By Prisca Sam-Duru

For the 2011 Lagos Black Heritage Festival Consultant, Professor Wole Soyinka, the 2- week festival which opened on the 20th of April, was a double barreled and historic festival as it featured side by side with the Nigerian Festival of Democracy.

Though the Nigerian festival of Democracy 2011 created some encroachments in the calender that nearly caused a cancellation of the programme, the 2 week Black Heritage Festival which was seen as a welcome development in that it is Nigeria’s hope for a secured future was eventually held but on a more reduced scale.

A colurful parade by youths during the 2011 Lagos carnival

Tagged, Lagos Heritage week: Animating Heritage, the Festival kicked off with Fela! A Broadway Play in Lagos which showed live for a week at the Expo Centre, Eko Hotel and Suites Victoria Island, Lagos. The highly rated Fela show presented a documentation of the life and struggle of the late indisputable Afrobeat musician. It was indeed a pulsating production that brought back the late Afro- Beat King and social maverick Abami Eda, back to life as it re-ignited memories of friends, critics, persecutors and admirers in diverse responses.

Lessons from the show

The lessons deducted from the performance according to the Nobel laureate, it is hoped would sustain the Nigeria Festival of Democracy as the Nation continues on her journey into humane liberation from the prison of retrogression.

Aside Fela shows, the public had the privilege of encountering the works of two artists who are distinctive and accomplished in their individual careers alongside their collaboration in the visual enterprise. The artists were; Nike Okundaye who has had over 102 solo and 36 group exhibitions of his works which can be found in palaces, institutions of learning and museums all over the world and Tola Wewe the current Commissioner for Arts in Ondo State. The interesting thing about the choice of the duo is that they engage in a creative duet, working on the same media.

This year’s edition of the Lagos Carnival tagged, Bright and Beautiful which held outside the original date to accommodate changes in the electoral timetable had in participation, young people beautifully costumed, parading the streets of Lagos Island and Ikoyi with grand parade at the Tafawa Balewa Square. The Carnival afforded the diverse ethnic nationalities dwelling in the city of Lagos, an opportunity to forge new alliances.

Another colurful parade by the youths at the carnival

Other features of the Festival include games; adventure, creativity and a symposium titled, Animating Heritage- The Lagos Experiment, held at Freedom Park; Two Parables for Naija a Sefi Atta and Wole Oguntokun drama performed at Terra Kulture; 2011 Cine feature by Tunde Kelani and Hi-Lites from 2010 Heritage Festival at Freedom Park as well as Regatta and painting competition with theme, Walls of Prison into Fields of Freedom.

The Painting competition which brought in a new experimental format with free-ranging styles, at Freedom Park, featured artists such as Abiola Adeyemi, Olaniyi Odunsi, Obafemi Damilola, Adeleke Akeem, Adenrele Kehinde, Badejo Abiodun, Aisha Idirisu, Ogunfunwa Sola, Akingbade Yinka, Toyin Gideon and a host of others who in their individual abilities and creativity, executed their conception of the theme.

Addressing the competitors during the competition , Prof. Soyinka stated that the competition would have been cancelled for lack of funds but his resolve for continuity made the programme to hold. Also, the excitement of letting people witness artists at work, where they exhibited a mixture of performance and internal reflection and meditation rather than exhibit already finished works, informed his strong will to continue with the competition.

Speaking to the artists, the Noble Laureate said:” We thought we had assurances from Dangote as we were in negotiations up till the last minute but it didn’t work out… the whole excercise is a mangement exercise but I believe it is the macrocosm of what we hope to resume next year.” On the choice of theme for this year’s competition, Soyinka declared, ” that’s the reality of the whole exercise especially as Fredom Park served as venue for most events. But it is entirely up to anyone to see the theme as tending towards freedom from Nigeria as an economic prison for the masses and Nigeria as it is today as usual, an illusion of freedom.”