Preservation of African culture is our focus at CBAAC —Amao

Hon. (Mrs) Olubunmi Amao is The Director-General, Centre for Black African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC). She was a Special Adviser during the administration of the late Governor Isiaka Ajimobi of Oyo State. In this Interview with SEGUN KASALI, she shares her views on the deployment of hair weaving and bead making for poverty eradication and other issues.

Has CBAAC been living up to its responsibilities?

As you are already aware, the promotion, propagation and preservation of African Culture in totality are our core mandate at CBAAC. In fulfilling this mandate, the positioning of the varied elements of our culture to solve social and economic challenges of the African peoples occupies a special place in the heart of the Management of the Centre.

 

Solving social and economic challenges?

Yes. It is that conviction that has informed our decision to organise a workshop to train our youth in the art of Bead making, Hair weaving and braiding with the sole aim of empowering the participants. In doing this, we also encouraged creativity and facilitate cultural endeavours with the sole aim of deploying them to promote unity, peace, diplomacy and National development.

 

Why Beadmaking, Fashion?

Bead Making, Fashion and Hair Weaving/Braiding have all provided very good means of raising incomes of rural women and youths across Nigeria, thereby reducing poverty among its practitioners. Most importantly, Nigerian Beads, Fashion and their creative features represent critical elements of the African culture that deserve special attention and need to be promoted because of their global recognition and their ability to provide means of livelihood and self-sustenance to its practitioners.

 

So, how is this connected to the overall set-up of CBAAC?

By so doing, the history and heritage of such cultures are not just being conserved but also recreated as new forms of expressions. In other words, today’s trainings on the African hairdo, Arts and Beads making are all means through which we recreate and celebrate our historical pasts, preserve our cultural heritage and still deploy them as tools for poverty eradication and societal renewals.

 

 

Is it still in line with the attainment of self-sustenance and economic development?

Yes. Aside preserving history, the workshop-Deploying Arts and Culture as Tools for Poverty Eradication among Black and African Peoples through Training on Bead Making is also geared at exposing ways through which these endeavours can be used for self-sustenance and economic development. The participants were exposed to the various practicals/teachings that are expected to make reasonable economic impacts. Some of them were awarded starter kits and scholarships to further their knowledge and skills in their areas of interest.

 

Why awarding starter kits and scholarships?

Like I said, the essence is to further their knowledge and skills in their areas of interest by using the given machinery or tool to practice at their leisure time. By so doing, it would help them to have a lifetime skills that would put food on their table for them and their family members even if they decide not to go the white collar route. So many times, entrepreneurship had and still been recognised as a must-have in case the desired job is not available. Generally, the starter kits would remind them of their skills and the propel their ability to leverage on them for economic emancipation.

 

Would it be suffice to say that the facilitators are round pegs in round holes?

Of course, yes. You can see how mine blowing their presentations were, including the practical illustration of the theme-Deploying Arts and Culture as tools for poverty eradication among black and African Peoples through training on bead making and hair weaving. Our facilitators were not only able to put us through the basics of these trainings, but also exposed us to the strategies that would help in empowering our youth in these creative endeavours. Abimbola Kunle-Osunkunle is a banker-turned- jewellery designer. She is the founder and creative director of Cornucopia, a finely-handcrafted jewellery company that provides accoutrements working with gemstones, freshwater pearls and more for women and, most recently, metrosexuals, with the aim of making them feel elegant and chic every day.

Having bagged a B.Sc in Economics from the University of Ibadan as well as a Certificate in Entrepreneurial Management from the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of the Pan-Atlantic University, Abimbola said she had no regrets leaving the boardroom to start her business on the dining table of her home after which she went on to become an Accredited Jewellery Professional (AJP) certified by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and an alumnus of the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS).

 

Your advice to unemployed youths

Now, we have a lot of unemployed youths and that is why the programme is not only the fashion aspect but the economic aspect. So, what can we do to eradicate poverty in Nigeria? By the time we start teaching our youths, things would change for good. You don’t need to wait to get a government job. You can start using your hands to do some things that would fetch you money. You think out-of-the-box. One thing is that youths have to be equipped with skills. And one of the skills they can be equipped with is vocational skills-using their hands and learning that there is dignity in using their hands. These skills are something they could say I want to develop myself and with the right training they can do that.

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