DeMotif

BREAKING BOUNDS 

BY EFFA ETENG SOLOMON

 In my mothers womb I carried a mark in my brain, a mark I could not understand or interpret. But as I developed into the world I found myself, I was made to understand that I was a citizen of a certain nation not of this world, maybe as an alien but no, I wouldn't be permitted to use such term of classification cos it might be somewhat provoking to the ears of my citizens.

  I found myselves surrounded by people I called my family and spent more time with friends. I also realized how many of these friends walked into my life from time to time but couldnt survive the pace in which I traveled so they walked away. It was never my fault actually, I guess they couldn't survive the speed of my motion.

I also started to understand that though I had brothers, sisters, and parent which constituted my family, we weren't really families cos at one time, I started to reason differently, and for this reason I left my home into the world in search of my true identity. 

The mark in my brain then started to inch me to draw an attention towards finding out what it actually represents. It inched further and eventually brought about an urge for creativity, I then discovered I wasn't alone in such quest and this was easy to know cos those who also possessed the mark were also in love with creativity.

We started to live amongst ourselves, creating in forms and in colours. We started to understand how interestingly adventurous this quest was realizing we were actually different from all other humans. At this point we could defend that we are actually brothers and citizens of wherever that mark came from, we could now identify ourselves as "Artists", but did not know what names we bore personally back at our previous land, why we were sent down to earth, or even why we got split and scattered all over. We decided to stick together to uncover the next puzzle of our quest. 

 With our eyes clustered together we looked and realized that we weren't the first of our kind to be sent to earth. We also looked behind and saw more of us coming in, which made us arrive at a clue to solve these puzzles. We tried to trace anticidence of those sent here before our time but couldn't find tactile history. We also tried to pull the attention of our elders in the industry but they were all out of reach. This brought us to another understanding. "There should be a problem that needs to be solved and has not been solved by all who have been sent here, so the SUPREME will keep sending more till it is solved". What on earth could these problems be and what could be the ultimate solution? We asked ourselves. 

Yes! We came and found problems in our nation waiting to be solved by us but then we needed to solve first, the problems caused by the mistakes of  our "foreartist" which lingers on till date particularly in the african arts industry before thinking about that of our country. 

 Like I said we did not know what our mission was when we arrived. We should have continued from where they stopped but how can we be told where they stopped when no one can tell how they started? We only heard they made history but they never saved history and now some of history has being lost. It would be quite disappointing if african creators of the next generation suffer in their quest of continuity.

The problem of history has thereby lead to a very poor awareness of arts and its industry, making many who were sent on same mission not to unleash and actualize their potentials, while others get discouraged by threats from parents not to practise the rituals of their deity. If only these parents could understand how divine their children are and how blessed  their households are for having a creator, a divine being, sent to earth to solve a problem in the society with his creation to extend the lifespan of the SUPREME's creation. If only they knew how wealthy they are and would be for having a creator as a child. But my convictions may be weak without an evidence of the glories of the past.

It is true that most of these parents are owners of most primary and secondary institutions in the country and they have however scraped the arts out of their schools curriculum due to their misconception of what worth and glory it contains. There is therefore no temple to commence a catechism  except where the mark they carry dwells in their brains and like seeds, if not properly planted in them, dies gradually and completely, making them just ordinary humans, unfulfilling the purpose in which there were called to earth. It couldn't lingered on into the tertiary institution, thanks to Aina Onabolu, Uche Okeke, Yusuf Grillo, Bruce Onobrakpeya and others who paid the price of being clerics and shepherds of the arts in africa particularly in Nigeria. But then, imaging a Nigeria where the arts is planted in every tertiary Institutes. Wouldn't that be enough to crown the efforts of our heros? 

Their sacrifice thereafter was not to offer to us our freedom but to lead us to it as they could not lead us through a road longer than the lenght of thier strength. They thought it wise to ordain many other clerics to continue their task and yes these newly ordained also performed the same ordinations to others who bore the marks to raise more other clerics when they also got weaker and today there are many of them in the country.  Along the line, I guess it has been argured that most of these modern art clerics might have preached a wrong sermon to some youth bearing the mark of creativity giving them a wrong doctrine of rendering a right service to their deity. This has eventually caused a kind of division among our art nation here in Nigeria expecially between the Arts academics who are the arts clerics and the Studio artists who are the arts military and other parts that makes up the arts nation in our country.

However, we are been pushed into improvisation due to lack of (or cost intensive) adequate and genuine materials for rendition. Although, this has been said to be a great sign of an unimaginable sense of creativity by aficans but we also deserve to render with all necessary and original materials required.

Now that we seem to have had a little bit of freedom, it is quite unfair that we have not actualy enjoyed the recognition that it contains on like that of the music, movie, and even the fashion industry. Our awareness is weak and must be looked upon.Irresponsibility of ourself as citizens of a divine art nation has brought about individualism in the industry, very good. But with everyones eyes on his or her or her business we mock our freedom here in our selfish isolation, but freedom in her wisdom has chosen us to defend her. Would you answer? We need to rebuild the arts nation again. Whould you make your hands available? 

We would be needing our Arts Legislature, the critics of the industry, we would be needing our Art Military,  those who indulge in permanent studio practice, we would also be needing the Art Clerics, our lecturers and teachers, and of course the Art Socialite, our collectors, curators, and investors. We are hereby called to BREAK BOUNDS. To break bounds and reunite the arts nation in Nigeria irrespective of your arts doctrine, tribe, or religion. To break bounds solving the issues sorrounding the arts nation. To break bonds using what we have to point out issue woven around our country Nigeria like insecurity,  unemployment,  lack of power supply, lack of infrastructure, education, empowerment and many others, and propound solutions in its regard. All we have left is Nigeria, and since we are good at using what we have to make up aesthetically what we want for ourselves, we would then use Nigeria to build an even better and beautiful Nigeria, a place to call our own. Yes we can BREAK BOUNDS!