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PHOTO CREDIT: EMEKA OKEREKE, |
Basic question. How did you get started?
It was all like a kid's stuff, you know when we were young, we recognized those things that make us happy, especially in a society like Lagos. The definition of love was not so much in connection with the universal dictionary, and the strong wind that blows around just want you to do things that you associate more with. Coincidentally, mine was dance, but it all started from the kind of kid I was, very agile, stubborn and hyper. During high school, I took dance very serious, so when I graduated, I decided to move it to the next level, because I didn't believed so much in traditional forms of educational institution. I later headed for alternative learning that could support my creative temperament. As for my writing, I think it was just a way of relaying my mind’s thoughts because there is usually no one to say my mind or thoughts to especially in those days, when on tour and in my little apartment as a student. So, basically, it was just a way of retaining my sanity. I must say that I write everything, I don't have a secret. I think that's all I can tell you guys.
You started YK Projects. What is this about?
YK operates between Nigeria and France as a not-for-profit company. It was initially registered as a performing company in Nigeria, but the lack of appreciation of the arts and the disdain which tends to subject Artistes to a hostile environment, informed the coming together of a collective of Youths with legs in different sectors of the arts, amongst which are Performing artistes, Visual artistes and Writers. All have similar intentions of creating an alternative landscape for the local audience to be aware of the art, by projecting contemporary arts (Dance, New Circus and Street Performance) through outside performances, media and publications, just to create a conducive environment for our existence at home.
Tell us about the “Ewa Bami Jo” events?
“Ewa Bami' jo” is a bi-annual convention around contemporary creations, that re-unites different front- line players in the socio-political development project of the African world, under one dance umbrella that brings about conferences, debates, film screening, exhibition and shows. It used to be an annual event, where I try to invite other art forms to come and dance with me, the first edition was in 2005, the 2nd in 2006 and now due to my absence in Nigeria, it is coming back and bigger and better. The next edition will be in Lagos during the month of November 2009, you can visit www.ewabamijo.blogspot.com.
PICTURE: AGNES MYRIAM CHAFEI
In your dance and writing, what is your message?
Hmm, well first, I am not just a dancer or writer, I am also a human being, that cries, smiles, eat, fall in love, hates and go to toilet etc, so I think there is always one or two things to see as inspiration in all of these attributes of a normal human being. So the basis of my art is just to lay before my audience how I express certain things that they might perhaps, have not found easier means of expressing. I don't think I have a particular message; I am not a preacher you know, but I am someone who tries to find simple ways of expressing what I feel deep inside of me. So there might perhaps be a message in that.
Ever gotten questioning looks when performing? How do you react/ deal with this?
Questioning looks? YES, a lot, especially in Nigeria. How I deal with it is simply to explain what i'm trying to do with my art to the curious ones who get interested in entering into my world, that is my duty, but I also try to settle those questions while creating in the studio.
How has your Yoruba tradition influenced your art?
I like proverbs very much, and my childhood is a great inspiration to me as well, so in case you will like to know, I was nothing but a Yoruba boy while growing up.
You reside in France. How regularly do you visit home, Naija?
Before, I used to visit Naija frequently; it was a six month in, six month out sort of arrangement, but since I came to school here, I have learnt to “miss” Naija. (Lol)
You have traveled a lot. How has this played a role in your artistic life?
Before I left Nigeria for the first time, I thought it was only in Nigeria that we speak Yoruba. I thought Lagos was a peaceful city. I didn't even know who Fela was. But now I know. I have learnt many things while visiting places that I couldn't have been interested in if I had read it in a book. Traveling has really enriched my cognizance and point of view to life and that is the basis of my “artistic life”.
Life, they say, is funny and comes with its specific “dishes”. In your view, describe the paradox of life?
You know, in this life there are several paradoxes, some that are mere master plan, put in place by the Almighty, while many we create by ourselves for ourselves. Can you imagine that after all our struggles in life; we still die at the end? We complicate everything for ourselves and now it has become so complicated that no one has a clear solution to our troubles. A civilized man needs to go to school for almost 20 years to understand how to live in his on civilization; to discover the sea; we have to travel on the land. We know hunger by first knowing that there is something like food. When we eat and get overfed during lunch, it won't stop us from getting hungry at dinner, when we pick up our bags, drop the keys and say goodbye to our neighbors, it will surely be followed by welcome and nice to meet you somewhere else, so when we run away from our social responsibilities, will that change our childhood? will it change the fact that we are who we are? Anyway let me stop here before you start reading something else... lol
Human beings are social and unstable “elements”. Animals are too. You wrote a piece “Are we Higher Animals”. In your opinion, do you think humans are no better than animals?
You know in my article “Are we higher Animals?” I wasn't trying to judge who is better nor giving some special attributes to the “lower animals”. Truly we are “higher animals” and that remains a fact that needs no justification. Our ability to ponder over our conditions, thinking before reacting, our reflective ability over whatever we perceive through our sense organs, I mean, this ability to choose - and choose well; to kill the little harmless insect instead of letting it go; ability to have an ocean of dreams, that will soon flood away the efforts of those with just ways and means and leave others with blood on their skins; all these elements that distinguishes man from animals, for me, has later tend to kill our innocence and make us loose our sudden inner impulse that should manifest in all normal animals without premeditation or external stimulus. So it is for the same reasons for which we are "higher" that we are becoming lower than animals. Maybe we need to get rid of some of our "high qualities" so that we can even hope to ascend to a "mere human being". For some of us, we are way too low to even be called animals! Looking back at the article which I wrote while in Congo, it serves to only call to mind the attitude of those who pride themselves in being high, yet, they are the source of the bad vomit which poisons the world today. The article was not condemning a universal truth, but rather questioning those who have used that Truth as a blanket for their shameful nakedness, thereby creating another dimension of that truth - which is an illusion. So your question is like asking if Blacks are better than whites. It’s not a matter of better, but they both exist in their own particularities.
What one phrase, book or piece of poetry has inspired you of late?
Of late? Meaning like few weeks ago... I will say Kung fu Panda. I have two lines that I really like in that movie.The first line is “Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is mystery but today is a gift, that is why it is called PRESENT” and the second is “The secret ingredient of my secret ingredient soup is ... NOTHING, there is no secret ingredient, to make something special you just have to believe its special” Your favorite writer is? Why? Wole Soyinka of course! That man is a genius who has arrived at putting all his energy into one. So, in his works you can't separate talent from passion, politics from art and yet he has his own way of making you laugh. Now for me, that is 100%
Your Philosophy of life is.......
I found a new one in a cartoon (can you imagine) that “Yesterday is really a History, Tomorrow is mystery but today is a gift, that is why it is called PRESENT”. In this great future you can't forget your past and you cannot separate today from tomorrow though, they are very much linked. So, if you decide to see today and not foresee the mystery tomorrow promises, then you are getting one side of the picture.
Performing arts are your specialties. How would you rate your “feet” on a club dance floor?
On a club dance floor, you don't want to try me “Mo Gbona feli feli”... LOL
Lol..What does success mean to you?
Hmm success, you know I did a project in 2007 titled “DO WE NEED COLA-COLA TO DANCE?” While in places like Bariga, Eleko beach, in townships in Cairo, in Maputo, at Soweto, at Mathare slum in Nairobi, and other places like that, no one paid to see my show. It was outside in the dirts, but seeing those kids coming around and smiling after my show, was a “biggggg” success. I was able to successfully add to the experiences of those guys that stopped or came out to see my show. That is one of my most successful performances; more successful than the positive critics I got in New York Times or for my numerous performances around the globe, because that one really touched my sincere purpose as an artiste I think.
Art whether poetic, visual or performing, in Nigeria is worrisome though improving. Do you think Nigerians are ready for this kind of art?
What do you mean ready? Nigerians are human beings and I am also a Nigerian, and that's where it has to start from. I think the question should be “AM I READY TO MEET NIGERIANS AT THEIR POINT OF HUNGER?” You see, I have studied the capitalist way of thinking, even if I don't really agree with it, but I think that it is the language my people understand the most. I just have to learn how to speak it fluently, but keeping my purpose and core values intact of course. Are we ever ready for those adverts and billboards we are bombarded with everyday? Do we even know what we are ready for when we haven't seen it? SEEING IS BELIEVING MY BROTHER; I think it’s time pure art began to claim ownership to what the common man refers to as “mainstream”. That is when all these general misunderstandings will be settled. A sincere example is Soyinka. So many Nigerians don't know this guy for real; they don't even know what he really means to the world, but his name has become a cool reference in the intellectual mainstream. When a Nigerian sees your pix with Soyinka or Soyinka in front of a magazine, it means much more than a D'banj or ASA for Nigerians, you know. That is what I am out for. So, I think Nigerians are in a state where all they cry for everyday is that six letter word C.H.A.N.G.E.
What is the one thing that can put a smile on your face when you’re down?
A flash or SMS from my woman would do.
More importantly what are your fears concerning the Nigerian youth of today?
I think my fears about the Nigerian youth doesn't exclude myself, so I will prefer to use WE. Our attraction to vanity is scary. We want a better life, so it overshadows our morality. The new culture we imbibe is very scary as well. I like the new culture; don't get me wrong, but what is the speed limit? Globalization, is it about exchanging what you have, for what you don't have or mere adding one to what you already have? What’s up with this cultural assimilation? How are we refusing hegemony? How much reference are we taking from our past? We need to structure a future at which we can't forget our past. I also like D'banj you know, just as I like iPhone, but what is the value of my iPhone? Does it mean more that just a phone to me? NO, but what it can really do, ahh! that is the value that takes it one step further than just a phone. It’s not just about the coolness of having an iPhone. This is the profoundness I find missing in today's youth. One more thing is what I refer to as the “UP-NEPA” mentality, which makes us scream in euphoria when we get access to something that is meant to be ours, our basic amenities o. We tend to get used to the lies we've been constantly fed with by our leaders. Now, the normal thing in the Nigerian moral bible is that a politician must throw money in the air to get our votes, even if his head is filled with human feces and his money painted with our blood. In order to counsel a Nigerian youth or convince any typical Nigerian about the credibility of a particular profession, career or project, you are obliged to talk extensively about the possibilities of making money from it, and die rich afterwards, not minding what else he or she will do with the money after making it. Otherwise your preaching is as good as flaunting Naira notes in the air and your job is done, case closed. Our catalogue of the national maladies, that has crept upon every Nigerian youth, still include the undesirable manifestations such as greed, dishonesty, impatience, discourtesy, vandalism, indecency, brutality, robbery (in every form), drunkenness, cultism, tribalism, selfishness, ostentation, indiscipline, corruption, insensitivity to filthy surroundings and many other identifiable ills, and what do we say to all these afterwards “May God help us”. And meanwhile God don't help those who don't help themselves. My brother, when we complain, we also need to back it up you know, when we cry and tears drop from our eyes, it doesn't make us go blind.
If you had your way, how would you try re-shape our thinking as a nation.
I think a great surgery has to be done to our reorientation as a people; we need to flush some superfluous reasoning out of our subconsciousness. We need a whole new academic brainwash that must begin from our first day in school. Stop forcing kids to go to school. Nigeria has more traditional educational institutions even more than Britain that thought her, Uni. of this, Poly of that, Fed College of this, high school of that. Bros! my theory is simple, the moment those numerous institutions begin to transform into practical spaces for alternative learning, things will begin to change. Development can't be one sided; it has to move hand in hand. Erecting schools is not development when the human development is neglected? Do you know I went to a CIRCUS school in France? Yes I did and you don't want me to tell you the fight to convince my parents from stepping out of UNILAG where I was studying Mathematics and Statistics. People are tired of traditional forms of learning, because it’s not even working. Our national maladies won't let it work. Let there be schools of carpentry that offers degrees, erect respectable schools where kids go learn mechanic and give them masters even PhD, then we will begin to feel respect for every human for what they do. And you know what; learning will be fun without cheating. Sincerely this is what I do all day with my works, my job is all about ideology and reasoning.
Hmm, well first, I am not just a dancer or writer, I am also a human being, that cries, smiles, eat, fall in love, hates and go to toilet etc, so I think there is always one or two things to see as inspiration in all of these attributes of a normal human being. So the basis of my art is just to lay before my audience how I express certain things that they might perhaps, have not found easier means of expressing. I don't think I have a particular message; I am not a preacher you know, but I am someone who tries to find simple ways of expressing what I feel deep inside of me. So there might perhaps be a message in that.
Ever gotten questioning looks when performing? How do you react/ deal with this?
Questioning looks? YES, a lot, especially in Nigeria. How I deal with it is simply to explain what i'm trying to do with my art to the curious ones who get interested in entering into my world, that is my duty, but I also try to settle those questions while creating in the studio.
How has your Yoruba tradition influenced your art?
I like proverbs very much, and my childhood is a great inspiration to me as well, so in case you will like to know, I was nothing but a Yoruba boy while growing up.
You reside in France. How regularly do you visit home, Naija?
Before, I used to visit Naija frequently; it was a six month in, six month out sort of arrangement, but since I came to school here, I have learnt to “miss” Naija. (Lol)
You have traveled a lot. How has this played a role in your artistic life?
Before I left Nigeria for the first time, I thought it was only in Nigeria that we speak Yoruba. I thought Lagos was a peaceful city. I didn't even know who Fela was. But now I know. I have learnt many things while visiting places that I couldn't have been interested in if I had read it in a book. Traveling has really enriched my cognizance and point of view to life and that is the basis of my “artistic life”.
Life, they say, is funny and comes with its specific “dishes”. In your view, describe the paradox of life?
You know, in this life there are several paradoxes, some that are mere master plan, put in place by the Almighty, while many we create by ourselves for ourselves. Can you imagine that after all our struggles in life; we still die at the end? We complicate everything for ourselves and now it has become so complicated that no one has a clear solution to our troubles. A civilized man needs to go to school for almost 20 years to understand how to live in his on civilization; to discover the sea; we have to travel on the land. We know hunger by first knowing that there is something like food. When we eat and get overfed during lunch, it won't stop us from getting hungry at dinner, when we pick up our bags, drop the keys and say goodbye to our neighbors, it will surely be followed by welcome and nice to meet you somewhere else, so when we run away from our social responsibilities, will that change our childhood? will it change the fact that we are who we are? Anyway let me stop here before you start reading something else... lol
Human beings are social and unstable “elements”. Animals are too. You wrote a piece “Are we Higher Animals”. In your opinion, do you think humans are no better than animals?
You know in my article “Are we higher Animals?” I wasn't trying to judge who is better nor giving some special attributes to the “lower animals”. Truly we are “higher animals” and that remains a fact that needs no justification. Our ability to ponder over our conditions, thinking before reacting, our reflective ability over whatever we perceive through our sense organs, I mean, this ability to choose - and choose well; to kill the little harmless insect instead of letting it go; ability to have an ocean of dreams, that will soon flood away the efforts of those with just ways and means and leave others with blood on their skins; all these elements that distinguishes man from animals, for me, has later tend to kill our innocence and make us loose our sudden inner impulse that should manifest in all normal animals without premeditation or external stimulus. So it is for the same reasons for which we are "higher" that we are becoming lower than animals. Maybe we need to get rid of some of our "high qualities" so that we can even hope to ascend to a "mere human being". For some of us, we are way too low to even be called animals! Looking back at the article which I wrote while in Congo, it serves to only call to mind the attitude of those who pride themselves in being high, yet, they are the source of the bad vomit which poisons the world today. The article was not condemning a universal truth, but rather questioning those who have used that Truth as a blanket for their shameful nakedness, thereby creating another dimension of that truth - which is an illusion. So your question is like asking if Blacks are better than whites. It’s not a matter of better, but they both exist in their own particularities.
What one phrase, book or piece of poetry has inspired you of late?
Of late? Meaning like few weeks ago... I will say Kung fu Panda. I have two lines that I really like in that movie.The first line is “Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is mystery but today is a gift, that is why it is called PRESENT” and the second is “The secret ingredient of my secret ingredient soup is ... NOTHING, there is no secret ingredient, to make something special you just have to believe its special” Your favorite writer is? Why? Wole Soyinka of course! That man is a genius who has arrived at putting all his energy into one. So, in his works you can't separate talent from passion, politics from art and yet he has his own way of making you laugh. Now for me, that is 100%
Your Philosophy of life is.......
I found a new one in a cartoon (can you imagine) that “Yesterday is really a History, Tomorrow is mystery but today is a gift, that is why it is called PRESENT”. In this great future you can't forget your past and you cannot separate today from tomorrow though, they are very much linked. So, if you decide to see today and not foresee the mystery tomorrow promises, then you are getting one side of the picture.
Performing arts are your specialties. How would you rate your “feet” on a club dance floor?
On a club dance floor, you don't want to try me “Mo Gbona feli feli”... LOL
Lol..What does success mean to you?
Hmm success, you know I did a project in 2007 titled “DO WE NEED COLA-COLA TO DANCE?” While in places like Bariga, Eleko beach, in townships in Cairo, in Maputo, at Soweto, at Mathare slum in Nairobi, and other places like that, no one paid to see my show. It was outside in the dirts, but seeing those kids coming around and smiling after my show, was a “biggggg” success. I was able to successfully add to the experiences of those guys that stopped or came out to see my show. That is one of my most successful performances; more successful than the positive critics I got in New York Times or for my numerous performances around the globe, because that one really touched my sincere purpose as an artiste I think.
Art whether poetic, visual or performing, in Nigeria is worrisome though improving. Do you think Nigerians are ready for this kind of art?
What do you mean ready? Nigerians are human beings and I am also a Nigerian, and that's where it has to start from. I think the question should be “AM I READY TO MEET NIGERIANS AT THEIR POINT OF HUNGER?” You see, I have studied the capitalist way of thinking, even if I don't really agree with it, but I think that it is the language my people understand the most. I just have to learn how to speak it fluently, but keeping my purpose and core values intact of course. Are we ever ready for those adverts and billboards we are bombarded with everyday? Do we even know what we are ready for when we haven't seen it? SEEING IS BELIEVING MY BROTHER; I think it’s time pure art began to claim ownership to what the common man refers to as “mainstream”. That is when all these general misunderstandings will be settled. A sincere example is Soyinka. So many Nigerians don't know this guy for real; they don't even know what he really means to the world, but his name has become a cool reference in the intellectual mainstream. When a Nigerian sees your pix with Soyinka or Soyinka in front of a magazine, it means much more than a D'banj or ASA for Nigerians, you know. That is what I am out for. So, I think Nigerians are in a state where all they cry for everyday is that six letter word C.H.A.N.G.E.
What is the one thing that can put a smile on your face when you’re down?
A flash or SMS from my woman would do.
More importantly what are your fears concerning the Nigerian youth of today?
I think my fears about the Nigerian youth doesn't exclude myself, so I will prefer to use WE. Our attraction to vanity is scary. We want a better life, so it overshadows our morality. The new culture we imbibe is very scary as well. I like the new culture; don't get me wrong, but what is the speed limit? Globalization, is it about exchanging what you have, for what you don't have or mere adding one to what you already have? What’s up with this cultural assimilation? How are we refusing hegemony? How much reference are we taking from our past? We need to structure a future at which we can't forget our past. I also like D'banj you know, just as I like iPhone, but what is the value of my iPhone? Does it mean more that just a phone to me? NO, but what it can really do, ahh! that is the value that takes it one step further than just a phone. It’s not just about the coolness of having an iPhone. This is the profoundness I find missing in today's youth. One more thing is what I refer to as the “UP-NEPA” mentality, which makes us scream in euphoria when we get access to something that is meant to be ours, our basic amenities o. We tend to get used to the lies we've been constantly fed with by our leaders. Now, the normal thing in the Nigerian moral bible is that a politician must throw money in the air to get our votes, even if his head is filled with human feces and his money painted with our blood. In order to counsel a Nigerian youth or convince any typical Nigerian about the credibility of a particular profession, career or project, you are obliged to talk extensively about the possibilities of making money from it, and die rich afterwards, not minding what else he or she will do with the money after making it. Otherwise your preaching is as good as flaunting Naira notes in the air and your job is done, case closed. Our catalogue of the national maladies, that has crept upon every Nigerian youth, still include the undesirable manifestations such as greed, dishonesty, impatience, discourtesy, vandalism, indecency, brutality, robbery (in every form), drunkenness, cultism, tribalism, selfishness, ostentation, indiscipline, corruption, insensitivity to filthy surroundings and many other identifiable ills, and what do we say to all these afterwards “May God help us”. And meanwhile God don't help those who don't help themselves. My brother, when we complain, we also need to back it up you know, when we cry and tears drop from our eyes, it doesn't make us go blind.
If you had your way, how would you try re-shape our thinking as a nation.
I think a great surgery has to be done to our reorientation as a people; we need to flush some superfluous reasoning out of our subconsciousness. We need a whole new academic brainwash that must begin from our first day in school. Stop forcing kids to go to school. Nigeria has more traditional educational institutions even more than Britain that thought her, Uni. of this, Poly of that, Fed College of this, high school of that. Bros! my theory is simple, the moment those numerous institutions begin to transform into practical spaces for alternative learning, things will begin to change. Development can't be one sided; it has to move hand in hand. Erecting schools is not development when the human development is neglected? Do you know I went to a CIRCUS school in France? Yes I did and you don't want me to tell you the fight to convince my parents from stepping out of UNILAG where I was studying Mathematics and Statistics. People are tired of traditional forms of learning, because it’s not even working. Our national maladies won't let it work. Let there be schools of carpentry that offers degrees, erect respectable schools where kids go learn mechanic and give them masters even PhD, then we will begin to feel respect for every human for what they do. And you know what; learning will be fun without cheating. Sincerely this is what I do all day with my works, my job is all about ideology and reasoning.
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long one o! I will come back to it later...I have read only two paragraphs yet...i hope it wont become like all those novels and book that are on my shelf all new but have never been read...lol...
ReplyDeleteway to go my bro way to go........!
ReplyDeleteQuintessential Qd!
ReplyDelete''Celebrity my foot!''
You know I'm always proud of you. Keep it up bro!
Now I can smell a Future Awards nomination underway...and if you don't win it...I go sue the judges o!...looool!
You know i have always admired your style. Now i have this to say...May God increase you in wisdom.trully its amazing how great thinking could come out of a cartoon!. just the same way i felt when i watched it. To me, we will one day look back to remember the thoughts we have shared today..that is when tommorow becomes the present. Goodluck my brother.
ReplyDeleteYes o guys, way forward Ay my paddy, thats the millenium project for us all , Temi, na wa o i just say make i tag you, i no ever bliv say you go ever see am, well sha paddy mi Happy Bithday its not too late, thanks for the comment, and pls pls pls i need your number plenty to yarn, and its not a facebook yarn, so finaly to Quintessential Ohimai, you no serious o, you don come back with your terrorism, and salt to injuries.
ReplyDeleteQd is humble as usual... that is my new month month resolution, sorry i mean second half of the month... lol
couldn't finish it to much work but i'm no longer suprise or impress at ur ingenuity(Which i'm sure is not ur motive) but you no me pls don't let ur interllect stop here and i think u should start sending ur views on anything to newspaper houses.keep it up shorty.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Qudus! With this kind of recognition maybe you're reaching more people than you realize and maybe you'll be reaching even more. You're just that much closer to accomplishing the dreams you have for yourself and your country. Yay!
ReplyDeletecan't wait to be part of the 2009,ewa bamijo project...keep me posted n i assure you that my studio is solidly behind any project u want to emback on right here in 9ja[photographic wise]
ReplyDeleteOnly in nigeria would you see a mechanic calling a doctor "oga" when he comes seeking his professionalism to repair the faulty engine block of his car and at the end of the day,he would "chock" him a thousand naira note and a pat on the back for a job well done.In the UK,a painter[decorators as they're called]earn as much money[if he works 7 hours a day 5 days a week through the year]and respect as would an investment banker or a practicing lawyer over the same period.The work of an artist on canvass is as appreciated as that magnificent structural proposal put down on a computer by a brilliant architect using autocard.The only good thing about David beckham as a footballer is his ability to deliver a cross with accurate precision into an opponents net and sometimes he gets it wrong but yet in his own world and society he is a god.
ReplyDeleteI was 12 or so when people would troop down my neighborhood playground to watch me display my footballing skills,at 14/15 I participated in the yearly senior principal cup with my secondary school then in jss3..I would kit myself up in t-shirt and shorts that carries the colors of the argentine national football team for my hero then was DIEGO ARMANDO .Even as a child, I was convinced I posses all it takes to find a path in football the looks,the skill and agility but what I lacked was more important.My parents support.
They wanted an engineer because they have friends whose kids are into it. so they bought me OKEKE and ABABIO which if not studied would entitle me to several strokes of PANKERE and with time, my passion for football subsided inside me and my skills left me for another leg .Not that it made me a worse person,but i would have made a brilliant footballer had my parents viewed my progress differently and so would thousands had they been allowed and helped to nurture their passion for what ever gift of nature they carry rather than be a mediocre in the field the society forces them to accept.
I apologize for my self eulogies or pity which ever you choose to call it but these ,I must narrate to concur with and buttress Qudus's answer to a certain question from SM "If you had your way, how would you try re-shape our thinking as a nation". Until we understand the true meaning of development and education can we not run the risk of monopolizing our way of life and deterring our individual and national progress.A society where one as to get a degree from a university of this or the polytechnic of that before you can be reckoned with and in the event of an individual failure to achieve this, pushes them aside and makes them feel less important is a stagnant society.One like ours.
In a progressive environment,that market woman that sells herbs and leaf from the market shed is no different to the doctor that prescribe an antibiotics from the comfort of his office .Sometimes, I get the knob of my door jammed and the only person that come to mind to bail me out is my next door carpenter.He will unlock my door and yet something in me feels I am brainy than he is when I can not maneuver the door picking tool he just used in saving my ass from sleeping at my "door mouth" .But then I will wonder that in this scenario "na who get the brain ?".
Personally,i think it's the level of mutual respect between individuals [irrespective of whom they are or what they do or believe ] in a society that diffrenciate the developed world from the developing and underdeveloped worlds,in which ours falls between the latter 2
Qudus,even though you make ham sound so easy,I believe you appreciate the dept at which the syndrome of "if you no go this university or that polytechnic you no go make ham"has eaten into our societal blood.Hence,it could take a while before we come through.Sad but honestly true..
I will be there Ewa bamijo 2009, Qudus your live seem intriguing and exciting, men Godbless is all I can save man
ReplyDeleteGreat works! kudos to Qudus..
ReplyDeleteOwoade i'm very shock though you also clear the air about it not making you a worse person but men that's so old school.... i mean it's not fair on your parents, why will make public painting of them in that light for God's sake they,like Qudus parents to,want the best for their kid and men haven't you heard of kids who ran away just because the y want to follow thier dreams? Dude you need to sit Qudus down and let him tell you of the many sacrifices,lies of "i'm going to lesson" e.t.c he did just to get to his dreams,he was never allowed or permitted untill he started touring the world. Bro i know this is not a public discussion but i think you shouldn't just pack the blames on your folks especially public place like this don't blame them for your lack of courage,balls for risk taking.look tell when the bible talked of the lazy man who said there is a lion in the streets so hw won't go out to work it means not even for a reason that could take your life should sit you ass down do nothing and pack-up excuses.
ReplyDeleteFinally i think you should apologise to your folks.
Qudus keep it up and i wait excitingly for ewa bami jo and you know i'm always available for you.
Mathew my brother..I can see you are not at ease with my mentioning of my parents in my comments on Qudus's interview with SM.I also noted that you failed to read between the lines of my parents view and thought on my developments into being my person. "not that it made me a worse person "you saw very well but you failed to make importance of "i would have made a brilliant footballer".If I must bring to your attention that I'm well aware of "i would have" being a possibility and that "not a worse person"is a certainty of reality that i live in now and of which I'm grateful.
ReplyDeleteBut why do you think that me[anyone] having to go through the hurdles of GCEs,couple of JAMBs and A.Levels is the only way they[parents/society] can ensure what is best for us.Which if I'm not mistaken was the question in another language[abbi qudus ?] or better still why do you think running away from our homes or having constant duel with our parents is the appropriate ways to follow our dreams ?.Bro let us shy away from making this a Mathew Ay thing but rather lets be very objective and attentive to what the subject is"THE NIGERIAN WAY OF MAKING AN IMPRESSION".
I made synonyms between that artist that uses a brush and paint[colours] on canvass to express himself and a certain architect that droped his head on the computer using an advance software, with respect to how they are both celebrated in thier society compare to our ways of viewing the same situation.
Banksy is the most sort after painting artist in the whole of UK,from a noble home he came.His father bought his first painting work off him at the tender age of 12 for 30pences that was 15 years ago.Why do you think he bought his son's work off him at that age ? I'm sure you have an idea why.Now, Banksy's works are worth millions of $ and amazing appreciation.He was able to come up with works that are worth that much because of the development in skills he's gone through over the years to perfect himself to be BANKSY,so also i believe our friend Qudus as done himself[and still doing] to be the QD that we have come to appreciate his art today.
You see ..maybe if QD had not been a good "liar" or been deceptive in his dealings with his parents initially[ALL OF WHICH HE NEED NOT DO] or maybe if the parents had stood thier grounds by all means [like most nigerian parents would] and insist he goes through with the math and stat thing[WHICH THEY DONT HAVE TO],accepted he might end up being an alright professional in that field but ..we no go get the brilliant and wonderful Qd of now.
So being "nigerian",I want you to appreciate the facts that there are hundreds of thousands maybe millions of young talents whose choices are not in there hands.In a way,our society makes you imagine failure the moment you fail to gain admission into that UNI or POLY....and thats my point and not that my parents are alliens[lol]....and for records,I LOVE MY PARENTS
QD...
ReplyDeleteI dont know what to say.. I am speechless... U really are something else...
Well Owoade, i must say i love the way you ended ur write-up "I LOVE MY PARENTS".thanks for that makes me feel better somehow,secondly you too obiviously omitted my first line;--(Owoade i'm very shock "though you also clear the air about it not making you a worse person" but men that's so old school).i'm sure with afro on my head u know i'm no preacher so would pardon me for quotting the bible "from the the day of john the baptist the kingdom of God sufferth violence and viloent takes it".Owo-blow...if i can call u that,nobody would cherish freedom like south-africans who bleed to see it(maybe that's why we take ours for granted in Nigeria)i won't support negativity but if you have to wage war with your parents i support o but with sense i must add.Like you said the society creates an imagination and since u are part of the society u must.should create ur imaginatios too,cos let's say after all the frocing u away from footbal this other career don't work after u zealously put in everything,you would blame ur folks but will they be the one to live the exprience of th failure or let's say u followed ur dream as a footballer and now u play for the ever champions (MANCHESTER UNITED) making millions won't the celebrate with u and thank God u didn't listen to them?and "U" will still be the one to live the exprience. "TI 'di ba baje t'oni 'di lo nda o"
ReplyDeletefinally thanx for clearing the air actuall i knew u didn't mean it the way i took it just wanted to sure.be kool bro.
Matto the Preacher i get your point very well my paddy, as much as i will also be a bit by the side of AY my childhood friend (and still a friend of course), so good enough both of you knows very well my story, i decided not to say anything after matthew threw his first attack that was intelligently managed by AY anyway.
ReplyDeletei will start by saying i was very much there, when AY was nursing this half baked dream of becoming a great footballer and i remember those Argentinean shorts you bobo us with, lol, AY's story is even as touchy as my immediate brother's, who has got as much poetry in his legs on the field of play, and i can't tell you guys how many times i jumped over the fence of IBSS to go see AUDHS play, cos i just loved watching both of them playing.
Matthew brought up the issue of AY painting his parents in whatever colour that he wasn't ok with, so in the books of morality, it is wrong, and yet he testified to all the lies i told at home, what about all the strokes of the cain i received for wanting to be who i am destined to be, for they called me a stupid son that deliberately want to end his life dancing around, i remember clearly, they all refer to me as (onijo were) meaning i'm crazy.
Then it brought me to SEAL's lyrics "we are never going to survive, unless we get a little bit CRAZY" so Matthew, what will you say to the public declaration i made during my parents first attendance to my performance in lagos, sometimes in April 2008, where i made it known to all, how sad it is that it took me to start traveling before they could accept to follow me on this unwinnable journey that can't be attained as a loner or self orphan, but like i said during the event, i know they wanted the best for me, cos that is what the malfunction-ness of our society as defined for them as "best"
So at the end of it all, we are in the process of defining a better future for our kids and the coming generation, we need to use our psychological maturity and clairvoyance for the freedom of others, as an artiste, I strongly believe that there's a powerful connection between artists of all kinds and human rights. Artist and activist sometimes stand up against the establishment to say what needs to be said in the name of humanity, even if some hangs us for this same reason. Artists are a leading voice for freedom - freedom from fear, freedom from brainwash, freedom from lies, such fearless actions towards whatever freedom could get us into trouble, but truth comes out of passion and it counteract lies, and honesty comes from the light that we brought and the powerful often fear this. Freedom of expression is vital for an artist's work. We experienced art together with our audience, it makes us feel human, and moves us to protect the human rights of others. Everyone has a voice and should use it...
No one sees the world in exactly the same way, no one sees the world through the same eyes as I do, nobody will see how i think and feel about the world unless i express it in some way. we should urge our parents, and when we become parents, give self-confidence to our kids and support whatever delirium they exchange their sanity for, cos they believe in something but often feel they are alone, and i just don't know where my energy to stand alone against the society at large came from, but guys pray we don't go astray, nor become too comfortable in our mini comforts, i think this is the beginning of what i have been fighting for, so i don't want to be too fat to be bothered, nor big myself up on an idea, for i know that If I can talk with crowds and keep my virtue, Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch, If I can dream - and not make dreams my master, i'll be a MAN... and if i don't archive these and more, If i can't keep my head when all around me are losing theirs and blaming it on me, If i can't trust myself when all men doubt me, but make allowance for their doubting too; If i can't wait and not be tired by waiting... And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: it will be hard to be a MAN.
The journey is still seemingly endless, Peace to you all.
Qd
Yuo remain the only dancer of "your" kind who besides acquiring more skills in his art also swalloed the dictionary in the process...HABA?! kilo de? all this grammar abeg water it down o jare.
ReplyDeletemore seriously you know what i don't mind if we all openly declare what we feel,opinions objectives etc. my issue is the motive behind it.i don't disdain or accept if any child do the thinkiable and un-thinkable to reach his or her goal, my issue , is the motive.Now i totally care if a parent decides to run their childs life the way the society dictates as long as they can assure me their motive(Cos they always have a motive) is justified in consideration of the child's future. My point qudus is that your/our parents didn't ask our permission to bring us to this world, if not we for get big say in our life matters, so whatever they did or say they feel it's their right, to their best knowledge so an open declaration,no matter the statement that follows to soften the blow of the words, it's not needed and i wasn't ok when you said at your workshop but reserved my comments.
to everyone like you who took the strokes,lied the lie,jump the fence,carried pon-pon to live their dreams,desire and be who they are meant to be ignoring societal dictations i salute and hold in highest esteem but know if those expriences didn't come you won't be who you are,so rather thank them.