What Independence Day Means to a Nigerian Creative

Nigeria became independent from Britain on 1 October 1960. It became a republic three years later. Every 1 October since, the green-white-green flag goes up across the country and across its diaspora.

For many Nigerian artists, the day is less a holiday than a question. Who are we, and who gets to tell our story?

A place where it happened

Independence was celebrated on the Lagos Race Course. In 1972, Tafawa Balewa Square was built on the same ground, with white horse statues at its entrance.

In his Tafawa Balewa Square artwork, Raknida's founder, Anthony Ezeokoye, puts those horses at the centre. It belongs to Made in Lagos, his series on the city's landmarks, from the National Theatre to the Ikoyi Link Bridge. The series treats the city as living heritage, not postcard nostalgia.

Many peoples, one flag

Nigeria is home to more than 250 ethnic groups and hundreds of languages. Its art has never been one thing. Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Edo and many other traditions run through the work on Raknida, each named on its own terms.

Chibuike Clement Obioha's Unity takes that on directly, bringing figures from different peoples into one frame.

Telling the story ourselves

For a long time, the images of Nigeria seen abroad were made mostly by outsiders. Today's Nigerian artists, at home and abroad, are making their own record. They draw the streets they walk, the musicians they grew up with, and the faces of people they know.

Obioha's portrait of Fela Kuti honours a musician who sang about freedom and self-determination.

What it means

For a Nigerian creative, independence is unfinished work. It is the freedom to define yourself, and the responsibility to get the story right. That is why every work on Raknida names its artist and any tradition it draws on.

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