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For Kayode
Adegbola, grandson of the late Bola Ige, slain Minister of Justice and
Attorney-General of the Federation, photography is “a way of recording
things in ways they would never be seen again.”

According to the
artist, his interest was fired by his undying attraction and
appreciation for photography and works of art in general.

“But, I didn’t
start paying much attention until 2007. Then, I picked up camera more
actively and made it my best friend. Since then, I have never looked
back,” he told NEXT at the Ibadan opening of his debut photography
exhibition, on December 23, 2010.

His tenacity
fetched him a collection of eminent Nigerians when he gathered people
for nine days for the display of some of his most striking images thus
far.

Young and older
generations took their time to behold the wonders Kayode had done with
his camera. According to him, the photographs were taken within and
outside the shores of Nigeria, covering a wide range of interests,
including the abstract.

Further explaining
his fascination for the still world, kayode noted that, “As you sit
down here, if I take a photograph of you and I take another one in
another moment, the last will not be exactly like the former one. You
will probably blink or move your head. That is why I think recording
events with photography is important because you cannot have the same
situation the same way again. And I do that with my third eye; I refer
to my camera as my third eye.”

Facets of a man

A man of many
parts, Kayode is in his final year as a Law student in the University
of London, United Kingdom. He agreed that the two vocations are worlds
apart, and summed up his reasons for combining the two thus: “There is
no link between the two. I look at Law and Photography as parallel
lines and parallel lines cannot meet. They can overlap. I do
photography in my spare time. When I go on holiday, I do my travel
photography. When I come home, I do some polo photography. During
weekends, I do music photography. It is a way of living a fuller life
by having a passion separate to what you do as a profession.”

He, however, said
he would not contemplate leaving one for the other. “I can’t leave Law
for Photography, neither can I leave photo for Law. They are parallel
lines. I enjoy studying law. Photo is one of my passions. I am very
interested in politics, current affairs, music and cultural things.
These are the things that make me who I am. They are the different
facets of me.”

The exhibition
raked in some decent cash for the artist. Kayode packaged items of the
collections on display for fees and a good number of the participants
made their bookings before leaving.

And besides
fulfilling his passion, the exhibitor described the cash coming in as
one of the joys derived from his investment in art.

“The greatest thing
about my photography is the fulfillment that it gives me. I have
developed my photography to a kind of art. I begin to reap the effort
that I have sown. I am becoming fulfilled doing photography and the joy
is what it gives.”

Supportive parents

Looking back at his
very early days in photography, he recalled how his father gave him his
first camera as his 17th birthday gift in 2007, adding that “though I
saved up about half of the cost, my dad happily paid the rest.”

“My parents are the
type that would not discourage you from doing something which some
conventional parents would not really want their children to do. They
have embraced my passion, helped me to push it forward, and have
supported me financially and morally,” he said.

His mum, Funso
Adegbola, a lawyer and school proprietress, described herself as the
proud mother of Kayode. She told NEXT that her pride goes beyond what
the young man was displaying that day, but that “because he is not a
typical 20-year-old boy, has artistic eye. He is focused and looks at
everyday things with different perspectives.”

Ekiti Chair

That perhaps was
also what endeared the young Adegbola to Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti State
governor, who was the chair of the occasion on the exhibition opening
day.

Fayemi, who was
represented by Ayo Afolabi, publicity secretary of the Action Congress
of Nigeria (ACN) in the South West, expressed his high respect for
Adegbola’s intellect and deep sense of reasoning.

Mrs. Adegbola,
during an interview, hinted that her son had elected to commit a
percentage of the proceeds from the exhibition to charity.

He had earlier done
something similar, when in 2007, he donated all the proceeds from the
launch of his poetry book and picture collections to the children’s
ward of the University College Hospital (UCH). He had been on admission
on the same ward ten years earlier.

Of this photography exhibition, his mother disclosed that, “Part of
the money is going to charity. He did not tell me the percentage.
Whatever God lays in his heart is going to be for mankind.”