one of the sculptural works at a location in Enugu

By C. Krydz Ikwuemesi
The adornment of streets and public spaces in Enugu with art was first undertaken during the Emeka Omerua regime in 1986. Though a worthy venture, the regime exhibited its lack of a sense of art value by simply taking art pieces from the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) and mounting same at strategic points in the city.

They were largely student’s degree projects. Beautiful pieces they were too, all made from concrete by some of today’s best names in the art circle: Chris Afuba, Obiora Anidi, Cyril Nwokoli, Obi Ekwenchi, among others.

But for a city with annoyingly bad roads, where environmental cleanliness was farfetched, the art in the streets of Enugu, as in many Nigerian cities then, was a joke, a mockery of art and artists. This fact was often amplified by the defacing of the art pieces with political and religious posters, buntings and banners. No one would do anything of the sort in civilized places where the public and the government were less ignorant about the worth and significance of art and its potentials in social development, the perpetuation of culture and nation building.

I have never been to any country outside Nigeria and seen similar public monuments subjected to such hate and ignorance. And I am not talking about countries in Europe and America, but some of our small neighbours here in Africa. Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Senegal are good example of countries where public art is revered.    I do not know whether the attitude is changing here in Enugu, but a few years ago, public art were flagrantly abused by those in power and their agents through indecent and often reckless posting of bills and banners. At times mad people and the destitute camped around these monuments with impunity, unchallenged.

In the 1990s and until about 5 years ago, for instance, the Otigba at New Haven/Ogui Road intersection became so endangered. The artist Afuba was so worried and enraged that he would often stop as he drove through the area to tear off posters, banners and buntings from his masterpiece, the Otigba. On one occasion in 1995, we invited an art journalist from the Sunray group in Port-Harcourt to come and photograph the tormented and abused Otigba and write about the ugly trend.

As Chris Afuba climbed the sculpture that day to tear off tatters of bunting after the photograph, a traffic policeman across the road was being restrained by his colleagues from coming over to interrogate and possibly arrest us. It was an irony. If the policemen were there almost every day, why did they not arrest those who abused the monument? But the irony was also natural, as it reflected the true value of art in this society. Where ignorance is cheap, there is every tendency that political and religious banners would be more valuable
to an average policeman than an art monument.

But that was about 15 years ago. Today, there is more art in the streets of Enugu. The roads are much better than they were not even 15 years ago, but better than just four years ago. And there seems to be a burgeoning aesthetic attitude laced with a humanist spirit. I say so because, for the first time, pedestrians are taken into consideration in the road design. Street lights and traffic lights are up and working. Luxury roundabouts with flowers and other decorations have been constructed.

And most importantly, some interesting sculptures also adorn the roundabouts. It looks like someone in the government house has stumbled on the Roman maxim: “Ars natura ad salutem conspirat” (art combined with nature leads to human health). The people also seem to have suddenly acquired some aesthetic consciousness, as the new arty environment is not abused as before. In recent times, the sculptures seem to command some respect. The government also seems committed to maintaining those monuments, perhaps for the fact they
were not commandeered from somewhere gratis. They cost a fortune, I am told.

Except for a few of the new additions and some of the old ones, I am not sure who made what. That is not my interest here. I am only excited at what looks like an attempt to re-unite society and art after a long and dangerous divorce – perhaps the bane of post-independence Nigeria as a whole (not just Enugu). All the works – both old and new – are valid graphic statements by artists of diverse background.

The diversity can be seen in, at least, the thematic thrust and formal outlook of the pieces. There may be formal low points here and there in some, but they all harbour ambition and promise and vividly complement the new Coal City spirit invoked four years ago by the Chime government as it seeks to transform Enugu from a hellhole to real acropolis, from a dunghill to a haven of promise.

Yet I must not fail to comment on the apparent regularity in the gestural movement of most of the new sculptures. All seem to be gesturing heavenward in one manner or another. I am not sure what emotional or philosophic contents are concealed beneath the stylized outlook of the works. But the skyward gesture can be variously interpreted. Some may see it as a symbol of ambition and aspiration in line with the new Enugu spirit. At another level, it seems to be vaguely in tandem with the prevailing worries under this part of the sky about grace, salvation, and life everlasting.

Twenty years ago, perhaps, it would have been easy to describe the upward thrust of the works (or clearly up-raised arms in some cases) as a signification of innocence. In 2011, “innocence” is out of tune with our yearnings and consciousness in Nigeria; social cancers and political vices have clipped the wings of innocence. The outcome is a hypocritical yearning for the world to come, while abdicating our complicity in the cumulative abuse and squander of here and now.

Besides, one also wonders why none of the works elected to tell the story of Enugu, in continuation of the history embedded in the Coal Miners monument at New Market. Enugu has its historic moments; it has its heroes. These need to be celebrated to inspire the youth and confront them with their history and heritage. Perhaps this imperative would be reflected in future monuments, as one hopes the new-found art/aesthetic consciousness would be sustained. Indeed, I want to hope that Enugu and other states would sooner or later realize that street/ free art for the people is not enough. Beyond street monuments, state and local governments should build museums and galleries where the collective heritage can be conserved for the younger and future generations.

Although the poverty of the museum as a conservative instrument has become a matter of debate, we in this part of the world still need them badly, and we are yet to start to address that need seriously. And museum is so crucial to be left solely for the Federal Government.

In addition to this, State and Local Governments should also contrive local festivals through which heritage can be re-enacted and further preserved. Individuals, politicians and governments can easily organize music concerts and Christmas carols, but these should not be the only interest for a people worried at the gradual loss of their identity and the systemic ebbing of their heritage.

While keying into internationalist trends, celebrations and values, we must also promote our own core values and heritage. We should create platforms and occasions to showcase and celebrate our rich but disappearing heritage in light of the fact that culture is a basic need, not a luxury. To this extent, the new arty environment and aesthetic consciousness in Enugu are a laudable foundation. The logical imperative here is for all concerned to rise up and build on that foundation.

Painter and critic, C.Krydz Ikwuemesi, is a senior Lecturer at the University of Nigeria and the Acting International Secretary of the Pan-African Circle of Artists. He was recently a Research Fellow of the Japan Foundation in Hokkaido, Japan.