By Adedayo Odulaja
It will not be considered news by now that Professor Wole Soyinka has now turned the enviable corner of 77 years on earth. What would be news however if the enigmatic literary giant and playwright is not celebrated by the arts, literary and theatre circles which are the very ones he has lived for all his entire life.
But this has never happened and what happened on July 15 was nothing else but a lavish honour for one of Africa’s greatest sons whose activities transverse the layers of literature, theatre, music, dance, politics and many others. It was by no means a night of much talk but space had to be given to the initiators of the colourful atmosphere to say a thing or two about the event and what led to its being put together.
According to the managing director of Zmirage Multimedia Limited, Teju Wase Karrem who collaborated with theatre practitioners to organise the event, with another year rolling by, the future of Nigeria remains gloriously bright although the challenges facing the country seem insurmountable. The values of love, faith and belief are needed beyond all others for the youths, who are the future of any country, to weather the many storms and come out glorious and that is the rationale behind the Season 2 of the Open Door Series which afforded 77 young Nigerians the special privilege of spending a day with Soyinka, the world renowned Nobel Laureate at his home in Abeokuta. This was after they had been chosen out of the whole lot of respondents who participated in a nationwide essay competition under the title “I love my country” and which will hopefully lead them to love their country even more in future.
On his own, Mufu Onifade, chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) paid tribute to the man popularly known as Kongi, saying as a global icon, Soyinka deserves all the ovation and even more.
“Wole Soyinka deserves seventy-seven rounds of applause at the age of 77 and he is such an enigmatic personality that we at NANTAP cannot but honour the man for the many things he has done for the circles of Creative Arts. Wole Soyinka is a river that you can reach through many roads; those of dance, drama, activism, literary activities and others,” Onifade said.
And when it comes to performances in the diverse areas of music, dance, theatre, drama and chanting, they came aplenty as far as that particular night was concerned. The night was first set aglow for what was to come by the Funkadelic Agidigbo Band which consisted of four drummers, one singer and a back-up singer using traditional drums and gong.
Eda Oto, a fast rising folk singer and disciple of the serenading Beautiful Nubia was next with a song titled ‘Aye o feni foro’ and in spite of the flip flops of the microphone, the dreadlocks-wearing young man improvised, getting to carry the audience along in his overall fantastic delivery. He rendered another song titled entitled ‘Somi Edumare’ before leaving the stage for others who were to come.
Corporate Band, another group of young men clad in beautiful Ankara fabrics, was the next on stage, performing a number of classic tracks like ‘Eko Akete’, ‘Oni dodo’, ‘Mummy water’ which were very popular in days long gone. Heavy sounds of bata drumming soon enveloped the entire hall when a group which did nothing other than the drums performed in more spectacular ways than one. That however was after the session for the talking drum, which they used to talk to the audience really as interpreted by one of them, had held.
Other reputable groups which performed to the enjoyment of the crowded hall include Dance Guild of Nigeria (EkoGOND), Equity Theatre Arts Musicians (ETAM), Muri Amulegboja whose ijala/ewi chanting was more than lifting. But one of the very best was that of dancing sensation, Dayo Liadi popularly known in the dance and theatre circles as ‘Ijo Dee.’ Although also let down by the audio set which would have blasted his choice of music, the man who became popular after his choreography part in the ‘Olori Oko’ video of the now split gospel group, Infinity, gave another mind-blowing performance that confirmed his high rating. It was so good one would not want to believe the master of ceremony, Shuaibu Hussein when he said the whole performance of Ijo Dee, accompanied by the guitar-playing and singing skills of Eda Oto, was an improvisation after it was evident the flip flops of the microphone would not allow for a good outing if no other arrangement was made.
Although probably not billed to be that involved in the event, two comedians were given a few minutes each to take their time on the stage and the men of the laughter trade did not disappoint in any manner. Rather, their time on stage can be described as one the highlights of the spectacular event although the whole programme was not lacking many of such as all those present could see and feel anyway.
In terms of drama still, there was nothing more appealing than the piece of dramatic impression provided by the impressive and always reliable Crown Troupe of Africa. The troupe, led by its creative director and stage/screen actor, Segun Adefila excited with its I like Lagos, I no go lie piece and it must be said that the performance was no match for any other on stage that night and they would have easily carted away any award if such was on offer. Also, the staging of an extract of Budiso, a play written by Fred Agbeyebe and directed by the wizardry Segun Adefila was a fitting icing on the cake of the occasion.
Sir Peter Badejo, who was honoured in the United Kingdom for his contribution to the theatre scene in Britain in the area of dance, was a member of the large audience that gathered to commemorate Soyinka’s birthday at the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos. So were Alhaji Teju Wase Kareem (who was part of the planning and execution of the programme himself), Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi and Chief Mrs Niyi Aluko. Others are Lara Adesola, a member of the Village Headmaster cast; Pamela Udoka, consummate children’s theatre practitioner and wife of National Choreographer, Arnorld Udoka; Shina Elegbede, Director of the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture; popular actors, Yemi Solade and Akeem Rahman; Dele Osawe and many others.
Teju Wase Kareem, in the form of a vote of thanks, commended the entire leadership and members of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners for that event which turned out even more remarkable than it was being planned.
Mufu Onifade further informed that as much as the celebration of Soyinka could not be left undone, it is not Soyinka alone that they intend to honour and celebrate. He said a long list of people who have contributed to theatre and the arts will be celebrated by NANTAP and this they have started doing already with Teju Kareem a recipient of that honour early this year.
Fred Agbeyegbe is said to be next on the list in which have been categorised into two: Living Legends and Grand Living Legends of Nigerian Theatre. For the first group, those below the age of 70 would be celebrated and for the latter, only those who are 70 years old and above beginning with Fred Agbeyegbe whose play, Budiso would be on stage soonest.
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