Great Okeke, the Special Assistant on Visual Communications to Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah, shares his unconventional journey into photography and how it evolved from a mere hobby to a full-fledged career. He reflects on his early perception of photography as a casual profession before realising its power as a storytelling tool.
CAN you take us back to your early years? Where did you grow up, and what inspired your interest in photography?
I was born in Sango-Ota, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government in Ogun State. I did my primary and secondary school (study) in Sango-Ota. I went to Osun State University for my university education, so basically, I grew up in the West. I have a very good touch of the Western part of Nigeria. I speak a little Yoruba as well. So, growing up, I exhibited a lot of artistic (tendencies). I was very expressive with art. I would always tear the centre of my note so that I could draw something, scribble something. That time, they would tell us to draw something like the president of Nigeria at the time. There was a lot of me drawing Olusegun Obasanjo, former President, and then subsequently, drawing different kinds of things. I was particularly expressing myself with arts. I got to the point of trying to pick a career and the only thing fancy in the arts was only Law. I come from a background where my dad is a lawyer. So, I said I was going to do Law and somehow, you trying to be a lawyer, you’re going to either forsake that artist thing because that reading, reading, and reading didn’t require a lot of drawing or you trying to be expressive. So, eventually, I kind of killed that part of me until when I was in final year in the university where I studied History and International Studies, eventually not Law. That was where I kind of picked up arts again, but this time around, it was more of organising shows. There was always that thing to document things. Even while I was doing other things, there was always the need to document a moment, a moment that happened before or a moment that is happening now, but I didn’t see it as photography. As a matter of fact, I wasn’t into photography but I just knew that I liked the arts anyway and it went on up until after university, 2016-2017, when I started using my phone to just take pictures and try to edit. You know, it just started from capturing the sky and editing it to taste. Also, getting those still shots when people were not looking and then it grew to me eventually getting a camera.
Before becoming the Governor’s Peter Mbah’s official photographer, what was your career journey like?
Photography started as a hobby. I didn’t know that there was something called governor’s photographer or anything. I knew that people made money from photography, but it was not niche that I was really concerned about because the photographers that I was seeing at the time were people that would take you pictures and then, they would go and bring it back in minutes and my dad would probably give them like a thousand naira. It wasn’t anything fancy to me. That was not something I was exposed to growing up. There was no really importance as such on it as a career. So, as usual, in Nigeria, you would have to try a lot of things. I laid my hands on acting, modelling. It was when I started modelling, that I understood that photography is expensive and I tried a lot of things in the arts too. I was always expressive. I really did not want to work for anybody, I didn’t want a 9-5 career, even though I’m doing like a 5 till 12 now (Laughs). But I didn’t really want to do a 9-5. I didn’t want to work in the confines of an office because I knew I was an expressive person. So, photography, eventually from a hobby to a career was because, first of all, to make money. I mean, there was the hobby, the passion, but to become a career photographer was basically, so you can do this, why not make money off it? The career itself was to put food on the table. That’s basically the journey up until when I became a photographer. Now, to becoming the governor’s official photographer, it was just divine. I became his photographer without trying to become his photographer. The challenges on the way included trying to find something that would put food on the table and I found out that my hobby was going to do this and I started using my hobby to hustle, covering weddings, introductions, photoshoots. That was the journey.
At what point did you realise photography could be more than just a passion for you but a powerful tool for storytelling?
It started the moment when I found out it’s a tool that can shape narratives. When you realise how much people value their memories and could do anything to see those pictures, you know, them looking forward to seeing their pictures, that’s the point you get to know that it’s not just about passion, it’s storytelling.
How did you meet your principal, and what led to you becoming his official photographer?
I didn’t meet the governor on photography. I met him before he became governor. I’m also a graphic designer. I designed some graphic designs for him and he liked it, but the beautiful thing about the designs I did was that I was using a photography eye to do it. You know, I was working with the Photoshop software a lot, so the design was almost like a picture. So, he liked it because the governor is also very artistic. When he sees art, he really appreciates it. He saw it and he praised it. So, he asked, what else can you do for me? I told him I can do this, I can do that and he said, “Wow, I don’t have a photographer right now, you should start doing photography for me.” And that was how I became the governor’s photographer. At the time, I was doing designs and photography. With time, I stuck to only photography.
What was your first official assignment as his photographer, and how did you feel stepping into that role?
My first assignment working with the governor was before he became governor. So, my first one came during the campaign. During the campaign, he had a lot of emotions, different types of emotions. At the time, you’re running more than you’re taking pictures. Most of the time, you needed to evade security. Those protocols, you needed to go through them. You know, I was coming from the event photography world where you’re the one directing; you’re telling the bride and groom how to position themselves, you can retake pictures as many times as you can or as you want. This particular one (shooting for the governor) is a documentary photography world. If you don’t take pictures when the governor shook a senator, you can’t go back and say, “Please, can you act this again for me?” So, you would have to be on your toes, always running up and down trying to get the angle, trying to get the perfect lighting, all at once. You have to now send the pictures as soon as possible because the news people are waiting. So, sometimes, you take 2,000 pictures and you have to release your pictures before 12am and all that. So, that was the first assignment when he was a governorship candidate. As governor, the first assignment was him signing the first three executive orders. So, I remember that day, immediately after he was sworn in, that his first assignment and that was practically my first assignment as well. It was so awesome. It was almost like I signed the executive orders with him. So, that was my first assignment as the governor’s photographer. So, yes, it felt good. It was interesting.
How would you describe your working relationship with him? Does he share creative input on how he wants to be portrayed?
My working relationship with the governor is very healthy– it is very nice. You know, there is a very good flow. So, he’s one person that loves the media, he’s a friend of the media. He’s always making himself available to the media. So, it’s not just me. Even with the mainstream media, he’s always available. When it comes to him sharing creative input, I think to the best of my knowledge, he really, really trusts me to put out the best side of him and he’s himself, so there’s usually no reason for us to tweak a lot. There’s nothing to tweak because the way he is is the way he wants people to see him. I said it one time that he is a moving art, so he brings the picture to you; it’s just for me to take it. You know, he brings the picture to me; it’s just for me to take it at the angle at which I want it. So, when it comes to how he wants to be portrayed, he trusts me, his media team portray him in the right way.
What does a typical day look like for you in your role as the Special Assistant on Visual Communications?
First of all, I’m really grateful to his excellency for that role and for me, it’s work. It’s really work, work, work to be able to impact, to show value because his excellency is about showing value, so I always make sure that when I come to work, I’m telling the story because visual communication is about telling the stories visually, making people see them. So, we try to simplify the news, simplify what is going on with visuals and of course, visuals mean videos, graphics, pictures. So for me, every day I come to work, it’s not about the day task that is on my office, but it’s about me actually coming to work to add value. So, I try to inform the Ndi Enugu that this is what is happening through my office. So for me, it’s just value, value, value. Coming to work for is, “How can I add value to this state? How can I add value to my governor? How can I add value to myself?”
Capturing the Governor’s public life comes with a lot of pressure. How do you balance professionalism with the personal connection that might develop over time?
For me, sacrifice, first of all, is what we are doing. We are sacrificing for Enugu State to become that state. You know, the mission and vision of the governor are very clear, taking the state from a $4.4 billion economy to a $30 billion economy. That is already work in itself. So, we are going 7 folds. If someone had N100 in his pocket when the governor came in, he should have N700/N800 in his pocket at the end of the governor’s tenure, maybe in 4-8 years. When it comes to balancing professionalism with the personal connection, when I took this job, I already knew what I was cut out for. I knew that there was going to be sacrifice. Again, sacrifice is the word. I shed up a lot of my personal life so that this can work because working for his Excellency, whether you’re working with him privately or as a governor, he’s a very goal-driven individual, so you have to give it your 100 percent when working for him. If you can’t do that, you’ll just find out that, you’ll by yourself take yourself out of the equation. From the get go, once you took the baton of leadership you already know that you’re giving your 100 percent. That is what we’re doing and it gets better every day. Yes, it’s difficult, but we don’t see it as pressure, we see it as sacrifice.
What are some of the most memorable moments you have captured during your time as the Governor’s photographer?
Every time is memorable because his Excellency is full of activities. We are not taking photos because it’s photo ops; we are documenting what he does. So, anytime I’m taking pictures, it’s a memorable moment for the people of Enugu State and you know, it’s a memorable moment for we that are working for him because again, we are very proud of everything that he accomplishes but you know, for me, the ones that stand out for me as a photographer and as someone that is so used to taking the glitz and glamour, for example, when I took the picture of him in his office while he was sipping a coffee and working on his system. It was so unplanned, it was so natural. He was in his element because he likes to take coffee. So, that picture for me still stands out as number one because again, when I took that picture, people did not really know that angle of him, so I was really happy that I documented that picture the way I did and it went out, people saw it and the way they took it was really awesome and it made me feel good about my job because then, I’ve showed them something they’ve not seen before. Anytime he smiles, it’s always a good thing to see him smile because he’s always working and he always keeps this very, very straight face. So, anytime I get him smiling in a picture, it’s a memorable moment. So, for me, it’s the intangible times that we don’t really plan, that we don’t see coming, those are the memorable times for me.
Beyond documentation, how do you use photography to shape the public narrative about the Governor and his administration?
Taking a cue from the last question that I answered, letting people also know that sometimes, we get lost in the euphoria of thinking governors are not human beings or they are extra-terrestrial beings. The governor is a human being. He eats, he drinks, he sleeps, so I try as much as possible to also show those moments where he is human even though we don’t get to see that a lot because he’s always working. So, sometimes I try to show them. That’s why I said, one of my favourite moments of photographing him is when he was taking coffee. So, asides doing documentation, showing people when he’s going on inspection. You know, there’s one picture of him actually walking inside water.
Your role goes beyond photography to visual communication. How do you ensure that images tell a compelling and accurate story?
Photography and visual communications for me as a person, we are telling a story. It’s about storytelling. So, even before we have an event, I’m thinking about how I want to take images. I already have some images sketched up in my head; this is how I want to tell the story. And there’s usually not a bad way or a good way to do this. It’s just your own way. So, my own way, that means, my lighting, my angles, if I want to do it from this side or that side. So, for me, I just want to be able to get your attention. I want to get your attention to the story I’m trying to tell with that picture. I don’t know about accuracy.
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