Re-evaluating Africa’s Development In The Beautiful Ones Have Been Born

By Anote Ajeluorou

In 1968, Ghana’s Ayi Kwei Amah published his classic The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born where the beautiful ones connote Africa’s incorruptible, nation and empire builders. It was the era shortly after a flurry of political independence from colonialism of many African countries and corruption and military coups were rife. Now, a little over four decades later the continent hasn’t fared much better. Africa’s perennial problems persist. It’s exactly why a young African who could pass for Amah’s son, or even grandson, is proposing a counter-narrative: that indeed the beautiful ones have been born, but that they have failed to truly manifest!

  Che chidi Chukwumerije’s The Beautiful Ones Have Been Born (Boxwood Publishing House, Germany; 2015) has shifted the logic somewhat. Nigeria, for instance, has travelled 55 years away from her date of independence, but is yet to find the guts to be self-dependent. And so, she is still hopelessly dependent on others for sustenance, from food to clothing to technology and what-not. This is hardly the usual fare for poetry, but Chukwumerije would not tolerate the ostrich posture that has continued to stunt Africa’s development.

  In a poetic manifesto, he writes, these are “poems on the activation of the can-do and will-do spirit of self-help in Africa. Gone are the days when we lamented that the beautiful ones are not yet born. The future has left us in the past, and we have no more time to waste”.

  Chukwumerije is a futuristic poet who is frustrated by Africa’s inability to measure up to her counterparts in shaping the modern world in development strides, but which has remained a puerile, slavish consumer of what others make. The poet is asking questions about Africa’s geniuses and why they have failed to apply their knowledge. He is asking questions about Africa’s leadership that has led the continent in a backward slide in sharp opposition to the rest of the world. He is asking questions about Africa’s elders that burden their children with shaping the future without tools. He is also asking the youth questions about their vision for their continent’s future.

  The first poem in part one ‘Building a car’ tells it all about Africa and Nigeria’s laggard situation among the leading nations. When will Nigeria build a car she will sell to the world? He writes, “Strangers cook the food in your stomach/How can you vomit what/You cannot digest? You cannot even/Build a car, you cannot even/Drive to the future where the world has gone…”

  ‘Quantum Leap’ also continues in this castigation tone, of Africa’s inability to keep up, “The plane that flew away/You cannot follow with your spear/The air is too far/…They can lend you money/With which to buy from them/What money cannot make -/It comes from the spirit/Awaken, black spirit, and take/The quantum leap/Don’t read it. Think it/Don’t buy it. Make it/Don’t take it. Give it/There is something greater than/Independence. It is called/Self-dependence. Adulthood”.

INDEED, encapsulated in this poem is Chukwumerije’s charge to his continent that has failed the adulthood test and remains infantile. Although he lives in faraway Germany, the poet is disappointed that his continent lacks the spirit of enterprise to match the strides of progress knocking on her doors. Chukwumerije is right to rail at a continent’s slumbering spirit that has failed to awaken to its duties. But it is not so much that the spirit is not there, it is that the galvanizing spirit to propel the can-do spirit forward is lacking. Scattered in many university campuses today are innovations and inventions, like the Shell-sponsored made-in-Nigeria cars from Petroleum University, Efurun, Warri and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria taken to South Africa for exhibition/fair.

  What becomes of such technology thereafter? Take Sir (Prof.) Victor Uwaifo, for instance, who invented a car years back, which is parked in his compound in Benin City; it’s technology waiting to be exploited and monetised to give employment to Nigeria’s teeming youth. In fact, there is technology in abundance in the land, but who will transform it into economic asset? What is the role of Ministry of Science and technology in harnessing such potentials into economic gains away from dependence on oil as mono-economy?

  For poet Chukwumerije, the beautiful ones have been born, but they willingly give space for the ugly ones to take active possession of the land and naturally ruined it, as is their nature. He sums it up thus in the title poem, “The beautiful one gave birth/To another beautiful child, and said/To it mournfully: the ugly ones/Still rule over our land/And the beautiful ones have not/Been born.”

  Also, the poet’s charge is contained in the piece, ‘I Don’t want to be a Trader’ presented in full on this page. Nigeria is one vast sales store of goods made in other people’s countries. Why can’t Nigerians also make these things and sell to self and others? This is Chukwumerije’s lament; it’s what is at the soul of his poetic journey.

  Chukwumerije’s The Beautiful Ones Have Been Born is admix of poetry and prose. In fact, it is even prosaic in its simplicity. This is understandable; the poet wants everyone who can read to get the message – that Africa exercises her full potential to be self-dependent otherwise its independence will continue to be vacuous, empty. But, of course, in Chukwumerije’s prosaic style also lies the utilitarian aesthetic of communicating the shared failure that calls to action renewed zeal to forge ahead from debilitating failure to long awaited success. This is poetry of a patriot.

International Poetry Festival 2015 beckons

• How spoken word is rescuing poetry

By Anote Ajeluorou

AMONG the four genres of literature, poetry has increasingly taken a backseat in Nigeria’s literary consciousness. For spoken word artist and Director of Lagos International Poetry Festival 2015 making its debut, Mr. Paul Efe Azino, this is an unfortunate situation. He is on a mission to rescue poetry from the fringes it has been consigned and put it on the front row of discourse. The festival, scheduled to rock Lagos from October 28 through November 1, has ‘Borderless Words’ as theme.

  For although social media is awash with poetry, the quality is suspect, as there is little critique of it before it gets uploaded and inflicted on the public. Azino’s poetry feast is here to provide some direction for upcoming poets through master classes, schools’ visitations, workshops and seminars, adding, “There’s relatively bad poetry on social media, but poetry feast will attempt to give such poets a handle”.

  Azino stated at a press conference last week that Lagos International Poetry Festival would be the first true poetry of its kind in West Africa on account of its comprehensive programming. Poets will come from all over the world to participate, he noted. The festival is dedicated to Prof. JP Clark, who will feature in a conversation with prose humourist Mr. Chuma Nwokolo at University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos. Opening cocktail for the festival will be at Freedom Park, with MUSON Centre, African Artists Foundation, Bogobiri and UNILAG as other venues.

  Azino stated that these were great times for the arts and that poetry needed to tap into it, as it was growing by the day. He said, “We want to see how we can create space for young people who are showing a renewed interest and monetise poetry and the arts? Despite border restrictions, how do we impact our global environment we’re having guests from all over the world. We want to have poets from across generations.”

  Some of those billed to perform include Lola Shoneyin, Chuma Nkwolo, Jumoke Verissimo and Dami Ajayi, 2015 winner of Brunel University Prize for African Poetry, Nick Makoha, Inua Ellams, two of South Africa’s most prolific voices, Lebo Mashile and Natalia Molebatsi.

  Canada-based Nigerian poet, Ms Titilope Sonuga, the first young poet to perform at a Presidential inauguration, said the festival presented her a fantastic platform to explode, adding, “It will give young poets an opportunity to interact with Clark and other older poets and learn from them”.

  She gave a peep into what she will do at the festival when she performed ‘I come from a place’ that is dedicated to Lagos, her place of birth.

  At the second edition of the festival next year, Azino intends to launch the JP Clark Poetry Prize for Undergraduate Students to encourage poetry at that level.

A spoken word poet, Azino said a balance would be created during the festival so his preferred sub-genre does not overshadow hardcore poetry. Accordingly, he said, “We want to carry both sides of ‘on stage’ or performance poetry and ‘on page’ or poetry on paper along at the same time. When people say poetry is dying, they mean poetry is migrating from paper to the stage, which is performance poetry.

  “In fact, ‘spoken word poetry’ is coming to the rescue of ‘poetry on page’. Spoken word adds some level of colour, flavour. Poetry of the future exists somewhere between the page and stage”.

  He, however, added that poetry on page is the foundation and even spoken word poets needed to learn its rudiments. On the charge of spoken word poetry sometimes veering towards being prosaic, Azino said that was somewhat true, as the poetry was fleeting and so needs to be understood quickly by audience unlike the poetry on page that gives opportunity of being reread.

  Festival sponsor Nigeria Breweries Plc had its Public Relations Manager Mr. Thomson Onwoka and Corporate and Media Brand Manager, Mr. Edem Vindah. Vindah expressed his company’s gladness to be partnering another genre of the arts, adding, “We are good supporters of entertainment in Nigeria. It’s not unusual for us to be partnering with Lagos International Poetry Festival. We hope it will encourage and inspire young poets and that it will inspire other corporate organisations to support the arts”.

With Okowa, Ugbomah’s Asaba Film Village gets a boost

• Sets agenda for new AMP president
• Cable TV company ruining Nollywood
• Firm disagrees

By Anote Ajeluorou

ALTHOUGH he is the oldest filmmaker in the best tradition of the term in the country, his unbounded enthusiasm for a better Nigerian film industry has no rival. He doesn’t quite make as much films anymore, but he keeps fighting for a stronger filmic environment for the younger ones. Unfortunately, the quest for better films, better returns, a more sanitised industry by regulatory agencies often brings him at loggerheads with those he fights for and anyone else who fails to see things from his standpoint.

  This is the fortune of Aboh, Delta State-born, veteran filmmaker Chief Eddie Ugbomah whose 13 celluloid films and other home video movies unarguably stand out. In the last few years, he has been working to establish a film village for the industry. Babatunde Raji Fashola and Emmanuel Uduaghan, past governors of Lagos and Delta States, sorely disappointed him after promising land and sundry take-of facilities. They both left offices without making good their words.

  But feelers from Asaba, Delta State capital, according to Ugbomah, indicate that there’s renewed hope for what the director of The Death of a Black President, Oyenusi, The Boy Is Good and The Mask calls a major legacy project that will be beneficial to the entertainment sector on may levels. The new government of Ifeanyi Okowa seems receptive to Ugbomah’s idea and activities may start soon.

  The Asaba Film Village, which he conceives as a joint project of Delta State, Edifosa Film Production and Hollywood-based Califco, will save Nigeria N9 billion yearly lost to music video shoot, computer graphics effects (CGE) and editing in South Africa and India. He said a whooping N4 billion would be saved yearly patronising Asaba Film Village, as it would be complete with hotels, studios, film training school, editing suites and all the modern facilities of filmmaking.

  In all thousands of jobs will be created in the village, as it would be a composite facility that would truly make Nigeria Africa’s film hub. Ugbmaoh advised governments to urgently appraise themselves with the power of entertainment and its image-making potentials and make the most of it by also investing in it, as a way of diversifying the economy.

  He noted, “It’s a mistake for government not to see entertainment and Nollywood as priority. It can and has been creating jobs; it should not be politicised or tribalised”.

  Ugbomah expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for giving ascent to fighting piracy, but advised that he should co-opt committed movie practitioners into the fight to make it effective. According to him, “Nigeria Film Corporation (NFC) and Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) have failed; they should sit with practitioners to get a controlling body to be known as Movie Pictures Practitioners Council of Nigeria (MOPPCON) that is answerable to the industry and government. MOPPCON will sanitise the industry”.

  MPPCON has been lying at the national Assembly for over eight years without action. Ugbomah chided government for pandering to those ruining the industry, saying losers of guild or association elections rush to set up parallel associations to cause division in the industry and advised that the trend must stop for a cohesive industry to emerge.

  “If Nollywood isn’t stupid, why should it allow a water engineer to be NFC Director-General?” he asked.

  He accused former boss of NFVCB, Mr. Emeka Mba, of indiscriminate licensing of film distributors who have no facility to distribute films.

  “Of the all-comers who got licenses, how many of them distribute films? Distributors now buy petition from NFVCB’s staff that Patricia Bala is not competent. Censors’ board should revoke all the licenses given to non-performing distributors”.

  He also chided the board for not doing enough to fight piracy, “What has censors’ board done to those dubbing America films into Yoruba and millions of foreign films in our country at cheaper rates? Six weeks ago, Federal Government and Lagos State signed agreement to fight piracy, but nothing has come out of it yet. What are they doing to rid Idumota, Alaba, Trade Fair and streets hawkers of pirates in Lagos? There are more than 50 films in the market that are uncensored”.

AS Chairman, Board of Trustees of Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Ugbomah has set conditions for whoever wishes to contest for its presidency. Mrs. Lilian Amah-Aluko and Mr. Ifeanyi Nwachukwu are the frontrunners for the post.

  “All past presidents in the last 10 years – Madu Chikwendu, Zeb Ejiro, Zik Zulu Okafor – failed because they compromised for personal gains at the expense of the industry,” said Ugbomah. “The next president must support me to set up MOPPCON and build a film house, set up a film village for Nollywood and be vigorous in the fight to salvage the film industry by sanctioning MultiChoice cable TV, which has eaten too deep into the industry”.

 For Ugbomah, MultiChoice represents the single most destructive agent hampering the growth of the Nigeria’s motion picture industry. He said this was being done in connivance with some Nigerians even as government and filmmakers stand and look another way. Although the South African cable TV company has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying instead that it was doing its best to help the industry, Ugbomah remains unconvinced and categorically canvases that government should sanction the company for illegally encroaching on the industry. Ugbomah said apart from showing Nigerian movies more than agreed number of times, MultiChoice shows Nollywod films in 37 countries without paying the dollar equivalent to local producers.

  What is worse, Ugbomah accuses the cable company of undercutting the film industry by engaging little known directors with poor technical ability to make bad and uncensored films that are shown on the cable to pass for Nollywood films. Eh said this was undermining genuine filmmakers and giving the industry a bad name. For instance, he said these directors, mostly based in Asaba, are paid to produce no less than five ‘Mega Movies’ a week. Ugbomah decried such practice, saying MultiChoice would not attempt it in its home country South Africa, without attracting severe sanctions.

  He also accused NFVCB and NBC of looking the other way. Ugbomah tasked the board to take a cue from Nigeria Protection Council which recently raided the cable TV company for rights violations. According to him, “Nollywood used to be something. But now, MultiChoice has made it to be Nothingwood. Save Nollywood before we all drown. Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) should stop MultiChoice from producing films locally”.

  Ugbomah points accusing fingers at former NFVCB and current NBC’s D-G, Mr. Emeka Mba for MultiChoice’s unbridled, brazen and condescending attitude towards Nigerians and the film industry. He said the argument that the activities of a cable company cannot be censored or regulated is indefensible in the face of what he called massive economic sabotage.

How world terrorism emerged, by U.S. rights activist, Izsadore

By Anote Ajeluorou

While the United States may be spearheading the fight against terrorism and extremism worldwide, one of her civil rights activists of the Black Panthers Party (BBP), Mrs. Sandra Izsadore, has said that white America actually taught the rest of the world how to perpetuate terrorism by their sheer inhumanity to the African-Americans whom she said they murdered in their thousands for no reason.

    Also, Chairman, Human Rights Commission (HRC), Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, said a lot of civil liberties were being denied Nigerians by what he described as privatisation whereby they are being made to pay for the profit margins of a certain few.

  Sandra Izsadore was late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s mentor who reeducated and reoriented the Afrobeat maestro towards a new political and musical consciousness that was to define his activism and emancipation struggles. They spoke in Lagos yesterday at the symposium that opened Felabration Week, the yearly activities to celebrate Fela, his music and life.

  The symposium theme was ‘Human Rights as My Property,’ after one of Fela’s popular tunes, and had Izsadore, Odinkalu, Mrs. Ayo Obe and Mr. Kunle Ajibade as speakers. Mr. Olasupo Olasore representing former governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola as chairman and moderator.

  In an emotional presentation that included horror slide images of white supremacists hanging blacks on trees and modern-day white police shooting blacks like the recent Trevor Martins’ case in the U.S., Izsadore said.     

  “Ku Klux Klan taught the world terrorism; they murdered my people”.

  She stressed the need for African people to treat history with respect, something not available to African-Americans whose ancestors were stolen, denied their rights and shipped away to foreign lands to endure despicable horrors, as horses were valued above them.

  She went on: “We were stolen from Africa and forced elsewhere. I’m this African who was stolen. I don’t know my ancestors, my homeland; I was so disappointed when my DNA test showed I’m from northern Kenya. But you know your history; you know where you’re from. You know your language. There were the things I told Fela. What I discovered was that a lot of Africans don’t about these things”.

  She said the Jews have never forgotten what they suffered even if a few millions of them died, but that Africans have forgotten so soon the millions that died during the Middle Passage of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

  She lamented: “But what about those who died during the Middle Passage? Millions died. If the ship’s captain felt that it was profitable, they emptied the entire human cargoes and collect the insurance. We ought to know our history”.

  She chided Africa for remaining backward just as the entire western world and its modern civilization depended on the riches prevalent on the African soil. She said it was her dream that Africans began to live like Saudi Arabia princes.

   “The western world is so dependent on Africa. What goes into making the cell phone is got from here,” she said. They need you; but people in England, Dubai, America live better than you Africans. The riches are here. So, I want my people here in Africa to live like Saudi Arabia. But when you waste your resources, you are destroying your property.”

   Izsadore frowned at the ethnic divisions that perennially plague parts of Africa and said whenever she saw anyone with a black skin, she feels a certain affinity of kinship to him or her, adding, “I don’t understand the ethnic divisions so long as I see a black person. We are one; collectively we can do a lot. I look at Nigeria like that. But it cannot happen so long there’s greed.”

   Odinkalu praised the Kuti family for making sacrifices on behalf of ordinary Nigerians who have been at the receiving end of rights denied. Odinkalu seemed to situate the biggest rights denied Nigerians on the educational plane and said it has bred all manners of vigilantes that now plague the polity either as Niger Delta militants, kidnappers in the South East or Boko Haram in the North East.

    According to him: “In reality, some of you may own human rights, but you cannot enjoy it. Are human rights there for us to be enjoyed at our will? Do we have state and civic capacity to claim our human rights? Those who tell you to go to court know that you may not get justice. We’ve lost faith in the legal system. Nigeria is wholly privatized, with all of us paying for the profit margins of those running our lives.

   “If the poor do not have access to good education, then you’re breeding a band of vigilantes. In the South South and South East, they use their education to negotiate for money in militancy and kidnapping; in the North East, it’s nihilistic. In fact, there are only two tribes in Nigeria – the haves and haves-not. If human rights is anything to you, you don’t allow for narrowness.”

    Odinkalu also linked human rights with memory and history that inevitably becomes a person’s identity, adding, “Do we want a country or tribe? A country of values or vigilance? Let’s have a country with values.”

  Earlier, Sasore said human rights was something that needs to be protected, but which can only be attained if the rule of law was allowed to prevail as again the rule of man.

  Ajibade also said Fela taught Nigerians not to wait for political leaders to give or ‘dash’ them human rights, but to fight for it.

  Obe said there was a need to collectively protect the rights of everyone, as a violation of one person’s right impinged on the rights of others as well.