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How Title Deed is Responding to Stolen African Art

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By Jane Efagwu                                                              Photos: Olaseni Okedairo

It is no longer a secret. 2020 has proven to be the year of something bigger than anything else: The black revolution. Africans everywhere are taking a stand against systemic oppression, discrimination and objectification of the African culture and her people. While this major cultural reset now dominates public spheres and has initiated major social discourse everywhere around the world, it is important to look back at where it all started. Africa. Before the now popular violence and commodification of Africans themselves, there was the very unpopular violence and commodification of African art.

Stolen. Shipped. Sold. Copied. Displayed. And now, owned by major museums around the world, the journey to the world stage for African art has been a painful one. However, if it’s one thing about art, it’s that it will always turn pain to power. This power is what Title Deed, a collective of seven young Nigerian contemporary artists-Wasiu Eshinlokun, Maureen Uzoh, Ken Nwadiogbu, Lekan Abatan, Emma Odumade, Margaret Otoikhine and Yussuff Aina have employed in correcting the narrative and telling their own stories through their own art and in their own spaces.

Re: Mediation. An exhibition which was held at the African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) at Victoria Island, Lagos featuring works that boundlessly explore the theme of restitution. In these works, these artists demonstrate the importance of understanding the past and appreciating the present as a means of predicting and owning the future.

Eshinlokun’s display features masking tapes dangling in an unending W motion, flooding the ceiling and connecting to the three art pieces on the wall which are also connected to themselves and each other. The artist goes a step further to pull the art out of the frame by featuring a live remake in a painted and taped human form. This one step produces several painted and muddled footsteps and the artist explains that this represents the movements of Africans and their culture such that we no longer know where it starts or where it stops. Wasiu also explains that the tape represents bondage as well as continuity of life for Africans, African art and of course, African artists.

For Ken Nwadiogbu the renowned hyperrealist, the eyes will always have it. This is how he represents consciousness in an unconscious world. He depicts the sale and commodification of consciousness by putting eyes on a coin. Nwadiogbu’s clever irony stings again when he puts open eyes on bodies and cages them with something made to cool us down – a fan.

To execute the theme, Maureen Uzoh employs a brilliant fuse of new media and old culture. Her works also feature heavy themes of sisterhood, African feminity and family. In one frame, Uzoh attempts to ridicule the idea of the West renting, selling or discounting African art to its rightful owners despite being aware and even wearing the countless headlines of stolen African art being reported in the media.

Abatan’s Our Ancestors Wear Prada shows the aftermath of a cross-fire meeting between Africans, their art and the West thus birthing popular phrases like ‘African American’. His works feature portraits of historical Benin, Ife and Nok art pieces dressed up in Calvin Klein, Adidas and Lacoste with African fabrics as the background. The mix up is almost comical yet thought provoking.

Restitution is literal for Yussuff Aina as he presents three dimensional versions of a recreation of Eniyan, his signature mask style. Eniyan, meaning person in Yoruba, takes on the form of newly excavated art pieces whose facial/body features have been damaged due to the gruesome unearthing process. One piece features Eniyan with palms pressed together and a marked cross on one palm. He explains that this is a way of using Western religion to beg/pray that the Westerners return the stolen pieces back to Africa.

Choosing a dramatic yet creative approach to the topic, Margaret Otoikhine casts African art and its stories in movie posters that attract you with their colors and captivate you with their details. The only photographer in the group, her use of black and white imagery on one of her pieces, Queen Idia, sees the filmmaker and photographer attempt to tell the Queen’s actual story before the tragedy. It is Margaret’s way of telling her own story as an Edo born Nigerian. She explains that the poster was actually for a short film that was supposed to be shot but was put on hold because of the pandemic.

What better way to change the narrative than to educate? But how do you educate people on what they can’t even see or understand despite how much it affects them today? Emma Odumade captures this glitch in the system by depicting the after effects of the looting on education and African children, who he says he used to represent dreams. His works are set against the heavy backdrop of the past while projecting the uncertainty of the future especially for the younger, upcoming generation.

The ‘Re: Mediation’ exhibition is a very refreshing take on the conversation surrounding African art and it’s movements because it offers a contemporary yet genuine view on the topic. The works serve as an intermediary between a distant past and an uncertain yet inspiring future. ‘Re: Mediation’ commenced on the 26th of September, 2020 and showed at the African Artists’ Foundation until the 12th of October, 2020.

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Personality in Focus

Veteran Actor Olu Jacobs Dies at 84

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Veteran Nigerian actor and elder statesman, Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, popularly known as Olu Jacobs, has died at the age of 84.

The actor’s death was announced by his son, Olusoji Jacobs, on Instagram on Wednesday.

Olu Jacobs was one of Nigeria’s most respected actors and a towering figure in the country’s theatre, television and film industries.

For more than five decades, Jacobs built a career that took him from the stage in Britain to international films and, ultimately, to becoming one of the most recognisable faces of Nollywood.

Born on July 11, 1942, in Kano, Jacobs had his roots in the Egba Alake community of Abeokuta, Ogun State. He grew up in Kano, where he developed an early interest in acting through school drama, debating activities, and church programmes.

His passion for the performing arts was strengthened after he watched a performance by legendary Nigerian theatre practitioner Hubert Ogunde. The experience inspired him to pursue acting professionally.

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Personality in Focus

Michael Dell Overtakes Jeff Bezos As World’s Third Wealthiest Billionaire

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Michael Dell, on Tuesday, overtook Jeff Bezos in Forbes’ billionaire rankings, edging past the Amazon co-founder as shares of Dell Technologies reached an all-time high, extending a six-month rally.Dell’s estimated net worth rose $4.6 billion to reach $267.7 billion at market close Tuesday afternoon, making him the third-wealthiest person in the world for the first time ever.

Dell trails Alphabet co-founder Larry Page ($277.9 billion) and Tesla chief Elon Musk ($942 billion).

Shares of Dell Technologies rose 1.9% to close at an all-time high of $533.88 on Tuesday, and traded as high as $538.47 earlier in the day.

Bezos’ estimated net worth dropped $1.4 billion to $265.2 billion as Amazon shares fell 0.6%.

Dell’s net worth has more than doubled since last year as his company has benefited from booming demand for artificial intelligence hardware.

327%. That is how much Dell’s stock has rocketed since the start of the year, when shares were priced around the $128 mark. Michael Dell holds a roughly 40% stake in his company and has much of his fortune wrapped up in his private investment firm DFO Management, which invests in hotels and liquid corporate credit. Dell’s net worth has soared alongside his company’s earnings, allowing him to surpass Meta co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison in recent months.

Dell Technologies is a week removed from its second-quarter earnings report in which it logged $47 billion in revenue, a 58% jump year-over-year, and adjusted earnings per share of $7.04, a threefold increase from the same period last year. The company’s AI server business logged a record $60.9 billion in orders and accounted for $16.4 billion in revenue. The growth, and what chief financial officer David Kennedy called “AI momentum,” resulted in Dell Technologies raising its full-year revenue guidance $25 billion to an anticipated $192 billion.

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Personality in Focus

NAOSNP President, Oki Samson Bags Police-Youth Advocate Award

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The Lagos State Police Command under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police, CP Fatai Tijani, on Thursday, honoured the President of the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), Mayor Oki Olatunji Samson, as a Police-Youth Advocate for his contribution to youth engagement and advocacy, responsible security journalism and community safety.

The recognition came during the Command’s commemoration of International Youth Day 2026, themed “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations,” held at the Police Officers’ Wives Association (POWA) Secretariat, Oduduwa Street, Lagos.

The event also featured the launch of the National Campaign Against Political and Digital Thuggery and a Police-Youth Dialogue designed to build stronger partnerships between law enforcement and young Nigerians. The initiative, in line with the vision of Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, placed youth participation, responsible citizenship and peacebuilding at the centre of contemporary security discourse.

In his address at the event, the NAOSNP President, a respected security journalist, stressed that youth advocacy must move beyond rhetoric to deliberate investment in the values, opportunities and relationships that enable young people to become agents of stability. He argued that the youth should not be viewed simply as potential victims or perpetrators of insecurity, but as indispensable stakeholders in preventing it. According to him, the digital space has become an extension of society and therefore requires the same standards of responsibility expected in the physical world.

The NAOSNP President urged young Nigerians to recognise the power of their voices, particularly on social media, and deploy that influence constructively. “Your phone is powerful. Your social media account is powerful. Your voice is powerful. Please use that power to build, not destroy.” He further challenged young people to resist political manipulation, stressing that no temporary political reward could justify sacrificing one’s future.

“Do not allow anyone to use your future to settle their present disagreement.”

He advocated a culture in which political differences could be expressed without becoming personal hostility, urging youths to verify information before sharing it and to understand that digital actions can have real-world consequences.

The intervention resonated strongly with the message of the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Tijani Fatai, who warned young people against allowing politicians to exploit them for electoral violence as the country approaches another election cycle. Fatai said youths must look beyond immediate gratification and recognise the importance of preserving their future.
“Tomorrow is there for us. We should not think of today. We should always think of tomorrow. That tomorrow is more important than what we are today.”

The CP also delivered a particularly strong message against the recruitment of young Nigerians into political thuggery, noting that political actors rarely expose their own children to the dangers of electoral violence. “None of these politicians will use any of their children for electioneering, thuggery, violence or what have you.”

He urged youths to reject attempts to use them for ballot-box snatching, intimidation, destruction of property and other forms of electoral violence, while stressing that political participation remained a legitimate right when exercised responsibly.

The Commissioner equally identified the digital environment as an emerging frontier of security, urging young Nigerians to think carefully before posting, sharing or reacting to provocative content. His message was clear: political participation must never become political violence, whether offline or online.

In his goodwill message, Commander, 9 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Ayokunle Owolabi, described the campaign as timely and commended the Police for strengthening engagement with young Nigerians. Owolabi noted that the energy, creativity and resilience of young people remained indispensable to Nigeria’s peace, security and development. He emphasised that national security could no longer be regarded as the exclusive responsibility of security agencies, but required a whole-of-society approach in which young Nigerians become active partners. He particularly warned against the misuse of digital platforms and physical spaces for violence, intimidation, misinformation and destructive engagement, while calling for stronger trust and communication between young people and security institutions.

Also speaking, the Lagos State Coordinator of the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), SP Olivia Amarachi Ugochukwu, urged young people to become the change they desire in their communities.
“Policing is everybody’s business. If you see something, say something.”

She also charged the media to ensure that only verified information was disseminated, noting that responsible information management was essential to preventing fear, confusion and conflict.

The well attended event attracted representatives of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy, NDLEA, FRSC and NSCDC, alongside NYSC, POCACOV, PCRC, NYCN, NANS, NURTW, RTEAN, CRAN, NAOSNP, POWA and youths from Police Barracks across Lagos. The programme featured an extensive Police-Youth Dialogue on security, political participation, social media, cultism, thuggery and emerging threats.

The recognition of Mayor Oki Samson as Police-Youth Advocate therefore represented more than an individual honour. It underscored the growing importance of credible voices capable of connecting young people, the media and security institutions around a shared commitment to peace.

In a society where insecurity can be amplified by a rumour, a provocative post or a manipulated young mind, youth advocacy has become a frontline security intervention. The future of Nigeria cannot be secured merely by policing the streets; it must also be secured by winning the minds, trust and participation of its young people.

The challenge before advocates such as Mayor Oki Samson and institutions such as the Police is to ensure that the message does not end with an award or a commemorative event. It must travel into schools, communities, newsrooms, transport parks and digital spaces—until peace becomes not merely a campaign slogan, but a conscious choice made by a generation whose future is ultimately at stake.

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