by Barr. Foluke Akinmoladun, Trizon Law Chambers, Port Harcourt
Prof. Stella Williams paid a visit in the Niger Delta Area of Nigeria from the 24thof April to the 26th of April 2012.
Visits and meetings with associates and other people interested in picking up earlier work took place at the office of Trizon Law Chambers in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the Faculty of Arts and Industrial Arts in the University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and the city of Oron, also in Akwa Ibom State.
The intention was to instill fresh momentum into activities after a slow down in 2011.
For clarity, Nigeria is divided into thirty-six administrative units referred to as states.
The Niger Delta region, where Mundus maris would flag off her activities in Nigeria, is made up of nine of those 36 states, namely, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Abia and Imo States.
The population of people living within the Niger Delta is roughly 13 million and the oil resources found within the area contributes almost 90% of Nigeria’s foreign reserve earnings.
The first meeting on the 24th of April 2012, in Trizon Law Chambers office, Prof Stella Williams, Foluke Akinmoladun (Esq), Managing Solicitor, Priscilla Olawuyi (Esq), Head of Corporate Services, and Ibigbeye Membire (Esq), Manager of Beleza de Sofia Hotel, agreed on a number of concrete steps towards the setting up of the Oloibiri Resources Centre, which will stand as a community library used as a platform to promote:
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connectivity,
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youth creativity,
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peer group teaching and
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engaging vocational interest in the arts and crafts field.
The management and equipment needs were identified in detail. As a first step, Trizon Law Chambers will now embark on the process of registration of Mundus maris asbl for the Niger Delta.
Following this, the local chapter will approach different public authorities as well as like-minded civil society organisations for support for the build-up phase, including for books and other materials. Following this initial phase, engagement will be sought with companies, particularly oil companies, to solicit support for youth work. Coordination with the Niger Delta Partnership Initiative will be sought as well on areas of mutual interest.
The longer-term objective is to have chapters working with young people in several places in the Niger Delta and Lagos State with emphasis on using a combination of arts, scientific and other creative expressions for helping them find a non-violent ways into adult life.
In the expectation that these developments will benefit from collaborations, including international cooperation, the Manager of the Beleza De Sofia Hotel offered support for comfortably accommodating Mundus maris guests in the future.
Uyo, Akwa Ibom State
University of Uyo, Department of Fine and Industrial Arts
On the 25th of April 2012, Prof Williams and Foluke Akinmoladun embarked on a two hour fifteen minutes journey to visit the University of Uyo, Department of Fine and Industrial Arts. Here they met with Dr. Okonofua and his students.
Dr. Okonofua had earlier supported artistic work with school pupils with the best results being sent to the See(a)Arts youth exhibition in Hilden, in June 2011. Foluke discussed with him the possibilities of Mundus maris supporting greater visibility for the excellent art work of the students and artists after making sure their author's and copyrights were properly protected.
Click here for a short video of the arts workshop (located on the Mundus maris channel in YouTube).
Oron, Akwa Ibom State
Dr. Okonofua drove Foluke and Prof Williams to Oron, about two hours from Uyo, where they met with the two students from Infant Jesus Model Secondary School, who had participated successfully with an oil painting and water colours in the earlier school activities.
In the event, in October 2010, their works had been among the selected pieces for the See(a)Arts youth exhibition the following year. Click here for more information about the youth activities organised at that time with the participation of several schools in and around Port Harcourt.
The See(a)Art youth exhibition took place with good international participation in Hilden, Germany, in June/July 2011.
Echezonna Eke Ogudu won the first prize of the jury and the public in the international segment in this occasion. Click here for more about the See(a)Art exhibition.
As they had been making significant personal sacrifices for this participation, Dr. Okonofua gave each of them a wooden box with oil paints in recognition. The surprise and joy about this gesture is still visible in the photos taken in the occasion.
Prof Williams gladly acknowledges Dr. Okonofua's continued contributions to art works with our youths in the Niger Delta.
All photos on this page by Foluke Akinmoladun.