By
Anote Ajeluorou
Recently,
President Goodluck Jonathan made a token gesture to the arts and culture sector
by honouring some of its members with national awards. The numbers of those
recognized swelled considerably compared to previous administrations. Yet 54
years after Nigeria’s independence, the vital arts and culture sector remains
on the margins of government’s thinking. What has so far been achieved in the
sector has been on individual basis and self-motivated.
But the future of the sector remains
precarious, especially with culture ministry only focusing on bogus festivals
and carnivals that have little or no impact in moving the sector forward. The
ministry’s festival and carnival organisers largely make efforts to give those
actively working magic in the sector a wide berth. Some stakeholders shared
their views on how to move the sector forward for optimum growth.
Dillibe Onyeama is the convener of Coal City
Book Convention noted, “The arts/culture sector is deserving of greater government
patronage. A significant increase in the numbers of its workers in future
National Honours lists would be a good incentive in the drive for
nation-building.
“However, the
Federal Government has not been entirely bat-eyed in its perceived duties to
this productive sector, whose workers provide an essential social service to
the country by the very nature of the varying creative disciplines pursued. The
National Theatre, the National Council for Arts & Culture, The Nigerian
Prize for Literature sponsored by Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas company, the
Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation are just a few of the
notable Federal Government institutions that have strived to demonstrate
practical appreciation of the intrinsic value of arts and culture in the quest
to create a viable society.
“The essence of art
is to nourish the roots of a culture, a means of addressing humanity. Art
reflects creativity, which involves aesthetic sensibility, emotional reverberation,
and a flair for expression. It is upon the sweat of artistic and cultural
expressions, recognized and celebrated in the world’s public gaze that a government
parastatal is established as a national monument, a magnet of the tourism
industry, and a means of livelihood for the many civil service hands employed
to enhance the image of government in its laudable celebration of local talent.
“Certainly there
is great prestige in government recognition. The paltry selection of arts and culture
workers in the Federal Government’s recent National Honours List, however,
exposes a discreditable bat’s eye for priorities. Yes, there is already the
glory of world recognition for the artist’s genius for painting, or music, or
poetry, or philosophy, or architecture; but, still, that is not to say that he
is not also eligible for further recognition by his home government – which the
National Honours Award symbolizes.
“If the fortunes
of the Nigerian Arts/Culture sector can be said to have dwindled since
independence, certainly it is not out of proportion with the other fields of
human endeavour suffering the rigours of the ongoing global recession. If the
economy improves, however, and there is an inference of stagnation in the Arts/Culture
sector, then it is in line for emergency Federal Government intervention,
having regard to the country’s super-rich cultural heritage and enviable
outpourings of local genius from sundry branches of the Art industry.
“This class of
genius is overdue for the anointing of National Honours Award, and this should
be reflected in greater numbers in future after this abysmal showing”.
For Ayo Adewunmi, who is the Head of Department,
Graphic Design Department, Institute of Management and Technology and Art
Director, Life In My City Art Festival, Enugu, “There is no reward for the
diligence and hard work demonstrated by the arts and culture sector operators
rather what they receive from the government is neglect. ‘Anonymousity‘
characterize the identity of the artists from the pre- colonial era. The
philosophy which still exists subtly in the minds of the citizenry explains why
the artist is not given his due recognition, his creativity is considered
adorable, but his identity undeserving of recognition. Thus, since the traditional period, artists
strive continually for relevance, but hardly ever realize it.
“In the first and
second decade after independence, art professionals fought their way to
relevance and got seemingly recognizd by the government. Consequently art and
culture flourished just for a while. By the 1990s the prominence and respect
attained gradually disappeared, owing to the military junta of the era.
One of the reasons
attributable to the draggy socio-economic development of the nation is the
neglect of the art and culture sector.
“Art is central to national development; we
can draw inference from the developed nations. Here, lack of art appreciation
has impaired the development of the sector and indirectly the growth of the economy.
The result of government’s insensitivity to the sector is apparent - muddled
art curriculum in junior schools which is devoid of any clarity and which
undermines the visual art and thus destroying creative foundation. Our
landscape speaks volumes of how “artistically uninformed” we are, with hundreds
of tourism sites and events waste away due to glaring abandonment by the
government. Amazingly, government officials and heads of art and culture
institutions regularly visit other countries to patronize similar sites.
“Given this background, I would say asking
for National Honours for the operators of art and culture sector,” will be
asking for too much”. We should ask ourselves, how many of the professionals
from the art and culture sector have been appointed as Minister or
Directors-General for relevant ministries and parastatals? Does it mean there
are no competent and deserving individuals from the sector? Far from the truth!
But again, it only reveals the mind of the government. Added to this point is
the concern about the credibility of national awards, the (dis)credibility of
the awards is substantiated by the rejection of the Award by some credible
individuals. Consequently, the exclusion of deserving art and culture operators
from the National Honours Award may not only signify its failure, but also
substantiate the fact that the Awards have lost their glory.
“The art and culture sector has done, and is
still doing so much to expand its fortune frontiers, if there has been any
failure; it weighs more on the side of the government. The art and culture
sector should not expect much until there is attitudinal change in respect of
art appreciation and re-awakening of the government to its responsibilities
towards the development of art and culture. The ‘anonymousity’ of the Nigerian
artist as it was in the traditional period subsists in the contemporary Nigeria
society, which in the word of Prof. Ola Oloidi is ‘artistically uninformed’.
Nevertheless, the artists should remember that their identity is not defined by
the National Honours Award; rather, it is defined by their determination,
dedication and creative passion. This, definitely, is the character that must
be sustained and which the government will necessarily have to latch on
whenever it decides to wakes up”.
A researcher in the
culture sector, particularly Nollywood filmic
genre at pan Atlantic University, Anuli Agina, “The future holds five times less of
what it holds for the power, education and manufacturing sectors. I think the
education sector is the most important for the growth/civilization of a people;
and the power sector, the most important for manufacturing and employment. In
Nigeria, we need education, constant electricity and manufacturing in that
order. If there are prospects for those three sectors, then the future is
bright for arts and culture. If not, I'm afraid, the future cannot be better
than it is now.
“But if the principal actors in arts and
culture break free from their longings for government money (especially Nollywood), then they can generate for
themselves the revenue and goodwill they need for sustenance and relevance
(haven't they done that already, you might ask?). I do not think artists should
pride themselves with receiving national honours (Soyinka and Achebe have left
good examples in that regard since such recognitions appear to be a cover for
many other negligence).
Secretary-General of Committee for Relevant
Art and organisers of Lagos Art and Book Festival (LABAF), Mr. Toyin Akinosho
also noted, “Culture producers don’t need the
national honours, as presently determined. A work of art shines through the
darkest recesses of corners. And we need to stop equating government with the
Presidency and engaging more with the shop floor; bureaucrats who handle
segments of culture administration. Let’s forget the arts for a minute; there
are people in the oil industry who have been awarded marginal fields for 11
years and still are unable to create value out of it but they get so called
National Honours the umpteenth time as “captains” of industry whereas people
who have built badly needed infrastructure out of the little they had are not
considered”.
For Dr. Sunny
Awhefeada is of Department of English, Delta State University, Abraka is optimistic
that the future of the arts and culture in Nigeria is bright “whether the
Federal Government bestows honours on writers and culture workers or not.
Remember that the Nigerian establishment is ever suspicious of writers. Recall
the embarrassment the Federal Government suffered when Chinua Achebe rejected a
National Honour in 2004. Again, Wole Soyinka recently rejected the Nigerian Centenary
award for good reason. So the government will not gladly look in the direction
of the arts except on the eve of election when it will promote another sham in
the name of Bring Back the Book as it
did in 2011. Nigerian writers and culture practitioners do not need the Federal
Government's award to excel.
“So far our literature has grown commendably,
the sphere of fine arts has blossomed and the theatre is flourishing. However,
there are hindrances occasioned by the failed economy. Talking about Nigeria at
54, one can confidently say that the arts and culture sector has done the
nation proud. Scholars and critics should continue to guide our artists
regarding future direction. The media also has a role to play in the
sustainability of the arts. The Association of Nigerian Authors as well as The
Nigerian Prize for Literature should also be commended for their roles. They
should not relent. The fact that Port-Harcourt was chosen as World Book Capital
for 2014 attests to what the sector has done for Nigeria. The sector does have
so much to crow about”.
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