The Nation Newspaper

Category: Arts & Life

  • Tragedy of a community

    Tragedy of a community

    Book review

    Title: Alekwu Night Dance

    Author: Friday John Abba

    Reviewer: Usho Smith Adawa

    Publishers: Wright Words Consulting

    Pagination: 114

    Alekwu Night Dance is an addition to the corpus of contemporary Nigerian literature by the long awaited literary “optimist”, Friday John Abba.

    The play started with, and sustained a tight engrossing wave of suspense, from the beginning till the end. The play is an archetypical “revenge tragedy”. The propelling force behind the plot string is a singular intention of obtaining revenge.

    From the unfolding events, we can see the vivid elements of Elizabethan and Jacobean drama laced in the motif of the characters and their thirst for bloody deeds, intrigue and high melodrama.

    Although the play is contextualised against the backdrop of the Idoma-speaking community of Ol’ano, a fictitious locale, however, reference to the real Idoma community such as Ugbokolo gives the play an element of cultural verisimilitude.

    One thing that is common among most African cultures is communalism; in this play we are introduced to how a single action of a member of community triggered doom in the entire community. The intrigue of Ochai, turns out to be a tragedy of the whole community, typical of classical drama. Of particular note in the play is the centrality of a deity—Alekwu, who akin to the Greek or Yoruba cosmology serves as an instrument of checking and balancing the affairs of the mortals.

    As the tragic effect of the play evolves, wit and bathos becomes the norm, while proverbs and clowning are deployed to provide comic relief. Even when the play seems to be populated with a lot of characters, only about seventeen characters where obviously visible in the main throe of the play; a conscious attempt to fuse the classical and African theatrical aesthetics.

    Another fascinating feature of the play is its attempt to locate the tragedy of the Idoma-speaking communication within the ambit of the universal tragic tradition. The play can well pass for a nationalistic play, in that, it uphold certain Idoma ethnic values thereby, projecting them as core values for all mankind.

    In spite of the inherent but negligible flaws in the typesetting of the play and a few stage directorial excesses, the play could be understood against its reconstructive tendency of modelling a society grounded on fairness and justice. Alekwu Night Dance holds the promise of redefining the concept of classical tragedy from a modernist perspective.

  • Children, protect yourself

    Children Emergency Relief Foundation (CERF) in collaboration with United Parcel Service (UPS) Foundation has embarked on a project tagged: Protect Yourself.

    According to Executive Director of CERF, Mrs Abosede Adeola Oyeleye, the project, which commences today, is aimed at reducing child abuse and HIV/AIDS in Nigerian children.

    Oyeleye said: “Nigeria has the largest number of children contracting the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in the world as shown in the latest report by the United Nations. We have therefore embarked on the Protect Yourself project to mitigate this scourge known as child abuse and also to reduce the number of children at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. It is a part of CERF’s contribution towards the reduction of Child Abuse and HIV/AIDS prevalence in Nigeria.”

    She added that the project will be implemented in public primary schools in Ikorodu Local Government Areas to sensitise school teachers and school children between the ages of three and 18 years.

    CERF also intends to extends its training to other schools and parents in the state.

  • Aesthetic appeals in contemporary Nigerian poetry (2)

    Book review

    Title: Dancing Mask

    Author: Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo

    Reviewer: John Uwa

    Publisher: Kraft Books

    Pagination: 140

     

    The scourge of kidnapping which has become a national monster in Nigeria has placed both security and civilians alike at red alert without much being said about those unholy actions that have sparked off these threatening reactions. Using apostrophe in the whole of the first stanza and both paradox and antithesis in the first and second lines of the second verse, the poem “Kidnapping” addresses the social menace of kidnap by suggesting that certain issues, and tendencies of the exploitative class to constantly keep the exploited class under their strangulating grip is inevitably giving way to the scourge of kidnapping. In other words, the poet is implying that the menace of kidnapping which poses a security challenge today is a natural reaction to the tragic poverty in the mist of plenty. According to her, “my life has tasted from the fire of want” in spite of standing “by the ocean of plenty” (41).

    In the second section “Fingers of feeling”, the poet’s exploration of the theme of love is quite intriguing. Using twenty five poems in this section, she shows that her conception of love goes beyond the fantasies of romantic orthodoxy to show her love for friends, associates, God, marriage and family members. In the poem “I love you” she echoes the sanctity and sacredness of the dignified expression which has now come to be corrupted by those who feign it, and those who want to hear it said as a proof of love. Thus, she then uses apostrophe in the last verse to give a stern warning to those who “yearn to hear these words” to “believe not all” that they hear.

    In “Inevitability”, she reminds us of the good and the bad of human existence for which we must give thanks to “Chukwu”, even as the Holy Bible has enjoined us – “giving thanks to God in all things”. By dwelling on the interplay of good and bad as quintessential for existence, Ezeigbo is implying that life is sweet, but we can never tell how sweet it is, or appreciate such sweetness without the bitter experience of life. We notice a reinforcement of Blake’s postulation -”no contraries no progression”. By implication, all humans progress in time by two contraries – good and bad, up and down, God and devil, life and death, success and failure, light and darkness etc. We must therefore have to experiment with these contraries to find a balance for us to give our existence some meaning. It is thus this experimentation with the essence of existence that formed the canvas for “Haiku connection” (the title of the third section of the collection) where Ezeigbo explored and experimented with the Japanese poetic form which we may want to refer to as minor poetry. She uses this unique form to express beauty, nature and poignant experience. In a typical Japanese style, most of the poems in this section are inspired by nature, beauty and craftsmanship.

    The last section gives tribute to the fallen, which have exhibited unflinching courage in the pursuit of justice before embarking on a permanent absence from earthly activities. One of such is Odumegwu Ojukwu, the late Biafran leader. However, it is the fourth section which she composed in pidgin that appears most poignant, hilarious and expressive. She avails herself of the poetic licence which is inherent in the linguistic structure of pidgin to bare her mind on burning national issues like insecurity which appears to be tearing the nation apart. In “I no fear boko haram” she paints a panoramic picture of the mortal fear and destruction that the bestial activities of the sect has brought on Nigerians. Not even the boast of those who claim to be unafraid of the insurgents could conceal their fears when it all seems to happen before their very eyes. To Ezeigbo, the want on act of killing the defenceless is akin to the brutal pogrom that precipitated the civil war. In this poem, Ezeigbo creates a strong communion between her poetic voice and her readers by showing awareness that the readers are conversant with the issues she raises, and are witnesses to the Boko Haram scourge. She brings the poem to life by her use of exclamation and interjectory remarks. These artistic skills according to Isidore Okpewho are “used to recall analogous instances in heroic narrative of what may be called a sense of moment, by which the narrator highlights the magnitude of a spectacle or the significance of an event” (7). In this particular poem, it can be noticed that Ezeigbo’s deployment of interjectory exclamation is for two reasons; one is to show the contemporary nature of the issue, and the other is to emphasise the point she is trying to make, which is the state of insecurity in the country. To give more life to her poetic renditions is her use of idiophones like- kaaka … Gbim gbim and Dum Dum Dum … Gbudum Gbudum (99). The imaginative effect of these idiophones is a paradigmatic canvas for the artistic portrayals of the destructive effect of lethal weapons of warfare and mass destruction.

    On the overall evaluation of Ezeigbo and this collection, we could see that the poet is a craftsman who is aware of the overall demands of poetry. She thus writes under the influence of her society and artistic medium to balance form and content. She presents a collection in which the themes are suggested by the society and weaved by her artistic skills. Good poetry cannot do without poetic diction, musicality, theme and subject matter, style and technique. Ezeigbo does not only show that she is conversant with, and aware of these poetic elements, she also suggests a broad frame work for the evaluation of poetry through her experiment with pidgin, cultural imports and the Japanese form. In this collection, Ezeigbo reactivates an African evaluative consciousness which seems to be relegated in the evaluation of poetry. Though these achievements alone cannot be the yardstick by which we judge aesthetic appeals, they have however fertilised the ground on which Ezeigbo can lay legitimate claim to fame in the criticism of contemporary Nigerian poetry.

     

  • ‘I will build a library for Awoonor’

    ‘I will build a library for Awoonor’

    He was the toast of the event. It is not every day that one bags a prize worth over N16 million and is celebrated by those whom he had once idolised. This was the feeling Tade Ipadeola, winner of the NLNG Prize for Literature for 2013, hadwhen the sponsor of the event presented him to the world during which he announced he would build a library to immortalise the late Ghanaian poet, Kofi Awoonor . Evelyn Osagie reports.

    ‘Like one named and blessed by the gods, Tade Ipadeola is living his name. ‘Ipadeola’ suggests he met with providence and it smiled on him when he won the jackpot at the last edition of the NLNG Prize for Literature.

    Months after smiling home with the $100, 000 (over N16 million) prize money, Ipadeola said he feels the same way he felt when he first got the news – “surreal”.

    “It is like experiencing dawn somewhere on the peak of the Atlas Mountains,” Ipadeola told guests who gathered to celebrate him in Lagos.

    Now that he has won, he is set to fulfill what had once been a far-fetched dream. As part of his social responsibility, he intends to build a library to immoralise one of his mentors in the world of poetry – the late Ghanaian poet Kofi Awoonor who died in the Kenyan Mall attack last year.

    Ipadeola was addressing to the guests when the sponsor of the prize, NLNG, held a presentation in his honour at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Lagos.

    In his words: “I would love to build a library for poetry in memory of Awoonor. Fifty per cent of the content of that library will totally be African and the other 50 will be world literature. It will be a library for young Africans who want to experience the world through poetry. I am glad to say the dream is gathering substance daily and becoming a reality, with the help of an architect, Tiwa Fadeyibi,” he said.

    Born in Fiditi, Oyo State, Ipadeola was greatly inspired by the rustic ambiance of his birthplace and a long list of literary minds, such as Awoonor, Wole Soyinka, Christopher Okigbo, his literature teacher and his father, Chief Ayantade Ipadeola.

    Ipadeola’s voyage into the limelight began over eight years ago when he first set out to write the winning collection. After listening to accounts from friends, he braved the heat and the dryness…to the Sahara Desert, he went. And from that venture came a poetic masterpiece entitled: The Sahara Testaments, which has been described as an “epic”.

    In the collection, Ipadeola uses the Sahara as a metaphor for the problems of Africa, and humanity at large. He has since become an environmental advocate, calling attention to desertification. “As we speak, the world’s deserts are on a militant march. The preventable tragedy of deforestation to human greed and ignorance is the prime fuel in the desert’s infantry,” he says.

    The presentation of the poet laureate drew dignitaries from all walks of life. They poured encomiums on the literary effort and intellectual rigour of Ipadeola in writing the collection.

    Among the guests were literary and intellectual heavyweights, such as Emeritus Prof John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo; Chief Elechi Amadi; Prof Emeritus Ayo Banjo; President of Nigeria Academy of Science, Prof Oyewale Tomori; Odia Ofeimun; Dr Jerry Agada; Jahman Anikulapo; Tolu Agoi; Toni Kan; Dagga Tolar; Sefi Attah; Akeem Lasisi and Adebisi Adeyemi, among others.

    While shaking Ipadeola’s hand, Clark said: “Congratulations! It is a work any of us before you would have loved to have written.”

    Clark said further: “When I see and read what is coming out of Nigeria, I get worse goose pimples, especially by teachers. But when I saw Tade’s collection, I said at last! …At last Poetry has come out of this exercise. Not just imagination expressed, but the discipline of practising the quatrain form. Something has come and we hope more of it will come, but not eight years…some of us will not be around by then.”

    And like most literary events, guests witnessed a short, but shocking debate between two literary giants. That debate, which came as an “icing on the cake, was between Clark and Ofeimun, who is said to be the first publisher of the collection. The argument was whether or not “poetry or literature makes things happen?”

    While Ofeimun agrees it does, Clark says it does not, noting that politicians who have the political might to bring about change don’t read or care about what the poets or writers are saying.

    Oh his part, Amadi reiterated Ofeimun’s stand that “Indeed, poetry makes things happen and can effect change: an example is the way Nigerian writings have placed the country on the world map and the achievements of writers over the years.”

    Given Ipadeola’s feat after beating 201 entries to bag the prize, NLNG Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Babs Omotowa said it was only fitting that they present their newest poet laureate to the public in Lagos, a “the city of poets; one that has inspired many talents”.

    While outlining the company’s track record in contributing to the development of the nation’s energy sector, he reiterated the company’s commitment to the promotion of Literature and Science. “Today is not about Nigeria LNG Limited. It is about Tade Ipadeola. It is about The Sahara Testaments. It is about poetry and the poets who write them. It is about writers and the books they write. It is about recognising and celebrating excellence that the young ones with us today may see the way and follow it to their individual successes. Congratulations, Tade.”

    The Vice Chancellor of his alma mater, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Prof Bamitale Omole, was also there to celebrate the product. He said Ipadeola represents what the school stands for, which is excellence in knowledge.

    The chairman of the prize’s Advisory Board, Banjo, said the prize, which is in its 10th year, is fulfilling the purpose for which it is being established, chief of which is to encourage budding talents like Ipadeola.

    In the hall were the poet’s wife, Moyofade and their kids: Petan and Eriife; and Irene Lopez Decastro, the Spanish artist whose artwork was used for the cover of Ipadeola’s work, and with her hubby, John Damanti. Irene and Ipadeola had met in Jeju, South Korea, where Ipadeola’s poem, Songbird, won the Delphic Laurel in poetry. Irene was one of those who encouraged Ipadeola while he worked on the book.

    “Congratulations! I am happy to be here with you in this day of joy. I am happy you won because of the work you put into the writing of the book,” Irene said.

    The whole experience, aspiring writer Samuel Udoetuk, who is a member of Whitesands School Press Club, said has fired up his pen.

    “It has strengthened my passion for writing. I have realised it is not just about writing but making a statement with my writing.”

     

  • ITB Berlin 2014: Nigeria eyes European option

    ITB Berlin 2014: Nigeria eyes European option

    As leading world tourism companies from 189 countries converged on Mesee Berlin, Germany for this year’s ITB Berlin to promote tourism, Nigeria’s delegation to the global travel fair thought outside the box for effective private sector-driven participation in tourism events, Assistant Editor (Arts), OZOLUA UHAKHEME, who was in Berlin, reports.

    Top world’s tour operators, travel agencies, exhibitors and trade visitors numbering over 4,500 that gathered at the opening of the five-day world’s leading travel trade fair, made the iconic International Congress Centre, Messe Berlin, a must visit.

    The convention, which exhibited different segments of tourism business, also provided platform for countries and individual participants to explore new opportunities and open new channels.

    Expectedly, Nigeria’s delegation to the global exhibition led by Director-General Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs Sally Mbanefo keyed into the organiser’s agenda of bringing creative, forward-looking tourism ideas and concepts to the market.

    In company of her team (four staff of NTDC and a board member), Mrs Mbanefo, who wore Nigeria’s Super Eagles jersey with a green-white-green head gear to match, went from one stand to another interacting with private operators and exhibitors from some European countries. They shared Nigeria’s flag and other gift items to the operators and exhibitors, while promoting “fascinating Nigeria”. She was also at the Turkish stand where owners of Turkey’s biggest hotels were in attendance. She interacted with them on the need to expand their businesses to Nigeria.

    Unlike other African countries, such as South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Morocco, Tanzania, Ghana and Egypt that had stands, Nigeria opted not to have a stand at the ITB Berlin. NTDC DG said it is a deliberate effort not to hold a stand because such “platform has no mileage for Nigeria and should not be monopolised by NTDC but be private sector-driven”, adding that the decision was also informed by the corporation’s financial position noting that exhibition for exhibition sake will not be part of the corporation’s programmes.

    “Though we did not exhibit, but we carry everything Nigeria to the fair for the world to appreciate. In fact, you don’t need a stand to make the necessary impact and for Nigeria, we need a pavilion that can house a large private tour operators and exhibitors, especially when we are working on wooing Europe to Nigeria,” she said.

    Mrs Mbanefo added that her first lesson at the Berlin fair was that apart from African countries, all stands by the European nations were manned by private operators and not the government agencies in charge of tourism. “It means that we have not been it right. Travel fair such as this should not be ego-tripping for some people but to showcase Nigeria’s tourism. As such, it is a wake-up call for private operators in the sector.”

    She noted that future participation of Nigeria in similar foreign travel fairs would be informed by the mileage the nation gets from such platform. Such platform “would be analyse in terms of mileage we will get before we attend. In fact, that was what we did in London as it gave us the opportunity to partner with East African region that has brand in tourism.”

    The DG said that though private sector operators in Nigeria are self-sufficient but pledged to convince them on the need to embrace the new opportunities in tourism business. She observed that most private operators have not been adequate reached for collaboration as such must be reached on the new strategy of promoting Nigeria’s tourism.

    According to her, the task will be an aggressive campaign that may take longer time to realise. As part of efforts to empower tour operators, she disclosed that the corporation is considering opening the tourism development fund for access by the operators.

    She also disclosed that NTDC is partnering the Nigerian Immigration in order to have a desk that will facilitate the issuance of tourist visa on arrival to visitors to the country. Other similar partnerships include the Nigerian Petroleum Development Corporation’s project on Oloibiri community that will involve the construction of conference centre and hotels near the first oil well in the country. Also in the planning stage is the domestic tourism TV game show that will among others educate Nigerians on tourism, reward winners earn income NTDC and unifies Nigerians.

    On the allegation that some tour operators paid the corporation some fees to exhibit at its stand in Berlin, Mrs Mbanefo said initially some operators showed interest but that such arrangements were later cancelled.

    Malaysia, the official convention and culture partner of ITB Berlin 2014, promoted destinations, experiences, events and festivals around the country. Interestingly, this year’s ITB Berlin reported a four per cent rise in trade visitors and an increase in business volume, which Messe Berlin estimates reached 6.5 billion Euro. The focus of the world’s leading travel trade fair, which came to an end on Sunday, was on travel bookings via smartphones and tablets and on sustainable practices in the travel industry.

    The Chief Executive of Messe Berlin, Christian Göke, said: “Never before was there such an emphasis on innovation as at this year’s ITB Berlin. The mood among exhibitors and visitors at this year’s show was one of euphoria, which over the last five days could be felt everywhere on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds. The world’s leading travel trade show had an even more positive impact on trade buyers and holidaymakers than in previous years.”

    Among the countries on the Mediterranean Greece and Spain reported particularly high growth. At this year’s ITB Berlin numerous hotels and holiday resorts not only exhibited on the stands of the various countries and regions but also hosted their own displays in the halls.

    In its role as a think tank, the ITB Berlin Convention has become a firm fixture for trend scouts operating within the international travel industry. Luxury travel was a key topic that attracted keen visitor interest.

    Since it opened March 5 till 9, about 10,147 exhibitors from 189 countries – more than two-thirds of whom came from abroad – were represented in 26 halls which were booked to capacity. Overall, some 114,000 trade visitors travelled to Berlin. Despite the weather for this time of year more than 60,000 members of the general public came to find out about the wide-ranging information on offer from exhibitors and providers of niche market products.

    At the close of the fair, Mongolia emerged official partner country of ITB Berlin. Mongolian representatives led by Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Ts.Oyungerel officially opened the Mongolian exhibition and the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, and Chief Executive Officer of Messe Berlin Dr. Christian Goke viewed the Mongolian exhibition.

    Minister Ts.Oyungerel formed an agreement with Goke for Mongolia to participate in ITB Berlin as a partner country. State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Mongolia P.Altangerel and Head of ITB Berlin David Ruetz signed a partner country protocol for ITB Berlin – 2015. Following the signing of the agreement, Minister Ts.Oyungerel introduced the theme of the Mongolian exhibition’s logo, Mongolia: Nomadic by Nature.

    The trade fair also intends to encourage tour operators to sign the “Commitment to Human Rights in Tourism”which has been prepared by the participants in the Round Table. On Friday at the ITB CSR Day, during the ITB Berlin Convention, Rika Jean-François, CSR appointee of ITB Berlin, signed a corresponding undertaking, which she presented to Antje Monshausen, who was attending the ITB Berlin Convention as Tourism Watch representative for the famine relief organisation Brot für die Welt and also as representative of the Round Table at ITB Berlin.

    In the words of the statement: “As a travel trade fair we take our responsibility for respecting human rights in tourism very seriously. We welcome the ‘Commitment to Human Rights in Tourism’and will work towards its implementation.” During her attendance at the “Round Table” she was extremely impressed by the high standards of professionalism with which the participants addressed this subject, stated Rika Jean-François. She pointed out that tourism also has its negative side, and drew attention to such problems as child labour, trafficking in human beings and discrimination against the LBGT community.

     

  • Is there a new scramble for Africa?

    In our past review of the book, Looting Africa: The Economics of Exploitation by the South African political economist, Prof Patrick Bond, we found out how Africa has been the object of the most vicious forms of brutalisation, domination, repression and exploitation, beginning with the slave trade that lasted over 400 years and another century of colonial rule culminating in the present stage of neo-colonialism and globalisation in which the continent continues to remain the foot mat of the rich and powerful actors on the global arena.

    Today, we focus attention on another book, which also critically examines the place of Africa in the contemporary global political economy. Entitled New Scramble for Africa, this book published in 2010 by the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), is based on a conference organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in April 2007. Yet, the issues raised by the various contributors remain germane as Africa continues to look for a way out of the quagmire of underdevelopment, retardation and mass misery.

    If there is indeed a new scramble for Africa, many of the contributors posit, there must have been an earlier older scramble for the continent. The old scramble for Africa, they aver, began in the 19th century starting with the Berlin conference of 1884 to 1885 – a forum at which the continent was partitioned and arbitrarily divided among the colonial powers. Unlike the old scramble, which was for physical control of specified territories by competing imperial powers, the new scramble refers to the fierce competition by global powers to gain access to Africa’s rich resources including gold, diamonds, timber, oil, uranium, ivory and natural gas among others.

    In addition to the old colonial powers that engaged in the first scramble, new emergent powers have joined the race to benefit from Africa’s trove of mineral and natural resources. These include China and India, who desperately need natural resources to fuel the on-going rapid industrialisation of their economies. In his foreword to the book, Professor Osita Eze, identifies two paradoxes of the contemporary African condition.

    Firstly, Africa is one of the most richly endowed regions of the world in terms of mineral and natural resources. Yet, the continent is one of the poorest and most backward in the world. Secondly, Africa plays a marginal role in the global economy despite the fact that she supplies the strategic and critical resources necessary for economic growth.

    Distinguished political scientist, Professor Adele Jinadu, in the first chapter of the book, entitled: Conceptual and theoretical issues in the scramble for Africa, contends that there is some continuity between the old and new scrambles for Africa. He posits that the success of the first scramble for Africa in the 19th century was facilitated by the technological superiority of the European powers and “an evangelising, racist and crusading psychology of domination which assured the cultural, moral and racial superiority of Europe over dominated peoples in Africa and Asia”. Like the old globalisation of the 19th century, Jinadu contends that the new one is also predicated on technological superiority of the industrialised world, world trade regimes and the universalisation of borrowed cultural and intellectual institutions.

    Arguing that the end of European colonial rule did not imply the termination of empire, Jinadu agrees with the Afrocentric authors who “view contemporary globalisation without forced empire as a continuation of the historical and structural process of capitalist and imperialist domination on a world scale”.

    He laments the fact that globalisation has deepened the marginalisation of Africa making it difficult for the continent to achieve ‘auto-centred’ development. To make matters worse, African countries are perceived and treated as ‘follower-societies’ in the image of the globalizaing west. He gives the dire warning that: “The new scramble and new imperialism both pose serious possibilities for the re-colonisation of Africa, for they confer power without political responsibility and accountability to us”.

    Writing on Historical perspectives of the scramble for Africa, Professor Mike Kwanashie, agrees with the view that the present condition of Africa is largely a function of historic injustices and exploitation which continue up till now. In his words: “The world which depended on African raw materials, markets and even slaves to build an economic system in the 19th century, today is unable to create the conditions under which the continent can sustain meaningful development.” According to Kwanashie, the situation of most of Africa today can be traced to the evolution of the African economies from the pre-1894 period to the partition of the continent along western interests in the 19th century to the present stage of capitalist domination of the global economy.

    Kwanashie argues that the relationship between Africa and the colonial powers resulted in the gradual destruction of the hitherto non-capitalist economies of Africa and their transformation into dependent capitalist economies. Consequently, the economic crisis of most African states today is only a reflection of the generalised crisis of global capitalism since the economies of the continent were incorporated into the world capitalist economy in the 19th century on an unequal basis.

    In his contribution, The new scramble for Africa: A strategic policy framework, Prof C. C Nweke, agrees with the view that the new scramble for Africa is a new phase in the neo-colonial exploitation of the critical resources and markets of the African continent by European, North American and now non-European powers. He believes that any attempt by African countries to seek benefits from this relationship of exploitation will only deepen the continent’s dependency and slavery in the international division of labour. He articulates policies to win maximum economic policy making space for African countries “to take full control of Africa’s resources and economic activities towards regaining sovereign control of our destinies”.

    Among Nweke’s suggestions to thwart the new scramble for Africa and launch the continent on the part of genuine, self -reliant development are the enthronement of national leadership with a sense of mission and who cannot be stooges or collaborators with imperialism; Insistence by African countries on being allowed maximum economic policy-making space in accordance with their sovereign autonomy; placing emphasis on food security and basic needs such as shelter, clothing, access to clean water, sanitation, public transportation, health and education as well as production- based regional integration with emphasis on production rather than trade.

    He also advocates a Natural Resource- Based strategic planning for African countries, which will involve more substantial and effective control of the minerals sector by African countries; processing of natural resources before export; gradual and progressive phasing out of minerals export which are non-renewable energy sources and the establishment of indigenous Technological Research and Development Centres of Excellence. Given the emergence of China as a global economic power and her aggressive incursions into different sectors of African economies in recent years, it is not surprising that three chapters in this book are dedicated to various aspects of Chinese-African relations. Indeed, Professor Ogaba Oche suggests optimistically that: “The Chinese model presents itself as an alternative to the neo-liberal consensus because Chinese aid comes without political strings attached and because China concentrates investment in Infrastructure and human capital rather than primary products, and addressing developmental problems that are not solved by market fundamentalism”. But is China’s engagement with Africa motivated by benevolent altruism or considerations of her own national interest just like the western powers? Time will tell.

  • ‘Iseyin’s got talent’

    ‘Iseyin’s got talent’

    Scattered across the ancient town of Iseyin are talents. Aside being known for its mass production of the highly revered hand-woven material, Aso­-Oke, and its aluminium pot factory, the town has got lots of untapped talents. This was the surprise package when residents of the Ebedi Writers Residency held their literary feast, reports Evelyn Osagie.

    Located in the Northern part of Oyo State, the ancient town of Iseyin is laced with interesting tourist sites and untapped talents. This was the observation of guests at a creative feast held in the town.

    One of those talents was a 10-year-old bata drummer, Moshood Ayandiran, who thrilled guests with his drumming during the cultural and dramatic performances by children in the town. His drumming came as a welcome accompaniment to the energetic drumming of his elder brother, Saheed who played the Iya–Ilu bata drum. Moshood, who had been playing the Omele metadrums since the age of four, said he intends to make a profession off drumming when he grows up.

    Aside Moshood the ‘drummer’, the feast, which was organised by residents and management of the Ebedi International Writers Residency, also featured other talents, such as some young poets (Ibrahim Rasaq, Dorcas Adewunmi and Olusegun Deborah), who took turns to present their own poems to the audience.

    Indeed it was festival of talents as children treated their parents and visitors to several dances, musical, poetic and dramatic presentations. Whether it was songs, drama or poetry, the children had words of admonition and message for their guests and the nation at large.

    With the growing insurgency, the songs by the choral group came as a welcome flavouring in the feast as they called attention to the need for peace and unity in the polity, while urging the young to discover and use their talents positively.

    They sang: “We are the ones to make Nigeria a better place…when peace in our heart; there’ll be peace in our homes…peace in the nation and the world…”

    Sixteen year old multitalented Oluwadamila Grace’s inspirational song entitled, Leaning on God reminded the guests of the need to trust in the Divine strength no matter the odds.

    The highlight of the event was the dramatic presentations by the drama group of the Iseyin District Grammar School (IDGS) where the event took place. The group thrilled the audience to spirited cultural performances and two drama sketches that highlighted the importance of education (A comedy), home training and parents’ encouragements.

    Impressed by the presentations, Former Director, Ministry of Health, Dr Francis Ogundara, urged the children: “Never let anyone talk you down because you carry greatness inside of you. If you are unwavering, your dream will come true. It is good to develop your talent. You can achieve all you want through patience and determination.”

    Oyo State Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Hon. Fatai Atanda, who is a native of the town, praised the show of talents by the children, while stating that the government has taken steps to boost development and tourism, especially through the on-going road construction in the town and across the state. “Barely a month ago, we had some visitors from abroad who would be partnering with government. They are working on developing the lake at Ado Awaye in Iseyin to an international standard,” he said.

    The display of talents witnessed at the event was linked to the activities of the Ebedi International Writers Residency established by former president of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Dr Wale Okediran, which is popularly called the “White House” in Iseyin. It has become synonymous to a creative den for visitors and kids in the town, it was learnt.

    According to parents, many have often wondered why their wards were passionately attending the regular meetings. “My daughter, Zainab is always saying that she goes to the White House and spends the whole day there. At first, I didn’t feel comfortable with her going there; but as a teacher, who knows the importance of extra-moral activities and encourages the young to develop their talents by putting their energy on something constructive, I allowed her.

    “But on getting here today and seeing what she and her mates have done, I am happy and proud I allowed her. They have done me and their school proud. Engaging in creative and constructive extra-moral activities as they have usually help to expose and boost children’s confidence. Many, who were shy, are now bold. If they are allowed to develop their talents positively, they would be great in the future, especially if they start while they are young,” said IDGS and Vice Principal (Special Duties), Mrs Nimota Bimpe Atunwa, whose child was a participant.

    Like Mrs Atunwa, Ogundare Sarafat, mother of Zainab (one of the student-actress), said she was particularly impressed by the efforts of the students. “I didn’t know that my daughter can act until I got here. I am happy and impressed with what I saw. Their drama has taught me many things, especially on the negative effect of swearing on my children.”

    IDGS English teacher, Prince Femi Olalere praised the efforts of the organisers, saying: “It is good that parents can now see what their children have been going to the “White House” (as the residence is called) to do.”

    After spending six weeks working on their manuscripts and mentoring children in the town, the residents said they were impressed with the numerous talents in the place. They, however, lamented that it is “unfortunate that most of them remain untapped”. It was learnt that the three residents – Funmi Aluko, Gertrude Uzoh and Jumoke Verrisimmo have been involved with working with children before coming for the programme.

    Uzoh, who is also a musician and the brain behind the songs the children sang, said that aside offering her the space and time to finish her novel and a smaller book, six weeks in Ebedi gave her the opportunity to meet with other talented children.

    She said: “Aside Youth Service, this is another enriching experience. I was working on my album when the opportunity came and I left it to come here. As a writer, serenity is what we seek, and that is what Ebedihas has done for me. I’ve achieved here, what I couldn’t have in six weeks if I had not come. For offering the opportunity and joy of being able to impact the children, thank you Ebedi. No doubt, Iseyin has got great talents! I only hope they would tap the many talents they’ve got.”

    Aluko, who gave the children poetry and dram lessons, urged the government and corporate bodies to support the work of the founder of the residence, saying: “We want more of these across the country so that more people will benefit.

  • ‘Sex work is work…we need our rights’

    ‘Sex work is work…we need our rights’

    The day commercial sex workers took to the streets of Lagos would not be forgotten in a hurry. It was an unusual kind of rally. Women (young and old) in white t-shirts with diverse inscriptions, red umbrellas in-hand, marched through the streets, demanding that their rights be met. Evelyn Osagie and Blessing Olisa report.

    Prostitution is blight on the human race…for if you men did not impose chastity on women as a necessary virtue while refusing to practice it yourselves, they would not be rejected by society for yielding to the sentiments of their hearts, nor would seduced, deceived and abandoned girls be forced into prostitution. (Flora Tristan, 1803-1844)

    Protest from the bus stop

    They came from all corners. As women (young and old) gathered in front of a building at Aladiye Bus-stop in Somolu that hot afternoon. Their action left visitors and residents of the area guessing what was brewing.

    People stopped to see what the gathering was all about. “Who are these women?” many asked aloud.

    And when they started changing their blouses and tops into custom-made t-shirts with the inscription: “sex workers rights=human rights”, it was evident that they meant business. It was not a rainy day. But, as if to protect themselves from the “prying eyes” of everyone, they each held, in one hand, a red umbrella and a banner bearing words of their clamour.

    They were commercial sex workers. It was their day penultimate Monday and they came out in masse to mark it. Like the umbrella they were carrying, which, they said, “symbolised their resistance against all forms of discrimination”, they came, clamouring for better treatment from all.

    Hearing them speak and taking a closer look revealed that many among them have had some form of education and were parents.

     

    Protest on the streets

     

    And as they marched from their meeting point through the streets of Somolu to the Local Government Secretariat, residents and passers-by could not but stop and stare in utter bewilderment.

    Their loud and passionate chants of “sex work is work; we need our rights” pulled residents out of their houses.

    Undaunted, the protesters hollered in songs and chants: “Condoms are many, waiting for users, condoms are many, waiting for your turn” and “Me I no go suffer, I no go die for AIDS…gold circle condom na my papa.”

    Under the auspices of Safe Haven Development Initiative and Women of Power Initiative (WOPI), they came clamouring for legislation ensuring their protection, better treatment as humans and the undisputed access to fundamental human rights and amenities such as health care, health insurance, among others.

    “We have become objects of baseless remarks by those who even patronise us,” they alleged. “They call us “prostitutes”, “call girls” or “ladies of the red light district”, but we are women working like every other citizen of this country for their daily bread,” the protesters said.

    “Abeg make una help us beg the police people to leave us alone. Dem too dey down grade us. I am a mother and I have three children. Na situation make me dey there, no be say I dey happy say I dey there today,” came the ardent protest from Favour.

    Like Favour, each had interesting stories to tell on why the trade became their source of livelihood; and together they emphasised that: “We are not beggars.” Many said they were not happy being in the trade, but for the president of the sex workers community, Pat Udoh that was not the case.

    In her words, “Everywoman is a sex worker; So far say she makes love. I am proud to be a sex worker because with this I put food on my table, I can take care of my family and children like any other worker. As I am, I don’t think I can work for any other person. I can only work on my own.”

    As a mother, Udoh said she discourages young people from selling sex, but added that: “If the child comes of age, every person has the freedom to do whatever they want,” noting that it is, however, important to give a child sex education.

    She recounted: “When I entered sex work, none of my family members knew until later. Now that my children are not here, they are in the East; I don’t know what they are doing there. Even if they don’t sell sex, when they come of age, they will have sex. The only thing to do is to tell them to do it in the right way. If my son says he wants to get married to a sex worker now…? I will allow him 100 per cent.”

     

    Drama in the council

     

    On arrival at the council’s secretariat, staff of the secretariat, who seemed flabbergasted at the scene at first, immediately started taking pictures and videos with chaotic excitement.

    After the protesters settled into the council’s multipurpose hall, sex workers’ rights advocate, who is also the Executive Director of Safe Haven Development Initiative, Margaret Onah, spoke on the history and purpose of the celebration, saying it is meant to promote the welfare, integration and empowerment of commercial sex workers. The rally, Onah said, was sponsored by Red Umbrella Fund.

    While enumerating her constituency’s concerns, Udoh, who is also the coordinator of Women of Power Initiative (WOPI), Lagos State Chapter, called for legislation that would protect them from harassment and molestation, while urging the government to look into their plights.

    She named “harsh treatment by the police”, “molestations and harassments by ‘area boys’ and the public”, “denial of proper medical care which has led to many untimely deaths and inaccessibility to good health care due to bias opinion towards their profession” and “lack of economic empowerment” as some of the challenges they are facing.

    Ayinke Stephen, a sex worker and a person living with HIV, reiterated Udoh’s statement, adding that sex workers are contributing immensely to the fight against HIV and AIDS.

    To back up her claims, the group sang: “Me I no go suffer, I no go die for AIDS…Gold Circle condom na my protection, Gold Circle condom na my protection.”

    Ayinke protested molestation from police, saying: “When we are out there, the police people come to raid us, they disgrace us; we are mothers with children in the universities. Sometimes they will come to raid, collect money from some of us and even sleep with us. I am a PLWHA; we counsel the men that come to us on the importance of using condom because we don’t want a situation whereby because of one-minute enjoyment, they infect others. By educating our customers on sexual matters and advising them to employ the use of condoms we are adding value to society.”

    On why she became a sex worker, she said: “I got into sex work because I didn’t have luck with getting married, although I wish I could. I always had disappointments. So I decided to stay alone and look for something to do to take care of my children and I got into prostitution to manage myself. It is not that I am enjoying this, but getting a job in Nigeria is not easy and I am not too educated. I can do business if I get money.

    When asked if she is given N10, 000 to start a business by a reporter, Ayinke responded abruptly: “I don’t see what N10,000 can do o, even if it is to start selling pure water because when you put table or cooler along the road, Governor Fashola will still tell his men to come and pack people and take them to their task force office; from there to Kirikiri.”

    Forced into the trade of flesh by the vicissitude of life, Evelyn said she is tired of the line of business. Hear her: “E don reach five years wey I dey do this work. No be say I like am, but na condition make crayfish bend. Before, na market I dey sell but I come lost my business and even because of the warri crises. My children dey warri, but dem no know wetin I dey do for Lagos. No be say this work na better work, but as Nigeria take tight so, how person go do? But e good make person do am sharp sharp make im find wetin im go do make im commot for there. For me, the work don even tire me sef. If I better opportunity, I go leave am o.” she said in Pidgin English with deep emotion in her voice.

    As each tabled her concerns, the Vice Chairman Somolu Local Government Area, Abiodun Orekoya, who represented the Chairman, Hon. Ggolahan Gbagbo, listened with rasp attention. He praised them for taking the initiative to air their views. While urging them to patronise the government health facilities in the area and across the state, he said they won’t be discriminated upon. On their grievance regarding legislation, urged the sex workers to seek redress from the National Assembly.

    He said: “You want a reform of the laws to give you more protection: that can only be done by the National Assembly as lawmakers. So I encourage you to go to them and let them know you want the laws amended to protect you. The little we can do as a local government is to ensure that you are not discriminated against, especially when it comes to health issues.

    “Because of your profession, you are vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases. Feel free to walk into health centres and tell them your problems. I am aware that you have not been patronising the health centres. Health is wealth. Go for HIV test and regular medical examination to ascertain your state of health. It is only when you are alive that you can spend the money you make.”

    With the words of former House of Assembly Deputy Speaker, Hon. Ike Ekweremadu in 2011 in mind, “I did not sponsor any bill on prostitution…I condemn all forms of human trafficking, including prostitution. As a Knight of the Church, definitely, I must condemn any act that is immoral, including prostitution, for this is not the way to live”, seeking redress for sex workers as Orekoya advised would be a hard nut to crack, some of the protesters observed.

    However, the protesters said they are undaunted, adding that they would continue to clamour for their rights and legislations that would better protect them until their voices are heard.

     

     

    • See video: “Sex work is work” at www. staging.thenationonlineng.net

  • A call for change in National Migration Policy

    Key governmental actors in migration issues met in Abuja to deliberate on better ways of managing migration matters for national development.

    At the event, participants touched on the key challenges and opportunities in migration management in Nigeria. They called for a speedy endorsement of the draft of the National Migration Policy, while urging that the MDAs proactively brief their ministers on the policy to facilitate endorsement.

    The event, which was funded by the European Union (UN) under the auspices of an ongoing project tagged: Promoting Better Management of Migration in Nigeria, is being implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

    The presentations of the UNODC and IOM highlighted key achievements of the project over the last two and a half years, which included improved coordination and dialogue amongst key actors in the migration sector, expanded capacities of national government institutions, and increased knowledge and awareness of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and Smuggling of Migrants (SOM).

    Supervising Minister for National Planning, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda, who chaired the meeting, said migration contributes significantly to national development but needs to be managed within the framework of law in order to prevent human rights abuses.

    “Migration is a very important aspect of any country’s development, but the challenge is how to manage both migration and development. The EU has been very helpful in offering support to better manage our migration,” he said.

    While thanking the EU for providing support for better management of migration in Nigeria, Yuguda called on all key government ministries to work together ensure that migration contributes to the transformation agenda and attainment of national Vision 20:20:20 of the Federal Government.

    The Head of the European Union Delegation in Nigeria, Ambassador Michel Arrion, said the European Union and Nigeria are regularly engaged in a comprehensive, balanced and deep dialogue on migration and mobility, leading to commitments on both sides.

    He said: “Nigeria could well be the first country in the world with which the European Union concludes a Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility. Recommendations from this meeting would help identify gaps in the management of migration in Nigeria as well as identify opportunities for further support.”

  • Aesthetic appeals in contemporary Nigerian poetry

    Aesthetic appeals in contemporary Nigerian poetry

    Book review

    Title: Dancing Mask

    Author: Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo

    Reviewer: John Uwa

    Publisher: Kraft Books

    Pagination: 140

    Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo is a contemporary Nigerian African writer whose fictive oeuvre does not only adumbrate contemporary feminist issues, but also raises a finger of protest in the theory and practice of feminism in Africa and the rest of the world.

    Her “accommodationist” ideology which provides an alternative ideological canvas for the criticism of African feminist fiction strikes my critical curiosity; but not in the same way that this collection (Dancing Mask) elicits some sort of curiosity to reveal that which the “dancing mask” conceals. This curiosity could plunge one into some sort of confusion about the nomenclature by which this new poetic voice may be identified in literary discourse; Ezeigbo the Novelist, or the Poet?

    This confusion may have been informed by Nnolim’s (2010) classification of poetic craftsmanship into the “poet qua poet” and “the versifier”. To him, the “poet qua poet” is he who is totally committed to the art of poetry without doing anything that is really significant outside of it. The “versifier” on the other hand is the poet who writes one or two lines when his poetic muse comes visiting occasionally, and afterwards, goes back to his original vocation. Charles Nnolim is one critic of African literature who has, and will continue to inspire the younger generation of African critics that has much respect for the man and his achievements. Notwithstanding, it is not difficult to hold a point of view which suggests that Nnolim’s classification is more of a polemical fiat that is based on analytical convenience and critical preference more than a literary axiom. This point of view is informed by the fact that Ezeigbo currently has four published collections of poetry. These collections have been equally well-received in the same way as the five novels she has so far written.

    This observation is important to the review of this collection where Ezeigbo legitimately recommends herself as a poet that cannot be ignored in the criticism and evaluation of modern Nigerian poetry. In Dancing Masks, Ezeigbo reveals her maturity from her first three collections of poetry by presenting a superior socio-political vision for which established poets like Tanure Ojaide, Odia Ofeimun, Niyi Osundare and Tayo Olafioye have variously received critical reception.

    A semiotic analysis of the Dancing Masks renders a spectacle of people, grappling with floods of socio-political aberrations that are masked in hope and humour, signified by two dancing masks on the front cover page of the collection. By this token, the masks become a motif through which greater insight is provided into themes of social relevance in contemporary Nigeria. Ezeigbo presents us with a mask behind which most people live, and “behind which certain human tendencies are disguised”.

    The collection is divided into five parts, and each deals with distinct contemporary issues in Nigeria. The first section “Signs of the Times” which contains nineteen poems deals with the themes of nature, woman, sex, prostitution, exploitation, sexual violence, corruption, love etc. In this section, Ezeigbo seems to be moved by a miscellany of poetic muse which allows her to peck on various contemporary issues of our society from environmental pollution to other social aberrations. Like Chielo, the priestess of Agbala in Things Fall Apart, when Ezeigbo is in her creative elements as this collection proves, we see a personality that is paradoxical to her every day gentle and motherly disposition; and with the vigour of a prophetic muse, Ezeigbo reverberates the end-time prediction of Apostle Paul in 1st Timothy 4: 1-5 and 2nd Timothy 3: 1-5. To paraphrase the quote, men whose hearts have been seared with a hot iron will speak lies in hypocrisy. Men shall become lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, unthankful, traitors, heady, high-minded, fierce, trucebreakers, incontinent, despisers of those that are good and lovers of pleasure.

    In “Weird world” and “Winter whiplash” Ezeigbo exhibits her romantic tendencies in dealing with the changing manifestation of nature; but unlike the “nature” poets who praise the beauty of nature, Ezeigbo goes a step further to question the disaster that is wrought by nature, especially the pollution that “uncoils like deadly snake”. The implication of such vision is that both poems can favourably bow to contemporary literary theory like eco-criticism. At the level of symbolism, Ezeigbo can be said to be confronting agents of exploitations and the “get-rich-quick” syndrome of contemporary society, where people no longer wait for their turn or legitimate course of earning a living. This is what she implies by “berries fruiting before their time” and “spring flowers blooming before theirs”. (19) The poetic touch of both poems is enhanced by her use of formal elements such as simile, extended metaphor, apposition and allusions. “Skeletal motion” as used in the last stanza of the first poem for instance, is an apposition that is used to clarify the nature of existence on which “life leans”. This is given further clarification by the extended metaphor of the last two lines.

    Ezeigbo keeps the steam of her deployment of formal poetic elements in full motion when in “Ways of dying”, she employs elements like oxymoron, personification, apostrophe and simile to raise some existential issues that facilitate the cyclical ironies of human existence. Unlike William Wordsworth whose loss of “visionary gleam” readily connects him to the supernatural realm, Ezeigbo suggests that there are those who will not give in to nature’s hostilities without giving it a fight. To her, these people are like the “legendary cat” and only bow out after they are “done and ready proper” (26).

    Using seven irregular verses in conformity with the free verse tradition in “News flash”, this emergent poetic voice takes a poignant look at governance and exploitation. The word “Ajabu” and the words “Ghana-must-go-bag factory” in the fifth verse are images or symbols which help in creating some sort of imaginative or mental pictures of  the high level of financial misappropriation and corruption that is being practised at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, by elites and the political class. The poet also indicts those who have embraced the policy of “siddon look”, and the “mutes and mumu”. The corrupt mentality of public service holders that the “public service is not free service” is also presented as a paradox in the second stanza. The painful irony of these paradoxes is that those who ought to stand for truth and justice have kept sealed lips. This is why in “Murderer of conscience”, Ezeigbo makes a defiant appeal to all those who are disposed and predisposed to standing for justice and truth, but have tarried. Using apostrophe in the first four lines, metaphor and extended metaphor in lines 8, 9 and 10 of the first verse, Ezeigbo opines that there are defenceless people who have been permanently placed in exploitative limbo, subjugated and oppressed; people who must be defended by those whose consciences have not yet been seared with a hot iron. By this token, Ezeigbo is exhibiting her Marxian instinct and thus calling for an egalitarian society of fairness and equity.