All aspects of the art were brought alive at the Freedom Park, Lagos, as the 14th Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF) was celebrated last weekend. Edozie Udeze, who attended the shows, reports
Although this year’s Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF) has come and gone, the memories will linger on for sometime to come. In its 14th edition, the book festival was established by the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA) in 1999 to ensure that books are made part and parcel of the society. In a society where reading is no longer considered a serious issue, the founders of CORA took it upon themselves to revive the interest of the public in reading and writing.
Coming in a festival form, makes it more interesting for people. This way, a lot of programmes are fused into it to hold the attention of the people. This was why the festival featured a coterie of art events and shows. Ranging from stage theatre to musical performances, the appearances of Nollywood stars to and art exhibitions, the shows pinpointed one fact, that art can be made alive if it is properly packaged for the people.
The Crown Troupe of Africa led by Segun Adefila did not disappoint the audience. With their endless display of stage dramas and stories of life, the Freedom Park arena of the shows was kept alive. For the Crown Troupe artistes, stage is where the fun is. In demonstrating different stages of life on stage, they were able to remind the people that life is a stage where people come to play their part and leave. “It is all about life itself,” Adefila, the founder of the group said.
There were many children in the arena. This year’s theme was concentrated on the kids, who, it was learnt, needed to be exposed to art forms early in life. Their own aspect of the show was termed the Green Festival, with concerted attention being focused on ‘artful’ ways of resolving conflicts – conflicts in homes, in schools and the communities.
This was why the likes of Ali Baba, foremost Nigerian comedian was on hand to teach them how to actualise those dreams of being professional artistes. Also on hand to do her bit was Sola Alamutu who has been a specialist in kids’ literature. “Children need to be taught these things on time,” Alamutu said.
The esplanade wore new and colourful looks. Book stands were filled by people who not only shopped for books but also encountered new and old authors. One of the new authors was Tina Okpara, whose book, My Life Has a Price, spoke volumes about the atrocities people mete out to their wards.
Okpara’s book is a personal memoir on how she was abused by her surrogate parents. At age 5, she had to leave her biological parents to live with her other parents. It was a hellish sojourn from Nigeria to Paris, France. At the end, she became more traumatised than she could ever imagine.
In fact, as Okpara was reading her book, tears began to stream down her face. “It was terrible,” she finally found her voice to say it out. “People my parents trusted to give me the best in life, turned out to be so brutish and merciless,” she squirmed.
Other writers that took time out to share their experiences included Eghosa Imasuen, Akachi Adimora – Ezeigbo, Toni Kan and others. E.C. Osondu’s award-winning book, Voice of America and Bombay by Yewande Omotosho took centre stage in terms of discussion and style of writing. As a matter of fact, the literary session of the festival made it more alive because writers devoted a lot of time discussing the present Nigerian situation. They also harped on the relationship between music and literature.
More importantly, performance poetry occupied the central thinking of the audience. Gradually, that aspect of the art is beginning to appeal to the people. As “the biggest cultural festival on the continent,” like Jahman Anikulapo, chairman of CORA, described it, “it is one of most arduous responsibility for us to rebuild the nation. The nation should be made a pleasant place where things thrive for the good of the citizenry. The art occupies a pivotal place in ensuring a cohesive and comprehensive society.”
This was why visual art was inculcated into the event, using it to reflect on and depict all kinds of textile designs. Children were taken round the exhibitions to see what it takes to create such colourful arts. In the workshops that followed, the children were taught how to make art forms a part of their everyday living.
Some of the visual artists that featured were Sam Ovraiti, Nkechi Nwosu-Igbo, Tola Wewe, Uche James-Iroha and many more. Among the musicians and entertainers were Yinka Davies, Koffi, Princess, Yaw and others.
In the end, the beauty and artistic setting of the Freedom Park put everybody in the mood to savour the freedom there. “But things can only get better if we have more audience attendance and participation,” so said Toyin Akinosho, secretary-general of CORA.
