For Art’s sake

Artists don’t come more rounded than the Eesa (second in command to the king) of Iragbiji, Muraina Oyelami. A performing artist, writer and painter, Oyelami’s passion for culture runs deep. Beyond expressing his passion through his own masterpieces, Oyelami took a concrete step in the preservation of culture many years ago. Through a labour of love, he established a private museum, perhaps the first in the country.

Called ‘Ile Ona’, the museum occupies a purpose built building in Oyelami’s compound in the town of Iragbiji, Osun State.

An undying love

Exuding contentment as he gives a tour of Ile-Ona, the first generation member of the Osogbo Art School which comprises other greats - including Twins Seven Seven, Rufus Ogundele and Jimoh Buraimoh – discusses his founding of the museum.

“I have a love for collecting artefacts because I once worked at a museum established by Ulli Beier in Osogbo around the mid 60s to the early 70s. I was inspired from then to have a private museum in my home town. That was how I started but it’s not only artefacts that I have. There are some photographs of when I was with the late Duro Ladipo’s Theatre. When Moremi was staged in 1966, I acted the part of Igbo king. After that, I assembled some ancient drums from around Iragbiji, the Igbin Orisa, Ipese Ifa and Afere Ode, all upright drums kept in shrines.

“I have some contemporary works of art too like carvings and metal works by Lawrence Ayeni and Ajibike. One or two of the rare drawings of Adebisi Akanji are also on display and there is a collection of Igbo musical instruments, some publications, old and new carvings. I even have some Yoruba masks used by Egungun Oje, the entertainers which you could liken to the jugglers of the Elizabethan era in England.”

My sweat

Oyelami who taught Traditional Music between 1975 and 1987 at the then University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), touches on the acquisition of the works. “There are lots of things I have missed because I could not afford them. But if it happens that I have money when somebody comes with something, then I‘ll buy it. Where there is no money, sometimes they will leave it and come back for the money and I pay instalmentally. As an artist, it’s not enough to produce and exhibit your works. You still have to leave something to serve humanity in some other way.”

Muraina Elere

“My mentor was Ulli Beier. I got a lot of inspiration from working in his museum and you can see what I have put together”, says the former guest professor in African Studies at the University of Bayreuth’s IWALEWA-HAUS, Germany. “They are not for sale and I keep collecting up till now. Even in my immediate environment here, people don’t understand the concept of having a museum. It was during the time that I was with Beier that some people were going round stealing objects and selling them.

“Iragbiji shares the same boundary with Osogbo so when my people from the farm come to buy or sell in Osogbo, I will always want to welcome them and they will see the museum. When they get back home, they will say do you know what Muraina has done? He has rented a whole house where he has put all the images you people have been looking for. So suddenly, I was nicknamed Muraina Elere or Muraina Agbeere. When I finally came home; most of the collections actually came from here, they are things that I have been keeping for over 30, 40 years. When people saw the items again, they said we thought you took them overseas to sell. They do understand now but some pockets of people still don’t understand why I should have a museum.

“About two years ago, I had a meeting with some people and the collections were in this other building then. I had mats laid on the floor and displayed the items. A man went back to his house and told his wife. ‘I thought Chief Eesa was going to build a palace for himself but what did I see? Gods and goddesses, many orisas in this beautiful house, he even laid mats for them.’ You can imagine the ignorance. At times, I feel maybe I’m living ahead of my time but I know why I’m doing what I’m doing. This place has attracted many people even though I didn’t establish it for tourists. I collect because of today’s kids who are unfortunately not being taught the good values of our culture.”

A constant challenge

Preserving the works is a major challenge for the Eesa. “That’s one of the reasons why I say you need a qualified conservator and if I can’t afford [one], I will be sad seeing these things deteriorating. There is a limitation to what I can do as an individual. I need it to be properly displayed, these are not properly displayed.

I just used my common sense and it’s not easy. When experts put this together, it will look different. I clean them and I pray that they don’t get... Through prayer but I don’t think prayer is enough.”

Works in the collection

Oyelami is happy to talk about the items in the collection. He starts with a striking piece on the Osun goddess, a contemporary work by Lawrence Ayeni. “This is his own interpretation of what Osun is. Osun is half human and half fish. Osun being the goddess of fertility, she has all these children to dole out. He did it out of a [tree] trunk. I think I got it over 20 years ago.

“And those are Sango stools”, he continues, moving on to another set of works. “The Sango group could be likened to the hippies of the 60s. Once they are in that group, they had no wife or husband, they all mixed. This depicts a love scene (showing one piece). When they are together, they sing about genitalia and what-not. The males plait their hair; and you won’t see any graven Sango when you get there; it’s one of them that the Sango spirit will possess.” He moves on to other pieces on display: “The drums are from Igboland. This is Ekwe, it’s from Mbaise in Imo State.”

Thumbs down for foreign influence

Like most culture patriots, the widely travelled artist who was composer and musical director for Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, UK, in 1992 is not entirely comfortable with the impact of foreign cultures on Nigerians.

“No culture is static, you have to develop but you do so without losing your head. One of the reasons I have this is because kids nowadays, they don’t know what is ‘fitila’ (oil lamp). Those upright drums, they may just say these are drums because of the skin but they will start asking you: what do they use it for? How do they play it? Hopefully, when I have money again - I don’t know when - I will start cataloguing these and maybe put them together in a booklet with colour reproduction for people who come here to take back home.

I have it on my website already but it’s not enough. I have collected more items since the last time I published that on the web. But mind you, I’m getting tired. Look at the road leading to this place. In this part of the state, my local government, they don’t care.

I have written them several times. When they have visitors they bring them here and when they have to write report of their activities for the past year, they will say: we have Ile Ona Museum. They take the glory and they don’t contribute anything. In fact, they don’t value it, I think. Anyway, what’s their background? So I’m not surprised.”

Giving up

Some years back, Oyelami considered handing ‘Ile Ona’ over to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) because of the huge funding required to maintain it.

“The late Omotosho Eluyemi, the then director general of the NCMM came around and saw the collection. He was amazed so at first, I asked for a museum keeper so that they could send one of their staff. At least they would be able to pay because I employed somebody here since 2001 when I opened, I have to pay that person too and I don’t charge people coming in because I see it as a contribution to my town, state and humanity.

He said they would send one of their staff to man the place but after Eluyemi came and saw it, I changed my mind. I said why don’t you take it over, just like that. He said if I want they would take it up. It was in the middle of this that he died and we couldn’t complete the arrangement. One of his conditions was that if I had to hand over, then I had to donate the building where it used to be or I build another house.

“I just finished this one not long ago. I moved all the collections to this place from [the previous building]. But since he died, there has been a kind of foot dragging. Recently, we had a discussion; they are working on the modalities, they have accepted. When they take it over, there is this agreement that they should not be removed from Iragbiji. Maybe if they build a museum somewhere in the town, they can move it to that place but it must be within Iragbiji because I built it for Iragbiji.”

No retreat

Oyelami’s family shares in his passion about the museum, and the artist is categorical that the museum will live after him.

“When the NCMM said I should donate the building together with the collection and I discussed it with my family, they said: you can go ahead. Hopefully when I’m no more, I will make it as a point of duty to make sure that it exists and nothing should be sold. I don’t need the museum to take it over if I can get these things preserved properly and maybe a little assistance. I don’t need the cash, I need the expertise and of course somebody who takes care of the place.”

I see hope

“I expect that more and more people will know about [Ile-Ona], I don’t know how but I hope. And I hope I will have a very good road network so that people can come in here easily. As a born optimist, I’m always thinking it is going to be better and I’m never tired of hoping for the best.”