To those who string love... a little song for a 45th

They said Eniolorunda was 45 on January 16, 2008. As usual the birthday boy was tangled with his love. He did not remember. They did. The show of love was overwhelming. Hundreds of good, inspiring words filed his phone and mail box. He drew tears; the second time in five years -- first was Feb. 3rd in 2003, when shortly afer he returned to town from Europe, he was summoned by no less a person than the ElderArtsMan, Steve Rhodes.... "I am standing here im front of OJEZ, and i will not leave this spot until you show up a the door". It was an order; from the man who has come to represent the finest of artistic practice, an inspiration for generations of culture workers and producers of creative products. EniOlorun had to detour from Obalende, some 20 odd kilometres away from the spot where the Art sage was standing. He had landed that same morning from Italy, where he had spent the last two months.
January 16 of that year, a dear friend had staged a remarkable family party for him in her serene home in snowy Torino. This is one sweet story that has stayed green in the memory. The Italian trip itself had been a ploy to escape from loved ones who had been hatching a birthday party. Led by TA, same coupists had however, staged a counter-coup that February 3 to coincide with the return of the fugitive. And so Ojez Iwaya had witnessed a carnival (see report by Layiwola, then Arts Editor, ThisDay below). It was the first drop of tears in decades.
Wednesday January 16, 2008, a similar coup had been staged led by same chief coupist, but his time EniOlorunda escaped. He was holed up at virtual intercourse in the territory of the Americans, and though his fone was switched off for the larger part of the day, he spent the night reeling in the endless messages of goodwill, of love, of compassion.. messages that reminded him strongly of his humanity; that rekindled i him the will to continue to live in the service of fellow humans; words that fired up his zeal never to give in his chosen path of working fo rthe collective good, never self-interest.
He missed the feast at 95, Bode Thomas street, Surulere where members of his first family had gathered to do him honour.
However, smart as he though he wa he could not escape a another feast that was staged by his colleagues in the heat of producing the week"s edition of The Guardian on Sunday. It was on Saturday, January 26 in the newsroom. The images here recorded by the paper's photo editor, PAUL OLOKO, are reminders of that feast.






AND IN 2003 @ AGE 40


A Dance for the Prince of the Artsville
(As published in THISDAY FEB. 11, 2003)
Though still a decade to enter his autumn season, frontline culture journalist, artiste, critic and activist, Jahman Anikulapo was last week (Feb.3, 2003)a victim of a giant conspiracy by colleagues and friends in the arthouse to celebrate his 40th birthday. Olayiwola Adeniji writes that beyond just another party, it was a loud a statement that the younger generation are set to honour their own stars


That these are unusual times for artistes and the arts community will sound like an overplayed record. But when against this background, the artistes decide confront their problem on the dance floor then questions must be asked. What in the world would for example excite a Professor Femi Osofisan, the General Manager of the endangered National Theatre who only a few weeks back had to say his mind to the czars of privatization who had come to convince culture workers on the wisdom behind the sale of the National Theatre? Or Dr.. sorry' Associate Professor Duro Oni who took a rather hurried 'professorial leave' from the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC) when it became obvious that government was only paying lip service to culture? Ahmed Yerimah's forte may be in the area of performance as the Artistic Director of the National Troupe of Nigeria but for many months now, he has had to keep the troupe together only by engaging in sometimes very menial and demeaning jobs. All on account of a government that is still unsure yet what to do with culture. All of these frontline culture administrators had reason to congregate at the O'jez Nite Club at Onike Iwaya, a suburb of Lagos.


But there were other equally well established artistes like Tunde Kelani, Ben Tomoloju, Jide Ogungbade, Richard Mofe Damijo, Lagbaja, the masked musician, Yinka Davis, Kunle Adebajo and the elders of the tribe like elder Steve Rhodes, Benson Idonije and Fred Agbeyegbe among others. They had all gathered to celebrate an important member of the tribe who only a few weeks after clocked 40. Ordinarily, only on very few instances will you find men celebrating this age. But then Jahman Anikulapo is not just another man. And he did not have to do by himself. He was actually conscripted into it by fellow acolytes of the Creative Muse who thought he deserved such an honour. He was therefore enough reason for both the old and the young to turn the night of Onike Iwaya into day.
The drums rolled out may be not for one of the Lords of the clan but no one will begrudge Jahman, the foremost culture journalist, artiste and activist, the title of a crown prince. Celebrating Jahman is symbolic in many ways. It is the celebration of the present as a vital link to the future. And so, though it was an assembly of both the old and the young, the old had to leave the stage for the younger elements who saw the event as their own event. For once, Femi Osofisan found himself in a gathering where there was a generous dose of good music and all he could do was a bit of shuffle on his seat. Steve Rhodes simply watched the young people sweat it out on stage which possibly reminded him of his own younger days. Same with Ben Tomoloju and Jide Ogungbade. They read the occasion well. It was no longer a case of our children are coming; the children have actually arrived!
Unlike what used to be the convention, there was little or no talk. Seyi Solagbade, the new Afrobeat kid on the block dazzled everybody with his electrifying performance on stage. And not even Jahman could resist taking to the dance floor. Everybody looked for whatever little space on the crowded stage to be a part of the great party. There was no dull moment as the music just played on and on. As Benson Idonije would say, it was a rain of highlife and Afrobeat.
Lagbaja, Yinka Davis and Tunji Sotimirin among other artistes came in later to add colour to the event as they jammed with Solagbade's band. No doubt though, it was Solagbade who made the day. There was something about him on that day that many wondered as if it was not the same artiste they had known all the while. It was all for Jahman. And as many testified at the occasion, he deserved nothing less.



For about close to two decades, he has been one of the defining characters who have given expression to what could be termed a more progressive and pragmatic approach to culture practice and activism, as a journalist, critic and artiste. The story of culture journalism as it is being practiced in the country today will not be complete without the pioneering effort of people like Jahman. The vision may have been that of a Ben Tomoloju but it was Jahman who not only re-defined but extended the frontiers of that vision. He has over the years broken so many barriers including the misconception that the art and culture pages can only be used as 'fillers'. With him, the culture journalist is not just another reporter of events; he has to be an active participant. And somehow, this has made him a thorn in the flesh of political jobbers who masquerade as culture administrators and even artistes who attempt to celebrate mediocrity. Apart from writing in a well respected medium, Jahman has over the years proved to be one of the most analytic and profound minds in the industry constantly striving to place culture in the mainstream of national discourse.
He remains one journalist who has helped stars to blossom in the artsville. As he often says, this is his main mission especially in a society that seems bent on remaining anti-culture and disturbingly philistinic. He may have his strong bias for the theatre; he has offered invaluable service to other aspects of the arts too. Many of those who gathered at O'jez therefore saw the event of last Saturday as some kind of pay back or better still, a little way of saying thank you to a man who has been a part of their career.


As an artiste, Jahman was a vital part of the historic Ajofest, a month long festival of
Theatre productions which was collaboration between Fred Agbeyegbe and Ben Tomoloju and Jide Ogungbade. That festival provided the biggest ever theatre fair since FESTAC '77 and it helped to launch the likes of Richard Mofe Damijo, Tunji Sotimirin and Antar Laniyan among others to national and international prominence. He has since then been a part of other initiatives like the Afrika Project, another radical initiative that was meant to initiate a unique cultural dialogue between Nigeria and Germany. This was facilitated by the Goethe Institut and it ran for many years during which it became the biggest theatre activity at a time when it was less than fashionable to embrace live theatre. There was also the Red Cross project which explored the use of the theatre to take the message of peace across the different states of the country and of course his occasional appearances as a guest artiste in major productions by the National Troupe of Nigeria. The story of Jahman, the artiste is unended because for him even after journalism, he will continue with theatre practice.
The aspect of him that many know so well but which ironically has brought him the most troubles is in the area of advocacy. Together with Toyin Akinosho and other restless spirits, there came in the early 1990s what they called the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), an advocacy group that seeks to create a platform for artistes to express themselves. Though very informal in concept, its quarterly stampede has provided some of the most profound diagnoses and prognoses for an ailing sector. In 1995, together with other stakeholders formed what was called the Coalition of Nigerian Artiste (CONA) to provide an umbrella advocacy platform for artistes and culture workers. At the beginning, it was as if the artistes were about to get it right but then the fractious nature of the industry makes it impossible for them to be so organized and so, CONA died almost at conception. Jahman believed in the idea and ideal of CONA and feels very bad that it has really not worked. He is often heard saying that unless the artistes go back to what CONA tried to do, there may be no way out of the seeming directionlessness within the sector. Somehow, only Jahman and a few travelers have this kind of incurable optimism about the idea of the coalition. May be some day, others will catch the dream.

At 40, Jahman has not stopped fighting. For him, the attempt to privatize or commercialize the National Theatre which is the nation's foremost cultural monument is a great disservice to culture and to the nation. The theatre remains one of the greatest memorials of FESTAC '77 ad yet the government sees nothing in offering it to the highest bidder. The Ministry of Culture though regarded as a full ministry with a minister of cabinet status, has not fared better than when it was a poor and distant cousin to Information. Nobody talks about the National Endowment fund for the Arts again because it has become an issue for every minister to buy time. But in spite of all of these, there can be no killing the spirit of the Nigerian artiste. And so, a toast to Jahman, the hardman at 40!