Amebo is a good something.

Photo Credits: @artXLagos
I saw that beautiful piece and couldn't help wonder how beauty could be made in such simplicity. Simple yet sophisticated. That artwork is titled Amebo.
Interestingly, this piece revolves around that the title of the artwork; Amebo. Let's do it this way. We ll have two talks, leisure talk and serious talk.
We all know about Amebo. I mean this word is a local parlance which is an identity to our Nigerian culture. It is used to describe people who enjoy prying into the privacy of others thereby violating their fundamental right to privacy. We have Amebo everywhere. Our government can do Amebo for the purpose of security and public order. Please endeavour to see the provision of Section 45 of the 1999 Nigerian constitution as amended .
I even have a friend who enjoys Amebo a lot. In fact this friend  is one natural  Amebo . Recently I have come to realise Amebo is a good thing. Not only have I enjoyed the recent exploits of this friend of mine but I have come to also participate in the act.
So on Friday, 4th of November, 2016, I was at artxLagos VIP Preview. It was one wonderful experience. Not only the artworks were memorable but the class of persons in attendance. It was on.this day I realised that all those unilag girls that form babe are still jejunes in the business. I saw all nationalities of babes. Lebanese, American, British, Nigerian. But shout out to some selected few  who know what they worth. You all are still priceless   any day anytime.
I was checking out all the artworks  basked in melancholy for two reasons. Firstly my friend who planned to accompany me to the event abruptly terminate her journey for some reason and this point I knew it's suicidal to attend such events alone. Secondly, I had a flat battery, therefore  I couldn't even take photos to brag that I was at the VIP event.
As the doings of the spirit of Amebo would have it I  happened to be standing near Chief Atedo Peterside and Pastor Paul Adefarasin when they had a short conversation. In other words I had to eavesdropped.
Ladies and gentlemen that ends the leisure talk.
Atedo Peterside for your information is the Chairman of Stanbic IBTC bank. It happens that the brain behind  the ArtXLagos exhibition is his daughter Tokini Peterside. This man was all about "selling his daughter " to his old friends elucidating on the kind of job she does.
"She manages all these artists, writers and even musicians. They had to come from different countries today"

You see this got me reflecting about some things. Particular amongst them was the way most African parents have groomed their children. We live in an environment where the level of fixation on professional courses is evidently high. From the  cradle years of children their fate and professional track line is drawn by some parents and in most cases   deviation from the track line is not tolerated .
A lot of Nigerians can write enormously lampooning our educational system, forgetting that sometimes the socio-cultural psyche is also a problem. It is hard to find children declaring to follow  a novel path in their choice of ambition.  Most declarations are simply centred around professional courses which we all know the story when they meet JAMB; the changer of destinies.
It is hard to find parents who are supportive of children choosing courses which have no ties with certification. Music, sculpturing, culinary  courses are regarded as light courses. But we forget that these are the little aspects that improve the economy of a country through tourism. The ArtXLagos had 5000 visitors in three days. No doubt half the number could have come down to Lagos just to see African artworks in display. In this vein, this means money from other parts of the world would be brought into Nigeria to be spent.
As young people who would become parents one day, I honestly feel the only primary goal of a child in our society is to love Nigeria. Whatever his or her endeavour, it should be to the pride of our great country. It doesn't necessary has to be law,medicine,architecture, economics, electrical engineering.
Once again just keep in mind Amebo is a good thing. It inspired this piece.
#Ama rira.