Boys’ Brigade installs Akeredolu’s wife as Patron

abubakar hashim <abhhashim3@gmail.com> Demola, Im so so sorry for the loss of your wife. May her soul rest in perfect peace. Ill do d feature, with a possible trip to Liberia. Best regards Alhaji

Today at 11:39

Demola,

Im so so sorry for the loss of your wife. May her soul rest in perfect peace.

Ill do d feature, with a possible trip to Liberia.

Best regards

Alhaji

Show original message

On Thu, Dec 28, 2017 at 5:39 PM, Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> wrote:

Compliments of the season Alhaji.

Kindly do a feature for us on the major problems that the new Liberian president has to tackle. Of course, you know the issues.

I regret to inform you that I lost my wife!

Thanks

Demola

Sent from my iPhone

Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> Thank you sir

abubakar hashim

Today at 12:03

Thank you sir

Show original message

On Friday, 29 December 2017, 11:39, abubakar hashim <abhhashim3@gmail.com> wrote:

Demola,

Im so so sorry for the loss of your wife. May her soul rest in perfect peace.

Ill do d feature, with a possible trip to Liberia.

Best regards

Alhaji

On Thu, Dec 28, 2017 at 5:39 PM, Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> wrote:

Compliments of the season Alhaji.

Kindly do a feature for us on the major problems that the new Liberian president has to tackle. Of course, you know the issues.

I regret to inform you that I lost my wife!

Thanks

Demola

Sent from my iPhone

Click to Reply, Reply all or Forward

Re: Omooba Yemisi Shyllon Interview with TheNEWS (4)

People

Yemisi Shyllon <yemisishyllon@yahoo.com> My dear Ademola, Please find below, my edited copy of your interview of me. You may go through the final edited draft for your final editing . My sincere thanks and regards. Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Why I am Building an art museum at Pan- Atlantic University--Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Q: Congratulations on your international recognition as Africa’s number one arts collector. In fact, The Financial Times of London wrote that you are among 100 art collectors in the world and no 1 in Africa. Let me start by asking you, what actually fired your interest in arts collection? Ans: To start with, I can draw very well. Indeed, many times when I go for board meetings, I find myself sketching. I did arts up to a level in my secondary school but because of my flair for Mathematics and the erroneous belief then, that you had to be a science student to be regarded as ingenuous or a successful person (very erroneous), I abandoned arts in my secondary school days and went in for the sciences. But when I was studying at the University of Ibadan, I had cause to regularly read during the holidays, at the Yabatech library, because my grand father’s house in Yaba is close to Yabatech. That is how I got in contact and developed interest in collecting artworks by relating with the array of display of the students demonstration artworks at Yabatech while a student in the university. I thus as an undergraduate in the university, I ended up collecting artworks. I have been doing that for some 40 years. Ques: Now the museum you are establishing with the Pan-Atlantic University, what fired that effort ? Ans: First of all, before I ceased being in paid employment. I didn’t put my mind to what I was doing, I was just enjoying my interest in buying artworks which grew into a passion and later, it became an obsession and by the time I was going to leave paid employment and engage myself in my own activities, I looked around me and saw that art was an area I could play a major role

28 Dec at 9:07 PM

Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message:

Kunle Ajibade

Today at 2:59

Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> Sir, Here is the link to the interview. http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2017/12/my-n4b-art-collections-and-n600m-pan-atlantic-university-art-museum-omooba-yemisi-shyllon/ I wrote an intro with info from Wikipedia, Feel free sir to ask us to adjust one thing or the other (that is on of the advantages of online publication). However, we will use the interview in the next hard copy of TheNEWS. Regards sir, Ademola Adegbamigbe

Today at 11:55

http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2017/12/my-n4b-art-collections-and-n600m-pan-atlantic-university-art-museum-omooba-yemisi-shyllon/

Today at 11:56

Sir,

Here is the link to the interview.

I wrote an intro with info from Wikipedia,

Feel free sir to ask us to adjust one thing or the other (that is on of the advantages of online publication).

However, we will use the interview in the next hard copy of TheNEWS.

Regards sir,

Ademola Adegbamigbe

Show original message

On Friday, 29 December 2017, 2:59, Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> wrote:

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: Yemisi Shyllon <yemisishyllon@yahoo.com>
Date: 28 December 2017 at 9:07:52 PM WAT
To: molagbe63@yahoo.com
Cc: yemisi shyllon <yemisishyllon@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Omooba Yemisi Shyllon Interview with TheNEWS

My dear Ademola,

Please find below, my edited copy of your interview

of me. You may go through the final edited draft for your

final editing .

My sincere thanks and regards.

Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon

Why I am Building an art museum at Pan- Atlantic University--Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon

Q: Congratulations on your international recognition as Africa’s number one arts collector. In fact, The Financial Times of London wrote that you are among 100 art collectors in the world and no 1 in Africa. Let me start by asking you, what actually fired your interest in arts collection?

Ans: To start with, I can draw very well. Indeed, many times when I go for board meetings, I find myself sketching. I did arts up to a level in my secondary school but because of my flair for Mathematics and the erroneous belief then, that you had to be a science student to be regarded as ingenuous or a successful person (very erroneous), I abandoned arts in my secondary school days and went in for the sciences. But when I was studying at the University of Ibadan, I had cause to regularly read during the holidays, at the Yabatech library, because my grand father’s house in Yaba is close to Yabatech. That is how I got in contact and developed interest in collecting artworks by relating with the array of display of the students demonstration artworks at Yabatech while a student in the university. I thus as an undergraduate in the university, I ended up collecting artworks. I have been doing that for some 40 years.

Ques: Now the museum you are establishing with the Pan-Atlantic University, what fired that effort ?

Ans: First of all, before I ceased being in paid employment. I didn’t put my mind to what I was doing, I was just enjoying my interest in buying artworks which grew into a passion and later, it became an obsession and by the time I was going to leave paid employment and engage myself in my own activities, I looked around me and saw that art was an area I could play a major role and leave a lasting legacy. I then registered a foundation, which is called Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Art Foundation(OYASAF). Under OYASAF, I began many art promotion activities. I started such activities by organizing an exhibition in August 2008, of my collection of the history of Nigerian modern arts at the National Museum in Lagos. I followed it up with a joint exhibition with the Omooba Oladele Odimayo Foundation, of traditional arts in our collection at the National Museum in November 2008. Thus the first exhibition organized by OYASAF of its collection, was in August 2008, of modern Nigerian art and the second was its traditional art collection . I then I had cause to benefit an extensive tour of major art museums and institutions in the East Coast of the USA under the Foreign Visitors Leadership Program of the American Department of State in early 2009.

By the time I came back from this extensively educating trip, I had already made up my mind what I was going to do with the artworks of OYASAF. I decided to look for a well managed institution that can sustain my legacy. It is one thing to build a place and house your works but it is another thing, to have it sustained because sustaining a museum is a very expensive and engaging venture which requires determined commitment by those that will outlive you which should preferably be a registered, well managed and on-going private institution. So, I looked around me and I identified Pan-Atlantic University as an institution that was already engaged and shared in the value of what I was doing with the arts. They were already engaged with artists in exhibiting them in numerous exhibitions and have a sizable collection of well managed artworks of their own.. What I was thus offering to partner with them to do was thus, nothing new to them. Before pitching with Pan-Atlantic University, I had looked around our public universities in Nigeria. I was not very convinced about the sustenance of my legacy if I partnered with any of them. Hence my prime reasons for the choice of Pan Atlantic University is their apparent shared value in promoting Nigeria’s art and culture, their commitment and of course, they appear to be my best hope for sustaining my legacy in art for generations yet unborn for the good of my country, the world and humanity in general.

(cuts in) I thought OAU, Ife is strong in Arts…..

I will not go into personalization but I will only say that public institutions in Nigeria did not appeal to me for the sustenance of my legacy., I don’t want a situation where I would selflessly grant out artworks for public good, which are worth about N4bn , at today’s market value only for the works to be privately converted. One stands the real risk of an institution handling the works, only for the works to end up in private collections or in the end, for the works to be sold out, in complete negation and defeat of my legacy intentions. These got me worried so I was able to identify Pan-Atlantic University as an institution that I could rely on to achieve my goal in selflessness and thus entered into an agreement with them to build the Museum edifice, stock it and subsidize its maintenance for fifteen years. The original agreement was to donate some bulk money towards the building of the Museum and subsidize its operations for a total of about N600 million in total. But after my donation of my initial commitment under the agreement, the university could not raise money to help in the completion of the Museum building. This would not have been the case, if money was sought from Nigerians towards building churches , mosques and organizing parties. Apart from donating to such afore mentioned courses, we Nigerians are generally not known for selflessly giving. We are good at receiving and taking but not in selflessly giving. The university went around seeking for help and after being unable to raise funds towards the completion of the Museum building, I am now committed to releasing part of the sustenance subsidy funds under the agreement, towards completing the construction of the Museum structure. I hope by 2019 we should be able to complete it and the balance of the sustenance subsidy commitment will be spread over 15 years.

Ques: The amount of money you have committed to this project is big, are some agencies abroad assisting one way or the other?

Ans: Why do you expect any multinational agency should be interested in donating towards this course, when we ourselves are not doing anything? No. No. No. That issue does not arise. We Africans should not expect other people to help us in taking care of our father’s backyard which we intend to eventually inherit. If you are looking forward to inherit a place you should spend your money to take care of it and not stay aloof and unconcerned but waiting while the house gets run completely down. Anyway what has happened is that I had to sell some of my long held investments with a view to sustaining what I am doing. Some of my investments are being sold because I believe very much in what I am doing and I hope that generations yet unborn will remember me for my selflessness and philanthropy. Given that, while am alive and kicking , many local private individuals and international organizations are appreciating OYASAF, is enough impetus to continue . So I can see that what OYASAF is doing is very commendable and the world appreciates it. I am therefore further emboldened and encouraged to do what am doing.

Ques: How do you feel that foreigners recognize you and here, we don’t hear anything anything like that here?

Ans: That is a very good question. I think in answering your question, one should consult our history of recognizing contributions in Nigeria. From history, we do not easily give recognition on merit. Look at Professor Wole Soyinka for instance, it took WS to get the Nobel Prize before my country recognized him and of course you know what he did, he threw away their GCON. My country is such that our value system is different, what we value in my country is different. I will give you another example. A friend of mine called me yesterday to say that he wants to give artworks to some very important Nigerians. I said don’t waste your money, they wont appreciate it. I don’t blame the average Nigerian, for not appreciating artworks. Where he does, he would probably not place the kind of value which the outside world places on them. And of course no thanks to the inversion of our values, the inverted religiousity in my country that tends to look at artworks as demonic and evil. This is in contrast to the situation with churches in Europe and America, which, from history were the major patrons of Artists and which used art to promote Christianity in the adornment of their churches. The churches were the major patrons of Michael Angelo , Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Paul Ruben, Van Ikye , Giovanni, etc.

If you go to the Vatican, you will see the collections of the Roman catholic church predating many of the so called pentecoastal churches which are going about propagating wrong values about artworks to their followers and the society. You will be surprised about your finding. Please go to the museum of ancient artworks in Brussels Central in Belgium in Europe to see artworks dating back to history. Go go to many museums in the advanced world and you will see what the western world have spent money, time and energy to put together, to showcase their culture, the essence of their lives and their tradition to the world. My country is throwing away its tradition, throwing its culture, everything about it and even throwing away the baby of our culture with the bath water without separating the baby of our culture with the bath water.

Ques: Apart from what you have told us about what your foundation has done so far, I want you to tell us more about your interventions

Ans: Let me start by saying that we did an exhibition of modern arts in 2008, 2009 and then we followed up by introducing an Omoba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Arts Foundation, OYASAF fellowship programme in which we have hosted about 16 scholars from different places that came here to get their PhD by gathering primary data for their thesis. And 10 of them have got their PhD using the data that OYASAF facilitated for them in Nigeria. Secondly also, we have also hosted residency, part residency including a from Western Michigan University in America, and Victor Ekpu, world renowned American -Nigerian artist. We have also hosted, sponsored workshop for children because I have gone round the world and I have seen young children, 6,7,8,9 and 10 and I have also sponsored workshops for schools in Ife and in Akwa Ibom, Uyo and I have heard teachers of art lamenting that they are not funded with materials to teach arts in schools and I have been motivated therefore in organsing workshops for children, secondary schools and also for universities.

University of Lagos has sponsored four workshops right from 2011 in which about 750 Nigerians, artists and non artists have benefitted in. In fact one of the them, the wife of the Counsul General of the American Embassy facilitated the peace meeting workshop and of course I facilitated the hosting of the workshop for residency for university students, polytechnics and I have also started an international arts residency programme in which we hosted a Kenyan international artist just some two months ago. We have also written a book in conjunction with Dr Kpugoson of University of Ibadan on cocert with Lamidi Fakeye, it is a 200 page book. I have also written a book in conjunction with somebody else in Yoruba traditional arts, we have all genre of arts in this place right from the 9th century. Nigerian arts and culture and it covers all arts whether Europe or America, we have them and the ones I promote is the Nigerian/African arts. We have organized academic conferences in which we have looked at some elements of Nigerian arts and culture.

We have invited egg heads of Nigerian universities to discuss and I have invited people to come and listen and partake and then we publish monograms of these seminars and then we have endowed professorial chair, the only profesorial chair in visual art in Nigeria. The University of Portharcourt one has been endowed by me. We have an online international journal (tojah-online.org , a peer review journal, domiciled in the Faculty of Humanities, University of. Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria). The journal has in its team, about 20 egg heads from different parts of the world –namely, UK, South Africa, Germany, Nigeria and America and we have published two major issues of the journal, which you can google online.

We regularly host a large number of top local and foreign government officials, visitors from foreign embassies in Nigeria, visitors to Nigeria, resident expatriates and Nigerian art stake holders. In doing this, we are exposing our art collection and culture to the world. We have encouraging comments from such visitors, who have visited our collections at either Lagos and/or Abeokuta. We have hosted and exposed our collection to the world, our people and resident expatriates. We have collected works from about 925 artists, but we do Not sell our artworks. OYASAF does Not sell artworks, but only selflessly preserve Nigerian art and culture for our generation yet unborn. Our involvement covers a lot of commitment, self deprivation and prioritization of needs.

We have hosted school children who visit here to interact with and enjoy our garden. These include, children from crèches and primary schools, who visit to play in our life- size bronze, stone and metal sculptured garden. We have a place here, for small children. The advantages of the visitation of visual art students in the universities and polytechnics to our collection, is that, many of them are usually mostly involved in only the production of artwork, without having the opportunity to appreciate the great use and decorative value of their works in collections like ours. Many of them express surprise on seeing the use of which their works here. In addition, have documented some major fast disappearing cultural festivals across Nigeria,. These can be found in the 55,000 photographic shots of Nigeria’s cultural life. We have lent our artworks to local and international exhibitions including the New York Museum of Art for three and half years of exhibitions in five cities in the USA and Canada.
For instance, when I was growing up in Lagos in the 60s and early 70s, the igunuko masquerade could easily be found in Yaba, Lagos, especially during Christmas and Easter holidays. They have also since disappeared from lagos. You cannot see Gelede masquerades in Lagos? Its gone but these are things that have to be documented since they are gradually disappearing from around us. I fear that in some 30 years time, material symbols of the Yoruba culture would have disappeared even from our villages because of increasing globalization, increasing rural urbanization and “civilization” and of course no thanks to pentecostalism that tend to destroy our culture, out of the interplay between propaganda ignorance. The Pentecostal churches preach against our culture and if we are not careful, in some years to come, it would be difficult to differentiate us culturally from the black Chinese because we would not have any cultural identity to separate us from them. It is our culture that makes us different from the American or Chinese or Briton or others. Look at the way you are dressed, look at the way I am dressed. I am dressed as a Nigerian. That is part of our cultural identity and our cultural festivals represent the way of life of our forefathers, which have been passed on from generations to generations as a result of their interactions with nature, the environment and of man. Hence in the interaction with their environment, themselves and nature, they ended up forming traditions and ways of behavior that have been passed on, through learning, from generations to generations.

Why should anyone now tell me that such traditions and customs are evil? In relating with our culture, it is only best that we should separate the baby from the bath water. Do such separation in the same way that other races have over time done . Their used to be the practice of exorcism in the white man’s culture, they had witches in their culture, but they lynched them. Now that they have refined it, some of us wrongly assume that have always had a refined culture as compared to ours currently. Why don’t we give our people the assistance to help refine our culture, instead of condemning it, preach against it and throw it away? What I have been doing in the past eight years is to document our fast disappearing traditional festivals which represent the culture and identity of my people. We hope to, over time, publish the images in books. but are right now only being lent out, in local and international exhibitions.

Ques: Given your passion for the arts, has the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture approached you for advice or have you given them a blue print on how to preserve our cultural heritage?

Ans: ; I do Not have any comment about that.

Ques: There is a controversy. The controversy is old. The British carted away many artefacts from Benin when they deposed Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi in 1897 ( there is a movie on that, Invasion 1897). Have you in any way been part of this crusade to bring these artefacts back to Nigeria?

Ans: I cannot claim to be personally involved in this crusade. I have an uncle who is a professor of intellectual property who has been championing this cause around the world have intellectually contributed significantly in international organizations, universities and governments. He is best suited and qualified to answer this question. Be that as it may, the ones that some recently claimed to have returned to this country, it appears that nobody deemed it fit to carry out an age analysis of those works, we a view to ascertaining the authenticity of the claim as to the truthfulness of whether those works are returned, are genuinely as old as are claimed. No. Was there any effort made to that effect? No. Hence one is not sure that those works were dated to make sure that they are really our old works being returned. My first reaction to the returning of our pillaged art works is that are; the ones we have here in our custody, are they being adequately taken good care of? Not really. We appear not to be taking adequate care of them but here we are, clamoring for the return of those other works under adequate and effective conservation and preservation.

My recommended solution to this problem is either of twofold. The first alternative is that, those works that are out there should be acknowledged not to belong to those people holding them in hostage but to us. In other words, we should separate the two titles to the works into legal and equitable. . Now let my country go and discuss with some of these countries that got possessed of our works unlawfully and let them acknowledge that the legal title to those works belong to my country. This way, they can continue to have the possessory title and use to those works in furtherance of the culture of my people and in this way, continue to keep them in possession in good condition. But under this agreement, they must annually pay royalty to my
country for being given the equitable title to the works while Nigeria retains the legai title to them subject to some say ten year negotiated review.
So, I am not one of those clamoring for the works to be returned. So my position is that we should go and discuss with them, let them acknowledge our ownership of the legal title to the works and let them pay us an annual fee that recognizes our legal title, our but let them continue to hold and care for the works and do what they want to do with it but any time we want them for use, we would give them enough notice to have those works borrowed for use , for our events like in 1977with Idia head for Festac 77 in which Britain refused to lend the Idia head to us. Let them enter into agreement to this effect.

We must appreciate those countries have created industries around visual art, while unfortunately, my country has decided to throw away what it has and regarded those works of my forefathers as demonic which should not be kept around us in homes. Even here for instance, some have expressed the fear that the works I have here are being worshipped by me. I usually laugh in reaction.

So, my second alternative solution to this problem is that, instead of us clamouring to return of those works, let us ask the United Nations to create a world museum in which the works that have been stolen and the works from other different countries can be put in a world museum. In doing this, any of our works say, being held by the British, should be taken to the world museum and let those industries that are thriving in the use of those works continue to enjoy them along with others in the world at the world Museum. So, let the world generally own and enjoy the works in the world museum.

Such a world museum, would operate under the same principles and practice of other world bodies like, the world health organization. So the world museum would hold all works in trust for the whole world. Holders of stolen works would relinquish passion of the works and move them to the museum. Our scholars, our artists, leaders, everybody can then go to the world museum to enjoy the works.

Ques: When I read the Financial Times story I was happy. The name of one Moroccan was mentioned and another organization in south Africa. Are you in any way in contact with them to do something for Africa.

Ans: To the best of my knowledge and at the risk of being immodest, I am the first black African to do what I am doing. I am not in contact with any of the two you mentioned, but I am aware of such development. I know that the ones in South Africa and Morocco are being by a non black Africans. Hence I appear to be the first black African to be establishing a museum selflessly, for the benefit of the world. I know what am doing and the reason why I am doing it is I don’t want my life time labour to be lost and I don’t want to transfer my problem of managing my works of art to my children. When you arrange for your children to inherit works of art and you preclude them from selling the works, you are effectively simply transferring your big burden of managing the works to them. Your children have their own lives to live, they have their own path to follow in life, so why transfer such burden to them? Why must I give them the cross of my own passion and obsession to carry for me?

So the reason why I am establishing the museum in partnership with Pan-Atlantic University, is to have a place where I can have experts to help keep my legacy alive without my children being burdened and to allow school children, visitors, scholars, curators, Artists to continue to interact with the works far more than the way they currently do. When the Museum is in a place, where the works would be adequately taken care of, then I can be rest assured that my labour will not be lost. Many people have their such labour go to waste because they collect and never prepare for what would happen to the works after they die. Hence the reason for the museum is to have not only a place where my country can be proud of but to establish the first sitting exhibition space of Nigerian modern art in the Yemisi Shyllon Museum, PAU. We have many galleries, but such a museum does not exist in my country that have generated so much trillions of dollars in oil. The reason is probably because Nigerians prefer to spend their money on traveling out of the country to visit similar edifices outside our shores and hosting big parties, instead of promoting our culture which is the essence of our identity as a people.

Click to Reply, Reply all or Forward

Pictures of Prince Shyllon and Images of the OYASAF Garden. (2)

People

OYASAF <oyasaf2000@yahoo.com> Dear Sir, Please find herein attached, 3D drawing of Prince Shyllon's Museum. Kind regards For: OYASAF Emmanuel Adigwe

7 Dec at 2:08 PM

Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message:

Today at 11:49

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

Show original message

From: OYASAF <oyasaf2000@yahoo.com>
Date: 7 December 2017 at 2:07:54 PM WAT
To: "molagbe63@yahoo.com" <molagbe63@yahoo.com>
Subject: Pictures of Prince Shyllon and Images of the OYASAF Garden.
Reply-To: OYASAF <oyasaf2000@yahoo.com>

Dear Sir,

Please find herein attached, 3D drawing of Prince Shyllon's Museum.

Kind regards

For: OYASAF

Emmanuel Adigwe

Ayorinde Oluokun ayorinde oluokun lanrebabs2006@yahoo.co.uk Kunle Ajibade damola ade

Click to Reply, Reply all or Forward

WHERE PRESIDENT SON, YUSUF BUHARI WAS HOSPITALISED. (2)

People

Ipaye Oluwafemi <oipaye2002@gmail.com> CEDARREST HOSPITAL, NO 2 SAM MBAKWE STREET, GUDU. WHERE PRESIDENT SON, YUSUF BUHARI WAS HOSPITALISED.

Today at 13:40

CEDARREST HOSPITAL, NO 2 SAM MBAKWE STREET, GUDU. WHERE PRESIDENT
SON, YUSUF BUHARI WAS HOSPITALISED.

2 Attachments
Download all

http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2017/12/in-picture-where-yusuf-buharis-son-is-hospitalised/

Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2017/12/in-picture-where-yusuf-buharis-son-is-hospitalised/

Ipaye Oluwafemi

Today at 14:04

Show original message

On Friday, 29 December 2017, 13:40, Ipaye Oluwafemi <oipaye2002@gmail.com> wrote:

CEDARREST HOSPITAL, NO 2 SAM MBAKWE STREET, GUDU. WHERE PRESIDENT
SON, YUSUF BUHARI WAS HOSPITALISED.

Click to Reply, Reply all or Forward

Boys’ Brigade installs Akeredolu’s wife as Patron (2)

People

Bola Olagbegi <olabola71@gmail.com> Boys’ Brigade installs Akeredolu’s wife as Patron The wife of the Ondo State Governor, Arabinrin Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu was yesterday honoured as the Imo State Patron of Boys’ Brigade of Nigeria at a colourful Award and Investiture service held at the Christ Anglican Church Emeabiam, Owerri West LGA, Imo State. Mrs. Akeredolu expressed gratitude for the honour and noted that the Boys’ Brigade as an International institution is known for it stand on principles of obedience, reverence, discipline and true Christian value. She advised the youths, as the future of the state and the nation, to take their education seriously and shun all social vices and be good ambassadors of the ‘Boys’ Brigade’ wherever they find themselves. While promising to continue to support the organization in all capacities in order to move it forward, Mrs. Akeredolu reaffirmed her deep commitment to empowerment and developmental projects most especially when it comes to women and youths. Her words: “I cannot quantify my gratitude towards this honour you have bestowed upon me. The Boys’ Brigade Worldwide as an institution has existed since 1883 and stands upon the principles of obedience, reverence, discipline and all that tends towards true Christian value. She further charged the youths to think about their future and how they can leave a lasting mark in the sands of time stressing that they must discover activities that will stimulate their mind and develop their bodies. In her speech, the State President of Boys’ Brigade, Lady Edith Onyejiaka congratulated Mrs. Akeredolu while describing her investiture as one that will remain dear to the hearts of the people as it was the first time a Governor’s wife was so honoured. Earlier in his sermon, Rev. Cannon Daniel Emuka appreciated the efforts of Mrs. Akeredolu while also praying that the tenure of her husband in Ondo State will be of immense benefit to the people of the State. Arabinrin Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, an indigene

BCC

Today at 12:21

Boys’ Brigade installs Akeredolu’s wife as Patron

The wife of the Ondo State Governor, Arabinrin Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu was yesterday honoured as the Imo State Patron of Boys’ Brigade of Nigeria at a colourful Award and Investiture service held at the Christ Anglican Church Emeabiam, Owerri West LGA, Imo State.

Mrs. Akeredolu expressed gratitude for the honour and noted that the Boys’ Brigade as an International institution is known for it stand on principles of obedience, reverence, discipline and true Christian value.

She advised the youths, as the future of the state and the nation, to take their education seriously and shun all social vices and be good ambassadors of the ‘Boys’ Brigade’ wherever they find themselves.

While promising to continue to support the organization in all capacities in order to move it forward, Mrs. Akeredolu reaffirmed her deep commitment to empowerment and developmental projects most especially when it comes to women and youths.

Her words: “I cannot quantify my gratitude towards this honour you have bestowed upon me. The Boys’ Brigade Worldwide as an institution has existed since 1883 and stands upon the principles of obedience, reverence, discipline and all that tends towards true Christian value.

She further charged the youths to think about their future and how they can leave a lasting mark in the sands of time stressing that they must discover activities that will stimulate their mind and develop their bodies.

In her speech, the State President of Boys’ Brigade, Lady Edith Onyejiaka congratulated Mrs. Akeredolu while describing her investiture as one that will remain dear to the hearts of the people as it was the first time a Governor’s wife was so honoured.

Earlier in his sermon, Rev. Cannon Daniel Emuka appreciated the efforts of Mrs. Akeredolu while also praying that the tenure of her husband in Ondo State will be of immense benefit to the people of the State.

Arabinrin Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, an indigene of Emeabiam, Owerri West is in Imo State for her installment as Ada Emeabiam II.

2 Attachments
Download all

http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2017/12/boys-brigade-installs-akeredolus-wife-as-patron/

Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2017/12/boys-brigade-installs-akeredolus-wife-as-patron/

Bola Olagbegi

Today at 14:11

Show original message

On Friday, 29 December 2017, 12:21, Bola Olagbegi <olabola71@gmail.com> wrote:

Boys’ Brigade installs Akeredolu’s wife as Patron

Arabinrin Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, an indigene of Emeabiam, Owerri West is in Imo State for her installment as Ada Emeabiam II.

CC/BCC

Bola Olagbegi

Message Body

Show original message

Fw: Ex-Katsina Perm Sec Jailed for Fraud

People

wilson uwujaren <wilsonuwujaren@yahoo.com> On Friday, December 29, 2017 12:52 PM, wilson uwujaren <wilsonuwujaren@yahoo.com> wrote: EFCC Press Release Ex- Katsina Perm Sec Jailed for Fraud A former permanent secretary in the administration of former governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shehu Shema, Yusuf Sule Saulawa was today December 29, 2017 convicted by Justice Sanusi Tukur of the Katsina State High Court of one count of Obtaining by False Pretense. The convict fraudulently obtained the sum of N2,500,000 ( Two Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira Only) from the complainant while he was a permanent secretary attached to the office of the Deputy Governor of Katsina State on the pretext that the Office would award the complainant a contract for the supply of fertilizer to all the Local Government areas in Katsina State. Saulawa claimed that the money was for the purchase of bidding documents. It was further alleged that after obtaining the money, the convict cut all contacts with the complainant. In the course of prosecution, EFCC counsel Sa'ad Hanafi Sa'ad called 3 witnesses and tendered many exhibits. After both parties closed their case on the 3rd of October, 2017, final written addresses were adopted and the case was subsequently adjourned to December 29 for judgement. In his judgement, Justice Tukur said he was convinced that the prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt and pronounced the accused guilty as charged. Saulawa was accordingly convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment without option of fine. Wilson Uwujaren Head, Media & Publicity 29 December, 2017

wilson uwujaren

Today at 14:08

On Friday, December 29, 2017 12:52 PM, wilson uwujaren <wilsonuwujaren@yahoo.com> wrote:

EFCC Press Release

Ex- Katsina Perm Sec Jailed for Fraud

A former permanent secretary in the administration of former governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shehu Shema, Yusuf Sule Saulawa was today December 29, 2017 convicted by Justice Sanusi Tukur of the Katsina State High Court of one count of Obtaining by False Pretense.

The convict fraudulently obtained the sum of N2,500,000 ( Two Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira Only) from the complainant while he was a permanent secretary attached to the office of the Deputy Governor of Katsina State on the pretext that the Office would award the complainant a contract for the supply of fertilizer to all the Local Government areas in Katsina State. Saulawa claimed that the money was for the purchase of bidding documents. It was further alleged that after obtaining the money, the convict cut all contacts with the complainant.

In the course of prosecution, EFCC counsel Sa'ad Hanafi Sa'ad called 3 witnesses and tendered many exhibits.

After both parties closed their case on the 3rd of October, 2017, final written addresses were adopted and the case was subsequently adjourned to December 29 for judgement.

In his judgement, Justice Tukur said he was convinced that the prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt and pronounced the accused guilty as charged.

Saulawa was accordingly convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment without option of fine.

Wilson Uwujaren

Head, Media & Publicity

29 December, 2017

Click to Reply, Reply all or Forward

Sadiq Daba`s Update... (2)

People

Joe Okei-Odumakin Okei-Odumakin <odjoe@yahoo.com> It's soooo good to be back home!! Who else will be there? Who has always been there ? Yes , the indefatigable woman of esteem and high standards, sincerity, honesty ,love, care ,adoration and My Angel......Dr.Joe Odumakin!! I am back stronger, healthier and well....all thanks to the goodwill and kindness of thousands and thousands of Nigerians both home and abroad.... Special mention and lots of love to Soni Irabor, who kick started it all !! I am ever so grateful........ Sadiq Daba, Friday 29 December, Lagos, Nigeria. Pix 1,L-R; Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mr Sadiq Daba & President, Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin. Pix 2,L-R; Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mr Sadiq Daba & President, Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin. Pix 3,L-R; Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mr Sadiq Daba & President, Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin & Wife of Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mrs Mobolaji Daba. Pix 4,L-R; Wife of Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mrs Mobolaji Daba; Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mr Sadiq Daba; President, Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin & Retired Director from Lagos Water Corporation. Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin President Campaign for Democracy (CD) 54 A, Adeyemi Akapo, Omole Phase 1, Estate, Ojodu-Berger, Lagos. Website: www.campaign4democracy.org

Dr. Joe Odumakin

Today at 15:14

It's soooo good to be back home!! Who else will be there? Who has always been there ? Yes , the indefatigable  woman of esteem and high standards, sincerity, honesty ,love, care ,adoration and My Angel......Dr.Joe Odumakin!!  I am back stronger, healthier and well....all thanks to the goodwill and kindness of thousands and thousands of Nigerians both home and abroad.... Special mention and lots of love to Soni Irabor, who kick started it all !! I am ever so grateful........

Sadiq Daba, Friday 29 December, Lagos, Nigeria. 

Pix 1,L-R; Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mr Sadiq Daba & 

President, Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin.

Pix 2,L-R; Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mr Sadiq Daba & 

President, Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin.

Pix 3,L-R; Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mr Sadiq Daba & 

President, Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin & Wife of Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mrs Mobolaji Daba. 

Pix 4,L-R; Wife of Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mrs Mobolaji Daba; Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mr Sadiq Daba; President, Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin & Retired Director from Lagos Water Corporation. 

Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin

President

Campaign for Democracy (CD)

54 A, Adeyemi Akapo,

Omole Phase 1, Estate,

Ojodu-Berger, Lagos.

Website: www.campaign4democracy.org

4 Attachments
Download all

http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2017/12/in-pictures-sadiq-daba-back-home-from-uk-medical-treatment/

Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> Ma'am, Each time I think about your intervention in this matter, it shows that our humanity is one, notwithstanding ethnicity, religion and others. http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2017/12/in-pictures-sadiq-daba-back-home-from-uk-medical-treatment/ Thank you again. Ademola Adegbamigbe, Editor, TheNEWS 08055002056

Joe Okei-Odumakin Okei-Odumakin

Today at 16:12

Ma'am,

Each time I think about your intervention in this matter, it shows that our humanity is one, notwithstanding ethnicity, religion and others.

Thank you again.

Ademola Adegbamigbe,

Editor, TheNEWS

08055002056

Show original message

On Friday, 29 December 2017, 15:14, Joe Okei-Odumakin Okei-Odumakin <odjoe@yahoo.com> wrote:

It's soooo good to be back home!! Who else will be there? Who has always been there ? Yes , the indefatigable  woman of esteem and high standards, sincerity, honesty ,love, care ,adoration and My Angel......Dr.Joe Odumakin!!  I am back stronger, healthier and well....all thanks to the goodwill and kindness of thousands and thousands of Nigerians both home and abroad.... Special mention and lots of love to Soni Irabor, who kick started it all !! I am ever so grateful........

Sadiq Daba, Friday 29 December, Lagos, Nigeria. 

Pix 1,L-R; Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mr Sadiq Daba & 

President, Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin.

Pix 2,L-R; Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mr Sadiq Daba & 

President, Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin.

Pix 3,L-R; Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mr Sadiq Daba & 

President, Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin & Wife of Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mrs Mobolaji Daba. 

Pix 4,L-R; Wife of Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mrs Mobolaji Daba; Veteran Actor & Ace Broadcaster, Mr Sadiq Daba; President, Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin & Retired Director from Lagos Water Corporation. 

Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin

President

Campaign for Democracy (CD)

54 A, Adeyemi Akapo,

Omole Phase 1, Estate,

Ojodu-Berger, Lagos.

Website: www.campaign4democracy.org

Click to Reply, Reply all or Forward

Newsletter Vol. 1 No. 48

People

Federal Ministry of Power <powerpressuni@gmail.com> Vol 1. No. 48 Friday, December 29, 2017 Transmission Lines TCN SETS NEW TRANSMISSION RECORDS AT 5,222MW The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), on Sunday, disclosed that it recorded a new national peak with the transmission of 5,222.3 megawatts (MW) of Electricity into the national grid on December 18. TCN General Manager Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, said in a statement in Abuja that the achievement was the highest ever recorded in the nation’s power sector. Mbah said the current peak transmission surpassed the 5,155.9MW attained on December 8, and the 5,074.7MW earlier recorded on Feb. 2, 2016. She said TCN developed the Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion programme (TREP), to enable it priorities and execute critical transmission projects, to properly key into the incremental power policy of the Federal Government. “This necessitated the clearing of the company’s stranded containers carrying various transmission equipment at the sea ports to enable it complete previously abandoned projects to further expand the grid capacity.” “Of the 759 containers abandoned by contractors at the sea ports within the last five years, 454 have been cleared from March to date.” Payment for 193 containers have been made and they are being cleared, while payment for the outstanding 112 containers is yet to be made,” she said. Mbah further explained that all the 454 containers cleared from the ports has been taken to various construction sites in Yola, Gulak, Katsina, Jos, Dambatta, Ganmo, Abeokuta, Onitsha and Benin. She said that other construction sites that the containers had been deployed to included Odoguyan, Ede, Iganga, Okene, Walalambe, Akwanga, Kachia, Kumbotso and Kaduna. MD/CEO,Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), Engr. Peter Ewesor (Centre), commissioning the test equipment at NEMSA Headquarters, Abuja, with him are some Management Staff of the Agency and other stakeholders. NEMSA COMMISSIONS TEST EQUIPMENT The Nigerian Electricit

Today at 16:22

Newsletter Vol. 1 No. 48

Vol 1. No. 48 Friday, December 29, 2017

Transmission Lines

TCN SETS NEW TRANSMISSION RECORDS AT 5,222MW

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), on Sunday, disclosed that it recorded a new national peak with the transmission of 5,222.3 megawatts (MW) of Electricity into the national grid on December 18. TCN General Manager Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, said in a statement in Abuja that the achievement was the highest ever recorded in the nation’s power sector.

Mbah said the current peak transmission surpassed the 5,155.9MW attained on December 8, and the 5,074.7MW earlier recorded on Feb. 2, 2016. She said TCN developed the Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion programme (TREP), to enable it priorities and execute critical transmission projects, to properly key into the incremental power policy of the Federal Government.

“This necessitated the clearing of the company’s stranded containers carrying various transmission equipment at the sea ports to enable it complete previously abandoned projects to further expand the grid capacity.” “Of the 759 containers abandoned by contractors at the sea ports within the last five years, 454 have been cleared from March to date.” Payment for 193 containers have been made and they are being cleared, while payment for the outstanding 112 containers is yet to be made,” she said.

Mbah further explained that all the 454 containers cleared from the ports has been taken to various construction sites in Yola, Gulak, Katsina, Jos, Dambatta, Ganmo, Abeokuta, Onitsha and Benin. She said that other construction sites that the containers had been deployed to included Odoguyan, Ede, Iganga, Okene, Walalambe, Akwanga, Kachia, Kumbotso and Kaduna.

MD/CEO,Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), Engr. Peter Ewesor (Centre), commissioning the test equipment at NEMSA Headquarters, Abuja, with him are some Management Staff of the Agency and other stakeholders.

NEMSA COMMISSIONS TEST EQUIPMENT

The Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), has commissioned test equipment for inspection, testing and certification of all electrical installations across the Country.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, (MD/CEO), NEMSA, Engr. Peter Ewesor while commissioning the text equipment said the equipment would assist the Agency to deliver on its mandate and perform its duties optimally.

Engr. Ewesor pointed out that the importance of equipping the Area Inspecting Engineers is to ensure that all relevant standards and specifications in electrical installations are maintained. He therefor urged the Area Inspectorate Engineers to handle the equipment with care to ensure the safety of lives and properties.

Some of the equipment include; 18 pieces of 2.5/2kv Thermo cool petrol generating sets with engine oil, 6 pieces of cable height detectors, 15 pieces of professional electrical tool boxes of 82 tools, 4 pieces of 2.5kv insulation & continuity testers, among others.

A Thermal Power Plant

AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, AZURA POWER PLANT ADDS 153MW ON GRID

One of Nigeria’s first project-financed independent power plant, (Azura Power Plant), Edo State, has started generating electricity to the national grid, following the successful completion of the first-fire on one of its generation turbines – the 153MW GT-II, and subsequent synchronization of same to the national grid by the Transmission Company of Nigerian (TCN).

This successful feat was achieved seven months ahead of its scheduled date of inauguration. The testing and synchronization of the second and third turbines of the gas powered generation plant would reportedly be completed between January and March 2018, at which time the plant would have reached its commercial operations.

Azura Power’s first turbine was synchronize to the national grid and began producing electricity for distribution across the Country. This is a red-letter day for the country’s first large scale, project-financed, independent power plant, and a testament to the work of the many government agencies that have helped to bring this project to life. ” During the four-month inauguration period, the plant would produce over 100,000 megawatt hours (MWH) of electricity which will be sold by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc. (NBET) to the 11 Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos).’’

Interim MD/CEO, Transmission Company of Nigeria, Usman Gur Mohammed

TCN RESTORES ELECTRICITY AFTER KANO TRANSFORMER FIRE

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said it has restored electricity to Dan Agundi area of Kano State after a 60MWV transformer at the substation was burnt last Thursday.

In a statement released by the Company,the two days blackout in some parts of Kano was resolved after it transferred some of the loads in the affected areas to Dakata substation and the balance to the second transformer at the Dan Agundi substation.

The Company is also collaborating with Kano State Government to remove structures under the Kumbotso-Dan Agundi 132KV line Right of Way (ROW). Once the illegal structures under the ROW are cleared, the Kumbotso-Dan Agundi 132KV line would be re-conductored to increase the capacity of the line to provide adequate power to the substation at Dan Agundi,” it stated.

TCN said it will upgrade Dan Agundi and Dakata 132kV substations with additional 100MVA transformers, but has to re-conductor the two 132kV lines from Kumbotso while it completes installation for the two 100MVA transformers at Dan Agundi and Kumbotso, a new 330kV substation at Rimin Zakara and that of Walalambe to improve power transmission.

Copyright © 2017 | Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing. All rights reserved.
This publication is for all stakeholders in the Nigerian power sector.

Our mailing address is:
Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing
(Power House)
14, Zambezi Crescent, Maitama
Abuja - Nigeria
Email - powernews@power.gov.ng
Website - www.pwh.gov.ng

Editorial Team
Etore Thomas, A.K. Usman, Faruk Yusuf,
Haruna Ibrahim, Hakeem Bello, Zainab Abubakar S,
Olowu Olugbenga, Gift Osima, Roseline Ezugwu and Ibiyinka Quadri

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can unsubscribe from Power News
Subscribe to Power News
Send this to a friend
View past issues of Power News

This email was sent to molagbe63@yahoo.com
why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences
Press and Public Relations Officer, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, (Power) · Federal Ministry of Power Works and Housing (Power Sector) · 14, Zambezi Crescent, Maitama Abuja. · Abuja 234 · Nigeria

Click to Reply, Reply all or Forward

On the Prince Yemisi Shyllon story

People

Kunle Ajibade <kajibade@gmail.com> Dear Demola, Why are we disgracing ourselves over a short interview? Kunle

Today at 10:26

Dear Demola,

Why are we disgracing ourselves over a short interview?

Kunle

Click to Reply, Reply all or Forward

4 results

4 resultsSaveRefine

Yemisi Shyllon
Re: FURTHER CORRECTION REQUIRED IN THE Interview Link about YEMISI SHYLLON MUSEUM, PAUMy Dear Ademola,Please my apologies, once again. I acknowledge that, you have corrected the headline and some of the original errors. However, please, it appears that after my answers in...
Inbox
8:13
Yemisi Shyllon
Re: IMPORTANT CORRECTION OF Interview Link about YEMISI SHYLLON MUSEUM, PAUAdemola, Please you have inadvertently distorted the story of my contribution to establishing the Museum. The value of the artworks that I am donating towards setting up the museum...
Inbox
29 Dec
Yemisi Shyllon
Re: Omooba Yemisi Shyllon Interview with TheNEWSMy dear Ademola, Please find below, my edited copy of your interview of me. You may go through the final edited draft for your final editing . My sincere thanks and regards. Omooba Yemisi...
Inbox
28 Dec

Yemisi Shyllon
Re: Link to Your Interview with TheNEWSI am grateful for this publication. I remain indebted. Yemisi Shyllon Sent from my iPhone On 15 Oct 2015, at 8:03 PM, Ademola Ademigbamigbe < molagbe63@yahoo.com > wrote: Dear sir, Below is...
Inbox
15/10/15

Yemisi Shyllon

yemisishyllon@yahoo.com

1m6m1y

Nov 25 '17Dec 13 '17Today

You and Yemisi Shyllon appeared together on 16 messages between July 2013 and Dec 2017. The first message was from Ola Balogun to Shaibu Husseini, Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu, and Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi OFR on July 2, 2013, regarding 'So who is telling lies?'.

Re: IMPORTANT CORRECTION OF Interview Link about YEMISI SHYLLON MUSEUM, PAU (3)

People

Yemisi Shyllon <yemisishyllon@yahoo.com> Ademola, Please you have inadvertently distorted the story of my contribution to establishing the Museum. The value of the artworks that I am donating towards setting up the museum (artworks only) is worth about four(4 )billion Naira. This is Not the value of my 7,000 artworks please. I can assure you that the remaining artworks after my giving out the artworks for the Museum, is worth far, far more than the value of what I am granting the Museum. Please correct this very, very wrong estimate from the body and headline of your write up. Again, the about 600 million Naira is the total amount I am committing in cash towards building the physical structure of the museum and subsidizing its operations for fifteen (15) years after opening. Please don’t devalue your well written story by making wrong statements about the value of the artworks granted and the cash commitment RESPECTIVELY that I am committing towards establishing the Museum. Please call to confirm receipt because I couldn’t get you on phone after repeated fail. My regards. Prince Yemisi Shyllon Sent from my iPhone

29 Dec at 10:52 PM

Ademola,

Please you have inadvertently distorted the story of my contribution to establishing the Museum. The value of the artworks that I am donating towards setting up the museum (artworks only) is worth about four(4 )billion Naira. This is Not the value of my 7,000 artworks please. I can assure you that the remaining artworks after my giving out the artworks for the Museum, is worth far, far more than the value of what I am granting the Museum. Please correct this very, very wrong estimate from the body and headline of your write up. Again, the about 600 million Naira is the total amount I am committing in cash towards building the physical structure of the museum and subsidizing its operations for fifteen (15) years after opening.

Please don’t devalue your well written story by making wrong statements about the value of the artworks granted and the cash commitment RESPECTIVELY that I am committing towards establishing the Museum.

Please call to confirm receipt because I couldn’t get you on phone after repeated fail.

My regards.

Prince Yemisi Shyllon

Sent from my iPhone

Show original message

On 29 Dec 2017, at 12:07 PM, Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> wrote:

Sir,

Here is the link to the interview.

http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2017/12/my-n4b-art-collections-and-n600m-pan-atlantic-university-art-museum-omooba-yemisi-shyllon/

I wrote an intro with info from Wikipedia,

Feel free sir to ask us to adjust one thing or the other (that is on of the advantages of online publication).

However, we will use the interview in the next hard copy of TheNEWS.

Regards sir,

Ademola Adegbamigbe

Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> I will correct them right away sir. My apologies Ademola Adegbamigbe Sent from my iPhone

Yemisi Shyllon

Today at 1:05

Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> Check this sir. Is this better? http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2017/12/why-i-am-building-an-art-museum-for-and-donating-n4b-artworks-to-pan-african-university-omooba-shyllon/ Regards, Ademola Adegbamigbe Sent from my iPhone

Yemisi Shyllon

Today at 1:30

Click to Reply, Reply all or Forward

Re: Omooba Yemisi Shyllon Interview with TheNEWS (4)

People

yemisi shyllon

28 Dec at 9:07 PM

My dear Ademola,

Please find below, my edited copy of your interview

of me. You may go through the final edited draft for your

final editing .

My sincere thanks and regards.

Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon

Why I am Building an art museum at Pan- Atlantic University--Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon

Q: Congratulations on your international recognition as Africa’s number one arts collector. In fact, The Financial Times of London wrote that you are among 100 art collectors in the world and no 1 in Africa. Let me start by asking you, what actually fired your interest in arts collection?

Ans: To start with, I can draw very well. Indeed, many times when I go for board meetings, I find myself sketching. I did arts up to a level in my secondary school but because of my flair for Mathematics and the erroneous belief then, that you had to be a science student to be regarded as ingenuous or a successful person (very erroneous), I abandoned arts in my secondary school days and went in for the sciences. But when I was studying at the University of Ibadan, I had cause to regularly read during the holidays, at the Yabatech library, because my grand father’s house in Yaba is close to Yabatech. That is how I got in contact and developed interest in collecting artworks by relating with the array of display of the students demonstration artworks at Yabatech while a student in the university. I thus as an undergraduate in the university, I ended up collecting artworks. I have been doing that for some 40 years.

Ques: Now the museum you are establishing with the Pan-Atlantic University, what fired that effort ?

Ans: First of all, before I ceased being in paid employment. I didn’t put my mind to what I was doing, I was just enjoying my interest in buying artworks which grew into a passion and later, it became an obsession and by the time I was going to leave paid employment and engage myself in my own activities, I looked around me and saw that art was an area I could play a major role and leave a lasting legacy. I then registered a foundation, which is called Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Art Foundation(OYASAF). Under OYASAF, I began many art promotion activities. I started such activities by organizing an exhibition in August 2008, of my collection of the history of Nigerian modern arts at the National Museum in Lagos. I followed it up with a joint exhibition with the Omooba Oladele Odimayo Foundation, of traditional arts in our collection at the National Museum in November 2008. Thus the first exhibition organized by OYASAF of its collection, was in August 2008, of modern Nigerian art and the second was its traditional art collection . I then I had cause to benefit an extensive tour of major art museums and institutions in the East Coast of the USA under the Foreign Visitors Leadership Program of the American Department of State in early 2009.

By the time I came back from this extensively educating trip, I had already made up my mind what I was going to do with the artworks of OYASAF. I decided to look for a well managed institution that can sustain my legacy. It is one thing to build a place and house your works but it is another thing, to have it sustained because sustaining a museum is a very expensive and engaging venture which requires determined commitment by those that will outlive you which should preferably be a registered, well managed and on-going private institution. So, I looked around me and I identified Pan-Atlantic University as an institution that was already engaged and shared in the value of what I was doing with the arts. They were already engaged with artists in exhibiting them in numerous exhibitions and have a sizable collection of well managed artworks of their own.. What I was thus offering to partner with them to do was thus, nothing new to them. Before pitching with Pan-Atlantic University, I had looked around our public universities in Nigeria. I was not very convinced about the sustenance of my legacy if I partnered with any of them. Hence my prime reasons for the choice of Pan Atlantic University is their apparent shared value in promoting Nigeria’s art and culture, their commitment and of course, they appear to be my best hope for sustaining my legacy in art for generations yet unborn for the good of my country, the world and humanity in general.

(cuts in) I thought OAU, Ife is strong in Arts…..

I will not go into personalization but I will only say that public institutions in Nigeria did not appeal to me for the sustenance of my legacy., I don’t want a situation where I would selflessly grant out artworks for public good, which are worth about N4bn , at today’s market value only for the works to be privately converted. One stands the real risk of an institution handling the works, only for the works to end up in private collections or in the end, for the works to be sold out, in complete negation and defeat of my legacy intentions. These got me worried so I was able to identify Pan-Atlantic University as an institution that I could rely on to achieve my goal in selflessness and thus entered into an agreement with them to build the Museum edifice, stock it and subsidize its maintenance for fifteen years. The original agreement was to donate some bulk money towards the building of the Museum and subsidize its operations for a total of about N600 million in total. But after my donation of my initial commitment under the agreement, the university could not raise money to help in the completion of the Museum building. This would not have been the case, if money was sought from Nigerians towards building churches , mosques and organizing parties. Apart from donating to such afore mentioned courses, we Nigerians are generally not known for selflessly giving. We are good at receiving and taking but not in selflessly giving. The university went around seeking for help and after being unable to raise funds towards the completion of the Museum building, I am now committed to releasing part of the sustenance subsidy funds under the agreement, towards completing the construction of the Museum structure. I hope by 2019 we should be able to complete it and the balance of the sustenance subsidy commitment will be spread over 15 years.

Ques: The amount of money you have committed to this project is big, are some agencies abroad assisting one way or the other?

Ans: Why do you expect any multinational agency should be interested in donating towards this course, when we ourselves are not doing anything? No. No. No. That issue does not arise. We Africans should not expect other people to help us in taking care of our father’s backyard which we intend to eventually inherit. If you are looking forward to inherit a place you should spend your money to take care of it and not stay aloof and unconcerned but waiting while the house gets run completely down. Anyway what has happened is that I had to sell some of my long held investments with a view to sustaining what I am doing. Some of my investments are being sold because I believe very much in what I am doing and I hope that generations yet unborn will remember me for my selflessness and philanthropy. Given that, while am alive and kicking , many local private individuals and international organizations are appreciating OYASAF, is enough impetus to continue . So I can see that what OYASAF is doing is very commendable and the world appreciates it. I am therefore further emboldened and encouraged to do what am doing.

Ques: How do you feel that foreigners recognize you and here, we don’t hear anything anything like that here?

Ans: That is a very good question. I think in answering your question, one should consult our history of recognizing contributions in Nigeria. From history, we do not easily give recognition on merit. Look at Professor Wole Soyinka for instance, it took WS to get the Nobel Prize before my country recognized him and of course you know what he did, he threw away their GCON. My country is such that our value system is different, what we value in my country is different. I will give you another example. A friend of mine called me yesterday to say that he wants to give artworks to some very important Nigerians. I said don’t waste your money, they wont appreciate it. I don’t blame the average Nigerian, for not appreciating artworks. Where he does, he would probably not place the kind of value which the outside world places on them. And of course no thanks to the inversion of our values, the inverted religiousity in my country that tends to look at artworks as demonic and evil. This is in contrast to the situation with churches in Europe and America, which, from history were the major patrons of Artists and which used art to promote Christianity in the adornment of their churches. The churches were the major patrons of Michael Angelo , Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Paul Ruben, Van Ikye , Giovanni, etc.

If you go to the Vatican, you will see the collections of the Roman catholic church predating many of the so called pentecoastal churches which are going about propagating wrong values about artworks to their followers and the society. You will be surprised about your finding. Please go to the museum of ancient artworks in Brussels Central in Belgium in Europe to see artworks dating back to history. Go go to many museums in the advanced world and you will see what the western world have spent money, time and energy to put together, to showcase their culture, the essence of their lives and their tradition to the world. My country is throwing away its tradition, throwing its culture, everything about it and even throwing away the baby of our culture with the bath water without separating the baby of our culture with the bath water.

Ques: Apart from what you have told us about what your foundation has done so far, I want you to tell us more about your interventions

Ans: Let me start by saying that we did an exhibition of modern arts in 2008, 2009 and then we followed up by introducing an Omoba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Arts Foundation, OYASAF fellowship programme in which we have hosted about 16 scholars from different places that came here to get their PhD by gathering primary data for their thesis. And 10 of them have got their PhD using the data that OYASAF facilitated for them in Nigeria. Secondly also, we have also hosted residency, part residency including a from Western Michigan University in America, and Victor Ekpu, world renowned American -Nigerian artist. We have also hosted, sponsored workshop for children because I have gone round the world and I have seen young children, 6,7,8,9 and 10 and I have also sponsored workshops for schools in Ife and in Akwa Ibom, Uyo and I have heard teachers of art lamenting that they are not funded with materials to teach arts in schools and I have been motivated therefore in organsing workshops for children, secondary schools and also for universities.

University of Lagos has sponsored four workshops right from 2011 in which about 750 Nigerians, artists and non artists have benefitted in. In fact one of the them, the wife of the Counsul General of the American Embassy facilitated the peace meeting workshop and of course I facilitated the hosting of the workshop for residency for university students, polytechnics and I have also started an international arts residency programme in which we hosted a Kenyan international artist just some two months ago. We have also written a book in conjunction with Dr Kpugoson of University of Ibadan on cocert with Lamidi Fakeye, it is a 200 page book. I have also written a book in conjunction with somebody else in Yoruba traditional arts, we have all genre of arts in this place right from the 9th century. Nigerian arts and culture and it covers all arts whether Europe or America, we have them and the ones I promote is the Nigerian/African arts. We have organized academic conferences in which we have looked at some elements of Nigerian arts and culture.

We have invited egg heads of Nigerian universities to discuss and I have invited people to come and listen and partake and then we publish monograms of these seminars and then we have endowed professorial chair, the only profesorial chair in visual art in Nigeria. The University of Portharcourt one has been endowed by me. We have an online international journal (tojah-online.org , a peer review journal, domiciled in the Faculty of Humanities, University of. Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria). The journal has in its team, about 20 egg heads from different parts of the world –namely, UK, South Africa, Germany, Nigeria and America and we have published two major issues of the journal, which you can google online.

We regularly host a large number of top local and foreign government officials, visitors from foreign embassies in Nigeria, visitors to Nigeria, resident expatriates and Nigerian art stake holders. In doing this, we are exposing our art collection and culture to the world. We have encouraging comments from such visitors, who have visited our collections at either Lagos and/or Abeokuta. We have hosted and exposed our collection to the world, our people and resident expatriates. We have collected works from about 925 artists, but we do Not sell our artworks. OYASAF does Not sell artworks, but only selflessly preserve Nigerian art and culture for our generation yet unborn. Our involvement covers a lot of commitment, self deprivation and prioritization of needs.

We have hosted school children who visit here to interact with and enjoy our garden. These include, children from crèches and primary schools, who visit to play in our life- size bronze, stone and metal sculptured garden. We have a place here, for small children. The advantages of the visitation of visual art students in the universities and polytechnics to our collection, is that, many of them are usually mostly involved in only the production of artwork, without having the opportunity to appreciate the great use and decorative value of their works in collections like ours. Many of them express surprise on seeing the use of which their works here. In addition, have documented some major fast disappearing cultural festivals across Nigeria,. These can be found in the 55,000 photographic shots of Nigeria’s cultural life. We have lent our artworks to local and international exhibitions including the New York Museum of Art for three and half years of exhibitions in five cities in the USA and Canada.
For instance, when I was growing up in Lagos in the 60s and early 70s, the igunuko masquerade could easily be found in Yaba, Lagos, especially during Christmas and Easter holidays. They have also since disappeared from lagos. You cannot see Gelede masquerades in Lagos? Its gone but these are things that have to be documented since they are gradually disappearing from around us. I fear that in some 30 years time, material symbols of the Yoruba culture would have disappeared even from our villages because of increasing globalization, increasing rural urbanization and “civilization” and of course no thanks to pentecostalism that tend to destroy our culture, out of the interplay between propaganda ignorance. The Pentecostal churches preach against our culture and if we are not careful, in some years to come, it would be difficult to differentiate us culturally from the black Chinese because we would not have any cultural identity to separate us from them. It is our culture that makes us different from the American or Chinese or Briton or others. Look at the way you are dressed, look at the way I am dressed. I am dressed as a Nigerian. That is part of our cultural identity and our cultural festivals represent the way of life of our forefathers, which have been passed on from generations to generations as a result of their interactions with nature, the environment and of man. Hence in the interaction with their environment, themselves and nature, they ended up forming traditions and ways of behavior that have been passed on, through learning, from generations to generations.

Why should anyone now tell me that such traditions and customs are evil? In relating with our culture, it is only best that we should separate the baby from the bath water. Do such separation in the same way that other races have over time done . Their used to be the practice of exorcism in the white man’s culture, they had witches in their culture, but they lynched them. Now that they have refined it, some of us wrongly assume that have always had a refined culture as compared to ours currently. Why don’t we give our people the assistance to help refine our culture, instead of condemning it, preach against it and throw it away? What I have been doing in the past eight years is to document our fast disappearing traditional festivals which represent the culture and identity of my people. We hope to, over time, publish the images in books. but are right now only being lent out, in local and international exhibitions.

Ques: Given your passion for the arts, has the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture approached you for advice or have you given them a blue print on how to preserve our cultural heritage?

Ans: ; I do Not have any comment about that.

Ques: There is a controversy. The controversy is old. The British carted away many artefacts from Benin when they deposed Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi in 1897 ( there is a movie on that, Invasion 1897). Have you in any way been part of this crusade to bring these artefacts back to Nigeria?

Ans: I cannot claim to be personally involved in this crusade. I have an uncle who is a professor of intellectual property who has been championing this cause around the world have intellectually contributed significantly in international organizations, universities and governments. He is best suited and qualified to answer this question. Be that as it may, the ones that some recently claimed to have returned to this country, it appears that nobody deemed it fit to carry out an age analysis of those works, we a view to ascertaining the authenticity of the claim as to the truthfulness of whether those works are returned, are genuinely as old as are claimed. No. Was there any effort made to that effect? No. Hence one is not sure that those works were dated to make sure that they are really our old works being returned. My first reaction to the returning of our pillaged art works is that are; the ones we have here in our custody, are they being adequately taken good care of? Not really. We appear not to be taking adequate care of them but here we are, clamoring for the return of those other works under adequate and effective conservation and preservation.

My recommended solution to this problem is either of twofold. The first alternative is that, those works that are out there should be acknowledged not to belong to those people holding them in hostage but to us. In other words, we should separate the two titles to the works into legal and equitable. . Now let my country go and discuss with some of these countries that got possessed of our works unlawfully and let them acknowledge that the legal title to those works belong to my country. This way, they can continue to have the possessory title and use to those works in furtherance of the culture of my people and in this way, continue to keep them in possession in good condition. But under this agreement, they must annually pay royalty to my
country for being given the equitable title to the works while Nigeria retains the legai title to them subject to some say ten year negotiated review.
So, I am not one of those clamoring for the works to be returned. So my position is that we should go and discuss with them, let them acknowledge our ownership of the legal title to the works and let them pay us an annual fee that recognizes our legal title, our but let them continue to hold and care for the works and do what they want to do with it but any time we want them for use, we would give them enough notice to have those works borrowed for use , for our events like in 1977with Idia head for Festac 77 in which Britain refused to lend the Idia head to us. Let them enter into agreement to this effect.

We must appreciate those countries have created industries around visual art, while unfortunately, my country has decided to throw away what it has and regarded those works of my forefathers as demonic which should not be kept around us in homes. Even here for instance, some have expressed the fear that the works I have here are being worshipped by me. I usually laugh in reaction.

So, my second alternative solution to this problem is that, instead of us clamouring to return of those works, let us ask the United Nations to create a world museum in which the works that have been stolen and the works from other different countries can be put in a world museum. In doing this, any of our works say, being held by the British, should be taken to the world museum and let those industries that are thriving in the use of those works continue to enjoy them along with others in the world at the world Museum. So, let the world generally own and enjoy the works in the world museum.

Such a world museum, would operate under the same principles and practice of other world bodies like, the world health organization. So the world museum would hold all works in trust for the whole world. Holders of stolen works would relinquish passion of the works and move them to the museum. Our scholars, our artists, leaders, everybody can then go to the world museum to enjoy the works.

Ques: When I read the Financial Times story I was happy. The name of one Moroccan was mentioned and another organization in south Africa. Are you in any way in contact with them to do something for Africa.

Ans: To the best of my knowledge and at the risk of being immodest, I am the first black African to do what I am doing. I am not in contact with any of the two you mentioned, but I am aware of such development. I know that the ones in South Africa and Morocco are being by a non black Africans. Hence I appear to be the first black African to be establishing a museum selflessly, for the benefit of the world. I know what am doing and the reason why I am doing it is I don’t want my life time labour to be lost and I don’t want to transfer my problem of managing my works of art to my children. When you arrange for your children to inherit works of art and you preclude them from selling the works, you are effectively simply transferring your big burden of managing the works to them. Your children have their own lives to live, they have their own path to follow in life, so why transfer such burden to them? Why must I give them the cross of my own passion and obsession to carry for me?

So the reason why I am establishing the museum in partnership with Pan-Atlantic University, is to have a place where I can have experts to help keep my legacy alive without my children being burdened and to allow school children, visitors, scholars, curators, Artists to continue to interact with the works far more than the way they currently do. When the Museum is in a place, where the works would be adequately taken care of, then I can be rest assured that my labour will not be lost. Many people have their such labour go to waste because they collect and never prepare for what would happen to the works after they die. Hence the reason for the museum is to have not only a place where my country can be proud of but to establish the first sitting exhibition space of Nigerian modern art in the Yemisi Shyllon Museum, PAU. We have many galleries, but such a museum does not exist in my country that have generated so much trillions of dollars in oil. The reason is probably because Nigerians prefer to spend their money on traveling out of the country to visit similar edifices outside our shores and hosting big parties, instead of promoting our culture which is the essence of our identity as a people.

Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message:

Kunle Ajibade

29 Dec at 2:59 AM

29 Dec at 11:55 AM

29 Dec at 11:56 AM

Click to Reply, Reply all or Forward

3d.jpg

People

Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> Sent from my iPhone

29 Dec at 2:57 AM

Sent from my iPhone

Click to Reply, Reply all or Forward

Re: FURTHER CORRECTION REQUIRED IN THE Interview Link about YEMISI SHYLLON MUSEUM, PAU (3)

Yemisi Shyllon <yemisishyllon@yahoo.com> My Dear Ademola, Please my apologies, once again. I acknowledge that, you have corrected the headline and some of the original errors. However, please, it appears that after my answers in the write up, to the first two questions, the answers to the other questions remain repeated as they were originally sent to me. The newly corrected publication on-line therefore, does not unfortunately fully reflect my subsequent editing of your original draft. Please check to confirm. They still contain unpardonable errors of facts and grammar. Please check. Some good number of grammatical errors abound and some corrections in names, like Dr Pogoson are still spelt wrongly, as was originally presented in your first draft. Please forgive my tendency for seeking near perfection. Please edit it again in line with my final draft to you and possibly improve it grammatically. My apologies again and again, while acknowledging generosity of your Magazine and your yeoman’s effort. Please, I am copying Mr Kunle Ajibade, in case you travelled because I could not get you on phone, again this morning, after many failures to do so. My regards. Prince Yemisi Shyllon Sent from my iPhone

http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2017/12/why-i-am-building-an-art-museum-for-and-donating-n4b-artworks-to-pan-african-university-omooba-shyllon/

Kunle Ajibade

Today at 8:13

My Dear Ademola,

Please my apologies, once again. I acknowledge that, you have corrected the headline and some of the original errors. However, please, it appears that after my answers in the write up, to the first two questions, the answers to the other questions remain repeated as they were originally sent to me. The newly corrected publication on-line therefore, does not unfortunately fully reflect my subsequent editing of your original draft. Please check to confirm. They still contain unpardonable errors of facts and grammar. Please check. Some good number of grammatical errors abound and some corrections in names, like Dr Pogoson are still spelt wrongly, as was originally presented in your first draft. Please forgive my tendency for seeking near perfection. Please edit it again in line with my final draft to you and possibly improve it grammatically. My apologies again and again, while acknowledging generosity of your Magazine and your yeoman’s effort.

Please, I am copying Mr Kunle Ajibade, in case you travelled because I could not get you on phone, again this morning, after many failures to do so.

My regards.

Prince Yemisi Shyllon

Sent from my iPhone

Show original message

On 30 Dec 2017, at 1:30 AM, Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> wrote:

Check this sir. Is this better?

Regards,

Ademola Adegbamigbe

Sent from my iPhone

On 29 Dec 2017, at 10:52 PM, Yemisi Shyllon <yemisishyllon@yahoo.com> wrote:

Ademola,

Please call to confirm receipt because I couldn’t get you on phone after repeated fail.

My regards.

Prince Yemisi Shyllon

Sent from my iPhone

On 29 Dec 2017, at 12:07 PM, Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> wrote:

Sir,

Here is the link to the interview.

http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2017/12/my-n4b-art-collections-and-n600m-pan-atlantic-university-art-museum-omooba-yemisi-shyllon/

I wrote an intro with info from Wikipedia,

Feel free sir to ask us to adjust one thing or the other (that is on of the advantages of online publication).

However, we will use the interview in the next hard copy of TheNEWS.

Regards sir,

Ademola Adegbamigbe

http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2017/12/why-i-am-building-an-art-museum-for-and-donating-n4b-artworks-to-pan-african-university-omooba-shyllon/

Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> I will, I will sir, even hundred times. Demola Sent from my iPhone

Yemisi Shyllon

Today at 8:37

I will, I will sir, even hundred times.

Demola

Sent from my iPhone

Show original message

On 30 Dec 2017, at 8:13 AM, Yemisi Shyllon <yemisishyllon@yahoo.com> wrote:

My Dear Ademola,

Please, I am copying Mr Kunle Ajibade, in case you travelled because I could not get you on phone, again this morning, after many failures to do so.

My regards.

Prince Yemisi Shyllon

Sent from my iPhone

On 30 Dec 2017, at 1:30 AM, Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> wrote:

Check this sir. Is this better?

Regards,

Ademola Adegbamigbe

Sent from my iPhone

On 29 Dec 2017, at 10:52 PM, Yemisi Shyllon <yemisishyllon@yahoo.com> wrote:

Ademola,

Please call to confirm receipt because I couldn’t get you on phone after repeated fail.

My regards.

Prince Yemisi Shyllon

Sent from my iPhone

On 29 Dec 2017, at 12:07 PM, Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> wrote:

Sir,

Here is the link to the interview.

http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2017/12/my-n4b-art-collections-and-n600m-pan-atlantic-university-art-museum-omooba-yemisi-shyllon/

I wrote an intro with info from Wikipedia,

Feel free sir to ask us to adjust one thing or the other (that is on of the advantages of online publication).

However, we will use the interview in the next hard copy of TheNEWS.

Regards sir,

Ademola Adegbamigbe

http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2017/12/why-i-am-building-an-art-museum-for-and-donating-n4b-artworks-to-pan-african-university-omooba-shyllon/

Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> Sir, I have gone through the draft you sent to me. I added headline and intro. Here is it for your vetting sir, Regards, Ademola Adegbanigbe Why I am building an art museum for and donating N4b artworks to Pan- Atlantic University – Omooba Shyllon • My over 7,000 art collections • The N600m cash commitment for the museum and maintenance subsidy for 15 years Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon, a prince of Ake in Abeokuta, Ogun State of Nigeria, studied engineering at the University of Ibadan, Law at the Universit

Yemisi Shyllon kunle ajibade

Today at 13:51

Sir,

I have gone through the draft you sent to me. I added headline and intro.

Here is it for your vetting sir,

Regards,

Ademola Adegbanigbe

Why I am building an art museum for and donating N4b artworks to Pan- Atlantic University – Omooba Shyllon

• My over 7,000 art collections

• The N600m cash commitment for the museum and maintenance subsidy for 15 years

Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon, a prince of Ake in Abeokuta, Ogun State of Nigeria, studied engineering at the University of Ibadan, Law at the University of Lagos, the Nigeria Law School, and earned his MBA from University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University).

Recently, this former marketing manager with Tractor and Equipment (a division of UACN) and one time marketing director of and legal adviser to Nigerite Limited was a subject of a feature by The Financial Times of London. It celebrated Shyllon who has over 7,000 artworks of sculptures, paintings and other media, as well as over 55,000 photographic shots of Nigeria’s cultural festivals that are worth billions of Naira collected over a period of 40 years. In fact, FT wrote that Shyllon is among the best 100 art collectors in the world and number 1 in Africa.

The artworks in Syllon’s collection, as Wikipedia puts it, are dated from as early as the 9th century and as late as the 21st century. They include the works of both earliest and latest Nigerian contemporary artists, such as Aina Onabolu, Akinola Lasekan, Ben Enwonwu, Okaybulu Eke, Nike Davis-Okundaye, Charles Shainumi, Okpu Eze, Clary Nelson Cole, Kolade Osinowo, David Dale, Simon Okeke, Isiaka Osunde, Abayomi Barber, Olu Amoda, El Anatsui, Ben Osawe, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Lara Ige-Jacks, Susanne Wenger, Theresa Akinwale, Uzo Egonu, Jimoh Akolo, Lamidi Fakeye, Uche Okeke, Erhabor Emopkae, Kunle Filani, Tola Wewe, Yusuf Grillo, Adeola Balogun, Olawunmi Banjo and Oresegun Olumide.

Recently, Prince Shyllon granted ADEMOLA ADEGBAMIGBE, TheNEWS Editor (and photographer, AYODELE EFUNLA) an audience in his Lagos home to speak on his collection of works of art, what fired his zeal in the endeavour, the Pan-Atlantic University art museum, the campaign to bring back artefacts carted off to Europe and America by the colonialists and others.

Q: Congratulations on your international recognition as Africa’s number one art collector. In fact, The Financial Times of London wrote that you are among 100 art collectors in the world and no 1 in Africa. Let me start by asking you, what actually fired your interest in the collection?

Ans: To start with, I can draw very well. Indeed, many times when I go for board meetings, I find myself sketching. I did Visual Art up to a level in my secondary school but because of my flair for Mathematics and the erroneous belief then that you had to be a science student to be regarded as ingenuous or a successful person (very erroneous), I abandoned Visual Art in my secondary school days and went in for the sciences. But when I was studying at the University of Ibadan, I had cause to regularly read during the holidays at the Yabatech library, because my grand father’s house in Yaba is close to Yabatech. That is how I got in contact and developed interest in collecting artworks by relating with the array of display of the students demonstration artworks at Yabatech while a student in the university. I thus as an undergraduate in the university, I ended up collecting artworks. I have been doing that for some 40 years.

Now the museum you are establishing with the Pan-Atlantic University, what fired that effort?

First of all, before I ceased being in paid employment. I didn’t put my mind to what I was doing, I was just enjoying my interest in buying artworks which grew into a passion and later, it became an obsession and by the time I was going to leave paid employment and engage myself in my own activities, I looked around me and saw that art was an area I could play a major role and leave a lasting legacy. I then registered a foundation, which is called Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Art Foundation(OYASAF). Under OYASAF, I began many art promotion activities. I started such activities by organizing an exhibition in August 2008, of my collection of the history of Nigerian modern art at the National Museum in Lagos. I followed it up with a joint exhibition with the Omooba Oladele Odimayo Foundation, of traditional art in our collection at the National Museum in November 2008. Thus the first exhibition organized by OYASAF of its collection, was in August 2008, of modern Nigerian art and the second was its traditional art collection . I then I had cause to benefit from an extensive tour of major art museums and institutions in the East Coast of the USA under the Foreign Visitors Leadership Program of the American Department of State in early 2009.

By the time I came back from this extensively educating trip, I had already made up my mind what I was going to do with the artworks of OYASAF. I decided to look for a well managed institution that can sustain my legacy. It is one thing to build a place and house your works but it is another thing to have it sustained because sustaining a museum is a very expensive and engaging venture which requires determined commitment by those that will outlive you which should preferably be a registered, well managed and on-going private institution. So, I looked around me and I identified Pan-Atlantic University as an institution that was already engaged and shared in the value of what I was doing with art. They were already engaged with artists in exhibiting them in numerous exhibitions and have a sizable collection of well managed artworks of their own.. .

What I was thus offering to partner with them to do was thus, nothing new to them. Before pitching with Pan-Atlantic University, I had looked around our public universities in Nigeria. I was not very convinced about the sustenance of my legacy if I partnered with any of them. Hence my prime reasons for the choice of Pan Atlantic University is their apparent shared value in promoting Nigeria’s art and culture, their commitment and of course, they appear to be my best hope for sustaining my legacy in art for generations yet unborn for the good of my country, the world and humanity in general.

(cuts in) I thought OAU, Ife is strong in Arts…..

I will not go into personalization but I will only say that public institutions in Nigeria did not appeal to me for the sustenance of my legacy. I don’t want a situation where I would selflessly grant out artworks for public good, which are worth about N4bn, at today’s market value only for the works to be privately converted. One stands the real risk of an institution handling the works, only for the works to end up in private collections or in the end, for the works to be sold out, in complete negation and defeat of my legacy intentions. These got me worried so I was able to identify Pan-Atlantic University as an institution that I could rely on to achieve my goal in selflessness and thus I entered into an agreement with them to build the Museum edifice, stock it and subsidize its maintenance for 15 years. The original agreement was to donate some bulk money towards the building of the Museum and subsidize its operations for a total of about N600 million in total. But after my donation of my initial commitment under the agreement, the university could not raise money to help in the completion of the Museum building. This would not have been the case, if money was sought from Nigerians towards building churches , mosques and organizing parties. Apart from donating to such afore mentioned courses, we Nigerians are generally not known for selflessly giving. We are good at receiving and taking but not in selflessly giving. The university went around seeking for help and after being unable to raise funds towards the completion of the Museum building, I am now committed to releasing part of the sustenance subsidy funds under the agreement, towards completing the construction of the Museum structure. I hope by 2019 we should be able to complete it and the balance of the sustenance subsidy commitment will be spread over 15 years.

Ques: The amount of money you have committed to this project is big, are some agencies abroad assisting one way or the other?

Ans: Why do you expect that any multinational agency should be interested in donating towards this course, when we ourselves are not doing anything? No. No. No. That issue does not arise. We Africans should not expect other people to help us in taking care of our father’s backyard which we intend to eventually inherit. If you are looking forward to inherit a place you should spend your money to take care of it and not stay aloof and unconcerned but waiting while the house gets run completely down. Anyway what has happened is that I had to sell some of my long held investments with a view to sustaining what I am doing. Some of my investments are being sold because I believe very much in what I am doing and I hope that generations yet unborn will remember me for my selflessness and philanthropy. Given that while am alive and kicking , many local private individuals and international organizations are appreciating OYASAF, is enough impetus to continue . So I can see that what OYASAF is doing is very commendable and the world appreciates it. I am therefore further emboldened and encouraged to do what am doing.

Ques: How do you feel that foreigners recognize you but we don’t hear anything like that here?

Ans: That is a very good question. I think in answering your question, one should consult our history of recognizing contributions in Nigeria. From history, we do not easily give recognition on merit. Look at Professor Wole Soyinka for instance, it took WS to get the Nobel Prize before my country recognized him and of course you know what he did, he threw away their GCON. My country is such that our value system is different, what we value in my country is different. I will give you another example. A friend of mine called me yesterday to say that he wants to give artworks to some very important Nigerians. I said don’t waste your money, they wont appreciate it. I don’t blame the average Nigerian, for not appreciating artworks. Where he does, he would probably not place the kind of value which the outside world places on them. And of course no thanks to the inversion of our values, the inverted religiousity in my country that tends to look at artworks as demonic and evil. This is in contrast to the situation with churches in Europe and America, which, from history were the major patrons of Artists and which used art to promote Christianity in the adornment of their churches. The churches were the major patrons of Michael Angelo , Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Paul Ruben, Van Ikye, Giovanni, etc.

If you go to the Vatican, you will see the collections of the Roman catholic church predating many of the so called pentecoastal churches which are going about propagating wrong values about artworks to their followers and the society. You will be surprised about your finding. Please go to the museum of ancient artworks in Brussels Central in Belgium in Europe to see artworks dating back to history. Go go to many museums in the advanced world and you will see what the western world has spent money, time and energy to put together, to showcase their culture, the essence of their lives and their tradition to the world. My country is throwing away its tradition, throwing its culture, everything about it and even throwing away the baby of our culture with the bath water without separating the baby of our culture with the bath water.

Ques: Apart from what you have told us about what your foundation has done so far, I want you to tell us more about your interventions

Ans: Let me start by saying that we did an exhibition of modern arts in 2008, 2009 and then we followed up by introducing an Omoba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Arts Foundation, OYASAF fellowship programme in which we have hosted about 16 scholars from different places that came here to get their PhD by gathering primary data for their thesis. And 10 of them have got their PhD using the data that OYASAF facilitated for them in Nigeria. Secondly also, we have also hosted residency, part residency including a from Western Michigan University in America, and Victor Ekpu, world renowned American -Nigerian artist. We have also hosted, sponsored workshop for children because I have gone round the world and I have seen young children, 6,7,8,9 and 10 and I have also sponsored workshops for schools in Ife and in Akwa Ibom, Uyo and I have heard teachers of art lamenting that they are not funded with materials to teach arts in schools and I have been motivated therefore in organsing workshops for children, secondary schools and also for universities.

University of Lagos has sponsored four workshops right from 2011 in which about 750 Nigerians, artists and non artists have benefitted in. In fact one of the them, the wife of the Counsul General of the American Embassy facilitated the peace meeting workshop and of course I facilitated the hosting of the workshop for residency for university students, polytechnics and I have also started an international arts residency programme in which we hosted a Kenyan international artist just some two months ago. We have also written a book in conjunction with Dr. Pogoson of University of Ibadan on cocert with Lamidi Fakeye, it is a 200- page book. I have also written a book in conjunction with somebody else in Yoruba traditional art, we have all genres of art in this place right from the 9th century, Nigerian art and culture and it covers all works of art whether Europe or America, we have them and the ones I promote is the Nigerian/African art. We have organized academic conferences in which we have looked at some elements of Nigerian arts and culture.

We have invited egg heads of Nigerian universities to discuss and I have invited people to come and listen and partake and then we published monograms of these seminars and then we have endowed professorial chair, the only profesorial chair in visual art in Nigeria. The University of Portharcourt one has been endowed by me. We have an online international journal (tojah-online.org , a peer review journal, domiciled in the Faculty of Humanities, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria). The journal has in its team, about 20 egg heads from different parts of the world –namely, UK, South Africa, Germany, Nigeria and America and we have published two major issues of the journal, which you can google online.

We regularly host a large number of top local and foreign government officials, visitors from foreign embassies in Nigeria, visitors to Nigeria, resident expatriates and Nigerian art stake holders. In doing this, we are exposing our art collection and culture to the world. We have encouraging comments from such visitors, who have visited our collections at either Lagos and/or Abeokuta. We have hosted and exposed our collection to the world, our people and resident expatriates. We have collected works from about 925 artists, but we do not sell our artworks. OYASAF does not sell artworks, but only selflessly preserve Nigerian art and culture for our generations yet unborn. Our involvement covers a lot of commitment, self deprivation and prioritization of needs.

We have hosted school children who visit here to interact with and enjoy our garden. These include, children from crèches and primary schools, who visit to play in our life- size bronze, stone and metal sculptured garden. We have a place here, for small children. The advantages of the visitation of visual art students in the universities and polytechnics to our collection, is that, many of them are usually mostly involved in only the production of artwork, without having the opportunity to appreciate the great use and decorative value of their works in collections like ours. Many of them express surprise on seeing the use of which their works here. In addition, we have documented some major fast disappearing cultural festivals across Nigeria. These can be found in the 55,000 photographic shots of Nigeria’s cultural life. We have lent our artworks to local and international exhibitions including the New York Museum of Art for three and half years of exhibitions in five cities in the USA and Canada.

For instance, when I was growing up in Lagos in the 60s and early 70s, the igunuko masquerade could easily be found in Yaba, Lagos, especially during Christmas and Easter holidays. They have also since disappeared from lagos. You cannot see Gelede masquerades in Lagos? Its gone but these are things that have to be documented since they are gradually disappearing from around us. I fear that in some 30 years time, material symbols of the Yoruba culture would have disappeared even from our villages because of increasing globalization, increasing rural urbanization and “civilization” and of course no thanks to pentecostalism that tends to destroy our culture, out of the interplay between propaganda ignorance. The Pentecostal churches preach against our culture and if we are not careful, in some years to come, it would be difficult to differentiate us culturally from the black Chinese because we would not have any cultural identity to separate us from them. It is our culture that makes us different from the American or Chinese or Briton or others. Look at the way you are dressed, look at the way I am dressed. I am dressed as a Nigerian. That is part of our cultural identity and our cultural festivals represent the way of life of our forefathers, which have been passed on from generations to generations as a result of their interactions with nature, the environment and of man. Hence in the interaction with their environment, themselves and nature, they ended up forming traditions and ways of behavior that have been passed on, through learning, from generations to generations.

Why should anyone now tell me that such traditions and customs are evil? In relating with our culture, it is only best that we should separate the baby from the bath water. Do such separation in the same way that other races have over time done. There used to be the practice of exorcism in the white man’s culture, they had witches in their culture, but they lynched them. Now that they have refined it, some of us wrongly assume that they have always had a refined culture as compared to ours currently. Why don’t we give our people the assistance to help refine our culture, instead of condemning it, preaching against it and throwing it away? What I have been doing in the past eight years is to document our fast disappearing traditional festivals which represent the culture and identity of my people. We hope to, over time, publish the images in books but are right now only being lent out, in local and international exhibitions.

Ques: Given your passion for art, has the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture approached you for advice or have you given them a blue print on how to preserve our cultural heritage?

Ans: I do Not have any comment about that.

Ques: There is a controversy. The controversy is old. The British carted away many artefacts from Benin when they deposed Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi in 1897 ( there is a movie on that, Invasion 1897). Have you in any way been part of this crusade to bring these artefacts back to Nigeria?

Ans: I cannot claim to be personally involved in this crusade. I have an uncle who is a professor of intellectual property who has been championing this cause around the world and has intellectually contributed significantly in international organizations, universities and governments. He is best suited and qualified to answer this question.

Be that as it may, the ones that some recently claimed to have returned to this country, it appears that nobody deemed it fit to carry out an age analysis of those works, with a view to ascertaining the authenticity of the claim as to the truthfulness of whether those returned works are genuinely as old as are claimed. No. Was there any effort made to that effect? No. Hence one is not sure that those works were dated to make sure that they are really our old works being returned. My first reaction to the returning of our pillaged art works is that the ones we have here in our custody, are they being adequately taken good care of ? Not really. We appear not to be taking adequate care of them but here we are, clamoring for the return of those other works under adequate and effective conservation and preservation.

My recommended solution to this problem is either of the two two approaches. The first alternative is that, those works that are out there should be acknowledged not to belong to those people holding them in hostage but to us. In other words, we should separate the two titles to the works into legal title and possessory title. Now let my country go and discuss with some of these countries that possess of our works unlawfully and let them acknowledge that the legal title to those works belongs to my country. This way, they can continue to have the possessory title to those works in furtherance of the culture of my people and in this way, continue to keep them in good condition. But under this agreement, they must annually pay royalty to my

country for being given the equitable title to the works while Nigeria retains the legal title to them subject to some say ten year negotiated review.

So, I am not one of those clamoring for the works to be returned. So my position is that we should go and discuss with them, let them acknowledge our ownership of the legal title to the works and let them pay us an annual fee that recognizes our legal title, but let them continue to hold and care for the works and do what they want to do with it but any time we want them for use, we would give them enough notice to have those works borrowed for use , for our events. In 1977 during Festac 77, Britain refused to lend Idia head to us. Let them enter into agreement to this effect.

We must appreciate that those countries have created industries around visual art, while unfortunately, my country has decided to throw away what it has and regarded those works of my forefathers as demonic which should not be kept around us in homes. Even here for instance, some have expressed the fear that the works I have here are being worshipped by me! I usually laugh in reaction.

So, my second alternative solution to this problem is that, instead of us clamouring to return of those works, let us ask the United Nations to create a world museum in which the works that have been stolen and the works from other different countries can be put in a world museum. In doing this, any of our works say, being held by the British, should be taken to the world museum and let those industries that are thriving in the use of those works continue to enjoy them along with others in the world at the world Museum. So, let the world generally own and enjoy the works in the world museum.

Such a world museum would operate under the same principles and practice of other world bodies like, the world health organization. So the world museum would hold all works in trust for the whole world. Holders of stolen works would relinquish passion of the works and move them to the museum. Our scholars, our artists, leaders, everybody can then go to the world museum to enjoy the works.

Ques: When I read the Financial Times story I was happy. The name of one Moroccan was mentioned and another organization in south Africa. Are you in any way in contact with them to do something for Africa?

Ans: To the best of my knowledge and at the risk of being immodest, I am the first black African to do what I am doing. I am not in contact with any of the two you mentioned, but I am aware of such development. I know that the ones in South Africa and Morocco are being by a non black Africans. Hence I appear to be the first black African to be establishing a museum selflessly, for the benefit of the world. I know what am doing and the reason why I am doing it is I don’t want my life time labour to be lost and I don’t want to transfer my problem of managing my works of art to my children. When you arrange for your children to inherit works of art and you preclude them from selling the works, you are effectively simply transferring your big burden of managing the works to them. Your children have their own lives to live, they have their own path to follow in life, so why transfer such burden to them? Why must I give them the cross of my own passion and obsession to carry for me?

So the reason why I am establishing the museum in partnership with Pan-Atlantic University, is to have a place where I can have experts to help keep my legacy alive without my children being burdened and to allow school children, visitors, scholars, curators, Artists to continue to interact with the works far more than the way they currently do. When the Museum is in a place, where the works would be adequately taken care of, then I can be rest assured that my labour will not be lost. Many people have their such labour go to waste because they collect and never prepare for what would happen to the works after they die. Hence the reason for the museum is to have not only a place where my country can be proud of but to establish the first sitting exhibition space of Nigerian modern art in the Yemisi Shyllon Museum, PAU. We have many galleries, but such a museum does not exist in my country that have generated so much trillions of dollars in oil. The reason is probably because Nigerians prefer to spend their money on traveling out of the country to visit similar edifices outside our shores and hosting big parties, instead of promoting our culture which is the essence of our identity as a people.

Show original message

On Saturday, 30 December 2017, 8:13, Yemisi Shyllon <yemisishyllon@yahoo.com> wrote:

My Dear Ademola,

Please, I am copying Mr Kunle Ajibade, in case you travelled because I could not get you on phone, again this morning, after many failures to do so.

My regards.

Prince Yemisi Shyllon

Sent from my iPhone

On 30 Dec 2017, at 1:30 AM, Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> wrote:

Check this sir. Is this better?

Regards,

Ademola Adegbamigbe

Sent from my iPhone

On 29 Dec 2017, at 10:52 PM, Yemisi Shyllon <yemisishyllon@yahoo.com> wrote:

Ademola,

Please call to confirm receipt because I couldn’t get you on phone after repeated fail.

My regards.

Prince Yemisi Shyllon

Sent from my iPhone

On 29 Dec 2017, at 12:07 PM, Ademola Adegbamigbe <molagbe63@yahoo.com> wrote:

Sir,

Here is the link to the interview.

http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2017/12/my-n4b-art-collections-and-n600m-pan-atlantic-university-art-museum-omooba-yemisi-shyllon/

I wrote an intro with info from Wikipedia,

Feel free sir to ask us to adjust one thing or the other (that is on of the advantages of online publication).

However, we will use the interview in the next hard copy of TheNEWS.

Regards sir,

Ademola Adegbamigbe

Click to Reply, Reply all or Forward

Ondo First Lady, Betty Akeredolu Crowned ‘Ada Emeabiam II’

People

Bola Olagbegi <olabola71@gmail.com> Ondo First Lady, Betty Akeredolu Crowned ‘Ada Emeabiam II’ The wife of the Ondo State Governor, Mrs. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu was crowned with the traditional title ‘Ada Emeabiam II’ of Emeabiam in Owerri West Local Government of Imo State by His Royal Majesty, Eze Eunan Eke, Ohazurume 1 of Umuokpo autonomous community, Emeabiam. This honour is coming on the heels of her numerous contributions to the development of Emeabiam community. Top among the dignitaries that graced the occasion was the Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, the Governor of Imo State, ably represented by the SSG, Sir George Eche, the deputy of Ondo State, Hon. Agboola Ajayi, and the Secretary to the State Government, Otunba Ifedayo Abegunde among others. In her acceptance speech, Mrs. Akeredolu who thanked the people for considering her worthy of the title promised to do her best to better the lives of the people in the community just as she affirmed her readiness to work and surpass the legacies left behind by Mrs. Angela Abana, the first to be titled ‘Ada Emeabiam’ Mrs. Akeredolu also used the opportunity to express her readiness to continue to give back and empower her people. “I intend to use this position as an avenue to campaign for the betterment of our people. I intend to set up a foundation made up of well meaning sons and daughters of Emeabiam with the sole aim of identifying the problems and constructively dealing with them”, she stressed. While also appreciating HRH, Eze Eunan Eke, Ohazurume 1 of Umuokpo for the honour done her, Mrs. Akeredolu expressed the notion that it is going to be a new dawn thus calling for supports from all and sundry. In his remark, the Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Akeredolu congratulated his wife stressing that it was a honour well deserved. According to him, it was not a surprise that she was honoured with the traditional chieftaincy title as her love for her community cannot be quantified and the love of her people

BCC

Today at 12:18

Ondo First Lady, Betty Akeredolu Crowned ‘Ada Emeabiam II’

The wife of the Ondo State Governor, Mrs. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu was crowned with the traditional title ‘Ada Emeabiam II’ of Emeabiam in Owerri West Local Government of Imo State by His Royal Majesty, Eze Eunan Eke, Ohazurume 1 of Umuokpo autonomous community, Emeabiam. This honour is coming on the heels of her numerous contributions to the development of Emeabiam community.

Top among the dignitaries that graced the occasion was the Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, the Governor of Imo State, ably represented by the SSG, Sir George Eche, the deputy of Ondo State, Hon. Agboola Ajayi, and the Secretary to the State Government, Otunba Ifedayo Abegunde among others.

In her acceptance speech, Mrs. Akeredolu who thanked the people for considering her worthy of the title promised to do her best to better the lives of the people in the community just as she affirmed her readiness to work and surpass the legacies left behind by Mrs. Angela Abana, the first to be titled ‘Ada Emeabiam’

Mrs. Akeredolu also used the opportunity to express her readiness to continue to give back and empower her people. “I intend to use this position as an avenue to campaign for the betterment of our people. I intend to set up a foundation made up of well meaning sons and daughters of Emeabiam with the sole aim of identifying the problems and constructively dealing with them”, she stressed.

While also appreciating HRH, Eze Eunan Eke, Ohazurume 1 of Umuokpo for the honour done her, Mrs. Akeredolu expressed the notion that it is going to be a new dawn thus calling for supports from all and sundry.

In his remark, the Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Akeredolu congratulated his wife stressing that it was a honour well deserved.

According to him, it was not a surprise that she was honoured with the traditional chieftaincy title as her love for her community cannot be quantified and the love of her people is very dear to her heart.

Arakurin Akeredolu further assured the people of the community that the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha will fix the road leading to the village.
Earlier in his remark, Eze of Emeabiam described Arabinrin Akeredolu as a woman who has been working for the development of the community for a very long time noting that it was indeed a honour well deserved.

He also used the opportunity to call on his people to continue to support the newly crown ‘Ada Emeabiam II’ so that she can be able to achieve her goals for the community.

Attached Photos

Photo: betty 5: Ondo state governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and his wife, First Lady of Ondo state, Arabirin Betty Anyanwu - Akeredolu (middle) with her children shortly after the installation of Mrs Akeredolu as the ‘Ada Emeabiam II’ of Emeabiam in Owerri West Local Government of Imo State

Photo: betty 4; From left, First Lady of Ondo state, Arabirin Betty Anyanwu - Akeredolu, (middle) His Royal Majesty, Eze Eunan Eke, Ohazurume 1 of Umuokpo and left, Ondo state governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu. shortly after the installation of Mrs Akeredolu as the ‘Ada Emeabiam II’ of Emeabiam in Owerri West Local Government of Imo State

Photo; betty 3:From left, Ondo state governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and his wife, First Lady of Ondo state, Arabirin Betty Anyanwu - Akeredolu, shortly after her installation as the ‘Ada Emeabiam II’ of Emeabiam in Owerri West Local Government of Imo State by His Royal Majesty, Eze Eunan Eke, Ohazurume 1 of Umuokpo.

Photo: betty 2: From left, Ondo state governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and his wife, First Lady of Ondo state, Arabirin Betty Anyanwu - Akeredolu, shortly after her installation as the ‘Ada Emeabiam II’ of Emeabiam in Owerri West Local Government of Imo State by His Royal Majesty, Eze Eunan Eke, Ohazurume 1 of Umuokpo.

Photo: betty 1: First Lady of Ondo state, Arabirin Betty Anyanwu - Akeredolu, shortly after her installation as the ‘Ada Emeabiam II’ of Emeabiam in Owerri West Local Government of Imo State by His Royal Majesty, Eze Eunan Eke, Ohazurume 1 of Umuokpo.

5 Attachments
Download all