Awo’s statue is piece of artwork, not photograph —Lagos govt

The Lagos State government has clarified the ongoing insinuations and diverse interpretations given to the recently unveiled new statue of the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

It claimed that the statue “is a piece of artwork expressing the artist’s impression of the sage and not a photograph.”

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Adebimpe Akinsola, who made the clarification, stated that many sculptures had been made to illustrate the other essence of the sage, particularly the ones that portray him as a ‘dogged fighter’ standing with his popular victory sign.

She said the new bust depicting him in an entirely new mode simply alludes to his multi-dimensional standing.

“The reality is that Chief Awolowo was a colossus who cannot be stereotyped. Stereotyping such a highly intriguing personality only exposes the lack of depth of the totality of what the late sage represents,” she said.

She stated further that great men all over the world such as Abraham Lincoln, whose statue was sculpted by Daniel Chester French (1850–1931) and carved by the Piccirilli Brother, has been depicted in a sitting position.

She said that rather than concentrating more on the artistic depiction of the Awolowo bust, what should be considered is the desire of the state government to inspire the unborn generations about his legacies.

The governor’s aide added that immortalising “our heroes is surely one way of spurring present and future generation of Nigerians to effectively connect with our past with a view to committing them to the vision and ideals of our founding fathers.”

The special adviser explained that the state government unveiled the new statue to celebrate the sage who has a larger-than-life image, and whose shoes till date have yet to be filled.

Further reacting to the controversy, Akinsola posited that the sage has become an institution, whose legacies should not be allowed to die and as such, it should be daily celebrated to serve as inspiration to the unborn generation, which was why the Lagos State government, unveiled this new statue in line with the policy of the current administration to immortalize and accord reference to personalities, heroes and heroines who have contributed to the development of the State in particular and the country in general.

She listed such heroes and heroines that have also been recognised and celebrated by the state government as late Chief M.K.O Abiola, Prof. Ayodele Awojobi, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, late Kudirat Abiola, among others.

“Chief Obafemi Awolowo was one of the nation’s nationalists. The Lagos State government believes in his ideologies, policies and programmes and as such, will consider nothing too much to propagate his ideologies,” she said.