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Why Art?

As a child, I used
to draw a lot. I won drawing competitions when I was in Primary School.
However it was when I got into Secondary School that it finally dawned
on me that art was really what I wanted to do. I was tutored and guided
by my art teacher then, Mr. Imo of blessed memory. He was a lecturer at
the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) at the time and was also an
art instructor at my school.

Training

I gained admission
into YABATECH to study Art. I also have a diploma to teach art. Every
other knowledge I have of my craft was learnt on the job.

Medium

I use oil colours. I have done watercolours. I draw a lot but I do not touch acrylic.

Influences

Kolade Oshinowo, my
lecturer at YABATECH, is one of my major influences. However, I am not
too much into external influences. For me, the struggle in art is
listening to your voice. The constant struggle to better yourself is
also part of this. You keep moving and trying. You keep telling
yourself ‘I can do better’. Influences will come and go but you must be
focused.

Inspiration

Everything in life
inspires me. I do landscape, waterscape, figures and abstract art. I am
a rounded artist. My inspiration varies. I see art as very universal.

Best work so far

I have not gotten
one yet. My love for my pieces is temporal. I may like it for a while,
after that the feeling is gone. So I am on the search for the best
work.

Least satisfying work

After a while, I
get bored. All my past works are least satisfying. No art work is
completely finished. It’s a continuous process.

Career high point

Success is what you feel inside after your work is done. I believe every work, I do can be better.

Favourite artist living or dead

I respect Picasso a lot. Also Rembrandt. My Nigerian favourites are Kolade Oshinowo, Yusuf Grillo and Gani Odutokun.

Ambitions

To do a great painting. I also want my works to have widespread influences.

The latest television talent hunt in the country, Nigerian Idol, debuted on the small screen last week.

Nollywood star,
Genevieve Nnaji attended an exclusive preview organised by the show’s
producers at the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, on November 21. Present at the
event were two of the three judges on the show, singer Yinka Davies and
African American entertainer, Jeffrey Daniel of Shalamar fame. The
preview was anchored by the show’s presenters, Anis Holloway and Misi
Molu (aka Yemisi Fajimolu).

Also in attendance
was Rotimi Pedro, CEO of Optima Media Group, current holders of the
Idols franchise in Nigeria. He talked to NEXT about his company’s plans
for the show, as the search begins for the next Nigerian superstar.

The Idol
franchise first came in to Nigeria in 2008 but was discontinued after
only one season amidst controversies. Why has your company picked it up
and why would you be more successful with it?

Looking for the
next big star in Nigeria is something I think that is ripe at this
point in time. Over the last few years, there has been a huge
renaissance of Nigerian music. I have a two and a four-year-old kid.
When I was their age, I was singing to Shalamar and Kool and the Gang;
those were my mentors. But kids these days are singing to Banky, D’Banj
and P-Square. These are the people they know now. They don’t know about
the American scene anymore. Like I said, there is a huge renaissance of
Nigerian music and having a huge franchise like the Nigerian Idol is in
line with the mood of the country. This is the reason why we went into
it.

Is this strictly a business decision for you or is there also an altruistic desire to invest in Nigerian music?

The way we have
positioned Nigerian Idol this time around, it can never be about the
commercial aspect of it. It is purely about the altruistic, looking for
the next talent and making our contribution to the Nigerian music
scene. Over the last ten years we have done very well with sports and
we now want to make our contribution to the music sector. We are in it
for the long term. We aim to develop the next talent. Our franchise
covers 44 African countries, not just Nigeria. In the next couple of
months, we are going to launch East African Idol and the Ghanaian Idol.
We are about discovering and nurturing the African talent over the next
five years so we are in it for the long haul.

The last Idol
winner in Nigeria is yet to fully make his mark on the Nigerian music
scene, especially after much publicised misunderstandings with the then
organisers of the show. What should we expect from and for the winner
of Nigerian Idol?

The last holders of
the franchise in Nigeria lost it due to this issue of non-compliance to
obligation. So because of such issues, the owners of the franchise,
Fremantle, were looking for a respectable Nigerian/African company that
could actually project the franchise for the next few years and my
company, Optima Media Group, came along to pick it up. The [winner of
the] Nigerian Idol season one would be recorded and release an album on
Sony-BMG and all obligations in accordance with the franchise would be
respected.

Simon
Cowell expressed disappointment at the fact that many American Idol
winners had failed to become big stars. Any such fears here?

I think that
Nigerians have the ability and we have the opportunity to discover raw
talent in this country. As Jeffrey Daniels [a judge on Nigerian Idol]
said, there are people from the creeks of Ajegunle and the Niger-Delta
who may never have the opportunity for their 15 minutes of fame but
Nigerian Idol is giving them that opportunity to come out and represent
this great country of many talents. Based on this idea, we do not think
we would have any dearth of talent or problems discovering one. We had
ten thousand people that registered and above five to six thousand of
them came to the venues, three thousand in Lagos alone; surely, there
must be one or two stars in that number.

Tell us more about your company

Before we went into
music, we were mainly into sports. We hold at least 80 percent of the
market share in terrestrial sports television in this country. We have
done that for over ten years. We have now gone into music and
entertainment generally. Apart from Nigerian Idol, we would be handling
other shows like ‘Got Talent’. We have already done ‘Don’t Forget the
Lyrics’. Basically, we are building a pedigree in quality production of
music formats.

So far, much of your content is based on foreign franchises. Do you see yourselves developing totally indigenous content?

We believe in the
global village. A Nigerian guy in the Niger-Delta knows about what goes
on in North America and Europe. We want to harness the power of
globalisation and promote our own. The world does not live in isolation
or with a nationalistic toga anymore. The ethos of our company is
plugging into the global network and delivering for our people. Even
though we bring these international franchises to Nigeria, we would
leave our own mark on it. The idea is to use a global platform to
project the Nigerian image and artists that would cross over and
conquer the world.

Professional
dancers from Congo Brazzaville, Germany, Mozambique and Nigeria will
perform at this year’s edition of Danse Meets Dance which will run from
December 1 to 4 in Lagos .

At a press
conference to announce the event, Mfon Umana, Director of Communication
and public relations officer, Alliance Francaise Lagos, said that the
event aims at highlighting the creative and original choreographic work
of professional Nigerian dance practitioners.

She also intimated
the press of the highlights of the Dance festival which is in its tenth
year. “As we mark a milestone this year Danse meets Dance 2010 will be
bigger with the participation of 8 Nigerian companies. Furthermore the
three winners of the 8th edition of The Danse L’Afrique Danse Festival
an international biennial contemporary dance competition that took
place in Bamako, (Mali) three weeks ago will be present to display
their award winning [routines] on the stage of Danse meets Dance (DMD).”

On the choice of
the University of Lagos and the French School as venues, DMD Festival
Director Adetona Gboyega said, “We chose UNILAG because this year we
are taking it closer to the audience. So that people who usually do not
have the opportunity to go to the MUSON Centre to watch dance festivals
will be able to do so this time around. UNILAG is open and they want us
to do a lot with them so we will also feature a lot of creative arts
students. At the same time, the university is close to Surulere, one of
the areas we are not close to, so we chose there to be closer to the
people.

The event is being
organised by the Alliance Francais and the French Cultural Centre in
partnership with the Goethe Instituite who is sponsoring through a
German troupe coming to Nigeria. It’s free and open to all”.

Troupes that will
perform at the four day event, which will feature dance performances
and workshops, include: Studio Maho (Congo Brazzaville), Cie Horacio
Macuacua (Mozambique), Qudus Onikeku (Nigeria) and Alajota
(Nigeria).Others include Gintersdorfer/Klaben (Germany), Squazd
1(Nigeria), Creative Arts Student UNILAG (Nigeria), Lycee Francais
Lagos (Nigeria), Ashiedu Dance Company (Nigeria) and Amulegbajo Company
(Nigeria).

Danse meets Dance
began in 2001 as an avenue to bring together Nigerian and international
contemporary dance companies to share ideas and experiences and how to
promote regional understanding and integration through dance. The
festival also showcases Nigerian dance companies, dancers and
choreographers through stage performances, workshopS and seminars.

Over the years, it has attracted over 500 professional and amateur dancers from all around the globe.

The 2010
Association of Movie Producers (AMP) Eko International Film Festival
started at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, on Monday, November 22
with the governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola, in attendance.

The governor’s
presence seemed a big issue to the filmmakers as they prepped
themselves prior to his arrival. The emcee, actor and TV programme
host, Bimbo Manuel, continuously warned the others to put their mobile
phones on silent or in vibration mode and stop moving about, as Fashola
would soon join them.

Veteran filmmaker,
Eddie Ugbomah, was among those who didn’t heed Manuel’s plea. His Fela
Anikulapo Kuti’s ‘Trouble Sleep’ ring tone startled even him as he
stood beside the governor

Mr Governor, please intervene

AMP president, Paul
Obazele, welcomed guests to the occasion. He disclosed cheekily that he
fasted and prayed for two weeks to be able to see the governor and
invite him. “He is my friend but because of the nature of his job and
demands on him, it is sometimes difficult to reach him,” he said.
Obazele noted that the filmmakers have a cordial relationship with the
Lagos State government but reminded Fashola of some promises he had
made to them earlier.

The AMP president
said they had fulfilled all the conditions demanded by the government,
including having a united house and improving the quality of their
productions. He appealed to the governor to help them combat piracy,
create a fund for filmmakers to draw from and establish neighbourhood
cinemas to show their works. “All of us have invested but have never
reaped the fruit; it’s a monster that is threatening movie producers,”
Obazele said while highlighting the effects of piracy. He also reminded
Fashola of his promise to introduce Cinematography as a course at the
Lagos State University.

For members only

The festival
director, Zach Orji, perhaps spoke the minds of the artists when he
expressed happiness at Fashola’s presence. He commended the Lagos State
government for always supporting filmmakers and disclosed that the wife
of the governor, Abimbola, had participated in past editions. The
popular actor noted that this year’s edition of the festival was
organised specifically for members, as it included film financing,
writers and coproduction fora. He added that there would also be
keynote speeches on “various sectors that touch the industry.” Orji
also acknowledged AMP’s collaborators, including the National Theatre.
“I hope that we would have moved a step further in the quest to grow
the industry after the festival,” Orji concluded.

Our own Broadway

Fashola, who spoke
extemporaneously, began by saluting the doggedness of the artists. He
noted that despite people’s reluctance to associate with actors in
times past because they were perceived as the wretched of the earth,
they have made significant contributions to the country’s economy. “I
shudder to think what would have happened if those pioneers hadn’t
opened the economy that was there, that so many of us couldn’t see,” he
said.

The governor also
commended the artists for joining the fight to ensure that the National
Theatre wasn’t privatised. “We should learn to put proper value and
take ownership of what is ours and be proud of it. People go to
Broadway… this is our own Broadway.”

Pirates are our brothers

Fashola made the
artists happy when he assured them that the government will join them
in the fight against piracy. “Piracy is a problem, it undermines the
returns that you get and it undermines your effort. But I can start by
saying you should never despair, you should never give up. The people
who pirate your work are also our brothers and sisters. Let us
understand that they do not dislike you. It’s not that they have a
personal quarrel with you but there is an economic opportunity there
and that is the best way they have responded to it. It is for us as
leaders to show that there is a better way, a way in which we can take
them along.

“And as I said when
I first met with you, they would become your distributors, marketers
and agents and everybody will have a win-win situation. It will require
advocacy, it will require even better communication from us, not only
from you. How many movies have we made about the ills of piracy? Have
we made many to educate people? It’s one thing to go and shut down the
place today but if people don’t understand why they must change, we
fight a very difficult battle.

“I will work with
you, hopefully using science and innovation to help further protect the
quality of your final output. I’ve made contact with some people that I
think can assist us, who are consulting for the government, from
Harvard University. They are very sensitive to the development of this
economy and are willing to help. Where it takes us, I don’t know, but I
have never been afraid to try.”

Look beyond government

He also advised the
filmmakers to look beyond government for financial support. “Banks in
this country, like in any other country, exist for one purpose: to lend
money… If the business is strong, if the business is good, if the
business is well presented, banks will support it. You and I have to
wear our creative caps and put on our creative thinking ability to make
this business more finance-friendly. Government alone can’t do it.”

Though he didn’t
rule out the possibility of government support, the governor urged
patience on the part of the filmmakers. “The idea of a government
supported fund, I take on board, but you will allow me not to make a
commitment because I think somebody has been sharing information with
you from inside my government. Until I finish what I’m doing in that
area, I will not announce anything. But you will get support from our
government.”

Restorer of dignity

Fashola further
noted that the moviemakers’ contribution extended beyond Nigeria and
just paying taxes. He lauded them for “helping to imbibe and sustain
dignity in people who will never have had the chance. People who
ordinarily would have gone cap in hand begging to live, they have the
opportunity to do dignified work for a dignified pay and be proud of
society.”

He promised that
their request for a section for Nollywood in his government’s proposed
film village in Badagry will be granted just as he assured that Lagos
places premium on tourism.

Sadly, it appeared that the opening ceremony was all the filmmakers
cared about, as they failed to provide a detailed programme of events
for the week-long event that ended on Friday.

The National
Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) has
revealed that it is more than just a gathering of theatre art
practitioners if the theme of its 2010 convention is anything to go by.

‘Theatre and
Change: Credible Election and Good Governance’ was the 2010 theme, as
revealed at the opening ceremony of the association’s annual
convention, held on November 18 at the Mainland Hotel, Oyingbo,
Lagos.The association seemed fired up about the theme as it could be
deduced from its president Greg Odutayo’s welcome address, Ahmed
Yerima’s speech and comments from various members of the association.

Odutayo said this
year’s convention was to consolidate on three years of the executive.
“We want to be able to showcase the journey so far,” he said. “We have
reinvigorated the association. We have taken our rightful place as key
stakeholders in arts, culture and tourism,” he noted. However he added
that there is still much to be done, as there were still things
happening in the Culture and Tourism ministry, from which the
association was excluded.

Odutayo also
reminded the members of the need to drive forward the state chapters
and membership, as these two areas still needed much improvement. He
declared that the theme for the convention became imperative in light
of the association’s elections this year and of course the impending
2011 election in the country.

Ahmed Yerima

Yerima’s speech
went in similar direction as he illustrated how theatre and the theatre
artist could be used as a tool to effect change. “Can theatre be used
to achieve political change? The answer is simple, yes,” he affirmed.

Athol Fugard’s use
of theatre to agitate against the apartheid system in South Africa,
Ngugi Wa Thiongo and Micere Mugo’s use of Kikuyu language in theatre to
depict the injustices of colonial Kenya, Herbert Ogunde’s ‘Yoruba Ronu’
and Soyinka’s efforts in the 70s and 80s were some of the examples he
cited.

Consequently, in
using theatre to effect changes towards credible elections and good
governance in the country come 2011, Yerima argued that the onus lay on
the theatre artist. “He must understand the craft of skillfully turning
theatre from a tool for entertainment and enjoyment into a weapon of
social change.” “He must observe the society, recognise the ills, and
begin to weave his plot so that the conflict of his play carries the
message without making it too didactic. Also the society must recognise
and identify themselves within the context of the play” he said in
addition.

He counseled that
theatre practitioners should take advantage of their relationship with
the media to send specific messages on the elections to the Nigerian
populace. He also warned theatre artists not to sell their fame cheaply
for a few bucks.”Good governance can only be achieved if the individual
artists are also careful in the choice and the personality of those
they endorse,” he said.

Yerima spoke about
the $200 million endowment fund for the arts which President Goodluck
Jonathan had announced would be made available to support the arts, and
raised relevant questions about it, which elicited much response from
delegates.

One attendee called
on the association to look into ensuring that the fund is judiciously
used and not misused. Another contribution advised that artists source
for their own survival because they would not be objective in their
criticism of politicians’ excesses if they continued to go cap in hand
to government. The responses revealed that Ahmed Yerima’s speech had
made its mark as comments continued to flow.

Veteran actors
Dejumo Lewis ,Lara Akinsola, Ben Tomoloju (one of the founding fathers
of NANTAP), Mufu Onifade and Martin Adaji of the National Troupe of
Nigeria, were some of those present, among many others.

There were
delegates and executives from the various chapters of NANTAP. There
were also representatives from the Creative Designers Association,
Committee for Relevant Art, The Lagos Chapter of the Guild of Nigerian
Dancers (EKO GOND), Indigenous Movie Makers Association of Nigeria,
Voice Over Artists Association and many other affiliated bodies of
NANTAP.

In his goodwill message to the association Dejumo Lewis praised
NANTAP for being a well organised and focused association in the
entertainment Industry. “We are proud of NANTAP,” he enthused.

The Danse Meets Dance (DMD) Festival is an annual contemporary dance festival that originated in 2001.

It was first
organised and run by the French Cultural Centre Lagos until 2004 when
the centre closed. The Festival is now being handled by the French
Cultural Centre Abuja, Alliance Francaise Lagos and Goethe Insitute
Nigeria with technical support from Blackroots International.
Additional support also comes from the French Embassy and
CulturesFrance, the agency of the ministries of Foreign Affairs and
Culture and Communications responsible for international cultural
exchanges.

The festival aims
to encourage professional dance in Nigeria and give Nigerian dancers
exposure on the international scene. The festival features performances
from local and foreign dance companies; and also workshops for
professional and amateur dancers.

Over the years, DMD
has successively served as a launch-pad onto the local and
international scene for several indigenous dance companies, one of
which is the popular Ijodee dance group helmed by award winning dancer,
Dayo Liadi.

With the calibre of
foreign and indigenous dance professionals that have featured at the
festivals, it is a wonder that DMD has earned little or no public
recognition so far. Its aim to encourage dance in Nigeria, however, has
led to an increased awareness of contemporary dance within mostly art
circles and the proliferation of dance companies in Nigeria. According
to Gboyega Adetona, the creative director of the Festival, as many as
20 dance companies have risen in Lagos alone thanks to DMD.

For this year like
in past years, efforts were made to get sponsorships, with little
success. For a “festival”, the event gets very few participants in the
way of audience. The organisers are able boast of 2000 people at last
year’s grand performance show, which held on the last day of the
festival. This year, the normally week-long event has been shortened to
four days, due to this lack of corporate sponsorship and public
participation.

For a country that
can boast huge music and dance reality shows, mostly culled from
foreign franchises, it is a wonder that an indigenously organised event
such as this would have to suffer interest. In the United States, the
TV show ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ has been hailed for encouraging
dance (especially contemporary dance) culture in that country. The show
has helped to bring together dance practitioners across America that
help to develop workshops aimed at serving those, kids and adults,
interested in the dance profession.

For a country, that
loves to emulate, one would not be surprised if a production company
decides to import that franchise for local consumption sometime in the
future. This would be sad indeed, as there is already a foundation to
build on with Dance Meets Danse, if only someone would come forward and
start building.

The 10th edition of the Danse Meets Dance festival takes places this
year from the 1st to 4th December 2010 at the Arts Theatre University
of Lagos, Akoka; and the French School, Victoria Island. It is free for
all comers.

In Sarah Ladipo
Manyika’s debut novel, ‘In Dependence’ Tayo goes off to study in Oxford
and encounters the love of his life in the person of Vanessa, a young
English woman. The story opens in 1963, in the heady days of
independence and optimism for the newly liberated nations of Black
Africa. By the novel’s close in the late 90s, Manyika has taken us on a
narrative journey of love and loss, age and regret; with the optimism
of independence having slowly wilted away.

“The title goes to
the fact that the book begins in the independence era. The political
implications are there in the story,” the author says of her novel.
Chief among the motivations to write the story, she readily confesses,
was what she saw as a dearth of universal themes like love in most
books being published by African writers. Whilst acknowledging that
stories of conflict are African realities, the author, a literature
lecturer at San Francisco State University, insists that war and
carnage, hunger and disease are not the only stories. So, she set out
to write a simple yet complex story about the need to love and be loved
– as writers the world over have done down the ages.

Capturing the era

The world of the
novel is an elegiac, romantic one of ships and postcards and letters,
symbols of a now disappeared world. “The sixties, seventies and
eighties were times when people wrote letters. That’s been eclipsed by
email now,” Manyika observes, while explaining that she used the ‘I’ of
the letter writers to bring readers closer to the characters’ thoughts.
“This is a novel that spanned a lifetime. I wanted the story to mirror
the evolution of the characters; as they are young earlier in the novel
and we follow them till they’re older.”

Among the things
that strike the reader about ‘In Dependence’ are the many eras and
milieus convincingly evoked in the novel. “I actually did a lot of
research. I wanted to make sure that I was true to the spirit of Oxford
during that period,” she informs. “I read all the student newspapers
for the years my characters were at Oxford. None of it made it into the
book, but it gave me the confidence to know that I could capture that
period in history. I did many interviews with old students, too.” She
also spoke to her own family and friends’ parents for not only
“contextual detail, but also a feel for the language, films of the time
and the music they were listening to.”

Telling Africa’s stories

The experience has
shown her that there is a wealth of stories of Africa and Africans yet
untold. “I feel that there are so many stories to be told,” she
reiterates. While researching for ‘In Dependence, she interviewed
someone who had been instrumental in bringing Malcolm X to Oxford
University in the early sixties; and who had corresponded with the
African American leader via postcard for sometime afterwards. “There is
a whole, fascinating history in that connection between those two
people,” she asserts.

Manyika talks about
the need to “overturn this power structure” that means only certain
stories about Africa come to the fore through Western publishing deals.
“Africa needs good writers, wherever those writers come from,” she
declares. “I hope more and more books will be published. I would love
to see a burgeoning of writings, more writing awards, residencies.” She
also hopes to see more Africans in positions of ownership in the
publishing industry.

Indeed, one of the
points raised early in ‘In Dependence’ is the need for Africans to tell
their own stories, for the continent’s stories not to be seen via the
constricting prism of Western eyes. Yet in a seeming contradiction,
Vanessa goes on in the novel to become a renowned journalist on Africa,
a white Africanist of sorts, telling the continent’s stories. Manyika
concedes that, “Any book is open to interpretation. At the end, it’s up
to the reader… All my characters are flawed to one extent or another
and Vanessa is no exception.”

Pan-Africanism

In the West African
Society in Oxford, Tayo and friends discuss issues including racism,
love across the boundaries of race and country, identity, as well as
power relations between Africa and Europe. Asked if the discussion
topics mirror her own concerns, Manyika is emphatic: “The writing is
certainly is not a voice piece for my thoughts. I am there in those
conversations to the extent that I care very deeply about the African
continent. Through the various characters, I am exploring the questions
that I’ve asked and that others have asked.”

A Nigerian of mixed
ancestry, Manyika has lived in Nigeria as well as in Kenya, among other
places; and is connected to Zimbabwe by marriage. One of her short
stories is published in the anthology, ‘Women Writing Zimbabwe’, and
she keeps a close eye on writings out of Harare even as she is a part
of the Nigerian literary community, albeit from the Diaspora. “It’s
really exciting to see what’s coming out of Zimbabwe,” she says of
wave-making writers like Petina Gappah and Brian Chikwava. “Because I’m
married to a Zimbabwean, I have extended family there and spend time
there. I feel connected in many ways. There’s an element of West Africa
in Zimbabwe.” To buttress this point, she cites Chielo Zona Eze’s
novel, ‘The Trial of Robert Mugabe’ that begins with the reference that
his first wife was Ghanaian.

It’s no surprise
perhaps that the novel begins in the sixties, the high noon of Pan
Africanism, with the likes of Nkrumah striding the length and breadth
of the Black world canvassing the dream of a united Africa. Manyika
hopes her readers will take something meaningful from ‘In Dependence’,
not least “that aspect of hope, that the original Pan-African spirit
will resonate with them.”

On women writers

‘In Dependence’ is
published in the UK by Legend Press and in a West African edition by
Abuja-based Cassava Republic Press. A blurb on the book notes, in a
complimentary tone, that “even the sex is well mannered.” Why has
Ladipo Manyika not gone with roaring sex scenes, as is de rigueur in
contemporary novels by Nigerian female writers? “Just wait till my next
book!” she jokes, then adds, “I personally find some of the most
enticing… a lot can be left to the reader’s imagination.” The allure of
many a romantic scene, she suggests, “is not about the roaring sex but
the anticipation of what is to come.”

The author feels an
affinity with fellow women writers. “I’m conscious of women writers.
It’s often a struggle for women to write because we have to juggle more
things,” she says. As a reader therefore, she is especially drawn to
short works by women, including Petina Gappah’s stories, Virginia
Woolf’s essays and the stories of Edith Wharton and Jhumpa Lahiri,
among others.

A constancy of themes

The themes in her
works reflect “ideas that are occupying my mental space.” There is a
constancy to the themes. “Africa is always there somewhere in my
consciousness,” she reflects. She touches on recent news headlines
about race riots in Italy: “African immigrants who have been used as
slaves by the Mafia – these stories aren’t really being told, they’ve
been subsumed.” Other preoccupations include women and ageing; and
identity – “This notion of who we are and where do we fit?”

Sarah Ladipo
Manyika did a book tour of Nigeria late last year, and was pleased that
she didn’t have to explain as much as she would have had to do with
European readers. “I feel that Nigerians are maybe able to engage with
the novel more,” she says with satisfaction.

The author is
currently working on a collection of short stories set in Harare,
‘Transatlantically Speaking’; and a novella set in San Francisco, with
women from different parts of the world as the main characters.

As part of the
drive to see more confident writings from the continent, she actively
encourages other writers, “due to my desire to read stories that
haven’t been written, because it inspires me.”

‘In Dependence’ will be reviewed in next week’s edition of The Lagos Review.

Nigerian writers
got the accolades they have rightly earned over the years at the eighth
Macmillan Literary Night held on Thursday, November 18 at Agip Recital
Hall, MUSON Centre, Lagos.

Octogenarian,
Chinua Achebe; Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka; dramatist, Femi Osofisan;
poet, Niyi Osundare and deceased writers, Amos Tutuola and Cyprian
Ekwensi, amongst others, were lauded for their contributions to
Nigerian literature.

The event themed
‘Penning Our March to the Golden Year: A Celebration of Nigerian
Literature in the Last 50 Years’, was attended by many lovers of the
written word. The task of introducing some of them, especially the
chair, Tunde Babawale, Director General, Centre for Black and African
Arts and Civilisation, and the special guest of honour, Babatunde Raji
Fashola, the Governor of Lagos State, fell on Nigeria’s first female
permanent secretary, Francesca Emmanuel.

The vice chair of
Macmillan’s literary committee, who executed the task with a touch of
class, apologised for the late commencement of the programme. She
capped her excellent presentation by reading an excerpt from Peter
Enahoro’s ‘How to be a Nigerian’.

Worthy ambassadors

Her husband and
chair, Macmillan Nigeria Publishers, Bode Emmanuel, welcomed guests
thereafter. He noted that the night provided an opportunity to boost
creativity, writing and reading. He said Nigerian literature is
representative of a country on the move as “it constantly draws from
the country’s realities in the best tradition of protest art.” Emanuel
added that it was inevitable that writers would speak out against the
excesses of the Nigerian society after a bloody civil war and ill
managed oil boom.

The publisher
described the emergence of first generation writers including Achebe,
Soyinka, Ekwensi, J.P. Clark and others as a “landmark” because they
succeeded in giving “African literature focus and direction, and
propagated African values to the outside world.” He noted that rather
than abating, issues that first generation writers condemned in their
works multiplied, thus leading to the taking up the gauntlet by second
generation writers. Labo Yari, Femi Osofisan, Abubakar Gimba, Festus
Iyayi and Odia Ofeimun, Emanuel said, have at various times condemned
corruption and other ills in the society. He added that contemporary
writers including Ben Okri and Helon Habila have toed the same path.

Emmanuel further
noted that apart from the Civil War being the cause of poet Christopher
Okigbo’s death and the imprisonment of Soyinka, it has been a major
issue to Nigerian writers, providing a creative outlet for many of
them. Elechi Amadi’s ‘Sunset in Biafra’; Soyinka’s ‘The Man Died’;
Chukwuemeka Ike’s ‘Sunset at Dawn’; Ken Saro-Wiwa’s ‘Soza Boy’ and
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’, he noted, are
examples of the country’s rich civil war literature.

The publisher
however expressed happiness that in spite of ills afflicting Nigeria
and its literature, the writers have achieved a lot on the
international scene. He mentioned the translations Achebe’s ‘Things
Fall Apart’ has undergone and Soyinka’s Nobel Prize for Literature as
examples. He further praised writers for succeeding in exporting our
culture to other parts of the world. “Nigeria stands tall in
international politics because of the arts and writers… Nigeria
stands redeemed through the works of writers,” he said. Emanuel also
restated Macmillan’s dedication to quality publishing.

Laudable project

Emcee, poet and
polemicist, Odia Ofeimun, keyed in to Emmanuel’s last statement by
noting that the company did something he had always wanted this year:
releasing four new books. ‘A Childhood Journey’ by Mary Oto Lijadu;
J.C. Agunwamba’s ‘The Poacher’s Daughter’; ‘Too Close to the Rocks’ by
Jide Oguntoye and Onyechi Mbamali’s ‘Your Man Abednego’.

Fashola, who was
represented by Babajide Sanwo-0lu, the Commissioner for Establishment
and Training, commiserated with Macmillan on the demise of educationist
Aliu Babatunde Fafunwa, vice chair, board of the company. He disclosed
that he was impressed by the company’s effort to sustain and project
Nigerian literature through the literary night initiated. “This is a
laudable effort to promote reading,” he noted. The Governor reiterated
the importance of education to development and urged people to buy and
read at least a book a month.

Presentations

Rather than have
the chair’s remarks, Ofeimun tweaked the schedule to take the
presentations, which involved four major Nollywood artists reading
excerpts from some works. Norbert Young, Ihria Enakimio, Tina Mba and
Ireti Doyle all read while the Crown Troupe of Africa performed. The
group’s opening glee was a refreshing piece different from their usual
offering. It earned them generous applause from the audience. Their
second and last presentation, a dance drama titled ‘Our Story’ and Wole
Soyinka’s ‘I Love This Lagos’ were also appreciated.

The quartet of
Young, Enakimio, Mba and Doyle, also did a commendable job, adopting
the mannerisms of their characters. Young perfectly adopted the accent
of a Yoruba man while reading Amos Tutuola’s ‘The Palmwine Drinkard’
while Enakimio did same with Frank Aig-Imoukhuede’s pidgin poem, ‘One
Man, One Wife’. The two ladies were not exempted in convincingly
portraying their characters. Folk group, Nefertiti, accompanied the
artists on some excerpts. The quartet did Ken Saro-Wiwa’s lengthy,
risqué and irreverent pidgin poem, ‘Dis Nigeria Sef’ together to end
the session.

Critical tool

It was only then
that Babawale gave his speech. The CBAAC boss said he was honoured to
have been asked to chair the event and described it as a “night of
fulfilment, education and sober reflection on the state of our
country.” He commended Macmillan for doing a great job over the years
and reiterated the place of the arts in the society. Babawale said one
of the greatest mistakes Nigeria has made in the last two decades is
giving preference to science and technology to the detriment of the
arts. “Literature provides a critical tool with which you can analyse
the society and you need a critical mind to develop. Government must be
told in clear terms that we must do everything to support Literature,”
he said while pledging CBAAC’s continuous support to Macmillan.

Babawale, who pulled no punches despite being in the employ of
government, also condemned the country’s decaying infrastructure.
“Ladies and gentlemen, must this continue? No. Go home and start
reading.”