What a hell it takes to get PhD in Nigeria

What a hell it takes to get PhD in Nigeria

By Prisca Sam-Duru

Since her second novel, What It Takes, was published, Dr Lola Akande has not stopped receiving commendations from colleagues and readers. At the moment, at least five universities have recommended the book for use in their schools. 

Recently at the Faculty of Arts Auditorium, University of Lagos, UNILAG, Lola was honoured with a reading session which celebrated her for lending a voice to call for complete revamping of the Nigerian educational system. The author, a lecturer at the English Department of the University of Lagos, explained that What It Takes is basically about challenges Nigerian students go through to obtain higher degrees in schools.

“It is a product of my imagination and chronicles the experiences of a female PhD candidate, Funto, at the National University of Nigeria, NUN. It is told from the first person narrative point of view and strictly from the student’s perspective.” The unfortunate adventure as the book narrates, begins with a shocker – PhD candidates are to get their own supervisors. Funto’s painful tale continues from one frustration to the other. The readings were rendered in three parts which covered the core areas of the novel. First was from page 26. Page 34 followed after a musical interlude by a guitarist, Aka Abassey, and lastly, Dr Akande read from page 106. Responding to the question of how much of the author is represented in the heroine’s experience, the author disclosed that she couldn’t have been able to write the story in such a believable manner if she didn’t have a PhD. “I will be lying if I say that my experiences and that of other PhD candidates didn’t form part of the story. This is not to judge any character but the book was written in order for readers to learn from the characters.” The essence of What It Takes, Akande hinted, was to concientise the lecturers, make them understand the dept of pain they inflict on their students who are coerced into sacrificing more than necessary to realise their academic dreams, adding that it is also aimed at telling them to apply caution while going about their duties. The book also attempts to speak to school authorities, regulatory bodies, Nigerian University Commission and the government. If they get to know some of the problems undermining the university system as the book attempts to explain, they can take good steps to salvage the educational sector. “Funto’s story is enough to draw tears from the eyes of readers.”, the book reviewer, Samuel Olatunji said. He saluted the author’s ingenuity at penning down the ugly incidences ravaging the educational sector. “There’s an interplay between facts and fiction and I commend the manner in which the story is crafted and its closeness to reality.” “I am happy that we have beautiful story tellers in the English Department who export our narratives to the international scene,” the Head, Department of English, University of Lagos and former Commissioner for Education, Delta State, Professor Hope Eghagha said. Prof Eghagha stated that the celebration was not just about Dr Akande but also for the department of English, for the achievements recorded so far through the monthly reading which has become a tradition in the department. “This has been going on since 1985 and we started with drama productions. We have featured so many writers in the diaspora. And this time we decided to celebrate a writer in our department. This is how English department should go and we aim at encouraging creativity.”

Between Expansion of Time and eternal images

Between Expansion of Time and eternal images

By Prisca Sam-Duru

 We are always late but arrive when expected.” These are the words of multiple award winning artist, Wura-Natasha Ogunji, which sums up the  subject of Expansion of Time, an exhibition of 33 paintings and a mixed media installation that opened the 2017 art season at Temple Muse, Victoria Island, Lagos. The works, adorning the walls of Temple Muse, are creations of Ogunji and Raoul Olawale Da Silva, two multi-ethnic contemporary artists, artistically exploring connections, history, improvisational flow and most importantly, the concept of time. Expansion of Time, curated by SMO Contemporary Art which is sponsored by UBS, the Swiss International bank and Luxury House Moet Hennessey, runs till April 28th, 2017. The two Nigerian artists in the diaspora decided few years ago to explore possibilities in their home land – Nigeria. Ogunji, a recipient of the prestigious Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, spent her formative years in the US. 


She showcases stunning works titled Follow the Sun, 8 Ife and Orchids, Catch a Breathe, You must Learn to Walk on Water etc., that portray deeper meanings in cases of identity, feminism and cross continental memories. Her love for Africa is expressed in hand-stitched drawings, made on very delicate architectural trace paper through which she references the daily interactions and frequencies that occur in the city of Lagos, drawing on dreams, reveries and imagination. She uses strong iconic symbols of African civilisation such as the Ife head sculptures which are inserted into modern conversations and spaces, thereby connecting the past and present. Raoul, on the other hand, prefers to express his creative voice through works that are inspired by his passion for surfing, skateboarding and environmental activism. With a conscious abandonment to intuition, “Raoul’s experiments with powerful brush strokes, attempts to defy the passage of time through depiction of flashes from memories and dreams presented on paper, canvas and skateboards. The powerful and colorful abstract paintings on paper and canvas are perfect counter-point to Ogunji’s delicate, small and precise drawings. Raoul’s intricate and symbolic works have a truly universal appeal, making him one of Nigeria’s most exciting contemporary abstract painter.” Interestingly, his works are all untitled, giving viewers  the freedom to interprete each work according to how it appeal to them. In line with this, the curator of the exhibition, Sandra Mbanefo Obiago, said “Expansion of Time tells their story from the outside, looking in: two creative souls exploring, seeking, sometimes even battling, to come to terms with cultural anomalies and political incongruity – always attempting to rise above the clutter, constant hum, noise, and over-saturated “Eko-for- Show.” “My works are the result of interchanging factors such as intuitive and impulsive approaches, set against reflection and exploration. This form of encountering through the creative act engages improvisational awareness and reflexive sensibility,” Raoul stated, explaining that the introduction of the skateboards emanated from his decision to “repurpose these Skateboards as objects, and use their form, shape and surface for painting, drawing, collage assemblage, installation and performance….There is a precision that manifests when the skateboard becomes an extension of the skater’s extremities. Images are captured as one seemingly flies by. The soul of skateboarding transcends to a surface for projection of identity into spaces of observation, interaction and reflection. I see the world as a moving canvas and the skateboard as a body of resonance.” “My obsession with the Ife head first came from a very aesthetic experience of just feeling like this. It’s so beautiful”, Ogunji said about the Ife head which has become a recurring feature in her works. She added that “Thinking about time travel and my own cosmology and spirituality and religious systems, and this idea of reincarnation or return, or if you believe in the significance of biology and ancestral family, I had these questions: are those souls returning to the world? The drawings tend to be more about black people. Most of the pieces according to Ogunji were made when there was a lot of shooting of black people in the US. Rather than dwell on the tragedy, she decided to think about the power of transcending. “This particular one, you must learn to walk on water, is really about being super human, which is unfortunate but true if you understand the power of it. You can jump over the limitations of so called reality.” She explains. While Catch Your Breath also references the murder in the US where the police suffocated Eric Garner, Follow the Sun, shows a lot of things going on in Ogunji’s mind. “When I was making the lines, I realised that the lines were similar to lines in some of my drawings I made 8 years ago, which I thought was so cool.”

Unraveling the history of Lagos Brazilian Quarter

Unraveling the history of Lagos Brazilian Quarter
By Prisca Sam-Duru

 Atlantic Triangle, an  exhibition of artworks organised by the Goethe Institute, Lagos, is set to tell  the historical reconstruction of the conditions of exploitation through timely configuration of cultural dynamics and interdependence of the Brazilian Quarter in Lagos. 
The exhibition which is  part of a larger project that includes shows at Saracura Art Space (Riode Janeiro) in June, 2017, and the 11th Mercosul Biennial in Porto Alegre (Brazil) in April, 2018 will feature these artists; AbdulrazaqAwofeso (Nigeria), George Osodi (Nigeria), Karo Akpokiere(Nigeria), Ndidi Dike(Nigeria), Andréas Lang, Germany , Mario Pfeifer, Germany, Iris Buchholz Chocolate, Germany-Angola, Arjan Martins, Brazil, Dalton Paula, Brazil, Vivian Caccuri, Brazil and Jaime Lauriano, Brazil. Also to be exhibited areselected works of traditional Nigerian sculpture from the Femi Akinsanya collection, Lagos.


Speaking of the exhibition, Director of Goethe Institut, Mr Hug Alfons disclosed that “the Goethe-Institut, Lagos, is located right in the middle of what is known now as the Brazilian Quarter, a district reminiscent of the old towns in Rio de Janeiro or Salvador-Bahia, constructed in the 19th century by a group known as the Retornados. To the Retornados called Amarôs or Agudas in the Yoruba language, Africa represented a promise of a return of history and of mercy. Constructions by Brazilian master-builders such as Water House, Ebun House,  the Shitta BeyMosque, and other landmarks in old Lagos, now scarred by the ravages of time, clearly cling to a past that is in danger of being swept away by the megalopolis and its 22 million inhabitants. On the far side of the Atlantic, in Rio de Janeiro, construction work for the Olympic Games unearthed the foundations of the former slave market at Cais do Valongo, where more than one million slaves were sold between the 16th and 19th centuries.” added Goethe Institut director.