Prince Yemisi Shyllon: A Collector’s Craving for Culture

As famous and wealthy as he appears, Nigeria’s foremost art collector, Prince Yemisi Shyllon, considers himself a very comfortable and confident human, but with a core interest that lies

in helping humanity,  Vanessa Obioha writes  

Before he clocked 50, Prince Yemisi Shyllon was already concerned about his legacy. Will he just be remembered for his cerebral talents? Will his art collections be the only memory of him left behind?

Having evinced his artistic talents from a young age and collecting art as early as 19, Shyllon’s concerns are understandable. Not a few artists are remembered only in outdated textbooks. Surely, there is more to Shyllon that would keep him relevant for many generations.

A royal Prince of Ake in Abeokuta, Ogun State, he wears many hats that speak volumes about his intelligence. He is a lawyer, an engineer, a sales marketer, an artist, a famed art collector and a culture custodian. Combine all of these and you’d find yourself sitting in front of a towering figure whose contributions to the art world and tourism traversed beyond the shores of Nigeria.

Shyllon is tall, not only figuratively but physically. His towering physique can be intimidating to a few and give the wrong impression that he is haughty. To avoid the erroneous interpretation of his confidence, he tries as much as possible to greet others first. He played this out during our meeting at the Oriental Hotel for the Impact Mission Initiative where he was the Chairman of the occasion and honouree.

Even though the event was scheduled for midday, Shyllon arrived before the doors were opened. He sat in the lobby until the organisers were ready. It was no surprise that he was flocked by many when he finally came upstairs. Yet, when we passed a couple of youngsters, Shyllon was the first to say hi. It does not bother him that they may be old enough to be his grandchildren. He has no interest in the greeting culture of the youths. What bothers him most is how we are preserving our culture, that is, our music, dance, customs and traditions, spiritual beliefs and language.

“The average young person these days cannot speak his language. That is a greater element of who you are. We should think of how to restore that.”

Moreover, he works with different kinds of people and does not judge people by age.

As he neared 50, Shyllon made up his mind that he was going to build a museum as part of his legacy. That museum is the fascinating edifice occupying a conspicuous spot at the Pan-Atlantic University, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.

To date, he still holds dear the memory of embarking on the project.

“The day I signed the agreement to establish the museum with the Pan-Atlantic University was the highlight of my day. That was my greatest day on earth,” he said.

The museum has a tripartite function as an educational, cultural and tourism centre. As an art collector, Shyllon believes that professionals in his field play a major role in nation-building.

“Art collectors help to create employment for artists and in the process of creating employment for artists, they help to create creativity. Creativity is seen in terms of its use in tourism. Tourism cannot thrive without creativity. If you go to Italy today, you will be pleased to see in Florence the works of Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, etc…

“But you come down to Nigeria and you find that the use of art by our collectors still has some gaps. I have tried to fill that gap by funding the establishment of the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art and it is now one of the tourist attractions in Nigeria, particularly for foreigners who visit this country. So I’m contributing as a collector to not only revenue in terms of foreign exchange or international tourism, but also domestic tourism.”

Nigeria’s domestic tourism has not recorded much impact given the state of insecurity. However, Shyllon pointed out other contributing factors for its snail pace.

“Domestic terrorism can really thrive in an environment where there is cultural homogeneity. In Nigeria, where you have tribal groupings, people tend to keep within their tribal enclaves and not go around to other tribal enclaves. So you find that it’s difficult for a northerner to go to the East, for instance, to go and enjoy tourism because he feels alienated. He doesn’t feel a sense of belonging.

“Now, domestic tourism also thrives when tourism edifices are developed, not only in terms of the natural existence of such places but developed to introduce events around it, developed to introduce things that will attract tourists and create leisure for tourists to enjoy. We have not developed those facilities. Take, for instance, the Zuma Rock in Abuja is a beautiful place but you need to create activities around it to make people want to see the place. You need to find a way to build a theatre or do a weekly festival.”

When Shyllon started collecting art, there were few in the field but today, he is somehow intrigued that art collection has become a fashion. On the flip side, there are fewer younger people thirsty for knowledge today compared to his time. He attributes this decline in knowledge acquisition to a highly monetised society.

“When any society values only money, that is what happens to the youths. Our society has become highly monetised. When I was growing up, there was pride in calling yourself a lawyer or a doctor or an engineer. You are respected in the society. Today, if you have those kinds of things, they don’t respect you. They respect how much is in your pockets. That is what I mean by monetization. And the fact that our society has been monetized, youths definitely are moving in that direction.”

As a concerned citizen, Shyllon is taking practical steps to prevent the degradation of our values by sponsoring television programmes that focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM). He goes a step further by bringing successful individuals in the fields and children can phone in and win prizes on any of the programmes: ‘Engineering and You’, and ‘Art World’.

Shyllon has given out many artworks in various forms. Contemporary, modern, ethnography arts, name it, he has given them all out. Perhaps this explains why he is known as a donor, particularly with the establishment of the museum. Notwithstanding, he revealed that he still has about 6,000 artworks in his possession. Whether he plans to give them out or not is yet to be known. He however has other plans which he did not immediately divulge.

The art collector has other legacies he hopes to build. One of them is giving out his books in his law firm to a private university in his hometown. Just like he collects artworks, he is also a book lover. He has in his possession a large collection of law books that dates back to the 19th century. He recalled going to London to buy books about law. Now at 70, Shyllon’s quest for knowledge is still astonishing.

“I wake up every day by 3am to read. I read every day on any subject. Take me on any subject and I’m available,” he said glowingly.

When this reporter took him on fashion, he pointed out that he sketches his wife’s dresses to date. He considers himself not a wealthy person but very comfortable. His understanding of money is instructive.

“Money is just a means of exchange. It should not form the basis of your interaction with people.  Money should be collateral and a return to a more important drive or vocation of your life. In other words, I have been giving and giving and giving for decades, and I derive a lot of reputation, and self-esteem that you cannot buy with money. That is more important to me than money.

“Money is just a means of exchange and you get to a point in your life where you have enough and the next is just greed. You should measure your level of satisfaction and give out whatever is extra, as much as you can to humanity. Set out a goal that can have maximum effect on humanity . You should not acquire money for money’s sake, it is all emptiness. No matter how rich I get, I will never acquire a private jet or ride a Rolls Royce. I will rather buy something modest and use the rest for humanity.” he said passionately.

Shyllon is already doing that by training artists in residence to be a better version of themselves through his foundation, the Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Art Foundation (OYASAF).