By MCPHILIPS NWACHUKWU

The on going photographic exhibition tagged; 1960: Nigeria at Independence being shown at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan is uniquely, a commendable template with which  chroniclers of Nigerian  history can re-image or re-memorise the events  that shape the “geographical expression” , called Nigeria fifty years ego.

Being organized by an Ibadan, Oyo State based Non Governmental Organisation, Institute of French Research in Africa, IFRA with  the supports of Nigerian Based French oil Conglomerate, Total  E&P Nigerian Limited, Alliance Francaise and French National Centre for Scientific Research, the exhibition is  packaged as part of activities heralding the celebration of Nigeria’s golden Independence anniversary coming up in October this year.

Showcasing about 54 photographs collected  from private  and public collections, 1960: Nigeria at Independence replays history in a very engaging  manner, such that the viewer, while being taken through an excursion of the fanfare, the glamour , the hope, aspirations and the great expectations that greeted the birth of Nigeria 50 years ego begins to ask himself questions about how faithful the Managers of Nigerian State have delivered the great promises of Independence.

Curated in no defining order, the exhibition showcases works of photographs borrowed from individual archives, which capture the various moods, tenor and ambience of that historic moment. Responding to why the exhibition does not follow a defined chronological curatorial pattern, IFRA’s Director, Dr Jean-Luc Martineau explained that it was difficult to come by any archive in the country, where all the photographs of the Independence could be gotten.

Every attempt made by Martineau to source comprehensive pictures for the exhibition would not satisfactorily pay off because of the failure of  the archives of the Federal Ministry of Information and the private archives of some politicians to yield the required photographs.

“Some of the private archives and the archives of  some of the agencies of the Information ministry are said to lose their collections to the civil war. And so, I resorted to borrowing from survived private collections.” He said.

No wonder then, that some of the pictures exhibited are autographed by different lectures from different Universities across the country; including of course; lecturers in the  department of History and Institute of African Studies, Ibadan as well as, lecturers from the University of Maiduguri and some other places.

As Dr Ibitayo an Ibadan based  Archeologist noted,” This singular exhibition, with its archival challenges shows the paucity of Nigeria in documentary tradition; and also, shows the emptiness of not only our archives of history, but the general emptiness of our national memory.”

However this challenge, IFRA Director goes on to  curate the exhibition in the following order: 1960: The Transition of Power, Ibadan Celebrating the 1960 Independence, 1960: Independence &Nigerian Politics.

Different sections of the exhibition show in the black and white image print of the pictures, the great tradition, which the country at independence aspired to build:

One could see from the pictures, the vivacity in the eyes of handsome Nnamdi Azikiwe as he attended the thanksgiving service marking the independence, the spirit of comradeship displayed by Nigerians and their foreign friends at the State ball organised at the Federal Palace Hotel Lagos and the spirit of “ we can do it together” captured in a picture that has late Prime Minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, SL.Akintola and Michael Okpara.

This spirit of excitement and respect is also conveyed in the pictures displayed in the section captioned: Ibadan Celebrating the 1960 Independence. This section has pictures that display the happiness of  the Lebanese community in Ibadan, who in all gratitude showed good neighbourliness by coming out en mass to identifying with Nigeria’s Independence.

There are also images that bring into perspective, the nation’s journey into economic independence. At the section titled; Building Economic Independence, one sees of Tafawa Balewa signing agreement with officials of Shell BP in 1962 as well as the picture of the first Board of the Central Bank of Nigeria, who came on board to disentangle the country’s financial sector from the Bank of England.

These pictures re-invoke memory of great expectations and dashed hopes: Fifty years after this great outing; one begins to wonder if Nigeria as a nation has really become independent:The images seem to ask the viewer: Does  the spirit of the economic independent stride displayed by Balewa at that historic agreement with Shell, BP still sustain the economic well being of the country? What of the sorry state of the nation’s Monetary economy? These are some of the few questions that continue to beg for answers; which this beautiful exhibition provides a genuine platform to reflect upon.