By MCPHILIPS NWACHUKWU

Against all odds,  the four year old, Life in My City festival  last month held in the coal city of Enugu; and from a ll candid estimations, the show came out stronger both in organization and in the quality of works that scaled through regional contests  held across the federation to  make for the national grand finale that held at Nike Lake Hotel, Enugu.

The festival, under the theme; Nigeria at 50 in  what became the characteristics of all the other golden anniversary exhibitions, provided another meaningful platform for Nigerian youths to engage and interpret the nation’s journey to adulthood in the last 50years.

At the exhibition which showcased the abundance of talents  that dot all the  nooks and crannies of Nigeria,  viewers were taken through an excursion of the journey of Nigeria through defining images, characters  and visual strokes captured  by the artists in their exhibited works through the media of painting, sculpture, installation, craft and photography.

Each of the exhibits showcased  tried to tell a story: a story of the nation’s  struggle for unity, corruption, infrastructural breakdown, poverty and hunger. Some of the works went as far as telling the story of pre- independence era; such that re-enacted  the narrative of that horrible Atlantic Slave trade, which its ugly impact is still felt in Africa and the Diaspora world.

Encouragingly, this year’s festival , despite the consistent absence of the presence of Enugu State government since the inception of the festival  witnessed the attendance of French Ambassador to Nigeria, Michel Dummont,  Senator Ayogu Eze, Chairman Senate Committee on Information, Barrister Peter Eze, Chairman of Board, National Gallery of Arts, Representative of the Acting Director of the National Gallery of Arts, Alhjai Muku Abdullahi, Dr Henry Achugwo, Representative of the Minister of Information,  Dora Akunyili, Mr Chika Okoye, former Director General of the National Gallery of Arts, Chike Dike, initiator of the festival, Chief Robert oji and Elder Kalu.

Speaking at the occasion, Senator Eze noted that Life in My City Festival  was a laudable project designed by its initiators to awaken the creative talents of Nigeria youths; and also to appropriating that inner  vibrant strength to engaging in  individual and national debates.

Commenting on the works, Senator Eze remarked that, “ they are remarkable expressions of the inner ability of youths given the theme of the festival.”

Apparently sounding satisfied, the initiator of Life in My City Festival , Oji observed that the quality of works on display at the 4th edition of the festival  are far better than those of the previous  editions indicating that his modest effort  is beginning to yield positive results.

“ People, who have not visited Life in My City in the last three years will be encouraged to do so now because of the quality of works they see today.” He said.

The festival, he continued, “ is all about encouraging youths to look backwards at our cultures. There is no way we can do this except by visualizing them in the form that the world would see them.”

At the end of the festival, Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu student, Samuel Ifeanyichukwu’s mixed media work titled, Pentagon Decades won the  first and highest prize money of 400,000 naira. The second  and third prizes of 250,000 and 170,000  went to Eze Okechukwu and Stephen Olayinka for their works; Celebration Activity and The Labour of Our Heroes Past respectively.

While eight artists got consolation prizes of 20,000 each for their works, the Enugu State  50,000 zonal final prize money.