BEN TOMOLOJU @70: The Artists Collective Stages Day-long Celebration at Freedom Park, Dec 18
BENSON OMOWAFOLA TOMOLOJU, the avuncular dramatist, poet, theatre director, song composer and culture advocate, activist and communicator, will be 70 on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, having been born December 18, 1954.
To commemorate the milestone, his mentees, associates, and contemporaries are stepping out boldly to celebrate the quintessential artist and culture aficionado, who has proved through his works and contributions in multi-disciplinary arts that he is one of the very best of the clan.
Under the aegis of The Artists collective, the culture workers are staging a day-long fiesta of creative activists at the Freedom Park, Lagos Island hat will spotlight the various dimensions to Tomoloju’s practice as an artist and culture producer.
According to a release from the Collective, highlights of the open-house celebration include:
- A conversation around his body of Drama works and Journalism
- Performed reading from his latest play, LOVE IN A LIMBO, which is also expected to be released on Digital platforms same day.
- Presentation of a 6-in-1 pack of his “100 Songs”, which were earlier published in the “100 Songs of Ben Tomoloju”App on Google Playstore, produced and donated by Sir Semoore Badejo of Concrete Studios.
The presentation will be accompanied by live performance of some of the songs.
- Presentation from Tomoloju’s book of Folklore, Ogorunitan Lati Ile Yoruba (BookCraft Publishing), promoted by Dr Bukar Usman and the Nigeria Folklore Society.
- Relaunch of the revised edition of the book, BEN TOMOLOJU: Essentials of a Culture Communicator (ACP Pubs, UK) , released in 2014 to commemorate his 60th birthday.
- An Arthouse reception for an estimated 250 guests.
The coordinating body, The Artists Collective, which has OmoOba Jerry Adesewo of Arojah Royal Theatre as Secretary, comprises representatives of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Practitioners, NANTAP; Committee for Relevant Arts, CORA – two key organisations to which Tomoloju, former Arts and Literary Editor, and later Deputy Editor of The Guardian newspaper, is affiliated); the University of Lagos, UNILAG, where he is currently an Adjunct Lecturer; and some of of his associates.
Profile:
BORN December 18, 1954 in Ilaje Council, the coastal part of Ondo State Nigeria, Benson OmowafolaTomoloju had his primary education in various parts of the old Western Region between 1960 -1967, and later attended Christ School, Ado-Ekiti for his school certificate and Higher School Certificate (HSC) between 1968 and 1974.
He proceeded to the University of Ibadan and graduated with a degree in English and Literary Studies in 1978.at the University, he also had a comprehensive training in theatre and dramatic arts. He effectively combined his career as a dramatist with that of a pace-setting arts journalist. In both cases his motive-force is humanism, especially one that protests against man’s inhumanity to man across age-groups, sexes, races and creeds.
His Theatre Practice: He established KAKAAKI PERFORMERS in 1980 as a training workshop for young artistes, most of whom are now national icons. Ben is a cultural activist and has represented Nigeria in major international fora in the United States of America, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Morocco, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Italy and Germany. His plays have also been performed in some of these countries. His published plays include JANKARIWO (English and Italian), Askari, Flower’s Introspect, We Only Went In Search Of Happiness, Let The Vanguards Come To Town, Just Married (A Playlet), This Proverb and Aminatu: The Legendary Queen Of Zazzau. He has also published in Yoruba language a volume of folktales titled Ogorun-Un Itan Lati Ile Yoruba. His latest published play is Love In A Limbo, an advocacy piece on the management and prevention of HIV/AIDS.
His Journalism Work & Footprints: His role in the development of journalism in Nigeria clearly shows the masonry of a visionary intent upon building a viable legacy for future generations of professional’s arts journalists. More copiously, his plays, published and unpublished, celebrate the rites and rights of posterity with “the child” at the centre of their philosophical articulation.
Tomoloju started his career in journalism at the age of 19, in 1974, as a free-lance cartoonist with the defunct Newbreed magazine, and later, upon his graduation in 1978, he worked as a producer with the Nigerian Television, Makurdi for his National Service.
Thereafter, Tomoloju returned to Lagos. He took up a full time job as a teacher and part-time job as the Arts Editor of Weekly Focus. In 1982, he joined the Punch as the Chief Leader Writer. Although his job entailed leading discussions and writing the editorials, Tomoloju’s passion for arts journalism compelled him to open a column in The Punch in 1983 called “The Portrait Of An Artist.”
Leaving Punch, he took up an appointment as the Reviews Editor of The Democrat Weekly in 1983. His success here led to his invitation by the management of The Guardian to start the paper’s Arts desk in April 1985. Added to his background activities in Weekly Focus, Punch and The Democrat, Tomoloju’s tenure as the pioneer Arts Editor and later Deputy Editor of The Guardian ensured he championed the professionalism of arts journalism in Nigeria.
In the early stages, his colleague described his desk as “the one-man arts desk”. He was his own reporter, sub-editor, typist and line-editor. But with zeal and passion, he expanded the vision and scope of arts journalism, bringing a wide range of artistic and cultural into public focus. His advent also created job opportunities for scores of young graduates of the humanities as virtually all print and electronic media created Arts Desks after the success of The Guardian. So much that some of the distinguished editors and writers in various Nigerian newspapers today are product of the old “one man arts desk”. Most significantly, through the developmental journalistic practice of Ben Tomoloju School, the power of compilation, dissemination and articulation of strategic information in the relevant in the fields of the literary, performing and visual Arts, as well as culture administration demonstrates to Nigerians, the relevance, vitality and viability of culture in the national scheme of things. In recognition of his historic contribution to Nigerian cultural life, was listed in the book Who Is Who In Nigeria as the pioneer of professional arts journalism in Nigeria in 1998.
Contact for participation & Support: OmoOba Jerry Adesewo — 08052771123
