Nigeria Content Online

Filmmaker Femi
Odugbemi’s ‘Bariga Boy’ on Wednesday, May 19, won the AfroPop Prize for
Best Film at the 5th Real Life Documentary Festival in Accra, Ghana.
The award is the third honour the film on Segun Adefila and the Crown
Troupe of Africa has won recently. It won the Best Documentary Prize at
the 2010 AMAA Awards in April and won in the same category at the Abuja
Film Festival.

Eminent academics,
literary, film and art personalities attended the award ceremony held
at Goethe Institut, Accra. They include Manthia Diawara, professor and
head, Literature and African Studies, New York University, who launched
a book on African cinema at the occasion; Ed Gurrero, professor of Film
Studies at New York University; filmmakers Christine Choy, Yeman
Demissie from Ethiopia and Stephanie Black.

Chair of the
ceremony, the poet Kofi Anyidoho, noted that the festival “is dedicated
to documentary films based on the histories, peoples, heroes, cities
and locations of African and diasporic communities. It brings together
filmmakers, scholars, students and film enthusiasts to one of the
greatest historic Pan-African cities in the world – Accra.”

Anyidoho added that
the festival is on its way to becoming Africa’s major forum for the
production, cataloguing and exhibition of documentary film records of
African and African-diasporic subjects in global history because of the
dedication of its founders, Lydie Diakhate and Awam Amkpa.

The winner of the
AfroPop Prize sponsored by the National Black Programming Consortium
(NBPC), United States, paid tribute to Adefila and the Crown Troupe in
his acceptance speech. He noted that Adefila is a model worth emulating
by other youth because of his passion for advocating social change with
his works despite operating in a hostile environment. Odugbemi
reiterated that, “for Africa to catch up with the world
infrastructurally, politically and economically, artists of all shades
must stand up to be counted. Our talent must speak out to challenge
power and inspire change.”

Co-founder and
co-director of the festival, Diakhate lauded the Nigerian filmmaker’s
win. “I am very happy that Femi Odugbemi got the AfroPop Prize. He did
a beautiful work and I really enjoyed the way he portrayed a young
gifted Nigerian artist and his neighbourhood.”

She added that,
“The awards are for me very important because it is a great opportunity
for the festival to give recognition to contemporary African visual
productions.”

Other awards
presented at the festival which started on Sunday, May 16 and ended on
Thursday, May 20 were the Walter Mosley Prize worth $5,000 won by
Yemani Demissie and Joe Ampha Prize which carries a cash prize of
$1,000. Young Ghanaian student filmmaker, Elizabeth Coleman, won the
prize for her short film ‘Camp Healing’.

Several documentary
films including John Akomfrah’s ‘The Genome Chronicles’; Senegalese
Ousmane Mbaye’s ‘Mere Bi’ and Claus Wischmann and Martin Baer’s
collaboration, ‘Kinshasha Symphony’ were screened at the festival.
‘Twilight Revelations’ by Ethiopia’s Yemane Demissie and ‘Africa Unite’
by Stephanie Black were also shown.

With this win, Odugbemi’s ‘Bariga Boy’ will likely be shown on
‘AfroPop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange’, a US based public TV show
featuring independent documentaries and short films about life art and
culture from the contemporary African Diaspora. The show is hosted by
actor Idris Elba and the winner of the AfroPop award is offered a
three-year contract worth up to $8000.

The
2010 edition of the Ayan Agalu Soungobi Foundation’s Talking Drum
Festival will hold from May 31 to June 4 at Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi
Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State. President of Benin Republic,
Boni Yayi, will be the special guest of honour at the grand finale on
June 3 while the Olowu of Owu kingdom, Adegboyega Dosunmu, is the
expected guest speaker.

The festival will
feature an art exhibition, art of drum workshop, Ayan Agalu Soungobi
veneration, ijala ode Hunters’ night and gelede night. Other activities
are drum speaks, man chants, royal feet spinning and marathon drum
carnival.

The drum carnival
will start on May 31 in cities across the South West and climax at the
grand finale at the Obafemi Awolowo University.

Project director of
the foundation, Morakinyo Daramola, disclosed that telecoms company,
MTN, Skye Bank and Nigeria Distilleries are supporting the festival
while the Obafemi Awolowo University is collaborating with it.

And as preparations
for the festival intensify, the Akinrun of Ikirun in Osun State,
Olayiwola Olawale Adedeji, has pledged support to the organisers. The
traditional ruler made the pledge when officials of the festival paid a
courtesy visit to his palace at Ikirun, recently.

He praised the Ayan
Agalu Soungobi Foundation for its effort at reviving a major Yoruba
culture. “With the Talking Drum festival, many people, especially
Yoruba people, will be taken back to the years gone by when we (could)
use the drum to communicate in different ways. It is unfortunate that a
lot of Yoruba people are fast losing their culture, while opting for a
foreign one and this should not be so,” he said.

Speaking further,
the king noted that it is sad that some Yoruba families no longer
encourage their children to speak the Yoruba language. He said such
parents are not helping the children imbibe the rich Yoruba way of life.

He urged other
organisations to start promoting all aspects of Yoruba culture
including language and dress culture, amongst others.

Daramola disclosed
that the festival will kick-off at the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo,
Lamidi Adeyemi III with a recital by up to 50 drummers.

Sculptor Adeola
Balogun hopes to change his audience’s mindset with his upcoming
exhibition titled, ‘Infinite Patterns and Forms.’

The artist, whose
last solo show was in 2006, said the essence of exhibitions is “not
particularly about selling, but about what is new (from the artist).”
Balogun said his other role as an academic afforded him the luxury of
experimenting.

“These are some of
the things we should go into: the innovative and the experimental.
Experimenting is about pushing things in the market and making a
statement.”

Balogun’s statement
through his work is “for the emancipation of the people.” This
emancipation is majorly from negative thought, acts, and information.
Such negativity, he said, discourages people and leads to a lack of
progress.

Most of the works
Balogun will have on display at the Lekki-based Nike Art Gallery, come
May 29, are from discarded material (especially worn-out tyres)
suffused with deep messages. He relates how government disposes of its
staff when they are old and pensionable, to how tyres are disposed of
after they are worn out. In relation to how elected governments oppress
those who brought them to power, he draws from the Egungun masquerade
whose costumes are created by a community but that once dressed, the
Egungun becomes superior to its clothier.

The theme of his
exhibition is based on the infinity of God’s abundance, which man
dismisses and prefers to replace with negative thought. The exhibition
might end up as not just a visual feast, but a spiritual one as well.
Describing one of the works, the sculptor said, “There are a lot of
unseen wires out there. It depends on the one you connect to.”

He encourages the
power of positive thought as a way of making the most of bad
situations. “It’s possible to always think positively,” Balogun said,
adding that we should “be careful about the kind of energy we throw
outside.”

Stating his dislike
for monotony, the artist works with various materials cutting across
metal, wood, leather, bottle tops, bronze, copper, and glass fibre.

‘Infinite Patterns and Forms’ opens at the Nike Art Gallery in Lekki, Lagos, at 5pm on May 29.

“This has been an outstanding INDABA for many of us. It has been
the INDABA at which we have collectively cast our minds to the future of our
industry, and of our destination. The pace of business at INDABA this year, and
the quality of delegates, both exhibiting and buying, indicate that we have
every reason to be optimistic about South Africa as a destination after the
2010 World Cup. The brisk business that was conducted here this year gives us
every confidence that our industry is on a sound footing for the future.”

These were the words of Thandiwe January-McLean, chief executive
officer of South African Tourism (SAT) while appraising this year’s INDABA held
in Durban, South Africa from May 8 to 11. More than 12,000 delegates attended
the travel and tourism trade fair which showcases Southern Africa’s tourism
products. It is owned by South African Tourism and organised by Kagiso
Exhibitions.

The turnout gladdened January-McLean’s heart. She noted that it
was an excellent achievement that INDABA succeeded in attracting great
attendance at a period when the effects of the global economic crisis are still
lingering.

January-McLean was also pleased that buyers and visitors from
the rest of Africa had recorded growth in INDABA delegate numbers. There was a
100 per cent increase in buyers from Angola; an 18 percent increase in buyers
from Mozambique; and a 23 percent increase in buyers from Tanzania. These
markets had sent 83 buyers to INDABA 2010 between them.

In spite of this, the SAT boss has some other goals to further
develop tourism in her country. She wants South Africa to be the biggest
destination of choice for tourists from Africa; open more regional offices and
wants continuous feedback from people about South Africa. “I’ll like to hear
very genuinely how you feel about South Africa, issues and areas that you are
happy about and those you are not happy about,” she said,

Presence in Nigeria

Towards realising some of these objectives, SAT has included
Nigeria in its plans. Regional Director, Africa and Domestic Markets, South
African Tourism, Phumi Dhlomo, revealed the body’s plans for Nigeria. “The plan
for the Nigerian market is inclusive of the fact that we want a presence in the
market itself; then we will have a representative in the Nigerian market. Our
trade partners have increased tremendously and there has been a lot of focus
within Nigeria in particular because they have qualified for the World Cup.”

Getting visas is a major problem for intending visitors to South
Africa but Dhlomo assured this will soon be history. “There is a huge visa
problem in Nigeria but it’s mainly in Lagos, not Abuja because there is clear
and easy facilitation of the processing of visas in Abuja. One of the main
reasons there is a problem in the processing of visa in Lagos amongst other reasons
is the capacity of staff at the Embassy. One of the other options that is being
looked at is outsourcing the processing. The Embassy only does the issuing
which takes away all the hassles. The Embassy just checks and verifies the
visas.

“There’s a company in Lagos that does that for Britain. That’s
the first thing. But over and above that, we know that majority of the people
when they book to come to South Africa; they book through travel trade
partners. These travel trade partners will be allowed special concessions…we
will facilitate the processing of visas for people they have prescreened. This
will boost the business of those people who will be the accredited partners
that we will have.”

He disclosed the process of selecting the trade partners that
will participate in the scheme. “What happened is that in Nigeria, we requested
our trade partners to present proposals on how they want to work with us and we
received five. The others failed to send proposals so we were able to accredit
only those five, unfortunately.”

Opening up INDABA

Though INDABA is a fair to exhibit tourist attractions in South
Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, Kenya
was allowed to exhibit this year. Is the show opening up and will the courtesy
given to Kenya be extended to Nigeria?

Dhlomo answered, “It could be opened to other African countries
but the request was made initially by Kenya. The main challenge is that the
International Conference Centre and the adjoining venue, as you can see, are
full. Durban having won the tender to host for the next five years, if we
extend to the rest of continent, where is it going to be held? Are you going to
close some of the roads and extend it even further? What is going to happen
next and that is the main thing. There is really no problem from our side but
the request was made by Kenya to the Minister of Tourism who agreed.”

The lesson of time
and how we can make the most of it is the focus of Segun Aiyesan’s solo
exhibition ‘Epiphany.’ At a press briefing on Wednesday, May 13 2010 at
the Signature Gallery, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, venue of the
exhibition, Aiyesan briefed the press on the messages and the process
behind the 38 works on display.

The works, which
were produced between 2009 and 2010, are mostly mixed media on canvas,
with the artist experimenting with sculpture, acrylic, sand, fabric and
other material.

The artist
discussed his process and what he expects to achieve with the solo
exhibition. “The theme of the exhibition is about how we waste our time
fighting, warring, disputing, while the time is not infinite. As we
spend time, we are losing time and we can never record it. So why waste
time doing all that when you can spend more time in achieving your
destiny?” Aiyesan posited.

Not all the works
however come under the theme of Epiphany “They are independent but also
within the scope of the theme,” he said of the few works described as
‘distractions.’

All those who view
the self-trained artist’s exhibition will encounter themes of
insincerity, environmental degradation, the safety of the future
generations, poor governance, national development, slavery and unity.
These are amongst other poignant issues raised by the artist, who
believes that while it pays to be happy, such happiness should not be
to the neglect of dark issues that affect progress. The solution to
man’s problems, the artist points out, is within and for man to submit
to the will of a higher power.

“I guess many of
these works are a reflection of personal experience and I guess
everybody must have experienced that at some point in their lives when
they realise that all by themselves, they really can’t do so much,” he
said. “The more you realise it the more you see the formula with which
you can achieve and conquer.”

Some of the works
are in series and many characters carry marks on their bodies. These,
Aiyesan describes as a sign of experience and toil.

He is hopeful that
guests at the exhibition will probably come away with the feeling that,
“Time is a gift. When this time goes it doesn’t come back anymore.
Basically, it is about realising the value of the time that we have and
that war and natural mishaps are the biggest things that are stealing
our time. As soon as that happens, everybody is on the same level.”

Segun Aiyesan’s solo exhibition, ‘Epiphany’, is on at the Signature Arts and Interior Gallery from May 28 till June 10.

The BBC deserves
major kudos for its excellent documentary ‘Welcome to Lagos’ which
shines a big light on the open sores of Lagos (apologies to Soyinka,
who has reacted angrily to the piece, calling it patronising and
condescending). Soyinka should reconsider his views. The BBC deserves
credit for having the courage to damn the consequences and put out what
was obviously going to be controversial. The Nigerian poor were
empowered to open their doors and hearts to the world and revel in
their humanity, warts and all. It was a triumph of the human spirit
over the meanness of those sworn to care for all of us.

A work of
cinematographic excellence, the producers were able to draw us into the
intimate lives of folks who have learnt to survive and thrive in spite
of the government of the day. This was a documentary about the
dispossessed by the dispossessed. In this three-part series, we follow
what passes for life for people living in the slums of Makoko, in a
dump near Lagos and on the beach. This searing view is seen through the
lives of folks with names like Chube, Joseph, Esther and Eric Obuh aka
Vocal Slender. It was hard to tear myself away from this riveting
series. It was heartbreaking to see beautiful little children somehow
bravely capture a childhood out of the ruins of a wealthy nation. We
see brave men and women enjoying families with little or nothing.
Somehow they survive and thrive. The ecological disaster that the BBC
exposes is of mind boggling proportions. It can be seen in the trash
dumps where thousands make a daily living, in the tee-shirts bearing
Western logos, and in the new culture and religion. It is appalling
that in the year 2010, there are actually Nigerians swimming in faeces
and filth, trying to earn a living. We should be outraged.

Some worry that
the title Welcome to Lagos gives a false impression that this
documentary is all about Lagos. This is a fair criticism, but then
Lagos for most Nigerians is a metaphor for tough living. I actually
thought the film had a disciplined focus on the triumphs and
tribulations of the truly poor, not unlike Soyinka’s The Trials of
Brother Jero. Within that focus, it was balanced. Ironically, the
larger Lagos would come to a crashing halt without the industry of the
poor. And such joy and song! They rarely complain. Instead, they spend
their time tackling problems and somehow eking fun out of life. The
government simply does not exist, except when it lands ashore, as it
often does, to make life miserable for them. As I watched the
documentary, I kept reflecting on the genius of Fela and Soyinka. And
Soyinka’s words in ‘A Dance of the Forests’ kept ringing in my ears:
“We were sent the wrong people. We asked for statesmen and we were sent
executioners.”

The BBC
highlighted many issues that Soyinka has spent his lifetime battling:
Many generations are being destroyed in Nigeria. This is a sad place;
there are hardly any books here, here there are no playgrounds, here,
their playground is hell, These Nigerians are the face of an emerging
nation of uncritical, unthinking people, only interested in what money
can buy. The viewer is overcome with emotion watching little boys
snatching playtime in between hard work in a saw mill that is so
dangerous, two adults have been electrocuted in the space of two weeks
by exposed electrical cables (one apparently while the cameras were
rolling. I urge Governor Babatunde Fashola to investigate the deaths
and the abuses of his “task force” gang as documented in the
video-clips; we are not lower animals.

The cinematography was an artist’s dream. There is a little bit of
the showman in each character, hamming it up for the cameras, enjoying
the attention long denied them. It was simply great to meet Esther and
her friends in the third part of the series, In a way, it filled me
with hope, because I saw possibilities in the murky underwater of the
slums.

There were entrepreneurs making rich fish ponds out of sewage
infested seas. There were university students logging wood to pay for
questionable education. In summary there were all these children, women
and men, gracefully and stoically assuring the world of our humanity,
with dignity and uncommon grace. Finally, there was genius and the gift
of creativity everywhere.

You must see Esther who lives on the beach
and Eric Obuh, aka Vocal Slender the dump scavenger who dreams of
someday becoming a musician. Listening to him was pure poetry. Please
watch the clip on YouTube. Slender will make you really proud to be a
Nigerian. Nothing is wasted. Everything here is useful. You can smell
Lagos, taste her dust, and her cries of joy as dusk shuts down another
rugged day. And then you will cry for all that creativity wasting like
gas flares in Nigeria’s hell Delta. This documentary comforted me in
many ways. There is hope.

Yusuf Nuhu,
Director General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN),
recently sat down with NEXT for an interview, to mark his one year
anniversary in office.

Starting out in journalism

I ventured into
broadcasting in 1966 after my HSC, when I couldn’t immediately gain
admission to the University of Lagos to study Mass Communications. So,
I joined the Broadcasting Corporation of Northern Nigeria (BCNN) as a
Programme Assistant. After two years, I got a scholarship to read Mass
Communication in London. I graduated in 1972 with HND in Mass
Communication.

I started as a
graduate journalist in 1972, a year before NYSC was introduced and at
that time, it was only degree holders and NCE holders who were allowed
to participate in NYSC. So, I couldn’t serve because HND was excluded.
It was only later on, when NCE was dropped, that HND was included.
After returning home, I rejoined BCNN as Chief Staff Editor. I went
back to London to work with BBC African Service; I spent 5 years with
the BBC and when I retuned, I joined the Daily Times. I left Daily
Times in 1979 for New Nigerian Newspaper, and from there to NTA Sokoto,
where I worked as Senior Editor. In 1981, I returned to BCNN, after the
amalgamation of BCNN and Eastern Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation,
which is what is known today as FRCN. So, you see, I have been in
journalism for a long time. It was in 1987 that I decided to take a
course in Law at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. So, I was first a
journalist, then later a lawyer.

What did you consider your greatest challenge when you assumed duties as DG in 2009, and how did you resolve it?

I was familiar with
most of the challenges because I was the Executive Director of Kaduna
National Station from 2002 up to 2007. FRCN, before 1999, was just FRCN
without any action. It was not until 1999, when the new Director
General, Dr. Eddie Iroh, was appointed by the civilian government that
FRCN woke up from its slumber, liberated and rejuvenated.

So, I was familiar
with most of the challenges as a member of the management. The
challenges were enormous, enormous in the sense that there was no sense
of direction because of the long years of military administration.
Eddie Iroh brought a new lease of life to FRCN, bringing it up to be
what it is today. The challenges he faced were, first of all,
dilapidated equipment, no style, no sense of direction, no method
whatsoever. It was just a military outfit. Even the editing was biased.
So [Iroh] had to start retraining most of the staff in line with
democratic practice; how reporting in democracy was different from
military dictatorship. He achieved well over 90 percent of whatever he
set to achieve, that is, waking FRCN from sleep, so to say. FRCN of
today is really different from the FRCN of the yesteryears.

Our greatest
challenge, coming in, was to take the organisation to a higher
pedestal, to achieve national and international positions in the
broadcast industry.

Another
pressing challenge in the media industry is the transition from
analogue to digital, which is slated for 2015 as the deadline. Do you
see FRCN meeting the deadline, and what are the measures on ground for
that?

Thank you very
much. That challenge was really faced since 1999 when Eddie Iroh took
over and that was what brought the 32 FM Stations project; most of them
are digital. We started digitisation long before the deadline given by
the International Telecommunications Union (ITU); FRCN started as early
as 2002. We are advancing to reach the deadline within 2010 to 2012. We
are on course. We still have some equipment to replace, some
transmitters to change. But the major challenge is actually for the
listeners: digital radio sets are not readily available or affordable
for majority of the people. This is the only challenge, mainly for the
listener. Even when we fully transmit digitally, we have to convert to
analogue so that listeners can receive us with the current analogue
radio sets.

What would you say is your main achievement within your one year in office?

Previously, there
was a sort of adversarial relationship with other media. When we came
in, we said let’s face each other, let’s collaborate, because the whole
system of government itself is collaboration; you can’t be an island.
So, the major thing we did was to take FRCN to other outfits. DAAR
Communications was the first port of call and there again, they were
really surprised. They said ‘this is the first time FRCN is reaching
out.’ We took FRCN into the planet of synergy to achieve one common
goal – that is, excellence and perfection. We made that major
breakthrough.

Another aspect of
what we developed within the year under review is bringing back live
coverage of sporting activities. We re-introduced its past glory. FRCN
was always first class in sports, but it went to sleep and we woke it
up. Plans are on the way to participate in the World Cup in South
Africa. We are taking FRCN to many places where it was never reached
out to before. We are collaborating with PTDF, ETF, Ministry of Niger
Delta, etc. We are also retraining our people for 21st century
broadcasting.

What is the status of the 32 FM Station Project?

Nine of the FM
stations are awaiting completion, out of 32; over 90 percent has been
achieved. If not because of the delay in release of funds, the whole
project would have been completed by now. With this year’s budget, if
fully disbursed, we will complete either seven or eight out of the
remaining nine. Most of the 23 completed stations are functioning, but
not at 100 percent capacity because of spare parts, which we are
fighting very hard to acquire. Unfortunately, we had put the cart
before the horse when the project began. We should have provided the
spare parts warehouse before establishing the stations.

These modern
digital equipment are often not repairable. It is replacement that is
peculiar with the digital equipment, not improvisation. If a power
module is bad, you replace it, not repair, and when there are no
spares, we have to wait to get any part which is faulty. However, we
are addressing all these and are about to complete the whole project.

How is FRCN coping with the challenge of broadcasting in indigenous languages?

The law
establishing FRCN created linguistic zones, and these are taken care of
by our National Stations at Enugu, Ibadan, Kaduna, and Gwagwalada,
Abuja. These National Stations broadcast in the several languages of
their zones. Our FM stations in the states also broadcast in local
languages, so [it] is no challenge for us at all.

We will always remember how the military used FRCN to always announce coups. Why was FRCN always attractive to the military?

FRCN was the
national station owned by the federal government, and those wanting to
take over from the federal government would have to go through the
federal government mechanism. It was then the only medium that one
could use to reach people everywhere. Because of its national
broadcasts, coup plotters felt that once you capture FRCN, it means you
are successful. Also, it was believed that whatever is said from FRCN
was the truth and nothing, but the truth.

What are FRCN’s plans for Nigeria’s 50th Independence anniversary?

Well, it is going
to be low key because of lack of funds. But definitely, it is going to
be very rich in content. You will hear the voices and the echoes of
yesteryears, those national voices that are being forgotten. We will
bring them to the fore. There will be features and documentaries on our
history, heroes, and heritage. It will be low key, but very rich indeed.

Culture combined
with tourism and sport in a magnificent spectacle on Saturday, May 8 at
the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, Durban,
South Africa, during the opening ceremony of the 2010 INDABA, a travel
fair organised annually by South African Tourism since the 70s.

South Africa’s
world-famous Drakensberg Boys Choir, pop group TKZee and the Drum Cafe
drummers offered peeps into the country’s culture during their
presentations at the ceremony. The Drum Cafe drummers comprising men
and women beat both the top and sides of their drums to produce good
music while the dancers, who incorporated black flips and somersaults
into their steps, did justice to the music.

But the drummers’
performance was nothing compared to that of the boys from the
Drakensberg Mountain. The intermittent applause from the audience
eloquently testified to people’s enchantment with their sonorous voices
and overall performance. While some wore black pants, blue t-shirts and
wellington boots, others were dressed in the beautiful costumes of
their Zulu forbears. The boys also had a use for the soccer balls they
brought to the stage. They incorporated it into the drumbeats by
bouncing them rhythmically on the ground. Naturally, this attracted
more applause from the crowd.

A screening of the
Diski Dance created specially for the World Cup which starts on June 11
was part of the menu at the colourful ceremony emceed by SABC’s Carol
Manana. Groups of people doing the dance across the world; South
Africa’s President, Jacob Zuma trying out the steps and an elephant’s
funny attempt, attracted chuckles from the audience.

We are ready

South African
president, Jacob Zuma proudly declared in his speech at the evening of
culture and sports that South Africa was ready for the world. “South
Africa is ready for the World Cup. We look forward to welcoming the
world, to hosting the world and to celebrating with the rest of the
continent, the first World Cup here in Africa.” He also highlighted the
benefits of the soccer fiesta to the country’s economy. “The World Cup
has changed the face of this country. Not only has it revitalised our
economy, but it has given impetus to infrastructural development and
job creation. It is estimated that over 3.6 million additional job
opportunities will be created during the tournament. This is a welcome
boost for the industry and for many South Africans. Of particular
importance to millions of South Africans and also visitors to our
country is the revitalisation of our public transport network.”

Zuma noted the
gains of the tournament to the country’s tourism, information
technology, sports and culture. “After the tournament, South Africa
will have more skilled people working in tourism and better tourism
infrastructure to grow arrivals and foreign direct spending into the
economy. The World Cup will also deliver about 350,000 more foreign
visitors this year that will, in the medium to long-term, result in
greater repeat visits and word-of-mouth recommendations for the
destination.

“South Africa’s 10
World Cup-ready football stadiums give [the country] truly magnificent,
capable and world class sports venues. They give the world a capable
destination for global sporting and cultural events such as the world
cups of other sporting codes, the Olympic Games and music concerts.”

Welcome to heaven

Earlier, eThekwini
Deputy Mayor, Logie Naidoo had sold the tourism sites of Durban in
superlatives to the gathered delegates. He described the city as the
“land of great kings and leaders” including Shaka and Mahatma Gandhi.
Durban, he added, is home to two World Heritage Sites and the Zulu
nation. Naidoo welcomed people to ‘heaven’ because Zulu means heaven in
English.

Premier of
KwaZulu-Natal, Zweli Mkhize, spoke in the same vein. He heartily
welcomed delegates to the province and noted that it’s a special year
because “we are celebrating the World Cup for the first time in
Africa.” He added that it’s a celebration of the 20th anniversary of
Nelson Mandela’s release from jail and a celebration of the effort of
African people “to free themselves and take their destinies into their
own hands.” Mkhize urged people to “spend some time and enjoy our home”
in closing.

South Africa’s
Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, brought glad tidings to
Durban and its residents. He announced that the city has been given the
right to host INDABA for the next five years.

Important lesson

FIFA General
Secretary, Jerome Valcke and Chairman, Local Organising Committee of
the World Cup, Danny Jordaan, treated guests to some drama at the
occasion. The two wisecracking officials poked fun at themselves while
speaking about South Africa’s preparedness for the tournament. Valcke
stated that he has learnt how to fill the stadiums from INDABA and that
some of the 10 new stadiums are “better than the ones we used in
Germany 2006.” “What of France 98?” Jordaan asked the Frenchman, but he
gave no a clear answer, noting instead that both France and South
Africa have to beat Uruguay and Mexico to qualify from the group. The
duo assured that South Africa, indeed, was ready for the world.

The task of thanking guests and inviting dignitaries on stage to
symbolically turn on the lights at the new stadiums fell on Chief
Executive Officer of South African Tourism, Thandiwe January-McLean.
Zuma, Jordaan, Valcke, SA Tourism chair, Jabu Mabuza, Schalkwyk and
January-McLean turned on the light after which a video of the stadiums
state of preparedness was screened.

The massive three
piece bungalow on No 1, Queen Idiah Street, off Yakubu Gowon street,
was before now, one of many structures scattered across the length and
breadth of the nation’s capital that have for years been unoccupied,
because they are not readily affordable for those who have need for
them.

Therefore, when the
compound suddenly came alive on Saturday, April 24, 2010, courtesy of a
two-week art exhibition and workshops organised by Iroko Arts and
Lifestyles, it must have been some sort of relief for residents of the
Asokoro area of the city. The exhibition tagged ‘Evolving Currents,’
with the theme ‘Perspective on 50 Years of Contemporary Nigerian Visual
Arts’, opened with much razzmatazz.

A Grand Opening

It was a grand
opening which drew participation from far and wide. Nigerians and
foreigners who are great lovers of arts, turned out in large number to
witness the event. Those in attendance included the Ambassadors of
Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Hungary and Finland; a delegation from the US
embassy, Canadian High Commission and USAid. Frank Okonta (President of
the Art Galleries Association of Nigeria), artist Kolade Oshinowo, Tola
Wewe (artist and Commissioner for Arts and Culture in Ondo State),
Richmond Ogolo, and UWA Usen (National President, Society of Nigerian
Artists). Also present were Princess Folashade Adeyemi – daughter of
the Alafin of Oyo, Oba Adeyemi III (representing the monarch), and
Yinka Kola-Abiola, mother of Sururat Omolabake Kola-Abiola.

“The aim of this
exhibition is to examine the changing tides of Nigerian Art. It seems
almost a misnomer to label it Nigerian, as this suggests some inherent
homogeneity. Instead, it was interesting to see how the artists
self-defined by region and ethnic grouping,” Tosin Onile-Ere Rotimi
said in her opening speech. She added that Nigerian artists though
appeared to be less politically inclined than their Francophone
counterparts, not as a result of historical censorship, but rather as
part of the ‘look on the bright side’ mentality prevalent here. “Having
said that, Tunde Soyinka, Lucy Azubuike, Prince Momoh are all serious
social commentators, as is Nduwhite.”

The exhibition
received positive comments by artists, art collectors, regulators and
other stakeholders in the industry. For Richard Ogolo, Vice President
of the Arts Gallery Association, it is a remarkable initiative. “You
have opened up an entire new market and new possibilities” he said,
while the Abuja based Millicent Osumuo, one of the exhibiting artists,
described the exhibition as a rare opportunity “for upcoming Nigerian
artists to have the required exposure.”

With works by 50
artists on display, exhibition showcased fifty years of Nigerian arts.
The show cut across different generations of artists and periods in
Nigeria’s history. Included were the works of the legendary Bruce
Onabrakpeya, Nduwhite Ndubuisi, Millicent Osumuo, Yusuf Grillo, Twins
Seven Seven, Abiola Idowu, Jimoh Braimoh, Tola Wewe, Braimoh Gbadamosi,
Tayo Olayode John, Lexie Nzekwe, Nike Davies Okundaiye, Rahmon Oluguna,
Reuben Ugbine Phillips, and Sam Ovraiti. The exhibition explored
different media including painting, sculpture, ceramics/pottery, pop
art photography, video, and installations which showcased the
incredible talents in Nigeria and a positive side of our country,
Nigeria.

Free Workshop for Children

Concerned about the
dearth of art education in our schools today, the organisers decided to
include as part of the exhibition, a free art workshop for school
children. Facilitated by Rahmon Olugunna, a second generation Oshogbo
artist, the workshop enjoyed tremendous success as schoolchildren and
those brought along by their parents, joined in.

The workshop,
organised in memory of Sururat Omolabake Kola-Abiola, was something of
a page turner. Many of the children enjoyed their exposure to art and
wanted more of such opportunities.

According to Tosin
Onile-Ere Rotimi, the workshop was designed principally for those
schools where art is no longer taught, or not taught in a sustained
manner. “The workshops are being voluntarily facilitated by exhibiting
artists who are coming from all over the country. The central theme of
the workshop is ‘Jos Stop’, in reference to the Jos Crisis, where
statistics show that children were the principal victims,” explained
the director of Iroko Ats and Lifestyles. On Saturday May 1, Nduwhite
Ndubuisi, an ‘installationist’, and supported by Millicent Osumuo,
guided students of Cherryfield College in Abuja as they created a mass
grave using the swimming pool and newspaper cuttings. Explaining the
concepts, Ndubuisi explained that the concept of this site specific
installation represents the mass grave in Jos. “We make them speak for
the crisis in Jos, speak up for the children and women whose lives were
sniffed out carelessly. We use papers because we expect the media to
amplify the voice of these children,” said the artist.

Tales by Moonlight

The exhibition also
featured an evening of readings, storytelling, wining and dining. The
organisers chose to add a touch of African lifestyle and cuisines by
providing a platform for exhibiting artists and other art lovers to
exchange ideas, read poems, and tell stories with the help of undiluted
palm-wine and suya till late evening at the exhibition ground.
Ndubuisi, who is also a poet, entertained his colleagues and other
guests to the best of poetry in performance and storytelling.

The Historical Essence

A catalogue that
collates artists and works from 1960 to date and which crosses borders
in terms of generation, gender, and genre, is expected out soon as a
product of the workshop. Images in the voluminous catalogue will be
organised in alphabetical order, according to the names of the artists,
unlike in the exhibition where works were displayed by genre. The book,
titled ‘Evolving Currents’ will examine, for example, the Oshogbo
school, the Bruce Onabrakpeya factor, naturalism, postmodernims and the
metamorphosis of sculpture. It will also also include a spotlight on
Bisi Fakeye, student and nephew of Lamidi Fakeye, whose style
transcends his Yoruba heritage and moves beyond traditional
Yoruba/African sculpture.

Evolving Currents was on display from April 24 to May 8.

Why Art?

I came into art by
divine arrangement. I didn’t study art. I dreamt about it. I had two
significant dreams about 15 or 16 years ago. In one of the dreams, I
encountered a man using artwork on (his) floor. I mentioned it to my
friend who disagreed and called me a bush man. We pointed this out to
the man, who then said, ‘For the fact that you came here for the first
time and discovered that this is an art piece,’ he picked one and
handed over to me. I woke up and discovered the flair for me to draw.
This was 1993.

Training

I am basically
self-taught. When I was in school I used to draw but it was not
professional. After the initial set of commissioned works, I got close
to big time artists. I would invite them to come and critique my works.
I then build on the criticism.

Medium

I visited one of my
cousins, who was working on the medium called bone collage, using cow
horn. He gave me one of his old machines and I decided to be an artist.
I would go to abattoir, buy cow horns, clean it, segment it, cut it
according to the commissioned work and they buy. That time I was
working on purely bone. (Later), I elevated the bone to a graven art. I
am the only artist that has been able to elevate bone work, which is
craft, to what I call ‘graven art.’ Graven art is a medium (using) bone
and other materials. I incorporate other materials like sand, sawdust,
anything that people throw away, I pick them. I can even call myself a
recycler, I recycle waste. My mediums are bone collage, mixed media and
I have started painting.

Influences

I respect all the
masters of Nigerian art that have been able to elevate art to this
level, where other people come to benefit from.

Inspiration

Most of it comes in
dreams; some come when I’m talking with people. Inspiration comes
sometimes from what is going on in the country: some of my works
criticise government. What I see is what I put down in the visual form.

Best work so far

I don’t think I’ve
been able to come up with any. My best is yet to come. Maybe ‘The
Blood.’ Each time I do the work, people will come and as soon as I
explain (the work) they will buy. I have stopped doing versions of the
painting and I have only one now which I have refused to sell.

Least satisfying work

Do I know? It is
the people that will say that, not me. I keep improving every day. I
used to do only Christian-based works, but I discovered along the line
that I can’t limit myself, I have to be free; but there are some works
that I cannot do.

Career high point

I’ve been an artist
for close to 20 years now. The first newspaper that carried me, do you
know that I did not sleep throughout the whole night, because I was
surprised that, so, I can appear in the paper! I was also scared and
happy to be interviewed on live television by the late Fred Archibong.

Favourite artist living or dead

I give respect to
all the masters: Bruce Onobrakpeya, Yusuf Grillo and the contemporary
ones. They are the ones that have been able to path a good way for
people like us to follow.

Ambitions

I am trying to do a
solo show. There are a lot of modalities and input that I have not been
able to get a particular date and venue. As a family man, I mix art
with other things, but all (are) art related. What I’m looking at is to
have a solid group of artists that have been able to take the work of
art from a certain point to a higher point.