The Nation Newspaper

Category: Arts & Life

  • ‘My sister, Dame Patience, is highly misunderstood’

    ‘My sister, Dame Patience, is highly misunderstood’

    Esther Ebiere Gbonkumor, a business woman and younger sister to First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, in this interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf, shares fond memories of growing up with her older sibling.

     

    As a younger sibling of the First Lady, you probably must have lived together. What was growing up like?

    (Laughs) We grew up in Port Harcourt. Oh, it was real fun, it was wonderful! I remember her as a mobiliser and a leader who always wanted to do something and see women gather around. She has been like that right from her youth and also very hard working.

    If she begins something, maybe, a business, and she seems not to be getting anywhere, she would not relent; she would continue to strive until she makes a success out of it. She is the kind of person that never says die. She doesn’t believe in failure. She will keep on working hard at something until she gets the desired results she wants. I have always known her to be an industrious person right from her youth. She has never been a lazy person at all. She has always been involved in one business or the other. My other siblings are like that as well. In fact, we all copied these traits and attributes from our mother, who was also very self-reliant.

    A lot of people have this notion that the First Lady is very domineering. Was she a bully in her younger days?

    No, she wasn’t. What I know is that she is a very sensitive person. She is not one to keep quiet when she sees you on the wrong side. Once she sees you doing the wrong thing, it triggers something within her which makes her react. She is just a no-nonsense person but also a very loving person too. Above all, she is someone who has compassion for the youths, widows and the less privileged in the society. As someone close to her, I know she has been involved in one form of charity or another right from her youths. Helping people, especially the underprivileged in the society, comes natural to the First Lady.

    What are some of the fond memories of her you remember while you were growing up together?

    I know she liked playing ludo game a lot in her younger days and gisting with girls of her age like most girls do. She has always been a sociable person right from her youth. She likes relating with people and all that.

    What is your family like?

    It is a mixed family of males and females. We intermingle with different ethnic groups like the people from the north, south, you name it. Our father was someone who when he sees you’re the serious type picks you up and brings you into the family regardless of where you come from and starts to train you. So, nearly everybody that makes up my family are people from different parts of the country. But we have always lived as one big happy family.

    So, you have a large family, more or less?

    Sure.

    Can you be specific on the size of the family?

    Let’s put that aside. It’s personal.

    You talked about some of the likes and dislikes of the First Lady. Can you share with us how she used to spend her spare time?

    I really don’t think she had any spare time for herself as such. As far as I know, she has always been a very restless person because she likes getting involved with one thing or the other that sort of kept her busy round the clock. And once in a while, she likes mixing with people like I told you earlier. She is also very inquisitive too.

    There are lots of things about the person of the First Lady. What is it about her that people don’t understand?

    Everybody is like that. It’s not anybody you see that you easily warm to up just like that. Just like you’re a stranger to me now, you don’t expect me to open up to you like that without knowing who you’re and your motives. So, everybody has something that holds them back at every point in time.

    So, as the First Lady, if she sees you and doesn’t open up to you, it is not because she is feeling too proud or something like that. But let me also add that the First Lady is being highly misunderstood. I know that for a fact because she is somebody I grew up with. I know for certain that the First Lady is a very natural person, who likes being herself all the time. She is a very straight forward person who hates it when people come to bear false tales to her. She (Dame Patence Jonathan) doesn’t like cheating or any form of injustice at all. In fact, I can say she is a rebel for a cause she believes in. She is an activist by nature and she has always been like that right from her youth. As far as I know, she’s someone who is ready to sacrifice her comfort just to see that others are satisfied and very happy. She is that kind of person. People who know her can also attest to the fact that she is ever willing to starve just to put food on the table for others to eat.

    You lost your mum recently, may the Lord bless her soul. What kind of relationship did your siblings have with your mother, especially the First Lady?

    We took after our mother in every way. We are just like the way she was. She was very hard working, loving and caring as well. You can imagine she was supposed to be going about with escort and all that, but she preferred to lead a very low key life. Just like the First Lady, our mother was a very natural woman. You can see the First Lady, anytime she feels the need to express herself, she just takes up the microphone to say her piece of mind even if her spelling and pronunciation may be faulty, she is never afraid to speak her mind anytime, any day. She likes being simple. To our mother, being natural is the best thing in life and we remember her for that.

     

  • My untold story, by Elizabeth Dafinone

    My untold story, by Elizabeth Dafinone

    How true is the claim by a 58- year- old lady that she is the first child of renowned accountant, Senator David Dafinone?  Lekan Otufodunrin and Adekunle Yusuf write

    Elizabeth Oghenorvbo Dafinone, a United Kingdom- based lady recently in a press statement claimed to be the ‘first born, albeit illegitimate, child of the renowned patriarch of Nigeria, Senator David Omueya Dafinone.’’

    According to the birth certificate she presented, she was born to the head of the renowned family of accountants by her late Scottish mother, Joan Helen Mackay, in Hull, U.K in June 1955.

    Senator Dafinone’s family is included in the Guinness Book of Records as the family with the most chartered accountants with his three sons and two daughters qualifying as members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales between 1986 and 1999. Senator Dafinone also qualified as an accountant in the UK in 1963.

    However, contrary to Elizabeth’s claim, no mention was made of her or her mother in the chapter on Dafinone’s sojourn in England in the authorised biography of the second republic senator entitled Dafinone; An Uncommon Life by Udu Yakubu.

    Elizabeth, a trained nurse and graduate in French and Italian, said though Senator Dafinone has never denied paternity, and even paid for two years of her secondary education and gave 1000pounds for initial university fees, her alleged father ‘failed miserably in his paternal obligations towards me.’

    She said, ‘I was brought up in poverty. We moved from one tiny, cockroach infested, bedsit to another, in a freezing 1950’s London. Sometimes, we were so poor; we lived on custard for a week at a time. A stew would last us for at least a week. At no point did my father help. Not a birthday or Christmas card, let alone a present, was forthcoming. My mother embarked on a campaign of appeal writing to him and the Nigerian High Commission in London, begging for some compassion, but it was to no avail. I suspect that this campaign caused my father to resent my mother greatly and possibly explains some of his subsequent behavior.’

    She continued ,‘Throughout my life, all I ever wanted from my father was some love and care.

    But my story has been that of survival without a loving family, without a home, without protection and without respect from the human being who created you.

    ‘It tells of the effects of illegitimacy and of rejection, as well as of the consequences of unrequited love, humiliation, distress and poverty, both emotional and physical.’ According to Elizabeth, she once travelled to Nigeria in search of her father and stayed with her grandmother in Sapele.

    All efforts to speak with Senator Dafinone proved abortive as he was said to have travelled abroad and no family member could say when he would be back.

    One of his sons, Chief Ede, who was mentioned in Elizabeth’s statement, did not pick calls to get his reaction. He also failed to respond to a text sent to his phone.

    Senator Dafinone was, however, quoted by an online publication as saying that Elizabeth was trying to blackmail him.

    However, The Nation succeeded in speaking with a member of Dafinone’s extended family who was willing to speak about Elizabeth’s relationship with the well-known family. Insisting on anonymity, he stated that she is a member of the family and that there is no controversy at all about Elizabeth’s paternity, adding that she once came to Nigeria from Britain and spent time with other members of the family.

    Commenting further on Elizabeth’s allegation that she was not formally recognised as Dafinone’s daughter, he wondered, “What is her problem now? I don’t think there is any issue about that.”

    However, reacting to information the following day that some online publications have published Elizabeth’s claims, he said, “Let them publish it. She is not a small girl; she is an adult. I don’t want to be disturbed by this 419 thing who just wanted to blackmail somebody. I know what is going on; they just want to blackmail the guy for nothing. She knows the family; she knows the home because she has been here before. She was accepted. She lived with everybody and she was happy. What does she mean by official and unofficial recognition?”

    Elizabeth, however, denied that her motive was blackmail, saying, ‘’Firstly, the word ‘blackmail’ means that someone has something to hide and another person is asking them for money to keep the story quiet.’’

    ‘’My father obviously has something to hide. Me, his first born child. However, I have never asked him for any money to keep the story quiet. Secondly, I have been silent, respectful and very tolerant over the past 50 years and I think the Dafinone family has taken advantage of my discretion.”

    Elizabeth said she decided to speak out following an alleged encounter between her daughter and Senator Dafinone, adding that she was greatly upset by the incident. According to her, ‘Up until my father was so rude to my daughter a few weeks ago, all I ever wanted from him was a bit of love and care. I have shed many tears wanting my father but if someone is rude to your child, things change overnight.

    ‘It was simply the last straw when he told my child to “go back to the hell she came from” before she even had a chance to say why she was ringing.’

    However, she is hopeful that there might be reconciliation someday, and that she would eventually enjoy the recognition she has always desired.

  • Literature better in indigenous language

    Literature better in indigenous language

    Gbemisola Adeoti is a professor of English Language at the Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU) Ile-Ife, Osun State. He is also the director of the Institute of Cultural Studies of the same institution. In this encounter with Edozie Udeze, he bares his mind on the place of traditional literature in Nigeria and why fifty years after the death of D.O. Fagunwa who wrote in Yoruba language, his works  are still relevant not only in Nigeria but across the globe. The conference on Fagunwa was organised by Fagunwa Study Group and the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC), in Akure, Ondo State, last week

    What does this conference on D.O. Fagunwa mean to you and to Nigerian Literature?

    The conference is titled Fagunwa: Fifty Years After. It is basically a conference to commemorate the 50years of D.O. Fagunwa’s death. It is also an opportunity for scholars to come together and reflect on Fagunwa’s contribution not only to the indigenous language literature in Africa, but to African literature generally. D.O. Fagunwa was a pioneer writer who adopted the Yoruba language as his mode of communication. It wasn’t that he was not proficient in English. He was a teacher, a grade two teacher who then used the opportunity to travel to several parts of Africa. So, he was also exposed.

    So, he wrote in Yoruba and was survived by five major novels. They include Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmole, Igbo Eledumare, Ireke Onibudo, Irinkerindo Ninu Igbo Elegbede and Aditu Eledumare. Some of these works have been translated into English, at least four of them. Some also have been translated into French. So a pioneer writer like this deserves the honour and also further critical writing and studies on his contributions to African studies, African philosophies, African cultures and his reflections on literature, language and so on. This is why this conference is being organised by Fagunwa Study Group in collaboration with the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC), also supported by the Ondo State government. So this is why we are holding it in Akure.

    Ordinarily, Oke-Igbo, the hometown of the author , would have been ideal for it. But since the state government decided to host it, we have to be here for it. It is part of the state government’s contribution to the promotion of our culture. So that’s the major aim of our having to be here for the conference.

    Your topic is on the Memorandum of Understanding or Misunderstanding Fagunwa and the Adaptations. What does this mean?

    Well, my paper is looking at these works of Fagunwa that have been translated into English. Somebody has translated the Ireke Onibudo into French. But I am not literate in French. I have to limit myself to the four that have been translated into English. These include Forest of a Thousand Demons by Wole Soyinka, In the Forest of Olodumare by Wole Soyinka, Dapo Adeniyi’s Expedition to the Mount of Thought and Olu Obafemi’s The Mysteries of God which is the translation of Aditu Olodumare. I want to look at the works and see how a non-speaker of Yoruba will be able to understand the culture, the issues and so on that are being discussed in the translations. I identified the problems and the indigenous contributions of these people to the understanding of these issues. The translators are themselves writers and they are bringing to bear their own individual styles in the translation. So, I looked at it as translation by experimental and made my own evaluation as a literary scholar.

    How does the story of Igbo-Olodumare of Oke-Igbo relate to the larger forest that is Nigeria today?

    Well, the forest was just a screen for Fagunwa’s dissection of his contemporary society. He used it to make moral judgment and moral comment. Apart from entertaining, generating the necessary humour, the story is meant to impart morals on those who read the books. Don’t forget, he was a school teacher, and a Christian who grew up in the Bible tradition. He saw his writing as an extension of that moralising platform, a platform also offered by the church. In those forests, you have creatures like human beings, like comic, like trees that behave like human beings and so on. The inhabitants of those forests have human attributes. But the books also contain the laziness of some characters there and some of the issues you can find in our society these days. All these were represented in human and non-human elements and creatures so that people who read those works can stand back and look at what befalls those who radiate those excesses and learn from them.

    So, Fagunwa as a writer made it; oh, this is the misfortune that would befall you if you do so and so in life, especially people who are greedy. Therefore, you need to avoid it and be of good conduct. These forests are jungles but are critical comments on our society. Don’t forget that the values being preached, the virtues being exposed are of universal essence. They are still relevant today. In fact, you get to some situations that remind you of the foolish people in Irinkerindo Ninu Igbo Elegbede, people whose values are upside-down. There, fathers prostrate to their children, wives send their husbands on an errand and so on. It is therefore a reversal of normal values in a society and that is what we are having in Nigeria today.

    Then, what is the responsibility of a traditional literary writer in a society like ours today?

    The problems we have today are getting bigger and bigger than the period under Fagunwa. When Fagunwa was writing, the colonialists were here. Then there was the hope that with independence, things would get better. Several years after, that has not been done; things have not got better. And so, the writer should dwell in that tradition, producing works not only to entertain people but to have clear, sharp commentaries on issues so that may be one day, somebody will learn one lesson or two from the book. Apart from that, I also think writers should look at the issue of directly engaging politics and make that difference in terms of their comments and so on.

    It is now clear that social media has been affecting the standard of English among students. What is your comment on this?

    The reality is there…But the thing about us from this part of the world is that we always want to borrow from the West, from Europe and so on. Rather than emphasising the values or merits of what we borrow, we use it to destroy. Often, we use such for our own retrogression. In the first place, even before the advent of social media, people were not learning the language very well. They did not have the passion for it. So now, social media has come out and they are still catching in on it to worsen the situation.

    Whereas the social media, when properly applied, is supposed to aid the English Language; all we have now is the reverse. The students have to sit up and that’s the only way they can learn the English very well and speak it fluently.

    Do you have conscious programmes in the universities to encourage students to show maximum interest in mother tongues?

    Yeah. I think that is the essence of this conference. We need to start now to show the interest. People like Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and Fagunwa have shown that it is better to be proficient in your local language as a literary person. However, in the first year we have a course, an introduction to fiction. In the first year, I have insisted on teaching Fagunwa’s texts.

    Thank God, we have more translations now. It is not as difficult now to teach his works. Every year, I would like to teach one of those texts, because this is the only opportunity to teach this sort of traditional writing which people have adopted. There are also other courses that equally encourage the interest in local language and literary appreciation. Even in drama, I also emphasis interest in local and traditional languages that can also lead to the development of drama. Yes, in our own little way, we try to do that, although the challenges are overwhelming by the day. But, we can’t resign to fate; we need to keep pushing because it is our duty to do so.

    The level of reading culture has declined. What do you think can be done to redeem the situation?

    The development has to start from the beginning. You do not develop reading habit from age twelve or so. It is what you cultivate from age four or five. I think the parents, the family and so on, owe it a duty to encourage their children to read. You can allow them to watch television, time them, but then there has to be time for reading. It is the duty of the father or the mother to draw such a time table to enable the children have time enough to read and still watch TV.

    Reading therefore should be formalised, it should be a habit from the family and then we should also acquire books for them or encourage them to visit places where they can see and feel books. Children can also be encouraged to learn how to buy books by themselves. I think if we do that, we begin to make an impact. And it doesn’t have to be in English alone. There has to be books in indigenous languages too, to encourage them start from that level. You cannot be a better speaker of a foreign language when you are deficient in your mother-tongue.

  • Murdered because of phone charger

    Murdered because of phone charger

    A few weeks to his wedding, Adegbeso met his death over a phone charger. Taiwo Abiodun reports

    For Dele Adegbeso,33, his plan to marry his heartthrob Adesewa and settle down has been shattered for life. His friend snuffed life out of him in a gruesome manner on the July 28.

    The exact motive behind the killing is still shrouded in mystery. And now for the residents of Ijebu –Ife, Ogun State, they will not know peace until the suspect, one Muyideen Olowolayemo (aka Tintiyo) who has been giving them sleepless nights is brought to book. In the last three weeks the ancient town has been in enveloped in confusion while some of the community members are relieved that the suspect had been taken away from their midst yet many still nurse fear as they sleep with one eye open for the fear that he might come back to continue his alleged atrocities.

    On what could have caused the feud between the two friends -Adegbeso and Olowolayemo- some sources said, Adegbeso was allegedly killed by his friend over a handset charger while another said he was killed for exposing his friend, Olowolayemo who is alleged to be a robber in the town. The two friends lived in the same vicinity.

    Miss Adesewa, the fiancée of the deceased said she was on her way to her sister’s place on the fateful day when she heard about the death of her lover. According to her, “On that fateful Sunday, July 28, after leaving the church, I was on my way to my sister’s place when I heard wailings and gnashing of teeth that my fiancé had been killed. I saw many people running and screaming that somebody had used knife and broken bottle to kill my husband-to-be. When I got to his house I saw him in a sitting position at a corner and in a pool of his own blood while some blood were splattered on the walls, blood was on the ground. It was terrible; I saw broken bottles and knife buried in his neck.”

    Who dun it

    On what could have caused the misunderstanding, Adesewa said “I know that there was a misunderstanding between them. There was a time when the police raided our house and the suspect’s (Tintiyo) house but the suspect did not allow the Vigilante and policemen to search his room. My husband then challenged him but when the Vigilante left Tintiyo now turned on him in a fury and vowed to kill him for having the guts to dare him. He boasted that he would drain his blood in a calabash but we thought it was an empty boast or threat but it is now very unfortunate that we now know better. I saw the knife he dipped into his neck, it broke into two while he left the remnants there in his neck. This is callous”, she said as she bursts into tears again.

    When the reporter visited Adesewa who has returned to her parents’ home where she is still mourning the loss of her fiancé, she looked devastated and confused, surrounded by sympathisers. Asked whether they had consummated their marriage, Adesewa replied ‘’we were still planning for that. It was in the pipeline and everything was in full gear until this ugly incident. I don’t know whether I am pregnant now ‘’ she said, sobbing.

    Àdebayo Adegbeso, the younger brother to the late Dele could not control himself, he broke down and wept profusely saying his mother had four children and one died some years ago and now Dele was gone too. He said he came from Lagos to see his mother in Ijebu -Ife but as he was preparing to go back on that fateful Sunday he was tricked to his brother’s house that he was calling him, “Three of my brother’s friends tricked me that my late brother was calling me and I went with them but at the entrance of the house they now revealed to me that he had been killed by his friend who had once threatened him.”

    He, however, gave another version, “They said they fought over a handset charger and that was why he was killed. When I got there he was already dead while I learnt that the suspected assailant had run away. The caked blood on the ground and on the walls was frightening. We lost our father many years ago and now our mother is getting old. What kind of life is this?”,he asked rhetorically as he broke down and burst into tears.

    But Yinka Kowobari said both the suspected assailant and the deceased were members of the town’s vigilante group. While Tintiyo was suspected to be an alleged armed robber a fact which many the residents are all aware of but afraid to face because they said he had turned himself into a terror. “Tintiyo was a suspect and he was very tough as no man can challenge him. He goes about doing what he likes. I learnt they quarrelled over phone charger, I told the late Dele to buy another one for Titinyo if it is the charger that the suspect was after. Well, I know that the late man sent me on an errand to go and buy another for him but on my return he had killed his friend. I saw people running to his house shouting and screaming that Tintiyo had killed him. But funny enough I saw the suspect coming out from the building and I challenged him, asking why he was stained with blood and what he was doing with knife and broken bottle he had in his hands. In fact, I did not know he had allegedly killed Dele. I asked again the type of animal he killed in the compound not knowing he had committed murder. But seeing how he was fuming, I then suspected he must have done a terrible thing. Then, I screamed that he had killed his friend, he later ran away.” He continued, “when I entered the house where my friend was killed, I found blood, broken bottle, knife left in the neck of the deceased. It was a horrible sight. I could not believe my eyes. In fact, I was even calling him not knowing that he had finally gone. This is terrible. I can’t believe I would not meet Dele who sent me to go and buy another charger. I don’t know what to say.”

    Investigation revealed that the suspect who lived in the same vicinity visited his victim, and grabbed him from the back and allegedly stabbed him several times with a knife and cutlass; he later buried the broken knife in his neck. The suspected assailant who was said to be a butcher killed the man professionally. There was a big gap in the neck while he cut the oesophagus clinically, there is no way the victim could have survive it.

    Caught at last

    Immediately the suspect carried out his nefarious act, he quickly went into hiding in the bush near the house but cries of Dele in the death throes attracted the neighbours. But many people were afraid of the suspect and therefore alerted the police. His hiding place in the bush was exposed when a 10 year-old boy went there to defecate. It was the boy who spotted him and raised an alarm.The suspect was eventually caught and handed over to the police.

    According to Jimoh Moradejo (aka Akeweje of Ijebu Ife), “Immediately we heard of the case we quickly spread our security dragnets , some of us went to the express road while others went to the nooks and crannies of the town searching for the suspect. But thank God that he did not escape.”

    The mother of the boy refused to allow anyone speak with his son over fear that the suspect might come back to harm him. A resident observed, “The woman was afraid thinking her son’s life is not safe so she has to be hiding him from the public.”

  • 2013 NLNG Poetry Prize:The return of the Diaspora

    2013 NLNG Poetry Prize:The return of the Diaspora

    As the excitement which followed the announcement of the long list for the 2013 NLNG Poetry Prize continues, the selection of the three names that would eventually be announced for the short list will revitalise an age long debate in the Nigerian literature community: the debate is where better literature is sourced from.

    In 2009 no winner was announced as none of the over 200 poetry works submitted were deemed befitting of receiving the $100, 000 Prize. As expected, the decision raised a dust as to the restriction placed on Nigerian writers from the diaspora against their home based counterparts. The rule then was that only those residents at home were fit to enter for the coveted prize.

    Perhaps the 2009 hiatus could be said to be the major reason validating against the argument barring writers residing outside the country. With the dust settled to allow writers from the diaspora to put in entries, Chika Unigwe, a writer based in Belgium emerged the first Nigerian in the Diaspora to clinch the prize with her novel On Black Sisters Street in 2012.

    The standing of the 11 poets whose work were long listed for this year’s prize out of the over 200 entries received gives the premonition that the selection of the short list and the eventual winner would be a keenly contested affair. Almost all the writers have to their credits works which have enjoyed rave reviews and won awards and recognition at home and abroad. There is a strong posing from the academia as two great writers from the world of ‘chalk and blackboard’ would also test their wit among the constellation of stars aiming for this year’s honour. Prof Remi Raji’s Sea of my Mind and Femi Osofisan’s Seven Stations up the Stairways (with the pen name Okinba Launko) are the referencing points in this regard.

    Sexist in writing also comes to the fore as two female poets have their eyes etched on the prize. A debutante, Iquo Eke made the long list with her entry Symphony of Becoming which Lola Soneyin describes as “reflective lines that stir and delight”. Eke is also alumnus of the Ebedi International Writers Residency Programme in Iseyin, Oyo State. For Ogochukwu Promise with her entry Wild Letters, winning the prize will further reinforce her stature as a poet of no mean standing, her gender notwithstanding. The University of Ibadan alumnus has won prizes and fellowships both locally and overseas. She is a well-travelled writer who has toured countries in Europe, Asia and America.

    Other home based writers whose profound scribbled verses stood them in the ring this year include Tade Ipadeola (The Sahaba Testament), Egbewo G’ebinyo (Marsh Boy and Other Poems), Gomba Obari (Length of Eyes) and Nnadi Amu’s Through the Windows of a Sandcastle.

    If the pendulum swings to any of the trio of Ede Amatoritsero (Globetrotter and Hitler’s Children), Afam Akeh (Letter Home and Biafran Nights) and Obi Nwakanma (Birth Cry) then Buchi Emecheta’s statement in an interview in 1986 that “writing coming from Nigeria sounds quite stilted while that of a person who is from diaspora is enjoyable because it sounds academic and perfect” stands to be proven. As the journey to the selection of the final three and the eventual winner closes in in a matter of weeks, then it is apt to say that this year’s win will go a long way in affirming or debunking her assertion.

  • ‘What Fagunwa’s works mean to us’

    ‘What Fagunwa’s works mean to us’

    The issue of encouraging children to fall in love with their mother tongues dominated discussions at the just concluded conference organised to celebrate 50 years of the death of Daniel Olorunfemi Fagunwa. Fagunwa was an author who devoted his entire writing career to the promotion of Yoruba language, literature and culture.

    Part of the discussions as espoused by Professor Tunde Babawale of the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC), which he equally made known to the conferees, was that parents and guardians owe it a duty to ensure that their kids and wards are taught in the local languages right from the moment when they are born. “It has to start from their kindergarten year,” he said.

    This advocacy to stamp the language early enough in the minds of the kids is one of the primary reasons why it is usually said that when they grow up they will neither forget nor depart from it. Babawale said, “If this is done over time, they will develop this habit to be able to read these languages on their own. If they continue to read all these foreign novels, they will not develop that habit. Children who speak their local languages very well, are known to be more proficient in other foreign languages. And they can communicate better. This has been proved to be true over the years,” he said.

    “It is because we have neglected our duty to train the children and show them how and where to go that we are in this mess we are in today. What do they learn from foreign novels? Why have we chosen to expose our kids to everything foreign, values that do not lead them or even we, anywhere?” asked Babawale.

    To him, this state of anomie and the total anarchy besetting our culture today are caused by our inability to do the right things by our kids. “The only way is to depart from this situation,” Babawale further stated, “and go back to the basics. Then make available today the basic books and literary materials to read so that they will begin now to catch up. It is not only for them to read and write but to have the cognate knowledge to face the world and be the best in whatever they do. It is through this way that they can grow up to be better human beings and true citizens of the world.”

    The question of why parents do not take their kids to the villages both for sightseeing and holidays, still form part of the wrong orientation being given to them. The perception that kids become more modern and more civilised only when they go to the cities is also misdirected. In this regard, Babawale, a professor of political economy and a seasoned culture technocrat, said, “You can see that the Soyinkas and Okigbos of this world have been able to impact meaningfully on the world due to their total exposure to the rudiments of their cultures. Because of the background such writers have in their festivals and other celebrations of their people, they have been known to be on top of their game.”

    Generally, it was noted that students perform poorly in most subjects in tertiary institutions due to their disinterest in what is their own. Professor Femi Osofisan, who teaches playwriting at the Obafemi Awolowo University, (O.A.U), Ile-Ife, Osun State, was one of those who was so piqued by the development, having seen many generations of students who never got it right due to this apathy. He said, “it is so annoying that these students come least prepared to face the academic rigours. In the first place, they don’t have the appropriate background to fit into the academic world,” Osofisan bemoaned, shaking his head.

    He went on. “they are not only too lazy to read, they do not also know how to speak either their local languages or the English language. This becomes worrisome because you discover you are teaching people who are deficient in their language of communication. And language, as you know, is the tool for learning. If you do not know it, then of what use are you to yourself and to the academic world?”

    Owing to this, the Ondo State government has decided to make the reading of all D.O. Fagunwa texts compulsory in schools in the state. Governor Olusegun Mimiko said, “this is to enable us bring back the values we have lost. It is not too late to start now. So we will go back to the use of literary materials in our local tongue to help our kids master them. This way and with time, we will make progress.”

  • ‘It’s unfair not to honour authors of the national anthem’

    ‘It’s unfair not to honour authors of the national anthem’

    Professor Babatunde Ogunnaike, Dean, College of Engineering, University of Delaware, USA, is one of the five authors of the national anthem who have remained unacknowledged for their work. In continuation of our series on the writers of the words of the anthem, Prof Ogunnaike, a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering , in this interview with Lekan Otufodunrin recalls his involvement in the writing of the, anthem and the state of the nation.

    Can you recall your involvement in contributing to the national anthem?

    I recall being on my national service (NYSC) in 1977 (in Port Harcourt) when the announcement came out for contributions to the new National Anthem. And I recall reading some of the submissions because they were then routinely published in the Evening Times (this was the evening version of the Daily Times).

    I recall thinking that I might be able to submit something that might be just as good, if not better, than the ones I had read.  So I did.

    What lines of the national anthem are yours?

    I believe that most of the second verse of the national anthem (if not the entire thing itself) was the second verse of the poem that I submitted.  My first verse had a line similar to “The labours of our heroes past” which ended up in the anthem; I am also sure that many of the other submissions had lines similar to this one.

    I think that my line emphasised “sacrifice” instead of labour and I don’t think I used heroes. I do not have the original submission with me, alas; and that was some 36 years ago now, so it is difficult for me to recall precisely what was in the first verse.

    What informed your composition?

    A sense that Nigeria had a lot of potential that was untapped; and that we needed good and selfless leadership; and that with divine guidance and dedication to national progress, we can become a great nation.

    Were you compensated or acknowledged in any way for your contribution?

    A telegram was sent to my home address in Ibadan, but I had left for graduate school in the United States by the time it arrived.  My father forwarded a copy to me.  I did not receive any compensation.

    Has the country been fair to the authors of the anthem by not honouring them with a national award like it did to the composer of the music, the late Pa Odiase?

    Of course it is unfair not to honour someone for such major contributions.

    What should be done about honouring you and other co-authors?

    I am not sure what should be done, but most other nations acknowledge the authors of their national anthem in some way or other.  I have lived in the US now for about 25 years and everyone knows that Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics to the national anthem (even I, a recent immigrant, know this). At the very least, the people of Nigeria should be told who wrote their national anthem.

    You were quoted in a previous interview that you usually feel a sense of pride and sadness when you hear the national anthem.  Can you expatiate on this?

    A sense of pride to have been involved in writing the words, but sadness because 50-something years after independence we still have not realised even the very basic aspects of what a modern nation should be. That is sad.

    The message of the national anthem seems not to have been imbibed by Nigerians, how can this be done?

    That takes leadership modelling for the nation what our collective values should be; it takes parents modelling it to their children, and elders in the villages showing examples to the younger folks. People who take pride in their nation, people who have reason to be proud of their nation, are often inspired by the lyrics of their national anthem.  People who are struggling to put food on the table; who feel like their leaders do not care about them; who are disconnected from the fabric of society—such people have no time to imbibe any message in any anthem—they are too busy with the task of surviving.

    Why has the country not been able to accomplish the dreams of our founding fathers considering the abundant resources we have?

    This is very simple: extremely poor—and incredibly selfish—leadership.  It is not “politically correct” to say this, but we have not been blessed with inspirational or selfless leaders with vision and the moral strength and courage not only to do the right thing, but also to challenge the nation to be the best that it can be.

    Our leaders have mostly failed miserably. The only leader that was anything close to being inspirational was Murtala Mohammed and he was gunned down before he could do much.

    You and Dr Sota, a co-author of the national anthem, are among many accomplished Nigerians outside the country. How we can limit the high rate of the brain drain we have been experiencing?

    You may or may not know this, but I lived and worked in Nigeria from 1982 to 1988 as an assistant professor at the University of Lagos.  I had to leave in 1988 when I could no longer support my family!  The salary of a senior lecturer was paltry; I was not corrupt; I don’t know how to sell cement and rice—the only thing I knew how to do was to teach and do research.

    I could not do any of that and still make a living in Nigeria at the time.  I had no option but to leave if I wanted a decent life for my children. In addition, the entire system (people in the customs, and the police, NEPA, tax office, even the banks)  all made life difficult.  I couldn’t clear my things through the customs after I arrived because everyone wanted a bribe, but I was a poor graduate student coming back home after finishing my PhD.

    The entire Nigerian system is hostile to people like us.  Not sure what else can be done, but if Nigeria wants people to stay (and many of us truly want to be in Nigeria), perhaps some of these artificial barriers can be removed.

    Also, it is difficult to function in a country where there is no rule of law, and where the government is essentially not very competent.  I do not want to go on complaining about the government, but it really has a significant role to play in keeping its resources at home instead of literally forcing them away (as they did for many of us).

    Tell me more about yourself and your involvement back home.

    I come back to Nigeria as often as I can, mostly to help with a relatively new World-Bank sponsored University in Abuja (The African University of Science and Technology). I am now involved with the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, having been fortunate enough to have been inducted with the class of 2012.

    I love Nigeria and would love nothing more than to be able to put something back into the system that gave me a great foundation.  It pains me that I can be successful in another country and do many things for that country, but I do not have much of an opportunity to do the same for my own country of birth.  I am grateful to the US for providing me the opportunity to study for my PhD here, and in a sense, it is proper for me also to put something back into the US system for what they gave to me.

    But I would also love the opportunity to be able to do the same for my country of birth, where my education foundation was laid.  I just do not want to have to sacrifice my family in the process.

     

  • Something out of the heart

    Something out of the heart

    With one side of his body still paralysed due to stroke since eight years ago, artist and painter Uchechukwu Nwosu is still persevering in his doggedness and determination. Since his sickness began, he has done two solo exhibitions having learnt the use of his left hand with which he now paints and draws. Come October 25 this year, Uche will again be on song with about 40 works in an outing tagged old and new. Edozie Udeze takes a look at some of his works and the artist himself in this revealing encounter

    This is the symbolism of life. Uchechukwu Nwosu has consistently shown that there’s no impossibility for the willing mind. About eight years ago, he was mowed down by stroke which paralysed the right side of his body. But Uche has risen from the ashes of that unfortunate development, or like most of his close pals would put it, he has refused to allow his brush and easel to rest or desert him.

    Uche is an artist’s artist, a painter whose penchant for humour and satire is legendary. Once he picks his brush, his mind goes round the bend to invent ideas that are deeply symbolic and profoundly surrealistic, looking at issues that will put you in a sober mood.

    Now, he has learnt to paint with his left hand, a change that surprised many of his pals when he began to do that shortly after he discovered he couldn’t regain the use of his right hand. Uche loves talking with his brush; his love for colours, often so beautifully awkward and outlandish, gives his works unique and passionate appeal.

    Come October 25 to November 1, Uche Nwosu’s 40 works will be exhibited at the Freedom park, Broad Street, Lagos. These works, coming barely two years after a well-celebrated solo exhibition titled Shadows, mountains and Valleys, show a gifted painter whose resilient spirit defines him as a lion.

    A man with a lion’s heart is that person who never says die or gives up easily in times of adversity.

    With the theme of the new collection as old and new, a symbolism geared towards making an eloquent artistic statement, this artist whose speech is still impaired is poised to depict a paradigm; that life is full of meaningful innuendoes for those who give meaning to what they love and cherish so much.

    In his sober moments, Uche is fond of recounting that “I turned out to be an artist because the arts excite discussions more than any other occupation under the sun. Just see how my love of life is married to my art. Now I am able to keep engendering discussions where they’re lacking or reviving them where their embers are growing cold. What more can I aspire to?” he asked in that his gentle mien that has come to redefine his whole essence.

    To him, the climax of an art is in its ability to touch the heart; to say one or two things about the state of man and nature in the universe where pollution is fast eroding the landscapes of most societies. In one instance, going through some of the works that constitute old and new with Uche, was somewhat Herculean. It was a bit harrowing because you have to be patient with him. He would use his fingers to trace some of the lines and contours in the paintings just for you to grasp the meaning of what he is trying to say.

    Then he would smile into your face, saying, “oh, not that.” Then a snide little frown would follow as he insists that you follow him meticulously so as to get it right. Uche loves to allow his art speak to you, sort of appeal to your senses if you are someone who flows with the contours of the mixtures of colours.

    In his somewhat mischievous recourse, he experiments with form, religion, sex and man’s excursion into the labyrinth of the world. In Rose, Morning and Night, a work that captures your attention with some kind of efficacious resonance, he juxtaposes it in a sort of interface. There’s this inter-connectivity between life and death, between darkness and light. To him, even when the roses blossom in winter, with the sizzling effect to win man over for love and compassion, nature bows to the dictates of man. Man can decide to cut the roses to pieces or trim it to sooth his caprices.

    The moon, in the throes of all this, still shines brightly to show that love also, as delicate as it may appear in the night, can be enhanced by this brightness. But darkness and light can meet in the context of roses. In other words, the divide between the two is not really difficult to discern. But then, Uche brings in God, the omnipotent maker of mankind as the final arbiter of the indices of life. This work clearly defines the height of creativity where the artist has the final word in terms of what colour to use to bring the totality of forms involved in this palette.

    In another work, Seeker, he goes more philosophical in defining his form and style. Although, it is acrylic on canvass which he gives a deeper insight into truth, man, in his quest to seek the truth, finds himself in a reflective momentous mood. He strolls off into a lonely place, walking leisurely with his face drawn and eyes focused to seek where and how he can discover who he is. Seeker is a work meant to reappraise man’s hope in things he cannot see or give meaning to. In this wise, he has no choice but to continue to ask questions to be able to find out more about how and why he is here on earth.

    As an artist, Uche’s ideas sometimes confirm the nuances of his inner self which do not easily come to the surface at the moment. But in writing that out sometime ago, he clarified thus: “In the course of my work, I often come to cross roads when it comes to decision making . Do I just take a sound swipe at the passing fancies or trap the fleeting essences and pin them down on time? The answer to this surreal question determines the materials and techniques I employ to explore varied themes.”

    In his natural tendency to be explicit, Uche uses symbolisms to make caricature of issues and satirises subjects that are seen as taboos. Whenever he is asked to explain or define such symbols, Uche would rather go practical, but in a funny and innovative way.

    So whether the fleeting essences are bottled up or pinned down for artistic beauty, satire, love and romance rule Uche’s inner heart. “But in all that I do,” he found himself stating once again “the truth in me sticks out. I can’t hide it no matter how I mask it. My faith is tomorrow, love of atmosphere and the search for the ultimate truth drive me to theme surreal. Therefore, irrespective of whether I use acrylic to express how together we are in our separateness or oil to smear the canvass of the forces of re-colonisation, it bears hearing that mercy and pity on the orphan, widow and vulnerable children cannot be drowned by form.”

    Like the stark truth that strikes the soul at all times, the artist shows in Resurrection, Blossom and Beach, works that dwell in surrealism that penetrate the society and point out areas where man has erred. This was why some of his colleagues agree that Uche has gone through so much metamorphosis in this his endless quest to use form to dominate the world and draw attention to himself. Even when some of his contemporaries who are healthy and kicking have not done much, Uche has pushed out more works than anyone could ever imagine. He is purposeful, determined and zestful in a way only he can explain. He is just alive to his professional calling.

    Often, he taps you on the shoulder and groans, “when…my speech.” Then he’d slur, pointing to his mouth to show you that it pains him so much that he cannot express himself freely anymore. This is the constant agony that befalls the artist which though does not limit his talent, but does hinder his full application of the issues he wants to say out to the people.

    Uchechukwu Nwosu studied Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, (UNN) between 1986 and 1991. Aside participating in several group exhibitions in different parts of the country, Uche says he finds solace in some of the teachers who formed him at the UNN.

    They included Professors Obiora Udechukwu, El- Anatsui, Ola Oloide, and Chike Aniakor. These teachers not only serve as his models but also inculcated in him the discipline and knowledge that have been propelling him on in life.

    Currently, he is a staff of the National Gallery of Art (NGA), Lagos.

  • Igbangaladi: A director’s play

    Author: Femi Onileagbon

    Title: Igbangaladi – the enemy within

    Publishers:Onileagbon Sight and Sound, Lagos.

    Year of Publication: 2012

    Reviewer: Edozie Udeze

    Three children, ages ranging from six to twelve, are at the centre of the stage, playing a game of who is in the garden. A few feet away sit three men playing a game of ayo. At stage left are three women. The eldest of them plaits the hair of the youngest while the other one chats animatedly.

    “As the various groups engage in their activities, two elderly men come on stage. They are accompanied by three health workers. Seeing the elderly men, the young men leave their game and rush to greet the two men. The little ones, however, hang back, apparently frightened by the white overalls worn by the health workers.

    “The first elderly man charms them with sweets and soon they are busy running around the stage. The second man, Baba Ibeji, introduced the health workers and tells the people of their mission. This creates uproar as the family members are not willing to accept the health workers. They move to stage left. The health workers remain on stage right while the elderly men are in the middle. Then Baba Ibeji tries to appeal to his family.”

    This is the dramatic personification of Igbangaladi – the enemy within, a play written by Femi Onileagbon, dissecting the face–off between villagers and health workers sent by government to go either to inoculate or teach people how to live healthy lives. It is interesting that the playwright could invent all sorts of arguments on both sides to give the play a kind of phenomenonal intricacy that can be strangely dramatised on stage. The head and leader of the villagers found himself in a difficult position to convince the people to yield to the health workers.

    “You see,” the elder informed them in a fatherly sequence: “They are not here to give you injection. They are here for a different reason, a different task,” he tried to remonstrate with them. The health workers are not always around to give injections. At times they go out to educate the populace on certain salient issues concerning their health.

    But Taiye, another strange character in the play, did not want to hear that. He queried Baba Ibeji thus, “Baba mi, we are tired of all these troubles. We do not care to know why they are here. Let them just go. Today injection, tomorrow vaccination, next tomorrow immunisation. Even next tomorrow, inoculation. Who knows may be next next tomorrow, they will bring eradication.”

    The argument went on for a long time to situate the scenes in their proper perspectives. But interestingly, the playwright was able to add drama to the sequences in such a way that you can feel the scenes as you read along. The playwright understands that the main gravity of a play lies in its ability to generate actions both in your mind when you read it or on stage when it is dramatised.

    The central theme is the irony of Nigeria where inoculations are wrongly done or where it is conceived for ulterior political motive. This driving force in Igbangaladi, a play hinged on the socio-political tendencies of a nation and its teeming people, is what the playwright has been able to do.

    From there, it gradually moved to the story of two set of people who were sworn enemies within the context of Nigeria. People pleaded for there to be peace. But even then that seemed to be the peace of the grave yard. How could this be?

    Too many characters came to contribute to this peace. However, the more the people the more diverse and complicated the situation became. The playwright employed the wisdom of a village leader to resolve the issue in order to save the people from anarchy. But then has anarchy been really prevented? This is the personification of Nigeria, a place where ceaseless squabbles keep people at daggers drawn. It is the irony of a society, with many strange and incurable diseases which set brother against brother, and sister against sister.

    More often, ignorance of what to expect or what to believe stunt people’s intellectual input in the matter. The health workers were prepared to help, but the already formed opinion by the people disturbed whatever role they needed to play.

    In the end wisdom prevailed. Kehinde, one of the characters said, “I will help too. I think I will like to work with you as a test person and help to educate people on HIVand AIDS. Then the lights go off, but it is now apparent that the public has more information concerning the HIV and AIDS and lots more.

    It is the playwright’s ability to bring drama into this that makes it worthwhile. There is drama right from the beginning to the end. However, it is still a director’s play.

  • Dancing in style

    Hip hop enthusiasts were exposed to the impact of knowledge and the power of mind over matter at the July edition of Str8 up Hip hop last Thursday held at The Place in Ikeja.

    Themed Juice! Know-the-ledge, the urban monthly event afforded guests to learn at the feet of a veteran like Edi Lawani, who was the special guest for this month’s edition. Although he was unavoidably absent, his message was aired to guests.

    Drawing from experience, Edi encouraged and advised young artistes to be open to knowledge on their way to success in their chosen career.

    Some up and coming artistes had the privilege of showcasing their talents as they kicked of the   Sly of Classic 97.3fm hosted event.

    The crowd was treated to almost all the Hip-hop elements which included mesmerising B-boy stunts, captivating spoken word, energetic performances and superb DJ’ing by DJ OZ.

    A major feature of Str8 Up, Hip-hop, Emcee battle, was tightly contested. Thus the crowd settled for four best rappers who slugged it out but was eventually won by M2B who took home 20,000 naira cash prize.

    Spoken word poet, Ndukwe, thrilled the crowd with his famous poems like Puff puff pass and Boom, which earned a call for an encore from the crowd.

    The crowd was also treated to scintillating performances from Mr. Raw, who used the event to premiere his new video, Ose Jioku.

    Terry Tha Rapman came on stage and delivered old and new hits, he performed Na beans?,  Sample Remix (by popular demand) and his latest single testing 1,2.

    In recognition of his contributions to the development of Hiphop and Nigerian music, Edi Lawani was presented an award of honour while the first prize winner of the Str8 up Hip hop Juice!KnowTheLedge Quotes competition was presented his prize on stage by Mr.Raw.

    The NM En.Core produced event and proudly supported by Kally drink and Mowa water attracted many hip hop fans who interacted with Terry Tha Rapman, Illbliss, Mr. Raw, Splash, Teegee, among others.