I am speechless.
Anthonia Nneji has done me again.
I am speechless.
I must write her a poem.
Wèrèpè
Wèrèpè má so mọ́.
Devil bean weed, stop producing seeds,
Èyí tó o so lésǐn,
The seeds you produced last season
Baba ẹnìkan ò ka.
THE MOST WONDERFUL WOMEN IN THE WORLD
The most wonderful women in the world–Nigerian women–at the Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Smart beyond compare, the beauty of Nigerian women slowly grows on you, though for me, it is always love at first sight.
FEB. 10
If you went to the University of Ife in the late 70s or early 80s, can you identify anybody in this picture?
A museum is doing a research on the work of Munio Makuchi, and wants info from anyone in this picture, or anyone able to identify someone in the picture.
THIS MORNING
This morning, in my African Diaspora Visions class (an art history class that I teach at the University of Texas, Austin), a student from Trinidad and Tobago said, “In a hundred years, everybody in the world will be a Nigerian, or have family ties to Nigerians.”
HOMESICK
In 2001, homesick, I returned to Nigeria after staying away for nine years in the US.
My destination was Ife, and I lodged in a hotel in Lagos for the first week. I used the hotel rental car, with a hired driver, to run errands. One day, the rental car driver who drove me around Lagos, said “Prof, why not just buy a car instead of spending all your money on car hires? Don’t you plan to stay in Nigeria for a couple of months? It’s best for you to get a fairly used car.”
MY PHONE RINGS
My phone rings and, recognizing the name of the caller, I pick up the call. It is the wife of a friend living in Nigeria. I say the usual, “Hello,” but there is no response. There is a faint conversation in the background. She is discussing with her friend.
ÀÌKÚ
When I was a kid between the ages of three to ten, my friends and I were fond of watching Lọ́baníkà, an egúngún masquerade that performed regularly once a year in my neighborhood at Iremo in Ile Ife. Lobanika’s annual act was the highlight of the entire community, and we always waited with joy for the week when Lobanika performed to the delight of all and sundry
FEB 1 2018
FEB 1 2018
ÌMỌ́DÒYE
ÌMỌ́DÒYE
An Akodi Orisa Sculpture
Ile Ife, Nigeria
January 2019
Artist: Moyo Okediji
A NEW BOOK IS OUT!!!
Good news from the brilliant Ohio State University professor, Adeleke Adeeko:
His new book is out. The cover of the book features my drawing, “Sketches of (S)pain.” The title of my drawing alludes to the jazz abstraction of Miles Davis, whose album, Sketches of Spain, fetched him a Grammy in 1960.
Today’s Prayer
Of ego purge me
Of vanity exorcise me
Of hate, of envy, jealousy
Of covetousness cleanse me