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Personality in Focus

Calabar Festival Appoints Bakare As Artistic Director

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By Frank Meke

One of Africa’s best minds in the creative world, who also is the immediate past Ekiti State Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Tourism, Prof Rasaki Ojo Bakare has been engaged as Artistic Director of the Calabar Carnival Band, CalasVegas.

In this assignment, he is working directly with a former Minister of Culture and Tourism, High Chief Edem Duke. Coincidentally, Chief Edem Duke was the Minister of Culture when Prof Bakare was the Director General of Abuja National Carnival. According to Bakare, “I am here working with my former boss. When he was to get an Artistic Director for CalasVegas, he remembered the good work I did with him in Abuja and didn’t think twice before engaging me.” Our correspondent in Calabar who saw Prof Bakare dishing out instructions to his aides used the opportunity to ask him a few questions.

Question: You did very well for your State as a Commissioner. Now that you are not in office, what next?

Bakare: Thank you. I am back to my practice, I am back to my consultancy and I am back to the University. When I was Commissioner, I couldn’t practice or consult for my own benefit. I channelled the whole of my creative energy towards building a super structure for the sector in my State as the foundation for continuing growth and development. Now, that I am out of office, it’s time to help myself.

Question: But, what if your State needs your services again in future?

Bakare: I am an Ekiti patriot and I am only driven by passion. If that future comes, we will know what to do.

Question: Were there areas you wished you had performed better as a Commissioner?

Bakare: Well, in spite of the numerous achievements within the two years and ten months I was in office, I still wish I did better in all areas, particularly in Tourism. Yes, in 2020, we were the most active state in tourism. In 2021, we were adjudged to be second best in Tourism after Lagos. We hosted NAFEST which brought over 250,000 tourists to Ekiti for seven days and won Tourism Event of the Year beating Calabar Carnival for the first time. We remodelled , re- energised Fajuyi Park and concession it to a private investor. We did same to Arinta Water Fall, Ipole Iloro. We brought investors from Brazil to Ero Dam for purposes of establishing an Aquatic Tourism resort there and so on. But, we had some constraints. First, we lost a whole year to Covid- 19. It drew us back and limited our drive for the Tourism sub sector. Secondly, the economy of the State within the period couldn’t finance most of the investments we proposed and got approvals for in Tourism. For instance, we proposed and got approvals for the development of Abanijorin Hill, Esa Cave, Ogun Onire groove and Olosunta Rock. But, no monetary releases because of the dwindling resources of the State due to Covid- 19. I secured partnership with a private firm to produce Ekiti parapo War Film. The profit from Netflix was to be shared between the State and our patners based on percentage of investment. The firm brought 70 percent of the funding, the 30 percent which was to be our own counterpart fund never came. While I wish things were better in these areas, I am proud of what we achieved within those 2 years and ten months.

Question: What is your relationship with your new Governor?

Bakare: Extremely cordial. Infact, it is too cordial for some people’s comfort. BAO is my brother, my leader and supporter. He has started very well. He will surpass the achievements of JKF. That is the true meaning of progress. When your child achieves more than you.

Greetings: Thank you for your time.

Bakare: It’s my pleasure.

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Personality in Focus

Anne Carson Wins 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature Award

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Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature for her inventive writing and her engagement with the classical tradition. Her work brings together poetry, criticism, translation and narrative, expanding the forms through which contemporary literature can tell stories.

Born in Toronto in 1950, Carson trained as a classicist and has combined writing with university teaching and translation throughout her career. Her interest in the origins and meanings of words informs both her scholarship and her poetry. Ancient texts provide material for her explorations of desire, grief, identity and human relationships.

Her translations include If Not, Winter (2002), a rendering of Sappho’s surviving poetry that preserves the gaps between fragments. She has also translated plays by Sophocles and Euripides, bringing the language and conflicts of Greek tragedy into contemporary expression.

Carson’s writing gained increasing recognition during the 1990s. “The Glass Essay,” published in Glass, Irony, and God (1995), combines the experience of a relationship’s end with reflections on Emily Brontë, family life and solitude. Its movement between personal narrative and literary interpretation demonstrates her freedom in working across genres.

Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse (1998) remains among her most celebrated works. Drawing on fragments by the ancient Greek poet Stesichoros, Carson reimagines the winged red monster Geryon as a young person discovering photography, desire and heartbreak. The book places his experiences at the centre of a story traditionally associated with the exploits of Herakles.

Her later publications continue this experimentation. Float (2016) consists of twenty-two chapbooks that readers can approach in any order. Wrong Norma (2024) brings together varied prose pieces, extending her interest in the possibilities of short, loosely connected forms.

Carson has also collaborated with visual artists, choreographers and theatre and opera directors. These projects carry her writing into performance and establish connections between literature and other arts.

The award recognises a career devoted to close attention to language and continual experimentation with form. Through translation, poetry and collaboration, Carson has made classical literature an active part of contemporary writing.
Souce:Classic Books.

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Personality in Focus

Otti, Kalu Mourn Abia-born NAF Pilot Killed in Ondo Plane Crash

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Abia State governor, Alex Otti, and Senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, have expressed sadness over the death of Abia-born Squadron Leader Ahamefule Aham Man-Ugwueje, one of the pilots of the Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft, NAF 931, which crashed in Igbokoda, Ondo State, on Monday.

Governor Otti, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, described Squadron Leader Man-Ugwueje’s death and those of other military personnel aboard the Nigerian Air Force plane as painful and devastating.

“This accident is both painful and devastating, because it has brought untold sorrow and anguish to the victims’ families, their friends and loved ones, the Nigerian Air Force, and the nation at large.”

Governor Otti regretted that Squadron Leader Man-Ugwueje perished in the air disaster barely two weeks after he wedded his beloved wife, Flight Lieutenant Damilola Adekunle, in Abuja, a sad development he said has robbed the couple of the opportunity of spending their lives together as husband and wife.

The governor, on behalf of his family, the government and people of Abia State, commiserated with the families of the victims, the people of Umuahia where Squadron Leader Man-Ugwueje hailed from, the Nigerian Air Force and the Federal Government of Nigeria, and prays for the peaceful repose of their souls in God’s bosom.

In his own message, Senator Kalu commiserated with the Nigerian Air Force over the loss of the Air Force personnel and others in the Ondo plane crash.

The former governor of Abia State, while expressing sadness over the loss, extended his heartfelt sympathy to the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, the entire Nigerian Air Force and the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic incident.Describing the incident as painful and heartbreaking, Kalu said the death of personnel who devoted themselves to the service of the country is a huge loss to the Nigerian Air Force and the nation.

“I extend my heartfelt sympathy to the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, and the entire Nigerian Air Force over this painful loss.

“My thoughts and prayers are especially with the families who have lost their loved ones. Losing men and women who dedicated themselves to serving and protecting our country is indeed a tragedy for all Nigerians.

“At this difficult moment, I pray that God comforts their families, colleagues and loved ones, and gives them the strength to bear this irreparable loss.

“May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Kalu said.

He urged the Nigerian Air Force to remain strong in the face of the tragedy, noting that the sacrifices of its personnel in the service of the country would always be remembered.

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Personality in Focus

Tinubu Celebrates Ogunsan at 50, Urges More Dedication to Security

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President Bola Tinubu has sent warm greetings to the Executive Secretary/CEO of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) Dr. Ayodele Ogunsan, on the occasion of his 50th birthday on October 6, 2026.

In a statement released by the Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy), Bayo Onanuga, the President indicated acknowledged Dr. Ogunsan’s commitment to institution-building and promoting partnerships among government, the private sector, and other stakeholders to advance security and development.

Tinubu also commended the celebrant for his dedication to serving Lagos State and his contributions toward strengthening the security architecture, public safety, and public confidence through the Lagos State Security Trust Fund.

Before becoming the Executive Secretary/CEO, Dr. Ogunsan served on the Board of Trustees of the LSSTF. He has held other significant responsibilities in the security and community-safety space, including as Chairman of the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), Lagos State, and Patron of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC).

The President noted that under Dr. Ogunsan’s leadership, the Trust Fund has continued to play an important role in supporting security agencies with critical equipment, infrastructure and other resources necessary to enhance their effectiveness in protecting lives and property.

“As you mark this significant milestone, I urge you to sustain your dedication to the security and progress of Lagos State and Nigeria. I wish you many more years of good health, wisdom and fulfilment, as well as continued success in your service to humanity and our nation,” the President charged.

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