The arts and Nigeria @50

In the last 50 years of self rule, the arts have, like other sectors, had its moments of triumph and despair on both the local and international arena. Many names have risen to prominence; Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Fela Kuti have changed not only their fields but the world’s perception of Africans as a whole. […]

In the last 50 years of self rule, the arts have, like other sectors, had its moments of triumph and despair on both the local and international arena. Many names have risen to prominence; Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Fela Kuti have changed not only their fields but the world’s perception of Africans as a whole.

In literature for instance, Soyinka marked the highlight with his 1986 Nobel Prize, the first for a black African. That singular event marked the headway Nigerian literature had made in the world since the huge success of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958). Achebe was recently awarded the Man Booker International Prize for his writings. Many critics feel he too deserves a Nobel and see the Booker as a sort of consolation. When he first wrote his novel, some publishers said “fiction from African writers had no market potential.”
Achebe’s triumph paved the way for the Soyinka’s, the Okri’s and the Saro-Wiwas, not to mention opening the world’s eyes to the beauty inherent in African literature.

By the turn of the millennium, the literary scene blossomed afresh with a new generation of writers emerging with the return of democracy. Many more awards have come the way of the country such that today, Nigeria is one of the most successful African countries in terms of literature.
“Nigerian literature is beginning to emerge as a distinct, identifiable literature. People will talk about Nigerian novels, not just African novels and they can mentions names that have stood tall not just locally but internationally,” Helon Habila, one of the leading new generation writers, told Sunday Trust recently.

What is remarkable about this is that these achievements came almost independent of government support. In an impoverished economy such as this, that is no mean feat.

Dancing with the wind

The biggest name to have emerged on the Nigeria music scene has to be the legendary Fela. He was to music what Achebe has been to literature except in his case, Fela’s feats are hard to follow. Not many have dared tow his path: his unique afrobeat, unmatched costumes, original lyrics, dare-devil bravado and a superstar’s lifestyle.
He left other legends in tow; the Bongos Ikwes, the Obeseres, Sunny Ades, Onyeka Onwenus and Majek Fasheks, to mention but a few.
Despite the resurgence in the music arena occasioned by the assimilation of pop with a Nigerian flair as practiced by new breed musicians – 2Face, P-Squared and the likes, and the popular acceptance of these new brands and names across Africa, none of them has yet matched Fela’s international fame and repute.
But in the last 50 years, Nigerian music cannot be said to have fared badly and the way things are going, the future could only be brighter.

The crumbling house

One aspect of the arts that cannot be said to have matched the progress of the other areas mentioned is the aspect of culture. Cultural development has been intricately linked with government and the government has been largely negligent of this very vital aspect of our national identity.
Nigeria’s greatest cultural triumph in the last 50 years arguably is the Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC 77); a marvellous convergence of thousands of cultures from all over Africa. Never mind the superstitious allegations of some spiritualist who believe the festival opened doors for the invasion of Nigeria by all sorts of spirits that have since plagued the country, the event actually forced the government to heavily invest in the culture sector, putting in place the National Theatre (which has become symbolic of Nigeria ever since), FESTAC Town among other facilities. However, the neglect of the sector is aptly demonstrated by the deplorable state of these infrastructures.
Thousands of Nigerian cultural artefacts are still in the wilderness, in private collections and colonial museums branded as primitive art. Little, if anything, has been done to reclaim them. Not to mention the once famous Khwaghir theatre, which  has paled into insignificance under the bombardment of imported pop culture.

And then came Nollywood

Today, the much celebrated Nollywood has captured the world’s attention – certainly not for the quality of its output but for the sheer audacity of its ambition. Today, it is the second largest movie industry in the world.
But we still remember fondly the pre-Nollywood epics like “Shehu Umar”, an adaptation of the book by SirAbubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s first and only Prime Minister; ironically, the man who oversaw that first Independence Day celebrations.
In terms of quality, this piece alone supersedes most of the outputs of Nollywood but the striking thing about Nollywood is how it aptly portrays the Nigerian spirit. It came from nothing and rose to stand like a colossus, holding the world in awe. It too has triumphed without government support.

And this, one hopes, will be the story this country will tell in the future – that it rose from scrap into a formidable force in the world.