Comments on naijablog: The hideous conservatism of Nigerian youth..

Thanks for the post. It's like five years of n...

2011-06-06T20:39:59.789+01:00

Thanks for the post. It's like five years of not being in Nigeria has finally made me out-dated for this to be news to me. The change is amazing. Great blog!

--
call Nigeria

when comes from a meager background he is more lik...

2009-03-20T10:17:00.000+01:00

when comes from a meager background he is more likely to take the more linear and well traveled road towards prosperity. I think that applies to many up and coming nations, Nigeria included.

"Who is there to challenge the elders and ask ques...

2009-03-20T01:05:00.000+01:00

"Who is there to challenge the elders and ask questions of what they have done?"

Abeg, ask them for me, Jeremy.

Came here via Africa Unchained...

Regarding Iredotp comment: This is...ha ha ha...fu...

2009-03-19T19:15:00.000+01:00

Regarding Iredotp comment:

This is...ha ha ha...fucking hilarious...ha ha ha...

Ok, NOW I WILL REPLY!Jermy dear, (Not a term of en...

2009-03-16T11:45:00.000+01:00

Ok, NOW I WILL REPLY!
Jermy dear, (Not a term of endearment here but one reserved for people of slow understanding) IT IS A BLOG not an ART REVIEW! The review of 'Like a virgin' art exhibition was published in NEXT on Sunday and was written by someone else.
If you actually consider my opinion as expressed in my blog written for 234next.com as 'hideously conservative' then it speaks volumes of how rotten you are and expect the 'Nigerian yoof' to be.
No, thank you sir, we have no qualms writing 'contemporary art' but we will not publish 'pornography' on a credible website meant to pass information to people all around the world.
Seems I am missing something here, but you are actually connected to NEXT publication, no?
You should just have posted your 'hideous' comments on the 234next site. (If you were not scared of being shown up for the malicious freak which you are!)
Sorry to dissappoint you, but this 'Nigerian youth' is not so conservative that she should not tell you, to stick it up your.... you know where.
Pity, I actually follow your blog!

I found a great deal of the earlier comments quite...

2009-03-15T14:58:00.000+01:00

I found a great deal of the earlier comments quite interesting (really!) but there's just one problem; the so-called 'review' isn't actually an art review, it was simply a blog posted on www.234next.com. And if you ask me, I think I enjoyed the view of the 234next.com blogger. If she gets to see my comments, I urge her to keep it up. This is to the blogger: Keep it up!

@Lost at the end: It seems you are trying too hard...

2009-03-13T04:28:00.000+01:00

@Lost at the end: It seems you are trying too hard to show yourself as open-minded and liberal, and you come off sounding just a little awkward. Nobody is calling for the artist to be beheaded or
imprisoned-I'm not sure what problem you have with a relatively mild expression of revulsion at someone EXHIBITING IMAGES of HER 10YEAR OLD COLLECTION OF BLOOD STAINED MENSTRUAL PADS; or at this, quoting from the much criticized review: “A girl is shown with a blood-stained tampon stuck between her lips. I could neither stomach nor make any sense of it, not until Uchay took me by the hand. As we both stood in front of the photograph, he explained, "The young lady has just one tampon left on her, she has to use the toilet, she rushes in and looks for a germ-free space to place her tampon, finding none, she sticks it in her mouth for safe keeping. Through with her toileting, she inserts the tampon back in."
That's likely to be considered
disgusting even in the west so quit pretending to be more 'western' than westerners-that sort of art-as
openly as it can be staged- is not necessarily mainstream even in western society. The sentiment
expressed by anonymous@12:36 a.m is reasonable. This isn't a debate about what defines art or the theories
of aesthetics. I'll make you an offer and take his some steps further: Would you mind hosting a private exhibition-inviting all your
family, colleagues and friends? I'll be doing some LIVE painting at the exhibition which we could name "poopism" or "shitism"(to make it sound even more avant gardist, dig?). They can buy framed, blank
canvas and watch as I, the artistic genius, bend over canvas and do my thing, and yes, they can enjoy
the art of it as i rub my poop all over the canvas into splendid shapes and patterns? Of course, anyone
who criticises that would be considered backward, unintellectual and hideoulsy conservative, right? How
about that for art?

My pen my paper, You talk am well jare. You've sai...

2009-03-09T18:23:00.000+01:00

My pen my paper,

You talk am well jare. You've said it all. This is where I rest my case.

PS; I totally agree with you on Malian music. Thos...

2009-03-09T04:54:00.000+01:00

PS; I totally agree with you on Malian music. Those guys know their stuff.

Surprisingly, I agree with Jeremy on this one. You...

2009-03-09T04:38:00.000+01:00

Surprisingly, I agree with Jeremy on this one. You see, art (in all its forms-dance, music, literature, film, poetry e.t.c.) does mould one's thinking. It provokes some sort of reaction-be it anger, love, lust, thoughts/questions regarding one value, way of thinking, life. So if current Nigerian youths are not changing (or at least trying to) change Nigeria by asking questions, seeking out answers/truth e.t.c. then something is wrong with us.

There is no hunger within us youths to break from the mould, ask questions, refuse to live exactly the same way our parents lived, travel off the beaten track. A lot of things can and does inspire change, but the basic means is through arts (again in its entirety). Nigeria does not have vibrant art scene and it does explain the reason for our lackadaisical attitude in political matters and other spheres generally.

Well said, Ola!

2009-03-08T13:54:00.000+01:00

Well said, Ola!

@Jeremy@JeremyI think I agree with you on this one...

2009-03-08T00:41:00.000+01:00

@Jeremy
@Jeremy
I think I agree with you on this one. Its something that has been bugging my mind, I just didn't

know how to put it together. You took it right out of my mouth. Not only Youth, even the grown

ups are conservative.

In Nigeria, parents make their Children into what they(parents) want them to be, regardless of

whether the parents knew / ever thought about if/if not their actions as parents are wrong or

right. Not only parents, relatives even chip in their bits of one and two, into how a child who

isn't theirs is supposed to behave, talk, act.

In the end, 'J's comment would still be in a positive light:
"they bully, beat out all the corkiness and experimenting spirit you have in you before you are

6. Thats what they do. Your parents. By the time you r 11 you are completely fucked up."
Does it ever cross your mind why Christians and Muslims go to Church almost every day in

Nigeria?

Christian youths are Christians because they were born into a Christian family and everyone is a

Christian. But do they believe what they hear in Church? NO. The same goes for Muslim folks. Ask

them properly: everyone is just managing until the time they will leave home and have a life for

themselves.

Our parents never forget to tell us: I am your father, I know what is best for you. I am this, I

am that. That is why all our parents came first in their classes, know everything, were all more

intelligent than their teachers. Sorry is a word never found in the parent-child, school-teacher

to school-student dictionary. Sorry was always the other way around. In fact, if a teacher steps

on your foot, you little rascal boy must be the one to say sorry. If you dont say it, its just

an indication your mother didnt train you well at home.

Isnt that cold?

In the West, Children are brought up to be whoever they choose and want to be. If they dont end

up as basketball players, they'll end up as 50-cents wannabees or somewhere on Wall street. If

all these are the difference between intellectual / political manifestations, where youth grow

up and do not challenge anything "creatively, intellectually, politically, spiritually", Yes you

are right Jeremy.

Thats why Nigerian youths who grow up partly in Nigeria and later in the West / wherever have a

lot of problems with their parents. Dad always thinks we are still in Nigeria where you(my

children) dont have a right to think for yourselves, because I, Dad, since I have more rags than

you do, definitely know more than you do, and regardless of who you become, I am your father.

Thank you, but....

Nigerian education is sorry experiment, I apologize to admit the fact. Sometimes, I think that

all past Ministers of Education in this country should be arrested and Jailed. You know, I've

observed a lot of University graduates: they simply believed all they were taught in school,

without any aota of doubt / curiousity to find out of this or that is true / false, or if there

was/is/will ever be something more to what has been taught. After you pass an exam, the whole

world falls down and you feel you know everything. Thats why research and development is zero in

Nigeria. Its like you accept something hook, bait and sinker. One plus one is two, why? my

teacher in the University said so. But hey, before killing the lecturers, dont blame Nigerian

youths, its the way they were taught at home: accept, dont question what your elders tell you.

This plays out negatively in the long run, coz we will never be able to think beyond the things

we buy from Asia, Ameria and wherever. We will never be able to think about producing ours.

Our professors in University float around the University with their blackberries, the truth is

that they(Professors) dont know how it was produced, neither are they curious to know how it

works, and neither will their student admirers be curious to know how things were put together,

neither will they ever be taught. But who cares, Prof mypenmypaper can receive a phone call with

his BB. At the end of the day, what goes around comes around.

p.s: Im going to post a rejoiner on my weblog, its going to be a long one.

@ Anonymous 10:07You say that menstrual blood is d...

2009-03-07T20:34:00.000+01:00

@ Anonymous 10:07

You say that menstrual blood is disgusting. Since when did disgust become a disqualifier for art. So what feelings should REAL art elicit? Comfort? The familiar? Peace of mind?

I'm also a little confused. Are you disgusted by the menstrual experience or by the representation of it in public images?

Either way, why would you rather an experience so definitive of womanhood be hidden away from the public eye as if it were a curse or shame or something?

Is menstruation some how beyond representation? Is the menstrual blood somehow outside of or beyond art?

I found the Next article amusing but I suppose con...

2009-03-07T13:26:00.000+01:00

I found the Next article amusing but I suppose contemporary art means different things to different people. Perhaps the problem was that the exhibition was viewed and reviewed by someone with a limited appreciation for contemporary art. The writer would probably have had the same reaction to Duchamp's Fountain.

If we avoid the generalization and focus on Nigeri...

2009-03-07T04:38:00.000+01:00

If we avoid the generalization and focus on Nigeria, I have to agree with Jeremy on this. There is a widespread malady among the Nigerian youth.

The Soyinkas, Ganis, Falanas of Nigeria started their conquests as youths. An examination of their sociopolitical milieu and ours may offer some pointers to what is amiss. What did they have that Nigerian youth lack? Guts? Common sense? Common purpose? Better education?

@ lost at the end. Yes, I can think outside what m...

2009-03-06T22:07:00.000+01:00

@ lost at the end.
Yes, I can think outside what my mother taught me. Which is why I am getting married to a European in a few months despite intense family objections initially. They finally came around. If I listened to everything everyone else was doing, I would be married now with two children, going to weddings every weekend, and hating myself instead of following my heart.
Don't pretend to know me. We're not here to berate each other. I just think calling everything art is wrong. Everything else as described in the article does indeed sound like art, but spare me your menstrual blood. That's just disgusting. Some things should be discreet, period (no pun intended). If you can tell me you didn't learn one positive thing from your mother, then I can only feel sorry for you.

@ Anonymous 12:36 am: "there are some things our m...

2009-03-06T21:04:00.000+01:00

@ Anonymous 12:36 am:

"there are some things our mothers taught us."

That's exactly the problem. Can't you think, for once, outside of what your mother taught you?

The key issue/contention is that the youth in Nige...

2009-03-06T20:35:00.000+01:00

The key issue/contention is that the youth in Nigeria are not really challenging anything (creatively, intellectually, politically, spiritually), rather they are more timid and conservative in every way than their parents.

This in the end always involves hypocrisy as Waffy points out.

Where are the student radicals that Ola longs for? Where are the out-there artists who are not painting pictures of markets and durbas? Instead, there is shock and homophobia at images of lesbians and tampons, like old women scared of the future.

Where are the young musicians inventing new genres in anything like the same way as, for example, the grime scene in London? Instead of engaging with interesting music from around the continent, young Nigerians most often glue their ears to MTV Base and Channel O. Forget engaging with music even from neighbouring West African countries, getting into Malian music etc.

Even Nigeria's largest city is surprisingly inactive in this respect. You can travel the length and breadth of the city and how many sub-cultures will you find? Lagos can often seem like one big village, rather than a megacity bursting with new forms of expression.

This is how it is, there's no use being defensive. As Akin says, the education system here beats all creativity out of most Nigerians.

The reality is, many/most of the hippest young Nigerians don't actually live in Nigeria...

not as conversative as u think. Be not suprised to...

2009-03-06T20:20:00.000+01:00

not as conversative as u think. Be not suprised to find out a guerilla force of computer hackers in Lagos.
Wrecking havoc somewhere very far.

As per drugs ,Why try hard drugs when sepe and weed are enuf to turn ur head.

Mr. Weate, And what would The Future Awards have t...

2009-03-06T20:11:00.000+01:00

Mr. Weate,

And what would The Future Awards have to do with any of this?

If you had a problem with that idea, why not do a post and engage it directly?

Chude

Ola is right on the money, political indifference ...

2009-03-06T10:21:00.000+01:00

Ola is right on the money, political indifference has nothing to do with 'conservatism'. Is this the same 9ja 'yoof' we talking about here? Same ones that coined the term 'yahooze', 'runs girls','expo' and dream of becoming 'big boys/girls'?

Ha, ha..are we getting personal(inaccurately so by...

2009-03-06T02:27:00.000+01:00

Ha, ha..are we getting personal(inaccurately so by the way) or being thin-skinned here? Perhaps your very own words confuse me. My simple point is that a.Nigeria's youth are indeed currently disengaged b. Describing the desired attitude of Nigeria's youth in terms of sexual and chemical experimentation, as your language suggests, is inadequate c.To give things some perspective, a productively rebellious attitude which challenges the status quo is not entirely strange to Nigeria given the examples i cite and that we should perhaps explore why things have changed in recent years.
That's all...

I love your blog, Jeremy. However, I have to disag...

2009-03-06T00:36:00.000+01:00

I love your blog, Jeremy. However, I have to disagree. I am all for art but a lady (notice emphasis on the word "lady") does not show anyone the stuff she bled for on for years. I think this artist is just a dirty woman who needs to throw her pads away. That's just gross. I can look at vaginas (I'm an obgyn and am as liberal as they come) and feel sexuality and its understanding are tantamount to reducing a lot of our issues with disease in Africa. However, there are some things our mothers taught us. One of which is please keep that shit to yourself. If you saw someone pooping in a gallery, would you like it? Everything can't be art. If that makes me conservative, I'll take it.

At anonymouses 2:55am and 1:26pm, who wonder how J...

2009-03-05T23:06:00.000+01:00

At anonymouses 2:55am and 1:26pm, who wonder how Jeremy Weate got his 'facts' that led to this sad post of his, I will hazard a guess:

He pulled it right out of his arse! One of the things you'll find is that Jeremy's commentary on Nigerian life are often through an extremely rigid lens.

Ola you are showing your age. You set up what is f...

2009-03-05T22:26:00.000+01:00

Ola you are showing your age. You set up what is for me a false opposition. There's nothing especially productively rebellious about doing drugs these days. The disruptive spirit can manifest itself in many ways, including intellectual and political of course. Whether its challenging the kleptocrats or heading for the hills, young Nigerians don't do it. Instead, we have the 'Future Awards'. I rest my case....