Monday, June 9, 2008

Of what good is the relocation of UNESCO Institute to Nigerian students?

Originally, Ulli Beier, the owner of the UNESCO Institute transferred the Phonetics Department to the Mural Studies Department, when he became interested in Yoruba culture and arts. Inspired by Jean Paul Sartre’s famous essay “Orphee Noir,” he founded the magazine called “Black Orpheus” which quickly became a leading space for Nigeria authors to write and publish their own works.
The recent idea of relocation of his art collections from his home in Osogbo to the Obasanjo Presidential Library has caused serious fighting between Obasanjo, Soyinka and Ulli Beier. Accusations were made against Obasanjo by Soyinka on using the public funds to build a Presidential Library.
Nigerian writers, poets, playwrights and Nobel Prize in Literature winners like Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe were known majorly for the Lion and the Jewel, the Swamp Dwellers, Things Fall Apart and the Arrow of God as well as their contributions to the nation’s educational system. If the remaining art collections of Ulli Beier are to be known nationally in Nigeria, then the idea of relocating the UNESCO Institute should be forgotten, because once the institute is relocated to the Obasanjo Presidential Library, then it becomes a Federal Government Institute which will prevent the Nigerian schools, polytechnics and universities from having full access to the art collections of the UNESCO Institute.
In order to enable the Nigerian students to benefit from the art collections of Ulli, then the idea of keeping the remaining art collections in major Nigerian Universities like OAU, UI and UNN should be imbibed.

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A professional Graphic Artists with a vast experience in web development whose interests and experience span Branding Experience, Advertising, Market Research, New product Development and New Media companies in Nigeria.