a picture of a sculpture at the akodi orisa

There’s nobody who will see this place and not be afraid

ByMoyo Okediji

“There’s nobody who will see this place and not be afraid,” the two men on the bike said this morning as they stopped and kept looking at our newest installation at the Àkòdì Òrìṣà.

Bí ìwọ́ bá ṣe rere, ara kì yíò ha yá ọ? I wonder where I got that quote from. Is it a Yoruba proverb?

I wouldn’t be surprised if it was from the Bible.

My generation was fed with a steady daily diet of the Bible, three times a day.

Yet we perfected the skill of looting the treasury in Nigeria, and turned it into an art form.

That, in my opinion, is what Nigerians should be scared of. Nobody need be afraid of Akodi Orisa, unless they have something to hide. Then they should fear. They should be really, really scared of this sacred ground zero.

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a picture showing moyo okediji poised for the camera and behind him is an art piece

MEANINGLESS WORD

ByMoyo Okediji

MEANINGLESS WORD

“Food is not ready,” Iya Oyo informed me. “This is just a snack. I know you are hungry” In Yoruba she said “Fi eléyìí panu. Mo mọ̀ pé ebi ti ń pa ẹ́.”

She left me a bowl full of boiled groundnuts. I loved boiled groundnuts. It was still in the shell. “You can throw the shells here after cracking them.” In Yoruba , she said, “Pa èèpo ẹ̀pà ná à sínú abọ́ yìí.

a picture showing moyo okediji standing next to his artwork

ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, 1982: (Part Thirty-Six)

ByMoyo Okediji

***Reader’s Note:

I was informed that I should complete the ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY series before moving on to the next series, THE RETURN.

I will therefore return to the ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, and continue with Part Thirty-six. To refresh the memory of our readers, I have placed parts Thirty-five and Thirty-four at the end of Part Thirty-six.

a picture showing moyo okediji standingnext to his artwork

Another painting that I just extracted from my garage is this dark work.

ByMoyo Okediji

Another painting that I just extracted from my garage is this dark work.

There is an interesting story behind it.

In the year 2000 or 2001, the British Museum invited me to give a lecture as part of the ceremonies held in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and also to mark the completion of the Great Court built as an extension of the main museum building. They wanted me to address the body as my topic.

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