28th January, 2013
BY NEHRU ODEH
Friends and colleagues celebrate Nigerian art writer, Jahman Anikulapo on his 50th birthday
Given his tremendous achievements in the arts, culture and media, Jahman Anikulapo easily elicits admiration and awe. In a career that has spanned more than two decades, not only has the culture activist, actor and editor, who turned 50 on 16 January, been at the vanguard for cultural renaissance in Nigeria, he has mentored artistes and journalists, themselves leaders in the culture industry today. He has also helped shape the character of the Nigerian and global arts and culture scene through his various inputs to programmes such as the Committee for Relevant Arts, CORA; iREP Documentary Film Forum, UNESCO and the Tony Blair Commission for Africa. It was in the light of these contributions that friends of Anikulapo, under the aegis of Committee of the Friends of Jahman @ 50, recently rolled out a string of activities to celebrate him. The period coincided with his exiting a long, stellar career as an art journalist and editor of The Guardian on Sunday.
Tagged 3D Jahman: The Three Dimensions of a Cultural Agent – Artiste, Activist and Journalist, the month-long celebrations kicked off on 13 January at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery, Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos. It was an evening of dance, tributes and a conversation around how the interplay between art advocacy, art journalism and art practice has shaped the evolution of cultural propagation in the last 25 years. That evening, Layiwola Adeniji, a journalist who once worked with Anikulapo at The Guardian, regaled the audience with stories about the verve and enthusiasm with which the celebrant performed his job and how he carried his fellow journalists along. Professor Ahmed Yerima also spoke eloquently about the courage of the celebrant’s convictions as a cultural activist and art journalist. “He (Jahman) knew that journalism was going to be, not just newspaper journalism, but a guerilla warfare, to arrest, conscientise, educate and move, even those who are there, sitting in the offices,” Yerima said. It was tribute galore on Friday 18 January at the same venue as Anikulapo’s colleagues eulogised the celebrant and narrated humorous memories through a slide presentation.
The high point of the celebration came when Anikulapo’s colleagues at The Guardian organised a fete in his honour, on Sunday 20 January. Tagged Celebrating A Culture Icon At 50, it held at the Banquet Hall, Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, Lagos. It featured tributes, a citation read by Ibiba Don Pedro, stage presentations, reading, review and presentation of Anikulapo’s book, Bytes of Treasure: Rhythms of a Troubadour, a collection of articles, reviews, essays and interviews. Adeniji set the ball rolling when he described Anikulapo as the symbol of a cultural movement, adding that many in that hall would not be who or what they became but for the celebrant. He said they were delighted to host the celebrant given the many ways he touched their lives. Engineer Yemisi Shyllon, an art connoisseur, said the celebrant was a great man who, in spite of his invaluable contributions to the arts and culture internationally, was groomed in Nigeria. “If we do not celebrate people like Jahman who gave 25 years of his life to promote the culture and arts of our people, if we put him in the background, a time will come when we will go into another level of slavery because we would not have an identity as a people, the language will be dead,” Shyllon said. Ben Tomoloju, Anikulapo’s teacher and mentor, and Benson Idonije prayed for the celebrant as he opened a new chapter in his life.
Toyin Akinosho, Jahman’s friend and fellow culture advocate, spoke about how a chance encounter with Anikulapo’s article which was published in the Democrat Weekly while the writer was at the University of Ibadan, set off a friendship and collaboration that has lasted for more than 25 years. He also said Anikulapo impacted his life tremendously.
Mrs Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, who designated herself Anikulapo’a mother, was effusive in praise of him. She described him not just as a good man but also as a worthy son, not only of man and woman but also of the country. She bemoaned the fact that in spite of Anikulapo’s immense contribution to the development of arts and culture in Nigeria, the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Chief Edem Duke didn’t deem the occasion worthy of his presence, adding that Nigerians should get their priorities right. “I feel sad that we don’t have those people here to recognise the work he has done in the development of arts and culture in the country, to celebrate all our artistes. I feel sad that when you call them to events like this, they think it’s just something that nothing profitable enough will come out of. So what is governance about if it is not about people who are helping to build the country from lower to up. Where is up anyway, and where is down?” she lamented. She said no matter one’s achievement, “if you don’t have the liberal part to your life, you don’t have a rounded life.”
Mr. Kunle Ajibade, Executive Editor of TheNEWS, read one of the captivating stories in Anikulapo’s new book. The story, titled, “Sorry You Can’t Marry Our Daughter”, captures the pathos and heartbreak of the writer on realising he could no longer marry his Ghanaian heartthrob. Ajibade also presented Salman Rushdie’s latest book, Joseph and Anton, to the celebrant as a birthday gift.
In her review titled, More Than Cultural Time Machine, Derin Alao said Anikulapo’s new book – a compilation of essays, reviews, interviews and more – deals with various aspects of Nigerian culture and media. She said the book takes one back in time. “The writings are not overtly subjective but reinforce what we already know about the author – an analytical mind with a profound knowledge regarding his art and profession. What one derives from Jahman’s writings is that, whichever side of the art journalist/activist divide you land on, there is a job to be done, which must be done well,” she averred.
Professor Duro Oni, Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos, praised Anikulapo’s tireless sprit, commitment to arts and culture and also for celebrating other artistes and cultural icons. “We cannot pay Jahman for the service he has rendered to the arts community and to Nigeria,” said Oni, who described Anikulapo as the cultural ambassador of Nigeria. Professor Tunde Babawale, Director-General, Centre for Black and African Art and Civilisation, CBAAC, said though he had come in contact with Anikulapo’s writings, he left an indelible impression when he met him for the first time last October at a conference in the United States. “He is an artistic personality himself. Everything about him is art. He displays a very steadfast commitment to and is very deep in the knowledge of his profession and of arts in general. I confess that in the course of our interaction over a four-day period, I learnt a lot from him.”
Professor Pat Utomi not only described Anikulapo as a good man but also stressed the importance of culture in national development, adding that the United States dominates the world through culture. A very emotional part of the evening came when Anikulapo’s son, Oluwaseun spoke endearingly about his father’s exemplary qualities, thanking him for being a good father and a handsome man. “Dad, you are a very good man and you are very handsome,” he said.
.This article originally appeared in TheNEWS magazine of 04 February 2013