IANA Blog- February 2022 Part II

Another blog is coming your way because this month is a very special month, A.K.A…

Remember, it is Black History Month, and just like the last blog, we will continue to highlight more of our greats, especially since our enemies love to “short us,” so there is no point in shorting ourselves.

Before we recognize some more Delta State/Issele Uku greats, in our last blog, we icons got to recognize were predominantly African-American, I think it’s only right to recognize some Icons from other parts of the Diaspora, especially from Africa (and especially the ones that were recognized at the end of the last blog):

-Nelson Mandela (South African Revolutionary, Freedom Fighter, Anti-Apartheid Activist, Political Leader, Philanthropist, African Nationalist, Former President of the African National Congress (ANC), First Post-Apartheid President of South Africa, Nobel Peace Prize winner)

-Patrice Lumumba (Congolese Revolutionary, Freedom Fighter, First Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, African Nationalist, Pan-Africanist, Leader of the Congolese National Movement (MNC))

-Kwame Nkrumah (Ghanaian Revolutionary, Freedom Fighter, Pan-Africanist, Socialist, Political Theorist, First Prime Minister/President of Ghana, Founder of the All-African People's Revolutionary Party, One of the Founders of the Organization of African Unity, Developer of the Socialist Theory Nkrumaism)

–Thomas Sankara (Burkinabe Military Leader, Freedom Fighter, Marxist Revolutionary, Pan-Africanist, Former President of Burkina-Faso, Anti-Imperialist, Seen by Others as the “African Che Guevara”)

-Toussaint L'Ouverture (Haitian General, Revolutionary, Leader of the Haitian Revolution, Known as “The Father of Haiti”)

-Jean-Jacques Dessalines (Emperor of Haiti, Revolutionary, Leader of the Haitian Revolution)

-Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (South African Revolutionary, Anti-Apartheid Activist, Freedom Fighter, Politician, Member of the ANC, Recognized as the “Mother of the Nation”)

-Steve Biko (South African Revolutionary, Anti-Apartheid Activist, African Nationalist, African Socialist, Freedom Fighter, Leader of the Black Consciousness Movement, Known as the “Father of Black Consciousness”)

-Walter Rodney (Guyanese Historian, Political Activist, Academic, Pan-Africanist, Revolutionary)

-Frantz Fanon (French West Indian Political Philosopher, Pan-Africanist, Political Radical, Known as the “Most Influential Anti Colonial Thinker of His Time”)

-Ahmed Sekou Toure (Guinean Political Leader, First President of Guinea, Founding Member of the African Democratic Rally (RDA))

-British Black Panthers (Black Power organization in the United Kingdom, Fought for Rights of Black People and People Of Color in the UK, Heavily Inspired by the Black Panther Party)

-Miriam Makeba (South African Singer, Songwriter, Civil Rights Activist, Known as “Mama Africa”)

-Haile Selassie (Former Emperor of Ethiopia, Key Figure of Rastafarianism)

-Bob Marley (Jamaican Reggae Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Rastafarian, Advocate for Legalization of Marijuana, Pan-Africanist)

Although a lot of them are not of Anioma descent/are not from Delta State, I think it’s also right to recognize some great Nigerian icons, who represent Nigeria and Black excellence.

-Fela Kuti (Yoruba Musician, Multi-Instrumentalist, Pioneer of Afrobeat music, Political Activist, Pan-Africanist)

-Nnamdi Azikiwe (First President of Nigeria, Father of Nigerian Nationalism)

-Wole Soyinka (Yoruba Playwright, Novelist, Poet, Essayist, Nobel Prize in Literature Winner)

-Gani Fawehinmi (Yoruba Author, Human Rights Lawyer, Politician, Philanthropist, Social Critic, Activist)

-Kehinde Wiley (Yoruba-American Artist, Painter) 

-Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Igbo Writer, Novelist, Feminist)

-Chinua Achebe (Igbo Novelist, Poet, Critic, Known as the Dominant Figure of Modern African literature)

-Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (Yoruba Educator, Political Campaigner, Suffragist, Women’s Rights Activist, Mother of Fela Kuti)

Now, it’s time that we continue look back, recognize and honor some more icons to come from Issele-Uku and Delta State:

-Buchi Emecheta (Novelist, Writer)

Florence Onyebuchi “Buchi” Emecheta was born on July 24, 1944 in Lagos, Nigeria. Her parents were from Ibusa, Delta State. She received a scholarship to Methodist Girls School in Yaba, Lagos, where she remained until the age of 16. After the death of both her parents, she would get married at a young age, give birth to five children and move to London for college in 1962. She would separate from her abusive relationship with her husband at age 22. She obtained her Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology from the University of London in 1972 and would obtain a PhD in 1991. 

Emecheta began writing about her experiences as a Black British woman in the New Statesman magazine and then, began to publish her first book, In The Ditch, in 1972. Emecheta would continue to write books. A lot of her work explored themes of child slavery, motherhood, the female experience, tension between tradition and modernity. A couple of books also drew on Emecheta’s own experiences, especially dealing with racial prejudice and sexual discrimination as a single mother and as Black woman in the United Kingdom.

Following her success as a writer, Emecheta would travel widely as a visiting professor and lecturer. She would visit and lecture at many universities in the U.S. such as Penn State, Rutgers University and UCLA. She also worked with many cultural and  literary organizations, such as the Africa Center in London and was a member of the Advisory Council for the Caine Prize for African Writing. She would continue to write, until her death in January 25, 2017 in London at age 72 from complications of a stroke. 

Throughout her career, she would receive many awards and recognition such as winning the 1978 Jack Campbell Prize. She also was recognized as one of the “Best of the Young British Novelists” in the 1983 edition of Granta magazine. She would receive an honorary doctorate degree of literature from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1992. In 2005, she was made an OBE for services to literature. In 2017, her son, Sylvester Onwordi announced the formation of the Buchi Emecheta Foundation,  a charitable organization that promoted literary and educational projects in the UK and Africa. She is also known as “the first successful Black woman novelist living in Britain after 1948.” 

Dennis Osadebay (Poet, Journalist, Lawyer, Politician)

Dennis Chukude Osadebay was born on June 29, 1911 in Asaba. He attended Asaba Government School at Asaba, the Sacred Heart School and the Hope Waddell Training Institute in Calabar. He joined the labor force in 1930 as a customs officer in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Calabar. Then, Osadebay went to England to study Law in the 1940's, where he learned to study poetry. He then became a Newspaper poet and his poems were published for the West African Pilot magazine and other newspapers. He used his personal life and public events as inspiration. He was also one of the first Nigerian poets to use English in his poems. Many of his best works were written from an impersonal viewpoint.

Osadebey also got involved in politics and was one of the founding members of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in 1944. He returned to Nigeria after studying Law in England and established a law practice in Aba. In 1951, he won a seat on the Western Region House of Assembly. He would soon become the leader of opposition in the region from 1954 to 1956. In 1960, he became President of the Nigerian Senate and helped create the Mid-Western Region in 1963. Osadebay died on September 26, 1994, in Asaba.

Bruce Onobrakpeya (Artist, Painter, Sculptor, Print-maker)

Bruce Obomeyoma Onobrakpeya was born on August 30, 1932, in Agbarha-Otor to an Urboho carver. His family moved to Benin City, Edo State, when he was a child. He attended Western Boys High School, where he was taught art  by Edward Ivehivboje. He would take drawing classes at the British Council Art Club in Benin City. He was inspired by painter Emmanuel Erabor. After High School, Onobrakpeya was hired as art teacher by the Western Boys High School from 1953 to 1956. He then left to teach at Ondo Boys High School for a year.

In 1957, Onobrakpeya was admitted to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (which was known as the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology). He was trained in the Western tradition of representational Art. He also experimented with Nigerian folklore, myths, legends and stylistic elements derived from African sculpture and decorative arts. He also was a part of the Zaria Arts Society/Zaria Rebels, a group of art students that wanted to “decolonize” visual arts taught by European expatriates. Being part of the group helped shape Onobrakpeya’s perspective as a professional artist. 

As an artist, Onobrakpeya also was known for his innovations and perfected such techniques both in printmaking and relief sculpture that were Nigerian. His printmaking techniques include Bronzed lino Relief, Plastocoast Relief, Plastograph, Additive Plastograph, Metal Foil Deep Etching, Metal Foil Relief Print and Ivorex. Onobrakpeya also developed a writing style called Ibiebe. It features his invented script of ideographic, geometric and curvilinear glyphs. The design also reflects Onobrakpeya’s heritage and his appreciation for Chinese, Japanese, Ghanaian and Nigerian calligraphy.

Onobrakpeya became an important force in the renaissance in contemporary art in Nigeria. He also is recognized as one of the most successful artists to have emerged in West Africa during the 20th Century. He has had art exhibits in Ughelli, Italy, Zimbabwe, Germany, Britain, Kenya and the U.S., including the last art exhibit he held in November of 2011, at the Thought Pyramid Exhibition Center in Abuja. Onobrakpeya created the Bruce Onobrakpeya Foundation, which aims to encourage the growth of art and culture by giving artists opportunities to gain skills, while increasing public awareness of African art and its benefits to society.

 

Demas Nwoko (Artist, Designer, Architect, Pan-Africanist)

Demas Nwoko was born in 1935, in Idumuje Ugboko. He went to study fine arts at the College of Arts, Science and Technology in 1956, where he was exposed to conventional Western techniques in Art. He also became a part of the Art Society, a group of art students who combined Western art techniques with African ideas, art forms and themes. In 1962, he received a scholarship from the Congress of Cultural Freedom to study at the Center Francais du Theater in Paris, where he learned Scenic Design.

In his artwork, Nwoko employed themes of Pan-Africanism into his work and ideas that came during the Nigerian Youth Movement. Nwoko’s painting and sculpting style were inspired by the foundations at Nok. He also concentrated on design in the 1960's, when he moved to Ibadan and worked for the University of Ibadan’s Drama department, where he worked designing for theatrical productions and as a lecturer. 

Nwoko’s first architectural design was for a Dominican mission in Ibadan. Originally, he was asked to design a plaque for a new chapel, but he asked Dominican fathers to help design a chapel that was located in Ibadan. His architectural work fused modern techniques in Architecture and stage design with African tradition. He went on to design more structures such as the Benin theater, the scepter for his brother’s coronation as Obi of Idumuje Ugboko and with a lot of his works such as The Dominican Institute, Ibadan and The Akenzua Cultural Center, Benin to his credit, Nwoko believes in celebrating African tradition in his works.

Bishop Anthony Okonkwo Gbuji (Catholic Priest)

Reverend Dr. Anthony Okonkwwo Gbuju was born on October 29, 1931 in Oshimili North, Delta State. He began his journey of faith with his baptism. In 1938, he began his primary education at Saint Raphael Catholic School in Akwukwu-Igbo and continued at Saint Theresa Catholic School in Onicha-Olona. He developed close relationships with many priests he came in contact with. After his primary education, he went to Saint Theresa Minor Seminary Oke Are in Ibadan from 1947 to 1951, then studied Philosophy at Saint Paul’s Major Seminary in Benin City, from 1952 to 1954. While doing Pastoral work under Father Hilliard, he received a message from Bishop Kelly to go to Rome for his formation, and left for Rome in 1955. Three years later, he was ordained as a Priest on November 23, 1958. 

After ordination, Gbuju obtained his Licentiate in Theology from Urbaniana Universitas Roma in 1959, then obtained a Doctorate in Canon Law in 1962, and a Degree in French from the Institut Catholique in Paris and a Degree in Education in London in 1963. Coming in as a Priest, he would go from Fubar back to St. Paul then found himself in Saint Thomas Teachers’ Training College, when African Priests were needed to take over from White missionaries. 

Gbuju would also take missions during holiday periods. During a mission in 1973, he was invited to Benin City and was informed by Bishop Kelly that he would appoint him as Bishop. He was ordained on September 30, 1973 with help from the Catholic Diocese of Issele Uku. 24 years later, Gbuju became the Bishop of Enugu Diocese on February 8, 1997. He would continue to be bishop, until his retirement in 2009. 

During his career, Gbuju would receive many awards, such as the Canon Law Award by the Canon Law Society of Nigeria in 1996, the Appreciation Award from the Akwukwu-Igbo Community in 1996, the Doctorate Degree of Letters Honoris Causa from Caritas University in 2008 and a Decree from the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples on May 31, 2010 and was appointed as Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Benin City. 

Those were more Delta State/Issele Uku icons to celebrate for Black History Month. Seeing the careers of excellence is something to appreciate. As mentioned before, we can’t shorten ourselves, we must continue to push the legacy of these greats, and not just in February, it should be everyday.