a stand for which he received hard and several knocks from many world and African leaders, yet Mazrui did not budge.

    While rejecting violence and terrorism in its entirety, he equally gave vent to some of the anti-imperialist and capitalist sentiments that play important roles in modern Islamic fundamentalism.  At the same time, he was a prominent critic of the current world order.  To him, the composition of the current capitalist tendency is deeply and unfortunately exploitative of Africa.  What the West does to Africa, he contended, was merely and could be conveniently described as global apartheid.  He was opposed to the Western interventions in whatever forms in the developing world.  His attention was particularly directed at the Iraq war which he insisted couldn’t have happened if the West did not meddle in  Iraqi internal affairs.

    He didn’t quite toe the line of the Israeli government in settling the political quagmire in the middle East.  To him, most of  Israeli policies were totally anti-Islam and therefore should be opposed and discountenanced for the sake of peace and progress in the region.  He, in fact, linked the treatment of the Palestinians by the Israeli government to the Apartheid situation in South Africa.  This was one sentiment that also earned him doses of attacks from most world leaders.

    Trial of Christopher Okigbo

    In one of his prose fictions dedicated to the late Nigerian poet, Christopher Okigbo, he lamented the sudden death of this great son of Africa.  A book that was supposed to be a fiction somewhat passed on other comments that invoked undue nostalgia and ill-feelings.  In his own comment on the death of Mazrui, Chijioke Uwasomba of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife, Osun State made specific reference to Mazrui’s demeaning of Okigbo, even though as a great man, Mazrui, himself lived a total life dedicated to scholarship.

    Uwasomba said: “In spite of his demeaning work, The Trial of Christopher Okigbo, he was a damn good African historian, politically-engaged intellectual, a resounding voice for the African and a source of inspiration to the upcoming African and Africanist scholars.  No doubt, he was in the class of Samir Amin, Walter Rodney, Aye Kwei Armah and other well-meaning scholars who through their intellectual exertions wrote back to imperialism and empire builders.”

    Mombasa

    Even though Mazrui left East Africa, his birth place in 1973 and never went back to live there, he has requested that his body be taken home to Mombasa, Kenya, for burial.  Known to have died of natural causes in his Vestal home, in New York city, Mazrui is said to have come from one of the most renowned and famous families in Fort Jesus, Mombasa, the city of his birth.  The family cemetery was where his parents and other late family members have been interred over the years.

    As at the moment, the Kenyan government is not opposed to this request.  Even Mazrui’s children are ever eager to take his body home for burial to end an era riddled with the nostalgic fears of exile.  To them, it is now time for their sage, a man who brought the family to global limelight to have his final rest where no more exiles or despotic and erratic leaders will haunt and hunt him.

     

  • ‘We will perform for Nigerian soldiers’

    ‘We will perform for Nigerian soldiers’

    Owing to the psychological situation Nigerian soldiers fighting insurgency are facing today in the North-eastern part of Nigeria, the newly appointed Artistic Director of National Troupe of Nigeria (NTN), Mr. Akinsola Adejuwon, has promised to inculcate the habit of performing for the Nigerian soldiers as part of his new ideals to  reposition the Troupe.  He spoke to  reporters on this and more in Lagos last week.  Edozie Udeze reports.

    Part of the changes in the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, which took place recently, was the appointment of Akinsola Adejuwon as the new Artistic Director of the National Troupe of Nigeria.  The appointment which came on the heels of other changes made in three other sister parastatals is aimed essentially at infusing new life into the sector.  With his apointment, Adejuwon, a seasoned visual artist whose international exposure as a consummate and well-tested artist, prepared him well for the post has become the fifth person to lead the National Troupe since its inception in 1991.  Others before him were Hubert Ogunde, Bayo Oduneye, Ahmed Yerima and Martin Adaji.

    Addressing the press last week to unveil his programmes to move the Troupe to the next level and to continue to improve on the standards of the performances of the artistes, he said: “I will work hard to improve on the large repertoire of ideas and programmes left behind by my predecessor.  Beyond that, I could also discover that the staff are well-tested and properly equipped professionals to discharge this job.  This shows that we can together make this Troupe get to the highest level ever.”

    Adejuwon who was until his appointment a staff of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, where he held sway as the curator of the Institute of Cultural Studies, studied Industrial Designs at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Kaduna State.  He also holds a Master degree in African Arts Studies of the OAU, and has persistently organised and run conferences, seminars and workshops, to shore up the image of both the visual and performance arts.  A lover of festivals and events, Adejuwon has been involved in the running of several festivals aimed at signposting community events for posterity, youth development and for total entertainment.  These and more are parts of the cognate experiences he hopes to bring in to refine the Troupe and make it ever alive and relevant in discharging its statutory role as the apex dance/performance outfit for the nation.

    He said: “With the quality of staff I have on ground already, it is easy, much easier for me to work to achieve results.  But we have to reposition the Troupe; we have to make the artistes be in the best mood, in the best frame of mind to work.  I must inform you that my personal contacts and working experiences with such great artists as Wole Soyinka and Demas Nwoko have over the years reshaped my foray into the art.”

    With his participation in the previous Black Heritage festivals organised by the Lagos State government where Soyinka made considerable inputs, Adejuwon is now set to lead a highbrow national troupe to train and improve the talents of more artistes to make dance more encompassing.  “Yes, the National Troupe I inherited will be taken a bit higher to attain better heights in my tenure.  I know the importance attached to this because we are considered as the cultural ambassadors of the country.”

    To him, the performing experiences of the Troupe have indeed become an enviable one.  “Both performance and visual arts, even in the renaissance Europe played such formidable role, with the kind of environment that existed at that time.  Arts today contribute substantially to the national economy and we really have to make it work better.  Arts has such reformative powers, powers that we can tap on to create more jobs for the youths, discover new artistes and make them more useful.  In my own role, I will continue to work to propel such powers which the president of the country has invested in the National Troupe as the cultural ambassadors of Nigeria.”

    He promised to ensure that all parts of the nation feel the impact of the performing nuances of the Troupe.  “Most of our local performances and programmes may have to be taken to other geopolitical zones of the country.  In fact, we also intend to perform for Nigerians troops involved in the fight against insurgency in the North.  As a national troupe, we are meant to reach out to the whole nation, states where good artiste are, we will discover them and we can co-opt them in, we will willingly do that.  But in all these, we require finances.  I am therefore prepared to involve the private sector to achieve all these goals.  We know Nigeria is blessed.  Even now our art is among the best in the world.  By this, I mean all aspects of the art.  Therefore, we need to look at the available infrastructure which we have to improve upon to achieve our desires.”

    Even when the National Troupe has already cultivated its own customers and collaborators over the years, Adejuwon still hopes to go the extra mile to cultivate more partners in the society.  “The whole idea,” he said, “is to ensure that our troupe is organised in such a way as to achieve all that the federal government represents.  We need to add value; indeed, we have to help government achieve the kind of image needed to make Nigeria better.  Right now, we have a great number of artistes we have to take care of.  I have been talking to them to know their state of mind, their needs and based on that we will know what to do to make them work better.”

    Since for now, the Artistic Director does not have to depend entirely on the funds from the federal government, he therefore has a lot of task ahead of him to source for bigtime financiers for most of his programmes.  Government fortunes are dwindling by the day because of the conflicts that we have.  So, we will be very proactive in terms of raising funds to run the place.  This, I hope to do with my able team and cooperation of other well-meaning Nigerians.  We will be aggressive in our drive to generate funds and then produce quality shows for our people.”

  • A unique king among his people

    A unique king among his people

    Title: Oduduwa, King of the Edos
    Author:Jude Idada
    Pages: 233
    Genre: Drama
    Reviewer:Adeniyi Taiwo Kunnu

    The heated controversies surrounding the ancestry of Oduduwa and the Bini-Yoruba divergent postures may have derived a realistic panacea in the fictive amassing of Jude Idada. It’s been said afterall, that what every human owes the universe is either to protect it in its pristine state or add unadulterated colourations to it. These alternatives could well describe the attempt by this young Nigerian-Canadian, to re-face a perhaps, near-defaced issue, in a bid to salvage the very important history of these proud races, using the channel of creative writing to ostracise the demons of historical distortions.

    Employing the imperialist bequest- English Language in its dialogue, the author immersed himself in shark-infested waters of tradition and historical mythology  ensuring a balance is attempted with the use of Bini and Yoruba dialects to course through the rhythmic invocations of music and somber dirges, lighting up the embers of tradition in its unalloyed form. It must be noted that referring to Oduduwa as Ekaladerhan; Owomika as Eweka and Ogiso as Oba and a fews others should make for better appreciation as same.

    Oduduwa, King of the Edos can best be described as the microcosm of our current geopolitical entity; complete in intrigues, distrusts, treachery, foibles and scarce integrity; vices and virtue which may not elude any civilisation, even if such a sphere wields the toga of civility and sanctimoniousness, it no doubt has evolved overtime from the dregs of bloodshed and ugly inhuman cultivations.

    An unforgettable savageness is the 7th century Greek theatre- where Dionysus, god of wine and fertility basked in the wanton revelry of those thespians. One from the current civilisation was the American civil war in the 17th century, characterised by ideological loggerheads and consequent decimation of fellow American rebels, as that’s what they are, having crossed the Atlantic to the Americas from the United Kingdom. A more contemporary allusion is the Umbrella Revolution in the former British colony of Hong Kong, where people clamour for what is theirs and the authorities in Beijing are dung-faced about it.

    The work opens with introduction of the treacherous and tempestuous warrior Uwafiokun, leading fellow fighters against Evian and Ogianmen, a regent of Igodomigodo and his son, whose heads eventually leave their bodies to his sword. Shameful and deserved, Uwafiokun’s retributive imbecility comes to the fore as one journeys through the work and definitely attest to fate’s punitive measure against hypocrisy and greater iniquity. A plunge from an initial exalted position, where war fought was for his pernicious intents than the preservation of the revered culture and heritage of Ogisos, and the Edo people.

    Hear him in Act One, Scene One:

    “Let the hunger of the greedy consume the usurper of the crown of the Ogisos…Ogiamen!”

    If anyone ever predicted his own end, then Uwafiokun just did. Expressing to the ears of all within earshot and impressing on the justification for beheading some usurpers. It is no doubt an auto-prophecy for the same crime he accuses Evian and Ogiamen of. He shares similarity with Odewale in Ola Rotimi’s The gods are not to blame, who unknowing predicts his own end on the knowledge that Oba Adetusa has been killed by none other than himself.

    This opening foreshadows unveiled chains of plots by power mongers and power brokers who jostle with wisdom, practical steps and at times deviousness in order to stem the tide of what causes man to be left in delirium. This disorientation can be adduced to the overriding influence of the gods; seeming insatiable cum conflicting tendencies of man and certain inexplicable phenomena. These descriptions definitely chart its course through different levels of conflicts in the work

    Evian the beheaded regent says in Act One, Scene two:

    “Culture is silent; it needs a man of wisdom, foresight and courage to speak on its behalf….”

    Crave for wisdom, foresight and courage results in the need for an Ogiso to occupy the throne of his ancestors. How then can Igodomido have her “Ruler from the sky”? Banished, hasn’t he been? Majority of Ovbiedo believes he is long dead in the forest of Igo, following his fate occasioned by the  treacherous Queen Esagho and subsequent verdict by Ogiso Owodo- Ekaladerhan’s father. Conversely, a handful knows Oduduwa lives. The accomplices include, Ezomo- a highly respected member of the Edion’isen and Odionmwan- chief of the palace executioners- whose acts of omission eventually guarantees a royal lineage.

    In Ola Rotimi’s The gods are not blame, King Adetusa’s and Queen Ojuola’s joy become shortlived, when it gets predicted that their source of fulfillment-Odewale- will become their eventual failings. It is in similar vein that Oduduwa is sentenced to die, so as to make way for other sons to be sired from the loins of Ogiso Owodo. Situating both works side by side, one finds the gods’ intervention in man’s affairs, with an instruction to tow a line so as to address an immediate concern or avert an impending doom. While Ekaladerhan was not killed by Odionmwan, Odewale was himself spared by Gbonka, leading up to the fates of these core personas, who at best are reflections of an artist impression.

    A contrast, however, surfaces. It is gullibility, cowardice cum stupid verdict from Ogiso Owodo, who prefers to cast out the strength of his youth-Ekaladerhan- as that appeared to placate his inability to bear more sons. It however, happens to be a bull’s eyes prophecy in Ola Rotimi’s work, where the prophecy comes to pass, but also enabled by man’s inability to adhere to instructions-Gbonka.

    An important precedent in the work is that, only blue bloods who are eldest males become Ogisos, so the revelation about Oduduwa bearing rule over Yorubas in Ile Ife is received with mixed emotions. Ezomo reveals the veracity of Ekaladerhan’s existence, but since patience is alien to Uwafiokun and treachery pitches a concrete tent at his domain, such stories are best left as myths from Europe’s dark ages.

    Hear him again in Act One, Scene Two:

    “I stand here ready to go to war with anyone who tries to use guile and flowery words to usurp the throne.”

    Uwafiokun appears to breathe on war. His every existence is in making another life go down lifeless, should any situation not find an immediate comprehension in his cerebrum. He even refuses to make peace with his fellow chiefs because to him, war alone resolves knotty issues. Power indeed has its stuporous tendencies.

    Priority for the Edos is seeing Ekaladerhan return to his homeland, so that an unoccupied throne will be ascended. Oliha, a member of the Edion’isen carries this burden of destiny. His childhood fondness and friendship with Oduduwa is leveraged to accomplish this daunting task of salvaging the throne.

    This quest however has its thorny sides, because a trap set is often forgotten, but he who gets entrapped and wrenches out with bruises never forgets. This dialogue between Oliha and Oduduwa in Act Two , Scene Three spells it aptly.

  • ‘A man’s destiny is not dependent on godfather’

    ‘A man’s destiny is not dependent on godfather’

    For Pastor Kingsley Innocent of Bible Believing Mission, Aba, the Abia State capital, serving God is the best thing that has ever happened to him. Pastor Innocent, also known as God of Talk-na-do, has published six books. In this interview with Evelyn Osagie, he speaks on his writing, his calling and more.

    Considering your schedule as a clergyman, when do you find the time to write?

    I do most of my writings at night. As from 3 am, I am with my writing materials and begin to write as inspiration comes. When I am in the office, I have my writing materials with me and when inspiration comes, I write them down. Even when I am in a car, I have my writing materials and I do write them down when the inspiration comes. Later, I compile all that I have written and put them together into a book. I don’t have any specific day to write, but I write every other night and it has helped me over the years. Being fulfilled as a pastor and author, gives me a lot of joy. In short, the best thing that has happened to me is my calling. Some people have asked me how I cope with my work and writing, I tell them I am not struggling to do it but it flows naturally.

    What books do you enjoy reading?

    I read a lot of leadership books because I am a leader and have come to understand that the day you stop reading is the day you stop teaching. Reading is part of learning, so when you stop learning then you stop teaching. I find it difficult not to read a book a day. I read all manner of leadership and career-building books and those that tell me how I can do and expand various businesses. Interestingly, I also read my own books and each time I do, I find I learn new things from them. It is also the propelling joy that makes me to want to go ahead and do more. Presently, I am reading Mike Murdoch’s book, The Leadership Tool and it has really helped me.

    Critics say one of the challenges of the book industry is that Nigerians do not read. Do you agree?

    To a great extent, I do agree. Nigerians need to cultivate the reading culture. In some of my interactions with people living in the Eastern part of the country, I have discovered that people don’t read because of the level of poverty. People don’t read because they are yet to comprehend its usefulness because they feel that it has no need. What will a petty trader, who trades in vegetables or pepper read books for? This nation needs help because I am looking forward to a situation where God will touch our leaders and make them know that the masses are suffering. Poverty has made it that if some people fail to go to market each day, then there will be no food for them to eat.  There are families that do not have reserve of food at home and that is why when there is any form of strike in the country, I am not happy. Whenever, there is any closure of market, it makes me sad because people would not have food to eat for that day. Whenever our leaders, destroy markets or the goods of traders who make their living from there, they make life difficult for such people. Any leader who destroys any market without giving an alternative place to sell their goods is not a good leader, but a wicked individual.

    For example, when our leaders introduced adult education, they didn’t make it enticing for the elderly people to go to school. If they leave their petty trading, after studying, they’ll come back home and have nothing to eat alongside with their children. Good leaders are those who will bring such great ideas and make them work, by covering all sides, including incentives. People are moved when you show them how much you care for them -when they know how much our leaders care, then they can give themselves into such policies. I believe in leadership by example; and urge people working with me to also lead by example. For me, since every one of my staff would be bosses someday, I try my best to teach them how to treat others; and I know that if they follow my footsteps, leadership will be easy and followership will be easy. Everyone should understand that it is a teamwork and that no one can achieve the work alone.

    So, in your opinion, how can the reading culture be revived?

    What we need to do is to annihilate poverty. It is in the hands of government, they should bring policies that will favour the poor. The reason it has favoured the Western world is because they have policies that protect the poor and they have the chances of coming up and improving themselves. But in Nigeria, the rich are becoming richer while the poor are becoming poorer because our policies favour only the rich. Until the poor have a say in the country, poverty cannot leave them and they have the opportunity to live in this nation that it belongs to all of us, then the reading level will improve.

    What inspires you to write?

    My inspiration comes from the spirit of the Lord to whom I owe all gratitude. I am also inspired by my day-to-day experiences in life. I am inspired by what I see others go through and I share with people through my writings. My books are meant to help people to progress spiritually, mentally, physically, financially, materially and family-wise. And they are easy to understand: you read some books at times and become more confused. I prefer to use simple correct English because I have come to understand the best way to communicate is to pass information that can be assimilated. In my books, I express my life experiences because I know who I am and I know where I am coming from and I’m not in competition with anybody. And I also touch on life’s principles. For instance, in my latest book, I Can Fulfill My Destiny, published last month, I observed that every man has a unique destiny to fulfill; fulfillment is not dependent on any man, background, godfather, academic acquisition or financial capacity, but on God and oneself.  Before, I Can Fulfill My Destiny, there was my The Morning Dew, in which I touched on the diverse stages of life, while urging people not to lose hope for the time of refreshing will come soon.  In my first book, My work with the Holy Ghost, I shared my experiences with the spirit of God in the course of my work. In Practical Encounter with God, which is my second, the reader can draw lessons from a believer’s personal encounter with God that becomes sustaining factor in time of trials. There is God, My Help, What If? and Where are you coming from? I am still working on more which will be published very soon.

    How I relax?

    My time of relaxation is usually on Saturdays. I stay at home and spend time with my family. I also do some exercises like playing table-tennis to keep fit.

  • US varsity honours Nigerian scholar

    The University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire in the United States (US) will on Saturday, October 18, host the celebration of Archival Collection in honour of Prof Tess Onwueme, its eminent professor of Global Letters.

    In a statement by the Office of the Chancellor of the university, the event is in recognition of “her exceptional achievements and contributions to World Literature/Drama, the University of   Wisconsin system, the Africana, and the world at large.

    “To mark this historic event, international scholars, writers and speakers are expected to dialogue and participate in the celebration of the remarkable Archival

    Collection of the literary icon now being acquired by the University of Wisconsin, in addition to showcasing a  production from Onwueme’s award-winning plays during the  event.

    “As you are aware, Dr. Onwueme is the recipient of several prestigious national and international awards, including the Fonlon-Nichols Award, the Phyllis Wheatley/Nwapa Award for outstanding black writers, the Martin Luther King, Jr./Caeser Chavez Distinguished Writers Award, the African  Distinguished Writers Award, and the Association of Nigerian Authors Award (ANA). The Archival Collection, including the author’s original manuscripts, creative life-work and other materials related to her scholarly and professional career are being donated to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Foundation. In turn, these materials will then be given to the Special Collections & Archives Department of the University of Wisconsin Library and become a permanent resource for scholars, students, and teaching faculty across the world.”

  • Are we all journalists now?

    In his new book, ‘We Are All Journalists Now – Africa in the Age of Social Media’, noted journalist, author, award winning investigative reporter, media researcher and now media adviser to former Governor of Lagos State and now foremost national opposition leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Mr Sunday Dare, examines the emergence, evolution and implications of the phenomenon of citizen journalism in Nigeria. Based on an academic research at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Oxford University, this stimulating work published by Visual Image, Lagos, in March his year and which covers 108 pages comprising five chapters, critically interrogates the impact of the phenomenal expansion in the mediums and use of social media platforms on the state, society and in particular the media profession in Nigeria. This offering combines the rigour of scholarly research with the accessibility of lucid prose.

    What has been the implication for the practice of journalism in Nigeria of the emergence of such on-line mediums as Facebook, Twitter, text messages, You Tube that provide opportunities for millions of Nigerians to become ‘Citizen Journalists’ reporting and disseminating news, images and ideas about themselves as well as issues and events around them to a mass audience? Has this development broken what can be describes as the professional authoritarianism/dictatorship of the traditional, mainstream media, which once enjoyed the monopoly of determining what constitutes news and in what form it is disseminated? What are the implications of Citizen Journalism for the democratic process and how has it empowered the weak or impacted governance? These are some of the questions that Dare seeks answers to through an exhaustive study of the operations of the path-breaking and unorthodox on-line medium, Sahara Reporters.

    After examining the research questions and objectives of the study in the first chapter, the author goes in the second to undertake a racy but informative overview of the origin and trajectory of the Nigerian media from the colonial period through the various post-independence civilian and military regimes to the present dispensation. Examining the implications within the Nigerian context of such electronic modes as mobile phones, Face Book, blogs, Wikipedia, Twitter and You Tube, he compares the present scenario to the previous one in which newspapers, magazines, periodicals, radio and television were the sole and dominant sources of news and opinions. In the preceding era, letters to the editor, opinion pieces published at the pleasure of the editor as right of reply as well as revenue-driven advert placements and commercials were the major avenues for audience participation in the media process.

    Dare defines Citizen Journalism as “the kind of journalism in which the users or audience create content online rather than wait to be fed by the traditional media outlets”. It is a process whereby an individual plays “an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analysing and disseminating news and information”. As a result of this development, he argues, millions of citizen journalists no longer constitute a passive and receptive audience. Rather, they are defining and writing ‘the first drafts of history by themselves’. Nigerians are thus part of a global process through which millions of ordinary citizens are being empowered by revolutionary technological innovations to set and communicate the news agenda.

    In chapter three, Dare X-rays the evolution of social media in Nigeria from the age of emails and emailing lists to discussion fora through social media networks. He notes that from an internet penetration level of just 0.1 per cent in the late 1990s, internet usage in Nigeria had exploded to 16.1 per cent of the population. Quoting figures from the International Telecommunication Union, the author put internet figures in Nigeria at 43, 982, 200 or 28.9% as at 2010. Similarly mobile technology has become the seventh mass information medium after film, television, radio, print and sound recording. From this general overview of the growth of citizen journalism in Nigeria, Dare moves on in the next chapter to the main focus of the book, which is a detailed case study of the rise and consolidation of Sahara Reporters as posing the pioneering challenge to the hegemonic dominance of the mainstream, traditional media.

    The book offers a detailed study of the conceptualisation, editorial structure, modus operandi, agenda, funding as well as business model of Sahara Reporters and its journey since inception. The medium was established in 2006 and modelled fully as a citizen journalism site. It describes as a unique organisation made up of ordinary citizens rather than professional journalists but who are committed “to seek truth and publish it without fear or favour”. One of its main aims is to aggressively seek to expose corruption through ordinary citizens who act as its reporters and foot soldiers. Seventy per cent of Sahara Reporter’s content is news, 10 per cent opinion and 20% User Generated Content.

    Dare interrogates to what extent Sahara Reporters has set the agenda for political and social discourse in Nigeria and how effectively it has achieved its objective of exposing corruption and subjecting power wielders to closer scrutiny. One of its dramatic achievements was Sahara Reporter’s role in putting the Governor James Ibori corruption saga on the front burner and contributing significantly to his extradition, trial and eventual conviction in the United Kingdom. Between 2006 and 2010, Sahara Reporters produced 104 news items and investigative reports on the Ibori corruption scandal.

    The last chapter in which Dare interrogates the relationship between citizen journalism and the traditional media is easily the most insightful and thought provoking. Some of the advantages of citizen journalism he points out include immediacy of reporting, speed, minimal start- up capital and its greater vigour and audacity in investigative reporting. Indeed, Sahara Reporters claims it emerged to fill an investigative void created by the conservatism of the traditional media, which OmoyeleSowore claims had itself become a power bloc. Due to citizen journalism, the world including Nigeria can now benefit from the flow of news without boundaries or frontiers.

    However, the flipside Dare notes is that citizen journalism is faced with serious professional gate keeping issues including deciding news fit or unfit to publish, little concern for ethical constraints and scant regard for objectivity, fairness and accuracy in news gathering and information dissemination. In the final analysis he argues, the relationship between citizen journalism and the traditional media can be complementary rather than antagonistic. While citizen journalism can challenge the mainstream media to be more transparent, innovative and investigative, the former can learn from the traditional media’s better gatekeeping, factual checking and more matured news presentation. He submits that collaboration between the mainstream media and citizen journalism can lead to better journalism in the interest of the public good.