The Statue of Late Chief Bode Akindele unveiled, amid cheers.

Mathew Oyedele

Family and friends of Late Chief Bode Akindele pose for a picture before the statue. Photo credit: Djakou Kassi Nathalie.

After a series of daily workings spanning a couple of months, the statue of Chief Bode Akindele was completed and mounted in May 2021 by a workforce that consists of Ato Arinze as the sculptor, Henry Unuigboje and David Kpanaki as studio associates, Djakou Kassi Nathalie as the photographer and Oladapo Oyekunle as the logistics supervisor.

Fibre glass, mixed with marble and stone dust, and acrylic bronze as the surface finish was used to actualise the project which was commissioned by the Akindele family in Ibadan to celebrate and immortalise the legacy of Chief Bode Akindele, as a proud father, grandfather, great- grandfather, a successful business man, an industrialist and a philanthropist.

Chief Bode Akindele was a man of many enterprises and international connections. He was the Chairman of Modandola Group, a holding company which covers banking, real estate, manufacturing and shipping. Chief Bode Akindele was a businessman who endured and navigated the challenges, uncertainties and surprises of the Nigerian environment to build a lasting legacy. He was the founder of Fairgate Group, a United Kingdom-based holding company with significant interest in properties, and the Parakoyi of Ibadanland.

Close-up shot of the statue before completion. Photo credit: Djakou Kassi Nathalie.

The completion of the project is not the only thing that excites Ato Arinze, it also serves as a milestone achievement in his career: "The project, which is my second statue commission is a way to mark my 30 years of being a full-time sculptor. It is also my first work to be mounted in a public space."

The project was unveiled on the 29th of June 2021 at the entrance of Chief Bode Akindele's industrial estate in Alomaja, Ibadan in the presence of his family members, friends, and officials of his church.

Ato Arinze working on the statue. Photo credit: Djakou Kassi Nathalie.

Comments

The palette of Uzoma Samuel

By: Mathew B. Oyedele His studio walls were barely empty except for a painting that drapes a corner of the studio. He was working on a portrait of two women who wore bright expressions on their faces. I was about to ask him why his works were not on display when he delved into a corner of his studio and took me on a voyage of ankara interaction. I could not refuse the captivating rhythm that encapsulated my mind from his artistic oeuvre. I came across his works through the social media and I was attracted by his intricate use of Ankara as a medium of expression. I studied his works as he uploaded them at intervals and made an appointment to visit him in his studio. “My use of ankara is something that came from the blood. It was a gift from my mother. I think she passed that gift to me indirectly. Instead of me becoming a tailor, I see myself sewing those clothes on canvas”; this was his response when I asked him about his discovery of the medium. Uzoma is not a social co...

Tobenna Okwuosa's "From Historical Facts to Poetic Truths" at the African Culture and Design Festival.

Tobenna Okwuosa. Mathew B. Oyedele Three books by Nigerian writers - The Man Died by Wole Soyinka, There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra by Chinua Achebe and Labyrinths by Christopher Okigbo inspired the recent works of Tobenna Okwuosa that were exhibited at the African Culture and Design Festival, in November 2017. These books offer a profound archive for the artist to delve into the past and create an oeuvre that confronts the viewer with guilt-ridden contents. 2017 was the 50th anniversary of the declaration of Biafra, and 50 years after the death of Christopher Okigbo on war front, fighting for Biafra. Okwuosa’s exhibits show the historical facts of the Biafran War and the poetic truths of Christopher Okigbo. The Biafran War is a vital and sensitive aspect of Nigerian history that should be known to all Nigerians so that we may, to borrow an expression, transform yesterday’s action into tomorrow’s wisdom. The provocation of conversations in the coll...

NO HOME

My beloved house has treated me thus It has led me on the back of the wheels Ocean from my eyes Farewell, I bid. They exist in my head The slaughtering, killing, butchering, Murder. Heads assembled on the mattress Wrappers, west Scarfs, east Breast, dangled. Ahead is a lion Behind is a crocodile Where do I go? Where do I stay? There is no home Just a space to occupy For today I exist Tomorrow I know not.

Artsdiscourse

Search This Blog