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Tag: creative

  • ‘Creative industry must embrace insurance against emergencies’

    ‘Creative industry must embrace insurance against emergencies’

    The Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer, National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Alhaji Adedayo Thomas, has advised practitioners in the creative industry to invest in insurance against future life emergencies.

    Thomas gave the advice at the ongoing Third Nigeria Digital Content Regulation Conference (NDCRC) in Lagos.

    The NFVCB’s boss, who decried situations where members turned beggars, especially when medically challenged, said practitioners must be insured to cater for unforeseen emergencies.

    “We should not at any time ignore insurance. It is for all of us in creative industry. I have never read where ICAN, NMA, NBA put in the newspapers that they were looking for funds to take care of one of them.

    “We are not beggars; we are contributing to the economy, we must be wise within ourselves. We have been very careless with ourselves, we have to be frank. Part of the production cost should include insurance for all, even for a caterer who works within the production.”

    Thomas continued: “We, in the film industry form the majority employers of labour anywhere in the world, so there are lot of hazards that can happen within and outside film production. We have to include insurance package in the production cost.

    “It safeguards us so that we won’t be clapping our hands and begging all around, when our members have issues. We should be able to protect ourselves,” he said.

    Thomas advised stakeholders to self-regulate their activities in line with the nation’s values and laws.

    “Do we actually need the government to regulate our day-to-day life? No. But, how can we say no if we have not morally developed ourselves to understand the basis of life. Moral culture needs to be rebuilt.

    “The children need to be protected. We need within ourselves to understand the fact that to have self-regulation, we need to broaden the scope of what we chunk out.”

    Read Also: Tinubu to increase funding for arts, creative industry to boost productivity – Shettima

    “Self-regulation will stimulate more investment opportunities. Self-regulation is to empower the association to look into a film and give it classification.

    “We must, in the first instance, discipline ourselves as individuals and an association so that we will know whether what we are classifying is acceptable or not.

    “We can manage our lives and businesses without strict regulations by the government.” he said.

    He added that self-regulation had been adopted in South Africa and would soon be accepted in Kenya.

    Thomas recalled that the board decided to bring key industry players, policy makers and entrepreneurs together in 2021 to chart a common front toward repositioning Nigeria’s highly esteemed film industry.

    He said that the first edition focused on streaming services, and the need to bring balance and equity to the ecosystem, especially with the disruption of the digital era.

    He revealed that the purpose was to create a platform for robust dialogue between the government, through the regulator and the Video-on-Demand platform, led by the Over-The-Top Streamers.

    The NFVCB CEO added that in the second  edition in 2022, the board expanded the scope of the conversation beyond censorship to, among others, basically dissect and evaluate conversations and agreements reached at the previous edition.

    According to him, the objective of the third edition of the NDCRC is to primarily discuss the growth of the film industry and evaluate concerns around global standards for regulation of digital contents in the face of advances in the development of cutting-edge technologies.

    “Our goal is to ensure orderliness, national security and promote global peace without undermining inherent investment opportunities and enhancement of economic rewards for all practitioners and stakeholders.

    “In the light of the global socio-economic and political dynamics and the influence of roles played by digital operators, we anticipate that the decision and discussions in this conference will guide us in crafting policies that nurture creativity and collaboration without imposing undue restrictions.”

    According to him, dialogue open avenue for potential partnership between film makers and streamers, for the purposes of enriching the possibilities within the industry as an economic sector.

    He said that the regulatory dialogue was to help the streamers to thrive while obliging to protect Nigerian audience from harmful or offensive content or materials.

    Emphasising the need for practitioners to belong to professional association, Thomas said streamers must not deal with anyone who was not a member of a professional association no matter how talented.

    “We are committed to safeguarding the inherent economic values within the entertainment and creative industry,” he said.

    He noted that like in other professions, there were bad eggs within the creative industry, which he said the security agents also needed to deal with.

    The Chief Host and Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hajia Hannatu Musawa, who expressed delight in the event, assured stakeholders of President Bola Tinubu’s focus in promoting an attractive investment and partnership in and to Nigeria.

    Hajia Musawa, who was represented by Mr. Baba Agba, the Senior Special Assistant on Films, Videos and Musicals, said the president was keen on creating the right framework that encouraged ease of doing business to achieve nation ‘s aspirations for this sector.

    “Nigeria will continue to provide the enabling environment for digital businesses to thrive,” she said.

    Also speaking, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Culture and Tourism, Mr. Kareem Abisodun, who described the conference as apt, said that all discussions had encapsulated the realities of all opportunities, challenges and the way forward for creative digital contents.

    According to Abisodun, Nollywood produces an average of 1,500 films per year, which makes Nigeria the largest film producing country in Africa and globally the second.

    He highlighted the magnitude of social and economic impacts Nigerian creative industry potends in terms of contribution to the Gross Domestic Product) and removal of unemployed youth from our streets, if proper regulation framework were in place.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event brought together various Nollywood veterans and other stakeholders in the industry.

  • Wanted: policies to grow creative industry

    Wanted: policies to grow creative industry

    A former High Commissioner of Nigeria to Singapore, Mr. Ogbole Amedu Ode, has urged the government to develop and implement policies to propel Nigeria’s creative industry to the global stage. 

    He described the industry as a low hanging fruit that government should take advantage of to boost the economy.

    Ode made this known at the Art and Tech Festival, an exhibition by the Creative Arts and Visual Imagery Center (CAVIC) showcasing the innovative results of the infusion of creatives arts and technology. 

    Chief among the exhibits are: an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Interactive Kinetic Sculpture (KST6) that educates viewers on Sustainable Development Goal 4; Data Couture – the wearable tech fashion pieces, solar rechargeable and data protective accessories; the original AI, CHAT-GPT animation installations of Sustainable and Industrial Designer, Teddy Atuluku, that espouses and expands on SDG Goal 3, and how health is essential to wealth, and the AI-infused Visual Paintings of Philip Agbese Jr, with an extended animated visuals of the artworks. 

    Ode said the development and implementation of appropriate policies that explores and exploits the abundant creative arts and tech talents in the country, will not only provide untold levels of employment, but also boost the nation’s economy.

     He noted that the infusion of the creative arts and technology in Canada had not only led to the establishment one of the premium innovative schools in the globe, but also placed Canada as a go-to for sourcing talents in the animation among other cross-discipline collaborations in the creative and tech firms. 

    Read Also: Old banknotes remain legal tender indefinitely, says CBN

     A largely self-funded project by the CAVIC Creative Director, Philip Agbese Jr and his friends, The Festival of Arts and Tech, began with a three days Art and Tech Social Impact workshop that convened about 60 young people in the creative arts and tech industry.

     He said 20 youths were selected based on the innovation and feasibility of their projects, which led to the ongoing exhibition. 

    The objective, Agbese said, is to scaleup the festival, and to place it and the city of Abuja in the global creative arts and technology events calendar. 

     This, he said would require government support, not so much as funding but endorsement and the provision of the enabling environment for the industry and cross-industrial conversations to kickstart and thrive. 

      A Director in the National Gallery of Arts (NGA), Mundung Bridget, urged government to support private organizations in the development of the creative arts industry; in addition to, entrenching the infusion of interactive arts courses at the basic educational level, as a means of catching them young. 

     Mundung who represented the Director General of the NGA, Mr Ebeten William Ivara said, “This is a very rare exhibition. Not many artistes promote the infusion of art and tech in the creative industry. Bringing them together to come up with these creative pieces could not have been easy. I wish government could support the private sector in this journey of promoting creative arts and tech. it would go a long way to keeping our youths gainfully employed and useful to the society,” concluded Mundung

  • Sanwo-Olu, France pumps over N200m into creative industry

    Sanwo-Olu, France pumps over N200m into creative industry

    Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the French government have pumped over N200 million into the Nigerian creative industry.

    This was made known at the opening night of the 2023 edition of the African International Film Festival.

    In his speech at the event, Sanwo-Olu said, “For us as a government, tourism and entertainment is part of our economic agenda. Intentionally, we will continue to support that sector because they are a critical component of our deliverable. About a month ago, we did a big launch for the groundbreaking of the Lagos Film City. Over 100 hectares of land and more than $100 million in investment, it is a signpost of our commitment to the creative space. The city will have studios that will be comparable to what we have in any part of the world.”

    Read Also: GWR: Oyo Chef begins 200-hour marathon cooking

    In the same vein, the French ambassador to Nigeria, Emmanuelle Blatmann revealed that a total sum of €100 million has been injected into the Nigerian creative industry through a partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria.

    Blatmann, who attended the opening of 2023 AFRIFF with a delegation from the French embassy, said the French Minister for Foreign Affairs recently signed a €100 million financial agreement with the Federal Government to invest in the creative industry in Nigeria.

  • Lagos graduates Gidi Creative Centre first cohort

    Lagos graduates Gidi Creative Centre first cohort

    It was all about creativity last Wednesday, when The Temple Company and Ogidi Studios held Gidi Creative Centre’s first graduation and talent showcase ceremony at the main auditorium of the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

    The centre, which is powered by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led administration, under its programme tagged Lagos State Creative Industry Initiative (LACI), witnessed the attendance of many young creatives.

    Facilitators were drawn from University of Lagos, and Henley Business School as well as established figures within the Nigerian creative industry.

    The graduation and showcase ceremony was the climax for the first cohort.

    Read Also: Actress Mercy Isoyip apologises over wrong national anthem lyrics

    Dignitaries at the event included Commissioner for Arts, Tourism & Culture Toke Benson-Awoyinka and UNILAG Vice-Chancellor Prof. Folasade Ogunsola

     The event also featured Seyi Vibes who thrilled graduands, attendees and other dignitaries.

     The creative sector initiative trained 200 youths across 10 skill areas, including filmmaking, creative writing, animation 101, audio engineering and music production, graphics design, multimedia-design, film and screen production design, project management for creative professionals, fashion design and media studies.

     The graduation was also attended by GCE/Founder, Temple Company, Idris Olorunnimbe, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Development Services, Prof. Ayodele Atsenuwa, and Director, Entrepreneurship and Skills Development Centre, UNILAG, Prof. Sunday Adebisi.

  • Creative, tourism industries’ vote of expectation

    THE Nigerian creative sector has been greatly underrated; a reality which is fast hitting stakeholders to the degree that, this election season, they have somewhat showed their disdain for handouts.

    Therefore, as some of them vote today across the country, irrespective of political party affiliations, one thing is clear – an enabling environment for creative enterprise.

    There is no gainsaying that the ‘song’ about the creative industry developing on individuals’ efforts is still rife. Thus, government needs to be awake to the plight of the stakeholders, not just for the sake of the latter, but for the common good of the Nigerian economy, if government’s agenda of economy diversification from oil is anything to go by.

    Indeed, there is the need to re-position the creative sector for auditable structure and optimal returns. A cursory look at some of the pending issues include a few bills proposed to the National Assembly. They include, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA); the Motion Picture Council of Nigeria (MOPICON) and the Tourism Development Fund.

    Wherein the NEA is expected to stem a situation under which artistes access funds at high interest rates, MOPICON, on the other hand, is expected to provide a self-regulatory framework to guide and standardise the activities of the nation’s movie industry, while the Tourism Development Fund is to provide funds for training and project development.

    On the aspect of return on investment, piracy being the common threat is still ubiquitous. This is just as a palliative called Private Copy Levy is a form of royalty that musicians and audio-visual entrepreneurs earnestly desire.

    At a recent workshop in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Professor Olu Obafemi made reference to how much oil has hindered development of Nigeria’s creative industry.

    Obafemi, a Professor of English at the University of Ilorin who stated this during an empowerment programme for young filmmakers, noted that oil has stopped Nigeria from developing its rich creative industry, as against the much talked about economic diversification.

    “We are too dependent on oil, and this has made authorities not to give attention to the development of our cultural economy,” he said, adding that, “All over the world, culture has become a major source of revenue as nations package their cultures in films and export them.”

    On what it takes to attain alternative source of national income, he identified Nollywood as Nigeria’s key representation on the stage of global economy.

    On what an enabling environment entails, he identified piracy, insecurity and lack of adequate infrastructure as some of the banes, making it unattractive to both local and foreign investors, while urging government at all levels to show political will to develop the creative sector.

    “I believe that if the enabling environment is created and the right policies are there, the sector will strive,” he said.

    “If our roads are not usable and the environment is not secure, how do you expect filmmakers to go to shooting locations? The industry is capital intensive, and to produce very good films, you will need millions of dollars, and this is where funding becomes a major setback to the Nigerian filmmakers.”

    Stakeholders in the creative industry continue to seek a way each election year. This season is not different, as they have met with some candidates from the different political parties.

    So much has been said about how successive governments in Nigeria have used entertainers as political campaign tools to ‘win’ elections; how their best had been seen and treated synonymously to the glamour of their profession; and how, when it comes to leadership positions, they are not considered fit, because such managerial positions appear to be purely political.

    So much was said about how filmmakers, especially, cannot even be bosses of their art in the face of intellectual property thieves who, ironically, are lords in the business, smiling to the bank at the expense of rights owners.

    So much was said about enabling environment from government in forms of security at film locations; import waivers, especially for capital equipment and support for trade-related initiatives; transformative policies around access to finance and distribution.

    Personally, I do not know where they got it wrong, but these creative people are some of the most brilliant people I have known across all professions in the world. These attributes, they often exhibit before the politicians, who, obviously will agree to every demand but bow to whatever superior interests when the ‘stew’ is done.

    Today, as these stakeholders vote out of expectation, it is hoped that the potential winners will meet their expectations.

  • Bankers’ Committee assures funding for creative, IT industries

    The Bakers’Committee, comprising the Central Bank of Nigeria and Deposit Money Bank (DMBs) have resolved to finance the creative, fashion and Information Technology (IT) sectors for economic growth and youth employment.

    Managing Director of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, told journalists  “after deliberations at the Bankers’ Committee Meeting yesterday, said the creative and ICT sectors have been identified as critical sectors to support social and inclusive growth in Nigeria.”

    He said the banks have found out that basically, these sectors will provide and generate significant number of employment and given how Nigerians in the creative sector have done well   in Nollywood, and music among others, “it will have significant impact on employment creation as well as GDP and of course Nigeria can be become the heart of tourism  if the whole sectors are handled very well. It could also be a source of foreign exchange earning if we invest significantly in these sectors.”

    facility. All the infrastructure to be created will be of world class standard because we are bringing people who have done this else where in the world to partner with our people for knowledge transfer.”

    “Naturally, funding would be by way of debt at reasonable interest rate in single digits which is quasi equity if you like” he explained.

    On his part, Dr. Mudasiru Olaitan: Director, Development Finance Department (DFD) of the CBN said “in Nigeria today we have almost 37.5 million SMEs and most critical factors that affect their growth apart from finance is power. The Bankers Committee is looking at how to work with Rural electrification authority and the CBN to see how power can be deployed to power service providers and provide power to the SMEs.”

    He added that “the process has commenced with pilot programmes at Ariaria market, Sabongeri and Iponri in Lagos. We are looking at how we can deploy about 10,000 mini orbits to the SMEs and is going to further boost our fashion industry and creative industry. If each SME can create about five jobs, multiplied by about 37 million, it is going to be of huge impact on job creation and it will reflect on economy growth.”

    Also speaking at the briefing Mrs. Tomi  Somefun, Managing Director of Unity Bank stated that “apart from creating jobs and increasing the GDP, this initiative is an avenue for youths empowerment. If you look at the demographic of those who contribute to the sectors that was mentioned, two of them are youths. This will further promote youth empowerment which is a  key driver of one of the key goals of the economy.”

    She added that “It will also promote knowledge sharing among these groups. When you put all of them together, they can exchange ideas thereby further improve the content. We are passionate about this as Bankers’ Committee and we think we can do this very very fast.”

    On his part, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, Director Corporate Communications of the CBN explained that “in the IT industry we have millions of Nigerian youths who are so creative with information technology and most of them are jobless. The impact of this, if this young people have the opportunity to unleash their creative energy, is that they will be able to start things on their own, they are able to go abroad even attract companies abroad, or work from Nigeria and earn foreign exchange, that is one basic thing that this economy needs.”

    He added that, “this will happen with the creation of technology hubs across the country. The fashion, music and movie industry, that trio of industries can really power the Nigeria economy much better than oil. With our music, our fashion and our movies the Bankers’Committee are saying with the CBN that you can forget oil if only we can provide these. Banks themselves are making provisions from their profits as part of 5% of their profits to be invested in these areas.”

     

  • Oando backs Nigerian creative arts industry

    Oando backs Nigerian creative arts industry

    •Oil firm promotes Lagos Photo Festival 

    Nigeria’s leading indigenous oil and gas company Oando Plc has continued to set the pace for other firms in the area of partnerships and support for Nigerian creative arts industry.

    The company recently partnered with the African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) to promote African art as well as socio-economic diversification through the month long Lagos Photo Festival.

    The oil and gas firm’s backing was informed by lack of support for the nation’s creative sector, specifically tourism, culture and arts over the last three decades, owing to the fact that the area has not been considered a key contributor to the economy.

    The creative sector, Oando Plc said, contributes generously to the foreign exchange earnings of many countries, including South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, Tanzania and the UAE.

    Unfortunately in Nigeria, the sector contributes less than 1.5 per cent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it added.

    However, Oando noted that the recession witnessed by oil dependent economies has awakened the country to the benefits and need for a diversified economy.

    With Nigeria successfully exiting the recession in September, the Federal Government is implementing initiatives in partnership with the private sector aimed at diversifying the economy.

    The Lagos Photo Festival, which held its grand opening at the company’s state of the art head office, Oando Wings Office Complex on November 25, will run till December 15 across various indoor and outdoor locations.

    The grand opening included a well-curated selection of over 31 of the most talented African artists, including the New York Times portfolio review finalist, Elo Osunde & Kadara Enyeasi among others.

    The festival aims to engage the public with multifaceted stories of Africa through exhibitions, workshops, artist presentations, discussions and large scale outdoor prints displayed throughout Lagos.

    Oando, in 2011, set up its independent charity – Oando Foundation – with the aim of ensuring that children in public primary schools have access to quality education.

    Through the foundation’s work, the company is actively supporting the Federal Government in realising its education development goals.  Today, Oando Foundation has successfully reduced the number of out-of-school children, adopted and renovated over 80 public primary schools across 23 states in Nigeria and impacted the lives of over 200,000 students.

    More recently, Oando joined its JV partners (NNPC and Nigeria Agip Oil Company, NAOC) to champion the Green Rivers Project (GRP) / Farmers Day, a celebration aimed at promoting the importance of agriculture in spearheading the socio-economic development and economic diversification of the country, particularly in the Niger Delta.

    Calling on for more support of the creative arts, Head, Corporate Communications, Oando PLC Alero Balogun said: “For Nigeria to achieve its economic diversification objective, the principle of subsidiarity must apply.

    “The private sector must acknowledge that the government cannot do it all and we owe it to the country we operate in to create a positive and lasting contribution.”

  • NFC partners NIPSS for creative industry conference

    NFC partners NIPSS for creative industry conference

    The Nigerian Film Corporation and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies have pooled their resources together for a conference on the Nigerian film and creative industry.

    This, according to both bodies, is to enable the Federal Government place an enduring policy framework that will engender its growth and development.

    The two agencies of government on Monday, September 25, inaugurated the Joint Committee for the organisation of the Think Tank Conference.

    At the inauguration of the Joint Committee which took place at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos, both agencies of government expressed their desire and commitment towards the hosting of a successful conference.

    While the NFC has the mandate to develop the Nigerian film industry, NIPSS has the mandate to develop Policy and Strategic roadmap for the nation.

    Speaking at the inauguration of the joint committee, NIPSS’ acting Director General, Jonathan Mela Juma, mni commended NFC for taking up the initiative on the Film and Creative Think Thank Project.

    Juma described the entire project as that which will further signpost the film and creative industry of Nigeria as alternative investment portfolio in Nigeria. He assured that NIPSS will ensure that the project is successful by leveraging on the goodwill of its strategic partners.

    Also speaking at the inauguration, NFC’s Managing Director, Dr. Chidia Maduekwe commended NIPSS for taking up the partnership with NFC to drive the Think Tank Conference.

    Represented by Brian Etuk, the Corporation’s Head of Public Affairs and Intergovernmental Affairs, NFC he said, was determined to assist government transform Nigeria’s film and creative industry into an economy, with robust tendencies to generate employment and create wealth.

    The Committee Members drawn from NFC and NIPSS are Professor Habu Galadima (Chairman), Dr. Sola Adeyanju (Secretary), Dr. Musa Umar, Dr. Jacob Tsado, Bawa Ahmed, John Mfon (Vice Chairman), Eunice Ochoga, Edmund Peters, Brian Etuk, as well as Hannatu Danjuma (Asst. Secretary).

    The Committee is expected to among other things, put the modalities in place for the realization of the conference, including the time, date and venue of the Conference.

  • Be creative and productive, author advises students

    Students of Kings University (KU) in Odeomu, Osun State, last weeek had exciting moments with Miss Ayobami Adebayo, a young author and scholar, who visited the institution for a talk on book-reading programme.

    Miss Adebayo, who spoke to them on Undergraduates and the necessity of creativity in an increasingly competitive world, urged the students to design their future plans while in school, noting that their future had started to unfold the moment they got admitted into a higher institution.

    She gave examples of notable youths, who initiated great ideas while they were students. The young author charged the KU students on innovation and productivity, urging them to develop skills that would make them self-reliant after their undergraduate studies.

    She said: “Do not allow anyone to look down on you because you are young. Work on and improve your productivity. The time to start preparation for the person you want to become in future is now. The claim that life will begins after university is not true. Social media is useful for achieving your dreams, but do not let it become an addiction to you. You must also understand that where you are does not matter in who you become.”

    The author of Stay with me, a fictional series, urged the students to not give up on innovation and creativity. According to her, it requires exceptional creativity to survive in Nigeria.

    She said: “There is an advantage to be derived from a dysfunctional system. We must begin to work towards doing something great and exceptional. We must create value and we must be consistent in doing so. If we manage our time well and continually improve on ourselves, there is no place in the world we would not compete with anybody.”

    After the interaction with the students, Miss Adebayo read from Stay with me, her new work which was published in the United Kingdom and short-listed for this year’s Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction.

    The Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Diran Famurewa, appreciated the author for honouring the university’s invitation to speak and read from her work.

    The VC said: “This programme constitutes another effort we are making as a university to fulfil our vision of raising quality leaders, innovative minds and visionary job creators that will transform Nigeria in all critical areas. These kinds of programmes are critical to the actualisation of our vision. It is for this reason that we have decided to make this kind of event regular in our calendars from semester to semester.”

    The occasion was graced by other principal officers of the university and the deans of faculties. There were also performances by students.

    The highpoint was presentation of gifts to the author by the Registrar, Mrs Dorothy Salami, who enjoined students to learn from the rise of the author.

    The Librarian, Folu Akindojutimi, thanked Miss Adebayo for donating copies of her books to the institution.

  • Be creative and productive, author advises students

    Students of Kings University (KU) in Odeomu, Osun State, last weeek had exciting moments with Miss Ayobami Adebayo, a young author and scholar, who visited the institution for a talk on book-reading programme.

    Miss Adebayo, who spoke to them on Undergraduates and the necessity of creativity in an increasingly competitive world, urged the students to design their future plans while in school, noting that their future had started to unfurl the moment they got admitted into a higher institution.

    She gave examples of notable youths, who initiated great ideas while they were students. The young author charged the KU students on innovation and productivity, urging them to develop skills that would make them self-reliant after their undergraduate studies.

    She said: “Do not allow anyone to look down on you because you are young. Work on and improve your productivity. The time to start preparation for the person you want to become in future is now. The claim that life will begin after university is not true. Social media is useful for achieving your dreams, but do not let it become an addiction to you. You must also understand that where you are does not matter in who you become.”

    The author of Stay with me, a fictional series, urged the students to not give up on innovation and creativity. According to her, it requires exceptional creativity to survive in Nigeria.

    She said: “There is an advantage to be derived from a dysfunctional system. We must begin to work towards doing something great and exceptional. We must create value and we must be consistent in doing so. If we manage our time well and continually improve on ourselves, there is no place in the world we would not compete with anybody.”

    After the interaction with the students, Miss Adebayo read from Stay with me, her new work which was published in the United Kingdom and short-listed for this year’s Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction.

    The Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Diran Famurewa, appreciated the author for honouring the university’s invitation to speak and read from her work.

    The VC said: “This programme constitutes another effort we are making as a university to fulfil our vision of raising quality leaders, innovative minds and visionary job creators that will transform Nigeria in all critical areas. These kinds of programmes are critical to the actualisation of our vision. It is for this reason that we have decided to make this kind of event regular in our calendars from semester to semester.”

    The occasion was graced by other principal officers of the university and the deans of faculties. There were also performances by students.

    The highpoint was presentation of gifts to the author by the Registrar, Mrs Dorothy Salami, who enjoined students to learn from the rise of the author.

    The Librarian, Folu Akindojutimi, thanked Miss Adebayo for donating copies of her books to the institution.