I want to help 10 million youths achieve greatness in career and business – Uanikhehi

Does anyone know Beyonce Knowles’mobile number ( since it seems she likes to wear Nigeria’s brand of clothing fashion) or the Minister of Youth and Sports? They need to see the next generation of creative minds. They need to see what many super- hero kids are doing and making, art and craft-wise.

A colleague who works for Pensole, the academy owned by D’wayne Edwards who helped designed some of Michael Jordan’s line of Brand Jordan sneakers including the Carmelo Anthony Brand Jordan basketball sneakers saw some of the crafts and said ‘they are all doing wonderful, creative work! It’s amazing to see the variety in skills they are developing. These are wonderful...’ before Edwards saw the kid drawings of his design (the Brand Jordan or Air Jordan Melo M3).

Edwards himself was said to have been ‘very touched’. Ibrahim Ganiyu, CEO/ Executive Creative Director, Icstudios Limited; Creator/ Host, Create or Die Trying Show said: ‘ These are really awesome. Well done to all the crafters!!!’ Another colleague with U.s-based Oakley, a sport gear outfit felt the same way saying ‘ amazing (crafts), the kids are doing a great job!’

Which art/crafts are these? Bags, colorful flower vases made of cement and cloth, colorful clay pots, customised sneakers, drawings etc. Who are some of the young crafters and artists, who might be the next adult art- craftkidprenuers? They include: Ibukun Olayande, Sope Oshilagun, Daniel Ohioreme Elakhe, Adeyemo Olamide, Omonuaomoyeme, Lauretta Frank, Zion Ariyibi, Happy Ochiya, Confidence Murane, Favourorakwe, Victoria Obomdike, Ezedukachisom (all Junior Secondary Students [JSS]), Nana Favour, Victoria Obidike, etc, are students in various schools in Nigeria.

What helped them adapt so quickly? For one; Olamide’s Creative and Cultural Art ( CCA) teacher ( Ohio [ z] Okhai Elakhe) at Super Star School, when asked, said: ‘I for one, he introduced viewing of videos after a discussion on the CCA topic of the day. Secondly, he ensured they applied the principles and elements of art to all their craftworks. Thirdly, (putting in mind the children are coming from different uniqueness) he didn’t interfere with or set limits to their creativeness. When they bring their art or craft assignments am always amazed as they did more than I expected and then if needed, give an opinion to push their creative envelope to make that assignment better.’

For Itebarume another art-inspired CCA and English Language Teacher in Goshen Royal College Ogun State, “Children have a do- as- Ido kind of attitude. It is not about telling what to do but also showing them what to do. Once they get a hang of it and are allowed to freestyle... they become encouraged to try more.

How important is CCA to children today? Ibrahim Ganiyu who is also a “Communications Designer, Illustrator, Comic creator and Creativity coach; Founder, Ministry of Creativity; Partner/head of Design, Octavia Infomatix; Faculty Lecturer, Orange Academy, Lagos, says again, “art expresses, beautifies and records human activities. Everything around us is someone’s idea and creative expression; in science and all. Everything you see around you was once a thought/imagination in someone’s mind. Art is the most basic form of presentation of ideas and thoughts which lead to problem-solving. Art is beauty and who would want to live in an ugly world? The world is art.”

“It is important in assisting the children in getting the opportunities that exist,” says Ohio (z) Okhai Elakhe, for example, the arrival of Brand Jordan on the African continent via the NBA/ FIBa-owned league (Basketball Africa League) with Nigeria being a top market. Definitely, Brand Jordan and its owners Nike and their competition are going to need designers who can tell the African/nigerian story via sneakers. No one else will do it better.

And how early should they start? Ibrahim adds, “as early as they can see. Once a child can see, start showing them the creative process. Draw in front of them, write, paint, and create in their presence. Let them see creativity as a part of being alive. And once they start to grab the pencil from your hands, let them have it then go and buy their own drawing board!”

Aidorene Ebiseme, the proprietor/ head mistress of His Flock Schools, a primary school, said “According to report that quoted Dr. Glenn Doorman, a director at the Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential, ‘the world could be filled with intellectual giants like Einstein, Shakespeare, Beethoven, Leonardo da Vinci, if we taught babies instead of children.’ Children need early supervised exposure. Parents have a simple lot to do before the child enters the four walls of school.”

As regards obstacles that can ( and have) prevent( ed) artistic creativity in children,

Ganiyu a one-time art-craftkidprenuer, first uses his own obstacles as a child: “largely availability of materials. Though this actually ended up becoming the reason I became more creative. I had to create the tools and materials I didn’t have. I had to make the tools I needed. I had to think of cheaper and alternative ways to achieve my ideas and that made me come up with more ideas. I created my own printing technique for T-shirts and banners; I used unexpected materials to do things that people didn’t thing the materials were for. I think the only thing that can prevent artistic creativity is either forceful action by parents or refusal to explore by the child. I believe that is the adults/parents.”

Williams Salami another art-craftkidprenuer graduate of Arts from Yaba College of Technology like Ganiyu, now into the business of sculpture craft, etc via his company Airwilly 23 Studios agrees with Ibrahim Ganiyu that parents can be an obstacle. He said: “parents can really be an obstacle to creativity. Some are stuck in traditional ways and lack understanding. They don’t see value in art, but (prefer) the child to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer etc’. Salami’s crafts solve a problem in the sports arts industry among others to which there has been financial rewards.

In regards many of Ganiyu’s students, staff at work and obstacles, he said that “the way they see the world. You can’t create if you believe it’s not your job to do so. You can’t create if you don’t think about solving problems. If you blame the government, your parents, God or your environment, you can never create impactful things. Few of my students ever remain same in their thinking after my classes. I always teach that creativity is a thing of the mind and it does not exist in a vacuum. You feed your mind with data/information and add imagination to create ideas to solve problems.”

Ganiyu goes further: “The most important part of creativity is the questions. Questions like why, why not, what if, and how can it be; these questions are borne out of curiosity (a natural attribute). However, as we grow older and start building our lives we get less and less curious and basically stop asking these questions.

“To be creative, you can’t remember your age. Parents and adults are guilty of pressuring children to stop asking questions, to grow up and stop exploring. That is the major thing preventing creative and artistic growth in children in Nigeria.”

As a teacher, Ohio Okhai says, “You also can’t blame parents in a way as they grew up in an environment that likely still sees creativity as odd and also don’t want their kids doing things that might leave them at the mercy of ill vices. One child connected wires to the phone he was given and that scared the mum after it went in flames. Once that concern is solved (in this instance, by speaking to the child’s Science and CCA teachers to help the child build that aspect of creativity emerging), more parents will be more open to creativity.”

“To be creative, one has to be childlike (not childish) …then get out of the way so the creator can take over,” like Michael Jackson said.

It was not the same obstacle- wise for art- craftkidprenuer, Dr. Claire Ogah, CEO Overlay Couture, an afrocentric digital art and bespoke jewelry company in the United Kingdom, who said, “(Though I didn’t study art at tertiary level-- italics ours), I grew up in an environment that encouraged me to be whatever I wanted to be. I create art because I live to create art and I love it (for fun), however, there was a growing demand…, so I turned it into a business.”

Happiness Ubanwa, another non- art graduate and CEO of Happyanas Stitches, a garment and footwear company; said her inspiration (and art-craftkidprenuership) was inborn… a gift ( due to her environment but).“i had to fine-tune it (along the way) and make it what it is today,” she said.

For Favour Orakwe, a very disciplined JSS3 student, who at first argued that there was nothing to gain in doing all these crafts when she was in JSS1, believes CCA has “helped her realise her (hidden) potential and what she is good at”. Olamide Adeyemo, a JSS1 pupil who says “For me, CCA has improved me in creating things from nothing to something through imagination and in the future, I believe that even if there is no jobs, I can create a job for myself.”

Lauretta Frank, while showcasing some beads she had made, showed she has moved ahead the others as she has started selling them in her neighborhood.

Daniel Ohioreme Elakhe in JSS2 might like to use a lot of his energy to talk a lot and make a lot of noise, but, included in his talk is also a

career in civil engineering, invention and designing. He believes a combination of science and creative art will be useful.

Nana Favourin JSS2 says her doing craft assignments have “Taught her not to give up.” While Omonua Omoyeme in JSS 1 into the crafts, will attempt to continue the class after it ends by coming to the staff room.

Victoria Obomdike wants it to start before classes start for the day. Be ready for Sope Oshilagun to offer solutions to the problems she encounters, because she must get it right, and then get it better and better and best, then...

Mitchell Braide and Simioluwa Susan Adekoya may be in the senior secondary level now but if there is a free period, you see them stylishly checking in on the CCA classes of their juniors. Mitchell, some months back had attempted to enter into one of the art competitions by a noodle company. How important is CCA to her? She says “(with it), I(can) form a sense of identity... I learn to express myself in a productive, non- violent way.” She has interests in establishing a “household (items) like flower vase” business, etc. Simi pays more than usual attention as “when I grow up, I will like to have a career in singing, performance director, dancing, etc” keep making world class choreographic moves in her mind.

For two; apparently today’s kids are aware of the pressure their parents are facing generating income. They are aware of the high unemployment rate and want to not only assist their parents but to secure their own financial future early. Some of the children have copied the videos on the memory cards, or approved mobile devices provided or copied the link from their school’s Whatsapp group to do more practising during any holiday.

With an unemployment rate at 33 percentage; kidnappings; parents tired at the end of a hectic work day to pay enough attention to their children; kids under pressure these days with all they are bombarded with (peer pressure, TV programmings) that will steal their time; crafts making can keep them busy, expand their horizon and prepare them to be entrepreneurs. Parents are happy seeing their children focus more on creating art works instead of been outside where anything can happen or watching programming that won’t give them a future.

According to a paper (‘Harnessing the Potential of Nigeria’s Creative Industries: Issues, Prospects, and Policy Implications’ by Allwell Okechukwu Nwankwo of the School of Media and Communication Pan-atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria); “…the creative economy has become a driver of employment, economic growth, innovation and social cohesion in advanced countries, pointing out that the contemporary world is dominated by images, sounds, symbols and texts… In a study that covered 11 creative industries across five regions of the world,…, in 2013, the creative industries contributed US$2,250 billion to the global GDP and employed over 29 million people worldwide.”

Arts and crafts are a major aspect of the global creative industry and Nigeria is a major contributor to the creative industry (via the film, music, fashion mostly) but according to a 2014 paper (‘Impact of Arts on Economic Development: The Nigeria Experience’, by Charles G. T. Omuaru et al) “unfortunately, successive governments of the country have shown lack of intellectual capacity and political will to connect ( all) the ( crafts) arts and the economy. This has negatively impacted on the economy and the general aesthetic education in the schools.”

There is just a little hope from the private sector. According to Businessday’s article dated October 27, 2019 by Bailey Oluwabunmi, ‘In 2016, the Nigerian creative industry accounted for 2.3 percent (approximately N239 billion of the entire GDP). With more private investors forming a strong body of partners and stakeholders, many experts are already projecting at least US$1 billion contribution to the country’s GDP by 2020.”

Patience Akidi, a mother and CEO Julie’s World; a handmade shoe company at

F. E. S. T. A. C Lagos, said :“As a conscious parent, I believe craft making to be extremely useful because of the many benefits it brings. When I see my children creating their own designs for the fancy footwear we make at home, I cannot help but smile and be thankful because it is very obvious that their creativity has exceeded my own. This is only possible because the children were exposed to crafts at an early age, thus giving them a creative edge over people like me who came into art in adulthood.”

Ganiyu Ibrahim, who helped originate the popular noodles cartoon characters said: “I always teach one thing to my students, the creative person can never be poor. For as long as you can create and are willing to keep learning more, you will always be able to earn an honest income. Nigeria has a lot of problems; to the creative person this means Nigeria has a lot of opportunities to earn an income. Creativity is about solving problems. When you solve problems, you make money. The unemployment rate in my opinion is not as a result of lack of work; I think it’s a lack of creativity and a sense of service.”

According to him, “Some people in Nigeria (including myself) are doing five to six jobs because (clients) can’t find anyone creative or dedicated to service enough to do these jobs with them. Most people are trying to get a job in order to earn money and not to solve problems, or create a solution or serve. They forget that we buy pepper from the pepper seller because she is solving a problem for us, not just because she wants to collect our money. When you prepare yourself and learn to create solutions instead of complaining or consistently talking about problems instead of solutions, you will earn an income.”

Like Itebarume Omolewo, the co- writer, said:“The future is bright, especially if the government invest more in the industry and parents, schools also take advantage of the various art competitions, events, emerging opportunities and social media among others to expose their children so that they can be the next adult art-craftkidprenuer.”