Nigeria Content Online

The sense

came before

the sound

lingering moon

after moon

in the

eternity of

wordless probings.

The universe

opened its

mouth and

an eloquent

fire was

born its

idiom primal

flame in

the graveless

cemetery of

Silence

In 1991, a young
Ramsey Nouah walked into the Surulere, Lagos audition venue of Ralph
Nwadike’s now rested soap ‘Fortunes’ and after reading a few lines, got
Nwadike screaming ‘This is the guy I’m looking for. This is the guy
I’ve been waiting for.” And so began his journey to stardom.

He made his debut
in the Nigerian home video industry shortly afterwards. 21 years later
and still going strong, Nouah’s performances in movies like ‘Dangerous
Twins’ and ‘The Private Storm’, continue to wow his teeming fans. ‘The
Figurine’ earned him the Best Actor in a Leading Role award at the 2010
African Movie Academy Academy Awards (AMAA).

Born to a
Lebanese-Israeli father and Nigerian mother, the actor has starred in
over a hundred movies and still has his eyes on the big picture. In a
rare interview, Ramsey Nouah opens up to NEXT on matters close to his
heart.

You have not been granting interviews and you’ve been out of the public radar lately. Any reasons?

It is for my
absolute peace of mind. The media makes life for everyone in the fame
line very unbearable. Just because you are an actor, people feel you
have to live your life like Jesus Christ with no blemish and when you
do make a mistake the people who are quick to point accusing fingers at
you have far more sins than you. I try as much as I can not to do
wrong, and when it happens and gets out there, everyone wants to
crucify me.

You know bad news
fly around like wild fire, so that was why I refused to grant
interviews for years because everything that came out at the end of the
day was all speculation. My peace of mind means spending quality time
with my kids and family and not having to bother about what next I’m
doing or where I am.

What was growing up like for you and did you want to be an actor?

No. I wanted to be
an aeronautic engineer or pilot but God has a way of changing your
destiny. I have no regrets whatsoever. My mum took very good care of
me. At age 10, I realised that I had two bikes to myself and then I
will fly my kite. Back in the days when boys were using newspapers and
‘eba’ to make kites, my kites were as big as a mini house.

Then at some point
everything went down, so I kind of like tasted both sides of the coin.
I am happy with where I am today, that God allowed me go through that
phase. It gives me room to become very good and versatile, hence I can
comfortably play a prince or a pauper.

Lately you have been quite selective about roles and taken parts that have deep characters. Is this deliberate?

I have had my fair
share of doing movies, and God knows I can’t count the number of movies
I have starred in. It has come to the stage now where you have a lot of
Nigerians becoming a lot more aware and interested in Nollywood.

Our movies are now
cutting across the middle and higher class and these are the kind of
people who are more interested in your capabilities as an actor,
producer or director. So it’s high time we started making movies that
can cut across all strata of the population.

Any plans to go into movie production?

Yes indeed, some
time soon. I will want to leave the front stage when the applause is
still high and go [behind the scenes]. I may still keep acting till I am
old and gray, but at the same time, I want to leave a good legacy
behind in Nollywood so that it doesn’t remain just an ordinary industry
without base or quality.

In the near future, I want a situation where parents will encourage their children to be a part of it.

Your performance in ‘The Figurine’ has been hailed as one of your best. Was it your most challenging role?

My most challenging
role is yet to come. I have quite a few but for now I will say one of
my most challenging roles was ‘Dangerous Twins’; and I liked ‘The
Figurine’ a lot. You need to internalise every character before you can
play it properly. I have been acting in Nollywood for over 20 years
now, so I think you have to give room as an artist to paint the
scenario you want to play out as an actor.

I tend to look at
roles which various artists around the world have played that are truly
captivating and try to internalise it. If it’s a [regular] character
like a lover boy, you internalise the love like as though you truly
feel it. This is what I do with all my characters.

At some point you were dubbed ‘Nollywood lover boy’, do you still take up such roles?

It was because I
was about the only one around; but now we have the likes of Majid
Michael, Van Vicker, John Dumelo, Nonso Diobi, and Mike Ezerounye, so
it gives room for variety.

What do you look out for in a script?

I like a situation
where I cannot predict a script. I have seen a lot of scripts which
have thrilled me such that you are caught unawares by the twist. What
we have in Nollywood is simple drama, but it is a good thing because we
talk about real life drama while Hollywood [has] almost unrealistic
stories. Drama is like real life but with all the boring elements taken
out.

Are there any roles you can’t take?

I doubt it. I like
a situation where I can play all kinds of roles. In my latest movie,
‘Perfect Church’, I was a homosexual pastor. I didn’t like the role at
first but I said, ‘Come on Ramsey, don’t be stupid!’ I did not have any
homosexual contact in the movie, but it was evident in the dialogue and
mannerism. What I did was psyche myself to see my partner as a guy.

What do you love best about being an actor?

I hate watching
myself, it’s so hard because I think I don’t get it right. Whenever I
dramatise something I feel it so deeply, as though it happened to me in
real life.

Which actors inspire you?

Al Pacino. I like
him a lot because I use two of his movies to prove versatility. In
‘Scarface’ – he was street tout who became a don but was still a street
tout at heart. Then there was a total contrast in ‘The Godfather’ where
he was a totally composed Don; and then in ‘Scent of a Woman’, he
played a blind guy.

Here in Nigeria, I
see Aunty Joke Silva as a very good actor. I never looked up to a lot
of Nigerian actors because many of them did not play the character that
sort of groomed me. Fadeyi Oloro – Ojo Arowosafe in ‘Arelu’ – was one
actor I used to like a lot.

What happened to your music career?

I only sing in my
bathroom and I am content with that. I also want to add that I am not
on Facebook. My so-called Facebook page is being run by those boys who
scam my fans. I have never been on Facebook and up till now I don’t
have a record. My wife knows that about me and anyone who is close to
me knows that.

It became an issue
last year when some magazine said some girl called them from Europe and
complained about giving me money on Facebook to do something about an
NGO and then I scammed her. The same journalist who called to confirm
went back and wrote that I claimed I was not on Facebook. Now everyone
knows that ‘claim’ in legal terms can mean denial.

I am also not on
twitter but my names are there because some people are using my name
and picture. When I come on Facebook, I will post a video there and on
YouTube to let people know my true identity and account.

Any plans to feature in any Hollywood/Nollywood movie?

I am content with
Nollywood. Truthfully, I feel we have created a niche so much Nollywood
is now on the lips of people around the world, so I don’t think I need
an American actor or support to blow.

PRELUDE

In A Blackhole

The power-seeker and his itinerant bombsters

from hell trafficking piety with exploding grenades

have opened a whole new morguescape in Jos.

The Tin-city’s motto of tranquility embers in pits.

The hegemonist in us has alighted from the wilds,

intent on hegemony, sans pity: to either rule the polity

ineptly till infinity, or, scorch the Capitol & the Tin-city.

Traders in hate in unequal exchanges with Jos

blacken Jos: a dire direland for a graceland of peace.

Clutching neither the Book nor rosaries; with no veil clad;

a volunteer, not as aerial beings twin-winged;

flesh and blood, for that black-hole, Grace descends.

The exterminations resurgent in the Tin-city depict

Grace to herself: a chloroform face before a grace –lift.

INTERLUDE (i)

Direland News-By Grace Searchwithinyourheart ©

Hi, dear buddy, you called me your Amazing Grace.

Your Grace, for the first time, is full of remorse.

I couldn’t dare buy you your gift of potatoes

because Jos city and markets were in splinters.

Hushed cruelties erupted and resounded unsifted

in variant plaintive notes and inhuman chords.

The STF* soldiers furtively armed one side.

I shudder to unseal the unheard: they also killed.

The other side rallied back to throng and waste

every “enemy meat”, scything beings with delight.

Hugging self-hugging, the impolitic People & Politics

columnist gloats over the clean out of other ethnics.

Power’s tiered design dungs one equal heaven:

our neglect & silence beatify the outcast & the goon.

INTERLUDE (ii)

Graceland Ditty-By Grace Searchwithinyourheart ©

Kindly keep your eyes unclosed while we join hands and pray.

May the uncreated music of equal beings prevail today:

one equal toil for one equal restitution

one equal vision for one equal communion

one equal franchise for one equal citizen

one equal home for one equal possession

one equal field for one equal affection

one equal skylight for one equal dawn

one equal gender-might to eject the old chauvinisms

one equal ground opened to one equal border, seamless

one equal music for one equal harmony

one equal harmony for one equal eternity.

Farewell to Direland.

Welcome to Graceland.

……………………POSTLUDE

A Genealogy

Jos bestowed the lifeline to my animist Midwest Ibo

maternal grand patriarch, gave song to his hopes.

Jos offered space for his prosperous tin-mining concern,

and, the first roof for his four wives and Mercedes car.

Jos gave birth to his Charismatic Catholic daughter,

who delivered her own Animist-Christian “Ibadan Boy”*.

Jos added Hausa language to her native tongue,

amplified her voice and vista, widened her being, her world.

Jos it was that christened her the first name: Ogomegbunam,

meaning-my magnanimity will not annihilate my being.

Jos presented the “Ibadan boy” his first mentor & pal, S.T.Killi,

a Youth Corp tutor at form two, and, graduate of geography.

Jos availed a grandson a city’s music of equal magnanimity:

Jos, I descant your equal genealogy & posterity of harmony.

*In memory of Chief Ojogwu Obichie, the Odafe of Ogwashi-Uku, my

late maternal grandfather.

*STF-Special Task Force on a peace-keeping mission to Jos and Plateau State.

Several news reports have confirmed that the STF also participated in killing the besieged locals.

*Late grandfather used to call the writer-“The Ibadan Boy”.

*Thanks to Grace Ukpong for the on-the-spot reports from Jos that yielded the poem.

The nomination
night of this year’s Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) will hold on
Friday, February 25 at the Laico Regency Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya.

A statement from
Tony Anih, the AMAA director of administration, disclosed that the
event will take place in Nairobi because organisers want to appreciate
the East African block that participates in the awards. Countries
including Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Malawi usually send in
entries for the awards.

“East Africa has
made very strong showing and presence in AMAA since we started,
particularly in the last three editions. Apart from submitting films
for the awards, filmmakers and allied practitioners from these
countries have come to Nigeria to attend the awards.

“The AMAA
secretariat felt it is time to make them have a feel of the award by
taking the nomination night to them and thereby increasing the AMAA
brand visibility in that region of Africa. Nairobi is central to East
Africa and it is the economic hub of the region. It will be easy for
people in East Africa to come to Nairobi. It will be a great night,” Mr
Anih said.

Some Nollywood
artistes including Rita Dominic, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Mike Ezuronye,
Chinedu Ikeduze, Kate Henshaw, Jim Iyke and Ini Edo have confirmed that
they will attend the nomination night. A concert to be held the
following day at Carnivore Gardens, Nairobi, is another unique feature
of this year’s nomination night. P-Square, J Martins and top artistes
from Kenya and South Africa will perform at the show.

Mr Anih described
the concert as an icing on the cake and added that the two events will
enhance AMAA’s visibility in East Africa.

‘One Small Step’, a
docu-drama by Remi Vaughan-Richards is based on real life experiences.
It is about a survey carried out by a research team on the activities
of Nigeria’s local governments in 2009.

The film highlights
the responsibilities of the local government which include: regulation
of public markets; provision and maintenance of public toilets;
maintenance and improvement of local roads and construction and
maintenance of primary schools. Administration of health centres and
provision of sewage and refuse disposal are also mentioned.

The inadequacies of
the local government are vividly portrayed in the film. The general
belief that it is the closest form of government to the people is
negated as it seems oblivious to the problems of the people. Bad
sanitary environment, unhygienic water and inadequate medical
facilities are some of the issues Nigeria’s local governments fail to
address.

The corruption in
the system is also portrayed when the Local Government chair that ought
to serve, gives bribe to Fidelis the headmaster. The chair doesn’t stop
there; he buys himself a jeep with money meant for provision of basic
social infrastructures for the public. While the people suffer from
pollution and die from diseases, the chair and his accomplices enrich
their pockets with government funds.

Grace Fidelis, one
of the characters played by Eucharia Edet, is a mother whose son
suffers from cholera as a result of water contaminated by the filth the
local government totally ignores. The fact that she waits long hours to
see the doctor when her son is dying shows the poor health care
provided by the local government. This is reinforced when the doctor
complains that there is not much he can do but advise the people to
boil their water, prescribes drugs and sends them home.

It shows that the
doctor’s hands are tied especially as the government is not ready to
make the environment healthy and hygienic. Grace is just one of the
many people disturbed by the dirt but nobody seems ready to complain to
the local government because they have been threatened and bribed not
to.

However, armed with
the fact that her son is dying and the drugs her husband brings home
will not stop the cholera outbreak, she meets with the local government
chair. Though he is not receptive, she is undeterred and takes her
complaints to the local government councillor.

It is indeed
ironical that Boniface attests to the fact that the local government
runs an open office policy yet he complains that Grace barges into his
office. “People capitalise on our open door policy to barge into our
office to make complaints on virtually everything,” he says. ‘Virtually
everything’ de–emphasises the importance of Grace’s visit. He describes
her action as someone who “joins the national team without first
joining the Under Seventeen team” thereby suggesting that she has not
followed proper procedure. He also complains that the local government
is for the community and not for an individual so he will not address
an issue just because of her.

Commendably, ‘One
Small Step’ not only depicts the inadequacies of the local government,
it also highlights some of its good deeds. Some local governments
including Ethiope West in Delta State and Magumeri in Borno State that
have provided good schools and water, are also shown in the film.

After a revolt that
takes place when Tola’s baby dies from cholera, everything is put in
order. It becomes clear that the film depicts the fact that the local
government is not corrupt in itself but has some bad eggs. Boniface is
sacked for a long list of crimes such as diverting funds meant for the
provision of portable water, refuse collection, running a ghost
workers’ scam, and conniving with the contractors meant to supply
medicine and equipment for the community clinic.

The film shows that it takes dialogue and cooperation as a team to
make changes in the community and that it begins with one small step.

Toyin Oshinaike is
going about rejuvenating theatre in a special way: he is taking
performances to bars. Like other players in theatre, the talented actor
is unhappy with the deafening silence on stages across the country,
hence his decision to intervene.

“We designed the
Bar Theatre Series because we wanted to go into spaces where people
regularly gather and do theatre in a way that we do not short change
theatre,” he says of the initiative.

“We chose the bar
because it is a place where people regularly gather. If we can catch
people’s attention, we can also introduce theatre to them. We can also,
so to speak, freak them with the razzmatazz of theatre. People will
begin to accept theatre from that level and if we say we are happening
at the National Theatre or at the MUSON Centre, they will not hesitate
to come because they are already acquainted with it.”

Mobile play

The series started
last December with ‘Wat’s Dis All About’, Oshinaike’s adaptation of the
South African play, ‘Woza Albert’ at the Gazebo, Voice House, AVOA,
Surulere. “It was excellent, it blew my mind. It was just what I
wanted. People agreed with some of the issues we raised during the
course of the play and it was a wholesome evening,” he says of the
maiden performance.

Following the
successful outing at Surulere and a subsequent one on December 19 at
Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos, ‘Wat’s Dis All About’ will
return to Terra Kulture today. “‘Wat’s Dis All About’ is a play in our
repertoire that we have been staging for the past one year. When we
launched the Bar Theatre Series, we thought we should take one of the
plays in our repertoire suitable for bars; it is not all plays that are
suitable for the bar, you have to find one that can make impact. We are
going to Terra Kulture with the play because it is a very mobile,
minimalist play. It’s a two character play, very energetic. It’s
another kind of theatre entirely, a very robust play.”

Bare bums

A scene in the
original play sees the two actors pulling down their trousers and
showing the audience their bums on the orders of their master. Is the
scene retained in ‘Wat’s Dis All About’?

“We retain it,”
Oshinaike replies. “We retain the energy of ‘Woza Albert’ and some of
its absurdities as well. That part is still retained and it’s like a
shock therapy. People scream but it’s just to jolt them. Audience
participation, that’s what we derive from that part. We challenge the
audience and vice versa. The world over, the thinking in theatre now is
more audience participation. We will tour different communities with
the play. Apart from Terra, we are also going to Ajegunle, communities
in Ikorodu, Ketu, Bariga and we are doing it free because we believe
that theatre is a human right. Everybody, regardless of level and
colour, deserves to see good theatre.”

Continuing on
baring his bum, Oshinaike says, “You know that is dehumanising, when
you ask someone to strip. It still happens in airports when suspects
are asked to strip. And they don’t strip the whites, they strip the
blacks; they strip those from the Third World, mostly we from Nigeria.
It’s a dehumanising act and it’s shocking. There is shock therapy in
the theatre, we use it in all forms and that’s one of them. My wife has
seen the show and frowns at the fact that 200 people are seeing the
colour of my bum.”

Acting for survival

Seeing the quality
of Oshinaike’s acting, many would assume he received formal training in
acting. “People have wondered where I studied and they are shocked to
learn I did not study within the four walls of a university, I studied
on the job. When I came in, the gateway was through crew, props making
and supporting the crew. But sometimes an actor is not there, the
director is furious and asks me to play the role. That was the
beginning of my acting,” discloses the actor who started over two
decades ago.

He trained under a
number of renowned stage professionals including Segun Bankole, Ben
Tomoloju, Isaac John, Bode Osanyin and Chuck Mike. “I got the grilling
from people who were really grounded in theatre practice, which is why
I call myself a theatre practitioner and not just an actor. I also have
a flair for producing and directing. I act for survival but I produce
and direct.”

Obi Egbuna’s ‘Wind
Versus Polygamy’; Wole Soyinka’s ‘The Lion and the Jewel’ and ‘Echoes
From the Lagoon’ by Rasheed Gbadamosi are some of the plays he has
directed.

Ireke Onibudo

Oshinaike has
played different parts in several productions but one of his standout
roles is as Ireke in Femi Osofisan’s ‘Adventures of the Sugarcane Man’,
an adaptation of DO Fagunwa’s ‘Ireke Onibudo’. The play, staged in some
Nigerian cities in 2009, was sponsored by Chams Plc. Seeing his seeming
effortless portrayal of Ireke, one will assume the role was a piece of
cake for the actor. Or is it?

“The guy I am
playing with now in ‘Wat’s Dis All About’, Similoluwa Hassan, was also
my double cast in the role and he fitted in more than I did. It was
challenging because I had to play a much younger role and I was playing
with a double cast who was obviously younger. ‘Ireke Onibudo’ was
originally meant for that young man, I don’t know what happened but it
was not typecasting. I had to play a lover and I’m not very strong
playing love roles. I find it difficult to play romantic roles but as
an actor, I just have to play.”

Uniquely Relentless

Though he features
mostly in stage productions and TV series, Oshinaike also dabbles into
films occasionally. He was in Obafemi Lasode’s ‘Sango’, Tunde Kelani’s
‘Agogo Ewo’ and Michelle Bello’s ‘Small Boy’. He also played a role in
Andy Okoroafor’s wave making ‘Relentless’. He recalls the experience of
working with the France-based producer.

“Andy was
particular about the pictures; about the reality of the pictures, not
about make up or lighting. He came to Lagos and said he didn’t want to
remove the noise of Lagos from his film and I was tripped by that. I
wanted to know how he would go about it. There were little sparks that
I saw in the process of making the film that were not the usual sparks
that we have here. ‘Relentless’ is something that I am waiting to see.
Maybe what went for Andy is that he is coming from an environment where
there is stricter training and respect for modus operandi, especially
in the film business. There are some films I do, I don’t know when they
are released. I’m not eager to see them not because they are not nice,
it’s just survival. But this one, I’m eager to see it.”

Has theatre been worth his while?

“Yes, it is. I have
a large family, I have five children. And people wonder is it this
theatre you are doing to support everybody and I say yes.”

If he has the power
to change anything concerning theatre in Nigeria, Oshinaike discloses
that it will be, “The policy of theatre, the policy of arts and
culture. The policies they made but have made redundant.”

‘Wat’s Dis All About’ is at Terra Kulture, Tiamiyu Savage, Victoria Island, Lagos, today.

Last week, Nigerian
Idol entered the final stage – the Top Thirteen. The thirteen finalists
came on stage to deliver songs from the disco era. Aided by funky
costumes, they gave very energetic performances. There was a lot of
sexy dance moves especially from the girls. But the very good news was
that the contestants finally owned the stage. Of course now, they are
being backed by a full-on band including back-up singers and not just a
lone keyboardist.

The excitement on
the show increased a hundred percent as the contestants thoroughly
enjoyed themselves prancing around the stage. Actress and dancer, Zoe
managed a full split that almost shook the stage as the finale to her
rendition of ‘It’s Raining Men’ by Geri Halliwell (originally sung by
The Weather Girls). Alex, who sang ‘Kung-Fu Fighting’, did the song
justice by adding some martial moves in the appropriate parts of the
song. His fellow cool cat, Ola, also tried to add some fire to his
performance but although he was fun to watch, he didn’t quite actually
get there.

The one drab
performance came from George who has increasingly shown himself a good
ballad singer; but unfortunately, it would seem that up-tempo songs are
not his thing. Though his vocals were as good as ever on the Kool and
the Gang hit song ‘Celebration’, his performance was rather stiff and
he gave a rather dorky finish; he tried to punch the floor.

Toni, another good
balladeer and song interpreter, also had problems with her disco
choreography. For some ill-conceived reason, she kept grabbing the hem
of her dress which unfortunately was a bit too close to her crotch.
There are only two ways to explain the move, either it was based on
modesty as a result of the short hemline or that was just the best way
she knew how to move to Earth Wind and Fire’s ‘September’.

Still poor performance or not, it usually all boils down to votes. Come Thursday and it was Nina and Ola that got the boot.

We are praying for livelier roof-raising episodes. And though we
know disco cannot be sung on each episode of the show, we are still
keeping our fingers crossed.

Every now and
then, the white man, cursed with too much money in his pockets, rounds
up all the African writers he can find and sends them off to a
conference somewhere exotic and romantic (rarely ever in black Africa)
and instructs them to engage in discourse on the African situation.
These writers are usually resident abroad, away from Africa’s
unnecessary roughness. I call these gatherings pity parties because
after a few glasses of cheap red wine, the writers become weepy and
whiny and start making pathetic statements about, the burden of being
an African writer or a writer of colour, the limitations such labels
clamp on them and their long suffering muses, whine, whine, whine. I
wish they would invite me to these affairs. I love cheap red wine.

It is true that
the West for whatever reason is more comfortable seeing people of
colour, especially Africans, as the other. Nothing we do makes us
escape the label of the other. Chinua Achebe wrote ‘Things Fall Apart’,
one of the world’s greatest books of all times. The other day, a major
newspaper in the West described it as an African novel about a simple
yam farmer. But then, many African writers or writers of African
extraction living abroad are truly divorced from Africa and her myriad
issues; forget the lush writing about Africa. Having being raised
“white and civilised” through no fault of theirs, they chafe violently
when referred to as anything other than what identifies them as
remotely removed from Africa. They wave their wine glasses at the
world, shake their ice cream spoons indignantly and exclaim, how dare
you call me African? It is not their fault. They were raised to eat
their cake and have it. They are really no different from the rest of
the African intellectual and political class misruling African nations
today, raised to be smug, conceited and lacking in principles and
compassion. These misrulers ignore the squalor around them that Africa
has become, they loot funds, they build islands of heaven for
themselves and they jet to the West to check that rash on their knee
and proclaim their humanity to the West in their fake accents.

When you examine
African writing or writing from the writers of African extraction, one
thing is clear; it is blessed with an abundant narrowness of range and
vision. There is the understandable obsession with everything African.
In their writings, huts, moons, stars, fearsome masquerades, wars and
malevolent spirits come tumbling out, chased by constipated army
generals. The most unprincipled of them hawk these exotica to the
delight of bored suburbanites in the West. Distance and time don’t seem
to matter to these folks. If you have been in America for three
decades, rarely going home to visit, what about contemporary Africa
would inspire you to write an African story worth reading?

Do not get me
wrong: I truly believe that many of our writers write with a genuine
social conscience and indeed are too busy thinking about real social
issues to worry about whatever name they are called. Indeed, the sad
truth is that the story of modern Africa is a single story of
deprivation, pillage, abuse and mayhem in the hands of her black
misrulers. The white man did not invent today’s single story, we did.
He may have come over to our ancestral land to upend the mango cart,
but today we are the ones raping, and pillaging Africa and generally
making life miserable for our people. That is the single story. It is
virtually impossible to write about anything else. The political elite
aided by our unprincipled intellectual elite have lain to ruins all
institutions and structures that sustain robust states elsewhere. It is
profitable to blame the white man for our ineptitude because suffused
with guilt he rewards our irresponsibility with even more grants and
awards. The white man loves to play uncle to us.

As African writers, we must get off our high horses and help the
people who denied themselves everything to save us from that which we
now abhor. Memo to the African writer who proclaims his or her
whiteness, er, humanity at every turn: If you want to be known as just
another writer, simply write whatever truly rocks your boat. If you
feel no obligation to be an African writer, by all means, stop being
one. Be a plain vanilla writer, living in the West. Why not write about
America? Look out your window in America and write about deer gamboling
on your manicured lawn. Look out your windows and write about the
majesty of the land that adopted you and freed you from the harshness
of Africa. Sing the praises of those that clothe and nurture you daily.
And when you are done, chronicle and clothe their neuroses and
anxieties with the awesome power of your words. If you are a writer and
all your five books have been about suffering in Soweto, the white man
should be forgiven for calling you an African writer. Get over it.

It was not a
dancing competition, but the dean broke into a break dance and combined
it with some back slides to thrill his wards. This happened at an
awards ceremony to celebrate and honour Nigerians who have contributed
to the development of the School of Art Design and Printing Technology
at the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Lagos.

Held at the Yusuf
Grillo Auditorium of YABATECH, the ceremony brought together students,
scholars, visual artists, alumni and other members of the public
together on January 28. The event also served as a New Year
get-together for students and lecturers.

The event began
with the introduction of awardees and special guests, a list that
included the chairman of the award, Rasheed Gbadamosi, who could not
make the event; Olu Amoda, Oliver Enwonwu and Abiodun Olaku.

There was a dance
drama performance by Innocent Alpha Hands, a group of young performers
who entertained the crowd with energetic dance steps and popular Yoruba
folk songs, before the dean of the department, Rukeme Noserime,
delivered a brief welcome speech.

The speech

In his speech,
Noserime gave a short account of the department’s humble beginnings
from 1947 when it offered certificate courses in Art and Design, before
it evolved to its present status.

“We deeply
appreciate the candid contributions of Professor Yusuf Cameron Adedayo
Grillo, who is the brain behind this mighty edifice fashioned after one
of the first Art schools in the world; Slades University, in London.
YABATECH has the biggest art complex on the West African coast,” he
noted.

He went on to recap
the department’s current developments and their academic
expectations.“Last year, we proposed hosting the first Triad Technical
Summit, consisting of visual artists, designers, scientists,
technologists, engineers and architects. The summit is called
GRILLO…NASIED (National Summit for Innovation Experimentation and
Discovery)”, he said. “Albeit due to the academic preparations
concerning the conversion of the college to university status, it had
to be shifted. We shall be hosting this summit in September 2011,” he
added.

New courses

Noserime also
pointed out that the Faculty will be adding Music Technology,
Cinematography and Theatre Arts to the list of courses offered.

According to the
dean, the faculty will be working closely with Tunde Kelani, who was on
the list of awardees, in the planned cinematography programme. He also
added that Music Technology will involve fabrication of musical
instruments, in addition to teaching students of this proposed
department how to play musical instruments and the rudiments of music.

The department has
been carrying out research to document the historic past and
ethnographic relics of different parts of the city, before modernity
erases the past. An exhibition of the findings is scheduled for this
month.

“The African man
must be cautious and sensitive to this current phenomenon, otherwise we
may be losing our most valued heritage; Culture. I sincerely pray that
God sees us through. You are welcome once again to this great
institution,” he concluded.

The Deputy Rector,
Academics, Abubakar Olaseni, replaced Gbadamosi at the occasion, as
well as representing the Rector of the college.Mr Olaseni praised the
institution and welcomed everyone at the venue. Comedian, Calibird,
rendered rib-cracking jokes that made fun of the three main Nigerian
ethnic groups, the Warri man’s supposed trickery and the uniqueness of
Nigerian names. His act was followed by students who came to show their
musical talents.

The awards

The stage was later
turned to a catwalk as students of the Industrial Department came up
with beautiful designs. After the display it was time to give away the
awards. Rasheed Gbadamosi was given the Custodian of Art and Culture
Excellentia award.Former broadcaster and now Member of the House of
Representatives, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, got the Woman of the Year
recognition for 2010. The tag team of Nneka and Isaac Moses won Grand
custodian of African culture and arts for their TV programme, Goge
Africa.

Filmmaker Tunde Kelani was in Abeokuta receiving another award while
YABATECH was honouring him in Lagos as Cinematographer of the Decade.
Olu Amoda was recognised as the Visual Artist of the Decade; while
Oliver Enwonwu and Dotun Alabi (Chair and Secretary General of the
Society of Nigerian Artists, Lagos) were acknowledged for their
outstanding roles in the arts. A total of 30 awards were given at the
event.

Thirty four days
after the rest of the world celebrated the New Year, the Korean
Cultural Centre, Abuja celebrated the country’s New Year on Thursday,
February 3. Known as ‘Seollal’, the Korean New Year is the first day of
the lunar calendar.

“We celebrate the
general New Year on January 1, in accordance with the solar calendar,
and then the lunar New Year called ‘Seollal’ which falls on February 3
this year,” Suh Jeong-Sun, director of the centre, offered on why the
country observes two New Years.

For the family

He explained that
‘Seollal’ is a traditional event during which Koreans return to their
hometowns to pay homage to their families. “This year, Seollal holidays
fall on February 2 to 4. And being weekend, it means that most Koreans
will have a five-day break during which they will perform ceremonial
rites and also pay homage to their ancestors.” Jeong-Sun also added
that the lunar New Year is more important to Koreans than the solar New
Year.

As evident during
the event, the family is the centre of attraction during the Korean New
Year. Both living family members and dead ancestors of up to four
generations are celebrated because it is believed they are still on
earth.Jeong-Sun and his wife demonstrated how the New Year is
celebrated in the Asian country at the event. They mounted the stage
and sat Korean style with their feet tucked beneath them, while
children knelt before them to offer traditional bows known as Sebae.
The children’s foreheads touched the ground as they received their
blessings for the New Year.

Seollal games

Though many
traditional family games are associated with the Korean New Year, only
two were played. ‘Yutnori’ is an easy-to-learn game that requires team
work. It is a form of ludo game made up of four players with two on
each side. Marked sticks are used instead of a dice and the game can be
played either on a board or paper.

Children and grown
ups also had fun playing ‘Jegichagi’, a weighted shuttlecock kept aloft
by kicking. The player with the most number of kicks emerges the
winner.Winners and other participants in the games went home with
various prizes including branded wrist-watches, hand fans, watercolour
and cash.

Participants were
taken on a tour of the centre by Jeong-Sun after the games. The tour
ended at the library where they were treated to pizza and Korean
traditional meals including rice cake and ginger drinks.

Latonya, a Nigerian participant, commended the Koreans for seizing
every opportunity to promote their country and culture. She said,
“Honestly, I am impressed. There is a lot for us to learn in what has
happened here today. I don’t know if we have cultural centres abroad.
If we don’t, it’s sad because I think we have more than enough in terms
of cultural heritage to showcase to the rest of the world. I think the
ministries of Culture, Foreign Affairs and of course, Education should
come together and see that we set up cultural centres like these
abroad.”