*** Art in Disguise ***

Thursday, December 30, 2010

The Art of War is far from the Art of Peace: International Communities should help Africa.


The current leadership pressure in Ivory Coast demands not just the attention of international community but also a careful approach in handling the crisis. As an analyst or social critic, one is expected consider both sides a story before drawing judgment. In this case, neither Gbagbo nor Quatara’s side of the coin will count in this case. Rather, my concern is more on the current approach by the international communities (UN, AU, EU, and indeed ECOWAS) in terms accepting or not accepting who is being declared a winner in a given election. From the look of things the ongoing crisis in Côte d'Ivoire, if well settled with Quatara as the president, will redefine as well as set a pace in future election matters in other countries in Africa. But the current trends of issues especially the reactions as well as the position of some international bodies like UN and ECOWAS involves one of two things: War or peace. It will push Cote d’Ivoire into an anguishing civil war which will have an unforgettable ugly mark on the history of the country.
The point is that, UN, AU, and ECOWAS as well as other related international bodies by all standards can be regarded as institutions were full fledge diplomacy is being practiced. Again, one of the objectives or the common goal on which all these bodies were formed is to promote peace on the globe using their various member nations. This means that all member countries of such bodies are under certain regulations or a set of rules governing the general operation of the body which can be referred to in terms of any misconducts by any of its members. But it appears there are loose ends in laws of such bodies which reduced their powers and make them ineffective in times of serious need. The idea of non-interference on internal issues as often opted by these bodies (UN, AU, etc) has been one of the reasons why most diplomatic peace missions have failed. It should be noted that a country is formed by a collection of individuals/groups, and internal peace of a particular nation propels external peace between that country and her neighbours. AU, UN, ECOWAS and the likes all have peace keeping forces which are usually send to war zones to manage crisis using arms to mend issues after things have fallen apart.  What Africa needs is peace building, not ‘peace keeping’ using guns and bullets.
Peace building is what I refer as “The art of Peace”. If these international bodies have good peace initiatives which can not only build but also sustain internal peace in their member nations, it will go a long way in promoting international peace than it ordinarily happening in most countries. The art of war on the other hand is situation where by a particular society is ruled by different factions with their leaders claiming as well as imposing leadership on the entirety of that society. In this way, arms or bullet dictates the pace of the game. The issue here is that, we have the guns and bullets to give troops for peace keeping operation but we do not have the diplomatic ingenuity to help countries to solve their internal issues and prevent internal crisis.
When Kibaki and Raila Odinga had serious dispute over the winner of the December 2007 presidential election in Kenya, the mediation team (which was headed by Kofi Annan) displayed a high-level of diplomacy to forestall peace not only between the two but in Kenya as a whole by favouring a power sharing agreement. In doing this, Odinga was asked (if not pressurized) to drop his claim to the presidency and, for the sake of peace, accepted the newly created position of prime minister. Although, the fracas led to weeks of bloodshed and destruction ensued by Kibaki’s and Odinga’s supporters and eventually damaged Kenya’s long-standing reputation for stability, they Kenyans are experiencing peace today.
Today, Odinga is sent to Cote d’Ivoire as head of the AU peace mission team which is going to talk to Gbagbo on the need to handover power to Quatara. If Gbagbo eventually accepts this, it will signify that Odinga was cheated since he too claimed he won in Kenya but was highly pressurized to drop his claim and accept the power sharing deal for the sake of peace. Although, Kenya is in East Africa while Cote d’ Ivoire is in West Africa which shows their differences in terms of regional politics, the all exist on the same land mass called Africa and dwell under the umbrella called African Union (AU). This means that Africa is one. The international communities should employ a holistic approach in viewing the issue in Cote d’Ivoire rather than just base on common factor in who wins election and who did not.    

Saturday, December 11, 2010

ELECTION CRISIS IN AFRICA: ECOWAS’S interest should be in the peace and unity of the region as taking side may disintegrate Ivory Coast.


The current situation of things in Ivory Coast calls for concern. More so because the term “crisis” is synonymous to term “Africa” itself. The elections in Africa have become a major trigger point that often bring untold suffering and hard-ships to Africans. Ivorian elections which were conducted to usher in a set democratically elected leaders in the country have become too complex a case to handle. The resultant effect of this God forbidden circumstance is the loss of lives and destruction of property. It means therefore, that the bad wind of sorrow (which has reap Africa of its happiness in the social co-existence of people in the society) is beginning to blow towards the direction of Ivory Coast. For this to be averted, there must be sincerity in the manner of sacrifices that avail African continent peace-wise. It means that sensitive issues like a country’s election which could bring conflict or crisis in that country must be handled diplomatically with careful approaches that are peace/unity oriented. Taking side on volatile issues such as this will tear a country apart. This however, calls for certain questions which demands answers:
(1)      How many presidents did Ivory Coast have after the 2010 re-run elections?
Before the situation went to the level of Ivorian government closing all her borders, there was an earlier statement made by the spoke-man of the incumbent government that the international community is being suspected of a bias interest in the current leadership crisis in Ivory Coast, especially to popularize results of the elections against the ethics and regulations governing the Ivorian apex electoral body. For example, part of the regulations states that, the media does not have announce results until the electoral body has approved of it. But contrary to this, the media stations went ahead to announce Quatara as the president elect, while the electoral body (which is a legally constituted electoral body by the Ivorian government, and have the final authority on all electoral matters,) announced Gbagbo as the legitimate president of Ivory Coast. This means that the country has two presidents after the elections re-run. At the moment, the astride nature of apex leadership in the country is yet to resolve. This is obviously not healthy for the unity and peace of Ivory coast.

(2)         What justification has ECOWAS to accept Quatara as president against the incumbent, Gbagbo?
ECOWAS as a sub-regional body is vested with the responsibility to keep peace and promote socio-economic development of the West African states which Ivory Coast is one among. The body (ECOWAS), does not have such power to either choose a leader for any of its member states or influence leadership in any West African country against the wishes of the people in that country. The decision of ECOWAS to take side in the current crisis in Ivory Coast will not only worsen issues but will set a bad precedence in the political circumference of the sub-region. The elections may not have been concluded in favour of the incumbent, but it should be noted that Gbagbo’s government is not a military regime. It was a regime that came into power as a legitimate government which was (once) fully supported by the people of Ivory Coast  and entrusted with country’s leadership. If elections were conducted to relieve Gbagbo’s government of power, such elections must clearly indicate a margin in the people’s votes that will show to the world that his government is not the choice of Ivorians hence the people need a change in the administration of the country. Not ECOWAS or any other body aside from the votes of the Ivorian people which are guided by electoral rules and regulations governing all elections in the country.  This is how issues of democracy are handled.
It baffles me however, that the leader of ECOWAS, President G. E. Jonathan, forgets so soon that it was in Nigeria that June 12 election was conducted and M. K. O. Abiola won Tofa with a clear margin of votes. Apart from that, it was even a military government which was being criticize by many that was in power. Was ECOWAS not existing at that time? Why didn’t ECOWAS came out then to declare Abiolo as the president of Nigeria and show their support for democracy? Yet the organization did not play such role, allowed Nigeria to manage its internal political issues to this very level. Although Nigeria’s democracy is not stable yet, it will stand some day; either through the usual experimental process of square pegs in rounds or another process that will speak better some times to come. What then ECOWAS stand to gain by taking side to worsen issues Ivory Coast? Because as it is now, Gbagbo has a sizable number of Ivorian supporters which means that if he should continue control of this people could split the country into two. 
(3) What implication would this have on the political image of the sub-region?
This development has a grievous  implications as well as consequences upon the social co-existence of the Ivorian people especially interms of peace and unity of the state. It therefore means that, if ECOWAS is taking side now, it is contributing to the disintegrative tendencies surrounding the current situation of things in Ivory Coast. Ghana had re-run in her previous elections, President Ata Mills was finally declare the winner. Ivory Coast is a toddler in democracy and its should be given the desired encouragement and support by the international communities as well as her African brothers to built a democratic foundation that will sustain the subsequent political dispensations, not only in Ivory Coast but also in the sub-region. I am saying this because I have watched the trends of politics in the sub-region and I can fairly predicted its direction in future.
Today, ECOWAS is saying Mr. X is the president of Ivory Coast while Mr. Y is not, instead of helping to solve the issues through means that will support peace and stability in the sub-region. Tomorrow, ECOWAS will be declared as the verdict house where leadership of any West African country will be decided against the wishes of the people of that country. In view of this, I honestly think that ECOWAS should reconsider its current decision of taking side in the leadership crisis in Ivory Coast, and Instead help to mediate on neutral grounds to support the unity and peace within West African countries.       

Sunday, December 5, 2010

A PERSPECTIVE ON VISUAL ART EXHIBITIONS IN FOREIGN CULTURAL CENTRES AND ITS CHALLENGE TO NIGERIAN ARTISTS (A joint paper by Mr. Kunde T.M. & Dr. Duniya G.G; presented in Art Dialectic Forum, Department of Fine Arts, AHmadu Bello University, Zaria).

Abstract

There are enormous challenges facing artists which have contributed to slowing the tempo of art practice in Nigeria. Part of these challenges is to get a descent and affordable exhibition space to showcase their works to the public. On the other hand, art institutions are graduating volumes of artists into the practicing square, yet art promotional structures that will support as well as ensure a smooth and enduring practice of visual art are grossly inadequate. While foreign cultural centres are doing a lot to promote artists especially by way of providing space for exhibition, this in turn pose another challenges on the part of the artists. Does the artist create works to suite his/her creative instinct or follow the standard of those who provide him/her with space for exhibition? This paper therefore, analyzed and discussed exhibition of visual art in foreign cultural centres in Nigeria with special emphasis on Goethe-Institut, Lagos. Also, the writer further discussed challenge face by artist in having their works showcase in such centres. Conclusion is drawn on a reflective mode for modern Nigeria artists ponder on effect of such a development to the socio-cultural growth of the Nigerian society.


Introduction
Art practice all over the world, faces quite a number of challenges which comes in different ways. Since the beginning of modern Nigerian art, over fifty years ago, many artists at different stages in their practice, had to struggle with economic, political and social problems to become out-standing in the field of art. While the number of artists are increasing yearly, the physical structures that will not only support the artists but also ensure a smooth practice of art as well as its sub-sector has been grossly inadequate. For example, inadequate space for art exhibition has remained one of the crucial problems (needs) of contemporary Nigerian artists, from time immemorial. Zaria, for instance, apart from the fact that the city occupies a strategic position in the history of modern Nigerian art and has continued in the training of artists for over fifty years, it also has a considerable number of artists of iconic qualities practicing in the city; yet it can not boast of a standard exhibition hall (out side of the library gallery) that can contain the works of fifty exhibiting artists, talk more of having a university gallery.  
The coming on board of foreign cultural centres to offer complementary cultural services to the Nigeria cultural scene (like providing exhibition spaces to visual artists) can be seen as a big relieve in that respect. However, this development has its own challenge, particularly on the part of the artists. Although, there are different foreign cultural centres in Nigeria, with different sub-centres located especially, in major cities in Nigeria (Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Kano etc), their activities as observed, are almost the same. Among such foreign cultural centres in Nigeria include British Council, Italian Cultural Centre, and Goethe-Institut, to mention just three. For the purpose of this paper, the writers will focused on the German cultural centre’s (Goethe-Institut’s) activities, especially its exhibitions.
This paper therefore, discuss as well as analyze art exhibitions in Goethe-Institut, with the view to understanding, the concept/nature of exhibition in foreign cultural centres, and the seeming challenge of modern artists in exhibiting in such arena. This has been achieved by defining the concept of exhibition as well as foreign cultural centres, analyzing the types/context of exhibitions in foreign cultural agencies. It is after these, that the challenge of artists in holding exhibitions in the centres are discussed.  

Meaning of Exhibition
The term ‘Exhibition’ simply means the public display of industrial or commercial products or of fine arts. Although the term is sometimes used interchangeably with ‘exposition’, in strict usage, an exhibition is a display of such products (industrial and commercial) or arts, for a short period; while an exposition is for a longer period and usually on a larger scale. Both exhibitions and expositions may be regional, national, or international, and may show only the products of a single industry, such as furniture or leather, or all products of human endeavor.
In visual art practice, exhibitions are grouped into two: Solo exhibition and group exhibition. A solo exhibition is a one-man show in which an artist showcases a number of works to the public; while the group exhibition, entails an art show that involves the works of two or more artists in a given arena, for public consumption. This usually attract a lot of art promotional benefits on the part of the exhibiting artist(s). Apart from the art promotional notion which is often tied to it, exhibitions are one of the prime sources in which the artist meets the public and offer cogent explanations on the concepts, themes, styles, and philosophies of his/her art works in order to create a better understanding. In view of this, no artist can have a successful practice, without organizing or holding an exhibition (group or solo) of his works. This among other reasons, explains why exhibition is important to an artist, as well as being central to the practice of visual art globally.     

Foreign Cultural Centres in Nigeria
In order to have a better knowledge of the meaning/concept of foreign cultural centre, there is need to understand what a cultural centre means. By definition, a cultural centre can be described as any organization or body, that promotes culture and arts. Such (Cultural) centres can be operating as a community arts organization, manage as a private facility by non-governmental body, government-sponsored cultural institutions like museums, or similar institutions, run by activists, for cultural purposes. A ‘foreign cultural centre’ therefore, can be referred to as any foreign body or those institutions which have foreign origin/background or operating as agencies of foreign countries in Nigeria, and charged with the responsibility of promoting the cultures of their respective countries. Example of such bodies include British Council of United Kingdom; Alliance Francaise of France; Goethe Institut of Germany; and the Korean cultural centre. All these bodies operate on a given frame work as provided by the government of their respective countries. They serve as bodies which implement or execute the cultural policies of their nations in other countries.
These foreign cultural centres normally carry out multiple programmes, some of which tend to involve visual artists and consequently, offer various opportunities for them (artists), not only to exhibit their works in the centres but also to be promoted beyond the confines of their immediate practicing environment. The Goethe-Institut (German cultural centre), for instance, organizes cultural activities on a yearly basis that cut across, film, visual art, performing art, language studies, and other educational functions of cultural connotations. While some of these programmes are stationed in one place, lasting for days, others are taken to different locations within Nigeria and with a touching effect on Nigerians, especially as it relates to culture.
    
Analysis of Visual Arts Exhibitions in Goethe-Institut
Although there are quite a number of visual art events/programmes which are consistently run by Goethe Institut in Nigeria on a yearly bases, this paper as earlier stated, will only focus  on art exhibitions. It has been observed that exhibition is one of the many aspects of visual arts, which Goethe-Institut has been seriously involved in. The past (archival) records of the institute show that not less than six exhibitions are being held in the Goethe Institut, Lagos every year. While some of these exhibitions are organized by Goethe Institut at specific times/events for artists to participate, other exhibitions are organized by artists themselves, using Goethe Institut as the venue to showcase their works. A recent study carried out by the writer in the centre revealed two kinds of visual art exhibitions that frequently take place in the German cultural centre, Lagos.
The first kind, is photography exhibition, while the second is exhibition of fine art products (painting, printmaking, sculpture, drawing and so on). The former involves a collection of photographic shots (pictures) on specific themes or titles, about situation of things in the society. Such themes may be on poverty, war, development, accidents, and other socio-political and cultural issues. The idea of such photographic exhibition is to bring people (audience) closer to the realities surrounding human life, by simply putting together a collection of snap shots that can speak to the mind and evoke reactions that might lead to a positive change in the society. Hence, the theme and title usually goes with the current needs of people in the society at a particular period. For example, a photo exhibition of a river titled, Komadugu Yobe (1995),  sponsored by Goethe Institut, in collaboration with the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, was meant to address the damaging effects of industrial wastes on Nigerian rivers. The project was directed by Prof. Wihelm Seidesticker, (a German professor) who was an expatriate staff at the University of Maiduguri. Another one is Living Culture (2007), a photographic workshop/exhibition by Goethe Institut, Lagos, in collaboration with Kano State History and Culture Bureau. This exhibition explores as well as exposes various aspects of Kano peoples culture through photographic means. The workshop was in Kano, while the exhibitions were held at two separate venues/dates, Kano (May, 2007) and Lagos (October, 2007).          
On the aspect of fine arts exhibitions (painting, sculpture, drawings, etcetera), the writer identifies three categories which normally take place at the Goethe Institut, Lagos. The categorization is, however, based on the category of artists participating in the exhibition, the source of the exhibition (whether foreign or Indigenous), as well as its thematic and curatorial considerations. The first category are exhibitions whose themes/titles are drawn from topical issues, either from Germany or across the globe. When such exhibitions are organized, visual artists who are in partnership with the Goethe-Institut and usually have an enduring practising relationship with them are invited or notified. The basic methods under which information is sent across to the invitees (artists) is through media publications/announcements (radio, television and newspapers), internet (websites, emails), and sometimes through posters. Such exhibitions are theme guided, so artists are allowed to work diversely but within the limits of the given theme. The nature/style of the works produced by the exhibiting artists are governed by the same thematic concerns under which artistic statements are visually expressed. The exhibitions that fall into this category are usually conceived from the head quarters of Goethe Institut in Germany, hence they may involve the participation of both foreign and local artists. The curatorial team may be a combination of both foreign and local curators, who are specifically commissioned for the purpose of selecting works that meet a required standard. The venue also may be in two countries (Nigeria and Germany as the case may be) or either of the countries. Artists who are invited, and their entries meet the required standard, are usually sponsored. The sponsorship may cover feeding, accommodation, transportation (of the artists and works), printing of catalogue and so on.

The second category of exhibitions in Goethe Institut are, art works created/produced during art workshops organized by Goethe Institut. Such workshops are organized with a theme for participants to work on. The artists invited for the art workshops vary, from one professional level to another (lecturers, professional artists, student artists and those within the apprenticeship). The formulation of the title as well as the directorship are mostly from abroad (Germany). Materials for the workshops are supplied by the Institut, and the participating artists are exposed to various art materials/media as well as conducive working environment that encourages them to produce as many works as possible. The body of works produced during such workshops are reflections of different styles, trends, concepts, and using different motifs of varying cultural background, but mostly within the limits of a given theme/ title. At the end of such workshops, all the artists (who are participants of the workshops) have the opportunity to exhibit their works (the products of the workshop). Such exhibitions may be slated to hold in different venues at different dates. Sometimes artists would be selected to exhibit outstanding works beyond the shores of the host country. For example, the art works created during “Drypoint” (an intaglio printmaking workshop at Nsukka, 1990) were exhibited at Nsukka, Lagos and Germany; while the exhibits from the workshops conducted by Willibrod Haas at Nsukka and Auchi in 1992 were exhibited in Lagos at Goethe Institut. Also, the art works produced in the workshop, In God We Trust (2008), which involved local and foreign artists, was exhibited in two venues: At Mushin Lagos and Victoria Island on two separate dates (See plate 1).  In this regard, foreign artists work and participate in the same workshops/exhibitions with the local artists.

The third category of exhibitions usually held in Goethe Institut is based on request from indigenous practising artists. In this category, practising artists in Nigeria do write to the Institut requesting for sponsorship of their exhibition or assistance in a variety of ways, that would help them exhibit their works using Goethe as venue. Such requests are made by clearly specifying the theme, title, types of works to be exhibited, and the manner (or nature) of the exhibition. Also, the artists may be asked to explain their relationship with the Institut hence, artists who partner with Goethe as well as have practising relationship, tend to have advantage over those artists who are not their partners. Examples of such exhibitions are Mystic Sound (1993) by Doris Weller and Meki Nwezi; Birth of a New Spirit (1992) by Odemba Emeka Stalin, and Fragment and Songs (1995) by Chika Okeke and Marcia Kure; Man and Earth (2009) by Jerry Buhari; (See plate 1I) Reclaiming Africa (2009) by Gerald Chukwuma. Above all, such exhibitions are statements which the artists have artistically captured to express their views about certain issues of urgent attention in the society.

The Challenge for Artists Exhibiting in Foreign Cultural Centres
The major challenge that contemporary Nigerian artists usually face in exhibiting their works in foreign cultural centres is that, they (foreign cultural centres) are being established to operate on a given agenda that will benefit those countries that own these cultural centres. It therefore, means that, if an artist must exhibit in those centres, the artist’s work must be within the ideas that such an agenda is located. This to some extent, tends to limit the creative freedom of the artist. Also, most foreign cultural centres do not freely come out with a clear cut criteria, which will help in defining their agenda in that country; rather, they design programmes which are knitted with series of activities within which such agenda will be accomplished. For example,  Goethe-Institut, Lagos does not have a standard criteria for selecting or choosing works or even artists that should participate in or hold exhibition in their centre. However, the Institut must shares or believes in the theme of such exhibition before approving it. It means, therefore, that any artist who apply for Goethe’s sponsorship, on any exhibition, must be able to articulate his/her creative ideas, convincing enough and with relevant works, as a basis for institute to support his/her exhibition request.

In this way, the thematic rendering of works is such that, every art must have a link to the issue at stake and at a particular time. This supposedly indicates that, Goethe’s standard has little or nothing to do with style, trend or materials used in the making of the art works.
However, an interview with the Director of Goethe Institut (2009) reveals that, art works to be exhibited in the centre are commonly selected based on how ‘special’ or ‘new’ they are. These two words (special and new) are relative, for what one considers as special may not be special to another person. Also, what is new in a particular region, may not be regarded as new in another place. Therefore, who determines a work of art to be special or new, and on what criteria? Where does the ‘special’ or ‘new’ art originates from (Nigeria or Europe) and which society does it benefit: the much more developed German society or Nigeria, which by comparism, is less developed and is facing economic, political and social challenges?
The issue of ‘special’ or ‘new’ could be seen in two ways. The first is that, any art work created by an artists is special to the artist, one way or the other; because it is an embodiment of the artist’s experiences/ideas on specific societal issues, which are artistically captured as a statement for a target audience. Such art works are best understood by the people in that society, because they are familiar with various motifs, symbols and materials that make up the art works, which are also symbolic of certain events surrounding the life and history of such people. Hence, if Goethe Institut, decides that such a work is not worth promoting because it is not ‘special’ or ‘new’ by what ever criteria (without considering the content) against the artist’s creative intent, then, it is not a good development for Nigeria’s cultural sector. Another perspective of viewing the issue of special or new is on the aspect of originality. If , for instance, Goethe Institut, is using the terms‘ special’ and ‘new’ as a means of emphasizing the originality of works generally produced by contemporary Nigerian artists, then, it will be better for the Nigerian art sector, as this will contribute to solving the issue of art replication or art plagiarism by some artists. In either side of the coin that one chooses, the fact remains that, this issue will continue to be a major test in artists’ quest for creative endeavours, or at worst, it will  deny artists the freedom in creating works with the best ideas that will foster political, economic and social change needed for the development of their society.  

Conclusion
From the above, the paper attempts to analyze as well as discussed the different categories of exhibition which are usually held in Goethe-Institut, Lagos (a german cultural centre). The writers also discuss the major challenge of modern artists especially as it relates to their creative approaches in the production of works meant for exhibition in such centres. Base on these,  it can be safely observed that, modern Nigerian artists are at a cross-road on whether to follow their creative instinct, by creating works that will genuinely portray as well as positively touch the cultural life of their society, or bend their creative endaevours  to suite the demands of those who provide free sponsorship for their art and practice. While this issue keeps the artists astride in their practice of visual art, one needs to take a deep reflection and ponder seriously on the consequences of this development, especially as it affects the cultural growth, or otherwise, of the Nigerian society.    

Reference:

Anikulapo, J.O. (1990) “All Hands on Canvas: Artists Parade Fruits of Workshop Labour”. (written in GUARDIAN EXPRESS newspaper, Wednesday, February 28, 1990). In: Footprints- a Bridge of Culture and Friendship; Lagos, Nigeria: Goethe Institut, Lagos, P. 59.

Gross, R. (2009), Research Interview on the Role of Foreign cultural centres in modern art in Nigeria: Case staudy of Goethe-Institut, Lagos. 16th December, 2009. 11: 45 am, In Goethe Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Okeke, C. (1995) “I KNOW RENATE: She is One of Us” In: Footprints- a Bridge of Culture and Friendship; Lagos, Nigeria: Goethe-Institut, P. 4.

Redmond, W.A. (2009) "Exhibitions and Expositions." Microsoft® Encarta® 2009 [DVD]. Microsoft Corporation, 2008.

Twenty Years of Goethe Institut, Lagos: German Cultural Centre in Nigeria (1992)- A brochure of 20 years anniversary of Gothe Institut, in Nigeria.

Udechukwu, O. (1995) “Art: A Bridge of Understanding”. In: Footprints- a Bridge of Culture and Friendship; Lagos, Nigeria: Goethe Institut, P-21.


CHANGE OF POWER SOURCE IN PHCN: What implication would this have on Nigerian economic/weather environment?

As an art historian, I consider Nigeria in this article as an art work and therefore, criticize an aspect of its recent changes in the power sector: The source of its electricity generation source and its inherent implication on Nigerian environment. The writer presented a pointer to the current challenge Nigeria is having in the power sector, especially as it relate to gas turbine stations for the generation of electricity.
As a keen observer of the past policies, how they are hastily formed and either poorly implemented or left halfway or sometimes not even implemented; I can sense another form of frustration coming in the Nigeria’s power sector. This is not to mean that, I am a prophet of doom, or I am not wishing Nigeria well. The issue is, while petroleum is gradually becoming Nigeria’s major source of power, it important to ask questions that in answering them will throw more light on the current circumstances surrounding in Nigeria’s power sector.  In this case, the questions that readily comes to mind is: What is gas turbines  and why is it important in the generation of electricity in Nigeria? What has happened to our dams especially as it relates to the generation of electricity, and what plans being put on ground to make sure that, the gas turbines will not follow the faith of dams? These are the questions that any public affairs’ analyst would consider in respect of the issue in discuss.
Gas Turbines
The word ‘turbine’ is generally seen as a machine powered by rotating blades. Mechanically, the mechanisms of such machine are designed in a way that will facilitate moving fluid such as steam to acts on the blades of a rotor to produce rotational motion that can be transformed to electrical or mechanical power.  Going by the above description, one can notice that there are different types/kinds of turbines: Hydraulic turbine, pump turbine, steam turbines, combustion turbines etc. A gas turbine can therefore, be defined as an internal-combustion engine in which a turbine is turned by hot gases consisting of compressed air and the products of the fuel's combustion to generate electricity. During the past few years much attention was given to the development of the gas turbine by developed countries like United states and China.
What prospects does Gas turbines offer Nigeria’s economy?
Gas turbines have for some time been economically attractive from the standpoint of capital investment, construction time, and operating labor cost. One disadvantage has been the need to use relatively expensive fuels, such as gas, distillate oils, or modified residual oils. This, in combination with a lower thermal efficiency and small size of available units, has limited the applications of the gas turbine to automatically controlled remote locations and peaking service, where the high fuel cost is offset by other advantages.  In view of the above, it is important to consider certain issues here. 

Nigeria’s economy is 90% oil base and there is growing concern as well as warning by economic and science researchers to diversify not only the economy but its energy source due to adverse weather, health, and economic implications it poses on the people. For example, in 1992 representatives of over 150 countries convened in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and agreed on the need to reduce the world’s emissions of greenhouse gases. In 1997 world delegations again convened in Kyōto, Japan; during which the representatives of 160 nations, including the United States, signed an agreement known as the Kyōto Protocol, which requires countries (industrialized nations) to limit emissions of greenhouse gases that endanger the earth and its inhabitants. This means that, in order to reduce their fossil fuel emissions for its inherent dangers to the earth, countries (mostly the industrialized nations) would have to shift their energy mix toward energy sources that do not produce as much carbon dioxide, such as natural gas, or to alternative energy sources, such as hydroelectric energy, solar energy, wind energy, or nuclear energy. Even if Nigeria may have the capacity to develop its nuclear energy in exchange for crude oil, the current trend of terrorism in the world offers little opportunity for developing nations like Nigeria to be entrusted with such technology for its seeming threat to world’s peace. However, this does not mean that generating electricity through gas turbines is the only alternative. Besides that, the current realities of refineries in the country is a pointer to what might become of our gas turbines electricity stations. While the refineries have not been maintained for ages yet expecting to produce the required amount of fuel that will serve the nation’s populace, the pipelines are being vandalized intermittently causing shortage in the supply of crude to be refined in the refineries or excessive suck away of refined fuels by pipelines’ vandals, causing fuel crisis in the country.

The gas turbine projects which are currently being undertaken by the federal government can be likened to our refineries because both of them (refineries and gas turbines) depend on petroleum to function for the economy to thrive. Take a for example, when refineries are in shot supply of crude for just few days, oil marketers take advantages of the situation creating untold hardship on the people. When politicians are campaigning for public offices, solving oil problems is place as a top agenda. It is common for Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) to bring government to the negotiation table using fuel stations to ensure success during strike. All these are clear indication that the whole Nigeria’s economy is centered on oil.  

What is the situation with Nigeria’s hydro-electric power supply?     
Hydro-electric power supply is also known as ‘waterpower’. Waterpower derives its energy from the fall of water from a higher to a lower level, and extracted by means of waterwheels or hydraulic turbines. Waterpower is a natural resource, available wherever a sufficient volume of steady water flow exists. The development of waterpower today requires extensive construction, including storage lakes, dams, bypass canals, and the installation of large turbines and electric generating equipment. Because the development of hydroelectric power requires a large capital investment, it is often uneconomical for a region where coal or oil is cheap, even though the cost of fuel for a steam-powered generating plant is higher than the cost of running a hydroelectric plant. However, increasing environmental concerns are focusing attention on renewable energy sources such as water.

The current realities facing the nation
The current power situation in the country has really call for an emergency or short term project in order to rescue the situation. However, such a decision should be critically examined in relation to its latter effect on the country’s economic environment; not just in the immediate returns of the project. Well build dams all over the world have remained an enduring source of electricity (through hydro-electric power) generation. Kaiji-Dam, if well maintained, can serve the nation with little or no problem. As it is today, there are many rivers in Nigeria that never cease to flow. These rivers offer the nation a natural as well as major source of electricity generation/supply only if well built dams are constructed to serve that purpose. The power generated through hydro-electric means is of minimal effect to weather condition of that region as oppose to gas turbine which have greenhouse effect on the weather and other environmental degradation effects to the people of that region. The flaw associated with dams is the in ability for experts to control its flow to avoid flooding which poses danger to communities surrounding the dam. Even so, controlled settlement can be used to address such problems as flooding of dams which normally affects communities near by. It now stands to reason that, if Nigeria must shift it electricity power source, then it should consider the environmental implications of the gas turbines’ stations against the hydro-electricity power being generated from dams.
  

Friday, November 12, 2010

THE EFFECTS OF WAR ON CULTURE: A Proposed Back-up Plan for UNESCO to Revive Cultures of War affected Zones in Africa.

In every continent of the world cultural genocide by forced dispersal (which the modern world has coined the clinically neutral term "ethnic cleansing") is one among the evils that have reap humanity of its rich benevolent nature in the society. Although civilization has helped in refining/bleaching many diabolical/evil practices of man, but the evil culture of war as an option in conflict has not change. What differentiates today's tribal and ethnic conflicts from those previously of nation states, is the extent to which erasing not only ethnic identity but also ethnic memory has been raised to the status of a legitimate goal. This is quite different from the 1000 years of systematic looting which was part and parcel of the military system. Museums, historic sites, libraries, archives, places of worship and community gathering have become prime targets.
Thomislav (1995) noted that the damage to Croatian cultural property spread throughout some 200,000 habitations and counted as follows: Churches and Monasteries: 262 damaged, 65 destroyed; 90 archives and libraries destroyed; 37 museum damaged, 4 destroyed; 500 monuments damaged, 107 destroyed; 223 historic sites damaged, 60 destroyed. Imagine that such fairly detail survey is carried out on African continent, one can picture the kind of damage done to her rich cultures, given the rate of wars/conflicts has experienced (and still experiencing).
War stories usually divulge man’s inhumanity against his fellow man. The damage sometimes caused by war is mostly irreversible and the society that experienced it is never the same. Rich cultures of so many nations have been affected by war with certain aspects of it grossly altered or good cultural values abandoned. By definition, war can be described as one of the man-made disasters caused by human rivalry between two groups over certain ‘issues’ of critical concern/interest to the society. Such issues may be of economic, social, political, or cultural implications to the society. The inability to settle such differences is what usually results in the use of arms against one another.

Studies conducted on the area of war in the recent past have like Albertyn et-al (2003) indicated that, virtually all wars (regional conflicts) have economic and political reasons knitted in them as major causes. The Nigerian civil war, Liberia civil war, DR Congo conflict, Ivory-coast, Kenya election crisis are all conflicts/wars in Africa that their causes had economic and political reasons reprehensibly ingrained in them. Take economy for instance, either the resources are being managed to the benefit of one person, or a group is being marginalized and do not have a fair share of the country’s wealth. Mineral resources like petroleum, gold, diamond, and uranium to mention just a few have never been a blessing to any developing world especially in Africa. Such resources have always been a source of continual pain to the region that possessed it, most especially when viewed in terms of the good returns such valuable resources would have brought to the development of that region or country. Using Nigeria for example, the Niger delta region has been unstable for so many decades all because of oil. Recently, the reason for the unending war in Daafur region in Sudan has been widely acclaimed to, or linked with the oil discovery in the region. This one of likely reasons while in 2001, the United Nations imposed a trade embargo on diamonds and timber from Liberia; the U.N. Security Council extended the embargo in 2004, citing the NTGL's failure to meet necessary conditions, including maintaining control of Liberia's timber regions and freezing the assets of certain allies of Charles Taylor, former Liberian rebel leader/president.
Politically, the desire of many African leaders to stay in power has led to full blown war between them and the opposition side. The result of this is apparent political instability which leads to economic backwardness due to either frequent change of economic policies or lack of conducive atmosphere for initiating policies, talk more of implementing policies that will sustain the economy.
Countries like DR Congo, Chad, Ivory Coast, Somali, and even Sudan and Uganda, and recently in Kenya; just to mention a few, have experienced one form of political crisis/war at certain periods in their histories. While some of them (countries) are relatively peaceful now, other countries are still hoping for the day peace will reign over arms.
No parameter has been adequately employ to exactly measure or quantify the rate of damage cause by war to the society that had experienced it. However, whenever the issue of war takes the central stage in a discussion, its effects is mostly measured in terms of human/material damages it brings to that society. In that respect, it is easier to link such physical damages to the economic and political set back of the region, country, or place while the issue of culture is often  forgotten or if remembered taken as the least.

What is the effect of war on culture?
The damage usually done by war has never had exception to any aspect of the society. In terms of culture, it (war’s) effects is on two- folds: directly or indirectly.
The direct effect of war on culture is that:  
                                i.            It tends to damage the cultural institutions like museums which are responsible for preserving the valuable materials of great importance to the history of that region.
                              ii.            It brings a total break down in the communication of important cultural values to  the next generation.
                            iii.            War garnishes the unpleasant atmosphere for un-cultured cultural trends as well as  bad values to infiltrate the original/good cultural values of the people, which were originally preserved and protected with passion in the society.
                            iv.            War also permits the influx of foreign cultural ideas which are imposed directly or indirectly on the people of that region.
                              v.            At worst, war can erase a people’s culture by reaping a society of all its cultural values/assets (art practices, institutions of cultural education, channels of cultural communication etc.). In that way, the society relied on a borrowed cultures  surrounding it, since the people may have apparently lost memory of their cultural practices.
On the other hand, the indirect damage of war on culture is mostly seen in the inter-connectivity of other aspects of the society which, if tempered with, will affect culture in a multi-dimensional ways. Take economy for instance, economy which has been ravaged by war gives little or no room for some important aspects of culture like art practice to thrive. The excess hunger makes people (artists) to think of what to feed.

What programme has UN in times of war to reduce the damage on culture to prevent cultural extinction of such regions?
Base on the current/previous media reports from various war zones, it is obvious that UNESCO does not have such a plan or programme on ground yet. During war, humanitarian services range from provision of basic human needs like food, water, shelter, clothes, beds and any of such things that can urgently ameliorate the suffering of people in that region. At best, refugee camps are provided with educational materials for children to continue learning. The kind of education given to children at this period is remarkably different from the one received in organized schools. Besides, the training atmosphere does not warrant the education/inculcation some of basic cultural values in the children. While in such conditions, some children manage to learn, other camps are frequently invaded by rebels or enemies disrupting the learning system against the interest of the learners. In view of this, UN ‘s most priority is to prevent loss of lives of the innocent ones, most of which are women and children or old men who can not hold arms during war.
What can UNESCO do to Revive Cultural Industry of a Region or country after war to Prevent Cultural Extinction in Africa?
Although, war times are highly unpredictable, considering the unsafe/tense atmosphere which is characterized by turmoil, confusion, hostilities of all sorts, UNESCO can still do a little to aid in the area of cultural preservation. UNESCO can create a temporal cultural unit that will be responsible for the storage of cultural pieces (artifacts). Such a unit will performs roles like collection, registration, documentation as well as temporal storage of cultural materials/relics like ethnographic/archeological materials, products of artistic value, etc. details of such cultural product, no matter how little they are, will be documented based on the scanty information received. This will help in tracing the location of such materials, identifying the cultures that produced them and or, returned them to the appropriate cultural institutions in that region or country. This arrangement will serve as a back-up plan that will possibly contribute to reviving the cultures of that region or country after war.
This arrangement may sound unachievable since war times or conflict periods have total disregard for any formal arrangement or constituted authority. However, during such period, formal arrangement are usually achieved through informal means. In view of this, the peace keeping force in charge of field operations, health workers under emergency teams (WHO or Red Cross officials) as well as other humanitarian workers who serve as volunteers in such region will be sensitized on the need to work together and include this as part of the mission. In this way, UNESCO will achieve meaningful results in this aspect.       

Reference:
Albertyn, R., Bicker, S. W., van As, A.B., Miller, A.J.W., Rode H. (2003), The Effect of War on Children in Africa; Pediatrics Survey International, Vol-19, Number 4, www.springlink.com. Retrieved on 12/11/2010, 11:05 am.
CIA World Factbook (2002) The Economist, Frontline/world/Liberia-No More War. Fact/pbs-http://www.pbs.org. Retrieved on 12/11/2010, 1:47pm.