We are home alone
dying to be alive
at this silent hour
when the trees are dancing
and the bars are closed
at the street corners
where the liquor store
meets young men flirting
with their cigarettes
watching time slow by
praying just for an ass
to carry home my burden
too heavy to bear
Baba Rowland Abiodun, author of the groundbreaking treatise, YORUBA ART AND LANGUAGE: SEEKING THE AFRICAN IN AFRICAN ART, enlightening the audience at the University of Texas, Austin.
It saddens me.
It saddens me a lot that the southern people are not able to understand the urgency of the situation they are involved in.
Those you call the Fulani herdsmen, or the Fulani people—they are the Taliban.
Please read the last line again.
Those you call Fulani herdsmen are the Taliban.
My first month in the United States, 1992.
I began to paint in my office at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
I was trying to discover myself again in a new world after leaving behind Nigeria and everything that was meaningful to me, everything that had anchored me.
Oladejo Okediji, a handsome gentleman who also happens to be my baba, is receiving great honors from the Obafemi Awolowo University and the South West Association of Nigerian Authors–to acknowledge his contribution to African literature, at the young age of 90.
“You’re kidding me, right?” I asked Steve when he said that Gina was probably in my room. He extended his bottle of beer to Rufus who yanked off the top with his teeth and handed it back.
“Why sounding so alarmed?” Steve asked. “If you asked me, I’d say let’s swap places.”
“What!” I said, alarmed at his suggestion.
“You can stay in my cold room tonight,” Steve, “and I can use your warm room.”
“Is that British custom?” I asked sarcastically.
Did he wink? I couldn’t quite tell in the dark. He said, “The British have no custom. Only Africans have customs.”
Architect-artist: Moyo Okediji Curator: Bisola Oladunjoye Builders: The Àkòdì Òrìṣà artists Title: Ọ̀yẹ̀kú Méjì Dome Date: 2018 Location: Ile Ife, NigeriaIn this building, called Ọ̀yẹ̀kú Méjì, I designed a structure serving as a home of sacred art, using innovative designs and materials that explore indigenous African traditions. I will post details of the building below.