A paper presented by GANI ODUTOKUN
To the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) Bi-annual Conference/Congress
November 27th-29th, 1980 in Benin-City

 

SHAPING THE NATION’S APPEARANCE THROUGH HER PRODUCTS

If we approach presentations with little or no preparation, we risk a lot. "Right or wrong it is true: If you don't make a good first impression, you may never get the chance to correct it.” So goes a copy for a menswear commercial. All products that we shape with our hands around us, including even the environment must present faces of some sort. What we make it is completely our own, which is ultimately determined by how much art we can muster towards the staggering range of artefacts that form the conglomerate of the society's material Culture - for towards the complete realisation of any function, there is the need for the persuasive charm of pure art in the details. This presents us with the problem of effective design as the hallmark of any successfully conceived function that is meant to appeal in one form or the other, to our refined sensibilities.

While ‘directly-consumable’ ART proliferates much more easily in economically buoyant and sophisticated societies as is exemplified in this century among many others, there is nevertheless, every man's need for ART. Extreme hunger may liberalise our taste for dainty food; a shanty gives us shelter with the barest convenience - but if we were to go on fighting just need, then of what use would existence be? It is the feeling that we can conquer our needs and as well add a little gain, want or colour to "celebrate" that makes us want to live.

 

If we were to attempt to separate neatly the relative significance of this phenomenon as an economic activity, we are likely to get lost in the tangle of the puzzle, as its role in production can be highly elusive. So can we really talk about its economic importance? Perhaps we may attempt this because whether it is visible or not, it is real and vital. If, however, as a hypothetical instance, art is not playing a significant role in the economic output of a nation then it is either that the nation is struggling for the very basic needs of existence or it is buying so much indirectly in the form of invisible or visible imports which raises the need for a nation to attempt to provide the basis for the design of her products.

 

Are we ready to design a good part of our products? The iron and steel mills may be rolling soon; do we have our own men to shape the faces of our own products? How much of our face is shaped from outside that we could have afforded to model ourselves? Since the advent of a conscious art education in the country's school curriculum, a lot has been achieved in the direction of providing for some man-power needs in the area of art and design. However, it is not very satisfying to note that many are unable to really practice what they learnt either, because the infrastructure has not been developed to absorb them effectively into their specific areas where their services could be more productively harnessed. Many local establishments too have not been making effective use of our local man-power resources. The standard of artistic presentation for most of our magazines and newspapers are very well below international standards. From what my investigations revealed, publishers pay little or no attention to art editing and studio staffing. Indeed we have capable and gifted personnel, and if only they will be sought and given the chance, producing such high quality magazines like Ophelia, The President, Top-life, Africa, and New Africa among others can soon turn a national tradition. We need also to develop greater zeal in our professions; we should be able to see our occupations as a possible source of keeping the human spirit alive. Furthermore, we have machines that we bought, of course, but the possession of a printing machine alone does not make the would-be printer. While we do not need foreigners to teach us ART, we need foreign technological know-how in view of our relatively under-developed technology. 

 

In fact in the area of design for today, there is a constant need for many technologically underdeveloped nations to keep abreast of what design possibilities new materials and equipment that they usually import can offer them.  A lot can be learnt from the remarks of Hermann Zapf, a renowned type-face designer in a recent edition of the Upper &Lower case journal: "Tomorrow's computerized photo composition developments will demand new design systems prepared to the last detail and we shall devise working solutions only if we dissociate ourselves from the outdated forms of the past. The world today changes more swiftly than it did in former decades." “Half of knowledge is knowing where to get it”. So goes a dictum; if we cannot get the latest in technological designs, we can afford to be fairly current and we also need to keep in touch with trends in order to effectively educate our specialists of today and tomorrow. Our educational equipment or aids can sometimes be highly inadequate and obsolete. It is not enough to just tell a student what a photo type-setting machine is, he should experience how it works and what design possibilities it can offer. The relative compatibility of the machine with the spirit of the age can further nourish a student's professional interest.

Oftentimes some design schools have had problems with obtaining industrial attachment for their students. While there is a limit to the schools' success in obtaining this facility for their students, investment in modest models of modern equipment and machinery can be a satisfactory means of off-setting some of the above problems. Sometimes even where such equipment are very expensive the possibility of economically distributing its services to other departments or arms of an institution might justify such capital investments. 

 

Recently the former government put a ban on the importation of foreign made garments. One can safely predict that foreign garments will continue to flow in as it has illegally been encouraged by smugglers until our designers are ready  to cater for our varied and sometimes esoteric tastes. This should not be mistaken for the advocacy of a situation where we would make all our clothes, as this would be very naïve. It must be seen that the provision of machines and factory complexes alone would not be enough. There should be designers to tailor the products to the varied tastes of the people. It is sad to observe the Federal Government's unwillingness to* grant scholarships to deserving Nigerians for undergraduate and even post graduate design courses abroad. This is evident from the list of scholarship awards in recent years. Most of our design schools are sometimes not thorough enough in the courses they offer; i.e. they make you specialise in so many things at the same time. Apart from this there are many modern design courses, e.g. product design, interior design (architectural interiors) and fashion design to mention a few that are not available and which we very much need.

 

When these problems are examined it is not difficult to see a need for a boost in both design education through governmental investment in design oriented undertakings as a means of developing the nucleus for an eventual proliferation of a highly viable design infrastructure. These could be undertaken at both research and commercial levels.

 

While due credit should be accorded our various art schools for the roles they have been playing so far in meeting the design needs of the nation, there is a need to constantly reappraise our problems and also to anticipate possible developments if we are not to be left too far behind. The school of architecture in the Ahmadu Bello University is a living proof of how investment in design education can help this country overcome some of her manpower problems in this sector. Since early sixties it started producing the country's first generation of locally schooled architects and by 1976, of the 206 members of the Nigerian Institute of Architects listed in the N.I.A. Directory of Members, 119 were products of the A.B.U. school. Of 61 registered practices including those owned by foreigners, 36 belong to old students from Zaria. This is no mean achievement, and attention to other areas of design education can be expected to yield such impressive results. Therefore, considering the cultural prestige that could accrue to this development as a complimentary achievement wouldn't the risk of a plunge be worth taking?

A paper presented at A Valentine of Accident and Design Conference
Department of Fine Arts, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
February 15th 2005 

 

Gani Odutokun, Ten Years After His Death

Introduction

It was ten years on February 15, 2005 since Gani Odutokun, the artist, died in a car accident on his return to Zaria from Lagos. Some of his colleagues in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria still fondly remember him but for the younger staff and the students, his name probably evokes the same effect as would Herbert Macaulay to a class of Nigerian History students. Yes, achievements he might have accomplished in his career but in a not-too-recent past. Even for some of his close associates, the details are now beginning to blur. However, the evening of August 4, 2004 was an evening like no other at the Department of Fine Arts, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The last session of the weekly seminar series entitled, Artmongering held that evening. The departmental lecture hall was as usual filled to' capacity but this time with a more varied composition of the audience. Gani's wife, Elizabeth, was in attendance and so were his four daughters, Nini, Temi, Bukky and Lola. Aliyu Dosso, one of the two survivors of the accident that killed Gani and three others, was also in attendance, and so was Mu'azu Sani, who was one of the last people that saw Gani alive in Lagos. For the first time Aliyu would recount the experience of the accident, the moments just before the accident and the last words that Gani uttered. Also, for the first time Gani's wife would recount the events of February 15 and 16, 1995 as they unfolded to her. She was eight months pregnant. Two other people spoke on how they received the news of Gani's death. As the different experiences were narrated, slides of Gani's works were projected. The narration ended just when the last frame, Gani's portrait faded off. The frame closed and darkness descended on the hall. One by one the audience filed out, many wiping away their tears.

 

This was not the first time Gani's death would be remembered and commemorated. The 1995 graduating students of the Department of Fine Arts, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria remembered him along with Joy, Victor, Edun, Samaila and Esther and wrote a tribute to them in their exhibition catalogue. In February 1996 an exhibition was organized at the Museum of the same institution to mark the first anniversary of his death. Two months later another exhibition was staged at The British Council, Kaduna. In September of the same year the exhibition was moved to the Goethe Institute, Lagos. Two months later in November, the Academic Staff Union of Universities held a seminar in Zaria to mark his death. The Department of Fine Arts, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria held a memorial exhibition in October, 1998. In June, 1999 the first leg of the Accident and Design exhibition opened at the Alliance Francaise, Kaduna and was moved the same month to the Maison de France, Lagos. The final leg of the exhibition opened to a large and enthusiastic audience in January 2000 at the Brunei Gallery, London. The organizers were proud of the fact that it was the first exhibition to hold this millennium in that gallery, something of an honour to Gani. It comprised his works and those of nine other younger artists he had influenced namely, Ken. Adewuyi, Ayo Aina, Babatunde Babalola, Lami Nuhu Bature, Kefas Danjuma, Matt Ehizele, Lasisi Lamidi, Mu'azu Sani, and the present writer. The exhibition was crucial in many aspects. It was one of the rare exhibitions held in London conceived, executed and almost exclusively funded by Africans resident in Africa. Following five years after the Seven Stories exhibition held at the London Whitechapel Gallery, it had the burden of improving upon the Africanist flavour of contemporary African art discourse. It also had the task to reshape the discourse into a manageable scope. The exhibition was well received with favourable reviews appearing in the news at home and abroad. West Africa magazine issue no. 4212 of February. 2000 for instance dedicated four pages to its review. Nka, a journal of contemporary

African art in the spring copy of the following year, had a well illustrated article that was favourably disposed to the exhibition. The opening was attended by several highly placed personalities including the Commonwealth secretary-general of the time, Chief Anyaoku and the Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK at the time, Prince Ajibola. Sir Robert Loder, the initiator of Africa '95 was also at the opening and so were several notable academics, artists and connoisseurs. The extent to which this particular exhibition made any impact is left to posterity to judge but what was definite was that all the commemorative exhibitions held in honour of Gani kept his spirit alive thus we are now able to assess the conditions that motivated his philosophy, ten years after his death.  

 

Accident and Design, The King and The Queen

Gani was born August 9, 1946 in Ghana. He graduated a painter in 1975 at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria although he could express himself equally well in other media. In 1993 he became the first elected head of department at his alma-mater. Gani expressed that his ultimate goal in painting was to achieve "an organic order that is structurally reminiscent of weather's mark on the internally evolving geological plane-an order that betrays minimal human presence". He believed that some phenomena in life evolved by chance while others were brought about by intention, life was about accident and design. He tried to replicate this in his paintings. According to him,

 

The guiding light behind most of my work is the concept of 'accident and design'. I see art as life and I perceive life as an endless circle of Oscillation between accident and Design. Man attempts to order the world around him through design. Forces intervene to aid or disrupt. In the end, what gets realized is hardly the precise thing the mind conceived. Man is never in total control. I like my art to reflect the essence, for that is my perception of reality.

 

In earlier writings we had alluded that five aspects have been identified in Gani's works: the accident and design philosophy, the social commentary, the mystic, the technical, and the eclectic. We claimed that writers on Gani have continued to maintain or slightly moderated these aspects in assessing his works. Our present focus however, is in gauging the present situation since his death, on issues he passionately discussed or expressed in his works. It will be seen therefore that much of the present concerns will emanate from the aspects of social commentary and the mystic.

 

Anthony Savile, writing about an artwork that stands the test of time, provokes the reader with an initial position that mediocre works actually have the propensity to last longer, physically. They are installed somewhere but nobody cares to look at them nor touch them so they remain intact in their position for as long as the space they occupy is not required for new developments. On the other hand, a great work of art is constantly in viewing demand and physically threatened by those who crave to touch it. Savile concludes therefore that when an artwork stands the test of time, other factors other than its survival as a structure are implied. He provides an example with Leda and the Swan by Leonardo da Vinci which is long lost but which historians remember through copies by other artists. Thus an artwork stands the test of time when it succeeds in projecting the aesthetic qualities it set to capture and when the issues raised by it continue to be relevant. So even when the work is demolished like Ben Ekanem's Queen Amina, people still remember it for what it achieved, in this case, scorning male chauvinism.

 

How have Gani's works fared?

The first painting that Gani created to address a social ill was Segregation Even at 12:01. The painting shows several stylized figures in a variety of brown and blue hues.

The ones in browns appear more detailed and prominent with Caucasian features. They appear to be in some deep conversation oblivious of the darker less prominent figures peeping at them from the darkness. These other debasing figures seem to have nothing doing except gape at the figures at the centre. At the time Gani was employed in the university a few Europeans taught alongside Africans who were in the majority. However, even in 1977 when this painting was completed and 17 years after Nigerian independence, these European academics in Zaria continued to practice apartheid. In subsequent paintings over the years, Gani proved to abhor injustice and inequity not only perpetrated by Europeans but by Africans in position of trust and leadership. His most favoured theme was the King and Queen. He had A series of paintings depicting them in different moods, many in atrocious positions. One of the most interesting works of this series is The King Shares a Joke with his General painted in 1987 and very aptly described by Daniel Babalola in Uso Vol.1 No.l. It shows a king smiling and trying a helmet he has received from the general. He removes his crown in order to do this and because he also has to adjust the helmet to fit on his head, he needs both hands thus he is about to pass on his crown to the general while the general beams with satisfaction and holds a mirror for the king to look at his stupidity. It is about twenty years since this painting was created and ten years since Gani died but the military continues to encroach into all spheres of civil life. Soldiers retire and become chiefs, emirs, or public officers. The present head of state is a retired general. From a distance, this may appear inconsequential. However, there is much to question if being a former soldier gives undue advantage at the polls.

Gani did not only paint issues related to injustice and inequity, he spoke about them at different forums and fought against them on some occasions. In 1994 for instance, the quarterly allocation to a department in the university was less than N10,000. Yet, it was not always forthcoming and heads of department s sometimes were compelled to spend their own money to have the department puff ahead. Gani as head of department then refused to register students until he was given his allocation. He thought that by taking this position the university would be moved to hasten the remission of the money. He was wrong. When he died a year later he was yet to receive that allocation and he was owed money by the university from running the department out of his pocket. The situation has not changed much. Someone recently compared the present N20,000 quarterly allocation against the amount a wife of a governor spends on buying fuel monthly for her fleet of cars.

 

It could not be established whether or not Gani was an adherent to any of the religious denominations. He did not betray any leaning in public although he was born into an Islamic family. Perhaps his later preference to be called Gani Odutokun rather than Abdul GaniyuRaji, his name at birth, was motivated by his desire to remain neutral. There was no doubt however, that the concept of accident and design was anchored on the belief that a strong force was behind creation whose primary motive was to maintain order in the universe even at the cost of eliminating human beings, the creators of chaos. That was why Gani spoke of "an organic order that is structurally reminiscent of weather's mark on the internally evolving geological plane- an order that betrays minimal human presence." It will appear that Gani was making reference to the evils of war, the devastation it causes. This ties well with his grouse with the ruling class which he portrayed in his King and Queen series. Most wars are fought over frivolous reasons and as a consequence of the irresponsibility of the ruling class. His later paintings typified by Dry Earth painted in 1993 show standing skeletons in otherwise, deserted landscapes. We continue to see such pictures regularly in the news especially in African countries like Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan.

 

Promoting Art and Artists in Theory and Practice

The propagation of art and artists was critical to Gani both in theory and practice. It should be recalled that he lost his life in the process, returning from a group exhibition. In the 1980s he, Tayo Quaye and some of his colleagues in Zaria worked hard with B.J. Doherty to raise the level of art appreciation in Kaduna. Doherty set up the Avant Garde Gallery and by the beginning of the 1990s the gallery had become very successful and the only major outlet for many artists in northern Nigeria to show and sell their works. There began to appear serious art collectors in Kaduna like Col. Ahmadu Yakubu and Capt. Usman Mu'azu. In these two collections could be found some of the best works by Ben Enwonwu, ErhaborEmokpae, Bruce Onobrakpeya and numerous other artists both old and young. Presently, the situation is sadly different. The Avant Garde Gallery collapsed after the death of Doherty in 1995. Col. Yakubu died in 1997 while Capt. Mu'azu died in 2003. The British Council in Kaduna which occasionally offered its hall for exhibitions closed down in 2002. The Alliance Francaise remains the only surviving venue for infrequent exhibitions in Kaduna.

 

In 1989 Gani along with four other artists set up The Eye society which mission was to project the visual arts as instrument of development, The society organized exhibitions and published an art journal, The Eye, which at that time was the only thriving art journal on the African continent. Gani was also the chairman of the Kaduna State branch of the Society of Nigerian Artists and the National vice-president. Since his death both The Eye society and the state branch of the Society of Nigerian Artists have remained inactive.

Gani is missed at the Ahmadu Bello University by his fellow artists over two fundamental issues. The first issue relates to the question of whether or not a studio artist requires a Ph.D. to function in academics. The second issue is about the promotion of studio artists in Ahmadu Bello University. The artists compare their exhibitions as at least equal to journal publications. These issues have remained topical in the promotion exercise in Ahmadu Bello University for some time. Gani himself had once registered for a Ph.D. in Art History. He completed the course work but withdrew from the programme later because, according to him, he could not truly establish how a Ph.D. was ever going to help him solve problems that he encountered in the studio. This debate on whether or not a Ph.D. was necessary for a painter or sculptor in academics has become national. At a recent conference held at the Delta State University, Abraka entitled, Re-Interrogating the Visual Arts Curriculum in Nigeria, Olu Oguibe in his keynote address stated that,

 

It has been fifteen years since I left "Nigeria for the United Kingdom, and nearly a decade since I left England and moved to the United States. In that period it has been my fortune to teach in numerous art programs in both the United Kingdom and here in the United Stales, Goldsmiths College, London one of the premier art institutions in Europe, and my current institution in Connecticut where I teach drawing, critical theory and an history. I recall this with the sole purpose of underlining my considerable familiarity with contemporary art education in both Europe and America and should state that nowhere on those two continents have I come across a system or policy that requires studio teachers to present qualifications beyond the Degree of Master of Fine Arts, which is their terminal degree... El Anatsui, Obiora Udechukwu and the late Gani Odutokun were able to provide such training for my generation without requiring doctoral degrees...  Again this issue returns us to the question of purpose. What is its motivation, what is its goal? If the purpose is to make studio practitioners better teachers, then obviously the logic is deeply flawed since doctoral degrees do not make better painters or teachers of painting, I would know if it were otherwise…

 

Conclusion

Anatsui and Udechukwu became professors at the University of Nigeria. Many believe that if Gani were alive, he would have been a professor as well, despite the seeming misunderstanding of the artist's scholarship at the Ahmadu Bello University. Many believe that if he was a professor, he would argue strongly for the recognition of the peculiarities of the artist's scholarship thereby getting many studio artists who have not been promoted in the past ten to fifteen years, promoted. At the moment, there appears to be lacking an influential senior academic who would argue the cause of the studio artist. As a result, exhibitions, for now, count for nothing in their promotion in Ahmadu Bello University. We hope that by the time Temi, Gani's daughter who has just enrolled in his alma-mater graduates, things would have changed for the better.

 

References

Hynes, N. (2001) Gani Odutokun: Accident and Design, in Euwezor, O. ed. (2001)

NkaNo. 13/14 Spring/Summer: New York: Nka publications p67-73.

 

Jari, J. (2000) From Abdul GaniyuRaji to Gani Odutokun in Jari, J. and Nwankwo, A. eds. (2000) Accident and Design: Gani Odutokun and His Influence. London: School of Oriental and African Studies p12-25.

 

Orakwue, S. (2000) A Tribute to the Life, Work, and Influence of Gani Odutokun: A Major Exhibition at the Brunei Gallery, Londonin Gaye, A. ed. (2000) West Africa.

Issue No. 4212 February. London:Afrimedia International Ltd p40-43.

Savile, A. (1982) The Test of Time in Lamarque, P. and Olsen, S. eds. (2004) Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. p253-261.

An Analysis of Gani Odutokun’s Painting
By Temidayo Odutokun
September, 2021

 

Segregation Even at 12:01

Gani Odutokun believed that one must be informed and conscious of first, one’s self and then of one’s environment and happenings therein, that directly or adversely affect us. The reason for our existence may well be purposeful towards thriving; excelling and enjoying what life is, while learning from nature and respectfully interacting with the environment and all fellow human beings, no matter our differences.

Segregation Even at 12:01 is a painting Gani created in 1977. The first striking feature of the work is the artist’s use of contrasting colour tones in distinct parts. There are the warm tones of orange, yellow, red and brown, situated in the middle of the composition and surrounding this warmth are tones of the cooler colours of blue, blue-green. These areas of the composition are subdued and evoke a sense of gloom.

Segregation Even at 12:01 

Gani Odutokun, 1977.

In this painting, racism is the subject. It was initially named Staff Club at 12: 01. As Jari (2000) affirmed, it is “perhaps the most profound commentary Gani would make in a single painting”. Typically Gani would rather the more subtle approach of hiding meaning in his work, just enough as if to test for meriting decipherers and interpreters. Fosu (1981) writes that, Gani described this, as his having the real meaning to his works “in hidden clouds. ” One could say that most of his messages were crafted to spur deeper seeking.

The painting shows stylised portrayals of men with Caucasian features - like dramatically pointy noses, who appear in warm, flattering light. These figures appear deep in conversation, with faces close together as if discussing privileged information, while excluding the surrounding black people, whom the artist portrays with wider looking noses, in the blue, blue-green background. The Black people appear subdued in the dominant dark background - very symbolic, if one were to consider it a bit more; A familiar case of the white race enjoying illumination in terms of knowledge, privilege, advantage, advancement and all that light signifies, ignited by fiercely striking the back of the black man and in this case, even in the black man’s own land.

The subject of racism becomes a rather uncomfortable one to talk about or dwell on for a long time, especially in parts of the world where people of different races live. Grave injustice and cruelty has been carried out against the black race especially, for ages and although it is now to a lesser degree, it assumes new forms and is very much ongoing. As uncomfortable as the subject may be, Gani spoke very plainly about his stand against racial discrimination and other forms of prejudice, in writing as well as through his visual art expressions. On the subject of having a definite stand on issues, a handwritten note in one of Gani’s sketch books from the 1970s read, “You can’t be an extremist when you have nothing to say. To say something, you have to choose between opposing possibilities. When you have something to say, you express an extremist point of view either way”.

By this, one could infer that Gani encouraged taking a clear standpoint on any given subject, and being boldly expressive of it. By referring to any one of two standpoints as an extremist point of view, he may have expressed the need for passion in being; in living life and in expressing conceived perceptions.

Interaction between man and environment is to be seen in most of Gani’s work. On observing some of his work from the 1980s and the 1990s, particularly the ones done in the more fluid mediums of gouache and liquidized oil, one notices how effectively he included Imagery that give an inkling into the socio-cultural/environmental circumstances his human subjects were surrounded by. With only a few lines, he would depict cities with such architectural accuracy as would evoke momentary contemplation. The artist appeared to have a consciousness of the impact of environment and or social experiences on man, as determining factors for his productive capabilities.

Elizabeth Millie Odutokun, Gani’s wife (2021), describes her understanding of the painting (as expressed by her late husband) as a depiction of “the relationship and attitude of the black indigenous Nigerians and the white expatriates with one another, in the small community of the Ahmadu Bello University, (A.B.U) Zaria of those days”. She recalls that, during that period, only the white foreign staff of the University would sit in the A.B.U Staff Club, close to the light, music and entertainment from 6pm to 12am.

There was some unspoken yet very real practice of segregation in some aspects, like that which the painting portrays. White people are said to have dominated the scene at the club, while the blacks hung somewhere in the background, until sometime around midnight when the whites would begin to leave and the place would get filled up with more black people. This dissociation was what inspired the painting.

Oniye (2021), recalls this clear practice of apartheid as it was in the late 1970s when he was a student at the Ahmadu Bello University. On visits to the club with his supervisor for lunch, he noticed three sections of the club - each of which was dominated by the whites and was rarely seen to be in use by people of both races at the same time.

The pool, he recalls, was almost only used by the whites, and only one black man, Dr. D.G.F. Harrison (now late) used the pool and tried to teach black children, especially, how to swim.

There was the sit out section which was then an open space, with a huge Shea butter tree under which the white people would often take shade. There wasn’t much integration if any, to be seen at all.

There was the cold room or inner room which was again dominated by the whites, which a few black people appeared to sneak in an out of, for a beer, often keeping a low profile.

By 1980, Sonnie Oniye had become a staff member of the University, himself and recalls that there were some whites who were liberal and would interact with the blacks, and even had black spouses or some other form of ties with blacks. Somewhere on the left of the painting, within the blues, is seen intense bits of the warm colours used in the middle of the composition. This may be interpreted as indication that the segregation was not absolute. However, it was not until the mid-1980’s when the whites began to leave Nigeria, that the relics of this silent apartheid started to be seen less and less.

Of note is that this practice didn’t come to an end, it only faded with the exit of the whites. However, it appears that the awakening of the black man to self-discovery and awareness, has been on a steady rise and it was only a matter of time before this apartheid was to be challenged, in the community of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Perhaps, Segregation Even at 12:01 was the ‘word’ of challenge against this practice; the creation of the painting, an invitation for the black suppressed to begin to recognise and assume their rightful place and for all to evolve past the simple minded bonds of racial discrimination.

The heartbreak in this, is the power of the mental abuse of racism – that it exists and it carries on even without spoken or written laws but by sheer observation by the black man, negative personal or passive experiences and consequent conformation –So bad, that entire nations of graceful civilizations would submit to the dictates of some other, that command the one to shrink themselves all the way to inconsequence.

The message in this painting, affirms Gani’s disdain for prejudice of this sort. Gani believed that Africa’s potential for true independence and progress abounds in self-reliance and in many ways, he advocated for individuals and nations of Africa to look inwards to discover self and what great things we are truly capable of achieving.

He didn’t believe that the influence of interaction with other cultures or civilizations was to be blocked out. He once described this, as naïve. However, in a paper Gani wrote in 1989, he asserted that

“There is a need for these (African) nations to control their consumption of the cultural artefacts and social norms of these developed countries. This problem should be attacked from the roots - right from the early school years, giving greater enlightenment to the children on the need to understand, accept and develop their own cultural values to suit inevitable contemporary dictates. By this, these values will permeate the fabric of both the material and social culture”.

The extent of exposure to foreign culture is what Gani believed, needs to be regulated, so that Africans with our distorted understanding of self, from a young age, would instead, be gifted the knowledge of our own origins; of the intelligent reasons behind many of our indigenous cultural practices and unique artefacts through time. This way, pride is learnt. It is achieved - The pride in self-knowledge that births confidence and a daring spirit that would seek to take back what was taken from Africa and brainwashed out of the African mind; the pride that would spur innovation of objects and concepts esoterically designed for the special needs of African societies and indeed, others around the world. Interrelations and collaborations between individuals and nations, is always key to faster, more effective growth.

The notion that the white race is superior, has been perpetuated for centuries through false impressions and various attempts to muddle up the true African identity as a noble, majestic race. Possibilities of the African man’s true discovery of himself have been strategically thwarted over many years, and the unity of African nations and sub sects has remained a threat and consequently, disunity, a pawn with which Africa is manipulated by imperialists and quite tragically, by the African man himself as much.

Perhaps the racist population has not overcome the fear of back potential. Yet the stereotypes that fuel these fearful impressions, are formed based on the black man’s responses to the inhumane conditions that white supremacy ideologists have subjected him to, over generations. Perhaps there is an innate awareness of the potential of the back man to make excellence out of nothing but strength of spirit, if need be. This awareness may be both admirable and threatening to the racist person.

Time is long due for humanity to see past such prejudice against fellow human beings. It is inconceivable that anyone would still consider and believe in racial superiority today. Yet it is explainable. The trade in slaves was abolished only a little over 200 years ago.

Humanity have the tendency to seek out differences and dwell on them. The Greco-Roman empire thrived on the use of slaves; Egypt practiced slavery in different forms; The holocaust was carried out by one sect of people, who nurtured the idea of being superior to all other races of the world, including a race that was same as theirs. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade that went on for about four centuries did happen. It means, for that long, people held unto the idea of being better than other people who simply looked different and did things differently. But evolution and societal development should happen in our minds as much as in our environments and as much as human beings have this tendency to seek out differences, we have the capacity to do same with similarities. 12:01, as in the title of Gani’s 1977 painting, implies - past an already due time; later than late; or overdue change.

Change could be gradual or it could be sudden. From the Black Lives Matter movement that has led a series of change initiating events, to the current President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, out rightly holding off on ‘shaking hands’ with the government of Switzerland, over the heads of an exploited nation. His recent indication of plans to severe the centuries-long trade in cocoa between Ghana and Switzerland, is a bold step towards ending lingering imperialism in disguise. A necessary move to avail Ghana its own needed resources to strengthen its industrial capabilities and grow the economy into a stronger, self-reliant one. Whether or not Ghana is currently ready for this, whether or not his aspiration has taken effect, it is the sparking of the idea and its taking root in the hearts of young Africans that holds the most value.

Africans must become more committed to learning about self, about Africa and the place of glory from which we come; to finding our light – with the knowledge of our origins. The world must grow into understanding and acceptance of the reality that we are all simply, the same.

The painting, Segregation Even at 12:01, as confirmed by Prof Jacob Jari(2021), was acquired by the National Council for Arts and Culture, Nigeria in 1981.

 

References

Fosu, K. (1981). The Seemingly Unbalanced Equilibrium, Exhibition Catalogue. Adenic Enterprises (Printers) Kaduna.

Jari , J. J. (2000). Accident and Design Exhibition Catalogue. Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental and African Studies: ukprintonline.com.

Jari, J. J. (2021). Interview. September 4, 2021

Odutokun, E. M. (2021). Interview. Zaria. September 2, 2021

Odutokun, G. (1980, November). Towards a Creative Nationhood. Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) Bi-Annual Conference/Congress.

Oniye, S. J. (2021). Interview. Zaria. September 5, 2021