Traditional music, folk songs loud as Yoruba Lakotun marks anniversary

Traditional music, folk songs loud as Yoruba Lakotun marks anniversary 

by Prisca Sam-Duru

The Ethnic Heritage Centre, Ikoyi Lagos came alive penultimate week as the Yoruba Lakotun, the quarterly cultural flagship programme, celebrated its first anniversary amidst pomp and pageantry. It was a celebration that colourfully showcased some of the Yoruba cultural heritage especially the talking drum and the beaded gourd (sekere). The local instruments were utilised because of their significance as royal musical instruments that elicit excitement at all celebrations. Also, Edaoto Agbeniyi, the renowned guitarist and folklorist, was on the bandstand dishing out melodious folk songs to the delight of the audience.

The anniversary celebration also doubled as a event to revive the Yoruba oral narrations which according to culture activists, has been largely distorted.

 

Renowned author of Egun Ori Ikunle Pa Lasunkanmi Tela who was special guest at the programme, decried the manner in which Yoruba oral narration has been distorted by a huge number of people due to their selfish reasons. He disclosed that some of the distorted narrations brought about by colonialism and individuals for selfish reasons are Yoruba history, traditions and even the culture.

“The Yoruba nation should be united since we are all progenitors of Oduduwa. It is unnecessary for people to tweak histories of their communities in order to pursue their selfish ambition because it would mislead a lot of generations after them and bring about hatred. The damage done by the colonialist still abound in the ways in which names of communities and families have been changed to suit their understanding.” He said.

Tela called for the preservation of various Yoruba traditions which are gradually fading away. These traditions include building reputable family names cum legacies; respect for elders; background check of the families before marriage; the dignity of hard work and contentment.

Another great feature of the evening was the Bata dance class led by Khalid Ayanshina, the renowned Eesa Egungun chanter and dancer, from Oyo town. Ayanshina pointed out that Yoruba oral chant is a specialist art that is different from one type of chant to another. Some of the specialist chants are ekun Iyawo; Rara; Ijala among others.

The host of the event, Olutayo Irantiola, dedicated the anniversary edition to the media houses that educate and inform Nigerians about the different cultures in the country. He encouraged the media to carry out investigative research to produce ingenious documentaries that would enhance the knowledge of Nigerians about their immediate environment.

Cultural enthusiasts at the event were drawn from Corporate and Social Nigeria.

US Consulate hosts wine fair, brings Taste of America to Nigeria

US Consulate hosts wine fair, brings Taste of America to Nigeria

by Prisca Sam-Duru

United States Consul General Francis John Bray and the United States Regional Agricultural Counselor for West Africa David Wolf last Wednesday, September 21, hosted agribusiness leaders to an exquisite wine tasting event.

Themed A Taste of America, the event marked by glitz and glamour, provided agribusiness leaders and other friends of America, a unique opportunity to experience a wide selection of the finest United States wine brands available in Nigeria.

At the event, Consul General Francis John Bray introduced the new United States Regional Agricultural Counselor for West Africa David Wolf to Nigerian agribusiness leaders and stakeholders.

In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Wolf said, “The Foreign Agricultural Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) seeks to address food security challenges in countries they operate in. It mostly supports these challenges by building food and market systems that expand trade and economic development.

“The USDA has trained more than 230 Nigerians in the United States through its Faculty Exchange, Cochran, and Borlaug Fellowship programs in subjects such as food safety, aquaculture, pest management and food processing.”

The USDA’s goal, he added, is to help Nigeria’s agricultural productivity and food distribution, and to bring more Nigerian products up to acceptable standard for the international market.

The program offered members of the U.S.-Nigeria agribusiness community an opportunity to build professional networks, as well as discover new products, ideas, and innovations in the agriculture industry.

Art X Lagos is Africa's new destination for contemporary art

Art X Lagos is Africa's new destination for contemporary art
By Prisca Sam-Duru

Art lovers, cultural practitioners, art collectors and connoisseurs as well as students and young adults are in for a treat as Art X Lagos sets out to position the West African region, and specifically Lagos, as an important destination on the global cultural calendar.
Art X Lagos, put together by TP-Collective is the maiden edition of the new art fair designed to widen Nigeria’s connection to the contemporary art scene across Africa and internationally. ART X Lagos has been created to consolidate the role of the visual arts as an important component of the creative industry and contribute to the increased visibility of contemporary artists from Africa, creating a vibrant art market and positioning Lagos as an emergent cultural capital on the continent. In so doing the aim is to provide the best insight into what the visual art sector in Africa has to offer to a wider local and international audience, and encourage African and international patrons to visit Lagos.

The 3-day art fair will take place at The Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, from Friday 4^th November to Sunday 6^th November 2016.
Featuring a selected group of invited art galleries from Nigeria, across Africa and the Diaspora, the art show showcases the most innovative contemporary art by over 45 established and emerging artists. Exhibitors at ART X Lagos will include galleries such as Art House – The Space (Nigeria), Bloom Art (Nigeria), SMO Contemporary (Nigeria), Goodman Gallery (South Africa) and Stevenson Gallery (South Africa), amongst others.
The  Programme also features interactive projects and presentations that entertain a broader audience, including live areas for performance artists, illustrators and graffiti artists.
Speaking on the Programme, ART X Lagos Founder, and Director of TP-Collective, Tokini Peterside, said that: “I am encouraged by the interest and support we have received so far from all quarters.  This affirms our decision to go ahead with such an ambitious project. As Nigeria and its neighbouring countries seek to diversify and expand their economies, our investment in the creative industry via Art X Lagos, offers a vital platform for growth and increased visibility, to artists and galleries. Our aim with Art X Lagos is to encourage greater patronage of artists across the board in Africa, and to inspire young people and the future generations of artists. We are very happy to be working with the acclaimed international curator, Bisi Silva,who is working closely with the galleries as well as developing a dynamic programme of exhibitions, commissions and talks.”
Artistic Director of ART X Lagos, Bisi Silva said, "I am extremely excited to be part of this pioneering initiative. I believe this art fair can become one of the key ways in which we begin to develop and internationalise the art sector in Africa as well as add value to the incredible work that is being created across the continent. In this way an art ecosystem can be developed that contributes to the visibility and sustainability of artistic practice as well as allows for collaboration and partnerships across the continent.
During Art X Lagos, visitors will be presented with a dynamic programme of curated projects, live events, as well as a vibrant talks programme. Our goal is for Art X Lagos to deliver an exceptional, uniquely designed experience spread across all three floors of the Civic Centre.”

Lebanon, Soyinka Foundation in cross cultural study exchange

Lebanon, Soyinka Foundation in cross cultural study exchange 
BY Prisca Sam-Duru

Five Nigerian students, selected by their faculties from universities across the country departed Nigeria from Lagos, on Saturday, 27 August for Beirut. They joined students from other countries’ universities in a cultural study exchange programme titled, ‘Study Abroad In Lebanon, SAIL’.
The SAIL programme is an initiative of CEDARS Institute, Notre Dame University, Lebanon, which is designed as an intensive course for international students, in the spirit of the global effort to promote dialogue between cultures.
This was disclosed during a press conference in Lagos with Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, members of the Soyinka Foundation as well as the Lebanese initiator of the programme, Dr Jafaar Habib.

Prof Soyinka said “I am interested in the efforts of the Wole Soyinka Foundation to try and expose youthful minds to all the cultures, civilisation, socio-political problems else where to ancient ways. Dr Jaffar is the brain behind the initiative, this is the first effort to participate in youthful exercises especially intellectual cultural artistic sides going on in other places. The five students selected for the SAIL programme is the first group which will be accompanied by Professor Ajayi Soyinka who is a gender study specialist.”

The Lebanese fascilitator of the study programme, Dr Jafaar said it was a privilege for the “Wole Soyinka Foundation to be partnering with Cedars in the project dedicated to cultural exchanges and international collaboration. The partnership of the University of Notre Dame and Nigeria actually goes back some years, one of its most memorable initiatives being an international colloquium on the one year anniversary of the death of Professor Chinua Achebe. It was titled Honouring Chinua Achebe, a Lebanese-Nigerian Celebration, that event was presided over by the then Nigerian Ambassador Plenipotentiary, Amos Oluwole Idowu.”

Five Nigerian students united with their counterparts from other countries in an intensive, interactive course on a syllabus designed to broaden their world perspectives. The students will be introduced to a modern Middle-Eastern nation with a complex history, filled with scenic surprises, a rich and facilitating cultural heritage, and a long experience in conflict resolution through experiments in governance systems.

Dr Habib Jafaar who described himself as a Nigerian of Lebanese descent, having been born in Kano State and boasts of several business ventures in Nigeria, said through his life experience, has noticed that although Nigeria and Lebanon share a lot of experiences and challenges and are both multicultural and multi religious societies yet, “I find there are areas which are lacking in the social and cultural aspects of the relationship between these two countries and people. So over the years I have been in activities to improve that aspect among which is the Nigerian Lebanese initiative and most important is my recent work with the Wole Soyinka Foundation at the Cedars Institute of Lebanon. Lebanon though a tiny country, has been at the cross roads of civilisation, cultures, religion and its rich with cultural heritage. So I'm happy to be facilitating this programme which although is intensive and interactive, its unique course in the sense that students will not only be lectured in classes. They will not only be studying history, they will be living history, through the eyes of Lebanon. It will solidify and improve the relationship between Nigeria and Lebanon.”

Three finalists emerge for NLNG sponsored literature prize

Three finalists emerge for  NLNG sponsored literature prize 
By Prisca Sam-Duru 
Three entries shortlisted for The Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited, have been approved by the Advisory Board. This announcement follows an initial shortlisting of eleven which was released in July. The three shortlisted entries, in alphabetical order, are Born on a Tuesday (Elnathan John), Night Dancer (Chika Unigwe) and Season of Crimson Blossoms (Abubakar Adam Ibrahim). According to the Chairman of the Advisory Board, Professor Emeritus Ayo Banjo, the eventual winner of the competition will be announced at a World Press Conference in October, 2016. Born on a Tuesday, published by Parresia Books, is a story about contemporary northern Nigeria which has over the years experienced religious violence and carnage as seen through the eyes of a young man. Born on a Tuesday is Elnathan John’s first novel. John is a writer, lawyer anda Civitella Ranieri Fellow. He has also been shortlisted twice by the Caine Prize for African Writing. Chika Unigwe’s Night Dancer,published by Jonathan Cape, focusses on the young protagonist’s search for identity and her consequent reappraisal of her mother’s values. Chika Unigwe is a writer and the 2012 winner of The Nigeria Prize for Literature, with her novel On Black Sisters Street. Unigwe sits on the Board of Trustees of pan-African literary initiative Writivism, and was recently appointed a judge for the Manbooker Prize, 2017. Season of Crimson Blossoms is a novel set in conservative northern Nigeria. It focusses on unusual love affairs between characters, as well as ambiguities in religion and politics. Published by Cassava Republic Press, Season of Crimson Blossoms is Ibrahim’s debut novel. Ibrahim has won the BBC African Performance Prize and the Amatu Braide Prize for Prose. He is a Gabriel Garcia Marquez Fellow (2013) and a Civitella Ranieri Fellow (2015). The Chairman of the Panel of Judges is Prof. Dan Izevbaye, awell-respected literary critic and professor of Literature in English.Prof. Izevbaye has been visiting lecturer at the University of Kent at Canterbury, visiting professor at University of Pennsylvania, University of Benin, and University of Fort Hare, South Africa. He has been external examiner or curriculum consultant at University of the West Indies. Other judges are  Asabe Usman Kabir, professor of Oral and African Literature at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto and Isidore Diala, first winner of The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism and professor of African literature in the Department of English, Imo State University, Owerri.

U.S. honors Nigerian business partners

U.S. honors Nigerian business partners

by Prisca Sam-Duru

The Commercial Service of the United States Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria hosted its annual Networking with the USA Appreciation Forum (NUSA) and International Partner Awards on Wednesday, September 7, 2016. The event took place at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The NUSA Forum which had over 400 local business executives in attendance, honors Nigerian business leaders who promote U.S. products and services and who have contributed significantly to the achievement of the goals and objectives of the U.S. Commercial Service in Nigeria.  Five categories of awards were presented to business leaders and companies demonstrating special creativity, resourcefulness and hard work in improving trade between the United States of America and Nigeria.

“This year the ceremony featured presentations on topical economic issues affecting businesses in Nigeria, including access to foreign currency, the floating exchange rate and the dual impact on dollar- and naira-denominated transactions,” said Senior Commercial Officer Brent Omdahl.  

Distinguished guest speakers included Mr. Moses Kpughur Tule, Director of the Monetary Policy Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria, speaking on behalf of Governor Godwin Emefiele, addressed the topic of “The New CBN Flexible Foreign Exchange Policy – What Has Changed?”   Mr. Edike Eporwei, Customs Area Comptroller for Zone A of the Nigerian Customs Service, also spoke on “Promoting Nigerian-American trade through an effective import/export process, cargo inspection and enforcement of standards.”

The ceremony, which was open to the Nigerian business community, also featured an interactive session with United States consular officers who explained the visa process and demystified common myths. 

As part of the NUSA Forum, the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) held an information session on the process for accessing early stage funding to make infrastructure projects bankable.

Officers of the Nigerian Customs Service held discussions with participants on how best to manage the import process in a challenging business environment.