Category: Femi Macaulay

When I asked Susanne Wenger how she wished to be remembered, her response was completely unexpected. “You can forget me,” she answered. “I cannot advise you what you want to remember about me.”

Ten years after her death, Wenger remains unforgettable.  Wenger’s exit on January 12, 2009, at the age of 93, was as newsy as her life. She had arrived in Nigeria in 1950 and died in the country nearly 60 years later. Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, in a tribute, described her as “a questing stranger who came, saw and was conquered.” What conquered Wenger?

The first of my memorable interviews with Wenger started dramatically. “You’ve come from Lagos to tell me that I will die? What nonsense!” That was Wenger’s rattling reaction when I observed that she was at a transitional stage, suggesting she was close to her end.

My last conversation with Wenger took place in her artistic house in Osogbo, Osun State. When I asked her a question about the Susanne Wenger Foundation, Krems, Austria, she told me: “I have agreed with Krems. They have collected all they can get hold of, what I did and what is said about me. They have better reasons to be interested than our people here. Our people here have nothing against me, but they have no reason why they should back what I do, what I say.” Imagine my shock!

Wenger was Austrian. It was incredible that despite her self-described “complete immersion” in Yoruba religion and culture, and having lived in Nigeria for almost 60 years, she was still an outsider of sorts. While it may be heart-warming that Wenger’s spiritual sculptures can still be seen in the Osun-Osogbo Grove, the disappearance of her important paintings and batiks is sobering. Her range of artistic expression was fundamentally influenced by Yoruba cultural context and traditional worldview, and she made enduring contributions to the local culture.

Despite her Austrian roots, there is a profound sense in which she could be regarded as having been culturally defined by her Yoruba experience. In the end, it is tragic that her movable body of work and her essence were better appreciated by foreigners than the local people whose culture and tradition largely informed her creative vitality, and who provided the ambience for her spiritual expression. The loss of her works has negative implications for cultural tourism in Nigeria.

Long before it became correct to be environment-friendly, Wenger had championed a crusade for the conservation of nature in the Osun-Osogbo Grove, albeit based on a religious premise and her conviction that deities dwelled there. It is to her credit that after her long battle with various interest groups that failed to see the need to guard the grove, the political authorities in Nigeria eventually saw her point and stepped in to protect it; and then, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) followed.

The Osun-Osogbo Grove is the site of Nigeria’s star tourist attraction, the Osun-Osogbo Festival, possibly the country’s pre-eminent traditional religious festival, which draws yearly a high number of visitors from within Nigeria as well as from the wider Yoruba Diaspora and beyond.

I became a pilgrim to the mystical grove right from my first visit as a journalist over two decades ago to see the spectacular festival. I had eagerly looked out for Wenger in the grove but didn’t see her. It was, therefore, a magical moment for me when I eventually came face to face with her in her Osogbo home on a different occasion while trying to get her to grant me an interview.

I found out, during my research for the interview, that there was no book on her written by a Nigerian, although she was a cultural celebrity and had at the time lived in Nigeria for nearly 50 years.  It was unbelievable! This was when the idea struck me to do a book on her.

At the time I informed Wenger of my plan to write a book on her, she responded positively, saying, “I bless your work and your good intentions.” She was an engaging personality well known for her remarkable devotion to Yoruba traditional gods (which earned her the Yoruba name Adunni Olorisa as a mark of her acceptance in the traditional society).

She was also famous for her innovative New Sacred Art group and for her selfless dedication to the preservation of the sacred Osun-Osogbo Grove, listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO shortly after her 90th birthday in 2005- this was an interesting coincidence and the icing on the cake for Wenger.

Despite Wenger’s exit, the book project remained on course. This unique well- researched Wenger portrait offers a fresh experience of her; it consists of an extensive up-to-date close-up profile of her, and exclusive interviews that I had with her, which not only explored her extraordinary life but also yielded further insights into her thoughts and ideas on Yoruba culture and tradition at the advanced stage of her life.

What I set out to do is unprecedented. In concept and execution, this new book on Susanne Wenger is unparalleled. For the first time, the captivating story of the phenomenal Austrian artist who became an unapologetic populariser of Yoruba traditional religion and attracted global attention to Osogbo is presented from a Nigerian perspective and with a Nigerian flavour.

The book is enriched with expressive pictures of Wenger and some of her eye-catching sculptures in the grove; and other important images related to her gripping story. It is a tribute to a loyal vessel of Yoruba divinities; her legacy is undeniable. The book also beams the spotlight on the Osun-Osogbo Grove and the Osun-Osogbo Festival.

As much as possible in this book, Wenger is made to tell her intriguing story in her own inimitable style. This approach was made possible by various sources, which I gratefully acknowledge. However, the beauty of this book lies particularly in its liberal use of narratives by Nigerian journalists to paint a picture of this enigmatic celebrity known for her self-effacing modesty. It represents, therefore, a very Nigerian treatment of the subject.

Furthermore, this is the most up-to-date book on the life and times of Susanne Wenger; it includes material on the celebration of her 100th birth anniversary in 2015 as well as the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Osun-Osogbo Grove as a World Heritage Site in the same year.   I welcome culture-friendly support towards the release of my book to mark the 10th anniversary of Susanne Wenger’s death.

There is no doubt that the print media is threatened by digital developments. Print media managers need to reimagine and rethink the business in order to survive. But this is easier said than done.

Gbemiga Ogunleye, the Provost of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), who celebrated his 60th birthday on January 5, turned the celebration into a cerebration. A timely lecture by Victor Ifijeh, MD/Editor-in-Chief, The Nation, highlighted the problems of the print media in a digital age. Ifijeh also offered solutions. He delivered a thinking lecture that was also a thought-provoking lecture. The title of the lecture: “Survival of the print media in the digital age.”

Ifijeh presented statistics to show how migration of readers from print to online has shrunk print media revenue not only in Nigeria but worldwide. “The free fall is attributed to the rise of the internet,” he said. “Advertisers are migrating online to meet the readers who are also migrating.”

But he drew attention to an interesting exception. India produces cheap newspapers because the country produces all the materials needed for newspaper production.  This was food for thought. “All put together, is circulation today up to 250,000?” he asked. In a country with an estimated population of nearly 200 million, the print media circulation figures are laughable. Interestingly, the circulation figures are speculative. “We need an ABC,” Ifijeh stressed. “We are too secretive,” he added, and called for “transparency and accountability.”

“What is the way out for print?” Ifijeh asked.  The guest lecturer argued that “the attitude of media managers must change…we must consciously develop online…newspapers can earn enough from online and there must be a conscious effort to do so.” He named The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times as successful examples.

He emphasised content development and rebranding.  He also emphasised human capacity building, saying the print media is busy investing in machines for “simultaneous printing.”  “What percentage of what is printed today is sold,” Ifijeh asked. The Nation on Sunday was printing 80 pages in 2006, he said, but that would be unreasonable and suicidal today.

Ifijeh called for “a change in the business model of newspapers.”  ”There is too much credit,” he argued, saying the method of consumption before payment, which favours distribution agents and advertisers, would lead to a slow death.  A system that creates “high collectables” that may not be collected eventually, is not sustainable, he reasoned.

The print media would benefit from “multiple streams” of income, the media chief observed. He suggested, for instance, collaborations with business bodies, and “well-researched publications that are not advert driven.”

Ifijeh also suggested “acquisition and merger,” which would be an earth-shaking development, considering the narrow-mindedness of media owners in the country.  Then the issue of “corporate governance structure,” which Ifijeh said needed to be improved in the “fierce contest” between the print media and online news platforms.

It was interesting listening to Ifijeh, who has been a print media chief for long enough to appreciate the challenges and reflect on possible responses. Ogunleye, the celebrator who made it possible, deserves applause for choosing the topic to further publicise a front-burner issue. Ifijeh called Ogunleye “a passionate journalist.”

The event reflected Ogunleye’s passion for journalism. In addition to organising the lecture, Ogunleye launched his book, The Editor’s Front-Row Views, a collection of his columns in newspapers 1995 -2005.  ”In publishing this book, what I seek to do is to ask us to learn from the history of our recent past,” Ogunleye, a former editor of The Punch, wrote in the preface.

There was a reading from the book by Gbenga Adefaye, GM/Editor-in-Chief, Vanguard. He read “They did not speak out,” published in The Pucnh, May 12, 1998.  The column was about the tyrannical times that followed the unjust annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by Chief M.K.O. Abiola.  The first paragraph: “They first came for M.K.O., they did not speak out because they must be seen to be opposed to the revalidation of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election…”

Another paragraph: “Then they came for the media, yet they did not speak out. In one fell swoop, they shut the doors of the country’s vibrant press. Not satisfied, they rolled out decrees, proscribing The Punch, The Guardian and the National Concord.”

In my space in the NIJ hall at Ogba, Lagos, I thought about terms of employment in the print media. I recalled a striking December 2017 report.  When the State House Press Corps invited Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to a seminar with the theme, “Journalists and Retirement Plans,” there was probably no way he could have avoided speaking about journalists and pre-retirement. Well, he didn’t mince words during the event at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

A report said: “The Vice President recalled his brief encounters working with media houses as legal adviser, and how in all the months he worked he was not paid despite the irregular hours he put in.” He reached a conclusion based on this discouraging experience.  He was quoted as saying: “I realised first of all that this is not a profession from which one could make a decent living in the first place unless you find a really good way of doing so.”

It was a depressing assessment of journalism and journalists. Here was an outsider and observer telling it like it is. What did the insiders think of his directness?  Osinbajo went on to say why things are the way they are.  According to him, “There are a few reasons in my view why remuneration is poor. The first is that it is just simply cheating.  There are owners of media that are just cheats. They just want to get something for nothing and that is not uncommon, it is a general malaise, it is not necessarily restricted to the media.”

Osinbajo lamented that professional associations formed to protect the interest of journalists don’t do enough to tackle media organisations that don’t pay journalists enough or not at all.

This recollection was a dampener. I left the event thinking about yesterday, today and tomorrow.

In a special tribute to Leah Sharibu, the defiant Boko Haram girl captive, to mark her selection as The Nation’s Person of the Year, I called her a shero. As a wordie, I chose the word consciously.

A blend of she and hero, shero is a word. According to a lexicographic source, the word was first used in 1892.  Another source says the portmanteau was coined in the mid-19th century. Dictionary definitions: A woman regarded as a hero; a woman admired or idealised for her courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities; a heroine.

It is interesting that Literature Nobelist Prof. Wole Soyinka commended The Nation for choosing Leah but criticised the newspaper for using the word.  Soyinka said in a statement: “I cannot wait to congratulate The Nation Newspapers, and then the (Nigerian) nation herself, for an invigorating decision on this year’s nominations for the ritual identification of individuals to whom honour belongs for the title of “Person of the Year.” He added that the choices were “not merely appropriate, but universalist and unexceptionable.”

Soyinka’s criticism: “I fault the – probably unintended – intent to drag her into feminist prospectus, through the evocation of that combative, but misplaced confection: sheroes. There is no such word. Leah Sharibu is a heroine, a national heroine, a universal heroine. Or hero. That should be sufficient.”

But there is such a word. To deny its existence is to carry criticism too far. Soyinka obviously prefers to call Leah “a heroine,” “or hero.”   But that doesn’t change the factual and provable existence of shero, which has the same meaning as heroine.  Why did Soyinka claim that shero is a non-existent word?   There was certainly no intention to suggest that Leah’s defiance makes her an activist of sorts. Her story is clear enough to illustrate the innocence of her impulse.

The criticiser continued: “‘Shero’ is an ugly concoction that even the feminist movement quickly recognised as distractive and distortive – and abandoned.  Words sometimes go beyond mere meaning, they implicate history, just to complicate matters for unforeseen generations and other cultures and causes. Ironically, ‘Hero’, for instance, was the name of a woman. In Greek mythology, she was a priestess of the deity Aphrodite. Imprisoned in a tower, she lit a lamp to guide her lover, Leandros, who swam the straits of the Hellespont for their nightly tryst. Hero is NOT a masculine word, it is not a candidate for gender emasculation.”

Here Soyinka shows his aesthetic taste and his puristic perspective. Describing shero as “an ugly concoction” simply means it is ugly to him. I don’t consider the word ugly. Is Soyinka saying a feminist nuance is an attribute of shero to the extent that the word can’t be used outside that context?

Interestingly, hero accommodates male and female. More interestingly, heroine is a feminine word. In describing Leah, Soyinka’s first choice is heroine, then hero. This means he recognises that a word with a feminine attribute is more appropriate in the context. This is why shero, another word for heroine, is a relevant word. Undoubtedly, heroine, first known use 1587, is an older word, and more popular, but that is beside the point.

But more important than logomachy is Leah’s life. My prologue to The Nation’s Person of the Year package is worth repeating: “Leah Sharibu is still in captivity. But she is a symbol of freedom, particularly religious freedom. Why she remains caged by Islamic fundamentalists is the reason she is in the spotlight. Leah, 15, was among 110 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists from the Government Girls Science and Technical College (GGGSTC), Dapchi, Yobe State. The jolting mass kidnapping happened on February 19.

Sadly, five of the kidnapped girls reportedly died in captivity. Others abducted with Leah were set free on March 21. Those released were Muslims.   The only Christian among them, Leah, was not released because she refused to renounce her faith and convert to Islam.

Leah’s mother, Mrs. Rebecca Sharibu, said: “The released girls told us that the insurgents insisted that my daughter must renounce her religion… They told her that any day she accepts Islam, she will be released. Leah, we were told, was left behind with three Boko Haram women but she sent the message through her mates that we should pray for the will of God to be done in her life.”

Leah’s defiance makes her a heroine of faith. Her stand against religious extremism and the irrationality of faith-based prejudice is a positive example in a country faced with the challenge of diversity. Not only people of faith, but also those who operate outside the realm of faith, ought to learn from Leah’s heroism.  She demonstrated spiritual and moral conviction well beyond her young age.

But Leah’s fate should not be left to her fatalism. Her time in captivity must not be allowed to stretch just because she stuck to her faith. For demonstrating the ultimate moral of resistance against religion as weapon of evil, this shero is our person of the year.”

From the look of things, Leah Sharibu will begin the New Year in captivity. Her mother is said to be worried. Every person of conscience should be. A December 29 report quoted a friend of Leah’s mother who is a senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science, University of Jos, Dr. Gloria Samdi Puldu:  ”Leah Sharibu’s mother had a devastating Christmas; she has been down with serious fever and she is just recovering. It has not been easy spending Christmas without Leah. The hope of the entire family was that by this time, the assurances that the Federal Government gave to us when the three honourable ministers visited that Leah was going to be released would come true.”

She added: “We all had our hopes high, November passed, we are in December and thought that she would be out from captivity and be around on the Christmas day. Her birthday was on May 24 when she turned 15 years. It was a very devastating Christmas, despite the fact that our hopes had been completely in God.”

Among the high points of the show, some were higher than others. It was a high-octane show featuring high-quality performers. It was about Lagos and Lagosians.  It was about music flowing from the past to the present. Faaji Agba Eko, organised by Evergreen Musical Company on December 16, celebrated musical heritage and cultural legacy.

The venue, Absolute Lagos, Tafawa Balewa Street, Lagos Island, boomed with a range of local music genres, including Sakara, Juju, Apala, Agidigbo, Waka, Fuji, Folk music, Highlife and Afrobeat.

Legendary Orlando Julius Ekemode gave a riveting performance with his African-American wife, Latoya. “It’s 20 years today that Orlando and I have been in Nigeria,” she told the attendees.  Latoya said they got married in the office of Mr. Femi Esho, Chairman/CEO of Evergreen Musical Company. It was news to many of the attendees. “I’m very happy and proud to be his wife,” she added. Her husband turned 75 in September, she said. Latoya called for concerts and music festivals. “Your music isn’t going to die,” she declared. She got a round of applause.

It was also an evening of narratives. Others told their own stories too. Giant flutist Tee Mac, who turned 70 this year, said someone stole his flute and he would be going to Switzerland to get another one. He attributed his youthful appearance to his abstinence from meat. “I stopped eating red meat in 1971,” he said. He recommended fish and fruits. “Keep quiet,” he whispered as he prepared to play classical music.

Folk music master Jimi Solanke, who is in his seventies, performed some well-known songs. His deep voice was a delight. “I wrote Onile Gogoro in secondary school and gave it to Roy Chicago,” he said.

Ara, the female drummer, was at the show. But she didn’t perform.  She was reflective as she narrated how she had survived a road accident while travelling with members of her band. “Let’s celebrate our music legends while they are alive,” she said.

Sina Ayinde Bakare performed “Lagos roots music.” Buga Jesse King, described as “a contemporary Highlife musician and a core advocate of Nigeria’s indigenous music,” also performed. Afro Jazz music queen Yinka Davies was her bubbly self as she compered the show. The Evergreen Music Band kept the attendees happy with evergreen melodies.     Then Jide Sanwo-Olu arrived. The Lagos State governorship election frontrunner and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate created a buzz with his entry. “Your word must be your bond,” he said, adding that he had promised to attend the event. “Your sector- Entertainment and Tourism- is important to me. What am I going to do for the tourism industry? We plan to build a film village and take advantage of the waterfront. Give me a blueprint. “He praised the organisers of the show: “This event brings back the glories of Lagos.”

Sanwo-Olu’s attendance was significant.  This is the man who is likely to win the governorship election next year. His words were a promise. By showing interest in culture and tourism, Sanwo-Olu has given an insight into his ideas on well-rounded governance.

Interestingly, Yemisi Busari, the running-mate to Jimi Agabje, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, arrived after Sanwo-Olu had left. She had positive words for “Lagos indigenous music.” Busari said:  ”Wura Fadaka played at my wedding. We plan to take tourism to the next level in Lagos State. We will pay a lot of attention to it.”

Some days after the show, Managing Director of Evergreen Musical Company Bimbo Esho   publicised Sanwo-Olu’s support: “True to his word that he would support the Evergreen Music Heritage Foundation (EMHF), Sanwo-Olu has performed.  I told us he loves the icons and our indigenous music and that day he also said we should come to him to let him know our plans for music in Lagos. We have been advised to draw up a blueprint to drive Lagos tourism. I am positive that every member of this forum has a role to play.  I say a big thank you to Hon. Babajide Olusola Sanwo – Olu for considering us worthy of recognition and association.”

When I first met Bimbo at the Faaji Eko show last year, there was no question that she had chosen to follow her father’s path.  When we met, she said things that were food for thought.

Her thoughts: “Having spent my formative and adolescent years in Lagos State wining and dining with the Queens and Kings of Nigerian music, I have concluded that there is so much to learn from the songs of some music icons. At different points in time some of them sang that the world will one day forget them and not remember them for the smile and joy they put on different faces. One of such songs is the song of a Highlife music legend Rex Lawson  titled “ Old Friends and New Lovers” where he begged the world to remember him as he has sailed many oceans with his music, survived many storms,  delighted many hearts.”

She added: “It saddens one that unlike other countries of the world that draw up calendars for different activities to celebrate their famous music legends all year long, we continue to live with the fading memories of our music greats…Music greats from different ethnicities who reached the peak of their career in Lagos and who also have contributed immensely to the social and  cultural development, religious growth, educational growth, political growth of Lagos State through their music are today forgotten.”

The Evergreen Music Heritage Foundation, which Sanwo-Olu has given support, is situated in Surulere, Lagos.  It is a project “to preserve and safeguard musical heritage… It is a one-stop place for research and documentation of over 10,000 Nigerian musicians…And as part of its core objectives the Foundation will help to create a world-class archival institution to cater for the need of researchers, anthropologists and sociologists the world over.” This effort deserves support.

Faaji Agba Eko is a promising project that needs support to achieve its potential. The public and private sectors should support it as a service to culture and tourism.