The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has ordered the immediate probe of one of its members, and former minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, for criticising the party's leadership and calling for its resignation.
The party said Mr. Fani-Kayode should be sanctioned for launching a media war against its leadership.
Mr. Fani-Kayode, alongside the Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, and some other PDP members, have blamed the leadership of the party for PDP's defeat in the recent national elections.
Mr. Fani-Kayode, who was the spokesperson for President Goodluck Jonathan's presidential campaign team, on Tuesday accused two unnamed members of the party's National Working Committee of working for the opposition All Progressives Congress.
In a dramatic response Wednesday, the party ordered the PDP in Osun State, Mr. Fani-Kayode's home state, to immediately investigate and punish the former minister.
In a letter signed by its National Secretary, Wale Oladipo, the party mandated the PDP in Osun to first establish whether Mr. Fani-Kayode has been a "registered and financial member".
If Mr. Fani-Kayode is a member, the party said, he should be punished severely, otherwise, he should be treated as a usurper.
The party also summoned its deputy national organizing secretary, Okey Nnadozie, to explain the whereabouts of the party's money which was supposed to be paid to state chairmen of the party at the last national convention.
The party said Mr. Nnadozie should appear at the party's office in Abuja on Thursday.
The NWC also said it has set up a seven-man disciplinary committee headed by Micheal Abdul.
Tony Okeke, former acting National Publicity Secretary of the party is to serve as Secretary of the committee.
The Committee will be inaugurated on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at the National Secretariat of the party.
The NWC also expressed the party's complete confidence in the National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, and commended him for his "outstanding performance, exemplary commitment and sacrifices", particularly in the ways and manner with which he conducts the affairs of the Publicity Directorate in projecting the positive image of the party and its government.
Meanwhile, the NWC has said it would confirm on Thursday whether the Chairman of its Board of Trustees, Tony Anenih, has resigned or not.
On Wednesday, the Spokesperson of the PDP, Olisa Metuh, announced the resignation of the party's Chairman, Adamu Mu'azu, citing his health as reason.
A source within the PDP had earlier informed PREMIUM TIMES Mr. Anenih would also resign alongside the ex-chair.
In a text of the resolution of the NWC meeting on Wednesday, the national secretary, Wale Oladipo, confirmed the "Voluntary resignation" of Mr. Mu'azu.
He said "on the correct position of the status of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, the NWC will make its position public tomorrow, Thursday, May 21, 2015".
The NWC also confirmed that Mr. Muazu's deputy, Uche Secondus, is acting as the National Chairman of the party, in line with the provisions of sections 45 (2) of the PDP constitution.
It also said Mr. Secondus will serve as chairman "pending a replacement from the North East zone".
Actress, Adeola Adelowotan, popularly referred to as Iya Ibeji, in a recent interview with a ENCOMIUM, has debunked gossips that she has separated from her husband, asserting that her marriage is ‘intact’.
The Yoruba actress said: ‘I told you, I don’t have any problem with my husband. My husband stays in the UK but he’s around now. I never had any problem with him. I have not separated from him. My marriage is intact. We signed a life contract. I can’t part ways with my husband because he is the only love of my life. I can’t leave him and he can’t as well leave me. I have gotten four children for him. So, I don’t know why some people enjoy peddling unnecessary rumors’.
A teenager, Rachael John, and a nine-year-old girl, Joy Atunramu, have been arrested by men of Ogun State Police Command for allegedly kidnapping their neighbour’s nine-month-old baby.
The suspects were arrested on Wednesday by detectives attached to Ilese Police Division, Ijebu Ode.
The baby was said to have been lured away from the mother’s shop at Old Toll gate area of the town by Atunramu, allegedly acting on the instruction of Rachael.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the police swung into action after the mother of the baby rushed to the police station to lodge a complain about the incident.
Adejobi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said Rachael was later arrested with the baby at Ogbere in the Ijebu area.
The police spokesman said, “It was gathered that the suspect had a conflict with the mother of the baby before the baby was stolen. She vowed, via a written letter, to deal with the mother of the baby.
“Though initially, the mother did not know who actually stole the baby, neighbours and some eyewitnesses, who saw the suspect with the baby intimated the mother and the police detectives with the information before the arrest of the suspects.
“It was also gathered that the suspect (Rachael) allegedly demanded the sum of N2m before she would release the baby.”
Candidate of the Labour Party in the last governorship election in Ekiti State, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele, on Thursday defected to the All Progressives Congress on the floor of the House of Representatives.
He wrote a formal letter to the House, which was read to members by the Speaker, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, soon after the session started.
The outgoing Chairman, House Committee on Legislative Budget and Research, represents Ado Ekiti/Irepodun-Ifelodun Federal Constituency of Ekiti State.
He said he was joining the APC to contribute “more meaningfully” to the governance of the country.
Part of the letter reads, “I am writing to formally inform you and the entire House that I have formally decamped to the All Progressives Congress, APC, along with many of my constituents and supporters beyond the immediate constituency I represent in the parliament.
“Kindly note for the record, Mr. Speaker, that I was elected into this parliament on the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, which had become defunct as of the time I joined the Labour Party in November 2013. The APC was subsequently registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“It is my conviction, as well as that of my constituents and political associates, that joining the APC at this crucial stage of our nation’s polity will enable us contribute more meaningfully to our collective bid to entrench good governance and enhance socio-economic development, while enhancing the growth of our democracy.”
A member from Akwa Ibom, Mr. Micah Umoh, also followed Bamidele’s footsteps by defecting to the APC from the Accord Party on Thursday.
Umoh was formerly a member of the Peoples Democratic Party until December 2014 when he was edged out of the party’s primaries .
He moved to Accord Party ahead of the general elections, but abandoned the party again on Thursday for the APC.
Umoh did not win his re-election bid.
The two defectors had increased the numerical strength of the APC to around 216 going to the 8th Assembly, out of a total of 360 lawmakers.
President Goodluck Jonathan has said that despite the possibility of rejecting the result of the last presidential election, he opted to concede defeat for peace to reign.
Jonathan who said he could not afford to waste the blood of Nigerians in a bid to hold on to power, noted that he would always be committed to strengthening democracy in the nation and Africa.
Jonathan, who had a rather turbulent dispensation as Nigeria’s president, said he made a choice for peace rather than make the nation ungovernable
According to a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the president, Dr. Reuben Abati, Jonathan made the remarks while receiving members of the African Ambassadors’ Group, who were on a farewell and solidarity visit to at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President said, “I believe that character matters in leadership. And it is not just about who becomes the President of a country, but somebody has to be there and the person needs the support of all to succeed.
“I made a choice to keep the country away from conflict. I have always advised other African leaders that we will need to have a country before we can have the ambition to become President.
“We don’t have to expose our people to deaths because we want to stay in power. Some people hold on to power, may be, for fear of the unknown.”
What a miserable man. Burundi President, Pierre Nkurunziza appears not
to be bordered with the ongoing civil unrest, destruction and deaths
happening in his country over his third term bid. He was photographed
playing football with his close associates yesterday, May 20th.
A Nigerian, Sunday Iwalaiye has started a petition on change.org calling
on authorities of Yale University to withdraw the Honorary Degree it
bestowed on Minister of Finance and Coordinator of the Economy, Dr Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala on May 15th.
Sunday, in his petition stated that Dr Okonjo-Iweala is not deserving of
the honorary degree as the Nigerian economy has taken a nose dive since
she assumed office as Minister of Finance. A thousand Nigerians have so
far signed the petition.
His petition :
YALE UNIVERSITY GAVE ITS PRESTIGIOUS HONORARY DOCTORATE DEGREE TO AN
UNDESERVING NIGERIAN
Ngozi Iweala, the outgoing Nigeria's finance
minister was awarded a honorary doctorate degree by Yale University on
May 15, 2015.
The citation from the Yale University reads:"Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Doctor
of Humane Letters. You are a citizen of your country, your continent,
and the world. Shaped by challenging experiences during your childhood
in Nigeria, you have made social and economic reform your mission. As
Nigeria’s coordinating minister of economic development and minister of
finance, you have tackled corruption, created a vision and path to
long-term economic stability, and worked to build a culture of
transparency. At the World Bank, you made food security a priority and
provided policy advice and capital for the world’s poorest countries.
With wisdom, a fierce dedication to doing what is right, and unflagging
energy, you have transformed the economic landscape of your nation. We
are proud to name you Doctor of Humane Letter"
This citation from the Yale University does not reflect nor represent
everything that has happened under the watch and the supervision of the
Nigerian economy by Ngozi Iweala as the nation's finance minister. There
is no tangible evidence of any economic development in Nigeria under
the leadership of Ngozi Iweala in all reality. Nigeria's economy is
still an oil-dependent economy that is debt and borrowing ridden as well
as 100% consuming and importing in nature.
Nigeria's debt profile has risen rapidly under Ngozi Iweala and Nigeria
has borrowed over $2 billion in the last four months alone to pay
salaries of the federal and state civil servants.
Our foreign reserves and excess crude oil accounts have both depleted
heavily under Ngozi Iweala. The recurrent expenditures in the federal
budgets reached the highest levels which made capital development
practically impossible in Nigeria under Ngozi Iweala.
The board of regents of this ivy league school missed it completely by
awarding their prestigious honorary doctorate degree to an undeserving
Nigerian in all truth, honesty and reality. The Nigeria's economy has
remained the same under Ngozi Iweala without any evidence of its
diversity from oil.
The Nigerian Naira crashed to its lowest value in its history under
Ngozi Iweala. The true picture that Yale University missed is the fact
that the economy of Nigeria has almost grounded to its final halt today
which will makes its a daunting task for the incoming administration of
General Muhammadu Buhari to meet its campaign promises.
The menace of official corruption and financial scandals have both
reached their peaks in Nigeria under Ngozi Iweala. A central bank
governor was fired for disclosing that $20 billion was missing from the
federal coffers and this allegation was investigated in a shady and
questionable manner. The oil subsidy scam that cheated Nigeria's tax
payers of trillions of Naira was coordinated and supervised by Ngozi
Iweala.
The culture of official corruption and state resource mismanagement were
both honored, celebrated, protected and defended under the leadership
of Ngozi Iweala as the supervising coordinator of the Nigerian economy.
To give a honorary doctorate degree to an undeserving Nigerian by this
world's reknown university is the biggest slap on the faces of the 180
million Nigerians in 2015. I am using this social medium to appeal to
the board of regents of this prestigious university to withdraw this
honorary degree that they awarded to this Nigerian immediately and
without any further delay for the sake of posterity
Nigeria’s president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari may have been
holding discrete talks with petrol importers on how to resolve the
lingering scarcity confronting the nation.
News of the meeting was broken today by Tokunbo Korodo, the south west
chairman of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers
(NUPENG).
He said he had the information that the Depot and Petroleum Products
Marketing Association (DAPPMA) is meeting with the President-elect on
the subsidy issue.
“I think the outcome of that meeting may determine if DAPPMA will reopen
the depots for loading or import more into the country.”
Korodo said the prevailing fuel scarcity may worsen if depot owners shut
their depots to tanker drivers. According to him that no tanker driver
had loaded petroleum products as at 1.30 p.m on Monday.
“What I was told was that the independent depot owners may have shut
their depots to tanker drivers because of the over N200 billion owed
them by the Federal Government”.
He said that the relocation of tankers from highways and the inability
to load fuel at the depots were responsible for the free-flow of traffic
in Apapa axis.
Korodo added that the recent directive by the Lagos State Government
for tanker drivers to relocate from the highways within 48 hours had not
yielded any result.
According to him, tanker drivers have vacated the highways but other
heavy duty vehicles, especially container drivers have taken over.
“The government cannot chase tanker drivers away for other heavy duty vehicles to occupy the space.
“Lagosians should know that tankers have not been the problem of gridlock in Lagos.
“We occupied the road because we were told to pick fuel only at Apapa,” he said.
He urged the government to settle importers for calm to return to the sector.
NAN reports that the petroleum products’ marketers said on May 14 they
would no longer import products except the Federal Government settle
their subsidy claims.
The marketers said that the last meeting they had with the Minister of
Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Abuja ended in a deadlock.
The government had put the subsidy debt at N131 billion while the marketers insisted on N200 billion.
A
60 year old resident pastor of the Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and
Seraphim at Agodo-Egbe, Ikotun Lagos, Prophet Micheal Raji, has been
arrested by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency NDLEA
over unlawful attempt to export of 174 kilogrammes of hard narcotic
drugs worth N609 million to South Africa.
Prophet Raji, believed to be a member of a drug trafficking
syndicate, concealed 91kg of Methamphetamine and 83kg of Ephedrine with
an estimated street value of N609 million in different foodstuffs tied
in polythene bags.
According to Vanguard, Prophet Michael Raji was arrested with the
drug at the cargo section of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport
(MMIA) during pre-shipment examination.
A statement by NDLEA says he was found with three international passports bearing his name with his picture.
“Preliminary investigation has indicated that the 60 year old
suspect Michael Raji is a top member of a drug syndicate operating in
Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. The pastor had three international
passports bearing his photographs. One of the passports bears the name
Michael Raji while the other two bear the name Kadigun Fatah Ola. It was
equally discovered that the church premises where he ministers also
serves as a warehouse for narcotics,” NDLEA said.
Speaking on his
arrest, the NDLEA commander at the Lagos Airport, Mr. Hamza Umar said “I
can tell you that this suspect is a smooth operator but we have
uncovered his bag of tricks. The drugs were brought to the airport for
export to South Africa where it was detected. Investigation eventually
traced the movement of the drugs to his church premises where he was
arrested,” Hamza stated.
Patience Egbeni and Kate Eni, two cousins of President Goodluck
Jonathan, have been abducted by gunmen at Akimpelai, Ogbia local
government area of Bayelsa State.
The Nation gathered that the unidentified gunmen, numbering six,
stormed the community riverbank at about 8.30am on Tuesday and seized
the women.
The women were reportedly abducted from their provision stores located along the riverbank.
A source, who spoke in confidence, said the hoodlums forced their
victims into a waiting speedboat and took them to an unknown place.
The incident, which occurred few days to a grand reception being
organized for President Jonathan on May 29, was said to have devastated
the President’s kinsmen.
The source said: “The victims are two maternal cousins of the
President. We know that they have been preparing to welcome the
President after the May 29 handover. Unless they are rescued before
then, their dream of welcoming their brother will be a mirage.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Butswat Asinim, said the gunmen were dressed in military camouflage.
Asinim, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said one of the victims, Egbeni, is 35 years old.
“The gunmen were dressed in military camouflage. They went to the
provision stores of the victims at the riverside and abducted them into a
waiting speedboat,” he said.
He said the marine and anti-kidnapping squad of the police, including
the Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Pulo Shield, had been contacted.
A 36-year-old barber, Azeez Adewale, charged with peeping at his
female neighbour while bathing in the bathroom, was arraigned on
Wednesday in Lagos.
Adewale, who resides at No. 23, Arowojobe St., Lagos, is being tried
for breach of peace and assault at an Oshodi Magistrates’ Court.
The prosecutor, Cpl. Kehinde Olatunde, told the court that the accused committed the offences on May 17 at his residence.
He said that the accused was peeping at his neighbour, one Miss Victoria Emmanuel, in the bathroom while taking her bath.
“The accused was secretly looking at the complainant when she was bathing,” he said.
Olatunde said that the accused was sitting at the passage when the complainant passed with a bucket of water to bath.
“The accused sneaked and followed her behind, he went to the back of
the bathroom where there is a small hole, stood there and was peeping at
her while she bathed,” he said.
The prosecutor said that when the complainant noticed an eyeball watching her, she poured soap water on the eye.
“While she was bathing, she sighted an eye looking at her through a
small hole in the bathroom and she poured soap water on the eye.
“The accused forcefully opened the bathroom door, descended on the
complainant by punching her severally on her face, and she quickly
shouted for help and neighbours came to her rescue,” Olatunde said.
He said that before that day, the accused had on two different
occasions went to knock on the complainant’s door at 12 midnight asking
her to open her door that he wanted to deliver a message.
“The accused knocked the complainant’s door at midnight begging her
to allow him enter that her friend sent him to her, the complainant
always ignored him, telling him to wait for day to break,” he said.
The offences, Olatunde said, contravened sections 166 and 171 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. Section 171 prescribes a three-year jail term as penalty for offenders.
The accused pleaded innocence of the offences and was granted bail in the sum of N50, 000 with one surety in like sum.
The Magistrate, Mr Akeem Fashola, adjourned the case to June 8 for mention.
Dr.
Salamat Ahuoiza Aliu is a neurosurgeon at National Hospital, Abuja. She
is the first indigenous trained female neurosurgeon in Nigeria is also
the first female to be certified a neurosurgeon in West Africa.
Dr. Aliu is an indigene of Okenne Local Government Area of Kogi State
but was born in Ilorin, Kwara State, where she had most of her education
up to the university level. She found the area of neurosurgery
interesting and intriguing, and then decided to specialize in the
discipline.
When an opportunity opened up for her at the Neurosurgery Centre in
Sokoto state, she went ahead to train in spite of discouragements and
difficulties. The training, which takes about six years to get
certified, if there no unforeseen circumstances during the training
period, tested both her capacity to handle the pressures of the job as
well as managing her job with other family responsibilities.
Since she got certified, she has mentored other four women who are
also training as neurosurgeons- two are training in Sokoto, one in
Ibadan and another in Enugu. And many more women have considered
specializing in neurosurgery.
In 2014, she co-authored a publication, ‘Knotting of a nasogastric
feeding tube in a child with head injury: A case report and review of
literature’, which has been published on so many websites providing
resources for science and medical researchers.
It's
indeed yet another shocking revelation from Edo State Governor, Adams
Oshiomhole about his new wife, Iara Fortes, saying he met her as a
virgin.
The Comrade governor made the revelation during their wedding thanksgiving service.
He said, “I can boldly tell all of you that I was a very principled
man during my first marriage. I didn’t succumb to the worldly pleasures
of this lustful environment, even though I had lots of opportunities.
And it was this principled sobriety that made me fish for a virgin wife.
“I can boldly say to you all that I was the first man to know her (Lara Fortes) and initiated her into the worldly ways.
“This is the kind of spirit I want Edo youths to inculcate, instead of
messing around and engaging in different shades of adultery and
fornication.”
Not many in her homeland appear to know about her unique story.
But in other lands, especially Europe and America, she is a ‘goddess’
whose works are cherished by kings and presidents.
Without a doubt, the story of Nike Okundaye, the face behind the huge
success story of Nike Arts Gallery, located in Lagos, Abuja and Osogbo,
is as compelling as it is inspiring.
At a time when young Nigerians are in desperate need of a role model and
inspiration in what self-belief and hard work can achieve, Nike’s rise
from the status of an unknown village girl born into a seeming
insignificant family in a rustic village to a globally celebrated icon
would make an A-list inspirational novel.
Born in her native village of Ogidi, Ijumu Local Government Area, Kogi
State, young Nike had high dreams about what type of future she wanted
for herself. But her dreams were truncated even before they could take
form when she lost her mother at age six. “I was six when my mother
died,” she said with a tinge of sadness.
With the blow inflicted on her dreams by her mother’s death, young Nike
was taken away to live with her grandmother. At the time, many believed
that by going to live with an old woman, the young girl’s future had
been compromised. But events have since proved that destiny may indeed
have been at work in her journey through life.
She had her first contact with the world of arts through her
grandmother, who at the time, was the leader of cloth weavers in the
community.
She said: “I come from a family of craftsmen. My parents were crafts
people from Ogidi in Ijumu Local Government Area, Kogi State. My life as
an artist is something that I was born with. I started weaving at the
age of six.
“I started with weaving different things, including adire, a traditional
Yoruba hand-painted cloth design. As a matter of fact, I can say
everything that had to do with textile. They taught me how to weave,
using a little calabash. Gradually, I graduated to using bigger
materials.”
Though Nike was six years old and barely able to tell the difference
between her left and right hands, she already had a picture of the kind
of future she wanted.
“My grandmother was the head of all the weavers in our community. So,
even as a little child, I already had a dream that I would own a big
studio when I grew up. People came from different areas to buy the cloth
from her. So, at that time, I already sensed that I might not have the
opportunity to go to school.”
With the death of her mother, her grandmother, whose responsibility it
was to look after her, did not pamper her in any form. She ensured that
the virtue of hard work was instilled in Nike’s young, impressionable
mind.
At that time, young Nike, unaware of the reason behind her great
grandmother’s action, would cry, believing that she was being
unnecessarily punished. “I would cry and lament because I thought she
was wicked and punishing me. But today, I always thank her for
inculcating in me the virtue of hard work. It was through her that I
learnt that you must persevere in whatever you do and never give up on
your dreams.”
Although she lost her mother at a time she needed her most, Nike
believes that destiny might have been involved in the way her life
played out, including her mother’s death. According to her, the mother
was a very hard working young woman who would have spared nothing to
ensure that her child got a good education up to the university level.
“Even at that young age, I knew that my mother was very hard working.
And I am very sure that if she had not died, she would have trained me
up to university level. My father was a farmer. He also did several
other things like basket weaving to supplement his income. So,
definitely, I would have been educated very well if my mother had not
died.
“But today, I look at my childhood and all that I went through as
something designed by destiny. Who knows, maybe if my mother had not
died and I had gone ahead to be educated, I may never have had the kind
of opportunity that I have today and may never have risen to the level
that I am.”
Nike never went to school to study art, the vocation that has brought
her to global spotlight.
Vocational training in art was passed down to
her by her great grandmother, the late Madam Ibikunle. Watching her
great grandmother in the art of adire textile processing and helping her
out, Nike walked up the line to become an expert in adire making,
dyeing, weaving, painting and embroidery.
A product of the famous Osogbo Art Movement, Nike is today a world
acclaimed artist and textile designer. She brings vivid imagination as
well as a wealth of history and tradition into the production of adire.
Her works are celebrated in major capitals of the world, with her
designs exhibited in countries like the USA, Belgium, Germany, Japan and
Italy, among others.
Nike spent the early part of her life in Osogbo, a recognised hotbed for
art and culture in Nigeria. During her stay in Osogbo, her informal
training was dominated by indigo and adire.
Nike’s romance with international exposure began in 1968 when she had an
exhibition at the Goethe Institute in Lagos. Since then, she has grown
to become a major name on the international art circuit. She is most
outstanding in paintings and design of adire, beadwork and batik.
Among Nike’s proudest achievements was her invitation to Italy by the
Italian government in 2000 to train young Nigerian sex workers on how to
use their hands to engage in creative ventures. Her invitation was as a
result of complaints to the Italian government by the young Nigerians
that they left Nigeria in search of work, not knowing what they would be
forced into. When Nike got to Italy, she taught them skills in craft
making and many of the women became self-reliant in no time and stopped
their old means of income.
In 2006, she was awarded one of the highest Italian national awards of
merit by the government of the Republic of Italy in appreciation of her
efforts in using art to address and solve the problems of Nigerian sex
workers in Italy.
About two years ago, her adire painting was accepted at The Smithsonian,
the world’s largest museum, located in Washington DC, US. Some of her
works can be found amongst the collection of prominent personalities
around the world, including the White House.
While little is known about Nike and her works across the country, two
former presidents of the USA, Bill Clinton and George Bush, were so
enthralled by her works at various times that they sought audience with
her during their visits to Nigeria. Much more than just meeting and
shaking hands with the two former presidents, it was Nike that decorated
George Bush’s room in Abuja during his stay in the country.
These two incidents, Nike told The Nation, were some of the best things to have happened to her.
She said: “When President Bill Clinton of the US visited Nigeria, he
asked to meet the woman behind Nike Gallery, and I was taken to Abuja to
meet him. It was the same thing with President George Bush. I was
invited to meet him in Abuja during his visit to Nigeria. I was the one
that decorated the room where the president stayed during the visit.
What honour can be greater than this? I feel accomplished.”
As an accomplished artist, Nike has taught in several universities in
the US, imparting the knowledge of her traditional adire designs in
thousands of eager students from across the world. Her teaching
exploits, she disclosed, have taken her to revered institutions like
Harvard and Edmonton in Canada.
“I have lectured and held workshops in several noble institutions across
the world. Some of the universities include Harvard, Columbus,
Edmonton, Ohio and in Los Angeles, among others. My first experience
with teaching was in 1974. At that time, I taught people with doctoral
degrees.”
Interestingly, all the education she had at the time, according to her,
was the traditional education that parents pass onto their children.
“The type of education I had at the time was the education that is
passed from parents to their children, not the education you get in a
classroom. It was the practical type of education,” she said with a wry
smile.
In 1983, she established the Nike Centre for Art and Culture in Osogbo,
Osun State, where trainings are offered free of charge to Nigerians in
various forms of arts. The centre was opened with 20 young girls who
were picked from the streets and offered a new life in arts. So far,
according to her, more than 3,000 young Nigerians have been trained at
the centre.
Nike OkundayeThe
centre also admits undergraduate students from many universities in
Nigeria for their industrial training programmes in textile design. The
centre now admits students from Europe, Canada and the United States of
America. International scholars and other researchers in traditional
African art and culture also visit the centre from time to time for
their research works on the processing of adire fabric and African
traditional dyeing methods.
But she says the true story of the gallery started in her bedroom about 47 years ago.
“The gallery you see today actually started in my bedroom in 1968. In
2008, we opened the one in Lagos, and my husband was always the
motivator. It was intended to give the young and old a platform to hear
their voice.”
As she spoke, with signs of fulfillment splashed on her face, her
husband, Reuben Okundaye, a retired commissioner of police, who had
remained quiet since the interview started, suddenly joined in the
conversation.
He said: “It is with practical education that she has continued to teach
and impart knowledge into people with doctoral degrees and masters in
Fine Art. Some of these people even come here under the cover of night
to seek advice from her. Yet, some would say she is not educated.”
Speaking about another experience, Mr. Okundaye said he once had an
encounter with a prominent Nigerian who told him that his wife would
have been made a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria if she was
educated. Surprised, he said he took a swipe at the man, telling him his
wife was better educated than most of the people that were being
flaunted.
He said: “You can imagine, I was discussing with one big man the other
day and he said that my wife would have been made a minister if she was
educated. I was angry and I asked him what he meant by that. Here is a
woman who teaches people with doctoral degrees in higher institutions
all over the world, yet you say she is not educated. But when the chips
are down, they come to her for advice.”
Asked how she feels whenever she teaches in the classroom, Nike looked
up as if relishing her achievements, and said: “I feel fulfilled. It was
a very high sense of fulfillment. Imagine, a little girl who grew up in
a rustic village without any sign of hope for a good future. Now I
stand before PHD holders and teach them. I have been invited to meet
presidents of foreign countries. I think I should be proud of my little
achievements and be grateful to God.”
In spite of her seeming low education, she insists she has no regrets
about not attending school. “I have no regrets at all. I give thanks to
God for making all these things possible for me. I also thank my husband
for standing by me all these years. I must confess that it was not easy
coming this far. You will agree with me that for a woman to be
recognised, she has to work three times harder than a man.”
Reechoing his wife’s position, Mr. Okundaye said Nike could not have had
any regrets, having attained the heights sought by many across the
world. “You asked if she has any regrets. How can that be possible? What
kind of regret was she supposed to have with all her achievements? She
is fulfilled in every sense of the word,” he enthused.
Expectedly, the couple was attracted to each other by their mutual love
for arts. Okundaye told The Nation how it all started: “I have always
been an arts lover. I have some of her works. Perhaps, like you said,
maybe it was destiny that brought us together.”
With a sterling career as a police officer, which saw him attaining the
rank of Commissioner of Police and serving in more than four states, the
couple has in the last 20 years of their coming together enjoyed the
beauty of marriage and weathered the storm together.
Nike, who would be 64 in a couple of weeks, has also successfully
created an identity for herself. Her most treasured clothes, she
confessed, are adire fabrics. And it is not surprising that she cannot
remember the last time she wore anything other than that.
“You may be right if you say I have created an identity for myself with
my adire clothes. It is the only thing that I am known with. I don’t
wear any other clothe, even when I travel out of the country,” she said.
