Dipo Kehinde/
Nigerian artists led by Prof. Yusuf Grillo and some patrons spent over an hour of intense emotions on Saturday painting portraits of a departed frontline painter and instructor, Dr Mike Omoighe, who died of Covid-19 complications on January 24, 2021.
Revelations during the Zoom gathering tagged ‘SNA Day of Tributes’ included how Omoighe lived his life, his top-secret charities of paying the school fees of indigent students; the intensity of his spirituality, his selfless service to humanity, his discipline, and his enduring legacies.
Those who featured in the well-attended Zoom meeting, chaired by Dr Pius Egiolamhen and moderated by Dr Bolaji Ogunwo, included Prof Ben Ezeohagwu, the Chancellor/Founder at African-American University, Porto Novo, the Republic of Benin; former Dean, School of Art, Design & Printing, Yaba College of Technology, Dr Kunle Adeyemi; Mrs Tinuade Gbadamosi, the widow of a leading industrialist, art patron and Nigeria’s former Minister of National Planning, Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi; President of the Society of Nigerian Artists, Mr Oliver Enwonwu, Dr Adeola Balogun; Publisher and Art Enthusiast, Mr Toyin Akinosho; the founder of Sisi Aladire Enterprises, Ms Olubunmi Davies, painter and founder of Araism movement, Mr Mufu Onifade, and Mr Idowu Sonaya, the Chairman, SNA Lagos.
Kick-starting the tributes that beamed light on Omoighe’s true colours at about 2:30pm, Prof. Grillo, a grand master of the Art profession, said: “This is a very sad occasion for me. I never prayed for this kind of occasion. Mike Omoighe was more than an ex-student of mine; more than an artist in the same milieu, more than a friend. He showed himself to be a spiritual son to me, from as early as the 1970s.
“I never expected it at the time it happened. He once showed me some essays he had been writing on me. This was when he was still a student. It surprised me at that time that one of the students could be thinking of something like this. He had gone into so much trouble to find out about me and start what you might call a learned discourse. I said this is an occasion one will not pray for. How would a father want to talk at the funeral of a son? So you can imagine what this meant for me.
“The last time I saw Dr Omoighe, was in my house. He came with Adeola Balogun, Odun Orimolade and a few others to discuss some points. And something struck me then, because he was telling someone who was using his facemask that he had to be more conscious of the loss of oxygen than contracting the virus; that, it was more dangerous for him… I didn’t know what type of facemask that other person was using, but clearly it was a facemask that was disturbing his breathing.
“So, Mike was telling him that taking in oxygen was more important to you than preventing the virus because, without the oxygen, you and the virus and everything will go. So, it surprised me when Adeola Balogun told me that he died and that the cause was the Covid virus. He was, to me, more conscious than many. But, knowing him and knowing how spiritual he was, I’m not surprised because God manifests Himself to us in many ways, and in more ways than we think we know. We know nothing, and God will do whatever he pleases. There are explanations that we don’t know, but which God knows.
“Mike Omoighe was a very brilliant student when he was a student; a very deep, intrusive student, and a very-difficult-to-understand artist. But, many people who took the time to study his work would marvel at the message. He was a true artist. It’s a pity that he had to go when he went. It’s a very sad thing, particularly for me, because he was a son and he showed that there was a spiritual bond. Many of you who got close to him would have known that he was always talking spiritually. I’m sure he knew all the invisible elements which surround us. Well God knows best. The Muslims will say Allahu Alamo – God knows best. All I can say is that he lived a very good life, and may his soul rest in peace.”
Dr Pius Egiolamhen also spoke glowingly about the late Omoighe that he had known for 52 years. He described him as a great icon that vacated the art scene on the 24th of January 2021. He added, “Omoighe was a great artist who contributed to the development of art in Nigeria. He channelled so much energy to the development of art. He helped the poor, paid school fees of students and will be missed by those students. I was pained about his exit.”
The virtual event was spiced with entertainment from a popular musical artist, Edaoto Agbeniyi, who dexteriously delivered songs including ‘Bright Light’ and ‘Ta Lo Npe Shebe Nibeyen’.
There were tearful moments.
Rasaq Folami, a student who benefitted from Omoighe’s charity, said, “I’ve come here with a heavy heart today to talk about my boss, my father, my teacher, my mentor, and a friend – Dr Mike Omoighe. I’m sorry for my manners here (sobbing). He was everything to me. I met him as a student during my HND days in the year 1999. I’m one of those students who Mike Omoighe paid his school fees. He saw me as an innocent boy, called me out of Lagos Island, but with the determination to study and become great in life. After getting closer to me, he noticed my deficiencies, and decided to bring me up and brush me up. Mike Omoighe was the man who taught me the thin line between success and failure. He taught me a lot.
“Mike Omoighe would tell me to give the utmost love I have to my mother. He would tell me, ‘Rasaq, send your Mum to Hajj’. Rasaq, take care of your mum now that she’s alive. Many other things. He took me out of Lagos to many parts of the country – Port Harcourt, Edo, Akoko Edo, Benin; we travelled to Ghana, the Republic of Benin, and Togo. Even, in coming to America, he accommodated me. He stood out with his wife, Aunty Titi, to wait for me in Minneapolis, at past 12 am to receive me here in America. And he told me never to spend my money on the hotel room that I was going to stay in. He accommodated me with his family in his room. He touched my life in many ways. I didn’t expect him to leave at this point, but I’m happy. I’m happy about everything he has done. I will forever miss him, and I pray that God is with his family.”
Folami pleaded that the gathering should observe a minute to sing the Hu, a love song to God, in honour of Omoighe as his Eckankar Faith teaches.
Mrs Gbadamosi said, “I met Dr Omoighe, when he was invited by my late husband, Rasheed Gbadamosi to be the curator of his art fiesta in Ikorodu, and I discovered that Mr Omoighe was a very focused person. He would come to the meeting punctually with his wife; not minding the fact that he was coming from the mainland to the Island. He never missed any meeting, and he displayed a lot of maturity during that procedure. During all that period, I never heard him raise his voice against anybody. He curated the event very well, and it was a huge success. I would love to commiserate with his wife and children, and wish them longer life than Omoighe had, and also the blessings of God will rest upon his family. I wish his soul rests in perfect peace.”
Dr Kunle Adeyemi, a colleague and friend of Omoighe at Yabatech, said, “Omoighe was not just a friend or an artist; he was somebody we looked up to at a particular point in our lives as young artists. Remember, after the Kolade Osinowo, Dele Jegede and Baba Ishola Akande era on the painting scene, on exhibition field, it was Mike that stepped in as a young artist in the 80s, and he was so vibrant that some of us who were in school then looked up to him.
“I remember he exhibited at the Italian cultural centre, and we went there as students to look at his works. He was very vibrant right from the service year, and he got this open door quickly because of hard work. From that time, he was active on the SNA platform as the Financial Secretary, as somebody who was running around for the society, particularly in the Lagos axis to make sure the society subsists. We owe a lot to Mike Omoighe for that string that he was able to pull, to pull some of us to the platform of the art scene. And so, some of us are pretty lucky to have met him.
“Again, when I joined the Yaba College of Technology, he was there to serve as a succor for us. He was an exceptional man, artist from all fronts; a very hard working, diligent, dedicated, loving person. Mike would always preach love. Even if you fight him, he would come back to you. If you talk to him and he does not like it, he would find a way to come back to you. He expressed love in every area, and I’m sure because of his spirituality, he probably would be a prayerful man.
“Of course we know he belonged to the Eckankar sect, who believe in the Hu system. To some, Mike was a generous man; particularly to some of the students. I’m told Mike would offer to pay the school fees of some of these students, when he finds out that student is in deep problem. In the area of our profession, Mike was very audacious. He did some things that other people would not dare to do. If you look at his method, his system, his technic, his painting, his style, you can’t see any other person before him going into that area of art, using those forms to express himself. It was when I was doing my PhD program that I looked at what he was doing and I found out that only one artist affixed his work in that line. The name of that artist is Shapiro.
“Omoighe was very fearless, bold and strong, and endowed with that quality that you will see art in him. Too much endowed. Mike was blessed with native intelligence and common sense. He was very tactful. There’s nowhere Mike cannot enter. There are some things he would not bother about. He was also an attitude artist. Mike was an embodiment of art in all areas. Mike was purposeful and undeterred with whatever the end is. We will miss Mike, and the vacuum he has left behind cannot be easily filled. Memories are immortal.”
A painter, Duke Asidere recalled the time when he worked with Omoighe at the beginning of the annual Harmattan Workshop organized by Dr Bruce Onabrakpeya.
He said, “We were the first facilitators for painting. This life is a little bit difficult. The kind words I’ve heard about Omoighe is making me teary. I wish he heard those kind words when he was here. We had formed a very fantastic attitude in Africa, to say the best words when people have left. I have known him and I agree with what everybody is saying that he was a spectacular artist. I was privileged to be in a show with him at the French Cultural Center, when we had a show called Time for Books. It was actually put up by Victor Ekpuk. He was a fantastic man.”
Mufu Onifade told the gathering that the event was just the first step in a series of activities that would be organized in honour of Omoighe because he is worthy of the honour. He spoke about how he had met Omoighe for the first time in the 80s, after which they started getting involved in the same art event.
He said, “I can’t forget in 1998, at a programme held at the German Cultural Centre, and thereafter we have worked together on some projects for the Society of Nigerian Artists. We’ve also worked on a project for AICA – an association of art critics with headquarters in France. When I joined the National Gallery of Art in 2012, Mr Mike never stopped reaching out to me. And I also reached out to him. I look at Mike Omoighe from the point of being an artist. Just the way Dr Adeyemi was trying to explain. You need to have a deep mind for you to understand his art. Those forms, those motifs and all that. It’s something deeply spiritual. I agree totally with Dr Adeyemi. I’m happy that apart from being an academic, Dr Omoighe made a huge mark as a Fine Artist. I think that’s the link that I had, because every aspect of my interaction with him has never been outside of art. It’s unfortunate that we’ve never discussed any other thing outside art.
“I could see in him a totally committed person as far as art is concerned. That’s a huge legacy we’ll continue to see. I know as huge as he was in the visual art sector, he was also huge in the academic environment of Yabatech, particularly.”
Sonaya said, “Dr Mike Omoighe has been working as an academic at Yaba College of Technology for over 20 years and has mentored a lot of young Nigerian artists. Omoighe was once the Nigerian Chapter President of AICA (International Association of Art Critics) and a former Secretary of the Lagos Chapter of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA). He was paying his dues as at when due to the Society. He also contested for the post of the National President of SNA about 20 years ago in Kogi State. Born in Edo State of Nigeria, he constantly kindled the embers of the Otu-Owena group of Artists comprising those from Edo and Delta States.
“He was very creative as a lecturer in his lectures, I was once his student. He taught me to always see lines as a means to a destination. He once likened the Danfo drivers in Lagos to unknown artists who keep drawing various lines all over the state’s landscape with their vehicles. And ever since then, I have grown up to know the importance of lines in every artwork I do as an artist. He was a rare teacher and mentor. He was a firm and principled personality. He was full of Integrity. He has left a big vacuum at the Yaba College of Technology which may be too difficult to fill appropriately in a decade from now. Adieu Dr Mike Omoighe, May your gentle soul rest In peace.”
Mr Rasheed Amodu described Dr Omoighe as a very organized person who has never been late for any appointment.
He said, “He is a man of all weather; a man of his words. He has never been late for any appointment, and any project he had in mind was always ahead of time. I can’t say that for many people that I know. When we agreed on anything, he was always on point. Maybe it was the Eckankar background that gave him that wherewithal to be able to mix irrespective of religion or whatever, but he’s been a good man, and I’ll miss him. Some people phoned me over the weekend, Pastor Idowu Otun, Uncle Dehinde Odimayo asking about him. He always reminds me of people like CSA Akran, so many projects, so many ideas. They were very futuristic, but they had just to go suddenly. I will really always miss him and our serious discussion.”
Ms Bunmi Davies also shared fond memories of Omoighe.
She said, “I met Mike in 1996, when I wanted an article on Prof Grillo, and he asked me to meet him. I met him and Olu Amoda. Because I didn’t know either of them, Mike introduced himself as Olu Amoda, and Olu Amoda introduced himself as Mike Omoighe. That was the beginning of a life-long friendship. He became a brother; he became a friend. His family became my friends. Like everybody has said Mike was very kind, very thoughtful. Like every human being, he had his own faults, but today I celebrate his thoughtfulness, his kindness. It’s unfortunate that I’d not spoken with him for about three or four months before he died. I had spoken to Titi about six weeks before he died, told her I had a small flight mishap. She told me that Mike would call me and he didn’t. Two weeks before his death, I was thinking that I would call Mike and tell him off, that what kind of brother is he that he couldn’t call, only to hear the shocking news of his departure. I pray that his kind soul would rest in peace, and God would comfort and bless his family.”
Akinosho who said his relationship with Omoighe went back to 1983, recalled how he had influenced him as a writer and connected him with many important personalities in the world of Art.
He said, “I met him on a day that was on a very low point. I was in Lagos, fresh from Ife; excited on serving in the state. I was trying to hang out on the art scene. I’ve been writing some articles for newspapers on a freelance basis. So, I went to this exhibition at the National Council for Arts and Culture being run then by Mr Frank Aig-Imokhuede. I went up to him. So much excited and said something, and he looked at me and started raining abuses. And, basically he was saying young man you’re not taken care of to look closely; you don’t get this, you don’t get that. Blah, blah, blah.
“Anyway, there was this gentleman who was not that much older than me; when I found out, just two years older. I was 23, Mike was 25. He came up to me and he saw me being shouted down at. He said I shouldn’t worry, that civil servants tend to get a little bit upset when journalists are trying to probe. The sense that I had of artists, especially young artists, was a very poor image; at least that is what you read everywhere, 38, 39 years ago. But Mike took me to his house at Festac Town and I got another impression. On our way as we were talking, we found that we had a lot in common. He went to St Gregory’s, I went to Baptist Academy; basically, we had grown up in close proximity. We knew certain people together and we became very close friends, and he introduced me to everything about the arts. The background that I had was very distant one. I was insisting on writing all the rubbish I could write. Of course I had no idea about a whole lot of things. I wanted to write criticisms and a whole lot of things, and Mike practically took me by the hand. His exhibition at the Goethe Institut was one of the earlier exhibitions that I reviewed.
“He was living in Festac Town off 22 Road, A Close, and I was living in Agboju. We’ll walk from his house to my house. He was an incredibly self-organized person. He had settled down properly. It was in his house that I saw for the first time that before you get into somebody’s flat, that you actually have to go through a garden. This wasn’t a wing of a duplex or something big. It was pretty much just a flat. But, he had this winsome plants growing… While at work, he would be playing classical music. He introduced me to a lot of things. I took a lot of materials from the Goethe Institut library, I became a member. He gave me books to read.”
Akinosho also mentioned that Omoighe brought him into the Art environment and introduced him to Newton Jibunoh and many other art connoisseurs.
In his remarks, Mr Ozi Audu who had known Mike Omoighe since 1981, during the National Youth Service Corps, described him as a very active, enthusiastic and energetic artist.
He said, “He was extremely organized, focused, knew exactly what he wanted and where he wanted to go to. He connected very many people who were influential in the art world… Personally, he was a very kind soul, very humble, extremely friendly. More like family to me.
Enwonwu stated: “Sixty- two years feels like a short time in the life of any man. But from 11 July 1958 to 23 January 2021, Dr Michael Akhaine Omoighe, it seems used up twice as much of his life-time to achieve not only a sterling reputation as one of Nigeria’s finest contemporary painters but to also excel as an administrator, art critic and fellow of the Society of Nigerian Artists.
“Mike as he was known to his contemporaries, friends and colleagues alike was born in Opoji in Ekpoma, Edo state but grew up and lived in Lagos most of his life. He attended St. Gregory’s College, Obalende and went on to attain his ND in 1978 at the prestigious Yaba College of Technology. Other academic qualifications were soon to follow; a HND in 1980 from Auchi Polytechnic, a Master’s degree in visual arts communication in 1994 from the University of Ibadan and a PhD in painting(studio) from Delta State University, Abraka.
“However, it was only fitting he end his illustrious career at the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) where he began his academic pursuit. Here, he served in various significant administrative and academic capacities as Head of the Department of Fine Art, Dean of the School of Art, Design and Printing and Dean of Student Affairs. Dr Mike Omoighe was also the Nigerian President of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA).
“However, perhaps his greatest legacy lies in his work as a teacher. Today, many of the leading artists practising on the Nigerian landscape will testify of his towering influence in their life.
“As artists, we will not mourn this great departed soul because he will never be forgotten. His impact will remain indelible in our hearts, the minds he shaped, the paintings he left behind and in his overall development of the visual arts in Nigeria. Indeed, the Society of Nigerian Artists celebrates this colossus of a man – our prayers are with his loving wife of many years Titi, also an accomplished artist, and their beautiful daughters. May the good Lord comfort and bless them in this difficult time.”
Omoighe’s daughter, Ejei thanked everybody for being there. She also thanked them for their kind words.
The session ended with Dr Adeyemi praying for the family and friends, as more and more participants continued to heap loads of tributes onto the comment portal.
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