As Nike Art Gallery Welcomes, German President, UN Participants, Others

Charles Ajunwa

German President, Mr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, accompanied by the Consul General of Germany, Weert Börner, wife, Dr. Imke Börner; Chairman, THISDAY Newspapers/Arise News, Prince Nduka Obaigbena; his wife, Chinwe Obaigbena, and several other dignitaries recently visited the Nike Art Gallery, as part of Steinmeier’s itinerary during his official visit to Nigeria. 

On arrival, Steinmeier, was received by the founder of Nike Art Gallery, Mrs. Nike Okundaye.

Nike Art Gallery located in the Lekki area of Lagos, is one the largest art galleries in West Africa. It showcases a diverse collection of traditional and contemporary African art including paintings, sculptures, and textiles. It also serves as a cultural hub promoting Nigerian heritage and empowering local artists.

Steinmeier, who spoke with Arise News Channel during a cultural reception, expressed happiness over the level of cultural exchanges between Germany and Nigeria.

He described relations between Germany and Nigeria as cordial, noting that beyond politics and economy there is also a cultural tie between the two nations.

“This is my third visit to Nigeria”, he said, adding, “the relations between Germany and Nigeria are civil because they are not only based on politics and economy but also on culture.”

According to him, German and Nigeria, “have a very very vivid exchange of artists” and “what we are seeing here is really a document of the variety of Nigerian artists and I’m fascinated.”

Also, between November 28 and 29, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) together with the Government of Nigeria organised the first-ever Africa roundtable on private sector solutions to internal displacement with theme: ‘Bridging Futures: Converging for Solutions’.

The conference which took place in Lagos, brought together 11 African countries namely: Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Federal Republic of Somalia, Mozambique, Republic of Chad, Republic of South Sudan, Republic of Niger, Republic of Sudan, including chief executive officers, managing directors and captains of industry, representatives of the various diplomatic organisations, delegations of various UN agencies, international development banks and bilateral institutions.

The plenary dwelt on ‘Making the Business Case for Engagement in Internal Displacement Contexts’ and roundtable discussions centred on Agribusiness, Financial Inclusion, Climate Insurance, Energy, Entrepreneurship, and Connectivity. All lasted for over nine hours. To the excitement of participants, the moderator, Julie Gichuru, hinted that there would be a tour to Nike Art Gallery later in the evening.

Before departure to the gallery, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Mohamed Malick Fall, addressed participants embarking on sight-seeing.

Fall who implored the participants to network, added, “I want you to have the opportunity to see some parts of Lagos. Apart from innovation, I think the most vibrant part of Lagos is its arts and cultural heritage.

“Everyone knows of Nollywood, Nigerian music dominates the whole world. All of these, are really assets. A network that starts here, goes beyond here.

“Everything we say today is just putting us in motion in addressing solutions to problems of IDPs. Everything we learn here, we should take it away back to our country, back to our workplace. As we do this, we are serving humanity.

“That’s the beauty of what brought us here because there are more in humanity that deserves more attention, more support, more consideration than internally displaced people. And I think just devoting our time to them is a way of serving great service to humanity.”

When the buses set off from the hotel and hit the roads, traffic had started building up on the Lekki axis. Some visitors sighting things of interest shouted “wow” in excitement. It was already dark when the buses arrived at the gallery.

A dance troupe stationed at the entrance of the gallery dressed in Adire fabric, played local African drums to welcome the UN team with elegant dance steps and songs.

The founder of Nike Art Gallery, Okundaye, who wore a long Adire gown, long headgear, earrings, bracelets and beads, all locally sourced, was on the ground to welcome the UN team.

Okundaye, who was impressed by the number of UN participants, cracked a lot of jokes as she explained the meaning of each artwork in the gallery. Her sense of history and humour was deep and infectious.

She focused on majorly Ghanaians, saying things like “Jollof rice”, “Ghana must come, not Ghana must go.”

According to her, the gallery contains over 25,000 artworks from 5,000 Nigerian artists.

The artists, according to her, use things that happen in the society to talk to each other, emphasising that “all these are symbols of communication.”

Okundaye, who used every part of her body to tell story, acknowledged that Africa is richly endowed with arts and culture.

“We are 54 countries in Africa but we are one African continent,” she said.

At some point, Okundaye brought out local fabrics, caps, necklaces and bangles to dress up a male Ghanaian and a white lady to the admiration of all.