In the far country where he now resides, in company with his Creator and ancestors, Rasheed Gbadamosi will be a happy soul.
Since his departure from the earth last November, Lagos State has been kind to the name and legacy of this illustrious Lagosian who served Nigeria and his state of origin, Lagos, in particular, with his time, talent and resources, thanks to the large heart and understanding of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who shares the same passion with the late Chief Gbadamosi in areas of business and economy as well as in the appreciation for the arts.
A telling testimony of how Gbadamosi’s name has been immortalized is the recent talk-of-the-town Eko Art Expo, which held at the main expo hall of Eko hotel between January 27th and 29th. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who is fast assuming the role of the Arty Governor in the Class of 2015 – 2019, did not mince words in giving the main reason for organizing the art expo.
“This exposition shall immortalize the name of Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, an illustrious Lagos man, who served the state till the very end with his talent and passion for the arts and with his time and resources. There can be no better way to honour such a rare breed than to institute an annual arts fiesta in his memory.”
In discussing Chief Gbadamosi, I must confess a bias. I shared a close relationship with him beyond an abiding love for and devotion to things of the arts. A close relationship that has left me stunned since his demise, wondering how he could have succumbed to the pangs of death right in the middle of an assignment that he cherished with his entire being.
As the co-Chairman of the Lagos@50 Planning Committee, Chief Gbadamosi was undeterred by his failing health. He was not going to succumb easily to the stroke that had already struck his left limbs. The golden jubilee of his state was an important assignment that needed his cerebral attention much more than his physical contribution and he was not going to relent in making the year-long celebration a success.
I had met him in the early 1990s as a reporter covering the arts, particularly classical music, for The Guardian at MUSON Centre where he was at that time the Secretary General of the Musical Society of Nigeria, and later Chairman. We forged a deep father and son relationship immediately. He would later serve as the Chairman at my wedding ceremony some 16 years ago and had never missed any of my book presentations, particularly the last one in June 2016 even when his health had become a thing of concern and I had pleaded with him not to bother to come to the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, the venue of the event.
In one of those tete a tete that we had in late 2015, he had a piece of advice for me, and I believe for every young and vibrant professional who is privileged to be invited to serve in the public sector. Be guided by the theory of ‘Four by Four’ he said. From experience, he did explain to me, political appointments would rarely ever allow one to go on long vacations as one would have preferred, and official trips abroad, he warned, were hardly the same thing as ideal holidays where body and soul could be regurgitated.
Four days in every quarter, therefore, was his recommendation to every senior public servant or even top corporate players who often get consumed by the demands of their assignments and often forget the shut down for a few days and recalibrate for the good of self.
“I gave all my energy to serving my fatherland and others through my businesses…” he told me. “We must never be too busy for our health, friends and family,” he added. For a man who started early in the public sector as a Commissioner in his mid twenties in Lagos State who would later serve as the Minister for Economic Planning under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and later as Chairman of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, he had more than fair idea of what serving in government means.
But like the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, once admonished about dividing every day into three equal eight hours – one for work, the other for leisure and the last for sleep, how many professional or public servant has been guided by that recommendation that seeks to balance work load with family life? How many will be guided still by Chief Gbadamosi’s Four by Four formula?
His death sure weakens one.
But the kind words of Prof. Wole Soyinka, the Chairman of Lagos@50 Planning Committee, in the catalogue for the Eko Art Expo suffices in putting the exemplary dedication of Chief Gbadamosi in proper perspectives while also advocating for its emulation.
“The pioneer collectors (of art works), prominent among them Rasheed Gbadamosi, are responsible for (this) increasing dedication to aesthetic accumulation, rather than wealth accumulation,” Soyinka said, adding that “Gbadamosi also did more than collect; he opened his home to the producers of the artistic commodity.”
To the viewers who thronged the expo in their hundreds, the Nobel Laureate was succinct in his advice: “as you walk among these products of observation, imagination and execution, do remember our departed colleague who straddled the business and artistic worlds with ease, and say a silent prayer that his affluent colleagues be inspired by his example”.
Yet, to the creative ones, Soyinka said, “Our vibrant, young generation of artists can always do with even a mere token of his (Gbadamosi) altruistic commitment, and his generous spirit.”
With the success of the Eko Art Expo, which was thoughtfully named after Gbadamosi, the visual arts community has a reason to be joyful. One, the exhibition will be an annual fair of the arts. Secondly, it answers all enquiries about the place of visual arts in Governor Ambode’s vaunted commitment to the things of culture.
In the Governor’s own words: “Many people have acknowledged and celebrated our modest support to the musical art as well as the motion picture industry, particularly though our yearly One Lagos Fiesta. But others have wondered if our intervention in the creative sector excludes the visual arts. This exhibition is our response to such well-meaning enquiries. Our administration will leave no artist or any art genre behind in our quest to make Lagos work for all.”
This is why art lovers at the expo found on the same platform, a good spread and mix in the sheer variety of the works of masters that have defined the arts landscape in Lagos over time with those of more contemporary candour as well as those that are emerging but which pack a lot of promise in their expressions through photographic, paintings, installations and sculptural works.
Even the governor was impressed and was moved to announce that the first Rasheed Gbadamosi Eko Art Expo has now formally marked the beginning of an enduring relationship with the arts sector and the arts intelligentsia that make this sector “such an important partner in the development of our state as Africa’s largest, busiest and perhaps most lucrative creative hub.”
In due course, the Governor reminded the large gathering that witnessed the opening ceremony of the expo, “You will begin to see that our interest as well as our engagement with the art community started a while ago and is just about to bear good fruits. We have commissioned several artists to decorate various parts of our state with landmark installations, which are in addition to the six art theatres we shall build across the five divisions of our state before the end of this year.
“In a matter of months when this will become evident, and with opportunities such as today’s event becoming an annual creative festivity, it will neither be long nor difficult to agree with us in pronouncing loudly that Lagos is indeed a megacity with a vibrant artistic soul.”
No one would have missed such an important opportunity to draw attention to the significance of 2017 in Lagos State and the Governor beautifully added the anniversary import of the year to the expo. “This expo, however, bears more significance. It is the first event of the New Year to remind the world that this year is special to us and that art will be an integral component of this milestone ceremony that will culminate in a grand golden anniversary ball on the 27th of May 2017.
“As the undeniable commercial and entertainment capital of Nigeria and West-Africa as well as being the hub of creative expressions in Africa, our aim, therefore, is to open up the state for the visual and performing arts to continue to thrive and we are always ready to partner with credible organizations, both within and abroad, to ensure that Lagos remains the destination of choice for the arts and entertainments, for artistes and for those who make the business of arts to thrive.”
To Governor Ambode, no nation or state can achieve its full potential without adequate attention to matters of heritage and culture or without due encouragement for the teeming youthful population that sees and seeks opportunities in the creative industries.
For him, this is why Lagos State is keenly interested in further development of her creative talents; in providing them with support and opportunities to be engaged; in helping to create platforms to excel and compete globally and in showing to the world that Lagos is more than ready to announce its arrival as the continent’s frontline destination of choice that gives arts and culture their due.
It must be the full appreciation for all that Lagos State is doing with the arts that must have inspired Prince Yemisi Shyllon, a lawyer that is reputed to be Africa’s greatest art collector and who was the Governor’s Special Guest at the opening of the expo, to conclude that Governor Ambode must have started a movement that is bound to enliven the culture and tourism sector and then transform Lagos into a profitable hub of arts, entertainment and tourism in Africa.
Stev Ayorinde
