Arts/Literary
Development Of Art Education In Nigeria
A major constraint to the study of the visual arts as a school subject in Nigeria today is the dearth of art literature such as learned journals and textbooks. Several factors have also contributed to this problem.
The earliest literature on aspects of Nigerian art could be found in the books and other types of literature which were produced by early Western travellers, merchants, Muslim and Christian missionaries, and colonial administrators who had come to the area that is referred to today as Nigeria about a millennium ago.
Other examples of published works with references made to Nigerian arts are those of Captain Hugh Clapperton (1829) in which he commented on the elaborate ornaments which characterised the wooden sculptures that he saw in Oyo in 1926. Leo Frobenius (1913), a German ethnologist discussed Ife bronze sculptures in his account of the African cultures he saw during his trip to the continent at the beginning of the twentieth century A.D.
One of the earliest examples of works with references on aspects of Nigerian art was that of W.H Clarke, a Baptist missionary. It was an account of his exploration of Yorubaland in the late nineteenth century, which remained unpublished until 1972. Samuel Johnson’s (1921) book on the history of the Yoruba has a section devoted to the Yoruba people’s visual art. The work of Johnson, a black Anglican missionary like Ajayi Crowther, was the result of his attempt to document the oral history of the Yoruba which he feared may become lost as a result of the protracted Yoruba civil wars of the nineteenth century.
It is noteworthy that the views of aspects of Nigerian art documented in the published dairies of early travellers to country were not intended to be used as instructional materials in Nigerian educational institutions as these did not exist at that time, and were established some centuries or decades later. The works containing materials on Nigerian art like those of other African people were published at that time for Western readers many of whose curiosity about Africa’s prospects for trade and other imperialistic potentialities engendered the exploration of the country.
The Introduction of Books into Nigerian Schools
Books were not used in the informal education system which was practised in pre-colonial Nigeria. This was because book writing and reading were alien to the traditional Nigerians whose cultural history was oral before Muslims scholars and clergy men introduced the Quran and other Islamic books into northern Nigeria. This was done in their bid to facilitate their Islamisation of the indigenous people of Nigeria in the middle eleventh century A.D (Fayose and Madu 2001:16). Similarly, Christian missionaries introduced books such as the Bible, hymnals, catechisms and the Queen’s primer in their bid to ensure Christian evangelism and “civilize” Nigerians whom they first encountered in the southern part of the country. For instance, this phenomenon in Nigeria took place in the coastal towns of Warri, and the ancient Benin kingdom that was located at the mouth of River Gwatto in the fourteenth century A.D. (Kenny 1083:45-60).
However, art books did not appear in the Nigerian art education scene until sometime in the early twentieth century A.D. after the formal education system had been introduced into the country some eight decades back. Early art teachers in Nigeria such as Aina Onabolu and Kenneth Murray, both employed by the colonial government in 1922 and 1927, respectively used imported art textbooks to facilitate their teaching of visual arts in Nigerian schools, which were few and located in major towns like Lagos, Ibadan and Umuahia at the time. The source of the art books, like the ones which were used to teach other subjects such as English language, history, and mathematics, was mainly Europe where the teachers studied. Aside these points is the fact that publishers such as Oxford and Cambridge Universities presses which produced books abound in countries like Britain. It was not until much later in the twentieth century when printing and publishing began to thrive following the steady growth of journalism and commercial printing that the production and publication of textbooks began in Nigeria. Fayose and Madu (2001: 19-20) inform that the process was facilitated by foreign publishers, who opened branches of their companies in the country in the 1930s and 1940s.
It is, however, doubtful if the writing of art textbooks was included in the agenda of the text book committee which was set up in 1927 by the colonial government in Nigeria because the study of art which began only some five years earlier in 1923 was at its infant stage the text book committee which was charged with task of “seeking for manuscripts and authors that could suit Nigerians” was set up as the result of the insistence of the participants at the Imperial Education Conference in London in 1923 that school text books should be made relevant to the people.
The early text books which were imported from abroad and used in Nigerian schools were written by foreign art scholars. Art pupils in Nigerian schools in the era before and immediately after independence in 1960 will remember reading books like Art: Creative and Mental Growth (Lowenfeld 1947), Graphic Design (Lewies and Brinkley 1954) Art for African Schools (Stanfield 1956), A Concise History of Art (Bazin 1958), Art Teaching for Primary Schools in Africa (Mackenzie 1966), Aesthetics and Art Theory: an Historical Introduction (Osborne 1970), Art and Illusion (Gombrich 1971) and The Story of Art (Gombrich, 1972). General Art text books which were imported into Nigeria during the era in question include the ones written by Fleming (1955) Hoffman (1965) and Feldman (1967). These focused on Western art which they treated from the prehistoric art period, through the ancient Mediterranean and classical European traditions. They ended at the evolution of modern art era with slight mention made of the role of African arts in its dispensation.
Earlier in the 1920’s, a few expatriate artists of whom Kenneth Murray was typical, commenced writing articles on aspects of Nigerian arts. These they published in the Nigeria Magazine, a government journal on Nigeria, her people and culture that was launched in 1927 (Awe 1989: 28). The establishment of the Department of Antiquities with the Antiquities Act. No. 17 of 1953, which mandate was to discover, preserve and research into the diverse traditional cultures of the people of Nigeria provided more impetus for the publications of materials on Nigerian visual arts (Awe 1989: 28).
The results of the ethnographic and archaeological works of the likes of William and Bernard Fagg, Frank Willett, Sylvia Leith-Rosa and Thurston Shaw were not only featured in volumes of the journal but inadvertently became the subjects of books on Nigerian arts. Examples of these are Bernard Fagg’s (1977) Nok Terracottas, Willett’s (1967) Ife in the History of West African Sculpture, Leith-Rosa’s (1970) Nigerian Pottery and Shaw’s (1977) Unearthing Igbo Ukwu.
Experimental workshops on Yoruba art which were organized in Oye-Ekiti, Ijebu-Igbo and Ondo in the late 1940s with a view to using their products in Catholic churches as liturgical objects propelled Rev. Father Kelvin Carroll (1947) to write the book, Yoruba Religious Carving, Pagan and Christian Sculpture in Nigeria and Dahomey.
The seed of interest in traditional and contemporary Nigerian arts scholarship as well as that of a general interest in African arts, which had been sown in the early twentieth century due partly to the international interest in traditional African art and mainly to the fervour to search for and create a cultural identity for new independent African nations, grew immediately after independence in 1960. Ulli Beier (1960), Marshall Mount (1973) and Frank Willett (1971) blazed the trial with their books in this respect. Osa Egonwa (1994) and Kojo Fosu (1986) followed suit much later.
In writing about adult education in Nigeria, Onyenemezu (2012) acknowledged that the country is facing challenges in the 21st century. Recently youth and young adults have been restive in the Niger Delta region resulting in violence and youth militancy in militias. More recently, Boko Haram is wreaking havoc through bombings, kidnappings, and assassinations. Onyenemezu argued that examining adult education could help to alleviate the instability and increase political and economic development. Oddly, when Zuofa and Olori, (2015) recently researched adult learning methods in Nigeria, they did not include storytelling. Evidence suggests that it would be an effective method of adult education in Nigeria. Whether in formal, informal, or non-formal learning, telling the stories of historical facts and cultures are significant aspects of connecting adult learners with their cultural heritage.
Although Achebe first wrote of the impact of colonizers on Igbo clans in 1959, as recently as 2014, Nduka expressed concern that the Igbo culture will be lost. He lamented that when fathers do not know the history and stories of their own culture, it is a tragedy that they cannot answer the questions of their children about festivals, the indigenous calendar, the age-grade or age-group system, chieftancy within the community, or meanings of proverbs. Storytelling is useful for members of the African diaspora not just to remember their own history, but to adapt to their new homes. Tuwe (2016) studied African communities based in New Zealand and argued that the oral tradition of storytelling was useful when dealing with work-related challenges. 96 Decolonization involves challenging Western epistemologies and embracing an indigenous paradigm and traditional knowledge.
Recognizing the power and influence of native stories can assist decolonization and reverse the perception of colonizers being knowers and indigenous people as being ignorant. First, the legacy of the helping Western colonializing Other must be resisted…As agents of colonial power, Western scientists discovered, extracted, appropriated, commodified, and distributed knowledge about the indigenous other. (Denzin, Lincoln & Smith, 2008, p. 5) In order to undo western dominance and unravel colonialism, it is necessary to create knowledge based on African philosophy which includes “community-centred [sic] ways of knowing, the story-telling framework, [and] language as a bank of knowledge” (Chilisa & Preece, 2005, p. 49). Storytelling satisfies all three of those aspects. Since storytelling was a social practice and a participatory experience, it is community centered. The storytelling framework has been used for millennia in Nigeria in the oral tradition, which continues even with the evolution of written stories.
Finally, language is a bank of knowledge since proverbs and cultural history are included in both the oral and written tradition. Although European colonizers renamed lands, bodies of water, and other African assets by inflicting names related by the colonizers and missionaries, in stories, Nigerians could reclaim their indigenous knowledge and language by reclaiming the original names. In addition, storytelling as a motivational tool has the potential to expose learners to the path of success using inspirational stories that can foster strong connection. Denning (2011) noted that much of what we know is composed of stories, and many of them describe how circumstances and situations in the past have been successfully handled. In other words, through the application of stories, adult learners can gain knowledge that will be useful for undertaking life’s arduous tasks. For example, hearing stories about conflict resolution, one could learn how to resolve a conflict. A personal life story could culminate in learning transformation and new understanding (Pfahl & Wiessner, 2007).
When people organize their experiences into stories, the resulting narrative “may be an ideal process in that it characterizes movement of development toward some future end” (Weissner & Pfahl, 2007, p. 28). Dillard (2008) has capitalized on this notion by adopting the idea of using the term African ascendant rather than descendant to describe “the upward and forward moving nature of African people through the diaspora as well as on the African continent herself” (p. 291). This is itself a decolonizing perspective. When people examine their own stories, they can examine them in relation to larger cultural contexts (Rossiter, 2002, p. 4). Adults have the potential to make changes and rewrite their lives stories (Pfahl & Wiessner, 2007), reducing their colonized world views. Storytelling allows individuals to rewrite themselves, but it can also have a larger impact: indigenous peoples who are combatting the effects of colonialism can unite a group or community and rewrite communal memory (Weissner & Pfahl, 2007).
Nation building is a dynamic process involving all segments of the locality, including the often-overlooked and undermined youth population. Youths represent a vast and often untapped resource for immediate and long-term community development efforts. They also provide an invaluable resource for the progress of any society as well as its development. As youths are brought into and connected with national issues and programmes (they have often times been ignored/excluded), they can participate actively and contribute to decision-making at multiple levels.
As youths are engaged in more sustained positive relationships with adults, other youths and national development programmes, apart from realising that they are valued citizens of their nations, such collaborations and participation may lead to skill enhancement, empowerments and confidence-building traits, which will help prepare them for active interest and involvement in nation-building (even in future).
The total population of those between the ages of 15 and 34 was about 30 million in the 1991 census, equivalent to one of every three Nigerians. It was projected that by the year 2000, the total population of this category of young person’s would be about 38 million (National Youth Policy, 2001). In 2006, a nation-wide population and housing census was conducted to update the records. It indicated that the youth profile in the Nigerian population has tremendously improved to 53 million (NPC, 2006).
Apart from the issue of numerical strength, global trend is towards emphasising the primacy of youth in the developmental process, with deliberate efforts by national governments to create conditions that will encourage youth to utilise their energies and resourcefulness for growth and sustainable development of their nations. It was in the light of this development that the Nigerian Youth Organisations in their memorandum to the last National Political Reform Conference maintained that:
“Nigerian youth must have a voice and must be given a greater say to contribute in the way he is governed and allowed to play greater role in leadership and governance so that at all times, he is properly equipped to assume the mantle of leadership which inevitably must come someday. (National Political Reform Conference 2005:15).
However, the prevailing conditions in much of the developing nations, especially Nigeria, have seriously extenuated the potentials of the youth as agents of social change. These challenges range from the economic and social to the cultural. The treacherous triangle of poverty, illiteracy and unemployment in which the bulk of Nigerian youths are currently trapped, has severally challenged their sensibility and has in the long run given rise to what sociologists term as attitudes of fatalism, resignation and acceptance of the situation (Heralambos, 2001). The persistence of these social problems has created an environment where youth are cheaply available for manipulation by self-seeking politicians. Poverty, illiteracy and unemployment are interrelated conditions that generate human needs and therefore constitute a state of deprivation.
As the youth continue to remain in this state, there is pent-up emotions and untapped energies. They provide cheap labour to execute the design of political gladiators and ethnic champions. In an apparent indictment of the Nigerian politicians, Togbolo (2006) observed, “they take advantage of the poverty-stricken nature of the country to exploit the people; politicians are fond of using the youth restive nature as a political strategy to have their way.”
According to Gribble (2010), “more than half of the world’s population under the age of 25 (between ages 15 and 24) are in greatest need of empowerment, those who are younger will quickly come of age and share these same needs. This segment of the population (15 to 24) is expected to continue growing faster than other segments for at least 20 more years” (Gribble, 2010). With the swelling wave of young people, access, empowerment and their engagement in nation-building becomes critical if they are to contribute effectively.
Uhunmwuangbo and Oghator (2013) suggested two (2) major motivations which have brought the converge of youth (young persons) into the policy agenda of national governments, thus fascinate and prioritised youth inclusion to the building process of any nation. According to them, the first is the global process of democratisation, beginning in Southern Europe, extending to Latin America, Asia and Africa, and more recently to Eastern Europe (Almond, 2004).
The second is the phenomenon of globalisation that has seriously challenged the capacity of nation-state to govern and which, according to Heady, et al, embodied a transformation of the spatial organisation of social relations and transaction (Heady, 1979). The combined effects of these global trends have confronted and dismantled authoritarian regimes in a decisive way, and at the same time rekindled the spirit of civil society in the political process (Suleiman, 2006).
The youth as an important component of the civil society is in the process of self rediscovery in an era characterised by the intense movement of the social forces of democratisation and globalisation. As they interact with other actors in the social system, the youth express their interest and needs, they relate with relevant political institutions and political processes to articulate their views and promote shared interest (Suleiman, 2006).
The role of education positioning and providing youth with access to effective engagement in national development which is a way of incorporating them in the decision-making process of the nation’s governance, nation-building activities where they are welcomed, with accurate and comprehensive information which will empower them to make healthy decisions.
There is no how the untapped capacities in youth can be tapped and utilised with an all-inclusive, participatory and synergy approach; thus, a suggestive dimension for involving the youth in nation-building. Youth participation, according to Cornwall (2010), refers to the involvement of youth in responsible, challenging action that meets genuine needs, with opportunities for planning and/or decision-making affecting others in an activity whose impact or consequence is extended to others. i.e outside or beyond the youth participants themselves. Rajani (1999) notes that, “it is only through participation that youth develop skills, build competencies, form aspirations, gain confidence and attain valuable resources.” This shows that youth participation therefore is a product and strategy of sustainable human development.
Youth comprise nearly 30 per cent of the world’s population. These large members of young people are an opportunity; an investment to their country. Youth participation in nation-building programmes/activities therefore is to: Strengthen young people’s abilities to meet their own subsistence needs; prevent and reduce vulnerabilities to economic, political and socially unstable environemnts; promote owership and sustainability of change interventions; help gain entry into target communites and build up trust and social cpaital.
Nigeria with over 140 million people and over fifty percent of youths cannot afford to lock out the youths if they must compete politically, technologically and scientifically in order to align itself with the sustainable development in Africa in particular and the developed world in general. Nigeria can build a strong and viable nation if and only if there is an existence of common values, beliefs, attitudes, effective leadership and a will to live together as a nation. Such transformations must allow every group (especially the youth population) to participate in the economic, political and the social spheres of the nation.
The following recommendations are discernibly based on the foregoing: Youth should be given the opportunity to develop their capacities thrugh balanced education and exposure. Skills acquisition and entrepreneurship will help reduce idleness among youths and keep them from being involved in crime and other activities that are counterproductive in nation-building. Youths should be made relevant and involved in leadership at different levels of government. We must moderate our demands on our youths and as well condition their behavior in line with our cultural values.
The youth of today must not fail this nation.
Concluded
Immanmuel Rohi
Rohi is a member of the Nigerian Youth Volunteers, Rivers State.
What happened to you was not fair. You were merely a collateral damage on someone else’s war path, an innocent bystander, who got wrecked out of proximity.
We are all hurt by life, some of us from egregious wrongdoings, others by unprocessed pain and sidelined emotions. No matter the source, we are all handed a play of cards, and sometimes, they are not a winning hand.
Yet what we cannot forget is that even when we are not at fault, healing in the aftermath will always fall on us and instead of being burdened by this, we can actually learn to see it as a rare gift.
Healing is our responsibility because, if it is not an unfair circumstance it becomes an unlived life.
Healing is our responsibility because unprocessed pain gets transferred to everyone around us, and we are not going to allow what someone else did to us to become what we do to those we love.
Healing is our responsibility because we have this one life, this single shot to do something important.
Healing is our responsibility because if we want our lives to be different, sitting and waiting for someone else to make them so, will not actually change them. It will only make us dependent and bitter.
Healing is our responsibility because we have the power to heal ourselves, even if we have previously been led to believe we do not.
Healing is our responsibility because we are uncomfortable, and discomfort almost always signals a place in life in which we are slated to rise up and transform.
Healing is our responsibility because every great person you deeply admire began with every odd against them, and learned their inner power which had no match for the worst of what life could offer.
Healing is our responsibility because “healing” is actually not returning to how and who we were before, it is becoming someone we have never been, someone stronger, someone wiser, someone kinder.
When we heal, we step into the people we have always wanted to be. We also are not only able to metabolise the pain, we are able to effect real change in our lives, in our families, and in our communities. We are able to pursue our dreams more freely. We are able to handle whatever life throws at us, because we are self-efficient and assured. We are more willing to dare, risk, and dream of broader horizons, ones we never thought we would reach.
The thing is that when someone else does something wrong and it affects us, we often sit around waiting for them to take the pain away, as though they could come along and undo what has been done.
We fail to realise that in that hurt, we had the most important lessons of our lives and the fertile breeding ground upon which we can start to build everything we really want.
We are not meant to get through life unscathed.
We are not meant to get to the finish line unscarred, clean and bored.
Life hurts us all in different ways, but it is how we respond and who we become that determine whether a trauma becomes a tragedy, or the beginning of the story of how the victim became the hero.
Culled from January Nelson.
With the re-occurring traits of COVID – 19 in Nigeria, it is important that parents and gurdians take extra care of their children. Reports from Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has it that,as from 16th to18th July, 2022, 478 new cases were confirmed and two deaths recorded.
A paediatrician and infectious disease expert, Dr Aaron Milstone at the Johns Hopkins Children Centre, has advised that it is important for parents and children to take every possible safety precautions and understand all risks and symptoms related to COVID – 19.
Dr Milstone talked about COVID – 19 symptoms in children, how to keep babies and children safe,the risk infected children may lose to others and an overview of Multi system Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS – C), an unknown but serious condition that may be related to the exposure of the virus.
He added that coronavirus variants, including the very contagious omicron variant has continued to spread, particularly in areas with low rates of community COVID – 19 vaccination among populations such as children under 5, who cannot yet be vaccinated.
According to him, “For children too young to be vaccinated, and adults who have not received Coronavirus vaccines,it is important to follow proven COVID -19 precautions such as mask wearing when in public,indoor places to reduce the chance of becoming infected with the coronavirus. “Indoor activities are riskier than outdoor activities, but risk can be reduced by masking, distancing, hand washing and improved ventilation. Parents and caregivers should understand that children infected with the coronavirus can develop complications requiring hospitalisation and can transmit the virus to others,” Milstone said.
He noted that, in rare cases,children infected with the coronavirus can develop a serious lung infection and become sick with COVID – 19 and deaths have occurred. That is why it is important to take precautions and prevent infection in children as well as adults.
“According to U. S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it appears that women infected with coronavirus can in rare cases pass the disease to their babies. Adding that, infants can also become infected shortly after being born,and most newsborns who test positive for the coronavirus have mild symptoms or none at all and recover, but serious cases have occured.
Pregnant women should take extra precautions,including talking to their doctors about getting a COVID – 19 vaccine to avoid the coronavirus.
Milstone also noted that,there is no evidence that the virus causing COVID – 19 is present in breastmilk but because there is a possibility of spreading COVID – 19 during breastfeeding through respiratory droplets,it is very important for pregnant women to follow safety guidelines.
“Generally, COVID – 19 symptoms in children and babies are milder than those in adults and some infected children may not have any signs of being sick at all; the symptoms include cough,shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing, muscle or body aches,sore throat, loss of smell or taste, diarrhea, headache, new fatigue, nausea or vomiting and congestion or running nose . Fever and cough are common COVID – 19 symptoms in both adults and children, shortness of breath is more likely to be seen in adults . However, serious illness in children with COVID -19 is possible and parents should stay alert if their child is diagnosed with or shows signs of the disease”, Milstone said.
By: Ibinabo Ogolo
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