The Nation Newspaper

Category: Arts & Life

  • Book ambassador Koko gets national honour

    Book ambassador Koko gets national honour

    founder, Rainbow Foundation and Programme Director of the UNESCO Port Harcourt World Book Capital 2014 project, Mrs Odo Claire ‘Koko’ Kalango, has been awarded the national honour of Member of the Order of the Niger (MON).

    As a young girl, Mrs Kalango won the MOBIL National Essay Competition. She wrote on “What can I do for my country?” and represented Nigeria at the Kirby Smith Youth Camp organised by the Lions Club in Arizona, United States for promising leaders. After writing a weekly lifestyle column in This Day for five years, she founded the Rainbow Book Club and started the “Get Nigeria Reading again!” campaign in 2005. In recognition of her work, she was invited to serve on the READ Campaign of the Federal Ministry of Education (in 2007) and sponsored by the British Council to represent Nigeria at the Edinburgh International Book Festival (2010). Koko has worked in Nigeria, the UK and the United States, with experience in education, communications and social Development. She is the Festival Director of the Garden City Literary Festival, now Port Harcourt Book Festival. A graduate of French from the University of Benin and International Relations from the University of Lancaster, she is a member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs as well as the Royal African Society.

  • How govt boosts tourism growth

    How govt boosts tourism growth

    DIRECTOR-GENERAL of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Dr (Mrs) Sally Mbanefo, has ascribed the steady and speedy growth of tourism in Nigeria to the conscious efforts of the President Goodluck Jonathan led-administration to create an enabling environment for the money-spinning industry to thrive in the country.

    Dr Mbanefo spoke at this year’s edition of the World Tourism Day (WTD), with the theme, “Tourism and Community Development,” organised by the Ministry of Tourism Culture and National Orientation and NTDC, held at the Art and Craft Village, Abuja, last Saturday.

    She said that President Jonathan’s successful privatisation of the power sector resulted in an enhanced power generation and supply, which according to her is very important in the tourism industry as it will reduce the overhead expenses of hospitality operators.

    “President Jonathan remarkably upgraded airports in the country, which had not be considered necessary by previous administration, while Mr President, who is well knowledgeable about the imports of transportation channels to the development of tourism industry rehabilitation old roads and constructed new roads, while overhauling the railways in the country,” Mbanefo said.

    Dr Mbanefo added that tourism can only prosper if it engages the local population by contributing to the social values such as participation, education and enhanced local governance, noting that “there can be no real tourism development, if such development damages in any way the value and the culture of host communities or if the socio-economic benefits generated by the tourism sector do not trickle down to the community level.

    “It is important for stakeholders in the tourism sector to have competitive power over and above what is obtained in other countries of Africa. Therefore, it is imperative that as joint stakeholders, we provide value added content, enhanced services to meet tourists’ needs. All these would result in a synergy of efforts as domestic tourism would enable stakeholders to have the opportunity of finding each other,” Mbanefo said.

    Dr Mbanefo who said that tourism needed to collaborate with other sectors to grow expectedly charged the private sector and non-governmental agencies (NGOs) to contribute more to the tourism industry, saying that “this will enable us to jointly achieve our desired objectives. This is because in promoting a tourism development strategy, I cannot rule out the contributions of the private sector. I believe their involvement in conjunction with state governments and government agencies would provide a comprehensive approach to the development and promotion of domestic tourism in the country.”

    The NTDC boss who disclosed the efforts of her administration in promoting and developing potentials in the country, with domestic tourism as a catalyst, lauded the Minister of Tourism, High Chief Edem Duke and the Permanent Secretary, Mrs Nkechi Ejele for their supportive roles.

    She disclosed that she had visited over 20 states, meeting with stakeholders in the industry, government and traditional rulers, among others, while joining ventures with the private sector. She added that NTDC under her administration collaborated with the expatriates through the diplomatic communities to sell Nigeria’s tourism potentials and woo foreign tourists to visit and appreciate the fascinating tourist destinations and crowd-pulling festivals in Nigeria.

    Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, Taleb Rifai, who  was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism Culture and National Orientation, Mrs Ejele, said this year’s WTD represents an opportunity to further advance tourism’s contribution to economic, social and environmental sustainability.

    “On the occasion of World Tourism Day 2014, I would like to invite all tourism stakeholders and host communities to come together and celebrate this day as a symbol of our common efforts in making tourism a true pillar of community development and community the basis of a more sustainable tourism sector,” the message read in part.

    The Permanent Secretary during exhibition of the Art and Craft Village lauded the activities of the NTDC boss, saying, “Clap for the NTDC DG, Dr Mbanefo. She is working.”

    Mrs Ejele noted that this was no rivalry between NTDC and the Ministry of Tourism, adding that Dr Mbanefo was given a short notice to arrange for the 2014 WTD and she delivered, in spite of paucity of fund.

  • Nigeria at 54: Writers’ lamentation

    Nigeria at 54: Writers’ lamentation

    As Nigerians commemorate the 54th independence anniversary today, writers say it is not yet Uhuru – more should be done to protect and empower the pen-pushers.  In this report, they described what independence meant to them and lamented the security challenges that have snatched some leading scholars in the comity of writers. Evelyn Osagie writes.

    right now, I don’t have a house…I don’t have a state… I don’t have a village… I don’t even have a country. Just imagine if there is a ceremony tomorrow in your family in the village, where are you going to hold it where you don’t have a house or a village, it has been taken over. You go to your state, nobody cares about you – in my state people are more concerned with politicking, campaigns and election than the problems of the internally displaced– your family is scattered all over the place. How would you look at yourself – would you look at yourself as a Nigerian? Would you say you have a nation, since your government is not forthcoming with all these crises you have passed through for over five years? You want to tell me the government is not competent enough to bring down these insurgencies with the kind of military that we have over praised and over-estimated and yet we cannot solve the problem.  Something is wrong somewhere in our psychology as a nation.

    I am a book freak; I have all my books, 3000 of them, stored in my library in my country home. As the insurgents took over my house, my library was vandalised, burnt and looted by them and others in the community.

    “My family of two wives, children and dependants, totalling 18, were ferried out of town in the midnight on bike and it took five hours to reach the next safe area where I could pick them away. In fact, a wedding ceremony took place in the chairman’s house – they did the wedding the way we use to do our wedding. They were cool and comfortable as if they have come to stay forever. They hate anything academics to the extent that they are looking for scholars, civil servant, looking for people working for government and so on, we have to run for our dear life.

    “Today, Nigeria is faced with its worst national tragedy since independence, we have a dehumanising government, a strangulating corruption, a decadent democracy and an army of ethnic lunatics and religion fanatics let loose on the entire nation with brutal and gruesome consequences. That no serious work of creative imagination has yet come out in response to these tragedies is an indictment of the relevance and sense of history of the contemporary Nigerian writer.

    These are the lamentations of Dr Othman Abubakar, a Maiduguri based scholar and writer. But the insurgency in the North-east is not new or spontaneous, but a mere re-enactment of an existing political theatrical script “poorly directed and dramatised by one Col. Gideon Okar who, in his schism and plutonian utopianism carved out a new Nigeria where he flushed out the north-east and consigned it to hell”, according to Othman.

    The problem is not entirely that of the writer but the harsh reality of people living in areas where there are insurgencies. If nothing is done to curb the crisis, Othman fears it could get to other parts of the country. In the wake of such precedence the writer is robbed of his patriotism and national consciousness, and “instead his vision is beclouded with abstract, spurious and alien ideologies”.

    Othman’s lamentation and fear are not new. Before now, many writers have paid the ultimate prize to crisis, insecurity, violence and “brutal murder”. Prof Festus Iyayi, General Mamman Vasta, Ken Saro Wiwa and Christopher Okigbo are notable Nigerian scholars that were murdered in controversial circumstances. But, for their death, they would have swelled the ranks of literary scholars that parade renowned writers such as Prof Wole Soyinka, Prof J.P. Clark, Gabriel Okara, Elechi Amadi and Obi Chukwuemeka Ike.

    Security and protection are not new issues on the nation’s front burner. But, the fact still remains that much needs to be done to tackle the issue head on. On the death of the late Iyayi, Soyinka observed that: “The world is watching…the world is waiting and watching if the corpse shown in that image will be interred without a coroner’s inquest. To allow this to happen is to make all of us accessories to a possible crime. It means we are now attuned to the culture of impunity and forfeited all claims to elementary citizen security. Tributes ring hollow if doubts are silenced… We remain haunted by the far too frequent, unexplained decimation in the ranks of the committed. A coroner’s inquest – that is where to begin.”

    As Nigeria marks another independence day, some writers spoke on what the day means to them.

     

    National President, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Remi Raji:

    “To me, “Independence” is the state of being beyond dependence, that point of freedom where everything about development and growth is within reach. With “independence” comes the emergence of political, literary as well as economic traditions that is if it is a real independence.

    “The challenges are legion. There is the challenge of identity and status: the writer is almost always seen as a niggling critic of the system; whereas this might be true to some extent, it becomes an impediment to any complementary relations or engagement between “authors” and “the authorities”. On account of this and perhaps for some other imprecise reasons, the writer lacks institutional support the kind of which sustains and encourages creativity and industry. Over 50 years of Independence, we still struggle to secure governmental and non-governmental support for Nigerian writer and writing; till date, there is no single, deliberate and concerted effort at developing structures like residencies and fellowships for Nigerian writers and artists. Also, there is the virtual challenge of getting the appropriate support base for publishing and marketing. This is beside the related challenge that the writer faces in matters of copyright as piracy. Unfortunately, it has become a ritual for these challenges and impediments to be reflected upon without any hope of change or transformation.

    “No doubt, there is great insecurity in the land; for the writer, it is a symbolic double scare, first, to be literate and secondly, to be creative. In these times when education is a subject of fundamentalist aggression, the writer (this includes the journalist) is endangered. How do you protect a guild, a body of writers or even individual writers who you do not consider significant in any sense of the term to national development? Clearly, the protection of the Nigerian writer is very secondary, if not an afterthought, in the system.”

     

    Former Minister of State for

    Education, Dr Jerry Agada

    “To me, independence means freedom from the shackles of colonial influences. It means being free to be able to make decisions for oneself in terms of political, economic or even cultural considerations.

    As a writer independence to me means freedom to exercise my creative talents without undue influence or inhibition from any foreign quarters or outside influence. It means the freedom to write freely and comment freely on issues that will make for betterment of the society and world at large.

    “As Nigeria celebrates her 54th independence, the writer faces the challenge of asserting his or her rightful position in the affairs of the nation. The writer still struggles to be heard and appreciated. The writer faces the challenges of getting published due to harsh economic conditions. And of course the writer faces the challange of operating in an environment where there is poor reading culture and therefore lacks patronage for his writings.

    “The writer like any other Nigerian citizen faces terrible security challenges. There are bomb blasts here and there. Suicide bombers operate with reckless abandon. Terrorists and insurgents have taken over. In all these, the writer is endangered because he would be inquisitive to write about the happenings and faces the danger of being caught up in the process. Yet I encourage writers not to be discouraged for I am confident that through their writings they can suggest ways of surmounting the security challenges and bring about protection not just for the writer but for entire citizens.”

     

    Director of Book Development Agency, Niger State, B.M Dzukogi

    “If I want to pretend I would probably say it means something to me, today. As much as I want to feel its significance, I must admit that I do forget about it these days. In fact, I had to ask today what public holiday would be observed tomorrow. And a staff of mine said ‘1st October”. This is how tragic, Nigeria has become in our lives. When we were in the primary school those days; in the seventies, we waited all year round to celebrate it. Today, it’s all zero expectation about the anniversary of the independence of Nigeria.

    “The writer is increasingly getting abandoned. The society cares only when he/she has been able to make a mark based on his personal efforts. While a few governments are trying to create platforms for the growth of writers, a greater majority are busy pumping money to the film industry and nothing for the writing community. Popular culture and sex things are now more valuable to the hard core literature. How can we as a nation, retain our identity by copying the west? Can we ever beat them in music and all those? In time we will just lose ourselves and become second class dwellers of the world. Even the Bring-Back-the-Book of GEJ is a trash – a good idea now resting in the dustbin of Aso Rock. All they needed to do that time was to ask ANA to power the project through state branches with heavy funding but our colleagues (writers) working with the president aborted the project. We are on our own in Nigeria as writers. But in Niger State, we are a pampered lot.

    “Heavily vulnerable! There is no security in Nigeria today. As an individual, you are on your own let alone the writer who will want to assume the voice of the people, the risk is more. So, the choice of an option is personal to each writer. But we have no choice than to dare the consequences of being a writer in the face of all kinds of security threats. To do otherwise is to kill the society out rightly because vagabonds will take over power. You die only once.”

     

  • Rotary settles bills of four patients

    Rotary settles bills of four patients

    RELIEF came the way of four nursing mothers who were indebted to a hospital in Festac Town, Lagos, when Rotary Club of Festac Town, paid their medical bills. The mothers were detained by the hospital for their inability to pay after deliveries at the Maternal and Child Centre, Festac Town.

    The  women were spotted by the Rotarians during a tour of the wards.  Many of them sat helplessly, having being detained for two weeks or more after delivery, a gesture which costed the club N120,000.

    The club also presented items for the centre. Items such as 50 bedsheets, 50 mosquito nets and 7 baby cribs were among other things. The women accepted the gestures with joy and wild jubilations in their wards. It came as a surprise to many of them. Others just wondered in bewilderment.

    The Maternal and Child centre  monthly delivers an average of 110 babies, said the Chief Matron, Mrs .Gbemisola Moradeyo, who led in the tour.

    President of the Rotary Club of Festac, Gabriel Onyema, said the club’s mission is to aleviate the problems and suffering of the people. He gave the cost of the donated items to be 985 thousand naira. This, he said was made possible by its individual members donation, together with well meaning people and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), which provided them with 2000 nets which will be distributed to women and children.

    He wondered why residents dont patronise the outfit, which he descibed as one with state of the art facilities. The president also noted that the Rotary is partnering with government to make life better for the people.

    “The scenery here is a happy one with lots of decorum. People are ignorant of the facilities I see , so I wonder why they wouldnt come for their deliveries here.”

    The high point of the visit was the presentation of a three minutes old baby, who the club members showered with gifts, money and prayers.

    Medical Director of the centre, Dr Ademuyiwa Eniayewun, said the gesture is a welcome development and called on others to emulate the club in its humanitarian works.

    The visit, the MD noted, is not only about the material and financial benefits, but goes a long way in giving the patients psychological and moral support.

    He boasted of the centre having the best facilities for pregnant and sick children, which will go a long way in reducing maternity and child mortality.

  • ‘Writing made me who I am’

    ‘Writing made me who I am’

    In this encounter with Edozie Udeze, Dr Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, former Managing Director of the defunct Daily Times Nigeria Plc, author, playwright, novelist, artist and politician, talks about how early exposure to books, has made him who he is today

    what sort of books do you like reading most?

    I like reading biographies and the histories of important institutions and momentous events. I read and thoroughly enjoyed American writer Gay Talese’s 1969 book on The New York Times newspaper titled The Kingdom and the Power. I have also enjoyed reading Taylor Branch’s 1983 award-winning book on the Civil Rights movement in the USA titled Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954 – 1963”.  I have also read and enjoyed Wole Soyinka’s Ake, The Open Sore of a Continent and You Must Set Forth At Dawn as well as Chinua Achebe’s The Trouble With Nigeria, There was a Country, The Education of a British Protected Child, etc.

    When you read a book, what are the salient things you look out for most?

    When I read a book, I pay close attention to the use of language. The use of language is very important to me. Because everyone can tell a story but not everyone can tell a story in a creatively entertaining, beautiful and captivating way. Humour is also important to me. Look at the way Achebe describes traditional rulers in Iboland in The Trouble with Nigeria. I like to be entertained by a book. I want a book to make me laugh. I don’t want a book to depress me. There is so much sadness and gloom around us these days and I go into books for relief. w

    Who are your favourite authors in the world and why?

    My favourite authors are Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Graham Greene, Ngugi wa Thiongo, Oriana Fallaci, etc. I read Fallaci’s book titled “A Man” and I was fascinated. It is a fictional biography of Greek rebel Alexandros Panagoulis. As for drama, my favorite playwrights are William Shakespeare, Bertolt Brecht, Femi Osofisan, Ola Rotimi, etc. I like plays that are deep, well plotted and funny. My favorite Nigerian poet is Niyi Osundare.

    When and when do you like to read and what time and why?

    I don’t have a fixed time. I read when I find the time for it. Very often I find the time to read when I travel out of Abuja or out of Nigeria.

    What is your preferred literary genre?

    I don’t have any preferred literary genre. But like I said I tend to go after biographies, histories, plays, novels and poems. I am attracted to a good book. Period! It does not matter what genre.

    What book or books have had the greatest impact on you and why?

    It is difficult for me to pick any particular book as having had a profound impact on me. Fallaci’s A Man, Taylor’s Parting the Waters, Galese’s The Kingdom and the Power, Soyinka and Achebe’s memoirs, Elechi Amadi’s The Concubine, etc have all had an impact on me, especially on my own writing. Osofisan’s play, Midnight Hotel and Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again, Efua Sutherland’s The Marriage of Anansewa, Ama Taidoo’s The Dilemma of a Ghost and  Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle have had a big impact on my playwriting. I write plays that are funny and philosophical.

    As a child what books tickled you most?

    As a child, I read children’s stories that were assigned to us in schools. I also read books written by local writers in Ebiraland where I come from. One of the most important writers of that era is a man called Agidi Ovurevu. I read his books which were based on Ebira fairy tales often about tortoise, rabbit, hare and other animals. The books were written to teach some moral lessons and to socialise us to become responsible members of our society. Of course I also read the so called Onitsha Market literature. Ogali Ogali’s Veronica My Daughter was my template for writing bombastic love letters meant to impress teenage girls. As a young adult, I also read the Mills and Boons series as well as books by Hardley Chase, Barbara Cartland, Agatha Christie, etc.

    At what point in your life did you begin to nurse the idea of becoming a writer?

    Teachers started commenting positively about what was then known as “Composition” assignments since primary school. But it was not until the University of Ibadan that I began to take myself seriously as a writer. I contributed scripts to television and radio dramas and they were used. But when I graduated and joined The Guardian in 1983, journalism took hold of my imagination. I began writing plays again in 1990 when I got to the United States to study for a master in Journalism and for a doctorate in Performance Studies at New York University. Some of those plays were later performed by the BBC radio and by off Broadway theatre groups in New York.

    Has writing reshaped your life?

    Yes, it has heightened my sensibility. It has brought honour and attention to me. It has also brought me some recognition.

    If you meet your favourite author face to face what would you ask him/her?

    The secret of their success.

    Of the plays you’ve read, which character struck you most?

    I cannot single out one.

    What book do you plan to read next?

    I am reading Tony Blair’s memoirs right now.

    How do you arrange your private library?

    I have bookshelves but are not enough for all my books. So there are some of my books in the shelves while others are in cartons.

    Are you a committed reader?

    I read voraciously. I read everyday newspapers, magazines, books, etc.

  • A centenary with children

    A centenary with children

    For sometine now, the National Troupe of Nigeria has evolved series of programmes targeted at the children to make them show interest in the theatre.  Recently, the 5th edition of Children’s Creative Station was staged at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos to further deegpeen the interest of children in both creativity and dramatisation.  The title of the show was Eriri, a symbolic rope that binds a society together.  The theme was chosen to teach the children the essence of patriotism and why Nigeria must continue to remain an indivisible entity.

    In choosing the theme to demonstrate an important rope or string that binds the people together, Jascphine Igberaese, who co-ordinated the event, said that it is a continuation of the centenary celebration of the nation.  “The National Troupe of Nigeria celebrates the centenary literally through the eyes of our children.  In fact, the playwright’s ideas came through the kind of productions presented by various schools during last year’s National Storytelling competition.  Therefore the play is a simple narrative of the historical details of our struggle for independence”.

    Incidentally, how the nation has gone on to manage its many problems has been the preocupation of many concerned Nigerians.  The sad irony is that those ideals which the independence struggle represented have no place in today’s Nigeria.  Today, it appears the kids understand some of the complexities of a modern Nigeria.  On stage, the children played out their roles to the delight of the audience.  Indeed, they were too good at the scenes on stage that the audience were almost on their toes throughout the duration of the show.

    The cinema hall of the Theatre was packed to the brime.  A lot of people who couldn’t find space had to stand at the different sides of the hall just to watch these kids do their thing on stage.  The story truly engulfed them; the import sieved into their systems that one could see them quite excited and enthralled.  The story of Nigeria as a tottering nation where even the kids do not know where to go or what to hope for is enough to keep the children busy in and out of stage.

    The children proved that the one month spent to train them for the stage was not a waste.  It was time for them to interact with one another and to also learn how to mingle freely irrespective of tribe or creed.  The whole essence of the show was actually to build deep and everlasting bond of friendship among these children so as to make the future brighter and more hopeful.

    Based on the folkloric nature of the story, all those elements manifested themselves on stage.  The beauty of Eriri is that it is a historico-social folk-drama.  It is indeed the socio-political and cultural escapades of Nigeria from 1914 through 1960 to date.  It is a lesson on the fragile and sensitive links of individualism to the collective and shared humanism.  But how does a nation reconcile all these to build a better society?  What is the role of the kids or even those who have been entrusted with the fortunes of the society to make it a progressive place?

    Apart from the stage dramatisation of the play, the children were tried in other aspects of the art.  Some of them experimented with painting, drumming and writing.  Fortunately the themes of these genres also tallied with the essence of the celebration.  The painting for instance, was to encourage those whose love for the visual art was so pronounced to do their best.  Most of the works dwelt on the socio-political issues that pertain to the nation.  In the area of drumming, many of them proved that they can be better drummers tomorrow.

    This was why Igberease reasoned that in the process of the training they experimented with other aspects.  “In the process, we crossed the border of theatre ethics by letting the children explore fully to their abilities through the platform of experimental theatre.”

    However, it remains to be seen how much interest both the government and some corporate organisations would show to make this laudable programme richer.  It is only when this is done that the dream of making the children more broadminded about Nigeria can be a dream come true.

  • Remembering a jewel

    Dr. Adinoyi Ojo Onukaba, former star reporter of The Guardian and informed commentator, playwright, consummate PR practitioner and drama/communication teacher, belongs to the small tribe of accomplished writers for whom the art and science of writing is in their blood. For that rare breed, any material, incident or event in their life or in the lives of others, whether good or bad, can become a good source for writing even a best seller thriller. They can turn some arcane subject; an innocuous incident that may not have been noticed by even the keenest of observers; a sad or traumatic personal event or an intense private grief into a must read piece. This is true of his self-published book Remembering Rachel.

    If this book had been written in the 16th or 17th century when the vogue then was to have long explanatory titles for books which sort of summarises the theme, it would probably have been titled Seven Years of Pure Marital Bliss: An Interesting Account by the husband himself of The Remarkably Short But Immensely Enjoyable Marriage Life of Dr. Adinoyi Ojo Onukaba to former Miss Rachel Ogirri whom He Married on October 12, 2002 and died of Cerebral Malaria in Abuja August 29, 2009 at the National Hospital, Abuja in the hands of sloppy, callous and unprofessional care givers.

    The 290-page coffee table book is an unputdownable account of his fairy tale love affair with his late delectable wife Rachel Ogirri. So gripping is the account of the love of his life that when I started reading it in Abuja on my way to Katsina State by road recently, I did not put it down until I finished it a few kilometres to Zaria in Kaduna State about three hours later.

    Renowned scientist Albert Einstein’s humorous definition of his famous theory of relativity is that ‘’if you sit on the lap of a pretty lady for one hour, it looks like a second and if you sit on a hot stove for one minute it looks like an hour’’. Onukaba’s seven years with Rachel looks like seven seconds and he shows the extreme pain of his loss in the book. Every sentence in the book about Rachel oozes with the author’s passionate love for his dearly deceased wife. You get the feeling that if it were possible to bring Rachel back, Onukaba would have done anything to achieve that goal.

    The book is written to achieve three main goals. To celebrate a life well lived with Rachel though so short it was. Two, to mourn her loss. Three, to lament the decay in our healthcare system as reflected in the poor and uncaring attitude of medical professionals at the nation’s supposed number one medical institution, the National Hospital, Abuja, whose extremely unprofessional conduct the author suspects may have contributed to the death of Rachel.

    The author says the book is his own kind of Taj Mahal to Rachel and that is no idle talk. Rachel dominates the book from the beginning to the end. She is the heroine and no one shares that glory with her. She is the centre of the universe of the Onukaba household and a major planet in the milky highway of the Robert Ogirri family of Ayua-Uzaire in Etsako West Local Government Council of Edo State. Henrietta, Ethel, Oshioke and the author himself feature prominently and may be described as some of the main characters in the book but the story is Rachel’s. Every incident remembered and remarked upon in the book is told in relation to Rachel. Rachel is the orbit, the fulcrum around/upon which everyone in the book revolves.

    The book is divided into 15 chapters each with a short, usually two-word heading and each ending with Rachel. Well planned and produced, every other page is splashed with a full page photograph of Rachel which tells a story of her beauty, her dress sense, an aspect of her life and character and a trajectory in her short but remarkable life. It is not in any way, as the author modestly claims, a modest tribute; it is indeed a monumental literary memorial to love.

    Adopting the breezy, readable, racy and thrilling style he and Dele Olojede had once used in writing Born to Run, the biography of the late Dele Giwa, Onukaba in spite of the enormous pain in his heart, writes a gripping account of his meeting, marrying and living happily after, albeit for only seven short years, with Rachel. It all started with a prophecy. The ill-fated marriage was foretold by a diviner in far-away Iraq. ‘’Towards the end of 1998’’, Onukaba narrates, ‘’Shilan, an Iraqi Kurdish young woman with whom I was in a relationship, had lured me into the home of a Chaldean Christian woman diviner in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil’’. She had brought Onukaba who was then working with the United Nations in Iraq to the Chaldean to know if he was the man she will eventually get married to.

    The diviner studied the coffee sediments in an empty cup she had poured and foretold that Shilan and Onukaba will not go far in their relationship. That Onukaba would return to Nigeria and go through a disastrous brief marriage before meeting the woman he is destined to marry. ‘’Sometimes in April 2002, I was seated in my office in Ikeja. Lagos, when a tall, beautiful lady in black suit and trouser walked in to interview me for a story she had been assigned to write. At the risk of sounding corny, I knew immediately that she was the figure the Chaldean seer had seen in the coffee sediments and had described to me so vividly’’, Onukaba writes. ‘’She is tall, very tall and beautiful. You will be sitting somewhere and she will walk up to you’’, Onukaba said the Chaldean had added.

    Two things stand out about this book. The first is that in spite of the fact that the account is written as a part of mourning a very painful loss, it is, in many places, full of hilarious scenes and recollections. The author gave early notice of this in the introduction (p.8-9) when he told us that the Mughal ruler Shahjahan mobilised 20,000 workers from all over India, Persia and Arabia to build the now world famous Taj Mahal in the Indian city of Agra as a memorial of love to his wife Mumtaz Mahal but that ‘’being not as materially endowed and exercising no royal powers as Shahjahan, I have decided to celebrate the woman who meant the whole world to me by simply writing this coffee table book about her life’’.

    I could not help but jiggle loudly in some other places especially in the chapters Meeting Rachel, Knowing Rachel and Courting Rachel which are by far the most enjoyable portions of the book.

    In the chapter Courting Rachel (page 56-67), the author recounted with some self-deprecating honesty and humour his first time to be formally introduced to Rachel’s family members. ‘’When she first spoke to her family about me, some members expressed concern over the wide age difference between us. Rachel was then 25 and I was 42. Some said age was not an issue. They wanted to know if Rachel was sure she was making the right choice. She said yes’’.

    Rachel was obviously filled with some anxiety as she realised that the wide age gap between her and her would-be husband could cost her the support of some of her people. Wise beyond her years, as her husband described her in another tribute, Rachel took to coaching her intended husband about what to do, say and wear in order to disguise or minimise the age gap. Onukaba himself tells us: ‘’Agbada was ruled out completely so as not to make me look too old. A simple Senegalese-style jumper was picked out for me. I was ordered to get a haircut and to trim my moustache. First impression, I was told, matters a whole lot. I had to make myself likeable’’. The suitor was as anxious as the bride-to-be likeable and accepted by the Robert Ogirri family for he tells us further: ‘’I complied’’, adding: ‘’Love can make a stubborn man suddenly become obedient and submissive.’’

    This particular account of Rachel’s perspicacity and similar others reinforce my own belief that no matter how naïve, inexperienced or innocent a woman might seem to be, she is far ahead of any man, who is even twice her age, in matters of love and relationship. If she wants a man, she knows exactly what to do and will display the kind of uncommon wisdom, go all out to do what is reasonable or expedient in the circumstances to enable her to get the object of her desire.

    The other second thing worthy of note about the book is the courage (love-filled it must be) of Onukaba, a full blooded African man, to publicly tell the story of his love for a woman. You know in Africa, we enjoy love stories but no one wants to tell the intimate part of his own. Love is seen as a women’s thing and no man should be caught confessing love for a woman lest he risks the contempt of fellow men! African men all try to hide their love believing that it is only white people who do such things!

  • ‘Soyinka Prize money hasn’t changed my life’

    ‘Soyinka Prize money hasn’t changed my life’

    Akin Bello, the winner of the $20,000 (over N3million) prestigious Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature, feels great about his feat. But, to him, more than winning a literary prize, writers should keep at being the conscience of the nation. This is why Bello is in the forefront of the campaign to revive the reading culture. In this chat with Evelyn Osagie, he speaks about his winning ace and what he hates about winning the award.

    Ibadan was described by a poet as a “running splash of gold – flung and scattered among seven hills like broken China in the sun”.

    Taking a cue from this metaphor in J.P Clark’s poem of the same title, Ibadan is indeed a “splashing ruddiness”of the Nigerian literary world.

    Like a mother with an hydra-headed umbilical cord that stretches far and wide, there is something about the city that has kept its influence alive throughout Nigeria’s literary history – which many believe is linked to its foremost citadel of learning, the University of Ibadan (UI) and its calm and serene environment.

    From far back as the 50s, the Oyo State capital has continued to host a colossal of literary brains and talents with exceptional works. It has not only stirred the pen of many writers but diverse literary movements and prizes within and outside the country.

    Inspired by the footprints of their forebears, like the late Cyprian Ekwensi, Wole Soyinka, the late Chinua Achebe, TM Aluko, J.P Clark, Chukwuemeka Ike, writers linked, one-way-or-another, to the city have continued to bag prestigious literary prizes in recent years.

    Bello’s who hails from Oyo State, is one of many. Beating 162 others submitted, his work, Egbon of Lagos won the prestigious Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature for the year.

    Before him, Babatunde Rotimi’s novel, Bombay’s Republic, bagged the 2012 Caine Prize while Tade Ipadeola emerged winner for the NLNG Literature Prize (that recently announced its final shortlist for the 2014 edition) with his collection, Sahara Testament.

     

    The feeling of winning

    Three months after emerging the ‘Africa’s King of Drama’ as adjudged by the prize’s judges drawn from Nigeria, Uganda, Mali and South Africa, Bello is still basking in the euphoria. But what is the feeling like winning the prize, he was asked. “It feels great! It’s simply been a God-sent influence in my life in more ways than I care to recount. Next to being published, recognition brings joy and buoys up one’s confidence as a writer. Many people easily identify with me and congratulate me. And I like that. For me, it’s heartening that people are noticing and talking about the book; and I’d only hope that this actually translate into the sales of the book,” he said.

    And although it is being debated whether literary prizes impact on the growth of creative writing or not, Bello believes it does motivate writer. He said: “It has tremendous impact! All creative writing is communication efforts – what Chinua Achebe called ‘propaganda’. But communication as everyone knows is a two-way street. Prizes are powerful indications that one’s writings are touching the hearts of others and nothing can be more gratifying for a writer than the recognition that comes with the prize. For me, it will help inspire me to work harder. I earnestly hope to leverage on this prize thing to give as wide an exposure as possible to my other works already in print gathering dust on the shelves of bookstores before this play came along.”

     

    Prize’s turn-off

    Despite the attention the feat brings, it comes with its share of turn-offs. Hear him: “I hate it when people place so much emphasis on the prize money. I am constantly being asked: “how has $20,000 changed my life?” The truth is that the money is tucked away in a fixed deposit so it has not changed my life in any way. And that’s the way I want it for some time at least. At my age, what new things do I want to go about acquiring frenziedly because I’ve won a prize? I’d want them “to forget about the money and look for my play to read if they’re really interested in literature/literary attainment”.

    “I absolutely detest the poverty-induced Nigerian mentality that portrays and delineate everything in the world as money, money, money. I also hate it when people who haven’t even seen the book let alone read it want you to start telling them about it.”

     

    Writers as society’s conscience

    Besides winning prizes, playwright urged writers to go beyond the quest for recognition to zealously keeping at their role as at a time. He observed that such is needed at a time the nation is besieged with diverse problems.

    Bello said: “More than that, I think writers should concentrate on writing good works rather than deliberately writing for the purpose of impressing prizes’ judges because the demands of prizes differ widely. The nation is once again at the edge of a precipice and the leaders are far too concerned with personal stakes to take any meaningful, decisive steps. That is what they refer to as politicisation. It is most unfortunate that government in any developing nation can even contemplate anything that directly, even remotely impinge on the spread of knowledge. But for Nigeria it is not surprising. It is said, loud and clear, that all that matters is money, more money and yet more money. So, knowledge is unnecessary as far as the rulers are concerned unless it is useful for acquiring money particularly through illegal, unproductive means. Writers are the conscience of the nation and we must continue to draw attention to the dangers even if only for posterity,” the playwright said.

     

    Before writing

    Born in Lagos in 1950, Bello (64) is a widely-travelled writer with a richly diversified work experience who lives and works in Ibadan. He was educated in Oyo, Ghana and the University of Ife (Unife), now Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) where he studied Political Science. Before settling down to writing, he was into consultancy and even dabbled in politics in the days of the late General Sanni Abacha in which he offered to serve in the capacity of Chairman of Amuwo-Odofin Local Government in Lagos.

     

    Voyage into writing

    No matter the field that Bello found himself, one thing had remained – his love for book and writing. Even though he started serious writing about 15 years ago and rose to become the chairman, the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Oyo State Branch, (2008 and 2012), his love goes way back his early years. His first published work is a fictionalised biography. His first novel is ISQAR…The Tale of Our Life, then Tango in the City and his third, Footprints of a goddess. He also has a collection of poems is titled, Parallax Masks. His winning work, Egbon of Lagos is about a journalist in Lagos – of Lagos ancestry – who tries to carve a niche for himself in the city. The play, which took about a year from writing to publishing, is inspired by the playwright’s everyday knowledge and experience of Lagos life and the dramatic shenanigans of Nigerian nationhood.

    “I’ve always yearned to write from as far back as I can remember. I simply love books. The smell of fresh books at the beginning of every school year was something I always wanted to experience. So it is natural that I read widely and voraciously, particularly literary works, because I simply enjoy reading and learning from good books. And this has greatly influenced my writing. Anything I cannot learn from, I don’t read. Honestly, I am influenced in some way by everything I read.  I have just completed reading The Wizard’s Legacy by an American named Craig Kairnes.”

     

    My winning ace

    Indeed, Bello out did himself with the Egbon of Lagos published in September, last year which typifies an African literary work in contemporary frame. On the winning ace that stood the work out from the over 100 others, the playwright said: “The metaphor in the play may have caught on with the judges. But I want anyone who wants to really find out what makes it worthy of attention to get a copy and read it. It is important to note that winning one prize does not make me an expert on what judges look for. It would be preposterous for me to claim otherwise.”

     

    When I’m not writing

    Apart from writing, Bello, who is an Executive Director of a non-governmental organisation in Ibadan, is at the forefront of  enlightenment. He spends his time reading and mentoring young ones to read, and, if possible, write.

    “I utilise most of my time now reading, writing, editing works of young writers; and propagating enlightenment through arts and literary activities and mentoring young people in discovering the joy of reading as a mark of a cultured mind and encouraging those who wish to write to do so. My words to the young are: be a book-friendly person and improve your mind…. read a book today!”

    He is working on another play and jotting down the skeleton of another novel. But, according to him, “I’m not talking about those ones yet”.

  • Ex-commissioner’s day of honour

    Ex-commissioner’s day of honour

    The Orangun of Ila in Osun State, Oba Adedeji Kayode Oyedotun, has honoured the former Ondo State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Chief Tola Wewe and his wife, Lucky, with chieftaincy titles of Oluaye Agbasaga and Yeye Oluaye Agbasaga of Ila-Orangun. Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME was there.

    It was double joy for culture and tourism aficionado Chief Adetola Wewe who was given a chieftancy title by Oba Adedeji Kayode Oyedotun, the Orangun of Ila in Osun State.

    Chief Wewe was made the Oluaye Agbasaga of Ila Orangun and his wife, Lucky, the Yeye Oluaye Agbasaga of Ila Orangun.

    The event  held at the palace of Oba was Oyedotun during this year’s Ila Orangun Asa Day Festival.

    Chief Wewe, who sponsored the Tewi Tilu competition segment of the festival, praised the monarch for restoring the festival,  he describing it as a “conscious effort at reviving the people’s culture”, while urging the organisers of the annual festival to intensify efforts at sourcing funds from corporate bodies and individuals in order to improve in future editions of the festival.

    He said: “I felt fulfilled and appreciated by the people of Ila-Orangun who value my contributions to culture. Above all, it is a kind of stimulus for me to do more,” Chief Wewe said.

    “I am happy that a traditional ruler in spite of his religion is committed to promotion of Yoruba culture. For that, he has done well.”

    Wewe, who is also the Obagbemigun of Ido-Ani, Ondo State and Bobagunwa of Odo Owoland, in Ondo Kingdom also called for effective publicity for the festival to attract more participants and sponsors as well.

    Oba Oyedotun said the festival is an opportunity to appreciate the people for their unflinching support and contributions towards the development of the community, adding that the inclusion of cultural performances as competitions in the festival are designed to catch them young while promoting and preserving the people’s culture. He said: “We are catching them young in the area of cultural activities. Our culture must not die especially the language, cuisine and dress. We should appreciate our dress culture.”

    Oba Oyedotun expressed hope over making the festival a global tourism event that will attract international agencies such as UNESCO for recognition and support. He identified religious fanatics as major challenge undermining the significance of culture among the people. “As a traditional ruler, I must promote the tradition of my people. My religion is within my mind and is personal. My culture should be promoted, protected and encouraged at all time. No religious Oba will succeed in a traditional community such as Ila Orangun. I am a traditionalist to the core and I allow all the religions free hand,” he said.

    On the innovations to add colours to the festival, the monarch said: “The festival is as old as the town. But when I came to the throne I decided to revamp it and added colours to it.”

    Chairman, Asa Cultural Planning Committee, Chief Ganiyu Afolabi said the festival provides an opportunity for the people to revive some aspects of their culture, especially language, which he said, is facing extinction. “Don’t let us throw our culture away because it is full of great values. If you throw your culture away, you will be patronising foreign cultures.”

    The festival featured competitions and cultural performances, such as Omo Orangun, Alaga Kansu, Boluwaduro, Adesina and Gbadebo, Sango Apakimo troupe and Obiton troupe from Ondo town. The competitions included Ayo Olopon, Ijala, Ekun Iyawo, Igede masquerade and Elewe masquerade.

    In Ijala competition, which was sponsored by Prof Bayo Adebowale Oyeyemi, the first prize winner, Olayinka, went home with a fridge, while Adebisi Oloye,  who came the second was given television and Omitunde Dauda (third prize winner) got a stabiliser.

    In Olopon competition, which was sponsored by Chief Dele Odule, AyoAfolagboye Seun won the first prize with generator. The second prize, a gas cooker, went to Adeleke Mufutau and Ademola Jolayemi got the third prize, standing fan.

    Tewi Tilu was won by Isola Risikat (Motor cycle), followed by Azzez Latifat second prize (grinding machine) and third place winner, Jimoh Abdulganiyu, got sewing machine.

  • CBAAC boss to explore untapped aspects of culture

    CBAAC boss to explore untapped aspects of culture

    THE Director-General of Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC), Sir Ferdinand Ikechukwu Anekwe, has promised to retain the centre’s intellectual content. The content would be complemented by programmes that focus on other untapped aspects of African culture.

    He said those who participated in FESTAC 77, 37 years ago were watching to see if CBAAC would fail in realising the dream of its founding fathers. According to Anekwe there are some aspects of the African culture that have not been given adequate attention in the past, which must be actualised.

    The centre’s mandate, he said, is not all about researches as there are many untapped aspects of African culture and civilisation that must be celebrated.

    Anekwe, who spoke last Friday to arts writers in Lagos, said what the centre inherited would never be lost.

    “The CBAAC Museum is one of such areas that we must showcase to the globe. There is also the traditional African architectural design, which must be preserved and promoted. The Europeans have beaten us in almost everything except culture, and we must collaborate with other stakeholders to preserve and promote it. Also, we want to update some of the documentaries on FESTAC for the younger ones to appreciate.

    “The books and journals would still continue to be published. I am not saying that the academic programmes would be relegated, but that theatrical performances would be additional. This is because there are African countries with peculiar festivals that must be promoted. So, when we do such, it falls within our mandate,” he said.

    The director-general disclosed that the centre is planning to institutionalise the African masquerade with the establishment of an international research and viewing centre on masquerades at Abuja. Such facility, he said, would provide platform to examine the place of masquerades in the socio-cultural life of Africans.

    On the paucity of funds in the culture sector, Anekwe said: “It is difficult to find culture friendly government. So far, the government is funding the sector to the best of its ability. But, we would ensure that private partners are approached to assist in this regard. Also, we shall be looking inward to source for funds from some private individuals who are culture friendly.”

    He commended past helmsmen of CBAAC for doing great job in sustaining the tempo as well as realising the dream of the founding fathers of the centre.

    However, in November, CBAAC will be holding a two-day international colloquium on culture in the transformation agenda of Africa and its Diaspora in the new global order at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The conference will feature scholars from Nigeria, other African countries and the Diaspora. The objectives of the forum would include to provide opportunity to interrogate and question the concepts of culture as it relates to the experiences of Nigerians, African peoples and institutions, offer a platform for scholars from various disciplines and different climes to interact, analyse and exchange ideas on the centrality of culture to Nigeria, Africa and the African Diaspora socio-economic transformation, among others.