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In the wake of a Nollywood renaissance, the competition for filmmakers to up the ante has been on the increase. For old and new Nollywood bashers, most of the criticism has recently been reduced to static mumbling, but not in all cases.

From the producer of ‘Silent Scandal’ and ‘When the Heart Lies’ comes ‘A Private Storm’ starring Ramsey Nouah, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, and John Dumelo. The movie, directed by Lancelot Imasuen and Ikechukwu Onyeka, was written and produced by Vivian Ejike. The hype that heralded the film’s premiere made it a must-see for many.

A turbulent affair

The story revolves around the violent Alex (Ramsey Nouah) and Gina, his live-in lover/victim, played by Jalade-Ekeinde. In the first scene, he wakes her up to breakfast in bed, while coaxing her to skip work that day. At this point, the alarm bells start to ring, but who cares? We are here to watch Nollywood romance at its best.

Gina goes to work anyway, only to be dragged back home by a very angry Alex after forcing her to write a resignation letter. He compensates Gina with an upscale boutique, making her the envy of her friends who think she’s got the perfect man, Prince Charming.

Charm is, however, not exactly Alex’s strong point as his anger constantly gets the better of him. He orders his ‘princess’ out of his car at midnight in the middle of nowhere, locks her up in the bathroom and out of the house after she disobeys his order on attending a close friend’s birthday party. He slaps her just because she dares to describe another man as a ‘handsome hunk.’ Shock, horror!

Obviously, no one would expect even an insane woman to sit around and enjoy such violence. Gina soon ‘borrows’ a brain and flees to a friend’s place. A remorseful Alex returns, bearing gifts and asking for forgiveness. Gina is hell-bent on not taking him back. The flashback to Alex’s troubled youth is no excuse for his misbehaviour in adulthood, but foolish love prevails over reason and Gina returns to Alex’s hurtful embrace. Or maybe the beating was just an unshakable part of her destiny.

I guess this is the part where the producers expected us to fall in love again after hating the male antagonist and running mad with anger at Gina’s stupidity. Well, it does not work out that way as we remain in shock at the lead-female’s foolhardiness.

For a movie on spousal abuse, it is shocking not to get the feel of at least one broken bone, a blood-shot, black eye, or swollen cheek, considering Alex is quick to send thunder down Gina’s face in the blink of an eye. Apart from the rouge brightening the ladies’ cheeks, the closest thing to bloodshed that we see is when Dumelo spills red wine on his white shirt.

Other than that, the story of ‘A Private Storm’ could very well be summed up as a romantic melodrama telling the story of an unnecessarily angry young man and his foolish fiancée.

Mr. Sinister

Nouah is not bad in his role as Mr. Sinister. His characterisation echoed scenes from previous tormentor-roles in ‘Above Death,’ where he plays Hilda Dokubo’s demon-possessed child, and a particular scene from ‘Blind Trust’ where he sends his father’s greedy relatives scurrying with a cutlass. The down-side of his acting and the directing is that in some scenes, not a few feel this is a horror flick starring Nouah as a two-legged freak.

Ekeinde’s portrayal of the ‘suffer-head’ Gina also deserves top marks, but I wonder why – with all the fire the character sometimes shows – Gina never hits back at least once. Maybe like one woman said, she accepts such beating as the perfect grooming necessary to make a good wife.

Ufuoma Ejenobor and John Dumelo are the film’s second couple in another miserable relationship: they also break up to make up but for different reasons. As the action unravels, one is expecting to see both couples merge in the plot. Unfortunately, there was no real reason for the presence of this couple but for the comic relief they provided as a departure from the charged action of Alex and Gina’s volatile relationship. All was however, made known at the ‘end’ of ‘Private Storm 1.’

Er, that’s not all, folks

The curse of Nollywood means that even the ‘best’ movie finds a most unfortunate way of disappointing its audience. ‘A Private Storm’ was not wanting in this regard, giving boost to the argument that most Nollywood movies are soap operas camouflaging as feature films.

The movie held some hope at the beginning but soon faltered and almost two hours later, it was not funny to see the final fade with the words ‘… the storm has just begun…’ appearing on the screen. This was followed by ‘teasers’ from the sequel in which we discover where Omotola Jalade’s character ends up.

It was no different from seeing a series’ pilot with a preview of subsequent episodes reading, ‘Next time on A Private Storm.’

Having not seen other productions by Vivian Ejike, I hear ‘A Private Storm’ might actually be her worst so far. I hope so too.

Here’s the verdict: you won’t be over-joyful if you see ‘A Private Storm’ in cinemas. Wait till Part 2 is released; buy or rent both instalments, then spare a few hours to see them back to back. Rewind or fast-forward to your heart’s content so you won’t need to see the full story more than once.

The Nigeria Prize
for Literature, endowed by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), was
recently put under scrutiny in Lagos. The NLNG, sponsors of the
programme, invited groups and individuals from across the country who
have things to say about Literature. From writers’ bodies, teachers,
literary enthusiasts, and publishers, they all came to put the prize
under scrutiny.

At the start of the
deliberations, one of the participants pointed out that the Literature
Prize has made the NLNG come under the searchlight of many. He was of
the opinion that the other prize, Science, has not generated as much
furore as Literature because writers by nature are people who have
varied ideas about what excellence means. That is, excellence, like
beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder.

In calling the
participants together to consider the place of the prize in the country
and in the literary world, Siene Allwell-Brown, general manager,
external relations, of the NLNG, said the forum was convened to distil
the opinion of stakeholders in the sector because the company wants to
make the Nigeria Literature Prize the “best and the biggest for
rewarding excellence” not only in Nigeria, but in Africa and also one of
the best administered prizes in the world.

A tall order, but
there is no harm in trying, they all agreed. They felt it was good
enough to let the world know that something good and creative can come
out of Nigeria, especially when many have won laurels in Literature,
both at home and abroad.

Soul searching

Ms. Allwell-Brown
observed, “We believe it is time enough to ask some pertinent questions.
In the eight years of its existence, would we say that the prize
definitely lived up to this billing? Has it presented a large enough
canvas for writers, publishers, editors, book sellers, literary critics,
and journalists to paint their dreams? Has it made excellence its prime
guiding principle and have the aspirations, yearnings and dreams of the
stakeholders in promoting excellence in writing and publishing been
met? Has the prize been administered in a fair and transparent manner?”

This set the tone
for the deliberations which was chaired by Ayo Banjo, former vice
chancellor of the University of Ibadan, an Emeritus Professor.

According to him,
the Prize has come a long way and he believed that the stakeholders’
forum would serve as a medium to further advance it beyond its present
ken. He urged the stakeholders to deliberate and ensure that the prize
remains prestigious and “command the respect of Nigerians and one that
can be a model for the rest of the world to emulate.”

Jerry Agada,
president of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), said the forum
was good because it would help to shape Nigerian Literature better and
place it in its right place. In setting the pattern for the discussion,
Ifeanyi Mbanefo, manager, corporate communications and public affairs of
the NLNG, traced the origin of the prize to 2003 when it was conceived.
He stressed the need for this, so as to look back and see if it has
achieved its purpose and if it had, how to make it better.

Some recommendations

One of the ways to
gauge this was the engagement of a corporate governance expert who
analysed the administrative procedure of the prize and made some useful
recommendations on how to make its administration more useful,
effective, and transparent.

Deji Toye, a
consultant with Lodt Governance Centre, Lagos, in reviewing the
management structure of the prize, recommended, among others, that: the
Award should remain in its present form (The Nigeria Prize for
Literature) and not a ‘Prize for the Humanities’, as currently being
canvassed for by some.

He also recommended
that instead of the present Literature Committee, an Advisory Board
should be constituted. This is to be made up of carefully selected group
of stakeholders, appointed by organisations/institutions in the
industry.

He suggested that
the associations to make nominations should be: Association of Nigerian
Authors, Nigerian Academy of Letters, and National Library of Nigeria;
while a senior executive from the corporate affairs department of NLNG
is to serve as secretary of the committee and head of the secretariat.
This, according to Mr. Toye, would help reduce administrative costs.

Perhaps, one of the
most debated recommendations was the one that says any year no work
among those submitted was found good enough to win the grand $50,000,
“the money should be donated to a charity that is active in the
promotion of the literary arts or the money returned to source.”

For instance, the prize that went to the Nigeria Academy of Letters would not have gone to it the year it was not awarded.

No consensus

A few of the issues
raised at the forum were widely debated but a consensus, as it is in a
gathering of writers, was hard to arrive at.

However, this did
not in any way diminish the importance or the essence of the forum,
because all those involved in the business of Literature – writers,
publishers, critics, readers, distributors, and publishers – were able
to sit together and reason as important links in a chain.

Publishers were able
to air their views about how they felt left out of the scheme, with all
attention focused on writers and not others who help to make the end
product get to the consumers.

The forum was
attended by groups and organisations in the literary community. These
included Association of Nigerian Authors; Nigeria Academy of Letters;
Nigeria Publishers Association; Society of Nigerian Theatre Artists;
and Abuja Writers Forum. Others represented were Arts Writers
Organisation of Nigeria; Women Writers Association; and Committee for
Relevant Arts.

At least three past winners of the prize were also there: Gabriel
Okara (poetry), Ahmed Yerima (drama), and Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo
(novelist).

I have screened
excerpts from my films, “BARIGA BOY” and “ORIKI.’ In them are the core
ideas around which I have concentrated my work as a filmmaker. My
philosophy is that I am not just a filmmaker, I am an African Filmmaker.
That is an identity that I take seriously and it is an identity that
inspires my content. I believe that my art and my identity are
interconnected and must feed each other. The idea and the context and
culture of the artist shape his work. Filmmaking as all artistic
undertakings, is a cultural practice and every form of its
interpretation enriches and projects the experiences of a culture as
captured from the artist’s perspective.

The Nigerian
Nollywood film industry was born of this understanding and over the last
12-15years it has found a global audience amongst Africans and
immigrants in the Diaspora. Whilst we readily admit its technical
deficiencies, Nollywood films have become a critical connector for many.
Across the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil, Cuba, as far as
China and Australia and all across Africa, Nollywood as a filmmaking
phenomenon is less about the fictional narratives and more about the
interactivity of its visual messaging.

The Nollywood movie
industry is young, revolutionary and organic. It is young in the sense
that movie making became a phenomenon in Nigeria only in recent years.
It is revolutionary in the sense that it represents a radical break with
the past. It did not have much history to go by and yet it has made
international impact. More importantly, it is organic in the sense that
it has a life of its own and it grows on its own steam. The Nigerian
movie has its primary audience within the society in which it is
produced, and this has been its most important attribute.

In every effective
way, Nollywood is a form of pseudo documentary-making, showcasing the
issues and conflicts and complexities of living the African experience
in a way that is practical and to which Africans are connecting. While
fiction, its narratives and sources are based on realities and
actualities. It is a powerful form that has also inspired a new
generation of filmmakers across the continent who are energised by the
opportunity to make their voices heard. In this emerging globalisation,
cultural distinctions and dissection aid understanding as well as
protect and preserve diversity. Documentaries are critical to helping us
express our individualities within the blurred boundaries of the global
community.

Deeper understanding

Cultures are in real
and present danger of extinction. I am Yoruba. And my culture for
instance is ancient with an amazing history full of spiritual
mythologies. Its essence is profiled in family values, community,
respect courtesy and individual responsibilities of integrity, industry,
diligence and courage. For hundreds of years, that culture has survived
through history passed on by word of mouth. Today, technology makes it
possible to document this culture, to interrogate it and project its
mysteries in a way that inspires a sense of belonging and pride.

Documentaries are
also important today, less as mere recordings or archiving tools of
events and history and more for how they shape our thinking and mediate
our experiences. That is a very important consideration if you accept
the idea that whilst technology and globalisation have made our lives
easier, they have blurred our understanding of what is truth. Everything
is complex and whilst you may have access to the facts of a situation,
the truth of it has many sides. I believe the capacity of the
documentary form to go beyond the news cycle and present to us
perspectives, gives us a deeper understanding that is useful in an era
where the news cycles are overtly political.

Telling Africa’s story

Western colonialists
used documentaries to shape group behaviour and manipulate perception
and history. In Africa today, the narrative of the global information
order preserves an unfortunate soundbite that feeds our economic
ostracisation. The perspectives of experiences defined is at best narrow
and one-sided. For Africa, the global information order presents a
narrative of wars, death, corruption and diseases. The question is: ‘who
is telling the story of Africa and its realities and from what
perspective?’ Can African filmmakers bring better understanding within
and outside the continent with documentaries that give a more rounded
definition of the African experience?

Today, Africa
continues to be a hotbed of economic and socio-political change. From
Tunisia to Egypt and now Libya. The primary questions are as urgent as
they are fundamental: How can filmmaking serve the interests of Africa?
How can it force the development agenda of Africa into global
consciousness? How can it educate the world about the tremendous
opportunities in Africa and highlight the importance of this continent?
What are Africa’s strengths in a fiercely competitive global economic
environment? And how do we create and grow a sustainable business model
for African films to thrive? These questions underscore an important
part of my own personal philosophy. My work, not just as a filmmaker,
but as an “African Filmmaker” is very important and vital to the
sustenance of my own identity and even more ambitiously, my work is
vital to the economic and social transformation of my community.

Africa in dialogue

There is a dialogue
on-going. Africa is in a conversation with itself concerning the shape
of its future. A new order identifying new voices and new leaders,
propagating new values of accountability, transparency, fair
competition, social justice and economic empowerment is emerging. It is a
revolution of immense significance that is bringing a new optimism and
pride about our future.

Documentary
filmmaking can be at the centre of shaping these discourses — guiding
and laying bare the issues. The images of Africa’s emerging new order of
political social and economic regeneration needs to get out there. The
responsibility cannot be that of those outside of the experience.
African filmmakers have a responsibility to mediate these perspectives
because they have the privilege of their craft and the audience it
attracts. Back in 1935, the pioneering British documentary filmmaker,
Paul Rotha, declared that, “above all documentary must reflect the
problems and realities of the present.” Rotha was a socially-conscious
director who believed that the role of the documentary filmmaker was to
help change the world for the better. I subscribe to that but will add
that the filmmaker must also question the nature of truth and reality.
That is a key contention as governments and economic manipulators fully
understand and use the documentary medium well as propaganda tools
rather than for its more affecting power to educate, elevate and
inspire. Today, its boundaries are being stretched to keep up with the
unreality of the real world. But the documentary form is a generous
basket and it holds a lot of different things, after all, It is
structured reality.

Many recent
documentaries also denote a generational shift in both style and subject
matter, away from the political towards the emotional. There is a sense
in which also the grand narratives globally are that people are living
in an age of uncertainty; and documentary increasingly reflects that,
because documentary as an art form is traditionally progressive. Which
is why as Awam Akpam affirmed at the iRep Documentary Festival in Lagos
in January, documentaries are way too important to be left in the hands
of institutions. It should be in the hands of the population. Today,
everything is happening at the speed of light – fast foods, fast cars
fast communications, fast revolutions as we have seen all over the
Middle East recently. All human experiences are moving at a rapid pace,
requiring not only documentation historically, but perspectives and
interpretations and individual voices to be heard. There is definitely a
new energy for documentaries by people who need to tell their stories
and can suddenly afford to do so. We are living in a time when young
filmmakers in particular are increasingly turning towards documentary as
a way to make sense of the world they live in. They are more alert
about and suspicious of the mainstream media and eager for a form that
talks to them about real events in a real way even if that form is rough
or even low-key. It’s a very exciting and ground-breaking time for the
transformative power of the visual arts. People are looking for bigger
truths. There is a hunger for narratives that are personal, broad in
scope and with integrity in its perspectives. How much change can
documentary films really inspire? I say it can change the world!

Being the text of
lecture delivered by filmmaker Femi Odugbemi at the Centre for African
and African-American Research, Duke University. United States on
February 21.

One of the leading
culture centres in Lagos, Terra Kulture, is set to expand its base, as
plans are announced for the building of a Modern Art Centre on the
premises.

The details were
revealed on February 17, during a press conference to inform the public
about the centre’s timetable of events for 2011. Among the offering for
arts lovers this year are: the Theatre at Terra twice weekly drama
performances, art exhibitions, and book readings.

Speaking with
members of the press, Bolanle Austen-Peters, the managing director and
founder of Terra Kulture, revealed that they would be expanding the
centre’s structure, in order to beat the current challenge of finding
state-of-the-art facilities for art events in Lagos.

“We have acquired
the land next door for the Art Centre, which will include an Art
gallery, theatre, bookstore, and Children Activity Centre for Craft,”
declared Austen-Peters, who added that the project will be sponsored by
Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB).

According to her,
“the greatest problem that artists in Nigeria face is infrastructure.
So, we are expanding our Art gallery. We want a world class gallery.
Same with theatre,” she added.

What we do

“Aside from grooming
(theatre) directors and giving them the opportunity to showcase their
works, imagine having a world class stage. We don’t have that yet but we
are working towards it,” she stated.

The Art manager also
set out the goals of Terra Kulture. “What we try to do here is promote
everything Art in Nigeria. We are a cultural centre.”

Among other
initiatives, she revealed that the Theatre at Terra project was set in
motion in 2006 to “create a platform for theatre lovers in Nigeria.”

“We started with
Aremo Babatope and Segun Adefila, then Wole Oguntokun. We give artists
the platform and infrastructure and we charge the directors nothing,”
Austen-Peters said, adding that the centre got financial support for
sponsors, notably GTB.

With drama
presentations every month running from January till December, theatre
directors whose plays will be staged at Terra Kulture in 2011 include:
Segun Adefila (Crown Troupe of Africa); Nick Monu (The Lotus
Theatre);Wole Oguntokun (Jason Vision); and Uche Nwokedi (Play House).
Also on the list are: Bikiya Graham Douglas (Betta Universal Arts
Foundation) and Najite Dede (Clever Girl Performance).

Adefila’s Crown
Troupe of Africa has staged performances every Sunday since January.
Terra Kulture has an Art gallery where exhibitions are regularly held.
Already, “we have had two exhibitions this year,” disclosed
Austen-Peters.

She added that the
highlight of activities at Terra Kulture this year will be the annual
auction, involving a select group of artists for an exhibition. The
auction is expected to hold in April.

Diverse events

The centre, which
has a library and bookshop, is also aiming to be a vibrant hub for book
readings. It already hosts the monthly Celebrity Reads Africa programme
and the Farafina Book Review sessions. Two readings have been hosted at
the venue so far this year.

Austen-Peters
revealed the criteria for selecting featured books: “We look at the
quality of the books. We have a Readers Club here. Also, people come in
and tell us what to put out to the public.”

“Of course, we have
our language classes and we also have Boutique at Terra,” she stated
further. “We noticed that fashion is beginning to catch on, so we
created a boutique.”

According to her,
the boutique will showcase clothing and home furnishings, adding that
“this will help to promote our fashion and fabric.”

Actor, choreographer
and director, Segun Adefila, fielded questions from the press regarding
his ability to cope with the challenges of staging regular live
theatre. He was also asked for his opinion on the Theatre at Terra
Project.

“I studied Theatre
Arts. It’s the only thing that I can do. There is nowhere else where
theatre goes on regularly. When I learnt of this platform, I met with
Mrs. Austen-Peters and she gave us the support,” he said. “It’s the
biggest thing to have happened to us,” said Adefila, who leads the Crown
Troupe of Africa.

The managing
director of Terra Kulture was asked if the centre is planning to take
advantage of the fund for Arts and Entertainment, recently made
available by President Goodluck Jonathan.

“We have learnt to sustain our business ourselves and we focus on what we have to do,” she answered.

Legendary cartoonist
and artist Josy Ajiboye’s solo exhibition is set to open at Terra
Kulture, Lagos, on March 12. Titled ‘People and Places: Nigeria 2’, the
exhibition will feature 30 of his artworks and will be on display till
March 18.

The exhibition is a
continuation of ‘People and Places’, a joint exhibition the artist held
with his family in 2008, which was staged to celebrate Nigeria’s
independence.

The latest
exhibition is a reflection on the artist’s “thoughts on the glorious
years of the country, the challenges of today, and perhaps the prospects
of tomorrow.”

Ajiboye was for 29
years a cartoonist and graphic artist at The Daily Times Newspaper,
where he became a household name, thrilling generations of readers with
his humorous and thought-provoking graffiti on Nigerian realities. He
retired from the Daily Times in 2000.

Speaking on February
23 with members of the press about the forthcoming exhibition, he
revealed that the theme of the exhibition is not based on any single
subject matter.

“Some of the paintings contain my childhood experiences,” said the artist, who declared that painting is his first love.

He also disclosed
that while he was working with the Daily Times, he was also painting,
but they are small paintings done with pastels and oil, and they were
few and far between. After leaving the newspaper, he focused solely on
painting.

A quartet

Four of the
paintings to be featured in ‘People and Places: Nigeria 2’ were on
display at the Terra Kulture Art Gallery during the press conference. On
‘The Way to My Town’, a landscape painting, Ajiboye said, “I remember
travelling through roads like that in my hometown and encountering all
kinds of birds and monkeys. It’s a flashback to my childhood.”

Another piece,
‘Anthills’, further reveals his fondness for nature. ‘Religious
Politics’ is a treatise on the danger of letting religious violence go
on unchecked, citing examples such as the recent Boko Haram crisis in
the North. According to Ajiboye, the painting was born out of a cartoon
which he did in the 80’s for the editorial page of the Daily Times, a
response to the Maitasine riots in Northern Nigeria.

The fourth painting,
‘Olokun’, reflects cultural assertion. “I always like people to know
that Art in Africa has always been. The same way Art had always existed
in Italy and Florence centuries back.”

Landscape artist

On why he seemed to
lean more towards landscape Art, the artist replied that, “When I hold
colour, sometimes it is to express peace, sometimes happiness. While I
was a cartoonist, it was a mixture of abstraction and landscape. If I am
commissioned to do abstract, I do it.”

He added that, “I
want people to see my painting and enjoy it immediately they see it. I
love people, culture, places, and the best way for me is to go straight
to the point.”

“I chose the medium I
like. For instance, in music, if you say Jazz is popular, it’s still
limited to a particular group of people. I don’t paint because of what
is in vogue. I paint what I want.”

Ajiboye is impressed
by the current spate of interest in Art in Lagos. Comparing the present
with the ‘50s, the artist who has lived in Lagos as far back as the
‘50s said that, “There were times that for 3 months no exhibitions were
held in the city.”

“We had only one
exhibition centre and it was only expatriates that came to exhibit,” he
added. “Then came the 1960’s. The Society of Nigerian Artists was
already on. Before then, there was not much Art activity compared with
what is happening now,” he stated.

Ajiboye has
exhibited both within and outside the country and is listed in ‘Nigeria
Artists: A Who’s Who’ and Bibliography of Smithsonian Institute,
Washington DC.

Josy Ajiboye’s
‘People and Places: Nigeria 2’ is at Terra Kulture, Tiamiyu Savage
Street, Victoria Island, Lagos from March 12 to 18.

Business unusual.
That’s what it’s going to be at this year’s Africa Academy Movie Awards
(AMAA) which is getting extra attention this year, after it’s
repackaging. The seventh edition of the annual awards will commence on
March 21 with the grand finale holding at the Gloryland Cultural Centre,
Yenagoa, Bayelsa State on March 27.

Deviating from the
norm, a series of activities will precede the showcase event that will
be witnessed by major players in Nollywood, people of Bayelsa and
foreign delegates including a 20-person contigent from Egypt.

“We have a lot of
tourism products we are going to showcase because we are the greatest
beneficaries of the repackaged AMAA,” began Jokori Macaulay,
director-general, Bayelsa State Tourism Development and Publicty Bureau,
at a press briefing held to announce the changes. Macaulay, who spoke
in the company of Silva Opuala-Charles, the Commissioner for Finance and
Budget and Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, chief executive officer of AMAA,
continued: “We are well prepared to take advantage of the innovation and
have packaged various activities. One of them is 12 Hours Round
Bayelsa, which is a tour that will start from the mainland to the
coastal line. Coastal Bayelsa has very attractive sites and we are going
to showcase some of them.

Tourism and development

“We will be
embarking on heritage tourism which will involve a trip to Oloibiri. We
will also visit the Slave Holding House at Akassa. In Brass, we will
showcase the Colonial Cemetery. Lake Efie, another important tourism
destination Bayelsa wants to develop, is also in the itinerary. In fact,
one week might not be enough to visit all the places,” Macaulay said.

Obviously enlarged
to centre the awards on the people and make it contribute better to the
economy of the state which has supported it since inception, the awards
are tagged ‘Experience Bayelsa 2011’ this time around. It will feature
amongst others, a talent hunt show, beauty pageant, craft and art
exhibition and a book fair and film workshops.

“There is a
domestication of skills here; we want to create an economy out of AMAA,
that’s what’s going to happen. The governor has given a new lifeline to
AMAA, jobs are going to be created. Our people are going to enjoy the
benefit of the entertainment industry and that’s the whole idea behind
this diversification. We will make sure that jobs are created, Bayelsans
are highly talented people and I think this is the way to go. I’m very
sure that very soon, Bayelsa will be the destination for tourism and
entertainment,” Opuala-Charles reiterated.

Corroborating the
finance commissioner, Anyiam Osigwe disclosed that an ongoing film
training workshop for 50 youth at the Niger Delta Wetland Centre,
Yenagoa, is targeted at this. She said that, “their first after-training
assignment shall be to produce short films using Bayelsa’s best film
locations. The films will be highlighted during the celebration.” The
AMAA boss added that that would not be the end of the training however,
as outstanding participants will be sent for training abroad. “Those
that are good enough and who show a real interest in knowing more about
film will be given scholarships to the Prague Film School who are
partners of the African Film Academy. Some of them will also be taken to
the National Film Institute in Jos.

On sponsorship

On sponsorship which
has always been a major headache of AMAA, Anyiam Osigwe said she
couldn’t talk too much about it because most sponsors prefer to do their
unveiling themselves. She however disclosed that South Africa Airlines
and Arik Air are the official airlines for this year’s awards. She also
disclosed that AMAA enjoys the backing of some structural partners
including Chevron and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
which is working with the African Film Academy on the training of youth.

Despite talk of a strained relationship between AMAA and the Bayelsa
State government, Anyiam-Osigwe affirmed that she remains committed to
the state and that was why the awards had been repackaged to benefit the
people. “Bayelsa invested in a piece of paper seven years ago when AMAA
was an idea; the state should also benefit from its investment. Loyalty
to a piece of paper is what keeps us going. Other states have offered
more than Bayelsa in trying to host, but we are with Bayelsa.” AMAA, she
added, has also given back to the state in many ways, including making a
documentary, ‘Hidden Paradise’, about Bayelsa in 2006. Anyiam-Osigwe
noted further that AMAA has always discovered and aided the development
of fresh musical talents including Edge. She added that Bayelsa Town
Storm, featuring three musicians, will be included in the package this
year. On the financial involvement of government, Anyiam-Osigwe and
Opuala Charles declined to give specific amounts. The finance
commissioner described their relationship as a partnership and that
government’s involvement was minimal. The Africa Academy Awards
nominations for excellence in film were unveiled in Nairobi, Kenya, on
February 25.

Why Art?

I see Art as
something that God has deposited in me. I admit that I hated Fine Art in
secondary school. I would always go out through the back door each time
my Fine Art teacher came to the class. But later, as time went on, I
realised that I had the talent for Art. I’ll say it is inborn.

Training

I studied General Art at the Rimax Institute and the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), both in Lagos.

Medium

I use all mediums for my paintings, but I often use oil and acrylic.

Influences

My greatest
influences are Kola Anidugbe, an artist who lectures at the College of
Education, Osiele, in Abeokuta, Ogun State; and Akin Onipede, a creative
artist, cartoonist, and painter.

Those who come to my
gallery to appreciate and buy my artworks also influence my paintings.
Sometimes, they make helpful suggestions and tell me the type of work
they want.

Inspirations

God is my greatest source of inspiration. People around me inspire me too.

Best work so far

My best work so far
is a painting I sold at the Miabo Gallery in 2005. I called it
‘Arrival’. It depicted a typical village scene with three women carrying
firewood and returning from the farm with their children.

Least satisfying work

A painting I did in
school and called ‘The Godfather’ is my least satisfying work. I didn’t
do it very well and I wasted too many colours on it. My lecturer
rejected the painting.

Career highpoint

My career highpoint
was the exhibition held by Greece Embassy in Lagos and Abuja in 2007. I
entered for the competition and out of 122 artists, only 35 were
selected to participate at the exhibition. I was one of the selected few
and it made me very happy.

Favourite artist, living or dead

I love the works of Kola Anidugbe and Tola Wewe.

Ambition

I want to be on top of my game.

This column’s
title is shamelessly plagiarised from a BBC article, ‘How I Bought My
South African Bride’ written by cameraman Christian Parkinson, a
love-struck destitute Briton who was lucky to have been accepted in
marriage by a South African named Kutlwano or “Kuts.” The essay’s title
must have caused a stir among all persons with good taste because it has
since been changed to a more dignified and politically correct header
thus: ‘Getting married the South African way’. Parkinson is said to have
hurriedly changed the title inside the doghouse where “Kuts” the wife
banished him for the rest of his miserable life. It is easy to conclude
that Parkinson’s essay is sexist and patronising, perhaps racist. The
wife “Kuts” does not have a surname, even though she is “educated.”
Parkinson gloats: “She is educated, beautiful and doesn’t have any
children. All of which puts her at a premium.” You almost wonder if
Parkinson is adopting a pet goat. I am sure that his wife “Kuts” is not
happy that the essay went viral on the internet. Parkinson will be in
the doghouse for the rest of his married life.

White folks are
interesting cheapskates; they view marrying our beautiful sisters as
buying the other. When they marry their own, they call it a wedding. Let
me just say that weddings are a multi-trillion dollar industry in
America. If President Barack Obama was to decree that American youth in
love with each other should simply walk into each other’s arms and live
happily ever after for free, the American economy would collapse
immediately. America’s economy is fuelled by the rich drool of happy
foolish young men willing to give their life’s earnings for the
privilege of marrying their gorgeous brides. We must not allow Africa to
become a museum of farce and hilarity. Happily, Nigeria is more
civilised than South Africa. Men do not buy women in Nigeria. The women
buy the men. Men simply pay dearly for the experience of being bought.
Where I come from in Nigeria, there are two things you must do that you
really don’t want to do thanks to huge expense. One is a funeral and the
other is a wedding. A part of the funeral or wedding ceremony is
usually conducted in the village where elders, neglected all these years
by thieving relatives, exact their revenge with sinful glee. They know
that you will be back to get married, and die (I don’t know which one
comes first or which one causes the other condition, but it happens).
They wait in the village with a laundry list of expensive demands one
mile long. And like a police bribe, you must pay up. In the grand
tradition of our African ancestors, our elders only accept dollars and
euro please.

I love my wife. A man in love is more dangerous than a drunk driver.
When I first spied my future bride, I became a babbling idiot. I had
never met anyone that pretty. I followed her everywhere. I am not making
this up; she lived 400 miles from Washington DC where I was living at
the same time. I exaggerate slightly when I tell you that each midnight,
I would miss her greatly. Not a problem. I would get in my jalopy, a
criminally neglected car with no spare tyre, and drive all night to be
with her. And then drive back to work at dawn. I was young then. And
stupid. And happy in love. After all these years, things haven’t cooled
off between us; however age is slowing down my poor judgment. Today,
when my lover asks me to get up from the sofa to go fetch her favourite
ice cream (butter pecan ice cream) you would think she is ordering me to
go execute myself. Like an unwashed caveman, I belch, scratch my butt,
and whine all the way to the fridge and back. It is not my fault. Old
age is hard on one’s resolve and energy. These days we meet at the sofa
that we jointly own (the bank owns everything else) where I love to hear
her recite the loving things I no longer do since we got married. I
love my lover’s voice still; when we were courting, she would tell me
lovingly: ‘You don come again! Na wa! Abeg go away jo!” Her rejection
slips sang Pablo Neruda to my lonely soul. Those who know me, know that
I am nothing, if not relentless. I had it all planned, she was going to
be my lawful wedded wife even if it killed us. I became a pain in the
ass to her family, hounding them every day to the point where they
threatened to go on a hunger strike if she did not marry me. I am making
all of this up of course. My lover was glad to marry me, Handsome
Ikhide. I just made all of that up because I ran out of nice things to
say about African writers this week. I shall be back next week.

Director Niji
Akanni is modest but says that, when it comes to his new film, Aramotu,
modesty be damned. ‘It’s a lovely film’, he declares; and he tells NEXT
why.

How did you come by the story of Aramotu?

Femi Ogunrombi, the
producer, had something like a log line for the story of ‘Aramotu’. I
heard the story and it sounded like a myth: that something happened
somewhere a long time ago about a good woman in her community; that the
woman was discovered [un-decomposed] in the grave after two weeks of
burial and it was a sensation. That was what he heard and he got in
touch with the executive producer, Yinka Kolapo, that it will not be a
bad idea to do a film about it.

That was the spark
of the story, that strange phenomenon of a woman who was buried and two
weeks later they had to exhume her and they found she was still fresh.
I think the original story was that there was a dispute over land and
she was buried and the community said the children had to remove their
mother’s corpse because she was buried on sacred ground.

I began to write my
own story around it; built Aramotu up into that figure I wanted her to
be. It is a story about women because I know in Yoruba history, women
have always been (strong). I went back to Yoruba culture, history and
myth.

Yoruba women from
time immemorial are very hard working. They were actually the pillars
of the society but being a patriarchal society, their contributions
have always been underplayed, understated or even never acknowledged at
all. At the same time, our myths give prominence to women. We venerate
our women in myths but in actual history we tend to downplay their
contributions to society, we tend to oppress them. So, that
inconsistency between history and myth was what struck me about
Aramotu. How can a culture venerate its women so much in myth, in
stories but contemporary history tend to downplay them. Look at Moremi
Ajasoro, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and all that.

Osun, Yemoja, they
were living human beings, they actually made immense contributions to
the society at the period they lived but we tend to relegate those
figures to mythical proportions. We never really acknowledge what they
did. Even Moremi, she is known more as a mythical figure than the
activist she was in her time.

That was the
impetus for creating a myth-like story of Aramotu for me. To create a
woman who was a pillar of her society. And of course, it has to be a
tragedy, naturally. Part of my motivation for creating Aramotu is that
there are very few strong female characters in Nigerian film history.
Women that can be looked upon as role models; that can be emulated,
that can serve as inspiration. That was one of the reasons I created
Aramotu . About seven years ago, I was part of a group that organised a
film forum which aimed at examining how women are portrayed in
Nollywood films. I was part of what we called Movement for Cultural
Awareness. We talked about this at length: why is that Nigerian females
are always portrayed in stereotypical forms? Either they are witches or
they are vengeful mother in laws or diabolical second wives or
mistresses. Why are there no women who are human beings first and
foremost with their frailties, dreams and visions? Why are there no
women you can point out and find positive values? Why are we always
creating symbols instead of human beings especially from the women
perspective in Nigerian films? This was one of my responses to the
discourse that happened at that forum.

One of the themes I
tried to explore in Aramotu is how patriarchy systematically clips
women’s wings and short-circuits their ambition: by invoking
‘tradition’ ‘taboo’, myths and sometimes through sheer terrorism. This
is as true before and during the time of Aramotu, as it is even today.
It therefore takes an extra-ordinary woman to recognise all these and
still try to rise above them.

Why are you so interested in women?

I’m in a very
privileged position as a creator of history, as a creator of values and
I noticed that women, especially Yoruba women are under represented.
So, whatever little I can do in whatever way I can to address this, I
will. 0ur women need to be properly represented. As an artist, it’s
very easy to create symbols, characters that are prostitutes and
husband snatchers but it’s much more difficult to create human beings.

These are part of
my challenges as an artist as well. How can I create a character that
will be extraordinary? That will be seen first and foremost as a person
than just a character in a film? I can assure you, if Aramotu becomes a
success, people will begin to question whether Aramotu lived or did
not. You will love it because you don’t feel that you are watching a
film, you feel that you are watching a biography of somebody who lived.

Though you have
already touched on the need to portray women positively in films, which
you have done through Aramotu, but there are exceptions, like Efunsetan.

I can take the
story of Efunsetan and look at it from another angle. Her story as we
know it today is because Akinwumi Isola took the path of demonising
her. I could take the same story and make her a positive role model; it
depends on the angle from which you take it. It depends on your take on
the story.

But doesn’t that lead to problems of historical accuracy?

Historical
accuracy, yes. But history, as the cliché goes, is written by the
victors. The story of Efunsetan has been written largely by men, nobody
has looked at Efunsetan as a woman. What were her driving emotions?
What exactly was she looking out for personally, for her society? But
the powers that be will tell the story from the point of view of the
ruling class. I think if you go back into history and research it very
well, you will find some other perspectives that may not necessarily
demonise Efunsetan Aniwura.

And I think by
doing that, it’s very necessary to start giving women their due
importance in the history of our culture. They are still doing what
they have been doing, they’ve been the pillars of society; the
unacknowledged moulders of our vision, of our leaders. Women tend to
look more to the future than men; they tend to do things that will
benefit the future much more than men. Men usually think more about the
present, how it’s going to help their quest for power, how it’s going
to enhance their status in society. But women, they are more vision
oriented; they are intuitive, they see or sense what is going to happen
if we continue this way, much more than men.

How long did it take you to research Aramotu?

The basic research
was to situate the myth-like story of Aramotu in actual history. All I
did was to try and place her in a specific and verifiable time period
in Yoruba history. I chose 1909 because I came across an incident in my
research, what happened in Modakeke and Ife in 1909. The current
conflict between Modakeke and Ife actually dates back to 1909. The then
Olubuse asked the Modakekes to leave Ife so that was basically where I
situated it. Also, I wanted it to be pre-colonial because that was very
important to the mission of Aramotu.

The character I
created is a traveller, she is Alajapa (itinerant trader) because of
what she does, she must have seen bits of the future in her travels.
The white men are entrenching their foothold all over Nigeria,
especially in the Yoruba kingdom. And she travels a lot; she goes to
the North, even beyond Nigeria. She goes to Niger. At that time,
traders went as far as Sudan. She was part of those who travelled and a
traveller happens to have a wider perspective to history, to
contemporary happenings. That was what Aramotu was. I set it in a
pre-colonial period, a transition period between traditional culture
and the slowly seeping in, as it were, foreign influences. And being a
visionary, she would be able to see that we can’t continue like this,
some things have to give. What I did was situate it in history, and
making it much more approachable in terms of ‘did it happen or not?’

I wanted people,
after seeing Aramotu, to begin to ask themselves: did it happen? Is it
true, fiction? Is it myth, is it history? I’m not going to answer the
question, let the audience decide. The most important thing is that I
want to create a woman that will be an inspiration even though she was
located in the past; I want her story to be an inspiration for the
present and possibly the future. I wanted to create a human being that
you can believe in, not a stereotype, not a symbol. That was my
intention with Aramotu, her character, her story and the film.

Idiat Shobande who plays Aramotu, I learnt she’s a newcomer?

Until we got on
location, I didn’t know her from Adam. We were looking for an Aramotu;
somebody that is fresh, that will be believable. Again, that question
of believability. We had a choice of casting the so-called stars in
Yoruba movies. But then I thought that no matter how good they are, it
will be difficult for people to believe them, given two things: their
penchant for playing themselves; and secondly; [the public] will keep
seeing the actor, not the character. That was why we were looking for a
fresh face and Idiat Shobande came closest. I learnt later that she had
actually been in the Yoruba film industry for sometime, that she had
produced one or two movies herself.

What qualities did she bring to the role?

She brought an
element of trust. It’s very rare to see an actress who will completely
trust a director. She read the script, felt challenged and told me
later that she felt that it is a character that has not been seen in
the Yoruba movie industry, that she will like to give it her best. I
found that very encouraging; she understood what the character was
meant to be.

Are you happy with her performance?

I’m very happy with
her performance but I think she could have done more. Because she was
coming from a very muddied water of performance tradition, there are
certain traits, gimmicks of performance that she just couldn’t do away
with. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t break those gimmicks. But
generally she did well. When eventually we had the first sneak preview,
I saw it in her eyes, she didn’t say it but I saw it in her eyes that
she liked what she has done and that was very fulfilling for me. To be
able to have guided an actor through a process whereby she discovers
something that she never had; and she acknowledged it, though she
didn’t know how to say it.

Is Awo Alantakun in the film real or made up?

Awo Alantakun is
totally made up, it’s my own creation. I just wanted a symbol of
mystery, of elements of history and I chose the spider. For me, the
spider is one of the most fascinating creatures on earth. The web it
spins is like creating stories and linking them together somehow.
That’s what the web symbolises for me and the spider itself, look at
how many uses the web can be put to. Those were the fascinating things
I found out about the spider that made me create Awo Alantakun.

You have several
cults of women that are only known to women. No matter how strong you
are as a man, you can never understand what it is about. Awo Alantakun
is an embodiment of all I know about our cultural perspective of our
women; of my own personal vision of what women are capable of if given
the chance. There is so much power in them and if tapped correctly, the
Yoruba race can lead the world. The Yoruba race is in Nigeria so
Nigeria can lead the world. Awo Alantakun never existed, it’s a
metaphor for my own vision, of my understanding of women from our
history and from my own understanding of how Yoruba culture perceives
and treats women.

What about the film’s portrayal of the Gelede tradition?

The Gelede is
recourse to actual history, [and it] still exists. Before Western
influences, we had our own socio-economic and cultural elements of
social engineering. The Gelede cult is one of the most important Yoruba
cultural elements of social engineering. It served as the journalists
of ancient times. Actually, the Gelede cult is for women; men are the
ones that organise it but women are the core. All Gelede masks are
dressed as women. The Gelede cult in any Yoruba society, what they do
throughout the year is that they take note of all happenings in the
society and at the annual Efe Night, all the recorded happenings are
brought out and relayed to the audience in form of jest. It’s a form of
check and balance against abuse of power. Corrupt leaders, everything
they have been doing will be brought out on that night. It’s all in the
spirit of fun but at the same time they are letting you know that
nothing is hidden under the sun. The recourse to Efe Night was to
celebrate that aspect of Yoruba culture. Before the whites came to
teach us about journalism, we had our own means of organising the
society. In investigative journalism today, Just as Wikileaks is seen
as a rebel, the same way members of the Gelede cult are always seen as
rebels. Because what is hidden, they will want to expose and that fits
into Aramotu’s profile very well. And don’t forget she is a gifted
sculptor.

That’s part of my
own metaphor too. In the first place, in that society a woman is not
supposed to be an artist, she is supposed to be a moulder of values,
not a creator. And she being a creator of values through the Gelede
cult becomes an anomaly. Those are the little nuances that I tried to
bring into the film. Though these elements are not in your face, people
will perceive them.

How long did it take to make the film?

Let’s start from
the writing. I usually tell people that the process of writing Aramotu
was extraordinary within the Nigerian context of filmmaking. It’s very
rare to find a someone like our executive producer (Yinka Kolapo). He
believed that if he could get the right crew and given resouces and
time, they will produce something fantastic. He had that vision, he
pursued it and I think he has achieved it. The greatest element that
works for a project is time. The financier of this film afforded us the
time. This is an industry where a film financier will ask you to
produce a script in five days; shoot it in seven days and edit it in
three weeks and it will hit the market. Conception to release is
usually, give or take, two, three months. This man was ready to wait
forever to get the best out of this project and he did. Writing
Aramotu, the first draft took about seven weeks, then final draft
another four weeks. We shot it for about three weeks in Erijiyan-Ekiti
and it took about 10 months after then for post production. That’s why
I said: extraordinary. This is a project that must have gulped N15
million, that’s from what I see. That’s almost 14 months to the point
that it was submitted to the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).

What were the challenges?

Even if the
financier spends exraordinarily, there must be one or two challenges.
You can never get exactly what you want in terms of equipment, we had
to manage what we had even though compared to other digital filmmaking
format in Nigeria, it’s a large project. But still, I wish that I had
more resources and time. For Aramotu to be shot in about 18 days, I
think, was a miracle. If you had asked me, I would have requested at
least a month of peaceful shooting. The frenetic pace at which we shot
was simply destabilising. If I had more time I think I would have
achieved more. But then again, 18 days of shooting in Nigeria is a
luxury. It’s a luxury because over the years I have managed to
establish some kind of pattern for my work. I wouldn’t shoot a film in
seven days, I won’t. It’s either you give me the resouces to do it or I
won’t. If you like give me N10 million to direct your film in seven
days, I won’t. I can’t shoot a good film in seven days. Another
challenge was breaking the performance mould of the actors. We never
had time for rehearsals so it’s on the set that you begin to break this
mould because they are used to certain tricks. One of them didn’t even
read the script before coming on set. Meanwhile, I insisted. We gave it
to them, they never read it. Even one of them had the guts to ask me to
tell the story on set. Also, sticking to the dialogue in the script,
most of them are not used to that. They are used to improvisation, and
we had to cut that first. Apart from that, the style of acting itself.
Those large, theatrical portrayal; stereotypical characterisation, we
had to break it. One of my delights in Aramotu was my discovery, I will
say of the [actress] who played Arike. Her name is Bisi Komolafe; she
has been acting, so it’s not actually a discovery. But the discovery
for me is that even within the mainstream popular actors with their
bags of tricks and all that, there are still some people who are
malleable. She was one of them. I think her performance is wonderful.

There is also
Kayode Odumosu. He gave his best performance ever in his career as
Akanmu, Aramotu’s husband. This is an actor I have known for 20 years,
I have worked with him on stage, on screen, I’ve actually followed his
career. I think it’s his best performance. Part of my luck again is
that I was surrounded by a crew that knew what they were doing.

And you already envisaged what you wanted each to do?

Yes, because I
wrote the script. I know the material. Before now, I used to think that
the best director of a script is not necessarily its writer. I’m sure
if another director takes Aramotu, he might do something much more
wonderful than that. But because I wrote the script, I knew. Let me
make a confession here: I actually wrote the role of Aramotu for Tina
Mba. She was the actor in my subconscious when I was writing it. From
delivery, to the way she looks, to what she does, to her physique, Tina
Mba was my model for Aramotu. But nobody in the production team will
agree with me that Tina Mba could speak Yoruba the way Aramotu should
speak Yoruba. They were wrong. They were very wrong. I’m sure Tina Mba
would have killed that role; she would have milked it to unprecedented
heights if she was given the chance to do it. Thank God we found a
substitute in Idiat Shobande. But believe me, if Tina Mba had taken
that role, we’ll be talking about a phenomenon because this is an actor
I know. I have worked with her on stage, on TV and in workshops, so I
know her depth. Aramotu is not a role for frail actors, no. So when you
see Idiat Shobande sagging a little, it’s because the weight is too
much. Believe me, it was created for somebody bigger, with much more
scope and range as a performer.

But there is the matter of her not understanding Yoruba?

They said so but I
still believe that she could have done it. I wrote the script in
English and Demola Aremu translated it into Yoruba. I have a synergy
with Demola, I’ve done some works which he has translated before so he
knows my language. I told him, don’t write flowery Yoruba for me, write
Yoruba that people will understand, speak and relate to. The way he
wrote it, I’m sure Tina could have done it.

If Aramotu
eventually becomes a hit like I hope it does, I will be most happy for
my executive producer. He is an engineer and he has never done this
before but he believes that Nigeria’s digital film industry can do much
better if given the necessary support. And that’s the support he has
given Aramotu. That trust needs to be justified by Aramotu becoming a
hit which is what we all want. Financially, artistically and
critically. For him, that’s it. I have nothing to prove, I proved
myself long before this so it’s not for me. It’s for people like Idiat
Shobande; my executive producer, Yinka Kolapo; Bisi Komolafe, because
if you see the kind of work she does in normal Yoruba films, you will
just write her off as the usual thing. But she is not, she has so much.
I wish I had the resources to say: do not work in the mainstream, I’ll
pay what it is to make you live so I can retain this incredible talent
and use it properly. But I don’t have the resources, then who am I to
say what is not proper in film?

Your expectations for Aramotu?

I expect it to be a
hit. Commercially, I expect it to be a critical success because I know
what we put in it. I know it’s a good work. Yes, I’m modest but modesty
be damned, it’s a lovely picture.

What are you working on now?

There are several
things happening. I’m working on a play with a young man called Laide
Akano about Lagos State. It’s a stage play. I’m right now editing a
documentary for ActionAid Nigeria, an NGO in Abuja. I’m still working
on ‘Nowhere to be Found’ for AK Media. I’m working on my PhD. My work
in the theatre, especially in film now, is contributing so much to my
PhD thesis because I am researching on the Semiotics of Narrative and
Aesthetics in Nigerian film. So, my professional work is actually a
research arm of my academic work. I’m lucky. This is actually something
academics will spend time out of their walls to come and research
outside. I’m doing it, I’m earning money from it and I’m storing up
knowledge against my academic work. So I’m born lucky.

I noticed that you avoided saying Nollywood, what do you have against it?

It’s because it connotes mediocrity, unfortunately. It connotes
mainstream, anything goes. That’s the larger perception of Nollywood. I
was trained at the National Film School of India and I know the
perception we had of Bollywood. Maybe I am biased but that’s the same
mind I have about Nollywood. That’s the same mind most people have
about Nollywood. It’s not thorough, anything goes. Nollywood has
characterised itself as a platform for mediocres. Unfortunately, that’s
what has happened. Historically, I was part of the founding fathers of
Nollywood as it were in the early 90s but over the years it just became
something else entirely. You can’t confidently say ‘I belong to
Nollywood’ because it has a perjorative connotation about
unprofessionalism, mediocrity, lack of vision, artistic nonsense.That’s
why I feel a bit uncomfortable if people classify my work as Nollywood.
Unfortunately, it is being marketed, being viewed within the Nollywood
structure.

The twice NLNG-shortlisted author, Omo Uwaifo, held a reading session of his work-in-progress, a piece of fiction, on Thursday, February 10th.

The intimate event, which had just a few other writers in attendance, including Uzor Maxim Uzoatu and Austyn Njoku, was held at ‘The Foxhole’, the new literary hub located at Uwaifo’s residence in Maryland, Lagos.

The author read from an unpublished work tentatively titled ‘Banner With Stain’, and held literary discussions with those present. ‘Banner With Stain’ is a short story steeped in the culture and tradition of the Edo language. The story has a neat plot woven around the protagonist, Ohue’s unrequited love for a beautiful maiden, Idia, who is already betrothed to a renowned warrior.

Uwaifo explained that the essence of the narrative is for readers to have an understanding of the Edo culture, their language, and worldview. The engineer and author is fully literate in the Edo language, which he had learnt as a young child in school. He expressed his disappointment at the fact that very few children can write or speak their native languages nowadays.

He shared his own insight into the sometimes problematic relationship with the mother tongue. “‘I have to admit that I’m more comfortable with English than my language. But my greatest regret is if I meet my children on Oxford Street (London) for instance, and I don’t want those around to hear what I’m saying, I have to speak to them in English because they do not understand the Benin language,’ he said in his usual calm voice.

Championing culture

The poet further observed that many languages have been bastardised. As an example, he said the place commonly known as ‘Idumota’ by Lagosians was originally the Edo word, ‘Iduota’. Translated into English it means ‘the street where people relax’.

While noting that the Yoruba have been the most successful at propagating their culture, myths and language, Uwaifo decried the downward spiral nationwide. “At the rate at which Nigeria is going, we will be lucky to have even the Yoruba language survive,” he said.

The author said he is doing his own bit to arrest the slide; and informed that ‘Banner With Stain’ and his other short stories will be translated into Edo language. He disclosed that he is able to translate from Edo to English and vice-versa; but confided that he finds English-to-Edo more tasking. The process is even more so because, according to him, spoken Edo language is markedly different from the written version; translation can be an arduous task, as each letter much be taken individually.

Nonetheless, the author is ready to undertake the task, especially since poet, J.P. Clark, has famously challenged him on writing in the mother tongue. Uwaifo revealed that his own children have also issued a similar challenge. ‘It’s tough, but I am going to do it,’ he said with a firm nod.

Uwaifo’s reading was interesting and educative in terms of showcasing the idioms and some of the totems of his beloved Edo culture, as referenced in the story. He also took time to set the context for the plot, while giving an insight into the traditional beliefs and rites of the Edo people. Of particular interest to his readers was his explanation of morning greeting peculiar to every Benin family.

‘Banner With Stain’ was then evaluated; and there were suggestions for adjustments to improve the story, and the author readily took these on board. He was also commended for his fluid and effortless reading.

Working method

There was a short break during which everyone tucked into a Chinese meal. During the question and answer interactive session that followed, Omo Uwaifo gave insight into his writing schedule: “Usually, I wake up 4.00 or 3.00 in the morning and work till 6.00, when there is light.”

He bemoaned the deplorable state of basic social amenities in the country, one of which is the erratic electricity supply. He described it as “destroying” to his work. He shared a related experience with a great sense of humour. One morning, he came downstairs to work but as soon as he got to the study door, electricity went off. It was restored just as he returned to bed upstairs, only to go off again the moment he made his way back downstairs to restart his computer.

“There’s nothing left from what there was when I was growing up,” Uwaifo complained bitterly. Author of a book on electricity supply, he worked with the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN), as it was then known, from 1954 to 1978; and must be especially pained by the current power reality in the country.

The reading ended on a cheerful note; and it was a rewarding experience for all involved. Author of ‘Litany’, a poetry collection, Omo Uwaifo will be 80 this year , but looks much younger. He takes an active interest in literature and virtually writes all day, with just enough time for breakfast, lunch, and a little exercise. A wake up call to young writers, definitely.