Nigeria Content Online

Nobel Laureate,
Wole Soyinka, charged him with blowing his father’s trumpet at the
recent book launch for Tunde Fagbenle, veteran columnist for Sunday
Punch. But trumpets, or more specifically, saxophones, are not all that
O.T Fagbenle, Anglo-Nigerian son of Tunde Fagbenle, has his hands on.

Olatunde Fagbenle,
who describes himself as an actor, a saxophonist, and a singer in that
order, was born in the United Kingdom 30 years ago. OT, as he is
popularly known, returned to Nigeria at the age of two and lived in
Yaba, Lagos, until he relocated to Spain when he was nine. Following
this, OT’s grandmother bought him a saxophone and enrolled him for
music lessons. He joined the South Coast Jazz band at age 10.

Theatre
practitioner and a good friend of Fagbenle senior, Rufus Orisayomi (who
died earlier this year), initiated OT into the African theatre when the
youngster was 14 years old.

He was one of the
34 successful candidates admitted into the prestigious Royal Academy of
Dramatic Arts (RADA) in the UK in his year. He was there for three
years, learning all aspects of drama and theatre, from Shakespeare to
sword fighting, dance, diction, accents, voice projection, stage
movements, and television techniques.

After viewing OT’s
performance in a school production, an agent approached him, and got
him his first Broadway performance: a role in Lauren Hansberry’s ‘Le
Blancs’.

Theatre

OT has not looked
back. According to the actor, “I played a myriad of roles. I played a
Trinidadian, a Nigerian, street boy roles, posh boy roles, and even
Shakespeare characters; I cut my tooth on these different roles.”

Manchester’s Royal
Exchange Theatre offered OT the lead role in ‘Six Degrees of
Separation’, the John Guare play made popular by its adapted movie
version starring Will Smith. OT played Paul, a fast talking young black
con-man, earning the Manchester Evening News (MEN) award for Best Lead
Role Actor in Manchester.

Television

But then, OT
decided to take a break from theatre. “I felt that I had come full
circle and had established myself as a theatre actor,” he explains.

OT’s efforts in
getting into TV began with appearances in a few episodes of the
long-running UK soap opera, ‘Eastenders’. Other television credits
include roles in other UK productions: Casualty (2004), Holly Oaks
(2004), Doctors (2004), Marple (2006), Grown Ups (2006), Little Miss
Jocelyn (2006-2008), Quarter Life(2008), Doctor Who (2008), and
Material Girl (2010).

Movies

In 2004, he acted
in the movie, ‘Breaking and Entering’, in which he featured alongside
Jude Law and Juliette Binoche. It was directed by the late Academy
Award winning director, Anthony Minghella, whom Fagbenle fondly
describes as “a beautiful, talented individual.” In his slightly self
deprecating manner, he confides that during the production of the
movie, “I got to hang out with stars.”

Though describing
his movie experiences as a lot more glamorous than theatre, Fagbenle
admits that theatre is “almost natural to me, so I find it easier.” He
explained further that theatre actors can manipulate their performance
and voices to suit the size of the audience, theatre acoustics,
ambience, and other theatrical considerations. “I’ve been doing TV for
a while, and I’m only just beginning to feel that I’m getting a hang of
it.”

Fagbenle sees no
big difference between the small screen and the silver screen. To him,
“the big difference is between stage and TV.” His movie performances
include: ‘I could never be your woman’, in which he starred alongside
Michelle Pfeiffer (2006); ‘Walter’s War’, a biopic of the first black
officer in the British army; ‘Consuming Passions’, a BBC production;
and ‘Double Wedding’. The accomplished actor’s latest efforts are as
character, Dave Holland, in movies ‘Thorne: Scaredy Cat’ and ‘Thorne:
Sleepy Head’, scheduled for release in October 2010.

Fagbenle has also
been involved in several radio productions, such as in a BBC’s radio
adaptation of ‘The Color Purple’, which won the Sony Radio Academy
Awards for Drama in 2009; and ‘Westway’, a radio soap opera. He has
earned himself an impressive reputation outside Nigeria, as his work
has taken him to locations in Scotland, Jamaica, America, Canada,
Barbados, Hong Kong, China, and Germany.

Asked what plans he
has to extend his career to his country of origin, he replies that “I
love being in Nigeria. I’m looking for the right opportunity and have
been speaking to some producers. “

Mainframe
Production’s Tunde Kelani is one of those OT would like to work with.
Interestingly, for someone who has earned his career success on TV,
Fagbenle does very little television viewing. “I have a TV in my house,
but I never turn it on. I know I should expand my television watching,
but I need something to stand out and be unmissable before I can view
it,” he says simply. His interests instead are books, meeting people,
and spending time with his family.

Humility

The actor plays
Blues, Funk and Highlife; and he has had an opportunity to mesh his
dual passions for music and acting in ‘Quarterlife’, a TV drama
produced in the United States. He plays a a singer in the production;
and co-wrote the music with Stefno Moses.

A very humble
person, Fagbenle declares, “The truth is, I’m not really that good. I
recognise mediocrity; and I achieve it often in music, and hate myself
for it. I am a fair critic of myself, so I know I do not do music as
well as I act.”

On his dual
cultural influences, the actor says he feels more Nigerian in the UK.
“I am considered white here (Nigeria) and black there (UK).” He
declares, however, that “Race is an idea I reject. There is no
biological basis for it.” When asked by this reporter to demonstrate
his knowledge of the Yoruba culture and language, he replies “My Yoruba
is coming ‘die, die’. People always laugh when I try to speak the
language; half happy that I am trying, and half amused at my accent.”

His opinion on the
Nigerian entertainment scene is that the industry is experiencing an
exciting transition. He says, “The skills in editing, sound design, and
production quality are improving. I look forward to the time when
Nigerian movie productions will be shown in major movie cinemas
worldwide.”

Fagbenle also has a
view on what he terms ‘the Lagos life’. According to him, “Lagos is one
of the most exciting cities in the world. I hear people say life in New
York is tough, but I disagree. I think if you can make it here in
Lagos, you are fine anywhere else. Lagos is a no-nonsense place; and
like my father titled his latest book, there are a lot of cries, but
also a lot of joys experienced by its people.”

The actor explains
further that economic differences, rather than cultural differences,
are Nigeria’s biggest problems, making mention of the inequitable
distribution of wealth, as well as class differences.

Acclaim

A lover of Nigerian
music, his favourite Nigerian artiste is Fela Kuti, while he also
expresses his appreciation for the more contemporary single, ‘Fi mi
le’, by musician, Kas. Nigerian movies, however, have not impressed the
international actor much as he admits that “I haven’t watched any movie
that stood out; I am still waiting for that knock out.” His best
African literature of all time is ‘Things Fall Apart’ by Chinua Achebe.

Fagbenle’s most
challenging role, he says was in Trevor Nunn’s , ‘Porgy and Bess: The
Musical’, which he describes as “an amazing, heart breaking story”
performed in London West end with a 26 piece orchestra.

Based in the United
Kingdom, Fagbenle also lives in the United States for about five months
a year; and hopes to start spending more time in Nigeria. On his
aspirations for the future, he declares that “Ultimately, I prefer
acting, and am happy as an actor.”

And as reward for
pursuing his singular passion for acting, OT Fagbenle has received a
number of honours and awards, including his inclusion in the 100 faces
of RADA, alongside the likes of Sir Anthony Hopkins, Clive Owen, and
Sir John Gielgud.

In October 2006,
Fagbenle got critical acclaim for his performance in the Tony
Award-winning ‘Porgy and Bess: The Musical’; and in 2008, he was the
recipient of an Outstanding Achievement Award at the 13th African Film
Awards.

Ten years from now, the still single actor hopes to have “found
love”; to be able to support his family and siblings, and to contribute
his part to improving the world. Career wise, he hopes to “be involved
in projects that affect lives, and to star in meaningful productions
while, of course, making excessive amounts of money.”

The third Fidelity
Bank International Creative Writing Workshop themed ‘The Glory of
Nigerian Letters: Preserving the Tradition’ ended on Thursday, July 22
with a well attended closing ceremony at Ladi Kwali Hall, Sheraton
Hotel and Towers, Abuja.

Award winning
author and Creative Writing teacher at George Mason University,
Fairfax, Virginia, US, Helon Habila, was lead facilitator at the one
week training where 20 aspiring writers were taken through their paces.
Co-facilitators were: Zimbabwean writer, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Canadian
Madeleine Thien, and Jamaican, Colin Channer.

Our pride

Managing Director
of Fidelity Bank Plc, Reginald Ihejiahi, commended Habila and his team
in an address delivered on his behalf by Hassan Imam, regional manager
of the bank’s Abuja office. “Helon Habila is our pride; the pride of
this giant nation. A worthy Ambassador that deserves all the honour and
respect we can afford to accord him. We established this international
creative writing workshop three years ago and here we are today,
keeping our word, in line with our promise to Nigerians,” he said.

He added, “We
established this workshop as part of activities geared towards
promoting and preserving Nigeria’s literary tradition. It gives me joy
to inform you that graduates of this revolutionary effort have made
rapid progress in their writing careers in the domestic and
international arenas. Tolu Ogunlesi, Uche Umez, Eghosa Imasuen, Jumoke
Verissimo and Nze Sylva Ifedigbo are a few of the beneficiaries of the
workshop who have moved on to higher levels of accomplishment in their
chosen careers.” The first two editions of the workshops were
facilitated by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Invest in Literature

The literati and
other guests attended the event, chaired by Mohammed Abba Gana, a
former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory who came with his
wife. Former president, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Abubakar
Gimba; Ken Ike Okere of the Abuja Literary Society; Emman Usman Shehu
of the Abuja Writers Forum; Eugenia Abu of the Nigerian Television
Authority (NTA); Jeremy Weate of Cassava Republic, Habila’s Nigerian
publishers; and Abdukadir Alkassim, who represented, Jerry Agada, the
ANA president were also present. The Ministers of Tourism, Culture and
National Orientation and his FCT counterpart also sent representatives.

Gimba opened the
reading session of the evening with a poem from his ‘The Honourable
Woman’. He later commended Fidelity Bank and urged corporate Nigeria to
also invest in literature. “During my tenure as President of ANA, we
tried all we could to get corporate Nigeria to invest in literature but
met a brick-wall. Today, I am happy with what Fidelity Bank Plc is
doing and would want to appeal to other corporate organisations to
follow Fidelity’s footsteps. Having said that, I do hope that this crop
of graduates will maintain the tradition and move on to greater heights
in the writing profession for that is the only way we can encourage
Fidelity Bank to be proud of their investment and for others to be
encouraged to invest in the literary arts industry that had hitherto
been neglected.”

Shehu, Habila and
some others also read from their works. The evening became livelier as
participants and guests spoke about books they have read and the impact
on them. This session affirmed that contrary to insinuations that
Nigerians don’t read, they do.

Mrs Abba Gana and
the Canadian Cultural Attaché to Nigeria, Christian Desroches later
presented certificates to the 20 graduates.

Like Gimba, Habila commended Fidelity Bank at the ceremony. He also
thanked the faculty for coming to Nigeria to help budding writers learn
the basic rudiments of creative writing. “I am particularly glad with
the quality and quantity of work samples received for this workshop.
Most importantly for the brilliance of the 20 eventually selected to
participate in the workshop. I think they have what it takes to make
Nigeria proud. They can help keep the tradition,” he said of the
participants.

Malawian writer
Stanley Onjezani Kenani was a memorable participant at the 2010 Caine
Workshop, held earlier this year in Kenya. He regularly gave impromptu
mini performances, quoting long lines from Shakespeare’s plays and the
canonical poets; and listeners could only marvel at the evidence of a
lifetime of reading and the writer’s feat of memory.

Kenani’s short
story, ‘For Honour’, won the third prize in the 2007 HSBC/SA PEN
competition (Henrietta Rose-Innes and Petina Gappah pipped him to first
and second places respectively). The judge, J.M Coetzee, described ‘For
Honour’ as “a deceptively simple story that finds a new and creative
way of approaching the tragic subject matter of AIDS.” The story
garnered even more acclaim on being shortlisted for the 2008 Caine
Prize for African Writing. Kenani’s poetry credentials are also
impressive, having performed on the same stage as the legendary poets
of nationhood, Palestinian Mahmoud Darwish and South African Dennis
Brutus.

Early literature heroes

Asked how he became
a writer, Kenani initially says, “It’s a very difficult question.” But
then he offers an answer, saying, “I became a writer because I’m a
reader. I have a passion for reading widely.” He cites his first
literature heroes as “Malawian writers who are not known in the rest of
the world: namely Jolly Max Ntaba and Willie Zingani. They were huge
influences on me.”

Kenani grew up in a
Malawian village where there were no libraries, but the teachers
fuelled his love of reading by giving him books by Ntaba and Zingani.
Particular favourites were Ntaba’s ‘Chichewa’ (“a sort of magical
realism in our language”) and ‘Mtima Sukhuta’ (the heart is never
satisfied). At the age of 12, Kenani moved to the town of Kasungo,
where he kept up his love of reading by borrowing from the local
library. “I ended up reading all the books in that library. I was able
to read Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’, which I found very
interesting. I still have huge passages in my head,” he says – and
renders as if on cue the first paragraph of Achebe’s classic novel.
“Very moving book,” he declares.

Once President of
the Malawi Writers Union (MAWU), Kenani recalls that, “It was [at the
age of 12] that I began to write short stories.” The Malawi News
published short stories every Saturday; the young Kenani could not
afford the newspaper, but luckily, a friend used to buy it and let him
read. The name of the friend is supplied; names of people and places as
well as dates are always drawn from Kenani’s huge memory vault, so a
conversation with him is a narrative in itself.

Quote after quote

“I kept improving.
I wanted to write a novel even by the age of 15,” he continues. By now,
he had moved on to secondary education in a new town, Dedza. It was “a
Catholic School, and it had a beautiful library, well stocked.” The
budding writer took science subjects but read voraciously in his spare
time. Two books read around this period, remain significant for him:
‘Bulldog Drummond’ and ‘The Black Gang’ by Sapper (the pseudonym for
Cyril McNeile). “These are books that I’ve read repeatedly since Form
One – even till now. They teach me about putting humour in my writing,”
he informs.

As a student of
Accountancy at the University of Malawi, he found himself reading a lot
of poetry. It is at this point in the conversation that he quotes, with
a beatific smile on his face, immortal lines from Dylan Thomas and W.H.
Auden. “Marvellous poet,” Kenani says of Auden, adding that, “I also
love Robert Herrick”. Cue another quote, this time from Herrick’s ‘To
the Virgins, to Make Much of Time’ and ‘Delight in Disorder’.

Malawi’s most famous poet

Kenani became a
practising poet in his first year at university, and says he got a lot
of encouragement from “Malawi’s most famous poet, Benedicto Malunga.”
But, isn’t Jack Mapanje Malawi’s most famous poet? “Jack Mapanje is the
most famous poet internationally. But when you talk of poetry in
Malawi, in the villages, everywhere, the household name is Benedicto
Malunga,” comes the answer. “I love Malunga’s poetry,” Kenani adds,
mentioning the former’s “very rare” collection, ‘The Haunting Wind’.
“It was Malunga’s finest. I had it in university – a huge influence.”

The writer’s
journey into publication began during his secondary school days. He
wrote plays and performed them in his own school and neighbouring ones,
all the way to national drama festivals. These were the first steps for
the poet who has since performed at many international literature
festivals including: Arts Alive (Johannesburg), Poetry Africa (Durban),
Harare International Festival of the Arts (Zimbabwe), the Struga Poetry
Evenings (Macedonia) and the London Literature Festival. The notion of
performance characterises every reading by Kenani, who brings every
nuance of the fictional character to life with his voice.

He had his first
publication while still in college, in 1996, after a friend lent him a
laptop to type with, “because the Malawi News wouldn’t accept
longhand.” Having his work featured in the BBC Focus on Africa Magazine
in 2001, was “very encouraging,” he recalls. “I began to feel that even
on the international stage, people can read my short stories and
understand them.”

The SA PEN Award
was another milestone: “It’s not every day that a Nobel laureate like
J.M Coetzee reads my story and commends it.” He describes the 2008
Caine nod as “a point of no return. I will carry on writing.” The
shortlist earned Kenani a place on the Caine Prize Writing Workshop,
which he finally took up this year. “I found the (workshop) experience
extremely interesting. It has taught me a lot. The animateurs,
Veronique Tadjo and Jamal Mahjoub, were quite incredible,” he says.

The future

Currently acting
treasurer for the Pan African Writers’ Association (PAWA, headquarters
in Accra, Ghana), Stanley Kenani has lived in Lilongwe (Malawi),
Ethiopia and Nairobi (Kenya); and now resides in Geneva, Switzerland.
He has an unpublished poetry volume, ‘Slaughterhouse of Sanity’; and is
busy putting together a short story collection, having recently found
an agent. Several of his poems will appear in an upcoming anthology of
poems translated in Chinese, ‘No Serenity Here’. Also featured in the
anthology are Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka and other greats like South
African national poetry laureate, Keorapetse Kgositsile and Ghana’s Ama
Atta Aidoo.

Looking to the
future, Kenani’s focus is firmly on fiction writing. Asked why, he
replies, “One of my colleagues who has been following my writing told
me I’m a better prose writer than as poet. I just took it as naked
truth.”

Stanley Onjezani Kenani’s short story, ‘Happy Ending’ appears in the
2010 Caine Prize anthology, ‘A Life in Full’. His new short story,
‘Vehicles of the President’ will be published in next Sunday’s edition
of The Lagos Review.

It was all colours,
music and sensual appeal at the Shell Hall of the MUSON Centre, Onikan
on July 27, when Brazilian Samba paid homage to Lagos, a city that
shares a bit of its culture and language. Titled ‘Por- Ai!’, the event
was jointly organised by the Brazilian Consulate-General and the
Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON).

Preceding the
performance was an alfresco cocktail for guests who had braved the
city’s notorious traffic to enjoy an evening of fun and relaxation. The
hall was filled to capacity, and had the event held the previous
weekend, as earlier scheduled, it could not have recorded better
attendance.

Femi
Adeniyi-Williams, Chairman MUSON, welcoming the audience before the
concert, said that the concert was organised to enable Nigerians enjoy
themselves and recognise that “MUSON is not all about classical music
but music in all its forms.”

Co-organiser was
the Brazilian Consul-General, Cesario Alejandro, who spoke on the need
to bring such a concert to Nigeria. In his words, “Samba along with its
rhythm has its roots in Africa. It started in Brazil about 200 years
ago and has become the most important cultural expression of the
country, the very symbol of Brazil.”

Mathew Holmes, the
event anchor, announced that the concert is part of ongoing efforts by
Brazil to promote its culture across the globe. “Everyone has a soft
spot in their hearts for Brazil,” he declared, proudly enumerating some
of the many attractions of the former Portuguese colony: “Its Samba,
beaches, football, women, carnivals and cultural diversity”

Ruffled six

The six member band
from Rio de Janeiro came on stage with two female dancers, who were
garbed in skimpy Brazilian attires of short ruffled skirts and tops
with bared midriff. The band captured the mixed Nigerian and foreign
crowd with music from its drums, guitars and native tambourines,
creating sounds reminiscent of Afrobeat and calypso.

While the lead
vocalist’s performance was not entirely deserving of rave reviews, the
audience was quickly infected with the performers’ enthusiasm and
excitement as members were cajoled off their seats by the dancers who
strolled into the audience to pick out audience members, who joined
them in the dance.

A la Brazilian
carnivals, the dancers retreated quickly for a break and emerged
bedecked in carnival attires with elaborate head gears with plumage and
colourful bikinis. Then into the audience again they went to treat some
of the male audience to shocking lap dances – a decidedly raunchy
performance for an event which had communicated no age restrictions and
which had children in attendance.

Though the event
employed the universal language of music and incorporated a short
interlude of Nigerian choreography (Performed by the Nitche dance
group) accompanied by a medley of Nigerian and Brazilian sounds, the
unfamiliarity of the language might have prevented members of the
audience from joining the band in song as they were repeatedly urged.

The event, though
it promised a variety of samba such as the classic samba, the Brazilian
Percussion (Pandeiro), the fast paced Samba, and the carnival Samba,
was not well structured, nor was it translated to enable the audience,
who were disadvantaged by the language barrier to be successfully
acquainted with the Samba as was expected. Thankfully, the performance
was not drawn out, enabling participants to commend it for providing
relaxation in less than a couple of hours.

Salacious dances

Speaking with
attendees after the event, it was surprising that many thought the
concert was well worth the N3000 naira ticket price. They expressed no
reservation about how the salacious dances of the scantily clad dancers
seemed to have been employed as a replacement for what the performance
lacked in variety of content.

Actress Dakore
Egbuson, who revealed that she was presently studying Samba, praised
the concert, “I thought it was fun and am glad I was able to come and
get a few tips from this. I have always admired Brazil and its people
and I see a similarity with the Nigerian culture.”

Screenwriter and
Director, Seke Somolu, encouraged the introduction of entertainment
from other cultures to the Nigerian entertainment scene, while also
expressing hope that more effort will be put into organising such
concerts. “We need more of this; though think it could have been better
in terms of musicianship as the lead vocalist was not on top of his
game.” His wife Omonor, one of the actresses featured in the stage
performance of V monologues agreed. “It was just OK. I expected more
Samba dances but they kept performing the same dance steps. But then, I
guess achieving the kind of performance I had hoped for would require a
lot more money than this (concert) did.”

Edosa Eghobanieio,
owner of Alalo and one of the organisations supporting the concert
revealed the difficulty in planning the concert, “It’s not easy to plan
an event across two continents as we had to do. But I do think at the
end of the day, that it was a good concert.”

Lawyer and
elocution expert Tita Young also expressed hopes that the concert
spirit will catch on, observing that publicity for many such concerts
is dismal and limited to the upper class, excluding the average
individual who has an appreciation for such art events. “Nigerians need
relaxing events like this, she concluded, “rather than for them to go
to Owambes where mosquitoes will bite them.”

While the Brazilian concert may be a novel and laudable initiative,
it is high time organising societies such as the MUSON ratified the
standard of the performances being staged. Nigeria may not often get
enough of the international dance and music culture, but the calibre of
arts enthusiasts attracted by such events, might be of the mind (and
rightly so) that the beauty of concerts such as the Brazilian Samba, is
better portrayed not in performances which incorporate immodesty, but
in well executed depictions of the better aspects of the music and
dance culture.

If there is
anything Akeem Lasisi’s latest musical poetry album, ‘Wonderland’ has
done, it is to reinforce the ‘journartists’ (journalist and artist)
place among Nigeria’s talented performance poets. The third of such
efforts, this album featuring the equally gifted up and coming Edaoto
and actor/singer, Ropo Ewenla, delights.

There is no throwaway among the six tracks on the album which genre of music oscillates between juju and highlife.

The opening track,
‘Eleleture’ sees the poet professing his love in sweet verse in an
attempt to woo Eleleture. “Although I’m a gold fish/ I’ve finally found
a hiding place/ When Bin Laden seeks succour in bellies of rocks/And
Egbesu brothers seek alternative nations in serpentine creeks/ I
meander my way into the bunker of your heart /Where love breaks all
arrows/ And even bullets dissolve into liquid,” says the poet in his
quest for the lady’s heart. The chorus, like the poem, is interesting.
Edaoto and the female backups spice it with their voices and one cannot
but be impressed with their punning on names to aid Lasisi’s cause.
“Munira meets Muniru/ Habiba meets Habibu/ Sherifi meets Sherifa/
Rasheeda meets Rasheed/ Salawa meets Salawu…” The musical instruments
cohere and the exclamation by the girl when the toasting eventually
gets to her, does not detract from the track.

If the first track
makes the listener feel good, the second, ‘Wonderland’, reminds of the
abnormalities Nigerians have accepted as the norm. “My eyes have seen a
mystery dog/ gorgeously dressed in aso oke/Pleasure bag in its
hand/Swinging its hips as it walks down the village square,” Lasisi,
author of the award winning ‘Iremoje, Ritual Poetry for Ken Saro-Wiwa’
and ‘Night of my Flight’ notes in the accompanying poem. The lead
female vocalist gives life to the track with her vocal strength and
succeeds in stirring one into thinking about the strange things
happening in Nigeria with her haunting tones of lamentation.

‘Asabi Alakara’
(Heroine) is a feel-good track in the Highlife tradition. It is
conversational, with the male lead trying to lure the female into
visiting him at home. But the equally crafty lady does not fall for the
trick. “The tortoise is out with its cunning spell/Floating a feast for
innocent flies/Let the chick tie its thinking cap/Because the hawk is
here with its hungry eyes,” says Lasisi. Much as one enjoys the track,
which requires just swaying and shuffling one’s feet, the funny side
talk by Lasisi and others is not clear in places.

‘Pareke’ featuring
Ropo Ewenla is also in this mould and makes one recall the London-based
maestro, Tunji Oyelana – the instrumentation isn’t unlike some of the
tracks of ‘Uncle Tunji’. Lasisi and his Songbirds take a swipe at
thieving politicians and ill-conceived policies governments foists on
citizens in the entertaining track.

The poet and
academic, Niyi Osundare, has been celebrated several times in writing
but this is perhaps the first time he will be celebrated with music and
poetry. ‘Omo aa bo’ in Ekiti dialect is dedicated to the bard who hails
from Ikere Ekiti. He is praised, celebrated and prayed for in popular
Ekiti choruses. “We a joko le, otita t’ abinu eni kosile to ni ki o wa
jokole, we a joko le” (May you not sit on a stool rejected by your
detractor). The performance poet also puns on the titles of Osundare’s
poetry collections, declaring he will follow the poet, also a notable
performance poet, to Ekiti.

Lasisi revisits the
unresolved murder of former Attorney General and Minister of Justice,
Bola Ige, in ‘Erin Karele’. He recalls how the Cicero was tricked into
serving the People’s Democratic Party and his eventual murder
metaphorically with the Yoruba story of the elephant tricked into death
by the tortoise with an offer of kingship. Again, Edaoto’s unique voice
lifts the track as it rises and falls while entreating the elephant to
return home and become king. The poet also alludes to the alleged
complicity of Iyiola Omisore in the murder of Ige and his eventual
reward with a senatorial seat with the chorus “Igbin pa abuke osin,
gbangudu gban/ Oba da igbin lola…” Like the others, it isn’t a bad
track. The iremoje chant usually reserved for hunters and warriors at
the end is a fitting tribute to the inimitable politician. Nonetheless,
the track has a glitch which affects the sound quality as it draws to a
close.

Though an excellent album, Lasisi needn’t have placed much
inflection on words like ‘world’ and ‘bird’ in the album. It’s not an
oral English class but, who knows? Perhaps he is merely showing his
background as a former teacher of English.

In a press
conference held on July 20, The Musical Society of Nigeria Festival
committee publicised the programme of events for the forthcoming MUSON
Festival 2010, scheduled to hold from October 25 to November 7 at the
MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

Chatting with
journalists, Iyabo Aboaba, general manager, MUSON, remarked that with
the exception of the classical concert, all activities during the
festival will be performed by Nigerians. She appealed for support as
MUSON attempts to “Let the world know that Nigeria is not all about
kidnapping and social disequilibrium. Lagos is still determined to be
hooked up to the civilised world by the propagation of classical music.”

She emphasised that
the MUSON festival should not be seen to be limited to classical or
jazz music, reiterating that all other events are just as important as
the Jazz Nite, which will hold on November 5 and 6.

Chair of the
festival committee and vice chairman of MUSON, J.K. Randle, said that
the MUSON Festival, themed ‘Nigeria at Fifty’ to commemorate the
independence anniversary, is a celebration of Nigeria’s achievements as
a nation.

“Unlike Somalia,
where anarchy reigns presently, we have a lot of things to be thankful
for. We have cause to rejoice and are looking forward to the future
we’ve been hoping for.”

Randle also
expressed hopes that government would assist in making the festival a
success, remarking that, “We need to reach out to the agencies of
government, which should be anxious to assist us.”

Though noting the
present economic downturn of the country, and the perceived exorbitance
of the festival tickets, Aboaba said that the cost of the tickets will
not be prohibitive, “We are conscious of the economic situation and
tickets will not be out of reach for anyone. But tickets will not be
too cheap; when something is too cheap, it attracts just anything.”

Commenting on the
need to attract younger audiences to the appreciation of classical
music, Femi Adeniyi-Williams, chairman MUSON, who joined the press
briefing just as it wound to a close, noted that, “MUSON is not a
profit making organisation. The reason for its establishment is to try
to get Nigerian youth to be knowledgeable and appreciative of classical
music. Young people are the ones who will convey the image of what
Nigeria is, and what it will be in the future.”

The festival is
billed to open with MUSON Day on October 25, when the centre will “roll
out music of yesteryears”, and a reading of the work of late Alhaji
Babatunde Jose, written October 1, 1960. The British national anthem,
the old Nigerian anthem, and other compositions will be directed by
Theophilus Okang.

Other itinerary for
the MUSON festival include: the Youth Concert, a competition of 7 youth
previously shortlisted from advert responses; ‘My Kind of Music’, which
will feature four individuals of accomplishment as they give “uncommon
glimpses of the lesser known sides of their persona”, as well as
digital recordings of their favourite music.

‘Home Sweet Home’,
a play written by Bisi Adigun, about six friends who meet up to share
memories after many years since their university days, will be staged
on October 29. A classical concert and a choral concert on November 5
and 7 respectively complete the programme of events for the festival.

As MUSON gears to
host a successful 2010 festival, its diploma choir is also set to
“carry the Nigerian culture to the international orchestra.” The choir,
headed by its director, Emeka Nwokedi, will be attending the World
Conference for Music Education in Beijing, China. Speaking on the
choir’s achievement, Nwokedi revealed proudly how from 70 choir entries
the MUSON Diploma Choir (MDC) was selected as the only choir from
Africa.

Travelling with a
30-member crew, including the choir director, the school director, and
28 singers and instrumentalists, the MDC will perform in four concerts
– two in Beijing, one in the town of Tianjin, and one on August 8 for
the Diplomatic Corps and the Nigerian Ambassador to China.

Nwokedi concluded that, with all-Nigerian content, composers,
orchestra, costume, and instrumentation, the MDC is set to make MUSON
and Nigeria proud at the world orchestra, “The contents of the
performance is purely Nigerian. We are going to be representing Nigeria
to the world.”

The
second Book Party of the Committee for Relevant Arts (CORA) will hold
on Sunday, August 1, 2010 at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The first edition
of the event held last year when the group hosted a forum featuring the
nine writers on the long list of the 2009 edition of the NLNG Prize for
Literature.

This edition will
involve the 11 writers on the list released by organisers of the Prize
last week and will feature readings, reviews and discussions on the
works.

The objective of
the party, according to a statement from the organisers, “is to enable
the public, especially the Arts and culture Community and the media,
have an opportunity to encounter the finalists (and their works) in the
$50,000 Nigeria Literature Prize — before the shortlist of three is
announced around mid-August.”

The late Esiaba
Irobi (‘Cemetery Road’) and 10 living ones are the writers hoping to
win the seventh edition of the prize. The others include: Ahmed Yerima
for ‘Hard Ground’; Akinwumi Isola (‘Belly Bellows’); Onukaba
Adinoyi-Ojo (‘The Killing Swamp’) and Uduak Akpabio (‘Perfect Mothers’).

Other works in
contention are: ‘Leopard Woman’ by Philip Begho; ‘Ata Igala The Great’
by Emmy Unuja Idegu; ‘Onions Make Us Cry’ by Zaynabu Jallo; ‘Queen
Ghasengeh’ by Ziky Kofoworola; ‘Idia, The Warrior Queen of Benin’ by
Irene Salami-Agunloye and ‘Broken Pots’ by Uwem Udoko.

Theatre scholars, Dapo Adelugba, Kalu Uka, John Illah, Tanimu
Abubakar and Mary Kolawole screened the entries received for this
year’s prize, which is for drama.

Performance, photography, fashion and videos provided the right
mixture for the “Pret-a-partager” exhibition which closed on July 18, at three
venues, namely: Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) Yaba; African Artist
Foundation (AAF), Ikoyi; and the Exhibition Hall of the Yaba College of
Technology – all in Lagos.

This potpourri of art takes things out of their everyday use and
sends them spinning in works that not only show the ingenuity of the artists,
but also address important issues. With Dakar providing the backdrop in terms
of inspiration for this body of work, the project is presently touring Africa.

The exhibition which docked on the Nigerian artscape for 12 days
before continuing on its journey around Africa, provided another watershed for
contemporary art on the continent, offering a platform for artists in Africa
and the Diaspora to share what they had learnt from the “Pret-a-partager”
workshop, held in November 2008. The exhibition’s title effectively
communicates the purpose of the art workshop, as the French phrase
‘Pret-a-Partager translates literally as “Ready to share.”

Organised by the CCA in collaboration with AAF and Goethe
Institut, the exhibition is a continuation of CCA’s documentation of 50 years
of Nigeria’s independence. The show was also in tune with the present focus of
the centre: Art, Fashion and Identity. The presentation of the exhibition at
three different locations created an opportunity for art enthusiasts on both
the Lagos Mainland and Island to appreciate the works without having to go across
the Lagoon.

Featuring 17 artists from Africa and Europe, the exhibition was
the result of a ten-day workshop that covered various genres of art. The
artists – from Berlin, Kinshasa, Dakar, London, Stuttgart, Douala, Hamburg and
Johannesburg – put up works that will be on display around Africa for two
years. Inspired by movement, sport, fashion and ideas borrowed from Dakar and
its environs, the concept of Cultural transference informs works such as ‘The
White Jumpsuit’, which was designed by Ghanaian Zohra Opoku. A fashion designer
based in Hamburg, Opoku was inspired by the Brazilian dance/martial art,
Capoeira.

Ndiaga Diaw, who hails from Senegal, is another artist who
pushes the imagination by incorporating not only Capoeira movements in his
creative work, but also the versatility of fashion. The outfit he designed can
be worn in six different ways. Astrid S. Klein uses Opoku’s and Diaw’s designs
in her performances in empty movie theatres, as a way of exploring the economic
and social changes transforming the cityscape of Dakar.

Fashion designer Zille Homma Hamid takes West African fashion as
her inspiration and uses its vibrant colours in the traditional, hand-woven
materials from Senegal. She uses the fabrics to design a coat that can also
double as a Muslim praying mat. Another Senegalese, Naffisatou Diop, plays with
the idea of hiding and covering things through her textile designs. Her
lingerie creations are exciting aesthetic statements on body and gender
politics. The work of fashion designer Ule Barcélos looks at the enhancement
and creative redesigning of cheap clothes and footwear with the use of logos
and decorations, a widespread practice among less privileged children and youth
in the urban centres of African cities.

Photographer Lolo Veleko captures the fashion of the streets and
the cityscapes through her lens in different light conditions. Lambert Mousseka
constructs rather uncomfortable “work trousers” incorporating the closed ends
of calabashes as the buttocks. In so doing he makes evident the central idea of
works that do not receive the recognition they deserve in a world of globalized
labour.

A video installation by the Cameroonian artist, Goddy Leye,
addresses the loss of childhood innocence as a result of human trafficking,
prostitution and forced marriage. Mamadou Gomis and Germany-based Akinbode
Akinbiyi document the processes involved in these works. They also make
available the behind the scenes images, so that viewers may better appreciate
the work processes of the artists. Akinbiyi’s black and white photos capture a
number of creative moments during the workshop.

Another exhibitor was Friedrich M. Ploch, who built an installation from
objects found on the beaches of Dakar, creating a reminder of the fragility of
every moment. In his performance, Philip Metz explores the image of the
“typical African” from both German and Senegalese perspectives; while South
African performer and video artist from, Athi-Patra Ruga, offers himself as a
‘Lamb that takes away the sins’ of the largely homophobic West Africa. The
exhibition fashioned a strong, intricate a link that connects world
contemporary art with the Nigerian art scene.

The experience of slavery and the slave trade has been
described as an indelible phase of black and African history, the trauma of
which has resulted in a collective amnesia that needs to be addressed.

Chair of the organising committee of the forthcoming
international ‘Colloquium on Slavery, Slave Trade and Their Consequences’, Abi
Derefaka, made the observation at a July 5 press conference, held at the
National Theatre, Lagos.

A professor at the University of Port Harcourt, Derefaka heads
a 12-member committee inaugurated last December by Govenor Olagunsoye Oyinlola
of Osun State. The colloquium, to be held from August 22 to 26, 2010 in
Iloko-Ijesa, Osun State, is being hosted by Oyinlola’s government through the Centre
for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU), a UNESCO Category II
centre, based in Osogbo.

The colloquium forms part of the larger Global Conference on
Black Nationalities, which is holding in Osogbo around the same time. It also
coincides with the Osun Festival, which draws thousands of people to Osogbo
every August.

Keen to allay fears of a potential conflict between several
high profile international events in the same period in the Osun State axis,
organisers stressed that the slavery colloquium is a largely academic forum
designed to attract only those with keen interest or scholarship in the subject
area. Among scholars expected to participate, are: Paul Lovejoy, Ade Ajayi,
Toyin Falola, and Bolanle Awe, all professors. Interest has been very high,
according to Derefaka, who said, “We found that once people got to know about
the colloquium… they sent us abstracts, some even sent complete papers. We
are hoping that we can cope with the anticipated deluge of participants.”

He spoke about the need for a colloquium on slavery and the
slave trade, stressing that, in addition to addressing the “collective amnesia”
on this phase of black history, “there are vestiges of slavery all around us
even today.”

Drawing attention to the fact that a modern state, Haiti, was
born out of a slave revolt led by a Yoruba slave, Derefaka said, “It is
important to draw periodic attention to that inhuman activity which led to a
somewhat irreversible cultural and spatial dislocation for many of our African
brothers and sisters.”

August gathering

The colloquium is also intended to commemorate the UNESCO Day
for the Abolition of Slavery and Slave Trade, marked annually on August 23. In
addition, the conference will help key into UNESCO’s Slave Route Project,
inaugurated in 1994. Several strands of the thinking and scholarship on slavery
will come together in August, as the world body’s International Scientific
Committee on the Slave Route project will also meet in Iloko-Ijesa during the
colloquium.

“The issues to be discussed at the colloquium, which focus on
the past, present, and the future of our continent, Africa, and our people in
the Diaspora, are topical and deserve attention now,” Derefaka affirmed.

Among the sub-themes of the conference are: ‘Historiography of
Slavery and the Slave Trade’; ‘Globalisation and New Forms of Enslavement’;
‘Slave Market, Routes, Monuments, Relics and Tourism’, ‘Enslavement and Global
Africa Diaspora’; and ‘Reconciliation, Reparation and Rehabilitation.’

Several culture bodies are providing support for the
colloquium, including the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization
(CBAAC). Speaking at the press conference, the director general of CBAAC, Tunde
Babawale, said, “There is no question about the fact that slavery has impacted
very significantly on the entire continent of Africa and the African Diaspora.
You can hardly talk about the African people – either on the continent or in
the Diaspora – without talking about the impact of the slave trade. It has in
fact defined what the Diaspora looks like.”

Babawale said the phenomenon of slavery needs to be subjected
to rigorous study. He also expressed the hope that the August colloquium will
help update knowledge on the various aspects of the slave trade; while at the same
time correcting deficiencies in literature on both the Indian Ocean and
Trans-Saharan Slave Trades.

He declared that the slavery colloquium will break new grounds;
and called for the support of the media in ensuring its success, especially in
the light of Nigeria’s 50th independence anniversary.

Lasting impact

Wole Ogundele, director of the Centre for Black Culture and
International Understanding (CBCIU) through which the colloquium is being
organised, recalled “the epic battle we fought in Paris in 2008 at UNESCO to
get [CBCIU] as a Category II centre.”

The professor hailed the fact that the Osogbo centre is now the
only one of its kind in Africa. “Slavery and the slave trade are part of our
culture – they were and still are today – the impacts of that will probably be
with us for another 1000 years, if not more. In fact, as long as our black
brothers and sisters do not come back – and I don’t see how they can come back
– the impact of slavery will continue to last in the Diaspora,” said Ogundele.

He added that even if all the descendants of slavery were to
return, this would be another kind of impact. Therefore, the cultural,
psychological, political, and economic impact of slavery can never be over-emphasised.

Ogundele ended on a personal note, saying, “Slavery is a
subject we have all taken for granted.” He recalled the single black player in
the Iraqi team during the 1994 World Cup. “I think Iraq beat the USA and it was
this black fellow who was their outstanding player. And I kept wondering: how
come a black man in Iraq’s team? How come a black man in this country?”

Ogundele began to dig into the history of slavery on the Indian
Ocean and Saharan slave routes, across which blacks were also transported. “So,
how come their numbers are so few, unlike in the US and Latin America?”

He later discovered that “the black African men were used as
harem keepers and therefore, they were castrated; and that contributed to the
very, very minuscule number of blacks in the Arab World. They were
emasculated.”

Only a very lucky few survived, like the black player in the
Iraqi team. “So, it is a trauma, and it continues to haunt us today,” said the
CBCIU director.

No witch-hunting

A Professor of History at the Department of History, University
of Lagos, A. Lawal, called on the Nigerian government to emulate Ghana by
tapping into the quest by slave descendants to know their African roots. Lawal
said slave descendants should be encouraged to settle in Nigeria, as they
currently do in Ghana, where ancestral lineage history is also being actively
researched.

Responding to questions later, Ogundele said the conference
cannot do much in real terms to halt contemporary slavery. “All we can do is
forward our findings to the necessary bodies. We will pass on the results of
our deliberations to UNESCO, but we can’t go and mount barricades across the
Sudan or Mauritania. We are not capable of doing that.”

Derefaka, who affirmed that the colloquium aims “to fill gaps
in our knowledge,” informed that the Vice Chancellor of the University of Osun,
Sola Akinrinade, will head a committee that will produce the communiqué at the
end of the conference. The communiqué will then serve as “a working document
for all participating agencies as well as an advocacy document which can be
used after the colloquium.”

Concluding, Ogundele stressed that the conference is not
seeking to lay blame for the slave trade. “It is not a conference of
witch-hunting – who is guilty, who is not guilty – it is too late for that.
[Ours] is a UNESCO centre of international understanding. We want to understand
each other; and we are building linkages with other black cultures across the
world as well as within the continent of Africa.”

‘The International
Colloquium on Slavery, Slave Trade and Their Consequences’ holds at the Royal
Park Hotel, Iloko-Ijesa, Osun State, on August 22 to 26, 2010.

Although ‘Fela on Broadway’, the highly entertaining musical
woven around his father’s life and music, had been on show in New York since
October last year, July 12, 2010, was the first time Femi, the first son of the
subject of the play, went to see it.

The play is one of the biggest hits on Broadway, enjoying huge
attendances and rave reviews in the US media, and it only recently won three
Tony Awards out of 11 nominations.

Femi, dressed in a blue short-sleeved guinea brocade, arrived
the Eugene O’Neill Theatre venue with members of his 14-piece orchestral, and
was immediately ushered into the “shrine” to see an outstanding stage portrayal
of his father’s life and struggle.

‘Fela on Broadway’ is the story of the late rebellious,
courageous, and legendary Afrobeat musician, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who took on
successive corrupt and oppressive military dictators in his struggle for
freedom, human rights, and good governance.

And Femi wept

The play left Femi in tears. During an interlude, I asked what
he thought of the play. He responded: “It’s a very emotional play. I have been
crying. It took me back to the ‘70s from when my father was arrested, the burning
of his house, to when my grandmother died to the beating my father had, seeing
blood all over him.”

I then asked him whether it was an accurate portrayal of his
father’s life, music, and tribulation. “Very much so,” he replied. “The play is
fantastic. It made me cry. It exposed the corruption and what my father stood
for in Nigeria, his arrests, and everything. This is an excellent play. No
doubt about it. No fault whatsoever.

“Nigerians should see this story. It hurts that Nigerians have
not seen this story like Americans have seen it and are exposing this story to
the rest of the world.”

After the performance ended that night, Femi joined the cast on
stage where he was introduced to the audience. He later joined the talented
Sahr Ngaujah, who acted Fela, to render one of his father’s most popular
numbers, ‘Gentleman’. The audience roared and applauded.

An unfriendly encounter

I was myself going to see the play for the first time that day
and I didn’t expect to meet Femi there. It was already 6.40 p.m., and I was
hurrying to procure a ticket for the 7 p.m. performance. I was about to round
the bend that leads to Eugene O’Neill Theatre when two Ford Hybrid yellow taxis
screeched to a halt on the corner of a packed 49th Street on Broadway and Femi
Kuti and members of his band poured out of the cars.

I immediately turned around like a soldier on parade and walked
towards Femi, a man I believe had worked assiduously hard to keep his father’s
legacy alive.

I knew Femi and his band must have been coming to see the play
too, but I wanted to talk to the musician for two reasons. The previous day, I
was at Lincoln Center, a premium entertainment venue in the heart of New York
where Femi wowed thousands of New Yorkers with a blistering performance of
Afrobeat.

That night, he proved why he is one of Nigeria’s biggest musical
exports as he dished out melodious tunes while intermittently playing the piano
and the trumpets. His three female dancers, whose faces were caked in African-style
makeup, rolled their waists in a manner that excited the crowd.

During his performance,
Femi also fearlessly took a swipe at America and the West for their roles in
the multifarious problems confronting Africa. “The oil spill in the Gulf is now
83 or 84 days, I am not sure, and everybody is now panicking,” Femi said, as
the crowd roared. “The fact is that we should all have been panicking 40 years
ago when oil companies were polluting Africa. But America and Europe kept quiet
because it is convenient for them to continue to exploit Africa. They support
corruption and every bad thing in Africa.”

Femi’s performance at Lincoln Center is one of the most
enjoyable shows I have attended in New York since my arrival here about a year
ago. So, I wanted to let him know how much I appreciated him and his work.

The second reason I wanted to talk to Femi had to do with Fela
on Broadway. Earlier that day, I had read an article in the New York Times
where he was quoted as saying he won’t see the play until it was brought to
Lagos. “I’m protesting for it to come to Lagos, so if I see it now, I will lose
that fight,” he said in the interview he granted the New York Times reporter in
Philadelphia, where he performed before coming to New York. “It’s good that
it’s on Broadway, the publicity is great, everyone is talking about it. But if
there is truly respect for the music and the message, it has to come to Africa,
back to Lagos and the Shrine that we, his family, have built for him. That is
important spiritually and culturally.”

So, I wanted to ask him why he had eaten up his words so soon
and was now coming to see the play.

But as I walked up to Femi and tried to engage him in a
conversation, he gave me a cold shoulder in return, eying me disdainfully and
then looking away. I greeted him again and stretched out my hand, but Femi was
in no mood for a handshake. Three female members of his band looked on with
disbelief as their boss gave me the biggest snub of my life.

Still, I hung around, determined to engage the musician in a
chat. “What a great performance you gave yesterday,” I said to him in Yoruba.
Femi was still unimpressed. He simply turned away and started talking with some
members of his band standing some metres away. At this point, I gave up and
walked away.

As I walked away, I began to understand the love-hate
relationship between Femi and Nigerian journalists. There was an opportunity to
ask Femi a few questions during the play’s interval. Omoyele Sowore of Sahara
Reporters and I approached Femi, who was sitting three rows from the stage. The
interview progressed smoothly until Sowore asked Femi why he was not as
rebellious as his father. The musician’s eyes reddened in anger. He became
aggressive. “Apologise for your question. Apologise and I will answer your next
question,” he fumed. “How can you accuse me of not taking risks? You want me to
be beaten and jailed like my father before you know I am taking risks?”

Sowore refused to apologise.

‘Fela on Broadway’ coming
to Lagos

When Femi refused to take further questions from Sowore, he
turned to me and I asked why he came to watch the play after telling the New
York Times he would only do so in Lagos. “I spoke to Stephen Hendel (the play’s
lead producer) for about two hours, and he gave me his word that he will bring
the play to Lagos,” he explained. “Nigerians have to see this play. Africans
have to see this play.”

Later, Mr. Hendel said plans were afoot and that Fela on Broadway might
arrive Lagos, its birthplace, in February 2011.