INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, HUMANITIES AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH, JUNE2020 VOLUME 10 NO 1 ISBN 978-0-213168-1

Sculptures of Sokari Douglas Camp, ‘Alali Aru’ and ‘Primavera’: Recipe for National Development

Charles G. T. Omuaru 08033364500 [email protected] Ignatius Ajuru University of Education Rumuolumeni, P. M. B. 5047 Port Harcourt

Abstract The Diaspora issue has been a front burner and topical both at the local and international levels; the discussions permeate the good and bad. However, of recent, various countries have seen the need to assess and reassess its value, activating its potential for national goals and achievements, as well as protect its border from unlawful immigrants, in order not to jeopardise its structure and deprive citizens opportunities created for them. From the home front, the Diaspora issue has been reassessed and given a place of importance today; considering its contribution to national development. This paper, “Discursive Analysis of Sculptures of Sokari Douglas Camp, ‘Alali Aru’ and ‘Primavera’ recipe for National Development” examined the contribution to national development with respect to the visual arts campaign on image laundering of the country by one of its Diaspora artists, Sokari Douglas Camp. The author reviewed literature from the print media and the internet on the artist’s historical background, ideology, technical and material usage, which ultimately influenced her style. The paper further analysed her two works, “Alali Aru” and “Primavera” and ascribed circumstantial meaning based on symbols of the cultural background the works are situated. The paper concludes that, the artist’s trajectory artistic enterprise has earned her a place of pride at the international art scene; the author therefore posits that, through these efforts the artist has contributed to national development. Keywords: Discursive Analysis, Sokari Douglas Camp, Alali Aru, Primavera and National Development. Introduction The campaign to transform African traditional sculptures to contemporary art form, demystify its psychological import and take away the fear shrouded it, is further expanded to cover wider dimension of the Nigerian art scene and Diaspora. Notable among the artistic spread is that of Sokari Douglas Camp, a Nigerian by birth, metal sculptor, and a Diaspora

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Nigerian. The artist has made remarkable contributions to the projection and campaign of

African arts, specifically the Kalabari cultural and masquerade sculptures in the Western societies. This paper, therefore examines her works from two perspectives; the transmutation of Kalabari masquerades to contemporary sculptures and painting to a piece of metal sculpture.

Sokari Douglas Camp’s contributions to the Arts is countless and invaluable on the scale of developmental projects committed by many Nigerian artists living abroad. Reckon to say, the

Diaspora project is a huge investment, and thus benefit both the host country and the homeland. The study acknowledges the United Nations definition of Diaspora as; consists of people of African origin living out of the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality, willing to contribute to the development of the continent and building the African union, (Wapmuk, Akinkuotu and Ibonye, 2004: 299). The phenomenon constitute a continual bridge between the homeland and the host; a building block that stimulates significant economic growth for both countries. For the purpose of this study, Nigerian

Diaspora is conceptualized as those Nigerians, living outside the country, not minding their ethnic, religions, region that contribute to the development of and the host countries.

It is of necessity to conceptualise national development, vis a vis, individual contributions to nation building. The word, Development in its variant meaning is contextual, it denotes physical enlargement, cultural improvement, and non-material well-being. For the former, it reflects buoyant economy, (individual achievements, collective and national development), structural improvement such as infrastructures, progressive education, welfare, improvement of health services, better legal systems and functional democracy. Other salient sector is the non physical, which is the culture industry, includes visual and non visual arts, tourism,

125 www.sunmesjournals.org INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, HUMANITIES AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH, JUNE2020 VOLUME 10 NO 1 ISBN 978-0-213168-1 national heritages and the preservation of national natural endowment of the people. Sadly, perceived opinions of people expect government to do the magic and provide everything for

everybody, whereas, it is expected, as citizens, whether, in the country or in the Diaspora, has a responsibility to contribute to homeland.

With respect to Sokari Douglas Camp’s contribution to national development, her commitment and developmental strides are discernable and commendable, especially of the visual arts (sculpture). In this regard, attention is drawn to sculptural projects and exhibitions all over the world, winning awards and trophies, using her Kalabari cultural and artistic background as her source of inspiration. Through this vehicle, she adapts Kalabari traditional art forms to create modern artistic genre, thereby projecting Kalabari arts and culture on global platforms.

Background Study of Sokari Douglas Camp

Sokari Douglas Camp is one of the most celebrated Nigerian artists living in the Diaspora.

She is deeply motivated by the kalabari cosmology, its cultural nuances; masquerade festivals she had witnessed in her early childhood, folk tales she had heard and experiences during her early childhood and visits to the native land, Buguma. Buguma is located in the heart of the , Rivers State, Nigeria. She is a Nigerian by birth, parented by

Buguma indigenes of Kalabari, an extraction of the Ijo tribe of Rivers state, where she spent major part of her childhood life. At her early age, her relationship with Whiteman, the renowned kalabari Ekine Sekibo, (a Member of the famous kalabari ancient traditional masquerade cult) an Anthropologist, versed in Kalabari culture and traditions, late, Professor

Robin Horton. She was tutored under the guardianship of the anthropologist, consequently, this association provided her the opportunity to travel to Europe and other Western Countries for her education and Arts practice. She continued to live, schooled, married and had her

126 www.sunmesjournals.org INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, HUMANITIES AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH, JUNE2020 VOLUME 10 NO 1 ISBN 978-0-213168-1 children in the Diaspora, and became cultural and artistic ambassador to the Kalabari people in the arts and culture, by transforming the ancient art forms to modern sculptural genre.

Her schooling and art training began at the California college of arts and crafts in Oakland,

California (1979 80), where she got her Bachelor of Arts degree, at the central school of Art and Design, between 1980 to 1983, London. By the year 1983 and 1986, she had obtained a master’s degree from the . At the student level, Sokari Dongles Camp won several awards and scholarships at the local and international level, as a budding and aspiring artist:

Career and Artistic Practice

She is by record one of the most internationally celebrated Nigerian sculptors; her works are basically steel, welded to create human forms in different contra postures in addition to other natural and manmade objects to create stories. Her career is functional, with robust portfolios.

Over the years, she had worked with the famous Smithsonian and the British Museums. Her sculptures, for several reasons have found permanent places in Galleries and museums, and collections in several countries all over the world. She been invited by several bodies and countries to shw her works, which include, United state, Austria, Britain, Germany,

Netherlands, , France, Sicily, Japan and South Africa and Europe, and numerous private collections..

Her solo exhibitions are notably spread round the world, some of which are spirit in steel, dwelling on the Arts of the Kalabari Maquerade, specifically staged by the American

Museum of Natural History – New York, between 1998 and 1999. However, in no particular order, “Imagined Steel” was staged at the lowry Arts Center”, and was later featured in the Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Liandudo Brewery Art Center and Derby Museum and

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Art Gallery between 2002 and 2003. For specific projects, she was also incorporated in the creation of African Garden at the UK-Wide Africa 05 Festival, there; she collaborated with the Ground Force, with a formidable synergy that produced remarkable result. Among her many awards, the Ken Saro-Wiwa “Living Memorial” Sculpture and her work

No-O-war-No-O-War-R designed for Trafalgar Squares, fourth plinth was shortlisted in 2003 are indeed remarkable.

Commentary on Works and Style

Nigerian contemporary artists are indeed concerned with identity, not withstanding their place of practice. The ideological and thematic approach to their works, especially of the sculptures, conjecture vivid exposition of their visual cultural background, hence their concern for problem solving, whether, at the local or international domains. Nevertheless, the features of their works and most times their portrayal of thematic issues or discourse are of the African traditional coloration, whether with Western material or subject of common universal interest.

Sokari Dongles Comp is one among few Nigerian sculptors in the Diaspora, whose works have strong appeal and impact on peoples of both the West and of her Motherland. Her works have very wide coverage, and might take volumes for analyses, therefore, few of the works will be discussed here as a synopsis.

Sokari, the sculptor is a story teller, so says Vaizey (1987), her arts (sculptures) are vehicles or the means of transmission. Vaizey describes with apparent sincerity that, Sokari’s stories are of her people, her ancestry, her family and her own past, the techniques are those of contemporary Western art. The fact that she is an artist’s itself is a contradiction to her people, because, by the tradition back home, it would be an aberration to venture into an area exclusive for men (carving). Nevertheless, she took the opportunity providence afforded her,

128 www.sunmesjournals.org INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, HUMANITIES AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH, JUNE2020 VOLUME 10 NO 1 ISBN 978-0-213168-1 with creativity, observational ability and astute technical skill she tells her story. Her symbols, images and metaphors are valid and vivid description of what Sokari signifies, with obvious penchant for the African arts style in her works. Her works are inspired by the Masks or headpieces of the masquerade of her ancestry and those performed by the masqueraders of

Kalabari Ekine masquerade clubs.

Sokari by dint of innovation and clear intent of demystification of the ancient religious implications has toed the paths of the first generation of modern Nigerian artists, of the likes of Bruce Onabrakpeya, Uche Okeke, Simon Okeke, Demas Nwoko, Yusuf Grillo, and

Ben Enwonwu, who variously and collectively created a visible modern Nigeria arts their ideology and stylistic approach adopted by these progenitors can only be summed by the description of the art historian Ogbechie (2001). His text opined that, their artworks were perceived as those made in the services of politics and nationalism, for instance, Enwonwu engaged issues of negritude ideology and Pan-Africans’ identity by combining forms from

Nigeria’s traditional cultures, for example, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa and others to create an artistic synthesis. Similarly, Onwuzulike (2010) attests that, the nucleus of their arts is a blend of tradition with modernity, infusing content drawn from Nigeria’s autochthonous cultural archives, into pereceived creative knowledge to produce works that were modern and, which responded to the prevalent idea of nationalism and modernity.

These legacies have been the building block to what can be described as Nigeria’s contemporary arts documentation and reference materials; that nexus widely embraced by myriads of Nigerian artists domiciled in Nigeria and that of the Diaspora. Sokari Dauglas

Camp illustrates the context of this subject matter; hence her utilization of background cultural and artistic archives and the Western creative education she acquired stimulated her

129 www.sunmesjournals.org INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, HUMANITIES AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH, JUNE2020 VOLUME 10 NO 1 ISBN 978-0-213168-1 unique style. However, without bringing her experiences and creative ingenuity the degree of her success might be nonexistent.

Description and Analysis of works

One of the earliest popular art works of Sokari Dongles Camp with direct bearing to the

Kalabari sculptures was a group of sculptures she made, allegorizing the Kalabari

Masquerade culture. One amongst them that catches attention is the “Alali Aru

Masquerade”. In this piece, through her usual characteristic manner, she illustrates her strength, as in one to every piece, through the adoption of sculptural elements and principles:

Motion, Colour, Actions, Balance and Form, converge to form masterpieces. Sokari was not only interested in the headpieces that are characteristically different from the varieties of masks all over the world, she was more interested in the functionality of those wooden

Kalabari headpieces popular with the Western museum visitors. Her medium is steel, a wide contrast from the bio-generic material, wood. Wood by its natural formation is perishable and thereby susceptible to decay, through insect invasion and other agents hence, constitute concern for preservation http://sokaridouglas camp:wordpress.com Alali Aru, The importance of women in Kalabari. Accessed on 17/2/2021 .

Perhaps, this concern may have informed her choice of steel, (a rare sculpture material that has the propensity to last longer than wood) noting that, the life span of this endangered

Kalabari Masquerade culture is short. The sculpture, Alili Aru, is a mass of steel, cut and welded to form the headpiece and the Masquerade representation. Literary interpretation of

Alali Aru means, festival boat, hence, the headpiece is a boat, with two platforms decked on one after the other, taking their foundation from the kalabari Festival/War boat. At the extreme side of the boat comes another structure built to the height of the ground floor, leaving considerable space between them. Colourful fabric decoration represented in metal,

130 www.sunmesjournals.org INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, HUMANITIES AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH, JUNE2020 VOLUME 10 NO 1 ISBN 978-0-213168-1 span from end to the beginning of the deck and extended to the sail of the boat. They come in brilliant and variant colours that attract attention to both tourists and villagers. Directly under the boat, on the head of the masquerade, form projections of metals, representing plums; the colours are red, black, yellow and green. The next is the steel formation of a performing masker; attention is drawn to the costume, from the breast line to cover the toes and wrapped round up to the back of the masker. Another projection is seen from the back of the masker, representing the igoli, obviously metal, swinging down. The two hands are stretched forward

attached to another metal, representing knife, one of the paraphernalia for performance or display.

Sokari Douglas Comp’s Alali Aru Masquerade is a comical representation of the Kalanari type, created to amuse viewers, especially the Westerners. Despite this stance, as it may seem with many, the sculpture under review pictures the very essence the Kalabari Masquerade represents. After all, art is a representation, not the represented as Plato postulates. To validate this assertion, in reply to an interview question, she explained that her artworks are a close imitation of what Kalabari Masqurade performers do and it is made in certain style that will frighten viewers, but also create deep sense of humour (Trackman, 1989). She also illustrated that, as a woman, back in her community, as in the past, her artistic involvement would be an aberration.

The second sculpture, a recent production under review is Primavera. This is one of the latter solo exhibitions the sculptor had in July, 2016, in the October Gallery, central London.

The exhibition is a collection of her works of recent years, made in the same familiar style and materials, but the subject, fusion of European classical cultural history, in the usual

African figures. A genre she is most popular with. The works might be reckoned as evidence that Sokari has drifted from the African traditional cultural imaging and storytelling of the

131 www.sunmesjournals.org INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, HUMANITIES AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH, JUNE2020 VOLUME 10 NO 1 ISBN 978-0-213168-1 local people, her forbearers to a middle ground, between her native land and the people whom she has benefited from in no small measure, the West.

Sokari Douglas Camp has received wide range of accolades in the land of her sojourn; these include, scholarship, prizes and awards, one of which is commander of the British Empire

(CBE) in 2005, an honor bestowed on her, in recognition of her commitment and development of the arts. Hawes (2016) notes that, she had represented Britain and Nigeria in several exhibitions and has more than 40 solo exhibitions all over the world to her credit. By all standards, Sokari is a world citizen, and through her arts presents herself, thus; her

subjects are of universal concerns and commentaries. In other words, reenacting European classical themes that are of modern/contemporary relevance, whether it is social, economic, and environmental and love; these subjects adopted affect all human kind, hence she calls for attention by collaborating with Western artists, one of the 18th century prolific drawing and painting master, a poet, William Blake to project her message. Such reputation is huge; nonetheless, alignment does not in any ways influence her to undermine the entire genre and style she is noted for. This paper therefore, examines one of her works illustrate her artistic marriage between the ancients and the modern, West and Africa. The simple illustration is that, the world is now richer, Europe supported by Africa, America” Blind love and Grace”” are fundamentally critical in this exhibition, aside these, Sokari conceptualized morality, religion, love, fashion and culture through the use of form and forces as contextual interpretation.

Primavera, the Sculpture

Sokari Douglas Camp’s Primavera is a steel sculpture of a young lady, clad in an African costume, blouse, one-piece wrapper, an head-tie, bare feet, a basket of colourful flower petals, stuck all over the figure as well littered on the flat plinth. She is seemingly on a long

132 www.sunmesjournals.org INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, HUMANITIES AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH, JUNE2020 VOLUME 10 NO 1 ISBN 978-0-213168-1 stride, without foot wear, spreading petals of flowers all around, as often done in Western wedding ceremonies, which is also found or copied in present day African societies. Her gait is unmistaken, for the execution of her diligent task. So is her left hand clutches the basket of the flower petals, while her right hand actively sends out the goodwill; love, piety and appreciation. Nonetheless, as she does this her facial expression complements her action; her eyes wide opened, penetrating, obviously directed to someone or a group of people – with a determined and contrived kiss, a symbol of love spread for many for undisclosed reasons,

(See visual illustration:Pimavera http://www:omenkaonline.com.so).

.

The lady is dark skinned with an average size body. She could be taken for a slim woman by the nature of many African ladies; a shape cultivated at modern times, denoted as curvy. Her skin is unmistakably toned, also one of the evidences for the earlier assertion that, she is indeed a society lady. It will be difficult to situate her to any tribal leaning from the look of her body shape and size; however, it will be a good guess to suggest by her costume that she is a Yoruba lady. Her body is adorned with the attire, popularly and frequently classified as

Buba, (a single piece of loin wrapped round the waist with a blouse to match) worn in the western part of Nigeria by women. The fabric type is doubtlessly Lacy; the pattern is spread over with floral motif. The whole fabric is perforated, distinguishing one flower from the other. Lace, one time very popular fabric material, was a choice to many people all over the country, hence has no boundary whereby giving no room for any cultural differentiation. She may either be a Kalabari, Yoruba, or any other African, but a symbol of a black, strong, self-conscious and active woman.

Primavera was created in 2015, with steel gold leaf and acrylic paint; a gigantic size of 201 x

72 x 162 cm (Source: October Gallery). Sokari was said to be inspired by the Renaissance

133 www.sunmesjournals.org INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, HUMANITIES AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH, JUNE2020 VOLUME 10 NO 1 ISBN 978-0-213168-1 artist, Botticelli, whose work is titled La Primavera, was a classical masterpiece, a timeless painting that allegorizes the gods and their deeds. To decipher and understand Sokari’s

“Primavera”. Botticelli’s “La Primavera” should be a reference for the reader, as well possess knowledge of classical European mythology to which Botticelli allegorized. Sokari draws her inspirations from the painting and replicated its concepts and visual images into three dimensional steel sculptures in the images of dark skinned (models) characters, imbued with other paraphernalia.

“La Primavera” was a Florentine Renaissance masterpiece, which was commissioned by the

Medicis, influential and high society family embroiled in different political turmoil at different times, firm believers of the humanistic philosophies that recall and study

anthologies of classical mythologies and antiquities. Uffizi ( ) opines that the painting was commissioned to celebrate the marriage of Lorenzo Medici and Ramide Appiani in May

1482, hence was designed for the pleasure of private viewing. It was rumored, that, the figure Venus was modeled in the image of Sinonetta Vespucci, a member of the Medici’s family. The style was adopted from late Gothic decorative and expressive portrait painting, wherein; models are seen interacting with one another. The figures are modeled in muscular anatomy, taller figures and elongated torsos, which are seemingly sculptural. To create a masterpiece, to relive the image of the Medici family, Botticelli reference different sources-

“Ovid’s Fasti, a poetic calendar of Roman Festival and De Rerum Nature (on the Nature of things), a philosophical poem by the classical writer Titus Lucretius Carus (1st century

BCE)", (Visual-arts-work.com).

“La Primavera” can be departmentalized into three sub sections, with their attendant story lines; accordingly, Vanes, the goddess of love, (Crompton, 1997) at the centre, while

Zephyrus (the god of wind) grabs chloris, goddess of Flora at the right. On the left are the

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Graces, holding hands with each other dancing, while mercury the messenger of the gods stood aside guarding them, looking away. The cupid, son of Venus blind folded, gaming his arrow at the dancing graces. The scenery was set in the beautiful garden of Venus, in its splendor of myth trees, plant species and about 190 different flowers (Encyclopedia of Art

Education).

Two important story lines are notable in this painting (La Primavera); at the right hand of the work, the story goes; Zephyrus, god of the winds loved Chloris (probably one of the graces, who is adorn in the same costume with the three holding hands and dancing) and took her for a wife without her consent. This Botticelli illustrated with movement, flight, grace, and interactive imageries. Zephyrus is seen floating on air, while Chloris is lifted up, her legs floating as well, and her hands apparent gesture to balance herself. Her gaze, a blended

mixture of surprise, emotion and object of question: While her mouth is partly stuffed with unidentified flowers. In the second storyline, it is told, Zephyrus, was remorseful for his conduct, hence compensated Chloris by transforming her into flora, Goddess of flowers and spring. He further built her a garden, with wonderful flowers and plants, which reigns with everlasting spring.

Nevertheless, the connection of these stories and the rest of the images are unclear; the difficulties in explanations to these visual narratives have spanned centuries of scholars, numerous attempts are made without, clear ending, Encyclopedia of Art Education suggests, that, many scholars of Botticelli’s paintings are a lifetime study, therefore, lack of understanding of the painting does not preclude its appreciation. Just stand back and enjoy the emotional vibe it exudes.

African artists rarely get recognition for their work as in the cases of Western masters. Nevertheless, Artists continue to make apparent change in their interests, attitudes

135 www.sunmesjournals.org INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, HUMANITIES AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH, JUNE2020 VOLUME 10 NO 1 ISBN 978-0-213168-1 as well as techniques as influenced by their enquiries into the essence of art and associative influence other artists. Each artist learns his craft and develops a distinctive style for self identification, hence, redefining African art to suit the contemporary time. This is so far appreciated today, because contemporary artists have learned from past and are making their own redefined style, that make them distinct in today’s artistic arena.

The making of art is a continually evolving process; each artist injects his/her individualism into a work and refines traditional forms rather than abandoning them. This clearly identifies Sokari, Douglas Camp as a true Modern Nigerian artist.

Conclusion

At this trying times of the Nigerian nation, it is expected, all and sundry contribute to its cohesion and development, therefore, “all hands”, as the popular saying goes, “must be on deck” for its salvation. On this premise, the Nigerian Diasporians, whose works have exemplified the true image of the country should be commended and celebrated. In the past, the image laundering of Nigerians, especially of criminal deeds outweigh the successes of

sincere, creative and hard working people all over the word. However, this can only be said of the past, presently, the degree of creative innovations in the visual arts sector amount to limitless outpouring of ingenuity, craftsmanship and philosophical exploration. Sokari Douglas Camp, one among many has traversed the world from the African traditional setting to a more diversified contemporary artistic world scene. From what seemed adventurous and experimental in her schooling days has blossomed to rare artistic style and sculptural genre. Her style and the processes are unique, hence, creating a spot for her in the international art scene and market. Through this enterprise, the artist has contributed to national development.

Recommendation Having discussed the contributions of one of Nigeria’s finest sculptors living in the Diaspora and analysed her two sculptural pieces, the following are some recommendations for policy engineering on visual arts and the Nigerian Diaspora issues.

With the recent expositions of the value of Nigerian American contributions to both the host country and homeland gives room for reevaluation of the need for people to question the reason Nigerians are looking elsewhere for the Golden Fleece in the emerging global community, with the hope of greater amount of success. The implication therefore, adequately and continuous sensitized citizenry and coordinated policy framework execution could generate immense benefit to both the home and the host countries (Edozie, 2013).

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Factoring this to other Diaspora issues, noting enormous resources emanating from the sector, government continual interactions and dialogue is necessary in order to instill in them, their role in nation building and continue to assure them, the country’s readiness to support them and protect them when need be. Therefore, for continuity, the policy framework of President Obasanjo who declared that, every 25th of july be Nigerian Diaspora Day as a recognition of the important role to the national project. This is indeed noteworthy and should be sustained (Akwani, 2013),

People with outstanding and ground breaking contributions, through achievements such as Sokari Douglas Camp, should be awarded National honours to motivate others. Professional groups should form organizations, such as the visual and performing artists in the Diaspora to articulate development needs for their homeland Sokari Douglas Camp is known to have delivered talks on topical arts related issues in public, it is hoped, a replication of such in Africa, especially, Nigeria will motivate a huge fan base of hers; as well tell her story of the journey so far in order to give hope to the Nigerian youths at this challenging time. It will be of great service to the country, if National Galleries acquire some works of Sokari Douglas Camp in their collections, especially, works that have bearing with the Nigerian state or commission her for a new project for the same purpose. The Nigerian Diaspora is replete with world class professionals whose impact on the world in diverse areas is unarticulated and presented for public consumption, thereby depriving people valuable information and education therefore, the study of Nigerian Diaspora artists is nigh for text booking

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