Britons are curious, passionate about Nigerian arts – UK- based Nigerian artist

The highly revered Oba of Lagos, Riliwanu Akiolu who is the custodian of the cultural heritage of the people of Lagos state led 15 other traditional rulers in the state to London on the inaugural flight of Med-View Airline to London Gatwick Airport. To announce the arrival of Med-View in United Kingdom, a Business Dinner […]

The highly revered Oba of Lagos, Riliwanu Akiolu who is the custodian of the cultural heritage of the people of Lagos state led 15 other traditional rulers in the state to London on the inaugural flight of Med-View Airline to London Gatwick Airport.
To announce the arrival of Med-View in United Kingdom, a Business Dinner was organized for Nigerian community in London, travel agents and other stakeholders.
It was a colourful and glamorous event which showcased the Nigerianness and the true Nigerian spirit which the airline is desirous of promoting and projecting. Though happening abroad, the atmosphere evoked a homely feeling and therefore no performance would have been better suited to the gathering than the one staged by Sayo Arts.
Sayo Arts is a group of Nigerians and other African performers who have come together to showcase the rich culture of Africans and Nigerians in particular as it is run mainly by Nigerians based in the UK.
Leader of the group, Ruky Euba, a graduate of Theatre Arts, University of Ibadan and indigene of Delta state who spoke to Daily Trust on Sunday after the performance, which comprised dancing and drama sketch, explained that she set up the entertainment outfit to showcase the culture of Nigeria. According to her, since delving into the entertainment field, the patronage from Britons has been incredible as they are passionate about the African culture.  
She said, “We normally go to school and perform for private function like today. Shayo Arts is mainly to show our culture because since we are in the Diaspora, it is not often that they see things that we can use to promote our culture. It is mainly to promote our culture and it’s been on for about 10 years now and we go to various places but mainly to schools.
“It is been on for about 10 years now and it is mainly a theatre in education organization. Usually I go to school, I teach them African dance and storytelling but for private functions like this, we normally do just drama sketch and we do dances.
“Most of my clients are actually non- Nigerians who are curious about our culture. Nigerians normally take it for granted that anybody can do it and they are not willing to pay for it that is it. It happens to be non- Nigerians and actually white people that are curious about our culture.”
 Speaking further on the motivation for setting up the outfit, Ebuba added, “The motivation behind it was that I studied Performing Arts at the University of Ibadan and I just saw that being here, yes you tend to do other jobs but I still want to promote the culture and so I go to different places especially schools and private functions like this and do performances and sometimes I perform solo and usually what I do is story telling. Like today, we did a bit of drama sketch based on the theme given to me.
“It has been interesting. It has been up and down but we get functions like this over the weekend and that makes up for it. My drummer is a Ghanaian, one of the dancers is Ivorian and some time I have Brazilian dancers performing with me.”
Comparing Nigerian entertainment industry with what is obtained in the UK, she said, “It is easier in Nigeria because you can get everything you want in terms of props, in terms of costume, in terms of drummers, you are able to get those, it is easier. But here too, it has been good because we have people that are interested in our culture that would come and support.”
Managing Director and Chief Executive of Med-View Airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole who was thrilled by the performance of the crew said the airline was passionate about showcasing Nigeria to the outside world, saying that explains why Med-View had gone all out to provide Nigerian delicacies to passengers aboard Med-View Airline.
He said, “There is one thing you have to realize that Med-View did on your flight coming, the taste of what was given to the passengers has a flavor of Nigerian content, you can’t find it in any airline. No airline would give you Ewedu and vegetable as you understand the value African people attach to vegetable. You have Egusi soup there, you have Efo riro. We gave you snail and you have time at interval to have something to eat. And one other thing is that the crew is 99 percent Nigerians. To be honest to you, this is just the beginning.”