The artist in Kaye Whiteman

CHUKS OLUIGBO

Kaye Whiteman, in a Q&A session published on the Africa Centre website dated February 1, 2012, was asked what he would say had inspired him to take up writing/in his writing career. “From very young an involvement with words,” he answered.

Anyone who encountered Kaye Whiteman in any of his works in all the years he lived as a journalist and a writer couldn’t agree more. Whiteman was a master of words. He did not just use words – he engaged with words. A firm believer in Alexander Pope’s maxim that “Words are like leaves; and where they most abound, much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found”, he was very economical with words, picking them with much care and precision, the same way a conscientious painter would pick colours.

Kaye was indeed a wordsmith. His fascination with words was evident in all his writings. In one of his BusinessDay columns he entitled “Summits remembered”, this was how Whiteman describes the frustrations a journalist sometimes faces trying to cover one of those high-powered summits: “Memories of hours of boredom surge back – of ante-chambers, sofa-bestrewn lounges littered with a thousand coffee cups or corridors (and cooped up in the increasingly stifling confines of media centres), waiting for the inevitable release of a communiqué, or tight-lipped conferences. It sometimes conjures up semi-religious rituals – each organisation playing the role of a church, with secular cardinals, bishops and their minions releasing indulgences and other spiritual placebos to the wondering masses, in this case the motley media gang with their cameras and notebooks, now increasingly furnished with arrays of digital gadgets.”

Born into a family of journalists, Kaye began his journalism career in 1960 and was immersed in the world of writing for over 50 years. “I come from a family of journalists and I see no reason why I should not become one. But I did have two interludes, including international bureaucracy, which was a mystery to me and still remains a mystery. I was at the Commonwealth Secretariat with the former Secretary-General, Emeka Anyaoku. It was a new dimension to me, but essentially, I am a writer,” he once told an audience.

And an excellent writer he was. In his masterpiece on Lagos, entitled Lagos: A Cultural and Historical Companion, Whiteman pays close attention to detail in a very striking, remarkable way. As I wrote in a review of the book titled ‘Inside Kaye Whiteman’s Lagos’, “The book is clearly the work of a thorough-bred historian and articulate, eagle-eyed researcher before whom nothing is lost and to whom no detail is considered of less importance. Whiteman puts the tools of his training in historiography to good use, combining primary and secondary sources in good measure, adopting a fusion of narrative, analytical and descriptive techniques, and presenting his findings in free-flowing prose that makes the work a reader’s delight. This free flow also has the consequence – perhaps unintended – of making the book racy, more like the fast-paced city that Lagos is.”

But his fascination went beyond involvement with words. He was an artist through and through. His interest spanned through all of the arts – history, journalism, culture, music, art, literature, film, theatre, etc. Much of this comes out glaringly in the book on Lagos, where Whiteman dedicates chapters to Lagos in literature, music, film, art, and, ultimately, to Fela Anikulapo-Kuti as “the archetypal Lagos boy”.

In exploring Lagos as a city of imagination, Whiteman x-rays the many representations of Lagos in works of literature across the generations, the journalist as a hero in Nigerian fiction and non-fiction, as well as the history and development of the media industry in Lagos, beginning from the 1860s with the “short-lived Anglo-African” owned by Jamaican immigrant Robert Campbell, through Iwe Irohin, a Yoruba-language paper produced in Abeokuta by missionaries from 1859-1867, Herbert Macaulay’s Lagos Daily News, Nnamdi Azikiwe’s West African Pilot, among others.

On the representations of Lagos in works of fiction, particular mention is made of Cyprian Ekwensi’s early works, especially Iska, Chinua Achebe’s No Longer at Ease and A Man of the People, T. M. Aluko’s Kinsman and Foreman and Conduct Unbecoming, Flora Nwapa’s 1971 book of short stories, This is Lagos, Wole Soyinka’s Interpreters, Ken Saro-Wiwa’s play, The Transistor Radio, Ben Okri’s The Famished Road, Okey Ndibe’s Arrows of Rain, Helon Habila’s Waiting for an Angel, etc.

In the chapter on ‘Music, Film, Art and the Havens in the Wilderness’, Kaye Whiteman showcases the art enthusiast in him, incorporating his personal adventures in the potpourri of music, literature, entertainment, art, culture, film and night life that is Lagos. He explores the origins of such music genres as Sakara, Asiko, Juju, Highlife, etc, citing generously the musicologist John Collins, Christopher Alan Waterman, Bobby Benson, among others. Such names as the mandolin-playing Tunde King, the guitarist Ayinde Bakare, the drummer Lamidi George, Isaiah Kehinde Dairo, King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey, Victor Uwaifo, Nico Mbarga, Victor Olaiya, E. C. Arinze, Cardinal Rex Lawson, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Lagbaja, Osita Osadebe, Roy Chicago, etc also prop up. Musical venues, art galleries (which the author refers to as “havens in the wilderness”), the bars, and the cinemas also come into perspective.

Particularly intriguing was the sub-chapter ‘The Night Club as Metaphor’, which also relates to Lagos nightclubs as represented in Nigerian fiction. Such works as Achebe’s No Longer at Ease (where there is a nightclub called “the Imperial”) and Jude Dibia’s Walking with Shadows (where we encounter “Champagne” nightclub) are mentioned. But in all, Maik Nwosu’s Alpha Song stands out. As the author admits, “The nightclub known as The Owl in Maik Nwosu’s Alpha Song is one of the most striking in all Nigerian fiction as it is a focus for all the alienation expressed by the novel’s hero, as if only in a nightclub can he find existential ease. This is where the role of the nightclub in Nigerian fiction becomes truly emblematic as a kind of symbol of the Nigerian condition, a place of shadowy ‘managers of the night’ who people the novel.”

But beyond the fictional nightclubs, Kaye was also captivated with the real-life ‘Kakadu nightclub’, dedicating a full page of the book to spirit and soul of ‘Kakadu’, which he describes as “a well-remembered icon among West African open-air night-clubs, the memory of which still deserves eulogy”.

In his column in BusinessDay, where he wrote about ‘Kakadu the Musical’ – an exciting, inspirational and moving musical play that takes its name from the famous Lagos nightclub of the 1960s, written by Uche Nwokedi, a prominent oil and gas lawyer – Whiteman recalls being taken to Kakadu the nightclub by Peter Enahoro, then editor of Daily Times. “It was October 1965 and I had just been in Ibadan covering the Western Nigerian election, and the tension still in the air formed a poignant background to the club’s enjoyment and its memorable highlife music plangent in the night air. I wasn’t to know then, but this was the Kakadu which, in Nwokedi’s idea, was a symbol of unity, indeed a ‘metaphor for Nigeria’ in its years of crisis and civil war which were already about to break,” he wrote.

Following the release of the book, he was in Lagos last year where he was hosted by the Committee for Relevant Arts (CORA). The event held at Kongi’s Art Gallery, Freedom Park, and served as an occasion for conversations around the book on Lagos.

During that visit, Whiteman, then 77, told his audience, “I have found more fulfilment in finally being able to write the book that I have written. I have written so many articles in some publications but now that I have done this book, I feel able to do more. I can do two, three more books. I have my memoirs to do,” adding, “Just like a famous song, in my mind I feel 25. At some points I have been unwell. I did some surgery. I carry on doing what I am inspired to do. In the past 10 years I have concentrated in writing. When I was the editor-in-chief of West Africa, I was also writing books.”

He also had interest in poetry and even did a song. “I did a song and I have done poetry, which I hope to publish in future. There is a song I intend to perform with Tunde Kuboye. It is titled ‘Oyinbo where you dey go?’” he once said.

Beyond Lagos: A Cultural and Historical Companion, he also edited a book of extracts from the magazine, West Africa Over 75 Years, and co-edited The EU and Africa: From Eurafrique to Afro-Europa – a book of essays that confront the historical, political, socioeconomic and cultural dimensions of the European Union's relationship with Africa – with Adekeye Adebajo.

Kaye Whiteman arrived in Lagos in 1964 as a young journalist with influential West Africa magazine and began writing for Daily Times, during which period he covered the Nigerian Civil War. He worked as editor, then editor-in-chief, of West Africa. During this period, he developed expertise in West African affairs and subsequently wrote on the sub-region (particularly Nigeria) and Africa with much authority, understanding and affection that were rarely found among Western writers on Africa.

Kaye was head of Information for the old European Economic Community (EEC) which became the European Union (EU), as well as head of the Information and Public Affairs Division in the Commonwealth Secretariat, serving under Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku in the late 1990s.

Until his death on Saturday, May 17, 2014, aged 78, Whiteman was a weekly columnist in BusinessDay, Nigeria’s leading business and financial newspaper.

Celebrating Kaye Whiteman

CHUKS OLUIGBO

The death of Kaye Whiteman, eminent British journalist, historian, author and columnist, on Saturday, May 17, in London, once again reaffirms the timeless words of William Shakespeare in ‘As You Like It’, that “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.”

Kaye Whiteman (1936-2014)

Kaye Whiteman was, indeed, one man who played his part very well while on earth and whose commitment to the journalism profession would continue to provide inspiration for the younger generation. He chose journalism, was passionate about it, and dedicated his whole life to it even to the very end.

Until his death, aged 78, Whiteman was a weekly columnist in BusinessDay.

Frank Aigbogun, publisher, BusinessDay Newspaper, said in his tribute to Whiteman, “He was a gentleman to the core, never a dull moment when Kay Whiteman was around. A great journalist who wrote about a subject with unrivalled passion and understanding. His articles would always inspire us and we will sorely miss him.”

Whiteman was an expert on West African affairs – having lived and worked in the sub-region for many years as a journalist in different capacities, especially as deputy editor, and then editor of the weekly West Africa Magazine. In his weekly columns in BusinessDay, Whiteman exhibited his wide knowledge of West Africa and Africa in general in the masterly manner he analysed issues and events concerning the continent. Whether he was writing about the crisis in Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya or the uprising in Mali or the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt in the wake of the Arab Spring or the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, or even about ‘Kakadu the Musical’ – an exciting, inspirational and moving musical play that takes its name from the famous Lagos nightclub of the 1960s, written by Uche Nwokedi, a prominent oil and gas lawyer – which he was passionate about, Whiteman was always at his best. 

A widely acclaimed author, he co-edited ‘The EU and Africa: From Eurafrique to Afro-Europa’ – a book of essays that confront the historical, political, socioeconomic, and cultural dimensions of the European Union's relationship with Africa – with Adekeye Adebajo.

Whiteman also wrote extensively on Lagos, crowning it eventually with his masterpiece on Lagos in the ‘cities of imagination’ series. The eleven-chapter book entitled ‘Lagos: A Cultural and Historical Companion’ documents the history of the city by exploring its founding stories, founders, tradition, lore and culture of the people. The book covers such themes as The Story of Lagos; The Topography of Lagos; Changing Society and the ‘Look’ of the City; A True City of Imagination: Lagos in Literature; Prominent Personalities of Lagos; Streets of the Imagination: Everyday Mysteries of the City; Music, Film, Art and the Havens in the Wilderness; Fela Anikulapo-Kuti: Archetypal Lagos Boy, among others.

He dedicated a full page of the book to the spirit and soul of ‘Kakadu the nightclub’, which he describes as “a well-remembered icon among West African open-air night-clubs, the memory of which still deserves eulogy”. In his column in BusinessDay, Whiteman recalls being taken to Kakadu by Peter Enahoro, then an editor.

“It was October 1965 and I had just been in Ibadan covering the Western Nigerian election, and the tension still in the air formed a poignant background to the club’s enjoyment and its memorable highlife music plangent in the night air. I wasn’t to know then, but this was the Kakadu which, in Nwokedi’s idea, was a symbol of unity, indeed a ‘metaphor for Nigeria’ in its years of crisis and civil war which were already about to break,” he wrote.

Kayode Soyinka, publisher of Africa Today, said of him, “Kaye was a distinguished journalist and editor who, over five decades, developed an immense knowledge of Africa and reported on African Affairs for the international media, including our newsmagazine, Africa Today,” adding, “Nigeria, and indeed Africa, has lost a great and dependable British friend and a powerful figure – a powerhouse - in the British and Commonwealth media.”

Kaye Whiteman arrived in Lagos in 1964 as a journalist with the West Africa Magazine and began writing for Daily Times. It was during his visit that he fell in love with Nigeria and thereafter made Lagos his second home.

Recalling his first visit to Nigeria, Whiteman once narrated, “In 1964, I flew in from Kano onboard a British Overseas Airways as it was then. They had to stop in Kano but they couldn’t do local flights to Lagos. So, I went through Kano, Kaduna, and finally to Lagos. So, my impression of Lagos was pretty different. At that time, the lagoon stopped at the Marina.”

He covered the Nigerian Civil War and wrote on Nigeria and Africa with much authority, understanding and affection that were rare among Western writers on Africa.

He was head of Information for the old European Economic Community (EEC) which became the European Union (EU). After leaving the EEC in Brussels, he returned to London to become editor of West Africa after the retirement of David Williams. He was also head of the Information and Public Affairs Division in the Commonwealth Secretariat, serving under Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku in the late 1990s.

Kaye Whiteman was in Lagos for the last time in the week of January 3-8, 2014 to attend the Kakadu musical concert in a special performance for Governor Babatunde Fashola on invitation by Uche Nwokedi. He visited BusinessDay new head office, The Brook, in Apapa, during that last trip.

Collins Onyenze on his passion for charity

Collins Onyenze, first class scholar, executive director, Good Governance Monitor, and president, Rotary Club of Festac Town, Lagos, speaks on his organisation’s efforts to promote the rights of individuals and shares his views about charity.

By Chuks Oluigbo

When you are scheduled to meet a scholar of Collins Onyenze’s calibre for an interview, your best bet is to equip yourself with the right arsenal or risk being intimidated by his very wide knowledge. So, when I spoke with him on phone last week and he confirmed an interview appointment for 8am on Friday at his Festac Town, Lagos residence, I went into research. But as I sat with him that morning and we had preliminary discussions, it became clear to me there was a lot more I ought to have included in my list of questions if I had all the space. 

Onyenze

Onyenze, the executive director, Good Governance Monitor, a non-governmental organisation that promotes the rights of individuals, studied Political Science at Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, graduating with first class honours, and subsequently obtained a Masters degree in Public Administration from the same university. He later attended Central European University (CEU), Budapest, Hungary, as a George Soros Foundation scholar, and is currently awaiting the defence of his PhD thesis which centres on intra-ethnic conflicts and conflicts resolutions.

Onyenze received training in Peace Building and Good Governance for United Nations’ African Civilian Personnel at the Legon Centre for International Affairs (LECIA), University of Ghana. While at CEU, he also trained in the use of Alternative Media at the Centre for Media Studies in Budapest. A Paul Harris Fellow, he is also the president, Indian Universities Alumni Association of Nigeria, an association of Nigerians who studied and obtained degrees in the various Indian universities. He is a member of Nigeria India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI) and the CEO of Premier Union Limited, a company involved in outsourcing business of printing.

Looking at his impressive academic records, one would have wished that Onyenze were in an academic environment imparting the knowledge he has acquired over the years to the younger generation. He wishes so too, he says, but thinks he missed the mark at the beginning. “I actually did my one year National Youth Service in an academic environment, in the University of Benin. I would have stayed back there, but then there was an embargo on employment in the universities. At some point I was offered a part-time opportunity, with the hope that my appointment would be regularised in due course, but the lure of Lagos was too much for me. I came to Lagos. So far so good. We thank God for what we have achieved, but looking back, I still feel that that aspect of me is missing,” he says.

His organisation, Good Governance Monitor, was founded in 2006 when he came back from Budapest after the submission of his PhD thesis, he tells me. “It’s about government impacting on the people,” he explains. “It was established within the rights of individuals to enjoy the benefits of government – the right to social benefits, such as quality medical attention, education, such things that are often neglected. We concern ourselves with how government is providing these things. Oftentimes in Africa, most of these things are ignored. People talk about human rights – right to life, freedom of association, and so on, but not the right to safe drinking water, electricity, and other social benefits. When you look around, you discover that some Nigerians do not really feel like citizens because nothing about the government touches their lives, because it is what government provides that makes you a beneficiary of government activities, that makes you feel like a citizen.”

Because the organisation operates more at the intellectual level, contributing to policies and debates that relate to the rights of individuals, such things that may be considered intangible, Onyenze tells me it is not easy to measure their successes. However, he is positive that their contribution in the past eight years has been immense. “After one year of its establishment, we had a coalition of NGOs in Abuja and I was made the chairman. There, we articulated the rights of Nigerians and submitted the document to the government. But oftentimes most of these things do not come to the public sphere. But little by little we make most of these things come true. We strongly believe that someday somebody somewhere will look at what we have done and take it up from there,” he says.

“We have been getting across to governments at all levels – federal, state and local governments. Currently, we have got a letter from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Hilary Njoya, who is in charge of anti-corruption in Africa, has invited us to join in the campaign to enlighten Nigerians on their rights in the fight against corruption. We believe that as everybody comes from different angles, the impact will continue to filter in. You may not see it happening. It is not like building roads or bridges or other social infrastructure. But we need to do a lot more. We cannot say we have done enough,” he adds.

Passionate about charity, Onyenze joined Rotary International over 10 years ago. He tells me that all his life he has never seen an organisation as organised as Rotary. Today, as president of Rotary Club of Festac Town, Lagos, he says he has articulated, since his investiture last year, the projects that he will execute for the year since Rotary operates a yearly presidency. “And I’m working towards achieving almost all of them because it has to do with sincerity of heart – what you have told people that you would do, are you doing them? We may not be privileged to have all the money promised during the investiture ceremony, but within the resources available to us, we are doing our very best. We are working towards sending two children with hole in the heart for corrective surgery in India; we are purchasing lab equipment for the Daughters of Father Tansi, a congregation of Reverend Sisters who work in rural areas; we organise health talks where we enlighten people on health issues and run free tests to help them know their health status, just to mention these,” he says.

It’s not been very easy, he tells me, but commitment remains a driving force. “Rotary is a voluntary organisation, but once you are in, it becomes mandatory for you to do those things you said you would do,” he explains. “That’s exactly what we are doing. It has been very challenging because it is an organisation where individuals contribute, and we help the communities where we live. We sink boreholes, we train individuals in skill acquisition, because oftentimes you discover that people are idle because they do not have any particular skill that they can hold on to so as to employ themselves.”

He tells me how good it is to be charitable, but adds, however, that charity is best when it is articulated. “That is why I like Rotary. There are many people who want one thing or the other, but you have to look at how you can reach the greatest number of these people. As you move along the road you see many people asking you for one thing or the other, it is good to reach out to them, but if you can do it in a more organised way, it becomes more effective. That’s what we do. For example, we do microcredit. We give small credit to people selling in the market. It doesn’t have to be big money. For instance, if we give N50,000 each to 10 market women, that money will have multiplier effect on the 10 families affected, and many more lives will be touched. It may look small to those in rich areas, but for these struggling families it is a whole lot and it goes a long way,” he says.

“So, my concept of charity is to have a proper organisation to channel it where these things will have greater impact. If you give a beggar N100 today, he will still ask you again when he sees you tomorrow. As it is said, when you give a man fish, he will eat the fish and come back tomorrow to ask for another one, but if you teach him how to fish and give him a fishing net, he will always go back to the stream to catch the fish himself,” he adds.

As a student at Panjab University in India, Onyenze says he was in the sporting team of the university as a boxer. For three years he represented the university in boxing competitions, and his excellent performance in boxing earned him the university’s scholarship. “I studied as a scholarship student at Panjab,” he tells me. “Before I went to India, I had little knowledge of boxing. But somebody saw me and felt I had the height and the build. The university was looking for people to box in the heavyweight, and that was how I was introduced to boxing and I became part of the university’s boxing team. The experience was wonderful and I continue to cherish it.”

One of the things he cherishes about boxing, Onyenze says, is that it teaches the noble act of self-defence. He tells me that he still watches boxing matches, and he knows why some people don’t win challenges, even in Olympics. “You see someone jumping around the ring throwing his hands about, but he is not making the points. They merely throw jabs and miss the punches. A punch is different from a jab. A punch is counted but a jab is not. Aggressiveness of the boxer is also a factor of success in boxing,” he says.

Sharing on his boxing icons, Onyenze first mentions the legendary Mohammed Ali. “Everybody will tell you that Ali was a very successful boxer,” he says. “I also admire Mike Tyson. He has a small body, but his punches come right from his stomach, that is why he can bring down a mighty iroko with a single punch. Evander Holyfield, I love his resilience. I watched Dick Tiger and I think he too was a very good boxer. But today, not much of challenge is going on.”

A man of many parts, Onyenze was also part of Nollywood’s little beginnings, featuring in movies like ‘Nneka the Pretty Serpent’, ‘Tycoon’, ‘Black Arrow’, and a number of others. Looking back, he agrees that Nollywood has come a long way from what it used to be. “When we started, our concentration was on the stories. But along the way, attention shifted more to the commercial value of the movies. Glamour came in too. Moviemakers began to showcase the beautiful aspects of Nigeria, which the world also wants to see. Of course, it’s driven by commerce – an investor needs to recoup his investment and make profit. If you write the best scripts and they are not selling, Nollywood will collapse. So, I think so far, there is progress. Nollywood is now a megabucks industry, continuously selling the good image of Nigeria abroad. But we need to do more,” he says.

A jolly good fellow, Onyenze says he likes to relax with friends. “You know, in Rotary, we also share fellowship with one another in a lighter mood. I also engage in sporting activities. I have some gym equipment in my house where I work out. I also jog within the house. I play table tennis almost every day. And at the Indian Universities Alumni Association of Nigeria, we come together to relate and share,” he says.

In his spare moments, he also watches football. But does he support any club? “I won’t really say I support any club,” he replies, “but I have sympathy for Arsenal, basically because I have been to their arena. I feel good about their successes and feel bad about their failings.”